FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Dame Ruth in fine fettle for leadership role return

Dame Ruth Silver is making her FE and skills return with a new sector leadership thinktank funded by money left over from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) has a budget of up to £5.5m from LSIS, which counted Dame Ruth as its chair until it ceased […]

Award-winning apprentice packs punch for HIT Training

Ambitious trainee chef Luke Ramsey was named as the HIT Training regional apprentice of the year. The 24-year-old was given the award at a graduation ceremony for 37 level two and three apprentices from across Kent, Surrey and Sussex who are registered with HIT and employers from across the hospitality, catering and care sectors. He […]

Human poppy marks 100th anniversary of outbreak of Great War

Staff and students from the Sixth Form College Farnborough helped create a giant human poppy to commemorate 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. They posed in the college rugby field for the aerial photograph with soldiers, local councillors, school children, and representatives from the Royal British Legion. A total of 2,250 […]

Taking a lead on teaching, learning and assessment — the role of governors

A half-day workshop with more than 40 FE college governors, principals and clerks has resulted in a new report from the 157 Group and Ofsted. Andy Gannon discusses its key findings and recommendations. Today, we published The Leadership of Teaching, Learning and Assessment by Governors. The report is the latest in a series which we […]

New alliance aims to help colleges recruit better governors

A new organisation has been launched today to encourage high-calibre and skilled people to join college governing bodies. The Inspiring Governors Alliance (IGA) also aims to increase the number of employers supporting staff to volunteer as governors, as well as promoting governance as a key learning and development opportunity for staff. The launch coincides with an […]

Employers call for apprenticeship control — but what did key FE players think?

More than 30 employer bodies joined forces to call for greater control over apprenticeships just days after a technical consultation on proposed reforms that drew more than 1,200 responses, closed. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), Nestle and Crossrail were among those behind a letter published in […]

LeSoCo principal Maxine Room to stand down

The principal of LeSoCo in south east London is to stand down at the end of the academic year, the college’s governors have announced. Maxine Room has been in the role at the 17,000-learner college, which has a current Skills Funding Agency allocation of £26.2m, for five years, and oversaw the merger which joined Lewisham […]

Success rates change makes system ‘overly complex’

A college principal has hit out at proposed changes to the way the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) reports and calculates provider success rates. Harlow College principal Karen Spencer said the changes, designed to make comparisons between providers easier to understand, would make the system “overly complex”. Success rates, which measure how many students starting a […]

Edition 102: Colette Burgess and Nigel McQuoid

A new principal has been appointed at an Oldham College-sponsored academy. Colette Burgess is due to take over from Nigel McQuoid at the Waterhead Academy this autumn. Ms Burgess is currently principal of The Oldham Academy North, and her new appointment was announced by Alun Francis, principal of the Ofsted grade one-rated Oldham College. […]