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Stonewall is a charity which works to achieve equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexual people. In this episode of the TES FE Podcast, Sarah Simons talks to Hannah Kibridge of Stonewall about how to combat homophobic language and celebrate diversity in colleges. 

Join Richard Vaughan as he discusses Ofqual's recent decision to consult on removing practical assessments from overall GCSE grades. He travelled to the Association of Science Education's annual conference to get the views of Dr Hilary Leevers of the Wellcome Trust and ASE president and Reading University vice chancellor Sir David Bell. He also caught up with physics teacher and author Alom Shaha to hear his thoughts on the matter, and he heard from Janet Holloway, association director standards for design,development and evaluation of general qualifications at Ofqual to get the reason behind the decision. 

In this Christmas episode of the TES FE Podcast Sarah Simons chats with Reverend Kate Bottley. As well as being an Anglican priest, mum, wife and star of Channel 4’s Gogglebox, Reverend Kate is the chaplain of an FE college. Here she discusses support for students, vulnerability giving out gorillas.

In this Ofsted special of the TES FE Podcast, our very own Sarah Simons is in conversation with Lorna Fitzjohn, Ofsted’s Director of FE Skills, asking questions sent in by education professionals from all around the UK.

In this episode, Sarah Simons learns about the FE and skills system in Brazil from the Association of Colleges' International Manager, Ayesha Williams. Sarah also talks to two FE leaders who have embarked on an international shadowing project, Peter Mayhew-Smith, Principal of Kingston and Carshalton College and his counterpart, Patterson Patricio de Souza, a Professor and Director from a large college in the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. 

In this episode of The TES FE Podcast our very own Sarah Simons is joined by Tony Payne of Canterbury College, just as he came off stage at the AoC Conference after collecting the College’s Beacon Award. Sarah’s second guest is President of the National Union of Students, Toni Pearce who discusses the value of learner voice in helping colleges become relevant and responsive to local communities.

This episode of the TES FE Podcast was recorded at the Association of Colleges’ Conference, where Sarah Simons spoke to Richard Atkins, President of the AoC and Principal of Exeter College about the organisation’s manifesto, plus new ideas for careers hubs and transport.

In this episode of the TES FE Podcast, Sarah Simons chats with teacher, consultant and prolific education author Phil Beadle about the routines, structures and strategies involved in writing a book. Phil has advice on everything from writing with the assistance of Shiraz to creating a market for your work. 

Join Richard Vaughan as he dissects the policies of education secretary Michael Gove and his opposite number Tristram Hunt, who both set out their stalls at a Policy Exchange event this week, giving the education world an insight of what to expect in the run up to the general election next year. Listen to teacher and blogger Tom Bennett give his own, unique take on their speeches, and hear from the fantastic two teachers from Huntington School in York who have recorded and released their own England World Cup anthem under the name Disco Mister. 

Join Richard Vaughan as he tackles one of the most controversial issues in England's school system - the role of the faith school. Richard hears from the Church of England and the National Secular Society on the issue of admissions. He talks to the head of one the country's leading Jewish school Hasmonean High in north London. He discusses the future of faith school with the British Humanist Association and, finally, he discusses the prevalence of religion in Muslim schools with Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari.      

With less than a year until the next general election, Sarah Simons spends a day in the House of Commons to learn about the great work that’s happening to encourage more young people to make a positive change in their own communities, and how this social action leads to engagement with the traditional political landscape.Sarah discusses the power of the community with David Blunkett MP, looks at the promotion of politics in schools and colleges with Michael Sani of Bite the Ballot and learns about the National Citizen Service(NCS) from its CEO Michael Lynas, from Ralph Tonge, a local NCS group manager and from a graduate of the project Hannah Bradbury.

In this episode of the TES FE Podcast, Sarah Simons learns how people in different areas of the sector are promoting the great work taking place in the world of FE and skills. Jan Hodges, CEO of Edge Foundation shares why she's very optimistic about the future of the sector, FE lecturer Tom Starkey explains how ground level gatherings have potential to become a valuable educational movement and Toni Fazaeli, recently retired CEO of The Institute for Learning talks of the challenges and achievements during her time in the role.

In this episode, Sarah explores some of the most successful learning models for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities, as well as finding out about the roles of collaboration, working across departments, building relationships with the community and with employers in order to offer the most useful education for vulnerable young people. Jarlath O'Brien, headteacher of Carwarden House Community School in Surrey, explains the transitional process into his school and to the destinations beyond, Rob Bates, of City College Norwich, describes how the college's Mint programme supports learners with barriers to paid employment into work and Janine Cherrington at Transition 2 in Derby, a college collaboratively developed as a way to meet the continuing educational needs of local learning disabled young people, tells how the community plays a pivotal role in learners' journey to independence.

Join Richard Vaughan as he attempts to unpick the changes to both GCSEs and A levels brought in this month by the government. He hears from resident TES expert William Stewart, who gives an overview of the exam reforms. He catches up with John Blake, a history teacher at a London comprehensive, to get a teacher's perspective on the changes. And, finally, he hears from Geoff Barton, head of the King Edward VI school in Suffolk, to get his thoughts on the matter.  

This episode explores the most taught area of FE: Visual arts, performing arts and media. Sarah Simons talks to three former college students who have gone on to work in this area.Shane Meadows is a multi-award winning director and screenwriter best known for This Is England, Dead Man’s Shoes and Twenty Four Seven. In today's podcast he talks about how his time as an FE student changed his life. John Kay is creative director of Linney Design, part of Linney Group, one of the largest design businesses in the UK and a major employer. John explains what he looks for in potential candidates and how FE and employers can work together to offer the students the best learning experience. Sarah's final guest is Scott Hayden, a lecturer in Creative Media Production and a specialist practitioner in social media and educational technology. He teaches at Basingstoke College of Technology and is well known for the innovative methods he uses to engage his students to offer a thoroughly authentic further education.