FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Leaders rush to defend FE from Sir Michael

Key FE figures have spoken out in defence of the sector following a scathing attack by Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw. During a speech on Monday (January 19) for thinktank CentreForum, the education watchdog’s chief inspector accused the sector of being “inadequate at best” and criticised the sector for offering “uniformly weak” careers advice. “It […]

Sector set to step up for Muslim women’s £20m English funding

The services of colleges and independent learning providers (ILPs) could be called upon to deliver English language lessons to Muslim women from a £20m fund announced by the Prime Minister. David Cameron said on Monday (January 18) that the government needed to be “more clear about the expectations we place on those who come to […]

Cameron’s 3m target boost — but no standard take-off

Reformed apprenticeships have shown little sign of taking off in latest government statistics that indicate the programme could be on target for Prime Minister David Cameron’s 3m target. Just 700 starts across all ages and all levels were listed for the new standards in the statistical first release, published on Thursday (January 21). There were […]

Deadline missed on apprenticeship consultation

The government has missed the first key deadline from its own timeline for apprenticeship reform implementation over the next five years, following delays to the launch of a consultation on the “public sector target”. It published a document on December 7, called English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 vision document, setting out a number of imminent dates. […]

Online learning ‘not cheap option’

A Skills Funding Agency (SFA) decision not to introduce a reduced funding rate for online learning has been welcomed by the sector. The SFA had been looking into online learning following the publication of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag) report in March 2014. But speaking as a member of the audience during […]

College vineyard ships to South Korea

The UK’s only college vineyard has shipped its first batch of wine to a South Korean company owned by a former student, writes Billy Camden. A pallet of cloudy, still and sparkling wines are making their way to South Korea courtesy of Plumpton College. The 30 cases of original produce created in the 9.5 hectares […]

Feltag online learning target was ‘red herring’

[slideshow_deploy id=’43845′] The 10 per cent target for online learning included in the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag) report in 2014 was a “red herring” according to one of the members of the group. Bob Harrison, learning technology adviser, made the comments during a discussion about the Feltag recommendations two years on at […]

Liverpool-based Oakmere Community College appeals against two-grade slump to inadequate

A Liverpool-based independent learning provider (ILP) has launched an appeal after it slumped from its previous ‘good’ Ofsted rating to ‘inadequate’. The report on Oakmere Community College, which recruits around 300 learners each year on 16–19 study programmes, rated the ILP as inadequate across the board. The rating was down from its previous ‘good’ Ofsted rating […]

Boles to appear before Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy

Skills Minister Nick Boles will face a grilling from MPs on the Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy on Monday (January 25). A spokesperson for the committee, created from sub-committees of the Education and the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committees, said Mr Boles would be questioned on a number of FE-related issues including apprenticeships, […]