FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Westminster event: professionalism in FE as Lingfield Review is launched

Principals, teachers and experts gathered to discuss improving the status of staff in colleges and training providers at a roundtable event in Westminster. The impact of Lord Lingfield’s independent review on professionalism in further education was at the core of the panel’s debate, which included chief executives from the Association of Colleges (AoC), the Learning […]

Olympic effort required for outstanding change

You need to change the culture of your college if you want to move from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’ says Tony Lau-Walker. And you don’t do this by first looking at the common inspection framework. When we were asked how Eastleigh College achieved its outstanding status this year the reply reflected Mo Farah’s comment after winning […]

New regime requires quick results

The new common inspection framework (CIF) represents a substantial shift, not only in its structure and application, but in its core reasoning and message. The new chief inspector has made a clear statement of purpose — too many learners are receiving provision that is satisfactory and inadequate, and the new framework is specifically designed to […]

Laying the path for improvement journeys

A review of the FE teacher and trainer qualifications is one way the Learning and Skills Improvement Service is helping providers says Rob Wye. The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) and Ofsted co-commissioned the How Colleges Improve report to ensure all of us in the sector gained a thorough understanding of what exactly is […]

Lessons from inspection pilots

More than one nominee, up-to-date information, and actively seeking out views of students and staff is critical says college principal, Michele Sutton. I received a telephone call one Friday afternoon when I was driving from Bradford to Manchester. It was from an Ofsted inspector who started the conversation with: “I know this could be a long […]

Provider’s rapid improvement

Just 11 months ago, Ofsted inspectors went into Berkshire independent learning provider B2B Engage and judged its provision to be satisfactory. The grading triggered a host of improvements that, as B2B’s operations director Rebecca Yeomans explains, resulted in an improved grading following a September inspection. B2B wasted no time acting on the areas of improvement that […]

Abi Lammas, regional development manager, Learning and Skills Improvement Service

The chances are that if you come across Abi Lammas in a professional capacity, then you are probably taking steps to improve your organisation. It’s her job to help providers who are experiencing difficulties or those who simply want to tweak their service with a view to improvement. Abi is one of nine Learning and […]

Lessons from inspection pilots

The real college was judged says Principal Richard Atkins, not one that had spent three weeks preparing. We were keen to get a health check from Ofsted. Exeter College had last been inspected in 2008 and rated as good, but we had received a Notice to Improve (NtI) for learner success rates. Having reacted quickly […]

Ofsted is a ‘distraction’ to be taken seriously

Don’t get bogged down in the new common inspection framework, says principal Chris Thomson. Give students the provision you’d wish upon your own children and you’ll be outstanding. You’ll probably think we’re mad, but for more than a decade at Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College we’ve cultivated the view that far from being […]