Vocational education is vital for Britain’s business future
Posted on | August 31, 2010 | No Comments
It is disappointing that business studies is becoming less popular, says Dragon Peter Jones, because Britain needs entrepreneurs and inspired employees
Last week’s GCSE results highlighted the perennial debate about attitudes to traditional and more vocational subjects. While it is fantastic that the pass rates improved for the 23rd year in a row, with over two-thirds achieving five A*-Cs, I am disappointed that languages and business studies seem to be increasingly unpopular.
In the absence of more vocational GCSEs, it is a shame that there were 7% fewer entries for business studies this year and that almost three-quarters of students didn’t take French. Yet both teach skills that are vital for UK industry.
For those with an interest in traditional subject such as English and science, the pathway to success is clearly laid out. However, for those with a flair for business and a keen interest in enterprise, it is not so clear, and their experience of education so far has not always been a convincing one.
While it’s true that traditional business GCSEs equip students with a wealth of valuable theoretical business knowledge, the English education system has not looked particularly kindly on business studies, in particular the topic of enterprise. Too often, there has been confusion between entrepreneurship and business studies. Enterprise is not the mechanics of setting up and running a business, but a state of mind, a confidence that you have the knowledge and the right mindset to be successful. A lot of people think you are born with it. I couldn’t disagree more. The skills of how to be more enterprising are real and can be taught.
I believe we are still missing key ingredients that are discouraging young people from following their entrepreneurial dream, particularly in relation to academic versus vocational GSCEs. Not every student has a flair for textbook education, and generally many young people who have a flair for business and enterprise perhaps do not excel through traditional education methods.
But should we assume that these individuals who did not receive good results will not make successful entrepreneurs? We need more options available for students who are passionate about business and enterprise, but perhaps do not have the desire or academic talent to follow the traditional and more accepted route of taking A-level business studies. While there is definitely a place and need for business courses at GCSE and A-level, there is still a gap that needs to be filled.
My career path was not a traditional one. Although I obtained O-levels and A-levels in economics, biology and geography, I decided not to go to university. Two years ago, however, I was challenged to sit the A-level business studies exam and was awarded an A. The fact that I took, and successfully passed, the exam later in my career demonstrates that experience and the qualifications gained from hands-on, vocational learning are equally as beneficial as those offered by academic routes.
My primary point here is not to discard traditional business studies courses – they have their rightful place within the education system. However, as we look towards the future, we have the opportunity to take a serious look at how to unlock the entrepreneurial talent within this country through better business education.
My experience of education is that we tend to put everyone, all the learners, in one room and expect them to learn in the same way and at the same pace, but not everyone learns like that. What we need to unlock entrepreneurial talent in this country is to give young people high-quality, practical experience that fosters their skills – and this should begin early in their education journey, with vocational GCSEs being a prime opportunity.
To date, there have been a series of unsuccessful attempts to get industry involved in running schools, starting with Education Action Zones in 1998. Education providers and businesses must learn to collaborate much more effectively. The UK needs entrepreneurs to stimulate the economy, and businesses need inspired employees to help their companies recover quickly from the recession. In order to achieve this, we must foster greater links between the business and the education world through vocational education.
• Peter Jones appears on Dragons’ Den, is an entrepreneur and is founder of the National Enterprise Academy
skills ranking in the UK
Posted on | August 3, 2010 | No Comments
The uk is is set to fall behind in the international race for skills and economic competitiveness, despite hundreds of millions of pounds invested in recent years.
The annual report of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) on progression towards the Government ambition of “world-class skills” found that although the UK was making progress, competitors were moving faster.
On current trends, based on data from 2007, the UK is heading for rankings of 20th out of 30 for low-level skills, 21st for intermediate skills and 11th for high-level skills by 2020 - below world-class (defined as the top quartile) in every category and lower than the position today.
Chris Humphries, UKCES chief executive, said: “At the moment, our economy is still world-class - quite an achievement for such a small island. But we’re living on past glories.
Will the lack of focus on basic skills and functional skills contribute to the drop in the world rankings?
Functional Skills and Apprentice delayed to March 2011
Posted on | July 19, 2010 | No Comments
A 6 month delay for this.
Link to full story here
http://www.fenews.co.uk/fe-news/skills-minister-john-hayes-alp-2010-speech-in-full
Jonathan Wells Guroo Functional Skills
Cameron says axing school buildings plan ‘unpopular’
Posted on | July 9, 2010 | No Comments
David Cameron has acknowledged axing school building projects is not “easy” nor “popular” as the political row over the government’s plans has continued.
