Author: Alix Robertson

The skills minister Nick Boles wants the colleges involved in the Greater Manchester area review to try and be more cooperative — amidst complaints that they are clinging to their independence. Nick Boles (main picture), made the comments during a Westminster Hall debate that focused on FE in Greater Manchester, following concerns which have been […]

English and maths judgements do not exert an “overriding influence” on Ofsted’s college inspections, despite a recent spate of ‘inadequate’ ratings, according to its deputy director for FE and skills. Paul Joyce (pictured) has written to FE Week to defend Ofsted’s recent ratings spree, which has seen 10 colleges receive the lowest possible rating since […]

Darlington College has recovered to an Ofsted ‘good’ rating a little over a year after it was branded ‘inadequate’. The education watchdog deemed the provider to be ‘good’ across the board and ‘outstanding’ in its delivery of adult learning programmes, in a report released on June 23. It was previously hit with a grade four […]

Ofsted’s chief inspector is set to call on the government to insist that every major multi-academy trust (MAT) includes a university technical college (UTC). Sir Michael Wilshaw will speak out on the issue during his speech, starting at 1:30pm today, at the Festival of Education. He will say: “The government should insist that every major multi-academy […]

The Association of Colleges is looking forward to “a new era for Ofsted” — after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan confirmed the government’s approval of Ofqual chair Amanda Spielman as the next chief inspector. Ms Morgan made the announcement on Friday (June 10), and ministers will now wait on agreement from the Commons education select committee […]

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills is recruiting eight board members for the new Institute for Apprenticeships, with a salary of up to £15,000 available for each position. The advert has been posted on the cabinet office’s public appointment’ site, with a closing date of July 20. Interviews scheduled for September. The jobs will […]

There is widespread support for renaming the government’s traineeships scheme, according to a new FE Week survey, which found that over half of respondents wanted it to called a ‘pre-apprenticeship’ or ‘access to apprenticeship’ scheme. A total of 70 per cent of FE stakeholders we surveyed said traineeships should be renamed, with 29 per cent […]

Middlesbrough College has acquired the training arm of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), which currently delivers around 1,000 apprenticeships per year. NECC Training has a £3m turnover and provides courses in a range of subjects, including engineering, professional services and dental nursing across the north east region. Middlesbrough College already offers around 1,000 […]

FE Week held a lively debate on the future and purpose of traineeships at the Palace of Westminster last week — featuring high profile panellists from across the sector. The event took place on Tuesday (June 7) and speakers included shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe, […]