76 years of change and challenge in FE colleges - 1945-2021
It took the second world war to make politicians realise just how valuable a healthy further education (FE) sector was to the UK. The 1943 white paper, Educational Reconstruction, preceding the 1944
- 23
- August 2021
- chris.newman
Secret Lecturer: demand-led apprenticeships need a second look
Boris Johnson can’t have it both ways. Either the government has to start honouring its multiple pre-election promises: it can fund our colleges and apprenticeships properly so they can turn out fully trained young people needed to kickstart our stuttering, Brexit-ridden economy.
- 27
- January 2020
- Secret Lecturer
Secret Lecturer: Let’s beat the blues with fun projects but, please, no texting
Secret Lecturer: Let’s beat the blues with fun projects but, please, no texting The winter term draws to a close, the election decided, funding promised. ‘Promised?’… errrr, well, ‘mentioned’ then.
- 16
- December 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret lecturer: Literacy and numeracy levels – we have to improve to survive
When in August chancellor Sajid Javid pledged £400m to fund 16- to 19-year-olds in FE, it was warmly welcomed by the sector. Anything to start the funding ball rolling. But as David Hughes from the
- 04
- November 2019
- Secret lecturer
Secret Lecturer: How to counter mental illness in class?
Secret Lecturer: How to counter mental illness in class?
- 14
- October 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret Lecturer: Standards, Workload and Reputation
This month sees the implementation of Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF), which replaces the Common Inspection Framework (CIF) introduced in 2015 as a blanket set of standards for schools and colleges. The question is will the new framework be good news or make FE teachers’ jobs as hard as its predecessor? At the moment, the jury’s out.
- 23
- September 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret Lecturer: Funding, exams and some silly pass rates
The growing links between funding, courses taken and students’ exam results beggar belief.
- 02
- September 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret Lecturer: Without creative thinking we’ll die on our feet
The latest negotiations between opposition parties to block a ‘no deal’ EU exit highlight what a key role more creative thinking and innovation could play and should be playing in the fiasco still
- 19
- August 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?
Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?That great carrot in the sky left dangling by the chancellor as a campaigning target for FE colleges may not happen this summer. Recent
- 04
- June 2019
- Secret Lecturer
Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?
Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?That great carrot in the sky left dangling by the chancellor as a campaigning target for FE colleges may not happen this summer. Recent
- 04
- June 2019
- Secret Lecturer