Author: Fraser Whieldon

A college has questioned the “rationale” of Ofsted inspecting them within days of the new academic year starting. However, others believe there are advantages to it – so, should the watchdog be visiting providers in September? Fraser Whieldon investigates The Sheffield College (pictured) received an inspection between September 24 and 27, with inspectors reporting learners […]

Awarding bodies are being invited to develop qualifications for wave three of the T-levels programme, which is due to be delivered from September 2022. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education today opened up a £35 million tender for eight qualifications, based on three routes: legal, finance and accounting; engineering and manufacturing; and business and […]

A row erupted between a university technical college and a sixth form college yesterday over “inaccurate” achievement rate claims. Scarborough UTC, in North Yorkshire, posted a tweet which included a graph entitled “Engineering and Computer Science Average Results” showing the UTC had outperformed Scarborough Sixth Form College in the latest Department for Education 16 to […]

Parents are lobbying the government to restart funding for an arts and media provider that trained mostly high-needs learners. The Education and Skills Funding Agency terminated its contracts with Sheffield Independent Film and Television (SHIFT) last year, after it was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. A report by the education watchdog, published in February 2019, said […]

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has applauded the UK’s ambition to host an upcoming WorldSkills competition – and is encouraging the sector to back a bid. His remarks come as FE Week launches its ‘Back A Bid’ campaign to prove there is sufficient interest in hosting the competition, affectionately known as the ‘Skills Olympics’, in 2027. […]

An FE Week investigation into T-level cold-spots has found six out of eight college principals in Lincolnshire appear to have turned their backs on the opportunity, with one telling FE Week the mandatory industry placement requirement in the region was “really, really difficult”. We also found no colleges or training providers in London would be […]

The new boss of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has called for an additional £750 million of government money to prop-up small businesses’ apprenticeships. Speaking to the Financial Times, Jennifer Coupland said the apprenticeship levy has meant small businesses have cut their training by ten per cent, while levy-payers have increased theirs by […]

An ex-deputy director of the government’s skills funding agency has called for a return to “supportive” contract management for providers. Writing in FE Week, Tony Allen has criticised the way the Education and Skills Funding Agency manages funding contracts ahead of an imminent report by Dame Mary Ney (pictured) into oversight of college finances. Ney’s […]