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Tag Archives: Colleges
Reviewing post-16 education in London
Principals and chairs of governors from most of London’s colleges assembled at City Hall last week for a briefing on the post-16 area review process. It’s not often that this group meets and although it happened without any great fanfare … Continue reading
England’s engines of mobility
England’s sixth form and further education colleges are among the most significant engines of social mobility as measured by the number of 16-18 year olds eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) progressing to Higher Education. This contribution needs to be … Continue reading
Scale and efficiency in upper secondary education
In which country has the national audit agency investigated the cost of upper secondary education and found it to be costly and inefficient? The figures have only recently been calculated and it seems that this phase is more expensive than … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged Colleges, Education, efficiency, England, France, lycee, Post-16 funding, Sixth form, Sixth form college
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London’s engines of mobility
If we use the proportion of students eligible for free school meals (FSM) progressing to university as a measure of social mobility, it’s clear that the ‘London effect’ is very marked. London’s FSM progression rate in 2012 was 58% compared to … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged Colleges, Education, England, free school meals, London, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Social mobility, university progression
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The problem with England’s post-16 area reviews
There is a contradiction at the heart of the government’s post-16 area reviews for England and it was clearly exposed the other day by the very civil servants tasked with implementing them. Sixth form college principals and chairs of governors … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged Area-based Reviews, Colleges, Education, efficiency, England, marketisation, Post-16 funding, Sixth form, Sixth form college
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A parent’s guide to sixth form enrolment
Welcome to enrolment. As parents or guardians your role is vital. You can help your daughter or son to understand their options and you know them better than anyone so your insights can be really useful. So how can you … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc, Parents
Tagged Colleges, Education, enrolment, information advice and guidance, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, parents, Sixth form, young people
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Enrolment: where aspiration meets reality
It’s a crazy way to start the year; enrolling all our students over a few days in late August before we can start teaching them. Enrolment is a major cross-college team effort which requires every member of staff to do something different … Continue reading
Imagining a better future is the first step
My article on the post-16 area-based reviews from this week’s Times Education Supplement. Think of all the 16-18 year olds in your area. What do you see? Talented and ambitious young people keen to improve their knowledge and skills? Students … Continue reading
Results Day: best of days, worst of days.
It’s a love / hate thing. On the one hand results day is a wonderful moment of celebration when all the hard work put in by students and staff is publicly celebrated, a moment when young people can reflect on … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Learning resources
Tagged A levels, achievement, Colleges, information advice and guidance, NewVIc, pass rates, results day, Sixth form, value added
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What’s at stake in the new post-16 Area-based Reviews?
Large and cost-effective v. small and inefficient? In Reviewing post-16 Education and Training Institutions published 3 days ago the government suggests that we need ‘fewer, often larger, more resilient and efficient providers’. The implication is that larger colleges are better … Continue reading
No austerity of the imagination
What’s the mood in sixth form and further education 10 weeks after the election? Following the May general election there’s no question that post-16 education wherever it takes place faces greater austerity than any other phase of education. 16-18 year olds are funded … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged austerity, Colleges, competition, Education, elections, imagination, marketisation, National baccalaureate, Post-16 funding, teaching, young people
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Teachers create wealth too!
It’s become a commonplace to say that wealth has to be created before it can be spent and the received wisdom in mainstream political discourse is that the private sector does the wealth creating which then allows the public sector … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged austerity, children, Colleges, crossing patrol, economy, Education, Elizabeth Warren, politics, resilience, Social cohesion, Solidarity, young people
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Speaking up for 16-19 year olds
SFCA Summer Conference 2015 Our Sixth Form College Association conference is always a great opportunity to meet old friends, make new friends, share our fears and frustrations, hopes and joys, find comfort and support from colleagues across the country. We … Continue reading
Snatching hope from the jaws of despair
What we say and do about post-16 education, like everything else, has to be seen in the context of the outcome of the recent general election. Elections are the great democratic moment when the people ‘speak’ and all our individual choices … Continue reading
Education or training?
The Conservative manifesto includes a commitment to ‘continue to replace lower-level, classroom based Further Education courses with high-quality apprenticeships that combine training with experience of work and a wage.’ Given that we now have a Conservative-only government, we need to understand … Continue reading
Eddie Playfair 