FE News

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (Fast-track)
2026-04-27 10:00 - 2026-05-12 16:00 (Europe/London) | Online
We are pleased to be able to offer an effective response to the need to develop the teaching and training skills of staff working in Post-16 education.
The programme will focus on those aspects of training so essential in ensuring sound learning. Participants will benefit from a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in the education and training sector. They will develop their teaching and training skills through a clear understanding of inclusive teaching and learning, and be able to plan, deliver and evaluate learning which meets the needs of all learners.
Participants attend for 4 workshop days, which include a microteach, and assignment completion. Assessment will be via portfolio, assignment and observation.
Dates of attendance are 27 & 28 April and 11 & 12 May 2026 (all days 10.00 – 4.00).
Maximum delegate number 12
Delegate fee £455 plus £62 registration fee (plus vat)

Designated Safeguarding Lead Training
2026-05-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Online
A provider’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) plays a critical role in its approach to safeguarding its learners, training its staff, providing support and guidance and taking responsibility for referral decisions – as well as dealing with Ofsted! Although legislation focuses on the protection of children and vulnerable adults, providers have a responsibility to protect all learners.
This course will provide information about what the role involves and is designed for staff new to the role and for those wanting to update their knowledge. It includes direct delivery and a range of scenario-based activities to consider.
Key Outcomes Of The Day

Understand the implication of Keeping Children Safe in Education
and revised Ofsted expectations
Know the likely roles of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
Be able to recognise and respond to disclosures sensitively and efficiently
Know how and when to share information with other organisations
Implementing safer recruitment strategies including the use of DBS checks
Know how to deal with allegations that involve staff
Know the key policies, statute and inspection guidance that underpin the Prevent duty
Making referrals under the Prevent Duty

Preparing for an Ofsted Inspection (new framework)
2026-05-12 10:00 - 13:00 | Online
This seminar will have new content which focuses on the revised expectations of Providers arising out of the implementation of Ofsted’s new inspection framework.
New style inspections commenced at the beginning of November, incorporating report cards and a revised grading structure.
The guidance given in the seminar will be inciteful and reflects both inspector training and involvement in inspections.

Preparing for an Ofsted Inspection
2026-05-12 10:00 - 13:00 | Online

Inclusion – Responding Effectively to Ofsted’s Expectations
2026-05-12 10:00 - 13:00 | Online
The recent introduction of Ofsted’s revised inspection framework has firmly shone the spotlight of inspection onto Inclusion. Although Inclusion has always been considered in an inspection, it was embedded within other aspects of provision; recruitment, participation, equality, diversity or achievement.
Inclusion isn’t about any one single initiative – inspectors want to see how well training providers develop an inclusive culture, how leadership support inclusive education and how learner needs are identified and responded to.
This session aims to develop a providers understanding of Ofsted’s expectations around inclusion and to build confidence in applying inclusive practices across curriculum, teaching, support and leadership.
As part of this session, we will consider:
The expectations of Ofsted

What they expect to see
What they have reported so far
What makes an exceptional judgement?

Strategies for structure and support

A culture of inclusion
Practice and policy
Mechanisms for review
Measuring and understanding impact

Identifying and recording learner vulnerabilities

What makes a learner vulnerable?
What does your data tell you?
What are your patterns of attendance?

Level 4 Award in the IQA of Assessment Processes and Practice
2026-05-12 10:00 - 2026-05-19 16:00 | Online
This Level 4 accredited qualification is designed to develop delegates practical quality assurance skills helping them to become effective quality assurance practitioners in a range of Post-16 contexts both in the workplace and in the classroom. This course covers both ‘Internal Quality Assurance’ and has an option for a top-up for ‘Lead Quality Assurance’ roles. We anticipate that delegates will already be working in post-16 education as a teacher/ trainer/assessor or coach. Delegates may have a strong vocational background and some will have moved into teaching/ assessing as a secondary career.

Through participation in this important strand of the Solvendis Teaching Excellence programme you will complete two modules to help you develop and craft your assessment skills. These modules require 2 days of taught sessions and then for delegates to gather evidence from their own professional practice before returning to a 1:1 portfolio review.

Total attendance time is 2 days of delivery and then a separate 1:1 session once all evidence has been gathered and submitted.
All delegates must have access to a suitably qualified mentor who can offer advice, support and guidance during the practical application and portfolio creation.

Course Dates and times are as follows:

12 & 19 May (10.00 – 4.00)

Level 4 Certificate in Leading the IQA of Assessment Processes and Practice
2026-05-12 10:00 - 2026-05-26 16:00 | Online
This Level 4 accredited qualification is designed to develop delegates practical quality assurance skills helping them to become effective quality assurance practitioners in a range of Post-16 contexts both in the workplace and in the classroom. This course covers both ‘Internal Quality Assurance’ and ‘Lead Quality Assurance’ roles.

We anticipate that delegates will already be working in post-16 education as a teacher/ trainer/assessor or coach. Delegates may have a strong vocational background and some will have moved into teaching/ assessing as a secondary career.

Through participation in this important strand of the Solvendis Teaching Excellence programme you will complete three modules to help you develop and craft your assessment skills. These modules require 3 days of taught sessions and then for delegates to gather evidence from their own professional practice before returning to a 1:1 portfolio review.

