Principles underpinning a group of vocational and technical qualifications

News story

New milestone report explores ‘CASLO’ qualifications – qualifications that students can only pass by mastering all specified learning outcomes.

Ofqual has published new research about CASLO qualifications, mainly vocational and technical qualifications that require students to master specific skills, understanding and knowledge.

CASLO qualifications are tremendously wide-ranging and flexible. Mainly vocational and technical in nature, they are awarded once assessors confirm that students have reached the required standard – a process that we have described as ‘confirming the acquisition of specified learning outcomes (CASLO)’.

How ‘CASLO’ Qualifications Work identifies the principles that enable awarding organisations to ensure the quality of these qualifications, allowing students to progress confidently in their career or training.

Ofqual has focused its assessment expertise towards identifying the principles that underpin the effective operation of newly named ‘CASLO’ qualifications. These qualifications are documented less comprehensively, researched less thoroughly, and theorised less well, compared to GCSEs and A levels. The research in this report fills that gap.

Ofqual’s research states that CASLO qualifications are wide-ranging in terms of difficulty and they are often flexible in that they allow the students to study under a variety of circumstances. Examples include many BTECs, which are constructed entirely or mainly from ‘CASLO’ units.

Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said:

Ofqual regulates on behalf of students of all ages and apprentices. That includes determining good assessment practice through our research, a vital part of our role as a regulator. This pioneering report, naming, defining and theorising ‘CASLO’ qualifications, marks the beginning of our work to define and drive up quality for students of all ages.

CASLO qualifications are often entirely internally assessed. This means that external quality assurance is potentially a far larger undertaking for the awarding organisations that offer these qualifications and for the colleges and training providers that deliver them.

The report identifies underpinning principles that explain how it is possible for an awarding organisation to remain fully accountable for the awards that it makes, while devolving a substantial amount of responsibility for assessment to colleges and training providers.

Published 23 February 2022



Bankruptcy restrictions for student who took out Bounce Back Loan

Kurt John Barkhuizen, 28, from Scunthorpe, applied for and received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in June 2020. But Kurt Barkhuizen was not running a business at the time and was not eligible for any funding through the scheme, which was providing assistance to companies during the pandemic lockdown.

The Insolvency Service looked into the case when Kurt Barkhuizen petitioned for bankruptcy in April 2021, with debts in excess of £30,000 on top of the Bounce Back Loan.

When questioned, Kurt Barkhuizen said that he had intended to sell his home to clear his debts and start a car dealership business buying and selling second-hand cars using his car mechanic skills. He told investigators that he had been clear to the lender that his business was not yet trading at the point he applied for the loan.

Kurt Barkhuizen said he had not been able to proceed with his business plans due to the start of the pandemic, as lockdown meant car auctions were cancelled, and the sale of his house also fell through.

However he spent nearly £30,000 of the Bounce Back Loan to buy and insure a car, which he then sold for £10,000. Kurt Barkhuizen spent just over £8,000 on services for his would-be business, including premises, a van and tools, and made payments of more than £4,300 to creditors, but used the remainder of the funds on living expenses.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a 9-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking from Kurt John Barkhuizen, which commences on 7 February 2022.

As a result, he is under a number of restrictions, including not being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status, and he cannot act as a company director without the court’s permission.

Fiona Newman, Deputy Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said:

Kurt Barkhuizen took out a Bounce Back Loan but failed to ensure this was used for business purposes as the terms of the loan set out. He also had considerable debts at the time and has failed to return any money to creditors.

We will not hesitate to impose bankruptcy restrictions in these circumstances.

Notes to editors

Kurt John Barkhuizen is of Scunthorpe and his date of birth is January 1994.

Details of Kurt John Barkhuizen’s undertaking is available on the Individual Insolvency Register

Bankruptcy restrictions are wide ranging. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or to an undertaking. Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking.

Information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct

Contact Press Office

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Fiji: Chevening Alumni Programme Fund 2022 to 2023 is now open

World news story

The Chevening Secretariat is looking to bring Chevening alumni together to help create positive change in the world.

We are looking for innovative projects to bring alumni together locally, regionally, or globally, and which will have lasting impact and further raise the profile of this prestigious scheme.

Funding could be used to organise alumni activities or run projects to enhance Chevening engagement, influence, and social impact. The Fund is available to all Chevening alumni.

Themes/ideas

Some ideas for projects include:

  • raising awareness of climate change: carrying out a knowledge and resources-sharing process regarding climate change impact and adaptation/resilience in the country/region. Engaging with local and/or national government and other stakeholders, including (if appropriate) the general public. Exposure of Chevening alumni to the conversations in that country on the topic and involvement in relevant forums, events and training sessions as an outcome of the project

  • gender equality-themed events: promoting women’s empowerment in the country via panel discussions or forum/conference, advocacy campaign and/or roundtables. Engaging with stakeholders, such as local/national government, NGOs and private sector

  • driving positive messaging of LGBTQ issues: sexuality and human rights dialogues with young people via workshops, symposiums or through community service awareness-raising events. Aiming to start or amplify the conversation on the topic and influence attitudes among the public and among decision-makers at a local/national level

  • addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country/region: a conference, roundtable or workshop to generate recommendations on interventions for particular SDGs; for example, on education. Highlighting alumni as experts in the field and building their reputation as a think tank to be tapped into to identify solutions to achieving the SDGs. Promoting the Chevening brand.

