Westminster Watch - Westminster Watch

The latest on policy and politics affecting vocational education and innovation.

14 October

Secretary of State for Children, Families & Schools, Ed Balls, has launched a new implementation plan for the National Diplomas, "Delivering 14-19 Reform: Next Steps" central aim is to give young people a say in local consortia responsible for Diplomas, and has been announced alongside other news, including:

• the Russell and 1994 groups of universities now say they will consider applications from students with Diplomas
• expansion of the network of Diploma Employer Champions to more than 80, including Land Rover, Vodafone and Toshiba
• plans for independent Wellington College to offer the new Diploma in Engineering as early as September 2009
• criteria for funding of exemplar projects for high quality Diploma facilities
• a JCB Academy near their Staffordshire HQ which will cater just for 14-19 Diploma students

10 October

The Government re-shuffle has seen a dedicated Minister for Further Education appointed in the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills. Siôn Simon MP takes up a new brief covering all aspects of FE and adult skills.

7 October

Two new National Skills Academies (NSAs) for Power, and for Information Technology have been approved to proceed to the business planning stage.

The total number of NSAs operational or envisaged is now 16 and will support 880,000 people over the next five years. The latest set also cover academies for enterprise and for social care.

1 October

The new Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) has formally taken over the roles of the Quality Improvement Agency and Centre for Excellence in Leadership.

LSIS will continue the current work of its successor organisations while consulting with stakeholders about its priorities and remit.

24 September

Before moving to the Foreign Office in October's re-shuffle, Skills Minister Bill Rammell published guidance for Further Education colleges on consulting with students and employers, as part of the government's wider drive to personalise public services.

The guidance should help FEIs fulfil the need to "have regard to" such consultation, as set out in the Further Education & Training Act 2007.

The guidance is available in full here.

17 September

The Select Committee for Innovation, Universities & Skills has launched an e-forum for engineering employers to offer views on the state of education in the UK. Views posted on-line will inform the recommendations the Committee makes to the Government in its final report of its inquiry into engineering, announced in January.

The forum is at http://forums.parliament.uk/uk-engineering/index.php?index,1

8 August

DIUS has published a new framework for Further Education colleges to play a deeper role in their communities, and especially to support them in:

• Developing innovative and collaborative learning routes
• Listening and responding to the needs of employers
• Reaching out to those that are least likely to engage in learning
• Offering a wide range of learning opportunities and resources to their local communities

The hope is that "Models for Success" will provide the framework within which the sector will work to develop or enhance business and partnership models to respond to these challenges.

The hope is that "Models for Success" will provide the framework within which the sector will work to develop or enhance business and partnership models to respond to these challenges