FE Week Reporter | FE Week

The resistible rise of learner complaints

A legal change later this year will strengthen the rights of general FE college learners taking higher education courses. Smita Jamdar looks at areas where colleges’ have struggled. In more than two decades of working with FE colleges, I have never been asked to advise on as many learner complaints as I am now.There are […]

‘Mistakes’ led to ‘costly and inefficient’ buildings

One site ‘difficult’ for learners to get to and ‘unsuitable for provision’ £68m developments leave college with huge debts ‘Makes sense’ to sell one off, says commissioner Further Education Commissioner Dr David Collins has told how a series of blunders over the “size, location and financing” of these £68m West Cheshire College […]

Tim Farron, president, Liberal Democrats

The political career of Tim Farron MP, former education and skills select committee member and until recently president of the Liberal Democrats, didn’t get off to the most auspicious start. His first elected role, as president of Newcastle University student union, culminated in him spending the graduation ball under a table. “I was very close to […]

‘Open traineeships up’ plea after starts hit 5k in first quarter

The government has been urged to open traineeships up to more providers after the programme was boosted with figures showing 1,700 more people started on the scheme in the first three months of 2014/15 than in the entire first half of last academic year. Information in the latest statistical first release (SFR) showed 5,000 starts […]

Research on creative leadership case study: Ruth Allen

The Further Education Trust for Leadership (Fetl) last week unveiled the four people chosen for its first wave of fellowship grants, worth up to £40,000 each, to fund research into FE leadership issues. Reporter Paul Offord spoke to Cornwall College Group’s Ruth Allen (pictured) in the second of four FE Week articles focusing on the […]

Edition 126: Simon Andrews, Diane Grannell and Lynne Sedgmore

Governors at 7,000-learner Stockport College have announced that Simon Andrews is to join them as their new principal. He is currently in charge at 5,700-learner Macclesfield College and is due to join Stockport, which recently improved from an Ofsted grade four to three rating under interim principal Ian Clinton, in April. Mr Andrews became Macclesfield […]

Determined fundraising leads to third charity challenge

A Gloucestershire College worker who has cerebral palsy takes on his third fundraising charity challenge this month, cycling 100 miles in a day in aid of the Mind mental health charity, writes Billy Camden. A determined fundraiser from Gloucestershire College will embark on his toughest event yet when he aims to raise £200 for mental […]

Director defends subcontracting with 120-plus providers

A director of a general FE college has defended its quality assessment procedures after FE Week research found it had 128 subcontractor agreements — the most in the FE and skills sector and 15 per cent more than anybody else. Skills Funding Agency (SFA) figures for 2013/14 show that the total value of subcontracting by Yorkshire-based […]

Principals on board with voting principle

College principals have been enlisted in the effort to register learners to vote in May’s general election. The Electoral Commission, which oversees elections in the UK, has joined forces with the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Association of Colleges (AoC) as well as higher education bodies in the campaign. They have written to […]