Author: Jude Burke

Another college merger has been cast into doubt after one of their chairs made “regrettable” comments on local TV. At one stage, Barnfield College and Central Bedfordshire College were both “seriously committed” to “exploring the potential” of joining forces, according to the report into the South-East Midlands area review, which ended in March. But a […]

A university’s controversial plans to take a college over by the back door have been delayed, FE Week can reveal. Lambeth College consulted in June on proposed changes to its governance structure, which would have handed significant control over how it is run to London South Bank University, ahead of a formal merger. The changes […]

An apprenticeship provider exposed in June by FE Week offering inducements to an employer has called in the administrators. After around 100 staff were made redundant on 17 August, Talent Training’s chairman David Harper informed them that he had “reluctantly chosen to agree to appoint administrators today for the company” in an email sent last […]

Just 15 per cent of levy-funded apprentices to date are aged 16 to 18, according to experimental government statistics published today. The new Department for Education figures, based on commitments made through the apprenticeship service since May, appear to make a mockery of Conservative party election manifesto commitments to support young people into apprenticeships. They […]

Ofsted has hit the headlines over the publication of its damning grade four-overall verdict on FE giant Learndirect – during a week which also saw another provider slump to ‘inadequate’. Reports into both UK Training and Development Limited and Learndirect Limited were published on August 17, and were both based on inspections carried out almost […]

A-level results day is here!  Today’s the day when A-level learners up and down the country find out whether all their hard work has paid off, and what their next step in life will be. *** The live blog is now closed. Sorry if your pictures didn’t make it in – we’ve been inundated with […]

The Department for Education has remained silent over why a college with a grade four for its apprenticeship provision has not been removed from the register of apprenticeship training providers. St Helens College received the lowest possible grade for its provision in an Ofsted report published on June 16, just three months after it was […]

The government has been accused of “making it up as they go along” on critical questions over non-levy tendering, especially concerning maximum bid sizes. The Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a new tender process for delivering apprenticeships to employers not subject to the levy last month, after its first attempt was “markedly oversubscribed” and […]