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‘ofqual’

Students are worried employers will see TAGs as ‘fake grades’, says Ofqual advisers

Students are worried employers will see their teacher assessed GCSEs as “fake grades”, Ofqual has said, as the regulator tries to quell fears about upcoming results days. Child psychology and education experts have been speaking to students preparing to receive grades next month about their concerns. The experts include Kevin Woods,  educational and child psychologist […]

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What you need to know from the government’s response to the level 3 qualification review

The government has published its long-awaited response to the consultation for the level 3 qualifications review. The Department for Education set out plans yesterday to streamline the qualifications offer by funnelling students onto an ‘academic’ or ‘technical’ route. It followed a two-stage review, launched in 2019 to consider future funding for tech levels, technical certificates […]

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Level 3 qualifications review: Reprieve for some BTECs

BTECs will survive the government’s bonfire of level 3 qualifications if they can demonstrate there is a “real need” for them, it has been announced. The Department for Education has today confirmed a new streamlined system for students finishing their GCSEs will be phased in between 2023 and 2025. This will involve stripping public funding […]

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6 key proposals from the DfE’s short consultation on FE exams

The Department for Education and Ofqual have launched a consultation on proposals for vocational and general assessments and exams in 2021/22. The proposals include an end to teacher-assessed grades, measures for streamlining assessments and exams, and mitigations for students sitting GCSE English and maths exams. Education secretary Gavin Williamson said while exams “will always be […]

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ESFA pays apprenticeship firm £6m before terminating contract

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 […]

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Education MPs endorse Saxton as new Ofqual boss

The education select committee has endorsed the appointment of Dr Jo Saxton as chief regulator of Ofqual. Saxton, a former academy trust boss and policy adviser to Gavin Williamson, was quizzed by the committee on Tuesday. The MPs’ report states the five-year role has a salary of up to £135,000. Five people applied for the role, […]

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‘Policy not politics’: New Ofqual boss attempts to play down independence fears

Jo Saxton has said she would “absolutely speak out” as Ofqual boss if she felt any government decisions were going to “undermine the interests” of students after being quizzed over her independence by MPs today. Education secretary Gavin Williamson named Saxton, his policy adviser and a former academy trust boss, as his preferred candidate for […]

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Sluggish start for government’s free IT qualifications

Take-up of the government’s flagship free digital skills qualifications, which will replace all low-level IT courses studied annually by over 100,000 people from next month, flopped in their first year. Announced five years ago and finally launched last August as a free “entitlement” alongside English and math courses, just 270 people had achieved an Essential […]

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Third of apprentice assessors have never awarded a certificate

More than one-third of organisations signed up to deliver apprenticeship assessments are yet to award any certificates, FE Week can reveal. A freedom of information request shows that 125 companies on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s 324-strong end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) register have not recorded any assessments. Smaller EPAOs which spoke to FE Week […]

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