Billy Camden

  • ESFA suspends 24 more providers from recruiting apprentices

    Twenty four apprenticeship providers have been suspended from taking on new starts after receiving poor Ofsted ratings so far in 2020. In accordance with Education and Skills Funding Agency rules, any new provider found to be making ‘insufficient progress’ in at least one area of an early monitoring visit from the inspectorate will be temporarily…

    15.18 Apr. 7th, 2020 | News

  • College staff don’t need protective equipment, new government guidance states

    College staff do not require personal protective equipment, new government guidance has stated. The guidance also warns cleaning items such as soap “may be rationed” as the supply chain dries up, and rules out any future coronavirus testing for all educational staff. A document on ‘implementing social distancing in education settings’, updated this morning, states…

    11.05 Apr. 7th, 2020 | News

  • Profile: Chris Webb

    Jess Staufenberg finds herself spellbound by the new principal of Bradford College’s skill for telling an engaging story It’s a rare interviewee who can narrate their life in so compelling and entertaining a waythat questions become essentially unnecessary, but Chris Webb, the new principal of Bradford College, can do just that. If this Essex boy…

    9.13 Apr. 7th, 2020 | Profiles

  • Rebecca Long-Bailey appointed as Labour’s new shadow education secretary

    Rebecca Long-Bailey has been appointed as the shadow education secretary following a Labour Party reshuffle by new leader Keir Starmer. Long-Bailey, the MP for Salford and Eccles, takes over the position from Angela Rayner, who was elected deputy leader and appointed chair of the party over the weekend. Long-Bailey joined parliament in 2015, was previously…

    14.34 Apr. 6th, 2020 | News

  • Free recording: Latest FE policy response to Covid-19 outbreak

    On Saturday, FE Week hosted its second webinar looking at the latest legislation and guidance from the government regarding the response to the coronavirus pandemic, for the FE and skills sector. Sponsored by Learning Curve Group and presented by Shane Mann, publisher of FE Week, the session included chief executive of the Association of Colleges…

    9.44 Apr. 6th, 2020 | News

  • DfE ploughs on with plans for T-level launch despite coronavirus concerns

    The government is driving forward with plans to launch the first three T-levels from September 2020 despite the disruption being caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Last month, FE Week revealed that the awarding bodies designing the qualifications had called on ministers to delay their rollout by a year. At the time the Department for Education…

    16.51 Apr. 3rd, 2020 | News

  • Funding clawback warning to colleges for deliberate under delivery

    Colleges that deliberatley under deliver their adult education budget allocations this year will have their funding clawed back, the government has warned. This will apply to either direct delivery or through subcontractors. The Education and Skills Funding Agency revealed the rule today in an update to its operational guidance for FE providers during the coronavirus…

    16.15 Apr. 3rd, 2020 | News

  • Coronavirus: Schools and colleges will rank GCSE and A-level pupils within grades

    Schools and colleges will rank their GCSE and A-level pupils within each grade under a new system of assessment drawn up for this summer. Following the announcement that all exams this academic year have been cancelled due to the coronavirus, Ofqual has released details of the standardised assessment process that will take their place. Guidance…

    11.01 Apr. 3rd, 2020 | News

  • Coronavirus: An explainer on how GCSE and A-level grades will be awarded this summer

    Ofqual has revealed how students will be assessed for GCSE and A-level qualifications this summer, following the cancellation of exams. The exams regulator has published guidance for schools and colleges, along with separate guidance for teachers and a letter to learners. Here’s our explainer on how it will all work…    1. Schools and colleges…

    11.00 Apr. 3rd, 2020 | News

  • Chief regulator offers 'reassurance' over this summer's GCSE and A-level grades

    Ofqual’s chief regulator Sally Collier has “reassured” GCSE and A-level students that the grades they get this summer will look “exactly the same as in previous years”. She has also promised made clear they will have “equal status” with universities, colleges and employers. Here is her message in full:   I understand how unsettling the…

    11.00 Apr. 3rd, 2020 | News

  • Treasury confirms colleges CAN furlough staff

    Treasury officials have given colleges the green light to tap into their coronavirus job retention scheme. Speaking to FE Week, a spokesperson said staff who work in areas of a college that are not primarily funded by the government and who cannot be redeployed would be eligible for the scheme. The news will come as…

    23.12 Apr. 2nd, 2020 | News