Welcome to FE Soundbite edition 644. This is our weekly newsletter and e-journal from FE News giving you a round up of the content from the week.

It has been another busy week for content on FE News.

Level 3 qualifications and T Levels

Top of the list for me was the Level 3 qualification announcement… it’s been rumbling on for ages now, but this week DfE announced that there are 160 Level 3 qualifications on a provisional chop list… to make way for T Levels. What does this mean? As always, it is best to ask the experts… we have a cracking article by my mate Tom Bewick exploring this in more detail.

Also, if you are interested, Finley put together a really helpful article listing out the 160 Level 3 qualifications being lined up for the chop .We also have a whole range of comments from people who know what the implications are of this announcement inside out, with comments from AELP, AoC, FAB, Pearson, NCFE and City & Guilds… so pretty much everyone who knows what the implications of this list means.

Personally, I found this helpful when I took off my work hat and went into parent mode and was like… arghh… my eldest daughter is about to do her GCSE’s on Monday.. and then I wonder if her Level 3 at college is due for the chop?!

Here is the DfE response on T Levels : T Level roll out takes next steps

With all of this in mind, Alex Warner wrote a really interesting article when we are thinking about T Levels and progression routes with: University admissions processes are a legalised form of discrimination

State Opening of Parliament

We also had the State Opening of Parliament. Mark Dawe wrote a really helpful piece. On What to expect from the Education Reforms. The State Opening of Parliament is usually referred to as the Queen’s Speech, but this time it was Prince Charles who said the 10-15 min speech. We put together a sector response to what was covered… and what wasn’t (eg the Employment Bill). A Major highlight for me and what made me really laugh.. was the gold Queen’s regalia with the big golden crown… hanging out of the window of the car on the way to the ceremony.. that was ultimate bling!

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week was Mental Health Awareness Week. So we have had loads of cool articles on this. Here is a tag page to all of the #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek content. There are loads of cool articles on the Mental Health Awareness link – grab a cuppa and check it out.

Stand out articles from the week on Mental Health Awareness was this great article for the sector from AELP’s Jane Hickie: Mental Health Awareness Week: The FE sector has shown enormous resilience – but we must look after our staff and learners too

Here is an interesting one from Kev: #CallItOut: why education is key to tackling the online abuse of female gamers ... The #CallItOut campaign is an epic initiative by our mates over at NCFE... they are living this sort of thing every day and not just for a specialist week, so in my book that is a full on fair play to them for that!

Elizabeth Taylor from ERSA wrote a great piece: Just the Job: What next for self-employment advice? .. and has been really well received on social media.

Full spectrum from the FE, Skills and Employability eco-system

So this week we have had exclusive articles from Elizabeth Taylor at ERSA, Jane Hickie at AELP and Tom Bewick at the Federation of Awarding Bodies… which is awesome! Thank you and I hope you enjoy! It is moments like this, that are great to reflect when we started up FE News nearly 19 years ago... transitioning from a spare bedroom to our first office in Container City opposite the O2... and I remember thinking how awesome it would be to have a chance to work with the different stakeholders supporting and helping the sector. So thank you! That skinny dark haired Gavin would have had his mind blown by what amazing content we have for you this week (who now has mainly sparkly hair and is now twice the size of the skinny Gavin in 2003)!

A helpful article for all you leaders:

A stand out article that I think will benefit any of our leaders will be this great article by Fiona Chalk: How do you Develop Strategic Boards?

Did you check out SkillsWorld LIVE this week? This week’s episode is titled: Are Apprenticeships in England Working?

Out and about...

Are you going to EPA2022 in Warwick on Thursday? If so, say hi and I will see you there. We are also streaming SkillsWorld LIVE and the EPA2022 awards live and direct from the event on Thursday... so I will either see you in person or you can join us virtually on FE News.