CONTINUITY OF SUPPORT AND PAYMENTS TO THE POST-16 SECTOR DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Statement from the Federation of @AwardingBodies (FAB) Board of Directors 

The pandemic represents a significant challenge to the post-16 skills eco-system, operationally and financially. By definition, examinations and assessments come usually at the end of a cycle of teaching and learning, including apprenticeship end-point assessments.

Because of the impact of Covid-19 and strict social distancing measures, the Federation agrees that Government and regulators must take decisive action to ensure there is adequate operational and financial support for the whole skills ecosystem at this time, including support for recovery when the crisis is over.

In the meantime, we call upon all post-16 providers in the system to continue paying their suppliers, including awarding organisations and end-point assessment organisations, within the accepted norms of business practice over the next 3 months, regardless of whether such activities have taken place.

We are encouraged by the work of the devolved administrations in this area, including the combined mayoral authorities, who do seem to understand the importance of supporting the whole FE and skills system at this critical time.

Moreover, now is not the time for one part of the skills and apprenticeship system to try and avoid paying the other, when in fact, we all need to pull together.

Board of Directors

2 April 2020

A message from our Chief Executive, @TomBewick.

Don’t forget to keep up to date via our dedicated page: https://t.co/FtUSpVWkl1#COVID19 #Coronavirus #CoronaCrisis pic.twitter.com/4SYjygNOSH

— Federation of Awarding Bodies (@AwardingBodies) March 20, 2020