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14 April 2026

Tag: Dr Sue Pember

Do new college principals really need sector experience?

Dr Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations at Holex, answers your questions on college governance, backed by her experience as principal of Canterbury College and in senior civil service posts in education and skills Question One: Do new principals need sector experience? We are just starting work to replace our retiring principal, and […]

Will college governors have to justify high executive salaries?

Dr Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations at Holex, answers your questions on college governance, backed by her experience as principal of Canterbury College and in senior civil service posts in education and skills Question One: Executive pay Academy governors and trustees have received a letter from the DfE asking them to justify […]

How can college governors impact government policy?

Dr Sue, director of policy and external relations at Holex, answers your questions on college governance, backed by her experience as principal of Canterbury College and in senior civil service posts in education and skills. Question One: Devolution What can governors do to reassure staff about their jobs as we move to funding devolution? Answer: Although […]

Large drop in number of standards lacking end-point assessors

The proportion of learners on apprenticeship standards without an approved assessment organisation is dropping rapidly, according to new figures. Statistics published in October showed 42 per cent of all starts (1,790 out of 4,240) until July had no assessment organisation to choose from – a situation that former top skills civil servant Dr Sue Pember […]

No approved assessment organisation for over half of new apprenticeships

Almost 60 per cent of apprenticeship standards cleared so far by the government for learner starts don’t have an approved assessment organisation, a Skills Funding Agency update has today revealed. The online document showed there are only 63 standards with an approved AO to do the end point assessment. That’s out of 147 standards that […]