T Levels

Ministers must heed colleges on their move to defund BTECs

T Levels are a rigorous alternative but will not fill the gap left by scrapping BTECs’ tested route from…

JL Dutaut
Sam Parrett
SEND

SEND plan: less big bang and more damp squib for FE

A lack of policies for 16-25 year old students with SEND brings in to question the government’s commitment to…

Shane Chowen
Ruth Perry
skills

The key to bridging the skills gap is staring us in the face

We know colleges are key to bridging skills gaps and the spring budget is an opportunity to put them…

JL Dutaut
Peter Aldous, MP
Colleges

Safeguarding our colleges from cyber threats is a matter of education

Investing in education and awareness for staff and students is a key tool in our fight against cyber attacks,…

JL Dutaut
Sharon Archer
AI

How ChatGPT could reduce and transform teacher workload

James Kieft tests ChatGPT on a range of time-consuming tasks for teachers and assesses its potential to support and…

JL Dutaut
James Kieft
WorldSkills

International benchmarking is vital in raising standards in UK skills

In the absence of PISA rankings the UK skills system needs international benchmarking to drive up standards and keep…

JL Dutaut
Ben Blackledge


14-16

College provision for 14-16 can no longer be overlooked

More must be done to support direct-entry learners in further education settings as the provision offers a critical lifeline…

JL Dutaut
Alan McKenna
Vulnerable learners

Vulnerable adolescents deserve better than a maze of bureaucracy

A new public accounts committee report outlines a costly and decades-long failure to bring services together to support vulnerable…

JL Dutaut
Dame Meg Hillier, MP
Governance

The four Ps that will ensure your external governance review brings value for money

The new mandatory requirement for external governance review represents a substantial investment, writes Melissa Drayson, so it’s important to…

JL Dutaut
Melissa Drayson
Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships diversity still lags and now is the time to act

National Apprenticeships Week and Race Equality Week happen at the same time – a coincidence that should speak volumes…

JL Dutaut
Payal Bhavsar
Opinion

Reply: The case to cut BTECs and applied generals is misinformed  

The ‘muddled’ case for cutting BTECs shows a lack of understanding of what employers, young people and the economy…

Shane Chowen
Bill Watkin
The Staffroom – opinion

The Staffroom: Helping learners develop their writer’s voice

Reducing cognitive load and scaffolding learners’ progress allows them to do more than learn discrete skills, says Kerry Scattergood….

JL Dutaut
Kerry Scattergood