FE Week Reporter | FE Week

‘Excellent’ grade dismissed

FE bosses have urged Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw to be cautious about creating an “excellent” Ofsted grade for college governors working in disadvantaged communities. The education watchdog told FE Week that Sir Michael was interested in “exploring” a rating to top the ‘outstanding’ mark for leadership in colleges. He recently introduced the concept […]

Hancock calls for merger review

Two colleges in the Midlands have been told by FE minister Matthew Hancock to go back to the drawing board with their plans to merge. Proposals by Stourbridge and Birmingham Metropolitan to form “one of the largest and most significant further education providers in the country” have been investigated by Mr Hancock’s officials at the […]

Esol funding ‘safe’

The Skills Funding Agency wants to allay fears that a new payment regime could reduce funding for adult language courses. Concerns about the future funding of English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol) courses prompted the National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults (Natecla) to say the agency should clarify its […]

Free lunches still off the menu

The government has been accused of inconsistency over a campaign to extend free lunches to students in sixth-form and FE colleges. James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, hit out after the government’s response to an e-petition that collected almost 10,300 signatures. The Association of College’s No Free Lunch? campaign was […]

‘Focus on job skills not league tables’

Government plans to introduce new post-16 performance tables for level three vocational qualifications have come under fire from the boss of a leading awarding organisation. The Department for Education has launched a consultation on the plans in which only around one-tenth of nearly 4,000 qualifications currently offered to 16 to 19-year-olds would be counted in […]

Paws for thought on animal-assisted therapy

Caring Wiltshire students took time out from their studies to take a collection of pets to a local old people’s home. Fourteen youngsters delighted residents — the oldest 103 — at Kingston House Residential Home, in Calne, with a variety of animals including those from an animal centre and their own pets. The visit also […]

Boxing clever interior designers get creative

Trainee interior design students in Kent unearthed a treasure trove of techniques by designing their own jewellery boxes. The part-time learners studying for a certificate in creative techniques at Mid Kent College created the boxes to help them visualise and experiment with different colour techniques. Janet Lowther, 57, and from Maidstone, said: “It’s a lot […]

Hands-on experience for media students

More than 100 media students in the East Midlands could be shooting straight to the heart of the film industry with on-the-job training. Learners at New College Nottingham will have the chance to work on real camera shoots after production company Skeleton Productions pledged to offer a student a placement on every one of their […]

Budding photographers gain online exposure

Two young photographers in Cheshire had their work snapped up in a flash by a leading photography website. Paige Haig, 17, and Callum Blithell, 18, both from Crewe and studying at South Cheshire College, won awards when they submitted their photos to competitive online photo community Pixoto. The pair put their photos on Pixoto as […]