The prime minister said the decision was necessary because of the financial “mess” left by Labour and its failure to be open about where cuts would fall.
Some Tory MPs say they are worried about the impact in their local areas.
A Lib Dem minister said the coalition’s “credibility” may be at risk if alternative funds are not found.
The government has been under growing fire since Education Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement earlier this week that more than 700 projects would not go ahead under the previous government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in England.
‘Difficult decision’
But the Department for Education’s list of 1,500 projects which were either going ahead, being axed or being reviewed contained 25 mistakes and Mr Gove was forced to apologise to schools which had been wrongly informed.
Speaking at a school in Cornwall, Mr Cameron said the decision to discontinue the schemes had been “very difficult” but blamed the previous government for planning 50% cuts in capital expenditure without giving any details of where.
Continue reading the main story
That is not easy and I know it is not popular.
David Cameron
Prime Minister on axing school buildings projects
Nick Robinson: Tip of the iceberg
Send us your comments
Coalition ‘may wipe out Lib Dems’
“We have come in, we have inherited this situation,” he said. “Half of the school projects will go ahead but half of them can’t go ahead.
“We have had to announce what those are. Now that is not easy and I know it is not popular. But it is because Labour government left the country in such a complete mess, with the biggest budget deficit in the G20.”
He stressed “this does not mean we cannot have more money going in for future schools and we can do that but it does mean we had to say very clearly these projects cannot go ahead because there isn’t any money”.
Two Tory MPs - Ian Liddell-Grainger and Gordon Henderson - have expressed concerns about the impact of the plans about schools in their constituencies and said they are considering lobbying ministers over the issue.
‘Real need’
And Lib Dem MP Nick Harvey - who is armed forces minister in the coalition - has written to Mr Gove to urge a speedy review of alternative sources of funding for schools which have lost out.
Continue reading the main story
It is important for the morale of the students, staff, governors and the wider community that the real and obvious need for these buildings to be replaced is acknowledged
Nick Harvey
Lib Dem MP
Gove apology to council leaders
Head teachers want funds restored
“I accept that putting these projects on hold in light of the current deficit, or pending a review of how to achieve best value from such a programme, can be justified but that does not mean that the basic problem of inadequate school buildings disappears,” he wrote.
Mr Harvey said it was important for the morale of pupils, teachers and local communities that the “real and obvious” need for new buildings was acknowledged and “alternative mechanisms put in place at the earliest practical moment”.
He added: “I also think that such a course of action is important to the credibility of the government, as unnecessary delay will only breed an atmosphere of cynicism.”
‘Botched’
Shadow Education Secretary Ed Balls has called on Mr Gove to withdraw the “error-strewn” list of building projects, saying he had spotted a further four errors and that parents could no longer have “confidence” in it.
He also called on MPs to investigate the chain of events which led to its publication.
“This is a botched and thoughtless announcement caused by the government’s desire to rush through deep cuts to frontline services,” he said.
The BBC’s Political Editor Nick Robinson said the row over the school building cuts was the tip of the iceberg in relation to unease about the prospect of future 25% proposed cuts in department budgets.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats in Liverpool has said the party could be “wiped out” within five years due to its association with decisions taken by the coalition government.
Councillor Warren Bradley said cutting the building pro
A couple of useful snippets for funding and accreditation
Posted on | July 6, 2010 | No Comments
I picked these up from a newsletter about Functional Skills
YPLA Funding guidance produced. Paragraph 78 states “Providers are now expected to deliver these Functional Skills qualifications for young people unless there is a robust rationale for not doing so. Qualifications that demonstrate personal progress may be more appropriate for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities who are not ready to access functional skills qualifications and are working towards independent living and their achievements are at the lower end of entry level 1.”
Another 20 Functional Skills qualifications accredited. To help you get access to all 87, we’ve put together a hyperlinked summary here. We hope you find it useful!
Doubt cast on academy schools’ GCSE results claim
Posted on | July 2, 2010 | No Comments
Figures suggest academies’ claim to produce better GCSE results is due to vocational rather than ‘academic’ qualifications
The success of England’s academy schools was questioned today after figures suggested their exam pass rate was due to vocational and “equivalent” qualifications, not GCSEs.
Fewer than half of academy exam passes at GCSE level were made up of “academic” GCSEs, according to data obtained through parliamentary questions.