Delivery is made up of 3 mandatory modules as follows:

Understanding the Principles and Practices of Internally Assuring the Quality of
Assessment
Internally Assure the Quality of Assessment
Plan, allocate and Monitor Work in Own Area of Responsibility

Total attendance time is 3 days of delivery and then a separate 1:1 session once all evidence has been gathered and submitted.
All delegates must have access to a suitably qualified mentor who can offer advice, support and guidance during the practical application and portfolio creation.

Advanced progress review practice
2026-05-15 09:30 - 2026-05-22 12:00 | Online
For experienced trainers, coaches and leaders who want to deliver exceptional progress reviews using current digital tools and engagement strategies.

Are your progress reviews helping apprentices thrive, or are they just ticking boxes?
Join our advanced masterclass, designed specifically for experienced apprenticeship trainers, coaches, mentors and leaders who want to take progress reviews to the next level.

We’ll take you through step-by-step examples of how to:

Set advanced learning objectives and targets
Adapt your reviews for diverse apprentice needs (high-flyers, struggling learners, neurodiverse)
Lead high-impact discussions and track real progress
Use digital tools and AI to enhance documentation and evidence

You will receive an attendance certificate after the session, as evidence of your personal development.

About your session

The session will be facilitated by Chris Cherry an SDN Mesma Group specialist in apprenticeship on-programme training and assessment.
Chris has supported hundreds of apprenticeship organisations to develop their approach to progress reviews and has lots of insights to share.

This advanced masterclass is for experienced apprenticeship trainers, assessors and skills coaches seeking a more effective approach
During the session one you’ll work on ‘Objective setting and foundations’ and in session two ‘Troubleshooting and impact’

Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
2026-06-02 10:00 - 2026-06-09 13:00 | Online
This Level 3 accredited qualification is designed to develop delegates practical assessing skills helping them to become effective assessors in a range of Post-16 contexts both in the workplace and in the classroom.

We anticipate that delegates will already be working in post-16 education as a teacher/ trainer/assessor or coach. Delegates may have a strong vocational background and will have moved into teaching/ assessing as a secondary career.

Through participation in this important strand of the Solvendis Teaching Excellence programme you will complete three modules to help you develop and craft your assessment skills.

Delivery will be led by an experienced member of the Solvendis Teacher Training Team with all workshops being conducted online via Teams or Zoom.

Workshop Dates and Times: 2 & 9 June 2026 (10.00 – 4.00 online).

Delegate fee £455 (plus vat) plus £78 awarding body registration fee – maximum 12 delegates.

Designated Safeguarding Lead Training
2026-06-16 10:00 - 16:00 | Online
A provider’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) plays a critical role in its approach to safeguarding its learners, training its staff, providing support and guidance and taking responsibility for referral decisions – as well as dealing with Ofsted! Although legislation focuses on the protection of children and vulnerable adults, providers have a responsibility to protect all learners.
This course will provide information about what the role involves and is designed for staff new to the role and for those wanting to update their knowledge. It includes direct delivery and a range of scenario-based activities to consider.
Key outcomes of the day:

Understand the implications of Keeping Children Safe in Education and revised Ofsted expectations
Know the likely roles of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
Be able to recognise and respond to disclosures sensitively and efficiently
Know how and when to share information with other organisations
Implementing safer recruitment strategies including the use of DBS checks
Know how to deal with allegations that involve staff
Know the key policies, statute and inspection guidance that underpin the Prevent duty
Making referrals under the Prevent Duty

The programme will be delivered by a member of the Solvendis Quality Improvement and Inspection Team and serving inspector.
All delegates will receive a Solvendis certificate of attendance which documents the training content.

Open Education Conference - OER26
2026-06-22 08:00 - 2026-06-23 17:00 | The Open University, Walton Hall, ,, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
Open education has always been both a practice and a proposition. It is grounded in commitments to access, equity, collaboration, and the sharing of knowledge as a public good. Over decades, these commitments have taken institutional form through open educational resources, open practices, open pedagogy, open research, open access publishing, and global networks of collaboration. Openness has shaped learning systems, expanded participation, and redefined what education can be.

OER26 invites delegates to reimagine and re-theorise openness while recognising the enduring ethos that has sustained the movement from its earliest days.

Hosted by the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University (UK), widely recognised as one of the foundational institutions in the modern open education movement, this event offers a distinctive space for reflection and renewal. Established in 1969 with a radical commitment to widening participation and removing barriers to higher education, The Open University has long embodied the principle that education should be open to people, places, methods, and ideas. Its history reminds us that openness represents and constitutes an ongoing, transformative ethical and social commitment. Bringing the conference to this setting underscores both continuity and change: continuity in the enduring values of openness, and change in the technological, political, and institutional environments in which those values are enacted.

OER26 will foster dialogue across disciplines and regions, welcoming diverse interpretations of what openness means and what it might become. Our call for proposals welcomes contributions that explore how the ethos of openness is sustained, challenged, institutionalised, or transformed in the current moment.

Co-Chairs

Dr Rob Farrow and Dr Beck Pitt, from the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, serve as co‑directors of the Global OER Graduate Network (GO‑GN). Their longstanding commitment to open education research, community building, and global collaboration brings a distinctive perspective to this year’s conference, ensuring a programme that is both inclusive and forward‑looking.

Call for Proposals

Submission Deadline: 13 AprilSubmission link: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/81712/submitterAll proposals will be reviewed by the programme committee, and notifications will be sent following the review period.

Register
