Jessica Fino | FE Week

The move towards professionalising governance

More and more colleges are appointing directors of governance and are even paying their governors, as they look to professionalise these roles in the shadow of mergers and the insolvency regime. FE Week has taken closer look at how and why this practice has come about. The importance of governors has never been higher, with […]

Apprenticeship register reapplication process branded a ‘farce’ by provider

An Ofsted grade two provider has hit out at the government’s “farcical” process for reapplying to the register of apprenticeship training providers, after its bid was rejected on a technicality. According to the guidelines, providers can be exempt from filling out some parts of the application if they have received a short Ofsted inspection confirming […]

Ofsted watch: UTC impresses while colleges flounder

A university technical college stood out this week for the right reasons – it was rated ‘good’ in its first ever inspection. General FE colleges didn’t reach the same heights, with two large college groups dropping to ‘requires improvement’ while another received a second consecutive ‘inadequate’ report. UTC Warrington was given a grade two after […]

Layoffs loom at RNN Group as DfE cuts off bailouts

One of the biggest college groups in the country has said it has “no alternative” than to cut staff numbers as it battles to cut its deficit, knowing it will “no longer be ‘bailed out’ by the government”. The RNN Group, which has around 1,200 staff and nearly 15,000 students, has put 130 jobs at […]

Traineeships – remember them? Well, they could be in for a welcome boost

Something of a surprise this week from the Department for Education – a press release about traineeships in which the skills minister, Anne Milton, was “thrilled”. The surprise for me wasn’t the good news – that research found the majority of the first trainees in 2014 progressed into work or further training. The surprise was […]

NUS calls on colleges to do more to tackle student sexual harassment

Colleges have been urged to develop more “robust” policies to tackle sexual harassment and violence, after a student survey found three quarters had an unwanted sexual experience. And in its first targeted research into sexual harassment and violence within further education, the National Union of Students found that, of the 75 per cent of female […]

DfE begins search for provider of £80m T-level support programme

The government is on the hunt for an organisation to design and deliver the second phase of a professional development offer for teachers delivering T-levels. A tender for a contract valued between £40 million and £82 million was launched by the Department for Education today, which set out plans for the work to start from […]

Revealed: The 3 colleges that will share £1.2m to open centres for excellence in SEND

Three colleges have been chosen to open centres for excellence in special educational needs and disabilities. City College Norwich, Derby College and Weston College will each share a slice of £1.2 million to provide support for leaders, managers and practitioners who wish to put learners with SEND at the heart of their organisation. Selected by […]