Paul Offord | FE Week

Exclusive: First outstanding Ofsted rating for FE college in 14 months

The first general FE to receive a grade one Ofsted rating in 14 months is Dudley College, FE Week can exclusively reveal. The report was full of glowing endorsements, including outstanding ratings for leadership and management, teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, outcomes for learners, 16 to 19 study programmes, adult learning […]

English college group wins applied engineering Saudi contract

A three-year contract worth £58 million, to run a higher education applied engineering college in Saudi Arabia, has been secured by Lincoln College Group. A spokesperson said LCG had to bid against several international college and university groups to secure the deal – meaning it will continue run the Applied Engineering College, formerly known as […]

Nottingham College mega-merger goes through 10 months late

The creation of one of the largest colleges in the country in Nottingham has finally happened – 10 months after the merger was supposed to complete. The legal coming together of New College Nottingham, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in January, and Central College Nottingham, which also recently received a grade two from the inspectorate, was […]

Two large colleges pull back from inadequate Ofsted ratings

Two large colleges have pulled back from ‘inadequate’ Ofsted ratings – with both recognised for improved performance in reports out this morning. City of Bristol College and North Shropshire College have now been rated grade three. Inspectors recognised in today’s report on the former, which was rated grade four 17 months ago, that “senior leaders […]

Traineeship to apprenticeship progression rates fall below 20%

The proportion of adult trainees funded by the ESFA who progress onto an apprenticeship has dipped below 20 per cent, FE Week can exclusively reveal. Traineeships were launched four years ago, as part of the government’s drive to help low-skilled unemployed people below the age of 25 onto apprenticeships. The scheme, which funds work placements, […]

IFS: Parties’ spending plans leave 16 to 18 education with 10% less than schools

General election manifesto plans of all three major parties’ proposals will leave spending for 16 to 18-year-olds around 10 per cent lower than secondary schools, according to new analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The think tank says that while the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats are all proposing to spend more on this […]

Glacial progress exposed for colleges’ apprentice delivery

Colleges deliver just one in five apprenticeships last year, meaning virtually no progress has been made in the 18 months since they were told to get more involved by the minister at the time. This figure, based on FE Week analysis of data obtained by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers through a freedom […]

Breaking: Updated register of apprenticeship training providers published

The updated register of apprenticeship training providers has now been published. An extra 507 providers have been added by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. It comes after many established apprenticeship providers were left disappointed, when they were not accepted through the first round in March – when 1,708 providers were accepted as eligible to deliver […]

Lib Dems pledge to double businesses that hire apprentices

A pledge to double the number of businesses that hire apprentices has been announced by the Liberal Democrats, ahead of its full manifesto launch tomorrow. The policy was unveiled tonight and FE Week asked, before publication, what the party was taking to be its start figure for this. We were told in response that they […]