Author: Nick Linford

Approval of FE sector leadership and management has declined since last year, according to the results of an Education and Training Foundation (ETF) survey released today. The survey revealed that 44 per cent of the 255 respondents thought the standard of leadership and management in the sector was good or very good, while 22 per […]

Ofqual has issued a four-point improvement plan for awarding organisations (AOs) in a bid to make Functional Skills qualifications “more valid and more reliable”. The qualifications watchdog today published the report on its review, launched last year, of level two English and maths Functional Skills, which concluded that they “need to be improved”. The report said […]

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has issued a plea to the Labour Party not to raid the FE budget to pay for higher education. An Aoc spokesperson said Labour leader Ed Miliband (pictured above) was expected to announce a policy of cutting maximum university fees for students by a third, from £9,000 to £6,000. And […]

Association of Colleges (AoC) boss Martin Doel (above) has leapt to the defence of his members after a former Ofsted director and civil servant launched a scathing attack on colleges claiming “lots of them are frankly, rubbish”. Richard Brooks (inset, above-right), who was the education watchdog’s director of strategy from September 2009 to August 2013 […]

Ofsted national director for FE and skills Lorna Fitzjohn today launched the first conference for inspectors from across Europe dedicated to adult learning. The two-day event, called Inspecting Post-compulsory Education and Training — helping to prepare the youth of today for the world of tomorrow, began on January 22. Hosted by Ofsted and the Standing […]

Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge (pictured) has warned that the Department for Education (DfE) has “little understanding of the impact of existing initiatives and programmes” for 16 to 18-year-olds. She spoke out with her committee today reporting on its three-month inquiry into participation in education and training among the age group. The report warned that the DfE had no […]

Lambeth College’s long-running dispute over new staff contracts came to an end this evening after striking union members voted to return to work. Members of the University and College Union (UCU) unanimously agreed to call off an indefinite strike, which began on Monday, in a meeting at the college’s Clapham site. Lecturers at the London […]

Former BBC Dragons’ Den investor and government apprenticeship reform adviser Doug Richard has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of raping a 13-year-old girl. The US-born entrepreneur, who has strongly denied the accusation, was arrested in connection with the alleged attack on an underage girl this month. He was quizzed by detectives from City of London […]