FE Week Reporter | FE Week

All three? You wooden believe it!

Three carpentry students from West Suffolk College took first, second and third places in a national joinery competition. Competing at the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers event in London this month, the learners beat more than 20 students from different colleges who were all tasked with making a traditional wooden sash window from drawings. […]

‘Watch out lesson observation — we’re coming to get you’

Ofsted is ending its system of graded lesson observation. It’s a subject that leant itself to the theme a conference on June 17 at the University of Wolverhampton’s Centre for Research and Development in Lifelong Education (Cradle). Dr Lorna Page was there and outlines the event. The first national conference dedicated to the issue of […]

Is it really time for the UK to go Dutch?

Kirstie Donnelly considers whether in looking abroad for a model skills system — with the Netherlands offering the latest template — we neglect lessons that might be learned closer to home. The latest country to emulate, apparently, is the Netherlands, with Skills Minister Nick Boles this month advising MPs to look there for a ‘transferable […]

Adult learners’ struggles to achieve recognised at lavish annual awards ceremony

Adult learners who battled against the odds, against self-doubt and previous bad experiences to return to education were honoured at the Adult Learners’ Week (ALW) awards. The award winners and nominees, who ranged in age from 19 to 85, as well as the tutors, projects and employers who helped them get there, received their awards […]

What’s in a name? What’s in an apprenticeship?

The government announced its first measures aimed at helping it achieve the target of 3m apprenticeship starts by the end of this Parliament. David Harbourne assesses the measures, including the provision for legal protection of the ‘apprenticeship’ term. When the government announced that the word ‘apprenticeship’ is to be legally protected, I had an odd […]

Lord Willis of Knaresborough, outgoing chair, Association of College’s charitable trust

As a teenager, Lord Willis of Knaresborough, a former head teacher, ex-Liberal Democrat MP and outgoing chair for the Association of College’s charitable trust, dreamed of a career in football. But although Burnley-born-and-bred Willis (known, less formally, as Phil) played for Burnley FC junior team, he wasn’t good enough to make the cut for the […]

Vet in the Netherlands — an inspiration for England?

Skills Minister Nick Boles told MPs this month the Dutch system of vocational education and training might be a model for England. Jeroen Onstenk outlines the Dutch system and considers whether Mr Boles might be onto something. Vocational education and training (Vet) in the Netherlands is primarily part of the education system, rather than the […]

New inspection framework — what you need to know

The new common inspection framework handbooks have been published. Phil Hatton takes a closer look at what FE should be taking note of. So, with all the hype associated with the launch of the new CIF covering all Ofsted inspection remits, what will be the difference for FE? Looking at the wording that should guide inspector […]

New ‘data-driven’ BIS Vet research centre hits the spot

The new aims and role of the Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER) has become clearer since a consultation event this month, as Andrew Morris explains. The new Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER), funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was the focus of attention at a major gathering of college […]