Author: Billy Camden

The government is driving forward with plans to launch the first three T-levels from September 2020 despite the disruption being caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Last month, FE Week revealed that the awarding bodies designing the qualifications had called on ministers to delay their rollout by a year. At the time the Department for Education […]

Colleges that deliberatley under deliver their adult education budget allocations this year will have their funding clawed back, the government has warned. This will apply to either direct delivery or through subcontractors. The Education and Skills Funding Agency revealed the rule today in an update to its operational guidance for FE providers during the coronavirus […]

Schools and colleges will rank their GCSE and A-level pupils within each grade under a new system of assessment drawn up for this summer. Following the announcement that all exams this academic year have been cancelled due to the coronavirus, Ofqual has released details of the standardised assessment process that will take their place. Guidance […]

Ofqual has revealed how students will be assessed for GCSE and A-level qualifications this summer, following the cancellation of exams. The exams regulator has published guidance for schools and colleges, along with separate guidance for teachers and a letter to learners. Here’s our explainer on how it will all work…    1. Schools and colleges […]

Treasury officials have given colleges the green light to tap into their coronavirus job retention scheme. Speaking to FE Week, a spokesperson said staff who work in areas of a college that are not primarily funded by the government and who cannot be redeployed would be eligible for the scheme. The news will come as […]

Ofqual’s chief regulator Sally Collier has “reassured” GCSE and A-level students that the grades they get this summer will look “exactly the same as in previous years”. She has also promised made clear they will have “equal status” with universities, colleges and employers. Here is her message in full:   I understand how unsettling the […]

Thousands of students will be able to sit their functional skills exams from home from next week, the first ever time under “game changing” plans unveiled by City & Guilds. The awarding giant will move from assessments at centres to remote invigilation by using online meeting software such as GoToMeeting, Zoom and Microsoft Teams during […]

Online assessment will only work for around 40 per cent of apprenticeships and the government’s “vague” guidance in the area opens the market up to “widespread malpractice”, awarding organisations have warned. Last week the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced that face-to-face end-point competency assessment can be carried out remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. […]