coronavirus | FE Week

The government’s delay to Covid testing for students with training providers is disgraceful

We can ask why Covid testing is delayed for those on work-based learning routes – but there is no good explanation, writes Jane Hickie I guess we should be used to it by now. Ever since the pandemic began, hundreds of thousands of apprentices and learners with independent training providers (ITPs) have been at the […]

This is how my sixth form college will tackle the mass testing challenge

Staff will be mass testing dozens of students an hour in order to get them safely back into learning, writes Gerard Garvey Colleagues at Newcastle Sixth Form College were relieved to have clarity over the reopening of colleges and an end to fully remote learning this week. Whilst staff at our college have astounded me […]

Government Kickstart minimum vacancy rule to be scrapped, hitting hundreds of ‘gateway’ providers

The chancellor is to scrap the minimum 30 vacancy requirement for the government’s Kickstart scheme, scuppering the plans of organisations that had become so-called “gateways” to help smaller employers access the programme. FE Week understands that some organisations have been told by ministers that the vacancy limit will be scrapped, meaning any business will be […]

New DfE guidance: Rota system planned for local lockdowns

FE providers may be asked to switch to a rota system for attendance if they are in an area with a local lockdown. The Department for Education has published new last-minute operational guidance for sixth form colleges, FE colleges, independent training providers, adult community learning providers and special post-16 institutions ahead of the autumn term. […]

Minister hints at potential further delay to vocational results

Exam boards are set to work “through the weekend and into next week” to process vocational qualification results, a minister has said, suggesting not all will be issued by tomorrow’s deadline. In a message to providers sent out tonight, skills minister Gillian Keegan acknowledged there was a chance some students would not receive their results […]

Coronavirus: Colleges to receive just 10 home testing kits each

Colleges will receive just 10 coronavirus home testing kits each, and should only use them in “exceptional circumstances”, the government has said. Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, announced in July that educational settings would receive a “small number” of kits to send home with learners or staff who develop coronavirus symptoms, but would otherwise struggle […]

DfE top boss Jonathan Slater to leave

The Department for Education’s permanent secretary Jonathan Slater is to be replaced, the government has announced. The Financial Times reported earlier today that Slater, the top civil servant at the department will leave the post amid the fallout over exams and rules over masks in schools. Now the DfE and Cabinet Office have confirmed he […]

DfE confirms U-turn over masks in colleges

Learners and staff at colleges in high-transmission areas will be required to wear face coverings following a U-turn by the government. The Department for Education has tonight confirmed that it will revise its guidance on the use of face coverings in schools to state that in areas of national government intervention, face coverings “should be worn […]

Sally Collier to be replaced by Dame Glenys Stacey as Ofqual chief regulator

The chief regulator of Ofqual Sally Collier is to leave following the exams fiasco that has engulfed England in recent weeks and be replaced by her predecessor, FE Week has learned. Dame Glenys Stacey, who served in the role from 2011 to 2016, will take up the role again in an acting capacity until December, […]