Author: Billy Camden

A new £83 million fund has been launched to ensure colleges can accommodate an expected demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds. The “Post-16 Capacity fund” was promised in chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review in November and has opened for bids today. However, independent training providers and school sixth forms have been excluded. Only sixth form […]

A major school catering supplier has been slated by Ofsted for hiring apprentices during the pandemic only to place their tutors on furlough. Inspectors found that, as a result, almost all apprentices at Aspens Services Limited in Worcester are asked to complete assessments before any learning takes place. Some apprentices had to wait for four […]

A government tender has revealed plans to develop a “skills taxonomy” that could sit at the heart of Department for Education proposals to dictate college courses. Ministers want a new algorithm developed to map England’s skills shortages, with experts predicting it will play a key role in putting local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) together. Beginning […]

A new FE loans provider where tutors accept suspected copy-and-paste assignments from learners has been slammed by Ofsted. Inspectors warned that a significant amount of written work submitted by different students at London Cactus Limited is “identical”. Tutors “accept the work at face value, without verifying that learners have completed the work themselves”. Ofsted also […]

The providers chosen to deliver the government’s flagship national technical skills bootcamps have been named. FE Week can reveal 18 organisations, including 11 independent providers – two of which are owned by education giant City & Guilds – two universities, one council and just four colleges, have won funding in the £18 million tender. Association […]

Amanda Spielman is set to stay on as Ofsted chief inspector for an extra two years, FE Week‘s sister title FE Week understands. While the extension to the role is believed to have been agreed by government, it still has to be officially signed off by the Privy Council, the queen’s formal body of advisers. […]

Ofqual has warned exam results could be delayed and students miss out on places if the government relies on slashing marking time to deliver a radical overhaul of university admissions. The regulator said post-qualification admissions reforms would rely on results for level 3 courses, including AS and A-levels, being released up to three weeks sooner […]

A fresh European Social Fund tender worth £17 million is in the works and is expected to launch next month. The Education and Skills Funding Agency today revealed plans for the procurement which would be open to eight local enterprise partnership (LEP) areas that have gaps in provision. It is, however, subject to funding being […]