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‘ofqual’

The Skills Bill could set the scene for Ofqual’s demise

The government is effectively nationalising technical education through the Institute for Apprenticeships, writes Tom Bewick  Leviathan was a mythical sea monster in the Book of Job. In the modern context, it refers to an enormous superstructure that sucks the life out of innovation, investment and entrepreneurial endeavour. Monopolies – like those in the state or […]

Opinion

FAB warns of ‘conflict of interest’ arising from Skills Bill legislation

Plans to hand the government’s apprenticeships quango new powers over technical qualifications are a “retrograde step” and introduce a conflict of interest, awarding bodies have warned. The Federation of Awarding Bodies has sought legal advice over the Skills Bill ahead of its second reading in the House of Lords tomorrow. A key proposal in the […]

News

Teacher-assessed qualifications to be excluded from achievement rates – again

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 […]

News

How the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is growing in stature

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is “looking forward to playing an even bigger role” following the publication of the Skills Bill. But how will the quango change its operation going forward? Billy Camden explores   Launched in 2017 to spearhead the government’s apprenticeship reforms, the then-known Institute for Apprenticeships has seen its responsibilities […]

News, Apprenticeships

City & Guilds fined £50K over ‘unfit’ qualifications

Education giant City and Guilds is facing a £50,000 penalty from Ofqual after it was found an assignment for multiple level 3 qualifications from 2018 was “unfit for purpose”. A notice of regulatory action against the awarding body was published by the regulator this morning. It states that City & Guilds must also pay all […]

News

Skills Bill: DfE accused of ‘power-grab’ over colleges

The much-heralded Skills Bill contains a Department for Education “power-grab” and will “fail to meet the scale of the challenge that years of neglect” of FE have caused, Labour has said. Writing for FE Week, shadow skills minister Toby Perkins warned that many “smaller” colleges will be looking nervously at the government’s expressed right to […]

News

Speed read: Skills and Post-16 Education Bill published

The first draft of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill has officially been laid before parliament. It outlines the legislation behind the government’s planned reforms for FE, including local skills improvements plans, strengthened intervention powers for the education secretary, and a flexible lifelong loans system. There are also new regulations for independent training providers, FE […]

News

Forced college mergers – and other Skills Bill revelations

New powers are set to be handed to the education secretary to force college mergers, an impact assessment of the Skills Bill has revealed. The document has been published ahead of the actual Skill and Post-16 Education Bill, which has been laid in the House of Lords today. It lists off 12 measures included in […]

News

Six key findings from Ofqual’s survey of teachers on 2020 grading

A third of FE and school staff felt “undue pressure” on their professional judgment when issuing exam grades in 2020, according to an Ofqual survey. The exams regulator has published a report on a survey and interviews conducted with FE and school staff after the grading process in 2020, which it said were used to […]

News