Jude Burke | FE Week

The minimum wage has gone up – but are apprentices getting paid?

The minimum wage for apprentices changed on April 1 this year, soaring from a measly £3.40 per hour to a princely £3.50 per hour. And though this extra cash – which represents an impressive 2.9% increase – is probably very welcome for young apprentices, we at FE Week started to wonder whether employers were paying […]

Ofsted watch: A bumper crop of ‘good’ grades

It’s a bumper Ofsted watch this week, with a total of 15 full FE and skills inspection reports published since our last round-up. What’s more, over half of these inspections resulted in a grade two rating or higher. These included HIT Training, which was rated ‘good’ across the board – holding onto the same overall […]

Agency boss writes warning letter to all college principals

The outgoing boss of the Education and Skills Funding Agency has fired a warning shot across the bows to all colleges on the importance of reliable financial and data management. Peter Lauener (pictured above) reminded college principals– or “accounting officers” – of their responsibilities in this area and the consequences of failing to meet them, […]

Skills Commission demands cross-departmental minister for lifelong learning

A group of key FE figures has called for a cross-departmental minister for a lifelong learning, through a new report by the Skills Commission. It’s one of a number of recommendations made by the commission, co-chaired by former chair of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service Dame Ruth Silver, in its new report ‘Spotlight on…lifelong […]

HEFCE to regulate degree apprenticeships

Degree apprenticeships will be regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and not by Ofsted. The news was revealed by the Department for Education this morning, as part of its apprenticeships accountability statement. It comes after FE Week reported in December that Ofsted had been seeking to extend its remit to cover higher-level […]

Sixth UTC hit with Ofsted inadequate grade

Pupils were “sold a dream” and had their “confidence and aspirations knocked” by a university technical college that has been slammed by Ofsted. Bolton UTC received the lowest possible grade in all areas by the education watchdog in a damning report from the education watchdog, based on an inspection at the end of February. The […]

Ofsted watch: ‘Requires improvement’ for K College successor

A provider that took on much of the former K College provision, following its demise, has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ – in a mixed week for the FE and skills sector. Inspectors praised leaders at West Kent and Ashford College for being “determined in tackling the inadequacies that prevailed in the previous inspection”, in a report […]

First inadequate Ofsted rating for loans-only provider

The first inadequate-overall Ofsted rating has been handed out to a loans-only provider, which complained it had been unaware it was subject to inspection, causing its Skills Funding Agency contract to be pulled. The Beauty Academy was handed the lowest possible rating overall and in three headline fields in a report published today (March 30), […]

Annual Apprenticeship Conference 2017

The FE Week Annual Apprenticeship Conference – now in its third year – shone a spotlight on the importance of quality being maintained and hopefully improved as the system is transformed. Held just days before the launch of the apprenticeship levy – and shortly after the announcement of the controversial Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers […]