Fraser Whieldon | FE Week

Ofsted watch: Two providers rated ‘inadequate’ for apprenticeships

A private provider has dropped two grades to ‘inadequate’ and a sixth form college was rated grade four for its apprenticeship provision, in what is otherwise a positive week for the FE sector. There was especially good news for Trafford College Group, which was found to have made ‘significant progress’ in all areas since it […]

Hadlow College scandal and government response is an FE watershed moment

FE Week’s story of Hadlow College being the first to be taken through a new education insolvency regime is a massive watershed moment. It is the culmination of two years of policy and legislative work that civil servants are keen to put to the test. The Treasury had become fed-up with the Department for Education […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 281

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Carl Lygo, Vice chancellor and CEO, Arden University Start date: April 2019 Previous job: Chairman of the governing body, UCFB Interesting fact: In 2018, he was honoured with the ‘outstanding contribution by an individual’ title at the Education Investor Awards. Pete McCabe, Head of Edge Future […]

Providers face further wait on tender outcome as GLA wrestles with queries

Providers awaiting the outcome of the Greater London Authority’s adult education budget tender will not be told the outcome for weeks, despite the list of winners being approved by the mayor over a month ago. The delay, which has left many providers frustrated, has been blamed on a “large number of queries” raised by applicants. […]

Revealed: The 21 winners of the West Midlands AEB tender

The first winners from a devolved adult education budget (AEB) competitive procurement process have been told the good news. The list of 21 providers (see below) which have been awarded AEB contracts by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been sent only to the providers, but has also been seen by FE Week. WMCA […]

Three colleges handed DfE warnings over finances

Three struggling colleges have been hit with a notice to improve by the government this afternoon, after they were all assessed to have “inadequate” financial health. Both Hadlow College and West Kent and Ashford College, which together make up the Hadlow Group and have hit the headlines in recent months, received the warnings as they […]

Another 6 new providers suspended from taking on apprentices

Six more new providers have received temporary bans on recruiting apprentices following early Ofsted inspections that found them making poor progress. Since October 2018, the watchdog has been carrying out monitoring visits at every directly-funded provider which won a contract to deliver training after April 2017. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has released an […]

EPI: Proportion of sixth form colleges with in-year deficits rockets fivefold in six-year period

The proportion of sixth form colleges with in-year deficits has soared fivefold over a six-year period due to crippling 16 to 19 funding cuts, according to new research from an influential think tank. In 2016/17, 36 per cent of sixth form colleges had “adjusted operational in-year deficits”; whereas in 2010/11 it was just seven per […]

Prison education? It’s much calmer than an FE college…

No college would consider it had done a good job if it allowed students to complete their studies without learning how to research information online. But this is the reality in prisons across the country. Cath Murray finds out about the challenges of running an education department on the inside. Sarah Aumeer doesn’t understand why […]