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Former SFA chief Russell to chair board at Positive Outcomes Training

Former Skills Funding Agency (SFA) chief executive Geoff Russell will head up the board of directors at Positive Outcomes, the training provider has announced. Mr Russell (pictured), who left the top job at the SFA in July 2012 after holding the post since the Agency’s inception in 2010, will become chairman at Positive Outcomes Training […]

AoC criticises English and maths GCSE requirement rule change as report reveals at least 40,000 learners could flock to FE

Association of Colleges (AoC) chief executive Martin Doel has criticised the government after it was announced that new rules requiring learners without GCSEs in English and maths will come in two years earlier than expected. Skills Minister Matthew Hancock has announced that from August 2015, it will become a funding condition that all full-time learners […]

Ofsted confirms it will grade school sixth forms from September

School sixth forms are to receive a separate grade from September 2014, Ofsted has confirmed. The decision to include a separate grade follows an open consultation which ended in May, which sought views on the introduction of separate graded judgements on early school years and the sixth form. In a letter to schools this week, chief inspector […]

Union strike bill nears £200k

The cost of an ongoing strike at Lambeth College over new contracts for staff is nearing the £200,000-mark for the cash-strapped University and College Union, while learners brace themselves for a possible fifth week of disruption. Teachers and lecturers on the picket line have been getting £50 a-day from the UCU, which has said up […]

£10k cash boosts for maths teachers who stay in FE unveiled as sector prepares for GCSE reform

New financial incentives of up to £10,000 for maths teachers who stay in the FE sector have been unveiled as the government seeks to improve literacy and numeracy. It comes after grants of up to £20,000 for graduates who choose to teach English or maths in the sector were announced in February. In the government’s further […]

Campus 21

UCU demands college spending probe by the public accounts committee

The University and College Union (UCU) has called for a parliamentary investigation into college spending. The call follows UCU claims that Warwickshire College had paid more than half a million pounds to the Gazelle Colleges Group and had raised its principal’s pay by £50,000 in two years while almost 100 staff face redundancy due to […]

Learner beats glandular fever to make Commonwealth Games swim team

West Cheshire College sports student Danielle Lowe is counting down to the start of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on July 23 after securing a place in the England swimming team, writes Paul Offord. The journey to the Commonwealth Games has not been an easy one for Danielle Lowe. She feared she would have to give […]

Posters call time on alcohol abuse

Students hope their posters will help call time on alcohol abuse among young people in the Birmingham area. A group of 39 level three art and design learners from Birmingham Metropolitan College were challenged to create posters for a campaign called “Calling Time”. It was launched by the Centre for Equality & Diversity, the Office […]