
Johnson should not try to abolish the distinction between academic and technical education
His speech contained many sensible initiatives – but ministers should not be led astray by illusory shortcuts.
His speech contained many sensible initiatives – but ministers should not be led astray by illusory shortcuts.
A piecemeal and half-hearted approach to funding skills-based education and training has undermined serious progress in this area for decades.
For me, the most concerning thing wasn’t being behind among the very young, but being behind among everyone under age 47.
Practical skills such as bricklaying, electrical work, carpentry, and plumbing, can be taught alongside GCSEs.
All I am trying to do is give impetus to a national conversation about how our education system should prepare our young people for the future.
We trail a mini-series on what might happen next amidst a sense of uncertainty about will follow the Gove reforms.
Fresh thinking on vocational and technical education is a good start, but fundamental questions about higher education and the state’s role in it remain.
Tailoring teaching to children’s needs and interests works in every type of education. Why restrict the benefits of selection?
It is funded at a lower level than schools, and yet is expected to put right much that has gone wrong. Technical courses need higher esteem.
The Government must act now, or risk a generation of school leavers missing out on the opportunity to acquire technical skills.
“We started this process a couple of years ago, there’s still two years and four months before teaching will begin”, the Education Secretary argues.
What is the objective of higher education if it does not play a major role in addressing our country’s skills deficit?
“That means equality of access to an academic university education, and a much greater focus on the technical alternatives too.”
The Chancellor has not suddenly changed who he is; he has carefully analysed the issues we face and plotted out a course of action to build a Britain fit for the future.
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