The new government is planning a rapid expansion of the academies programme, with the education secretary, Michael Gove, inviting every primary, secondary and special school in England to apply for academy status.
The Department for Education cited figures that academy GCSE results were improving at twice the rate of the national average, as proof that the schools were working.
But this figure was in fact based on pupils achieving five GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grade C or above.
Figures obtained through parliamentary questions, published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES), showed that only 49% of academy passes at GCSE level in 2008/09 were due to pupils sitting “academic” GCSEs. In other state secondaries this figure was 73%.
Some 48% of academy passes were due to pupils sitting other courses, like vocational qualifications that were “equivalent” to GCSEs. In other state secondaries this figure was 24%.
Anastasia de Waal, director of education at the Civitas think tank, told the TES: “Academies are replacing academic subjects with so-called equivalents of extremely questionable value.”
De Waal, who was involved in securing the data, told the Press Association that there were concerns that teenagers were being short-changed by academies.
“I’m sure there are academies which offer rigorous curricula,” she said. “There are also ones that aren’t, particularly in deprived areas.
“These kids already have limited opportunities, and they are having their opportunities limited even further.”
“These academies are meant to be providing better life chances, broadening their horizons, in many cases it’s doing the opposite,” she added.
A DfE spokesman said: “Results and inspection reports show that academies are working. Since the new, tougher Ofsted inspection regime was introduced, academies are over three times more likely to be rated outstanding than other state schools, while half as many academies are judged inadequate.
“Based on the national standard upon which all schools are measured, academies’ GCSE results are increasing twice as fast as the national average.”
A separate study suggested that schools in affluent and middle-class areas were more interested in gaining academy status than those in poorer areas.
Analysis revealed that 12% of schools in Kent and 11% of schools in Surrey had expressed an interest, compared to less than 2% in Middlesbrough, less than 2% in Knowsley and 3% in Barnsley.
John Howson, managing director of Education Data Surveys, which conducted the research, said: “The figures show that it is more likely that middle-class Home Counties go for it, rather than inner-city authorities.”
Schools minister Lord Hill previously said: “This is a genuinely permissive policy, there is no pressure for any school to convert by September, and they can do so at any time, when they feel they are ready.”
The way to climb the league tables?
Posted on | June 28, 2010 | No Comments
‘NO APOLOGIES’ FOR HANDS-ON FOCUS AT NATION’S ‘MOST IMPROVED’
Barnfield West Academy was named the country’s most improved academy by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust in March. In 2009, the Luton school achieved a perfect 100 per cent of pupils gaining at least five A*- C GCSEs or equivalent.
At 54 per cent, the proportion that also achieved English and maths GCSEs was impressive for a school where free school meals are more than twice the national average.
New Government figures show that score falls to 29 per cent when only GCSEs are included and that much of the academy’s achievement is with “vocational” and other non-GCSE qualifications.
But Andy Hardy, acting principal, makes no apology for his school, judged “outstanding” by Ofsted, offering what he says is a “truly personalised” curriculum.
All pupils take GCSE maths and English, with the proportion achieving a C or above in English going up from a third to two-thirds compared with its predecessor school.
The OCR national level 2 in ICT, worth up to four GCSEs in the league tables, is also compulsory. Ofsted has said the qualification is of “doubtful value” and teaches pupils what they already know.
But Mr Hardy describes the work and engagement it produces in pupils as “exceptional”.
Ofsted getting after the “satisfactory schools”?
Posted on | June 17, 2010 | No Comments
From The Guardian on 16th June
Inspectors say almost half of schools they visited are not providing their pupils with a good education, statistics reveal today.
Some 47% of the 3,990 schools inspected between September and March 2009-10 were judged to be either inadequate or satisfactory. Ofsted inspectors rated 9% of schools in England as inadequate, compared to just 6% in the academic year 2006-07, the figures show.
The proportion of schools labelled outstanding – the highest rating – fell to 11% from 14% in 2006-07.
Lord Hill, the schools minister, called for urgent reform to reduce the number of schools that are under-performing.
But teachers warned that today’s figures could not be compared with previous years because inspections had become much tougher since a new inspection regime was introduced last autumn. Inspectors are also visiting more schools that are “of concern” than in previous years.
Some 5% of schools were given “notice to improve”, while 4% were placed in the worst category – special measures – which means they risk being closed down.
Hill said there was an “urgent need for real reform”.
