Jess Staufenberg | FE Week

Providers are confused about how to record sex and gender

Collecting data on sex and gender separately is important for tackling inequalities, writes Sarah Hope Suppose you’re asked to get involved in a project with your students? It champions a marginalised group – you’re keen. However, there’s a catch. One or two students can’t be recorded correctly. Key information won’t be accurate. Accurate data is […]

The government must pay young people to enter traineeships

Traineeships are getting good outcomes but are being crowded out by other subsidised programmes, writes Jane Hickie As we enter 2022 with sluggish economic growth, rising inflation and stubborn rates of youth unemployment, it’s more vital than ever that we equip our young people with the skills employers need. All evidence shows that traineeships have […]

Interview: Marion Plant

Marion Plant, chief executive at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, sits on almost every board going. She tells Jess Staufenberg why linking up the education system is so important For one moment, I wonder if I’ve accidentally video-called Mrs Claus at the North Pole, rather than Marion Plant, chief executive at North Warwickshire and […]

Melissa Tisdale, FE lecturer of the year

If Melissa Tisdale and her students aren’t laughing, they’re crying. The FE lecturer of the year explains how to build the highest-quality relationships around A car has just careered through one of the many puddles in Walsall, a town in the West Midlands, and soaked my feet. I’ve had to get up too early, it’s […]

Decolonising the curriculum engages learners – but needs time

Contemporary texts can draw parallels with learners’ own lives, writes Sarah Wilson I work in a local community with a large African and Afro-Caribbean population. As the curriculum manager for English, it’s important to me that inclusion and promotion of equality and diversity are significant features of the curriculum. In my department we have come […]

Behaviour management requires a united staff front

Even if you’re being shouted at, don’t raise your voice, writes Errol Ince Having worked in FE for over 30 years, I have experience of dealing with behaviour in colleges in many different contexts. Whether I’m dealing with apprentices or with altercations in corridors, I have tried and tested an array of techniques. Above […]

Employers keep asking for unnecessary maths and English grades from apprentices

The issue facing aspiring apprentices will be even more pressing if BTECs are defunded, writes Henry Faulkner-Ellis Imagine a school leaver has just completed their GCSEs and wants to get on to an apprenticeship scheme. They search through the vacancies online but find that almost every advert asks for qualifications they don’t have. This is […]

The new white paper is far too vague about prison education

The strategy is making the right noises, but key details – including any new funding for prison education – are worryingly absent, writes Jon Collins The focus on getting people leaving prison into jobs in the government’s new prisons strategy white paper is welcome. But education is the key building block that enables prison-leavers to […]

The vice principal role is now increasingly complex

The vice principal is expected to have multiple competencies but rarely gets enough development, writes Rhys Davies The role of vice principal often covers responsibility for curriculum and quality. It has always been complex, requiring leaders to spin numerous plates at once. Now, the nature of these challenges has evolved. Vice principals may have had […]