Billy Camden | FE Week

College branded ‘unsafe’ in damning Ofsted report

A Northamptonshire college has been slammed with a grade four by Ofsted for delivering “unsafe” training in “highly dangerous vocational areas” such as construction and equine studies. Moulton College is a specialist land-based college with onsite accommodation that also delivers programmes in animal management, sport and food and drink manufacturing. It was today branded ‘inadequate’ […]

Apprenticeship provider register won’t reopen until September

The register of apprenticeship training providers will not open again until September – nearly a year after the last window closed, the government has revealed. The register has been under review since November, but Rory Kennedy, the Department for Education’s director of apprenticeships, admitted to general surprise at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference that it […]

Marsden: Labour would look at devolving apprenticeships and other skills funding

Labour’s proposed National Education Service would look at devolving apprenticeships and other skills funding, and not just the adult education budget, the shadow skills minister has said. Gordon Marsden told the AAC that full devolution of FE is “the way forward in terms of community growth and cohesion”, in his keynote speech on the second […]

Ofsted to ‘expose’ rip-off subcontracting top-slices

Ofsted will expose training providers who rip-off apprentices by collecting subcontracting management fees without taking “responsibility for quality”, the chief inspector has revealed. Amanda Spielman made the promise in a fierce speech at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference, warning prime providers that the inspectorate would not stand idly by while poor provision goes unmonitored. “Our […]

Ofsted appears to back colleges in Progress 8 battle

The credibility of a major new government progress measure is at stake after a college labelled as one of the worst in the country for teaching 14- to 16-year-olds has been rated ‘outstanding’ for its provision by Ofsted. The watchdog couldn’t praise Leeds City College highly enough for its “direct entry” provision in a report […]

Anne Milton announces FE funding review

The government is launching a review into how the current system of funding for FE meets the costs of “high-quality” provision, Anne Milton has revealed. The skills minister announced the plans in the House of Commons today during educations questions, after she was asked what the Department for Education had made of “recent trends” in […]

NHS trusts will use levy cash much faster than other employers, research finds

The majority of NHS trusts in England will spend their apprenticeship levy at a faster rate than other employers – even though most are frustrated by the policy’s “inflexibility”. The news will be welcomed by the government as it struggles on to reach its three million apprenticeship starts target by 2020 – given that the […]

Ofsted Watch: Five providers improve to grade ‘good’

It was mostly a week of celebration for FE providers, as five rose to ‘good’ Ofsted ratings. Two of them achieved the feat in their first ever inspection. However, one private provider fell to the ‘inadequate’, and another was brutally criticised in Ofsted’s first early-monitoring visit report on a newcomer to apprenticeships, prompting ministerial intervention. […]

DfE backs HMRC’s crackdown on VAT in subcontracting

The Department for Education is backing HMRC’s decision to collect VAT on subcontracting management fees. The tax office has launched a major investigation into subcontracting to find out why primes have not been applying a mandatory 20-per-cent charge to their top-slices. The crackdown, which involves a team of around 20 special investigators, has rocked a […]