  • regional conference: strengthening the links between Chevening communities in the region and finding potential for further collaboration. A conference can take different formats, including panel discussions, roundtables and/or ted-talk formats. Covering themes key for the region and FCDO priorities; for example, education and youth employment, economic future, social enterprise, corruption, security (including cybersecurity and big data), environment and freedom of press. To conclude with actions or calls to action, as appropriate

  • promoting innovative solutions to global or community challenges: public service projects that promote innovative solutions to global or community challenges with demonstrable impact; for example, a project bringing alumni together to develop a renewable energy education campaign and competition for local schools

  • mentoring: alumni providing mentorship to (potentially underprivileged) students from the country or to new cohorts of Chevening alumni. Alumni have the opportunity to ‘give back’ via volunteering as a mentor, receive specific mentoring training and gain skills through experience. The project also builds the capacity of the students / alumni and brings alumni into contact with each other and their local diplomatic mission

Bidding process and guidance

Details of the criteria that all bids will be assessed against, and other guidance, are available on Chevening Connect. For more information or should you wish to make a bid please email the British High Commission Suva PublicDiplomacySuva@fco.gov.uk

If you have an idea for a project please contact us by 12 March. The High Commission will be able to help you prepare your bid to the Chevening Secretariat.

Published 23 February 2022



UK PM Trade Envoy Strengthens Trade and Investment Partnerships with the Philippines

Richard Graham MP, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the ASEAN Economic Community, undertook an official visit to the Philippines last 14-18 February 2022. The purpose of the visit was to promote trade and investment ties between the UK and Philippines, and to explore new areas of mutual collaboration and prosperity as the world recovers from the pandemic.

Throughout the week, Mr Graham called on DOF Secretary Sonny Dominguez, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, DOTR Secretary Arthur Tugade, DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Makati Mayor Abby Binay. Mr Graham also reconnected with senior business leaders, including the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Makati Business Club, for a useful exchange of business and market insights. Along with the promotion of collaborations in sustainable infrastructure and in technology, green finance and UK Export Finance, Mr Graham reiterated the UK’s continuing commitment to increased trade between the UK, the Philippines and the ASEAN region.

Together with DOTR Secretary Tugade, Mr Graham witnessed the launch of education and training partnerships between the Philippine Railways Institute and the UK National Skills Academy for Rail, and between the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and Solent University. The signed MoUs will support the high-level skills requirements in rail and maritime to strengthen the future workforce in the transport industries.

As the Chairperson of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Mr Graham, together with British Ambassador Laure Beaufils, visited Cotabato City in support of our work with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on the peace process under the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Programme.

Mr Graham also met with the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Space Agency to celebrate the success of the Filipino engineers who underwent training on satellite system design at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited in the UK in 2021, and to show appreciation of the continued engagement of the Philippine Government with the UK on space initiatives, and other aspects of technology and innovation.

UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Richard Graham, said:

I remain more convinced than ever that the direction of the Philippines is very positive and that what we can do together, the UK and the Philippines, whether on economic dialogues, liberalizing trade, opening up opportunities for foreign investment, bringing in new technologies, helping the Philippines to be more sustainable in its growth on clean energy, there is so much we can do. I leave with a very strong feeling that our two countries together are just going to grow even closer.

Richard Graham is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gloucester. He began his business career with the Swire Group, as General Manager for Cathay Pacific in the Philippines. He has also worked in the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office and was previously posted in Kenya and China.



Successful first year for UK-Australia Space Bridge

Today (23 February 2022) marks the first anniversary of the Space Bridge between UK and Australia – a partnership focused on facilitating collaboration between the two countries’ space sectors.

A world first, the Space Bridge has unlocked improved access to trade, investment and academic research opportunities, better advice to businesses and innovative bilateral collaborations.

The arrangement enhances cooperation between the UK and Australian space sector to work on space-related activities, from sharing Earth Observation data to collaborating on robotic and artificial intelligence.

Several exciting initiatives have taken place since the signing last year, including the Department for International Trade-led UK Space Export Academy collaboration, which facilitated workshops for UK SMEs on trade policy, export regulations, finance and tax, insight into the Australian space landscape and practical advice on business pitching. The graduation event in September 2021 enabled 23 individual engagements between UK companies and Australian industry, academia and government.

With a global audience of up to 1,000 attendees, the virtual UK and Australia roadshows showcasing key strategies, strengths, and capabilities of the space sector last year were instrumental in facilitating engagement between UK and Australian investors and collaborators across industry and academia.

The first funding call launched under the UK-Australia Space Bridge has also been hugely successful, with five collaborative research projects receiving a total of £250,000 from SmartSat CRC and the Satellite Applications Catapult, with the support of the UK Science and Innovation Network. Digital Content Analysis Technology Ltd, OneWeb and Spire Global UK were among those to benefit from the funding and are currently working on the projects due to be completed by the end of June 2022.

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:

Although separated by many seas, the Space Bridge has connected the UK and Australia in whole new ways. It is unlocking greater innovation, promoting the exchange of knowledge and forging new partnerships to maximise the vast potential of our growing space sectors.

The Space Bridge is a prime example of how we can join forces with our partners to catalyse investment and help meet the UK’s increased ambitions in space. International collaboration is a key pillar of the UK National Space Strategy and we are proud to be working with our Australian colleagues to leverage resources and opportunities from across Government, industry, academia, and private investors – driving forward this exciting initiative.

Sam Adlen, Chief Strategy Officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult said:

As the Space Bridge reaches its first anniversary, it is clear that strong foundations have been laid. It has been great to work with impressive Australian colleagues, and to see the partnerships developing and the potential future impact that will be delivered. The opportunity for space enabled growth is only growing, and the strong ties between the UK and Australia will enable the capacity and utility of the space bridge to grow significantly for the benefit of both countries and citizens globally.

The UK-Australia partnership is a priority for the UK space sector, bolstered further by the UK’s recent £1m commitment for Earth Observation in Agroclimate to help farmers deal with climate change.