From education to employment

City & Guilds £26M Investment Boosts DfE’S Lifetime Skills guarantee | FE Soundbite Edition 730

Danielle and Finley

Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 730, January 27th 2024: City & Guilds £26M Investment Boosts DfE’S Lifetime Skills guarantee.

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal brought to you by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles, from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News.

Our top three leadership pieces this week

Firstly, we have ‘Learning from the Past – Further Education Curriculum Development’ by Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation. In this article, Olly discusses Edge’s latest ‘Learning from the Past’ paper written with Professor Prue Huddleston and Professor Lorna Unwin about the curriculum in FE colleges.

Next, we have ‘The IB ensures students have the right skills to overcome AI challenges’ by Leanne Gibbons, Assistant Principal: Head of Sixth Form, Impington International College. In this article, Leanne discusses how AI is changing the workplace but as educators, we have a responsibility to ensure that students have the skills and competencies required to adapt to a changing world.

Finally, Exploring How Language Serves as a Barrier to Achieving Sustainability Goals, by Raquel Noboa, founder and CEO of Fifty Shades Greener, which explores the urgent need for demystifying sustainability by simplifying language and breaking down standards, goals, and targets in a manner accessible to everyone.

This week, we have also had some other epic exclusives:

What’s New in the World of FE?

On Monday, The Federation of Awarding bodies announced that Co-Chairs, Kirstie Donnelly MBE and Alan Woods OBE will be standing down from the Board of Directors in Spring 2024 and that the Board have elected Charlotte Bosworth as the next Chair of FAB.

‘City & Guilds Training’, the training arm of City & Guilds, has secured further funding from the Department for Education to deliver a new wave of Skills Bootcamps over the next two years across England.   The circa £26m investment in City & Guilds Training has been made as part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs to help fill skills gaps and improve job outcomes for learners.  

This week QA launched a new apprenticeship programme to train the next generation of digital product managers. It joins QA’s programmes in areas including data, cyber, AI and software development which have successfully trained more than 30,000 apprentices.

A new report by London Economics on behalf of the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) has found that sixth-form colleges will require an additional £710 of funding per student in 2025 to keep pace with rising costs and ensure that every young person receives the education and support they need.

FE Voices this week

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this week’s soundbite. Now that you’re all caught up on what’s going on in the FE Sector this week, we hope you have a restful weekend!

Finley Vile, Platform Growth Manager, FE News

Danielle Watters, Digital Project Manager, FE News


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Top 10 independent school’s £150k sports facility completed ahead of summer

A LEADING independent school completed work on a new £150,000 multi-use sports facility. Already generating interest among prospective learners and the local community, thestate-of-the-art pitches at St Gerard’s School in Bangor have been completed ahead of the summer. The site includes a ‘next generation’ artificial grass surface which can be used for five-a-side football, netball, hockey, tennis, basketball and more. An access road, parking, running track and landscaping neighbour the development and there are plans to construct a toilet block and changing rooms in the coming months, in addition to floodlighting. The school – ranked eighth in the country in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide – has invested heavily in its infrastructure over the last 18 months. Headteacher Campbell Harrison says they plan to do even more to attract pupils and support current learners and their families. “This is not just a MUGA (multi-use games area), it is a commitment to our pupils and the community,” he said. “We have a rich academic history but are also renowned for punching above our weight when it comes to sporting activity and achievement, producing many champions and elite young athletes over the years. “Most importantly, we promote health, wellbeing and exercise, combined with fun! That’s one of the main reasons behind this new facility, which I’m sure will prove very popular with learners but also people in north west Wales keen to participate in sports like five-a-side, netball and basketball in the evenings and on weekends.” Business Manager Steve Griffiths added: “The facility is a fantastic addition to the site and further improves our physical education (PE) provision. “We have also introduced a garden and landscaping around the area to complement the ‘wellness walk’ we launched last year, and the overall redevelopment of the seven-acre site.  “We have future plans but as always our key mission is to ensure the pupils receive the best education in a warm, welcoming setting – which they do.” Having achieved a 16% rise in learners in 2024 – and with further growth expected in Years 12 and Year 7 – St Gerard’s is well placed to sustain its position as an industry leader in the face of “huge challenges” facing the private education sector. The school has reinforced its long-term vision by investing not only in the sports and outdoor facilities but in revamping the Sixth Form suite, the library, and visitor car park in addition to roof repairs, a rebrand of the logo and website, and a £150,000 heating system. The school will be holding an open event on Saturday June 7 from 10am-1pm. 

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