JL Dutaut

  • Preventing college and ITP failures is a matter of relationships

    If the sector’s reputation is ever to recover from the damage caused by college and ITP failures, the ESFA needs to be more than just a ‘funding body’, writes Tony Allen As an ex-deputy director of the SFA, news that Dame Mary Ney’s anticipated report into college finances will highlight serious shortcomings on the part…

    5.00 Jan. 19th, 2020 | Opinion

  • Apprenticeship take-ups suffer from pro-university data bias

    The Government’s continued failure to deliver on its own apprenticeship take-up target is, in part, a symptom of its failure to properly inform school leavers of the realities of higher education, warns Lawrence Barton The Government is failing to achieve its own targets for the take-up of apprenticeships. Meanwhile, the symbolic target of 50 per cent…

    5.00 Jan. 18th, 2020 | Opinion

  • Profile: Anna Morrison

    Jess Staufenberg meets an unconventional leader on a mission to unpick the apprenticeships system Many education leadership success stories begin with somebody being the first in their family to go to university, beating all odds and rising through the ranks from there. Anna Morrison is different. The director of Amazing Apprenticeships – the daughter of…

    5.00 Jan. 14th, 2020 | Profiles

  • Radical college reform is inevitable. Let's embrace it

    There is broad agreement that the FE sector needs radical reform, yet little consensus on the detail. But what if that was all the agreement we really needed, asks Ann Limb There’s nothing like ‘yesterday’s men’ (or women) appearing in the media to offer comment on the issues of the day from their own retrospective…

    5.00 Jan. 13th, 2020 | Opinion

  • Improving teacher wellbeing requires commitment at all levels

    A range of factors have made FE a less happy place over the past decade. There are strategies we need to adopt to change that, writes Kirsti Lord Staff are the backbone of further education colleges and this week’s EPI report on the wellbeing of the school workforce made for sobering reading. Despite the average…

    5.00 Jan. 12th, 2020 | Opinion

  • A new beginning for apprenticeships or business as usual?

    The general election delivered a landslide for the Conservatives. But what does it all mean for apprenticeships and training, asks Richard Alberg The Conservative Party won an 80-seat majority, their largest since 1987. Among other outcomes, uncertainty around Brexit has temporarily abated. The Withdrawal Agreement has passed, and we will transition out of the European…

    5.00 Jan. 11th, 2020 | Opinion

  • The future of colleges: Is the sector ready for the climate emergency?

    The college sector will play a major role in transitioning the economy to meet carbon reducation targets. But are they ready for the responsibility? JL Dutaut takes a look The big news story as this, the 301st edition of FE Week and the last of 2019, goes to print is the impending election result. It…

    5.00 Dec. 17th, 2019 | Feature, News

  • T Levels: positive preparations continue but challenges remain

    Support for T levels remains buoyant among schools, colleges and independent training providers, but the qualifications still face a host of challenges, writes Suzanne Straw This week, NFER published an update to its summer T levels report. Our previous study highlighted significant enthusiasm for the new qualifications, alongside some key challenges. In this latest update,…

    5.00 Dec. 14th, 2019 | Opinion

  • NDAs: demystifying the notorious ‘gagging’ order

    Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are often perceived as a tool to suppress or cover up inappropriate behavior, writes Tom Long. But do they deserve their shady reputation? This week, FE Week revealed an investigation into Hull College’s alleged extensive and inappropriate use of NDAs. It follows reporting earlier this year by the BBC that universities were…

    5.00 Dec. 15th, 2019 | Opinion

  • Colleges need to recognise incremental progress in GCSE resits

    The GCSE resits policy continues to be controversial, but it’s really a matter of emphasis, writes Bill Jones. To prioritise their students, colleges should focus on progress rather than pass/fail measures Back in 2015, government introduced a policy that required colleges to support students who’d narrowly missed out on GCSE grade 4 in maths or…

    5.00 Dec. 16th, 2019 | Opinion

  • The blurred line between colleges and universities must disappear

    Whoever is in power tomorrow will have to deliver on their FE funding commitments and manifesto promises, writes Vanessa Wilson. But all the parties have missed a key plank to building the skills sector’s true capability In spite of positive promises from all sides, and whoever walks into Number 10 today, universities, colleges and independent…

    15.45 Dec. 12th, 2019 | Opinion