York College
‘legit’
Roger Taylor, the former chair of Ofqual, who oversaw the grades fiasco last summer, has spent much of his life thinking about transparency and data. Here he says no algorithm would ever have worked ̶ and why BTECs were not the main focus “An unsolvable problem.” That is how Roger Taylor, former chair of […]
Profiles
A major problem for apprenticeship levy watchers and commentators is that the government not only refuses to share spending data – it is failing to properly explain how the policy works. As a result, this week a national newspaper was persuaded by an organisation with vested interests to report that the policy was “wasteful”, claiming […]
Opinion
The shadow education secretary has refused to reveal if the Labour Party employs even one apprentice. At FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference shadow education secretary Kate Green was quizzed on how many apprentices work for the political party, which often criticises central government for not employing enough of the learners. But while admitting it was […]
News
Thousands of apprentices on a new level 5 management programme have already dropped out of the course, official figures have revealed. The operations or departmental manager standard had a retention rate of just 53.5 per cent last year for 4,250 “leavers”. That means 1,980 apprentices – 47 per cent – who were due to finish […]
Colleges will not be allowed to submit a business case to avoid adult education funding being clawed back, the government has announced. Sector experts had hoped grant-funded providers would be able to put forward reasons why they should cling on to the money if they did not reach the controversial 90 per cent threshold. But […]
The government has finally published its consultation revealing the plan to replace GCSE and A-level exams this year. In some quarters it has done little to quell the fear that we’re heading for another fiasco – but this time, with teachers left to cop the blame. FE Week investigates … Move over mutant algorithm, we […]
GCSE and A-level students sitting exams next year will be given more generous grading, advance notice of some topics and “exam aids” owing to the disruption caused by Covid-19. They will also be offered a “second chance” to sit papers if they miss any through illness or self-isolation and in “extreme cases” where a student […]
The Department for Education broke data protection laws in the way it handles student data, the information watchdog has ruled, following an investigation that revealed widespread failures. The Information Commissioner’s Office has concluded that the DfE failed to meet several articles of the general data protection regulations (GDPR), which govern the management and use of […]
The government will cover fees for failed appeals against exam grades following a huge backlash over A-level results. The Department for Education, in a press release published today, said that state-funded schools and colleges will be able to claim back unsuccessful appeals at the same time as claiming back fees for autumn exams. Successful appeals […]
