Jude Burke | FE Week

T-levels tender launched by Department for Education

The highly anticipated and controversial T-levels tender process has now been launched by the Department for Education. Awarding organisations can bid for an “exclusive license” to develop and deliver the new qualifications, in a contract worth £17.5 million. Three separate tenders have been launched – one for each of the first pathways to be delivered […]

Employers join forces to overturn ‘highly-damaging’ funding rate cuts for popular management apprenticeships

The employer group behind three popular management apprenticeship standards has the backing of more than 150 employers – including retail giant Tesco – in its fight to overturn plans to slash their funding bands, the Chartered Management Institute has claimed. The chartered manager, operational manager and team leader standards are all facing cuts of between […]

On the eve of the controversial T-level tender – when, how and why?

On the eve of the launch of the government’s first ever tender for a single awarding organisation for a qualification, FE Week takes a look at the twists and turns of the tangled T-levels procurement process to date. The controversial full tender process to find awarding organisations to offer the first T-levels qualifications is due […]

‘I wouldn’t accept college place even if I was offered it’, says dwarf learner at centre of rejection row

An 18-year-old learner with dwarfism at the centre of a row over whether a college discriminated against him has said he wouldn’t accept a place even if it was offered to him. Louis Makepeace, who has achondroplasia and is just 3ft 10 inches tall, hit the headlines at the weekend after claiming he was turned […]

IfA funding band review: Healthcare standard set for 67 per cent funding increase

A healthcare apprenticeship standard is set to have its funding band increased by a massive 67 per cent following the Institute for Apprenticeships’ rate review. The level three senior healthcare support worker will have its maximum funding cap increased from £3,000 to £5,000, according to Jane Hadfield, national senior programme manager for apprenticeships at Health Education […]

Ofqual investigating provider after inspectorate found copy and paste assessments

Ofqual has confirmed it is investigating ‘copy and paste’ assessment allegations at a Newcastle-based training provider, uncovered during a recent Ofsted inspection. The inspectorate’s report into Northern Construction Training and Regeneration, published last week, said it had found evidence of assessment practice that was “not consistently appropriate” – including identical word-processed text in six out […]

Gordon Ramsay wades into row over learner with dwarfism claiming college rejection

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has waded into a row over a learner with dwarfism who claims to have been rejected from a college cookery course because of his height. The star restaurateur took to Twitter in support of 18-year-old Louis Makepeace (pictured above), who said he was told he couldn’t start a hospitality and catering […]

College denies learner with dwarfism was refused place, following national media reports

A college has denied that a learner with dwarfism was refused a place on a cookery course, following national media reports over the weekend that he had been branded a “health and safety risk”. According to stories in the national press, including The Sun and the Mail Online, 18-year-old Louis Makepeace, who has achondroplasia and […]

Ofsted slaps provider with grade 4 after evidence of copy and paste assessments

A Newcastle-based training provider with contracts worth £3.5 million last year is facing having them pulled after receiving the lowest possible grade overall from Ofsted this week. But Northern Construction Training and Regeneration was rated ‘good’ for its apprenticeships provision, meaning it’s likely to keep its place on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s apprenticeships […]