Brilliant to be at the @fenews.bsky.social breaking barriers collective, which is really timely following the release of the initial #Millburn report. 1 in 8 young people are not in education, employment or training. Possibly getting higher by 2030.

Brilliant start to the #TrainingandTechnologySummit with Lord Chris Holmes giving what I found was a brilliantly motivational talk.

Absolutely glorious day in #London today.

🔺 NEW: Labour peer quit college role over ‘inappropriate conduct’

I’ve said all along that the sale of #CityandGuilds a 150 year old charity to a money making Greek company was really murky - especially when the CEO gets a £1.7m ‘hello’. I’m glad that this has now been exposed. www.thetimes.com/article/76bb...

@thetimes.com you did a great piece on the chair of City and Guilds lying about having a doctorate - but there feels like so much more to investigate here… CEO getting a £1.7m bonus - selling a charity…?

I still can’t get my head around how it is possible to ‘sell’ a charity… Especially one that has a turnover of £150m a year…

All this further info coming out about #CityandGuilds is awful. Not only the sale of a charity, but then to see CEO get a £1.7m ‘bonus’, extra £100k a year salary; the chair stretch the truth about having a PHD. Whereas C&G colleagues continue to fear the future. www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...

I maintain that the Board have questions to answer around this. The principle of selling an organisation like City and Guilds is just wrong. And then City & Guilds to shrink UK workforce amid £22m cost-cutting drive www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

It feels like they’ve already decided this, how else would they be so confident in the 2027 timescales, which they don’t seem to want to move on…

Perhaps I’ve been in the sector too long, but Dept. of Education saying that changes are a ‘big bang but needed’ thing and they want to work with all AOs feels like a charm offensive and frankly I’ve heard it before… And it feels like decisions have already been made.

Brilliant to see such a large attendance at the #FederationofAwardingBodies conference 2025. Shows how many are passionate about the sector…

⌛ College performance measures for English and maths will be changed so the government can monitor how much time students have in learning before they are entered for resit exams feweek.co.uk/francis-revi...

My daughters school are trying to put in place an award scheme which recognise ‘exemplifying the core values’. I love this idea. I’m less sure of the ‘rewards’ which are ‘a celebratory lunch with teachers’… At that age I wouldn’t have wanted to win anything if that was the prize…

I always really enjoy it when @tottenhamhotspur.com beat Everton. Well done the mighty #Spurs

Really interesting appointment. BIG job ahead to drive #SEG forward. www.skillsandeducationgroup.co.uk/skills-and-e...

#PrimeMinister is looking for a new Private Secretary…

Brilliant summary @feweek.bsky.social summary of the post-16 White Paper far easier to digest than the 71 pages…

Check out our latest Weekly Round-Up! A look back at the main education news and policy stories appearing last week and a peek forward at what's coming up in the next seven days https://buff.ly/jeG7gBI #ednews #edpolicy #ukedchat

On a day when V levels have been grabbing the headlines, it's great to see this article from Dr Sam Rushworth MP on the importance of T Levels, which shares his unique insight as a former FE lecturer and Chair of the T Levels APPG. www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

Excellent post from @geoffchapman.bsky.social around the concerning sale of one of our beloved institutions #CityandGuilds

You can try and spin headlines and the narrative; but this feels very sad to me. The investment will come but the investment will come with the driver to make profit, and quick. As an age old institution - which has been well respected - this is a very sad day.

This is absolutely massive news… I also think quite sad news for the UK awarding sector. Just shows that money talks no matter the sector…

Currently looking for my next C-suite role. In doing so I’m engaging with recruiters. It’s given an insight into best & worst practice from a ‘candidate’ perspective. Ghosting &non-communication is common. I certainly know which agencies I won’t be using when I’m a CEO again for my recruitment needs

Really interesting post by @geoffchapman.bsky.social - and when he refers to ‘Exam Owners’ he means, I think, awarding bodies. I would be VERY surprised if the number of AOs that are aware of their energy usage - or even how to calculate it, gets to double digits…

Delighted to announce that I am stepping into the role of Chairman of the OCN London Board. A really exciting time for the organisation, and I’m excited to work with Carlos the CEO and the team over the coming years. ocnlondon.org.uk/news/ocn-lon...

