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‘functional skills’
The departing skills minister did well to lead in a pandemic but was too college-focused, writes Jane Hickie There is no doubt that Gillian Keegan brought prominence to the FE agenda as minister for apprenticeships and skills. Indeed, she was the first former apprentice to hold the office. Leading on the FE white paper and […]
Opinion, Cabinet reshuffle, Politics
Providers are warning they face “massive” legal and reputational risk because the Education and Skills Funding Agency continues to make students choose a sex rather than their gender to enrol on courses. Currently, the individualised learner record, which providers have to fill in with a student’s information to access funding, mandates learners choose either male […]
News
Half of the 88 training providers to win funding in the government’s national adult education budget (AEB) tender did not hold a procured AEB contract last year, FE Week analysis has found. Outcomes for the delayed procurement were communicated to providers last month and the list of winners has now been released. A total of […]
Welcome to FE Week‘s liveblog of A-level and level 3 results day 2021! UPDATE: The live blog is now closed. Sorry if your pictures didn’t make it in – we’ve been inundated with stories and there simply hasn’t been time to add them all. We really appreciate you sending them so thank you. Congratulations to all […]
Ofqual has confirmed teacher-assessed grades are to end and exams will return next year for vocational and technical qualifications. But awarding bodies will be allowed to adapt assessments in 2021/22 for qualifications like functional skills and T Levels, in light of how Covid-19 has affected students’ learning, the regulator has said. What adaptations could be […]
Remote delivery of apprenticeship assessment will become a permanent option that providers can use beyond Covid-19, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has announced. The institute said today that the apprenticeship flexibilities and temporary discretions introduced to support the sector through the pandemic will run until the end of 2021, but a number will […]
Owners of a new apprenticeship provider that quickly raked in £6 million have had their contract terminated after hundreds of apprentices were found to be unemployed. Personal Track Safety Ltd, which trades as PTS Training Academy, began recruiting in May 2018 and within two years had started more than 2,500 apprentices in sectors such as […]
The Centres for Excellence in Maths are headed into their fourth year. With just two years of funding left, FE Week looks at how it all adds up “I’ve been in the sector 20 years, and this is the first big initiative on maths I’ve seen with FE in the title,” says Zia Rahman, head of maths […]
Feature, News
Provider-level qualification achievement rates (QARs) will include only some courses in 2020/21, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has announced. Only those that are subject to normal assessment will be included, but qualifications that receive teacher-assessed grades will be left out. The QARs will then be shared with individual providers as well as Ofsted for […]