FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Mark and Sam develop time-saving doctors’ app

Two Barking and Dagenham College students used their IT skills learned in the classroom to help design an app aimed to save time for mental health doctors. Working with North East London NHS Foundation Trust’s (NELFT) medical education department, Mark Bewes and Sam Bowen, both aged 26 and on an access to IT courses, were […]

Church makeover gives ‘shy learners’ new confidence

A team of once shy and unqualified students from St Helens College are conquering their self-esteem issues with a challenging community renovation project as part of their 12-week Prince’s Trust programme, writes Billy Camden. Thirteen learners who turned to St Helens College to overcome confidence issues have given a local parish church and hall a […]

Under the skin of the apprenticeships ‘hot potato’

The publication of the delayed Skills Funding Agency Grant Letter loomed over National Apprenticeships Week (which starts on March 9) a bit like … well, anything else that looms. Whether it was a further cut of 25 per cent to the non-apprenticeship Adult Skills Budget, the 25 per cent increase in the budget for 24+ […]

Getting a leadership foot-up from the middle

Where the FE and skills sector leaders of tomorrow will come from is a question on the minds not only of today’s principals and managing directors, but also their staff lower down the career ladder whose eyes are fixed firmly on the top, as Nikki Gilbey explains. As an aspiring college principal, I found the […]

Direct recruitment paying off for young learners, but ‘reputational risk’ remains for colleges

Middlesbrough College was one of the first seven general FE colleges to directly recruit learners from the age of 14 two years ago. Zoe Lewis outlines the lessons learned since then. In early 2012, Middlesbrough College was considering developing a direct offer for 14-year-olds from September of that year. The rationale was clear, GCSE results […]

Colleges ‘should see budgets diminish’ if their Leps case isn’t strong enough

Skills Funding Agency (SFA) guidance on how college budgets could be affected by their relationship — or lack thereof — with Leps last week caused concern within the sector. Alex Pratt addresses fears about Leps and their power over funding. Are you wondering what the point of Leps is, why on earth we need another […]

Taking a lead on technology

Further education leaders hold the key to unlocking technology in the sector, according to the government review of progress a year after the recommendations of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group. Dr Sue Pember looks at what this means for leaders. It seems we really are now on the edge of a digital/technological revolution. […]

Bad news for adult learning but not good for SFA either

Mick Fletcher takes a closer look at the skills funding letter to see what else it indicates other than a depressing budget cut of up to 24 per cent for providers next academic year. Much of the response to the skills funding letter published today has concentrated on the effective 24 per cent cut to […]

Tribunal trademark victory forces company to rename

Bosses at Newcastle College have won their tribunal case against a Manchester-registered company forcing it to change its name. They argued there would be “confusion” over the completely separate Newcastle College Limited and wanted it to drop the name. The general FE (GFE) college complained to Company Names Adjudicator Judy Pike after discovering the firm […]