I’ve had to read this a few times… OMG!!! We really like making things complicated don’t we…

Seriously - does anybody still read this…?

Great article, and absolutely spot on. For as long as I can remember career guidance in schools has been painfully poor. Even my recent own experience with my eldest daughter demonstrated this. Money, effort and thought must go into impartial career advice for young people. #FENews #Careersadvice

Just reflecting on the PMs announcement yesterday about FE/skills/Apprenticeships and the investment which I think is great. But from an awarding body perspective there are still massive challenges getting assessors and staff in place. This jobs board is always filled with roles…

This feels like good news for the sector - but I’m sure we are all waiting for the detail… #FE #Skills

He’s not wrong…

The exam sector is haunted by fears of fulfilling special accommodations, grappling with AI and evolving social norms. Read how this week's TPAC conference revealed the sector's concerns, but gave hope for the future. www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-a... via @LinkedIn

Really interesting session at #TPAC chaired by Tim Burnett looking at #AI in #Assessment. Really interesting.

My learned and very knowledgeable friend @geoffchapman.bsky.social taking part in the #TPAC conference discussing the overcoming the challenges of assessor and examiner recruitment to awarding organisations.

I went to my eldest daughter’s options evening last night (choosing what to do after GCSEs). I decided to ask some of the exhibitors about #TLevels - just to see what they knew about them. Three different sixth form colleges in south east. All 3 said, “I’d do A’Levels”.

Check out our latest Weekly Round-Up! A look back at the main education news and policy stories appearing this week and a peek forward at what's coming up in the next seven days https://buff.ly/yjArYdF #ednews #edpolicy #ukedchat

Another great update from Steve Besley @edcentral.bsky.social

Our new campaign, #ApprenticeshipsWork launched today, based on two new policy reports, "Chaos to Coordination" and "Agents of Change". www.edge.co.uk/policy/repor... Edge Executive Director Oliver Newton introduces Apprenticeships Work here: vimeo.com/1119033931?s...

A day of great webinars today. Another really interesting one with Tim Burnett @testcommunitynet.bsky.social talking with Mark Gray from Universal Robotics about ‘Assessing Future Skills: Robotics & the Changing World of Manufacturing’. Fascinating stuff. Loving www.testcommunity.network site too.

The second of two new reports, published today by Edge, is "Agents of Change" www.edge.co.uk/policy/repor... which explores the role of brokerage services in helping SMEs navigate the apprenticeship system. / Senior Policy Advisor, Sorah Gluck explains... vimeo.com/1118077044

New Reports from Edge Reveal Urgent Need to Reform Apprenticeships System for SMEs and Young People | FE News url:https://www.fenews.co.uk/skills/new-reports-from-edge-reveal-urgent-need-to-reform-apprenticeships-system-for-smes-and-young-people/ Excellent article from @fenews.bsky.social

Really excellent campaign by @edgeuk.bsky.social and two reports launched today around challenges and proposed solutions to engage more SMEs in #Apprenticeships 1) Moving from chaos to coordination and 2) Agents of change. Launched at an excellent webinar this morning. www.edge.co.uk/policy/repor...

I agree with Ed. Not going to happen though…

"I'd like Government contracts with Tesla to be cut and ended." Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey calls for the Government to block Tesla contracts after Elon Musk told protesters to “fight back or die” and that “violence is coming” at a rally this weekend. #Newsnight

I agree with Ed.

In fairness, I agree with Sir Ed Davey. It’s not to do with disrespect to the King but I agree with the principles of not going to massage Trump’s ego.

I really don’t agree that “Apprenticeships have collapsed” and this feels more headline grabbing than substantive. But… Yes they need looking at. Yes the levy needs revision. But they haven’t collapsed. What they need is stability and not to be a political football.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK www.bbc.com/news/article...