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FE & HE Education eNews | November 2023

Department for Education updates governance guidance for FE and sixth-form colleges

On 2 August 2023, the Department of Education (DfE) updated its governance guidance for FE and sixth-form college corporations. First published in June 2022, the purpose of the guidance is to provide support and assistance to governors with regards to their duties and responsibilities by reinforcing key governance requirements, in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework, and associated good practice.

This article explores the purpose of the guidance, identifies the most recent updates and considers opportunities for internal review and reflection, to ensure the maintenance of 'good governance' within FE and sixth-form colleges.

Changes to Holiday Pay & Other Employment Law Issues

The Government has published its response to the consultations "retained EU employment law" and "calculating holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers". Whilst the response covers a number of areas (set out below) the most noteworthy is the proposal to change how holiday pay can be calculated for 'part-year' / irregular hours workers following Harpur Trust v Brazel. This is especially important for those in the education sector who regularly engage term time only workers and have been waiting for clarification on this difficult area for some time.

First Update to the Burgundy Book in 23 years

The Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales, also known as the Burgundy Book, hadn't been updated since August 2000 until June 2023.

The Burgundy Book is a national agreement between five teacher unions and the National Employer's Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST) and establishes contractual employment rights for teachers including provisions on sick leave and pay, maternity leave and pay and notice periods.

What is RAAC and how can it impact the education sector?

The post-war construction boom saw almost 15,000 schools built between the 1940s and 1980s. The recent announcement on 31 August 2023, lead to there being a total of 156 schools affected with safety mitigation measures in place against RAAC. The recent announcement founds that the start of a new term the schools must exclude staff and pupils from buildings which contain RAAC, given the likelihood of a school building collapse - now assessed as "very likely and critical". This has led to an outcry in that that the Government has not acted quick enough despite its knowledge of the risks.

RAAC - What Next?

As you will no doubt be well aware by now, the Government have instigated some emergency school closures due to the potential failure of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in school buildings.

If you have been contacted by the Government that your school is affected, you should be provided with a case manager to assist you through the process but essentially you will be required to bring into effect your business continuity plan. The following is not an exhaustive list, but certainly some things to consider;

Identify alternative location to move teaching to for all or a proportion of your students and staff - do you have sufficient space within existing buildings and/or school grounds to accommodate temporary buildings? If not, are other locally based public buildings available for use and suitable which would accommodate a temporary classroom?

Supreme Court rules on historic holiday pay claims in landmark case

The Supreme Court has finally handed down its judgment in the case of Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew and is a landmark case on the calculation of holiday pay in the UK, clarifying the rights of workers to claim for underpaid holiday pay.

DfE Continues Efforts to Support AI in the Classroom

On 30 October 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) publicised a fresh wave of support for the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education sector, by announcing £2 million worth of investment in Oak National Academy in its development of a lesson planning assistant for school teachers.

Important changes to Immigration and Nationality Fees

As of the 4th of October 2023, there have been significant amendments to Immigration and Nationality fees by way of the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2023. The primary objective behind these changes was to support vital services, with a focus on prioritising funding for public sector pay rises.

These fee modifications are applicable to applications submitted both within the UK and overseas. Whether you are applying for a UK visa, extending your existing stay, or pursuing indefinite leave to remain, it is important to stay informed about these recent changes.

Education Q & A

To help support those within the education sector, our dedicated Education specialists will be hosting a live Q&A session, so you have the opportunity to get some answers.

The event will be run by our education experts specialising in:

Employment & HR
Insurance
Governance, Procurement and Information
Commerical Litergation
Property

Date: 30th November

Time: 9:30am - 10:30am

Location: Zoom

Book Here

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