FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Making waves to create opportunities

Employability skills learners in Cornwall took to the high seas to develop their teamwork, confidence and skills base by building a traditional boat. The group of unemployed people worked as a crew over five days to build a small coracle as part of a programme run by Cornwall College’s Work Skills Training Academy, Job Centre […]

Best foot forward for MidKent learners

Kent health and social care students began moving to a Latin beat when their lecturer persuaded them to shake it up with Zumba. MidKent College learners were introduced to the energetic South American dance-inspired exercise by their lecturer Caroline Lee-Abraham, after she learned that many of her students did little to no physical exercise. Caroline […]

Talented learners rocking all over the world

Young musicians from Derbyshire have hit the right note after battling it out to win the national final of the School Jam UK. Indie rock band Indigo Sky, made up of Burton and South Derbyshire College music learners Ashley Hubbard, 18, Laura Edwards, Alex Raworth, Huw Griffiths, and Chloe Freer, all 17, wowed judges with […]

FE is at risk of getting left behind in the digital dust

With advancements in technology, FE has moved on, too – not that you’d be too aware of that if you were a visitor to this year’s Bett show, argues Bob Harrison. It was a promising start to my 12th Bett (formerly British Educational Training and Technology) conference. Following Business Secretary Vince Cable opening the show […]

Rising to the challenges we all face

Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw had some tough words for FE at a recent Education Select Committee hearing, and while some of his comments may not have been well-received, that’s no reason to be dismissive says Lynne Sedgmore. I speak frequently with Ofsted during these delicate and complex times. I believe all colleges set out […]

New funding reform ‘is a real nightmare’

A bill setting out exciting aspirations for people with special educational needs (SEN) could be stymied by funding reforms warns Alison Boulton. Launching the Children and Families Bill this month, Children’s Minister Edward Timpson said the intention was to create a system that put children, parents and young people in the driving seat. Legislation that […]

Staying on after school has a new meaning

Thanks to the raising of the participation age, staying on after school no longer means sitting in class after the end-of-day bell rings — it also means big changes for education along with benefits for 17 and 18-year-olds, as Lesley Donoghue explains. Most parents and adults who work in education will be aware that from […]

Colleges join Cameron on largest delegation to India

College principals were among a ground-breaking UK trade delegation to India, led by Prime Minister David Cameron. West Nottinghamshire College’s Asha Khemka OBE, New College Nottingham’s Amarjit Basi and Norman Cave, from Birmingham’s Bournville College, formed part of the biggest ever UK delegation. It consisted of more than 100 companies — including Rolls-Royce, London Underground […]

Ben Nicholls, head of policy, Newham College

Meet Ben Nicholls — not too many in the world of FE will have heard of him, but quite a responsibility rests on his shoulders. The recently-appointed head of policy at Central London’s Newham College shies away from playfully-suggested titles such as FE tsar and FE champion, but with his trailblazing role within the sector, […]