Fraser Whieldon | FE Week

Spielman bags two more years as Ofsted chief inspector

Amanda Spielman has been given two extra years in the role of Ofsted chief inspector, the Department for Education has confirmed. FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week revealed earlier this month that the extension had been agreed by government but was awaiting Privy Council signoff. The DfE confirmed today that it is going ahead. Spielman joined the […]

City & Guilds fined £50K over ‘unfit’ qualifications

Education giant City and Guilds is facing a £50,000 penalty from Ofqual after it was found an assignment for multiple level 3 qualifications from 2018 was “unfit for purpose”. A notice of regulatory action against the awarding body was published by the regulator this morning. It states that City & Guilds must also pay all […]

Boost to employer cash incentives for T Level industry placements

The government has temporarily upped the cash incentives for employers running T Level industry placements to £1,000. It comes as the Department for Education has become increasingly concerned with convincing businesses to host students for the 315-hour or 45-day placements. Employers running placements in 2020/21, the first year of the flagship qualifications’ roll-out, were gifted […]

Prison education: 5 things we learned from today’s education committee hearing

The Commons’ education select committee heard from expert witnesses and two sector leaders today as part of its ongoing inquiry into prison education. The inquiry is intended to review current arrangements for learners in custody, including what barriers exist to delivering apprenticeships. In the first of two sessions, MPs heard from NACRO’s director of education […]

College suspends principal just two months before merger

A college being forced into a merger after an audit revealed a £5.35 million over-claim has now suspended its long-serving principal. FE Week has seen an email to Ruskin College staff saying its principal of nine years, Paul Di Felice, has been removed. And a college spokesperson today confirmed he had been “suspended from his […]

For sale! Land of insolvent college goes on the market for £580K

England’s first college to be put through the government’s insolvency regime is selling off a huge parcel of land, as the local community fights to reopen its popular farm shop. A total of 45.42 acres – equivalent to 25 football pitches – has been put on the market for £580,000. The college entered education administration […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 354

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Melanie Guymer, Curriculum consultant, FE Associates Start date: April 2021 Previous job: Vice principal of curriculum planning, United Colleges Group Interesting fact: She used to run an English Language Consultancy in Hong Kong. John Cridland, Chair, WorldSkills UK Skills Taskforce for Global Britain Start date: May […]

National college closes without ever having opened

One of the government’s once-vaunted national colleges is being wound up – without ever opening, FE Week can reveal. A notice to dissolve was posted on the National College for Onshore Oil and Gas (NCOOG) Companies House profile last week, seven years after it was originally announced. Its former interim managing director Martin York said […]

Provider challenges Ofsted for ‘factually incorrect’ report

A care worker apprenticeship provider is challenging a damaging Ofsted report and accused inspectors of lacking the knowledge to judge their provision. Flexible Training Ltd was found to have made ‘insufficient progress’ in all three areas of an early monitoring visit for its provision of adult care apprenticeships to 21 learners. One key criticism by […]