Jess Staufenberg | FE Week

Colleges should consider a forest school on campus

Time outdoors develops confidence and communication in learners, writes James Plant The concept of forest schools has grown in popularity over the past two decades. The idea of supporting children to experience the natural environment, while building their confidence and independence, has been hugely successful. It became clear to me that the same principles would […]

The new TEF proposals could punish inclusive providers

The Teaching Excellence Framework has great potential – but new baseline measures could put FE-HE partnerships at risk, writes David Phoenix Last week the Office for Students released proposals for a revised Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The TEF, which was first run back in 2017 but has been on hiatus since 2019, aims to incentivise […]

The real revolution in the white paper was taking teaching seriously

Without high-quality teaching, solving the skills challenge is just a pipedream, writes David Russell Last week saw a range of sector leaders give their expert analysis in FE Week on the Skills for Jobs white paper, exactly one year on. The tone ranged from raging enthusiasm, through cautious optimism to disappointment at lack of progress. […]

‘Students served by FE are vulnerable to modern slavery’

One college on an awareness drive around labour exploitation was amazed at how many learners were being mistreated. Jess Staufenberg reports “It was coming up to Christmas time and my work just stopped and I really needed money. Then one morning, he came and knocked on my door. He said, ‘I can give you good […]

We need to talk about being a parent in FE

Trying to do the best by your child, and your class, often come into conflict with one another, writes Charlotte Marshall One of the most rewarding jobs you will ever have is being a teacher. One of the most rewarding jobs you will ever have is being a parent. What happens when you have two […]

Universities are stuck between a rock and a hard place on T Levels

Accepting students with T Levels is more complicated than it looks, writes Nick Hillman There is just one objective of university admissions: getting the best match between applicants and places. Delivering this single goal can be difficult. In pre-pandemic times, the job of university admissions officers was sometimes compared to landing a jumbo jet on […]

T Level mess is not a good look for universities – here’s what they should do

The HE sector needs to engage with the Department for Education and FE providers quickly, writes Mary Curnock Cook New qualifications are always a challenge for university admissions practitioners, and it seems that the higher education sector has still to get its head around T Levels. T Levels have been designed for a very specific […]

Here are 5 targets for the levelling-up white paper

This next white paper is critically important. Ministers must focus on the right measures, writes Naomi Clayton The long-awaited levelling-up white paper is due to be published this month. Michael Gove, leading on the levelling-up agenda, has called it the “defining mission of this government”. But with few details, many are struggling to understand what […]

The FE white paper has galvanised support for the sector

The government still needs a national strategy but there are positive signs, writes David Hughes A year on from the publication of the Skills For jobs white paper is a good time to reflect on any progress made since. At the time, I was one of many who welcomed the white paper because it affirmed […]