Member News
ePolitix.com Members outline their views on the government's response to the Wolf report.
Member Response: Glenys Stacey, chief executive, Ofqual
With today's announcement and the White Paper The Importance of Teaching, it is clear that we are now entering a period of qualifications reform. Vocational qualifications have the capacity to help improve the life chances of millions of people of all ages.
Public confidence in them is therefore vital. We welcome the government's focus on vocational qualifications for young people. And we are pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the Wolf report in a way that complements the government's response.
Member Response: Andrew Hall, chief executive, Assessment and Qualifications Alliance
We support the call for a continuance of Maths & English post-16 for learners who don't achieve GCSE. We need to think carefully about what they need and be more creative by looking at different approaches to teaching this group and the particular skills they need.
Like Alison Wolf, we strongly support the use of Free Standing Maths Qualifications (FSMQs). We know from the experience of delivering our own FSMQs that they are particularly suitable for some students: the real world applications of maths from the business environment, and the use of appropriate forms of assessment, really engages them.
Member Response: Christine Blower, general secretary, National Union of Teachers
It is extremely disappointing that Michael Gove proposes to introduce yet more measures to feed into league tables by assessing the performance of both higher and lower attaining pupils. No amount of tweaking alters the fact that league tables have a distorting effect on pupils' learning.
We need to move away from this unnecessary and ineffective way of measuring a school's progress, not add to it.
Member Response: Chris Keates, general secretary, NASUWT
It comes as no surprise that the coalition government has accepted, in its entirety, this package.
The worrying development is that the Labour opposition has been seduced by these arguments.
It is scandalous that the secretary of state continues to peddle the myth of easy, valueless qualifications being taken in schools to justify these changes. This insults and denigrates the achievements of young people and teachers.
This government inherited a coherent approach to vocational education which ensured that all learners would receive a broad and balanced offer.
Rather than letting this bed in, ministers then invented a problem and came up with a review designed to reach the conclusions the coalition government wanted as the NASUWT warned it would in its submission to the review.
Member Response: Toni Fazaeli, chief executive, Institute for Learning
The government's confirmation that it will legislate for holders of QTLS to teach in schools is a major victory for further education teachers, who have long sought parity with their school sector colleagues, and will improve the career opportunities for those with QTLS status.
As the professional body for teachers and trainers, IfL is pleased to see in the announcements new opportunities for professional teachers and trainers in further education and skills to create innovative ways of helping disadvantaged young people, especially those currently not in education, employment or training (Neet), and to draw on the new £10m innovation fund. Many IfL members teach or train in voluntary and community organisations, and are well placed to develop effective and imaginative programmes for young people.
Article Comments
ASDAN welcomes the Government's response to the Wolf Report, in particular the emphasis on improving literacy and numeracy, and the recognition that high-quality qualifications are the key to supporting progression to further learning and skilled jobs. However, we are concerned about the turbulence and distraction these changes will cause for teachers and learners.
Through our programmes and qualifications, we have always been committed to this principle, stated in the response:
'The most important thing is that the choice of course or qualifications is driven by what is best for the pupil' and we firmly agree that 'young people should be able to undertake courses which provide them with the skills they need to progress into employment.'
What is as important as a qualification is a curriculum that inspires, engages and motivates. ASDAN will continue to serve teachers and learners with a toolkit to develop skills for learning, skills for employment and skills for life.
Marius Frank
13th May 2011 at 7:35 am
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