Author: Billy Camden

The days of the charismatic principal are gone, according to a deputy FE commissioner. John Hogg (pictured above) told delegates at the Skills and Education Group’s annual conference in Nottingham today that the role of college bosses is changing. A former principal of Middlesbrough, Wolverhampton and Coventry colleges, he also warned that some colleges leaders […]

The skills minister has conceded that there is a lack of clarity when it comes to who is accountable for apprenticeship quality. Anne Milton acknowledged that it was unclear whether it is a job solely for Ofsted or the ESFA at an education committee hearing this morning, admitting responsibility needs to be defined “more clearly”. […]

Caps on subcontracting management fees will be introduced if the government deems it “right and proper”. The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s director of apprenticeships was questioned on the unscrupulous top-slices that many prime providers now charge during an education committee hearing on apprenticeships this morning. Keith Smith pointed out that stricter rules have recently […]

The mayor of London plans to top-slice £3 million from the adult education budget to pay for over 50 new bureaucrats from next year, instead of using it for frontline learning. The money will cover the annual wage costs of a new administration to handle the AEB for the capital when devolution kicks in, including […]

Staff at a college who had been due to go on strike for four days this week have called the walkout off following “positive discussions” with management for a new pay “agreement”. University and College Union members at Sandwell College have already been on strike for five days since February, and were due to return […]

Lord Baker has mounted a robust defence of university technical colleges, despite the growing list of setbacks to befall the 14-to-19 programme he helped build. In an exclusive interview with FE Week’s Billy Camden, he refutes claims from other major players who once backed it, including George Osborne, that the movement is in serious trouble. […]

A college in Hertford will be kicking itself this week after Ofsted praised it for “much improvement” since its last inspection, but not enough to boost it up to a grade two. Hertford Regional College received ‘requires improvement’ ratings across the board in 2016. Ofsted went back in for a full re-inspection two months ago […]

The boss of a college that saw its turnover slashed last year was given a huge 31-per-cent salary increase in 2016/17 – taking his wage to £260,000. Garry Phillips’ whopping pay rise made him the fifth highest-paid principal in the country last year, at a time when Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College’s turnover dropped […]

It is crunch time at the nation’s largest college group, which is cutting staff and faces the return of Ofsted for a full inspection over its achievement rates. NCG will receive visits from two teams of inspectors on Monday, FE Week can reveal. One team will examine four of its colleges – Newcastle College, Newcastle […]