Paul Offord | FE Week

Government loophole allows apprenticeship brokerage to continue

Taking fees for brokering apprenticeship funding is acceptable, according to correspondence from the Skills Funding Agency – as long as payments aren’t made directly from government funding. The government recently promised to crack down on brokering, which can see subcontractors charged up to five per cent of their total contract funding in commission to be […]

Victory for Grenfell campaigners as FE Commissioner scraps colleges’ merger

A merger between two London colleges has been called off following direct intervention from the FE commissioner, triggered by fallout from the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. Kensington and Chelsea College had been pressing ahead with plans to merge with Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, despite massive local opposition. But Richard Atkins told campaigners yesterday […]

New IfA boss reveals how he got the job

Sir Gerry Berragan only has two years as chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships because he did not go through a full recruitment process, he has admitted. A former IfA board member, he revealed that he was recruited in unusual circumstances during an in-depth interview with FE Week, published next week, and spoke candidly […]

Prisons careers advice contracts ‘termination’ fears

Contracts to provide careers advice to prisoners appear to have been terminated without any replacement, according to a pressure group, which is demanding answers from the new prisons minister. Professor Tom Schuller, the chair of the Prisoner Learning Alliance, has written to Rory Stewart today, claiming that changes will mean that “the current service to […]

Milton attempts to reassure SFCs’ cash concerns

Funding concerns will be acknowledged in a speech from the skills minister, who is to assure delegates at the Sixth Form Colleges Association conference that she will always fight their corner. Anne Milton will attempt to strike a reassuring tone when she addresses the conference in London this morning. “I am determined to see the […]

Ofsted can’t keep up with the growth in apprentices, MPs hear

Fears that Ofsted can’t keep up with the UK’s massive apprenticeships expansion have been raised before MPs, a day after the chief inspector spoke about her struggles to secure more funding. The House of Commons education select committee held an oral evidence session this morning, part of its inquiry into the quality and monitoring of […]

Nescot accepts former £360k a year principal was unfairly dismissed

A college has accepted that its former principal Sunaina Mann was unfairly constructively dismissed, after she brought her case to an employment tribunal. North East Surrey College of Technology (Nescot) has today issued a statement in which it admits to regrets over “the circumstances in which her employment came to an end”, and revealed how […]

Anger as ESFA dodges MPs’ scrutiny on subcontracting fees

The government has been accused of shocking double standards on transparency, admitting it probably won’t publish its long-delayed findings on subcontracting fees in time for parliamentary inquiry hearings. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has taken over responsibility for publishing all subcontracting “management” fees, but it “aims” to publish them by the end of March […]

Hughes criticises DfE for claiming university regulator has FE representation

The government and its former universities minister are under fire for “worrying” confusion over FE college representation on the board of the new higher education regulator. During a bitter parliamentary debate on January 8, ex-minister Jo Johnson claimed that FE was represented on the board of the Office for Students in the form of Monisha […]