Gatsby Benchmark 4 at the Centre  Measurement, comparison, competition, quality assurance – these are all important parts of any system. But when they become the central driver of a system, of the education system, it runs the risk of that classic policy pitfall – hitting the target, missing the point.

At @ukEdge we have been keen to keep the discussion going on how we can drive forward a new agenda for further education in this challenging year. Opening our roundtable on 29 September, Neil Bates, chair of the Edge Foundation stated “the role of FE in supporting individuals and communities to succeed, help businesses attract and train the talent they need and in tackling inequality and promoting social mobility has never been so important as the country seeks to recover”. There is certainly a spotlight on FE at the moment as we see different initiatives develop ahead of the FE white paper.  

The latest report published by the Edge Foundation follows the journey to employment for young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). Three case studies are included in the report; St Martins School, their Sixth Form offering at Horizons, and their internship scheme with DFN Project SEARCH.

This week Robert Halfon MP for Harlow presented his vision for delivering the apprenticeship guarantee at an event organised by the Edge Foundation and chaired by journalist and television presenter, Steph McGovern. Sally Dicketts, CEO, Activate Learning and Andrew Churchill, Executive Chairman at JJ Churchill joined Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation and Alice Barnard, CEO, Edge Foundation on a virtual panel to reflect on the speech and offer their thoughts.

According to Our Plan for FE, a report published by the @ukEdge today, 21st April 2020, Further Education (FE) has a golden opportunity to secure a key role in the country’s future. Against a backdrop of a changing economy, growing skills shortages, Brexit and now the corona crisis, the FE sector urgently needs to define a clear and positive way forward following a period of policy confusion and inconsistency. Now is the time for this to happen.