FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Students are ‘wild’ for Bicton College

Bicton College Animal Management students were involved in a code red drill practice on their course induction day at Dartmoor Zoo. The total lockdown, triggered if one of the zoo’s dangerous animals escapes, was part of the induction training for staff and students involved in a new course based at the zoo starting next week. […]

Principal at Vision West Notts says ‘thanks a bunch’

Vison West Notts (formally West Nottinghamshire College) has unveiled its latest state-of-the-art teaching facility. ‘Create’ – the college’s £5 million creative arts centre – opened its doors to eager students earlier this month. The flagship building provides media, music and performance students with industry-standard equipment and resources including workshop and rehearsal space, television, radio and […]

CBI backs call to make maths compulsory for 16+

A further voice has been added to the call for young people to study maths after the age of 16. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) asks for the Department for Education to “ensure that all young people continue studying maths post-16 at a level appropriate to them” in its report, ‘Skills for the creative […]

Central Sussex College redevelopment on-time despite ‘batty’ resident!

Work on the final phase of the redevelopment at Central Sussex College’s Sixth Form Haywards Heath campus is now well underway, despite the best efforts of one campus resident – Plecotus Auritus – AKA a brown long-eared bat! Mansell Project Manager, Kevin Spreyer explained: “Mansell has been working closely with College staff to ensure the […]

Family tax benefits barrier to apprenticeship starts

Learners are turning down apprenticeships as families cannot afford to miss out on vital benefits payments. An investigation by FE Week has found families lose child benefit and child tax credits, if a young dependent person takes up an apprenticeship, with the national apprentice minimum wage rate of £2.50 an hour. Although the minimum wage, […]

When FE colleges choose not to call themselves ‘colleges’

Some say it is a source of pride, while others say it has become ill-defined and devalued. Regardless of which view is right and which is wrong, the use of the word ‘college’ is sparking debate in the further education (FE) sector. This academic year, West Nottinghamshire College became the latest FE institute to rebrand […]

NIACE distributes manifesto of womens’ right to learn

A ten-point manifesto is being distributed by NIACE to help ensure every woman has the right to learn. The statement of policies is being given out at the three main party conferences, starting with the Liberal Democrat Party Conference which was held in Birmingham yesterday. The manifesto is currently in a draft format, and will […]

DfE consults on plans to make FE teachers fully qualified in schools

A consultation has been launched which could pave the way for further education (FE) teachers to work in schools as qualified members of staff. The Department for Education (DfE) has outlined plans to reduce relevant bureaucracy so lecturers can be qualified for school teaching without doing any further training, assessment or serving statutory. Under the […]

Remind me again why I pay the training budget of a $422bn company?

The supermarket chain Asda is owned by Walmart, which for fiscal year ending January 31, 2011 (according to Wikipedia), “reported a net income of $15.4 billion on $422 billion of revenue with a 24.7 per cent gross profit margin”, making it “the world’s 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000 list, and […]