Skills White Paper (2006)
'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances'
The Government White Paper, 'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances', sets out a comprehensive programme to transform the FE system and was the formal response to Sir Andrew Foster's review ('Realising the potential, a review of the future role of further education colleges'). The White Paper:
- emphasises standards and quality – raising the bar on inadequate provision, more robust intervention, one-year turn-around for weak providers and self-improvement; the aim is to reward high performers with growth and a lighter-touch inspection, to spread success and eliminate failure
- supports Sir Andrew Foster's call to establish a core purpose for FE and a clear economic mission for the whole post-compulsory education and training system; the emphasis is on 'skills and employability'
- encourages a clearer focus and specialisation, and introduces a more challenging Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) standard.
- promotes 6th form colleges as a distinct brand
- encourages innovation and new structural models – federations, collaborative partnerships and trusts
- introduces a new Framework for Excellence – a comprehensive performance assessment framework for the FE system; seven key performance indicators that relate to the three dimensions of responsiveness, effectiveness and finance, enabling the measurement and benchmarking of learning and skills provision across FE; results will be published as a league table
- requires local education authorities (LEAs) to lead on 14 – 19 provision; Learning and Skills Council (LSC) capital funding to be directed to FE provision for 14 – 19s in parallel with school funding; LSCs to work closely with local authorities on 14 – 19s, employers and economic regeneration
- promises simplified funding and planning, clarity of roles, less bureaucracy, improved communications
- requires the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to focus on strategic leadership and policy formulation
- requires the LSC, through Agenda for Change, to be responsible for planning and funding, and for its internal reform; LSC to strengthen regional capacity, work more broadly with local authorities and other partners, and strategically with colleges and other providers – with less involvement in administration
- requires reformed inspection through the merging of the two inspectorates – the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI)
- promises new 19 – 25 level 3 entitlement
- expects that, by 2008, there will be 'a new dynamism within the system'.
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