FE Week Reporter | FE Week

A source of challenge to sound leadership

Good governance is about far more than a checklist: it is about supporting and developing an institution to enhance opportunity and success, says Dr Paul Phillips I have to hand it to chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw. He is a man on a mission, turning his attention to governance. At face value, he seems to […]

Deirdre Hughes, chair, National Careers Council

It’s the mid-1970s. You’re a pupil in Northern Ireland, at the height of the Troubles, nervous about the careers advice you’re about to receive. You’re told there simply are no jobs . . . anywhere. “There was high unemployment and, I don’t think I’m exaggerating, Northern Ireland was like a war zone,” says Deirdre Hughes, […]

Response to careers guidance ‘disappoints’

The Association of Colleges is “disappointed” by the government’s response to the education select committee’s report on careers advice in schools. The report, published last Monday, concluded that the quality of advice had deteriorated since schools took over provision from local authorities and Connexions last September, a move it called “regrettable”. In its response, the […]

Fears eased on funding

The Association for Employment and Learning Providers has secured access to extra funding for independent providers whose allocations have been drastically cut. The association said it had “intense discussions” with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) after dozens of worried members made contact when their allocations were reduced between 20 and 30 per cent. The cuts […]

Questions remain on Tech Bacc

Government plans for a Technical Baccalaureate (Tech Bacc) have received a lukewarm welcome from the FE sector, amid questions about its substance and timing. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the Association of Colleges (AoC) described the new qualification, which will count towards college and sixth form league tables, as “a step […]

‘I had my medal when I heard the noise’

As Elaine Battson collected her bag after a successful Boston Marathon, she thought the explosions she heard were fireworks to celebrate the end of the event. But within minutes, the Institute for Learning’s director of finance discovered that the April 8 event had been bombed. “I’d gone through the finishing line, got my medal and […]

Minister ‘cancels’ on traineeships

Providers have been kept waiting at least another week for the government to outline its plan for traineeships. Skills Minister Matthew Hancock had been advertised as attending an event in Manchester on Wednesday, April 24, at which he would unveil the scheme. But the launch was cancelled at the 11th hour. Traineeships, due to start […]

[download#106]

‘Photos really capture special moments in my life’

Jake Beattie had three things on his wish list – including his own camera. Rebecca Cooney reports on how Hopwood Hall College helped to make the seriously ill student’s dreams come true A seriously ill art and design learner from Manchester was lost for words when his college made his wish list a reality. Jake […]