I have worked within post 16 education for over 25 years and whilst there have been many crisis and recessions before I have never seen an impact as that which I am witnessing with Covid. I am currently a school governor as well as working with Apprentices, Traineeships and NEET learners. The lack of face to face intervention is having a huge impact on those who need our support. Remote learning does not always work, it is not always the option they need. For some young people, they quite simply do not have the access, technology or funds. For some, even if they do have the access, it is still not the right approach.  

As organisations grow and structures become more defined, an effective quality management system becomes much more important in establishing a quality culture. Sir Bernard O’Connell, the former principal of Runshaw College, who wrote the book ‘How to Create an Outstanding College’, says that a positive organisation culture is the key ingredient in ensuring Outstanding provision.

Having worked with 25 government bodies to help 1,000 people with a range of health conditions into work, we’ve learnt that the service model is only one ingredient to quality at scale. 

Recap - Not many years ago, UK employability professionals led the world, along with colleagues in countries like Australia, America and Holland.

We are all reeling from the impact of the pandemic, but single parents have been particularly hard hit, says @FrancesParry. If you are running an employment programme you are going to be coming across a lot of single parents as the recession and its impact bites. It is time to think about their unique situation and what good support for them has to look like if we are to avoid a child poverty catastrophe.