Billy Camden | FE Week

Ofqual seeks apprenticeship director to lead new ‘field team’

Ofqual is hiring a director to lead a new apprenticeships team that will be “operating in the field” as it steps up its regulatory work in the end-point assessment market. This “critical new function” will include a team of nine who work remotely to find out if assessments are being delivered “appropriately and consistently”. Led […]

Troubled HS2 college spent £73K on failed Ofsted legal challenge

The beleaguered National College for HS2 blew £73,000 on a failed legal attempt at stopping Ofsted publishing a grade four report, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) provided the figure to FE Week after the college went to the High Court in the hope of […]

ESFA’s supposed solution to NHS business admin conundrum

A successful alternative to the business admin level 2 apprenticeship, for NHS Trusts at least, has been found, according to the government. A blog post published by the Education & Skills Funding Agency last week lauded the level 2 customer service programme as a viable replacement. It has been used in Leeds Teaching Hospitals, which […]

Education secretary writes to all FE providers to express his ‘deepest gratitude’

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has written to college leaders, independent training and adult education providers today to thank them for their “expertise and ingenuity” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Here is the letter in full: Over the past week this nation has entered a truly unprecedented phase and as a government, we […]

ESFA must act after more than half of all apprentices on standards withdraw

Many events and consultations have been delayed, but it seems the Covid-19 crisis was not going to get in the way of the Department for Education revealing shockingly poor apprenticeship drop-out rates. Last year 54,590 apprentices were due to finish the new style standard and more than half of them withdrew from the programme before […]

FE on the frontline of the biggest peacetime battle

The apprenticeships and skills minister explains her gratitude and optimism for the sector in face of the Covid-19 pandemic. This country is currently waging its biggest peacetime battle in a generation. These are unprecedented times; as we continue to combat the global coronavirus outbreak, normal life has been effectively suspended, and I know everyone is […]

Coronavirus: Exams regulator to set out details of process and timetable ‘next week’

Detailed information about how students will be assessed for this summer’s GCSEs and A-levels won’t be published until next week, the exams regulator has said. But schools and colleges will have to wait longer for details of how moderation and appeals will work. Ofqual said it was “rapidly working up plans” to implement the arrangements […]

Apprenticeship funding and quality assurance consultations extended by 6 weeks

Government consultations on apprenticeship funding and external quality assurance have both been extended by six weeks. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced the decision today, stating that they do not believe everyone interested in them will have the chance to respond due to the disruption brought about by the Covid-19 virus. Their consultation […]

Apprenticeship starts fall 7% in first half of 2019/20

The number of apprenticeship starts in England dropped by 7 per cent in the first half of 2019/20, new government data has revealed. Provisional figures in the latest individual learner records return show there were 209,900 starts recorded from August 2019 to January 2020 compared to 225,800 in the same period in 2018/19. For the […]