Open Awards

A summer of awarding, celebrations and events! 🎉

The summer awarding season is coming to a close, and we’ve been busy.

Over the summer, we’ve:
🎉 Completed over 26 Final Awards Boards (FABS) over 13 days
🎉 Celebrated our learners at award ceremonies
🎉 Awarded over 1900 Access to HE learners
🎉 Visited providers across the country

Thank you to everyone in our team and congratulations to all our learners!

Case Study: PASS Learn’s Journey into Access to HE

We're pleased to spotlight PASS Learn, an established Open Awards provider that has recently expanded its offer to become an approved Access to HE provider.

In this case study, Oliver Naylor, Director at PASS Learn, shares why Access to HE was a natural next step for the organisation, how the approval process was supported through a collaborative partnership with Open Awards, and the learner-focused approach that underpins their delivery model.

Read the carousel to discover how PASS Learn is creating flexible pathways into higher education for adult learners and helping to remove barriers to progression.

Interested to find out more about becoming an approved Access to HE provider with Open Awards? Contact us to begin your journey: https://openawards.org.uk/get-in-touch/

Education is constantly changing. What can we do to prepare?

Reflecting on this year’s Festival of Education, Nina Hinton shares her thoughts on how educators can best navigate our current challenges, including:
📌 AI
📌 Curriculum and Assessment Review
📌 Proposed SEND reforms
📌 Post-16 qualification reform
📌 Growing number of young people who are NEET

For more advice, read the full blog on our website: https://openawards.org.uk/festival-of-education-2026-navigating-change-in-education-and-assessment/

How can Functional Skills support learner progression?

This week is , and today's theme highlights the power of building skills and embracing lifelong learning.

There's no better example than Functional Skills. These qualifications help learners develop the confidence, knowledge and qualifications they need to progress into further education, training and employment.

That's why we're shining a spotlight on Mercia Learning's Project GROW and what they've achieved through Functional Skills qualifications.

We spoke to Sarah Murray, who shared how partnering with us to deliver Functional Skills qualifications has:

✅ Boosted learner confidence
✅ Engaged learners with low participation
✅ Reduced their risk of becoming NEET

Interested in delivering Functional Skills? Discover everything you need to know on our website: https://openawards.org.uk/functional-skills/