“We need to create more excellent schools and drive up standards across the board – and that’s exactly what our academy proposals will help to do,” he said. The government plans to continue to make inspectors concentrate on the weakest schools, leaving the best ones free from any inspection.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the inspection regime placed “huge pressure on schools not judged good or outstanding to teach to a narrow curriculum that won’t necessarily develop the skills, attitudes, confidence, and passion for learning which young people need”.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the Nasuwt union, said it was impossible to draw any meaningful comparisons between the proportion of schools judged good or outstanding today, and the number in previous years.
She said: “Ofsted accepts that disproportionately more of its time is spent inspecting particular categories of schools. The statistics published today are, therefore, heavily biased and do not present a true picture about how well the system as a whole is doing.”
Christine Gilbert, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said inspectors were looking more at whether pupils made good progress than a school’s overall exam results
Quarter of A-level students will scoop A* grade in advanced maths and Latin
Posted on | May 28, 2010 | No Comments
Watchdog predicts new top grade to identify brightest pupils will vary considerably by subject
Almost a quarter of teenagers taking Latin or advanced maths A-levels this summer are expected to achieve the new A* grade designed to identify exceptional students, research published today reveals.
But just 1% of pupils entered for accounting and 2% of those sitting English language, film studies or media studies will be awarded A*s, the qualifications watchdog Ofqual predicts.
Its researchers used last summer’s marks to anticipate how many teenagers will score 90% or more in their final exams this year – the figure they need to be awarded the new grade.
They expect 7% of all grades to be an A* – the equivalent of 61,802 subject entries. In further maths and Latin, 23% and 24% of entries are thought likely to be awarded the top grade. The proportion is even higher with Japanese, Russian and modern Hebrew, because the majority of pupils taking these subjects were brought up speaking them. In Japanese, Russian and modern Hebrew, 45%, 41% and 33% are expected to obtain an A*.
But in performance studies, statistics, technology and design, business studies and ancient history, fewer than 3% of entries will get enough marks to achieve the new grade. The watchdog said this reflected the abilities of students choosing these subjects, not how hard the subjects are.
The researchers found a similar pattern for entries awarded an A grade. Some 77% of entries in classical Greek are expected to achieve an A, while just 13% in media studies and critical thinking are.
The A* is being introduced this summer because markers give one in four A-levels an A, and universities have pressed for a new way of identifying the very brightest pupils. Last year, 26.7% of A-level entries got an A grade, up from 25.9% last year. This year, researchers expect 27% of entries will get As.
Ofqual’s chair, Kathleen Tattersall, said: “The modelling shows that there will be differences between the proportion of candidates who achieve an A* grade in different subjects.
“It does not mean that some subjects are easier or harder than others; rather, it highlights differences in the cohorts taking those subjects.”
Meanwhile, a new unit of an English language GCSE will test pupils on the rhetoric of political spin and the language of the likes of Alan Sugar. The OCR exam board is launching the unit in September.
Sample questions include: “What was David Cameron’s specific point when he said, ‘That to me is the same old politics’?”
FE suffering
Posted on | May 24, 2010 | No Comments
FE students lack skills for work, say firms
News | Published in FE Focus on 21 May, 2010 | By: Alan Thomson
Section:
News
Colleges are less responsive to employers’ needs than private training providers and even universities, according to the third annual education and skills survey from the Confederation of British Industry
The survey report, Ready to grow: business priorities for education and skills, found that 43 per cent of the 694 employers surveyed were satisfied with colleges’ responsiveness to their training requirements, compared with 65 per cent for private providers and 48 per cent for universities.
Seven out of ten employers called for qualifications that match their skills requirements.
Concerns remain over basic skills, with a fifth of employers reporting that they had offered remedial training to those fresh out of school or college. The bigger challenge is finding employees with intermediate and higher level skills.
Three-quarters of companies expect growth in leadership and management posts, while nearly three in five expect difficulties in recruiting employees with science, technology, engineering and maths skills.
Despite the economic situation, 58 per cent of employers plan to keep training spending at current levels, though nearly 70 per cent want to make it more cost-effective.
Employers want a more streamlined skills system and would like the Government to reduce the number of organisations and programmes.
An Association of Colleges (AoC) spokesperson said: “These are challenging results for colleges in terms of responsiveness but our members continue to be constrained by a high level of government bureaucracy.”
The AoC’s pre-election manifesto said that reduced bureaucracy and greater autonomy
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