Ian Nash, who recently edited a book about Alan Tuckett’s columns in the Times Education Supplement, sees age-old arguments about the need for a lifelong learning entitlement resurfacing. It says so much about the Coalition Government’s education policies when a …
New book celebrates Alan Tuckett’s writing on lifelong learning Read more »
Mick Fletcher of the Policy Consortium investigates the underlying messages behind one of the more unexpected proposals within the current BIS consultation about extending the scope of FE Loans. In the rush to get away at the end of term, FE people may have …
Mick Fletcher responds to the first funding announcement from the new Skills Minister, Nick Boles. This piece appeared originally in the ‘FE Experts’ section of ‘FE Week’ on 22nd July 2014. It was perhaps inevitable that the decision of the …
As Parliament went into recess, the Policy Consortium’s Ian Nash cheekily rummaged through the wastepaper bins of the Commons Library and other places to find the ‘lost’ speech that Opposition Leader Ed Miliband should have delivered at last week’s Sutton …
Mick Fletcher writes about the necessity of a new strategic vision for policy which places the individual at the centre of genuine choice in learning. This is a slightly-adapted version of an article that first appeared in the Summer 2014 edition …
Mike Cooper writes about the current state of play regarding the Advanced Learner Loans, and some of the key issues underlying the topic. This piece is an adapted version of an article that appeared in ‘FE Week’ on 21si April 2014. When …
Mick Fletcher’s latest blog was originally published in ‘FE Week’ on 20 June 2014. He suggests that the BIS plan for National Colleges once again raises the ugly spectre of class prejudice. The idea that the problems of English FE …
In an article originally published (in a slightly different and shorter form) by ‘FE Week’ on 6 June 2014, Policy Consortium member Mick Fletcher considers the introduction of a mandatory 33% contribution by employers to the funding of Apprenticeships. The new BIS guidance …
Apprenticeship funding: too generous, but off-putting to small firms Read more »
Little or no sound evidence exists to support claims that brain training, and other brain-based programmes that are now used widely in schools and colleges will accelerate learning and improve performance. Even the much-vaunted Brain Gym has precious little peer-reviewed …
Will neuroscience help education sort the truth from the quackery? Read more »
First roll out then roll back? is an interesting piece by RSA’s Chief Executive Matthew Taylor about outsourcing and payment by results (PbR) in the public sector, with what is a fairly chilling conclusion: “Opponents of outsourcing focus on the …
What are the implications for vocational learning if loans take-up crumbles? Read more »