Fraser Whieldon | FE Week

As Covid-19 lock-down looms, we must be there for one another

In the face of the global pandemic, there is a great deal for the UK’s awarding industry to be proud of, writes Tom Bewick Awarding organisations and endpoint assessment organisations have been hit badly by coronavirus. Our bread and butter, as thriving knowledge-based organisations, are about serving the qualifications and assessment needs of thousands of […]

Be clear, be informative, be approachable

We owe our staff, students and other stakeholders good leadership – but remember to show a human face as well If there’s one word that sums up the challenge facing educational institutions in the current environment it’s uncertainty. There’s a lot of it around and a lack of clarity makes it hard to know what […]

Gowland comes out of retirement to be temp boss at London college

The principal of a London college has been replaced by a retired further education leader ahead of an FE Commissioner visit. Waltham Forest College has told FE Week Joy Kettyle stepped down with immediate effect in February after two years at the helm “due to personal circumstances”, and former Newham College principal Di Gowland (pictured) […]

Apprenticeship providers desperate for government support as starts plummet

England’s largest apprenticeship providers have told FE Week that starts are “falling off a cliff” and redundancies are likely to follow. According to many of the providers we spoke to, they are becoming increasingly desperate for the government to provide information on what, if any, financial support they will receive in response to the coronavirus […]

Top civil servant challenged on £50k building cost for every UTC pupil

The Department for Education’s top civil servant has been quizzed before an influential Commons committee on £680 million university technical college building costs, equivalent to £50,000 per pupil. Jonathan Slater, the department’s permanent secretary, was taken to task at a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee held after the National Audit Office released a report […]

Another UTC to lower 14-19 age range from September

Another university technical college is scrapping its 14 to 19 age criteria and will start recruiting 13-year-olds from this September. Greater Peterborough UTC (GPUTC) announced the change following “positive” feedback in a consultation. It opened in 2016. Principal David Bisley explained it is “essential local young people passionate about science, technology, engineering, and maths are […]

Profile: Simon Cook

FE Week meets the college principal who is determined to revitalize the fortunes of a neglected corner of England If anywhere feels like a left-behind coastal region, Medway is it. Yet, after decades of moving around Europe, England and South Africa, this is where Ipswich-born Simon Cook, principal of MidKent College, has decided to drop […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 310

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief executive, City & Guilds Group Start date: March 2020 Previous job: Managing director, City & Guilds and ILM Interesting fact: At the age of 16, she developed her own apprenticeship by applying to work on a campsite in France for 8 weeks. […]

DfE launches last-minute T-level placements research

The government has embarked on a very last-minute mission to find out if students could fail to secure the mandatory T-level industry placement. A tender to evaluate the controversial component of the new post-16 technical qualifications went live last week, with fewer than six months to go until students take their first class. The Department […]