Blog Archives: March 2018

We love hearing about how technical education can change people’s lives so when we met Josh Dixon, Managing Director at YourCode Recruitment Group, we just had to share his story. Three years ago, in June 2015, I left high school without any formal qualifications having spent numerous months in my school’s isolation unit for misbehaviour, anger management issues and a generally poor attitude to education. At this time, I was on course to fail 10 out of my 12 GCSEs, with my careers advisor advising me that I should aim to become a HGV Driver as I wasn’t intelligent enough to work in business or go to university.

Neil Stocking, Vice Principle of one of our Champion Schools, Highcrest Academy, gives his thoughts on how teaching has changed over the years, the challenges he faces on a daily basis at Highcrest Academy, which many schools will relate to and the ways in which the school overcomes these challenges:  

I’m delighted to share the positive news that our new model for combined level V Cert qualifications has been received extremely well by the Department for Education (DfE). In their latest update to the published list of approved qualifications, our redeveloped Health and Fitness qualification is the first V Cert of this kind to appear on the list for the 2020 performance tables. This news gives us further confidence in this new model and the next round of submissions. We’ve laid out our 2020 vision and our plan of action for 2020 in previous communications, and whilst the DfE may have adjusted the timescales and the benchmarks, our plan to implement a new model for V Certs has remained consistent.

Last week, NCFE and Campaign for Learning were delighted to publish our second white paper of 2018 entitled ‘Shaping the new National Retraining Scheme’. Written by Dr Susan Pember, the paper assesses the current and emerging needs a National Retraining Scheme should address. These include longer working lives, rising automation, and the potential retraining needs of millions of atypical workers, especially the 15% of adults who are self-employed. As Sue has identified, the National Retraining Scheme is an important innovation from the government which promises to ensure we maximise the skills and opportunities of our increasingly longer working adult skills base. We’ve started to see progress being made on the scoping around the scheme, and Sue’s paper should be essential reading for all parties engaging in this process. The paper sets out the level of the challenge ahead, as well as 10 recommendations to build a quality programme that will support all adults to their intended destination, regardless of their starting point.

Earlier this month, the Skills Minister, Anne Milton, called on FE providers to report schools that flout their new legal obligation to give training organisations access and opportunities to speak to pupils about vocational routes. The Baker Clause legislation is now in place to require Leader of local authority-maintained schools and academies to ensure there is an opportunity for a “range of education and training providers” to access pupils aged 13 – 18 and make them aware of the technical options available to them after they leave school. This means that it’s now compulsory for all schools to open their doors to training providers who want to showcase their offer to potential learners.

The university tuition fees debate, has once again arisen in the news and work experience student, Kathryn, explores the issue further from the perspective of someone on the cusp of making decisions on her future. Recent news reports suggest that universities are currently charging the maximum fee for a university course, standing at a huge £9250 a year. With this in mind, some have accused universities of taking advantage of students who feel forced to pay the fee with a lack of information about alternatives available for them.

In response to a recent BBC report regarding the link between social media and mental health issues amongst young people, NCFE work experience student Kathryn Bradbeer, 17, explores the issue further. Social media, popular, relevant and possibly dangerous, but addictive never the less. The constant bombardment of updates, invites and opportunities, has been recognised to have created intense pressure on users and also on society.

International Women’s Day, 2018. The year of #Vote100. Today has a lot of resonance. We want to celebrate International Women’s Day by highlighting women who make a difference by harnessing the power of education through innovation and inclusivity. These inspirational women are some of the many working across the sector who embody our aspirations to help change the lives of our learners and support people to progress and achieve.

“Being an apprentice at NCFE has given me an amazing opportunity to learn new skills, not only with my course but in the working world. I’m made to feel like a valued member of my team and not ‘just an apprentice’, under excellent management and mentorship I feel I am able to develop my abilities and take on new challenges.”Nicola Burlison, NCFE apprentice.

Left to right - Richard Turner, Lisa Hibbard, Charlotte Lord, John Giannasi, Julia Gallimore, Peter Dick, Zena Albachari.