Jude Burke | FE Week

Anne Milton: New skills minister’s first speech to sector and Q & A in full

New skills minister Anne Milton left many delegates quietly impressed – when she committed in her first major speech to the sector, at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ annual conference, to listen to feedback and concentrate on fixing problems rather than creating new ones. Here’s what she said in full: “I’m delighted to […]

Area review ignored as central London set for second mega-college merger

A London college that had been set for a ground-breaking partnership with an adult learning provider has announced plans for an alternative merger. Kensington and Chelsea College emerged from the central London area review with a recommendation to merge with City Literary Institute, a specialist designated institution. But today (June 28) the college announced it […]

ESFA concern: providers subcontracting to employers

Providers using employers as subcontractors in ways that are “contrary to the spirit” of the apprenticeship reforms will face the consequences, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has warned. Keith Smith, director of funding and programmes at the agency, told delegates on the first morning of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ conference that […]

Merger collapse makes it a dozen area review failures

Yet another merger recommended in the area reviews has collapsed, as a planned link-up between two colleges in the north-east became the twelfth to be called off. The news that Stockton Riverside College and Darlington College’s partnership was off the cards emerged this week, more than a year after it was first proposed in the […]

Prison education reforms on hold for another year

Reforms to prison education seem to be back on hold, as existing offender learning contracts are being extended for another year, FE Week has learned. Currently, the offender learning and skills service (OLASS) is delivered by three colleges and one independent learning provider, whose contracts are managed by central government. This state of affairs had […]

Ofsted watch: Local authority provider shakes off inadequate rating

A council-run adult and community learning provider has managed to shake off its previous inadequate rating this week, going up to a grade three. And a college boosted its rating from requires improvement to good across the board, in the week’s other main highlight. Leaders at Wakefield Metropolitan District Council’s adult and community learning service […]

Colleges in dark over data reporting rule

Many colleges aren’t managing to fulfil their legal duties to publish 16-to-18 performance data – apparently because they don’t know they’re required to. The Department for Education decreed last year that, from March 2017, all providers – including colleges and sixth form colleges – had to publish five new ‘headline accountability measures’ on their websites. […]

Private equity firm pay £700 million for major provider

A private equity firm has reportedly paid a massive £700 million to buy out a major independent training provider. The sale of a majority stake in IT provider QA Training – from previous owners Bregal Investments, which bought the firm in 2007, to CVC Capital Partners – was announced today. The deal is reported to […]

Eight-month Ofsted turnaround from inadequate to good for UTC

A previously struggling university technical college has performed a remarkable turnaround to be rated ‘good’ by Ofsted just eight months after receiving the lowest possible rating. The education watchdog awarded UTC Cambridge grade two across the board – making it the first of the 14 to 19 institutions to have come back from a grade […]