General

Strawberry Recruitment
Leading Further Education recruitment company who specialise in identifying and placing assessors and verifiers with colleges and private training providers:
http://www.strawberryrecruitment

BBC Education
News and views on the education sector
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/default.stm

Department for Education and Skills
Information relating to government policy and strategy for education.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk

Guardian
Keep up to date with all the latest Further Education news and developments http://education.guardian.co.uk/further

Learning and Skills Development Agency
The Learning and Skills Development Agency is a strategic national resource for the development of policy and practice in post 16 education and training.
http://www.lsda.org.uk

OFSTED
Ofsted is a non-ministerial government department focused on improving the standards of achievement and quality of education. They provide information on inspection reports, publications and best practice.
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/

Funding Bodies

Department of Education in Northern Ireland
The Department of Education in Northern Ireland (DENI) is resposnsible for all educational matters in Northern Ireland.
http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-about-the-dept.htm

Learning and Skills Council
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for funding and planning education and training for over 16 year-olds in England.
http://www.lsc.gov.uk

Scottish Funding Council
The Scottish Funding Council distributes more than £1.6bn a year to colleges and universities for training over 16 year olds in Scotland.
http://www.lsc.gov.uk

Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Assembly has overall responsibility for funding and planning education and training for over 16 year-olds in Wales.
http://www.elwa.org.uk/ElwaWeb/portal.aspx

Sector Skills Bodies

Each work sector is represented by a body who analyses which training programmes benefit employers within their set field. They help develop and structure appropriate learning programmes to ensure employees and employers work to acceptable standards. The Sector Skills Alliance is the group of Sector Skills Councils that, together, articulate the voice of 89% of the UK's employers on skills issues. Details of each sector skills body can be found at the link below: http://www.sscalliance.org/

Awarding Bodies

Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
The QCA is the guardian of standardisation in education and training.
http://www.qca.org.uk

AQA
Assessment board, listing an overview, qualifications, administration, teacher support, publications and news.
http://www.aqa.org.uk/

ASET
ASET is an awarding body that specialises in vocational qualifications.
http://www.aset.ac.uk/

Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN)
Approved awarding body offering programmes and qualifications to develop key skills and life skills. Provides details of programmes, qualifications and centre registration.
http://www.asdan.co.uk/

Awarding Body Consortium (ABC)
ABC is a national awarding body providing a range of certificates and qualifications.
http://www.abcawards.co.uk/

City & Guilds
City and Guilds is a national awarding body offering vocational qualifications.
http://www.city-and-guilds.co.uk/

Edexcel
Edexcel is a national awarding body that offers a broad range of qualifications, from NVQs to GCSE and A levels.
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/

EDI
EDI is a national awarding body that offers a broad range of qualifications, from NVQs to GCSE and A levels.
http://www.ediplc.com

Federation of Awarding Bodies
Membership body representing organisations that award vocational qualifications.
http://www.awarding.org/

National Open College Network
Comprehensive accreditation service through a national framework of local Open College Networks. Learn how to gain qualifications. Lists general information and contact details. http://www.nocn.org.uk/

NCFE
Vocational Awarding Body.
http://www.ncfe.org.uk/

OCR
Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is an Awarding Body offering general and vocational qualifications including A Levels, GCSEs, GNVQs, NVQs, CLAIT and word processing. http://www.ocr.org.uk/

Welsh Joint Education Committee
Welsh examination board. Lists contact details, book shop and national language units.
http://www.wjec.co.uk/