FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Apprenticeship visit scheme launched for primary schools to expose young children to earning and learning possibilities

David Cameron’s apprenticeship adviser Nadhim Zahawi visited a London school today to launch a scheme that will put apprentices into primary schools. Mr Zahawi, the Conservative MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon, was joined by 30 apprentices from different sectors at Mayflower Primary School, in Poplar, where they chatted with pupils about their jobs, bringing learning to life and […]

‘Inadequate’ Ofsted warning over face veils

Colleges could be judged inadequate by the education watchdog if they do not ban pupils from wearing face veils when they believe it is hindering effective teaching. Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has announced today he gives his “full support” to college principals who “decided to take a stand against the inappropriate wearing of […]

Public sector apprenticeship target won’t apply to colleges

Further education colleges will avoid being made to hit the new public sector apprenticeship recruitment target, FE Week can reveal. A government consultation document out today explains how the 2.3 per cent target figure for public sector bodies, previously explained in the government’s English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision report published in December, would apply to those employing […]

AoC boss welcomes move to force schools to let FE providers advise learners about apprenticeships

Chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) Martin Doel has welcomed government moves to end “outdated snobbery” against apprenticeships in schools by legally forcing them to let FE providers talk to students about their benefits. Schools are already legally obliged to provide careers guidance and a rule change in 2012 saw local authorities stripped […]

Gloves are off for boxer Shiloh

A City College Brighton and Hove sport learner put on a knockout performance in three hard-fought bouts to win gold at an international boxing tournament. Shiloh Defreitas, who studies an advanced level apprenticeship in sporting excellence, showed off his class when he travelled with a team of 12 England boxers to the Sven Lange Memorial […]

Tough new strike laws will ‘add confusion’ in FE

Confirmation that tough new strike rules will apply to FE workers will “add confusion” rather than clarity, unions have warned. The government’s ballot threshold consultation response, published Thursday (January 21) lists teaching and leadership of “pupils aged 5 to 16 in state-funded schools” as “important public services” which would be subject to the new 40 […]

Model learners renovate dolls house

Two learners from Rugby College used their artistic skills to renovate a doll’s house for The Myton Hospices’ Rainbow Ripples project which helps bereaved children. Level three extended diploma in art and design learners Sophie Watkins, aged 18, and Emma Hodson, 17, volunteered to work on the project in their own time after Michelle Hicks […]

Body repairs champion

Elizabeth Hodgson was top of the podium at the home of British motorsport, Silverstone, as she was crowned body repair student of the year. The 21-year-old, who studies level three body repair at Hull College, was presented with her award at the ceremony organised by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) to recognise her […]

Policy Consortium letter challenges Wilshaw over ‘inadequate at best’ claim

Senior figures from the Policy Consortium have challenged Sir Michael Wilshaw over his claim that the FE sector is “inadequate at best”, in a letter to Ofsted’s chief inspector seen by FE Week. Sir Michael made the comments during a speech on Monday (January 19) for thinktank CentreForum, which also criticised the sector for offering “uniformly […]