Expert Contributor | FE Week

How we made virtual reality part of our students’ learning

After a poor Ofsted inspection, Preston’s College worked out how technology could boost student and staff performance, says Steve Smith Everyone knows what 360-degree footage is – it’s everywhere, from intrepid Go Pro users wrestling great whites to “twerking” on the world’s highest peaks. Our role, as educators, however, is to go beyond entertainment and […]

How a holistic package of support can improve students’ outcomes

Building welfare support into post-16 provision is crucial to improving retention and achievements, says Tara Bliss-Appleton, who has some tips on how to make the funding work The Saint Edmunds Society has offered vocational training since 2012 to young people who have struggled in mainstream education, to help them to develop meaningful trade-specific skills that […]

We recognise we can improve how we work with employers

In the wake of the recent CBI report that criticised some of the work of the Institute for Apprenticeships, Sir Gerry Berragan says he recognises that there are improvements to be made The Institute for Apprentices has welcomed the Confederation of British Industry’s recent report Getting Apprenticeships Right. It reiterated our central role in driving […]

How to get the best out of a college merger

A merger can be a trying and testing time, says Mike Hopkins. But do it right and you can be left with a leaner, more financially efficient operation with the same pool of students During my 12 years as principal, South and City College Birmingham has been through two mergers: the first between the former […]

If it works for apprentices and employers, it works for Ofsted

Over a six-year period, our college rating for apprenticeships improved from ‘inadequate’ to ‘outstanding’ – and we weren’t even focusing on inspections, says Jacqui Canton. Do the right things for the right reasons and good results will follow It’s not often that I gain management inspiration from cult films of the 1990s, but Ofsted definitely […]

The ESFA needs to talk about sex

The ESFA has multiple categories for ethnicity – why are they unwilling to add an ‘other’ box for sex, asks Steve Hewitt Last week, Education and Skills Funding Agency released the first version of the individualised learner record (ILR) data collection specification for next academic year. Without any great expectation, I looked at the definition […]

Government must mitigate the risks of T-levels

The technical education reforms under way have the potential to transform England’s skills and productivity record – it is vital that they are anchored in formal legal partnerships The Department for Education will shortly announce which awarding organisations will be delivering the first four T-levels – a new technical-based qualification being introduced between 2020 and […]

The official UTC figures don’t give the full picture

Lord Baker on why the Baker Dearing Educational Trust’s own data on university technical colleges is more comprehensive than the DfE’s ‘official’ measures What is the point of collecting data? Without data we just have subjective opinions, but with it we have objective information, which in turn provides useful insight. Indeed, the Baker Dearing Educational […]

What does the new insolvency regime mean for colleges?

The new FE insolvency regime is designed to improve the sustainability of the FE sector, says Stephanie Mason, who explains what colleges need to know On 31 January 2019 the further education insolvency regime comes into force, meaning that for the first time it will be possible for colleges to fail and be placed into […]