In this week’s TES Further, Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, writes that “the very essence of education is under attack” (article free for subscribers). She says that with education being belittled by some politicians and its power to change lives being downplayed, those of us who believe in the transformative qualities of education need to start fighting back. But this extends to the government’s focus on apprenticeships, too. “Nobody opposes the focus on apprenticeships,” she writes. “But with 1 million adult learners lost since 2009 we must remind government that the sector is about more than that.”

TES roundtable

Julia Belgutay writes about the recent TES roundtable event at which the best minds in business joined to talk, primarily, about the government’s GSCE resit policy (article free for subscribers). The expert panel concluded that the government is right to ensure that all students pursue English and maths - but the current policy is not working and requires urgent change. The panel - which included representatives from unions, Ofsted, colleges and representative bodies - agreed that teachers should be given the professional autonomy to decide whether GCSE is the most appropriate programme for individual learners-and that students should be allowed the take other qualifications.

Exclusive

Apprentices are being treated like “second-class citizens”, with those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds being denied thousands of pounds of financial support available for college and university students, Julia Belgutay writes. Research by the BUS and TES reveals that while some apprentices earn as little as £3.40 an hour, they are also excluded from a number of means of support available to counterparts in FE institutions.

FE editor Stephen Exley writes that the sizeable discrepancy between the support available for apprentices and their counterparts attending colleges of universities is as shocking as it is complex (article free for subscribers). “Given that the government is desperate to hit its target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020, the fact that there are so many financial disincentives for new apprentices - not least the most disadvantaged - must be a huge concern for ministers,” he writes.

Why apps are the future

Garry Britton, a lecturer in study support and a digital learning champion at Bracknell and Wokingham College, says that apps are the smart new way to get students organised (article free for subscribers). He writes that “technology gives us a new line of attack”, and many of the apps and websites has revolutionised the ways students can organise, learns and revise. The challenge is, he says, finding technologies that your students will really adopt and use every day.

Usain Bolt of FE

Andy Forbes, principal of the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London writes that we need a Usain Bolt of FE - a champion of academic achievement (article free for subscribers). FE is so critically important for the success of BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities, and they need to “have the barriers faced by BAME students high on their agendas” and work with students to expire alternative pathways to success. To do this, they need to have a workforce that reflects ethnic diversity. “FE urgently needs to up his game,” he concludes.

FErret

FErret writes that following the total overhaul of the machinery of government in the aftermath of the EU referendum, action now seems to have slowed to a near glacial place (article free for subscribers). FErret says that he can appreciate that FE officials have got a lot to contend with at the moment - such as the small issues of the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, the planning for the implementation of the new technical routes of education, and the creation of the institute for apprenticeships. But the mergers of the Education Funding Agency and the Skills Funding Agency - initially expected to be waved through before Christmas - is still not happening. FErret’s whiskers are twitching in anticipation that the announcement won’t take too much longer.

All this and much, much more in this week’s TES Further.

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