Exciting prospects and progress

Local authorities sometimes come in for a bit of flak. So it was good to recently meet again with those responsible for education in Barnsley. They are a very refreshing and positive group. I’m so impressed with their vision and particularly inspired by the transformation of their entire secondary school estate (which consists currently of 14 secondary community schools) into nine Advanced Learning Centres. These ALCs will be new, purpose-built schools with extended opening hours and state of the art facilities, accessible to all members of the community up to 48 weeks a year. It’s a very exciting prospect and I am hoping Edge can help by bringing our projects and experience to bear; whether that’s communications, research, employer engagement, learner forums or vocational teacher training. http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/bguk/Education_Skills/Schools

Talking of vocational teacher training I am delighted to be involved in the latest Skills Commission inquiry addressing this topic, which kicked off this week. The Edge-funded inquiry is being chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson. The purpose of the inquiry is to investigate the training practices for prospective and current vocational education teachers across schools, further education and higher education. It has been prompted by the policy divide between teacher training in schools and further education, the introduction of the 14-19 Diplomas and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill currently being debated in Parliament. It will collate existing research, take evidence from a number of experts and produce a report with a series of policy recommendations.

Finally, being interviewed by FE News at the recent ALP Forum for Employment & Skills was a great chance to talk about Edge’s aims, the opportunities provided by the current recession. http://www.fenews.co.uk/content/view/8285/177/

I was also able to mention the forthcoming VQ Day on 24th June, which is our national celebration of vocational qualifications. To find out more visit http://www.vqday.org.uk/