FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Planning a new build and not aware of the impact of new CDM Regulations on FE?

Alexandra Reid explains how the new CDM regulations will impact FE building projects. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) come into force on October 6 as the latest update of the CDM Regulations. They have the goal of ensuring that health and safety issues are properly considered during a project’s development so […]

Aishah turns to adult education to make a human rights difference

Having fled persecution in Afghanistan as a trainee human rights lawyer, Aishah Saried turned to English FE so she could one day return to make a difference to others in need of help, writes Billy Camden. Having a voice in places of war and terror can often lead to persecution — and that is what […]

Has Gazelle changed its spots?

Gazelle has responded to long-running criticism that its £35k membership fee, along with other costs, could not be justified in the absence of any return on investment analysis, including any proof that membership affected Ofsted grades. Fintan Donohue explains how such criticism has changed the organisation. The Gazelle Colleges Group commissioned an analysis of its […]

Apprentices get minimum wage boost with paypackets of lowest-earning up 20 per cent

Apprentices were today benefiting from a 20 per cent boost to their National Minimum Wage to £3.30 an-hour. Business Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured above) said that the inflation-busting increase, from the old £2.73-an-hour rate, was “the largest in history, making sure that apprenticeships remain an attractive option for young people”. It came as the adult […]

New destination data performance measure aims to have ‘bite’ to ‘provoke transformational improvements’

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) today launched a consultation on a new destination data performance measure that will have the “bite” to “provoke transformational improvements”. The government launched the consultation, which will close on December 2, to consider its proposal for an outcome-based success measure to complement the existing qualification achievement success […]

‘Not only a car crash, but a multiple pile-up’ — the FE sector view revisited six months after 2015 survey

The 2015 FE Week and Policy Consortium survey was published on the brink of a general election. Six months on and the new government has introduced a flood of reforms affecting the FE and skills sector. But far from showing improvement, this follow-up survey, in which the Policy Consortium revisited 32 of the initial survey […]

Edition 148: Movers and Shakers

Bosses at Lincolnshire’s New College Stamford will be hoping for a period of stability after appointing their fourth principal in just over year. Janet Meenaghan has taken the helm, replacing interim principal John Allen. It comes after Mr Allen’s predecessor, April Carrol, was initially put on extended leave in March having been hit with two votes of no confidence […]

Shadow Education Secretary Lucy Powell includes FE funding in top three priorities

Campaigning to protect FE funding is one of Lucy Powell’s top three priorities, the new Shadow Education Secretary told activists at her party’s conference. Ms Powell appeared at a fringe event hosted by FE Week and its sister paper FE Week at the Grand Hotel in Brighton this evening. Accompanied by newly-appointed Shadow Skills minister […]

Government presiding over ‘skills emergency’ and ‘dumbing down apprenticeships,’ Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle tells Labour conference

The government is “presiding over a skills emergency which threatens economic growth” while cutting FE funding and “dumbing down apprenticeships”, the new Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle warned her party’s conference-goers today. Ms Eagle, who is beginning her third week in the role, raised concerns about the impact of government policy on FE during her […]