Paul Offord | FE Week

32 adult learning projects share £11.7 million fund

The projects which will share a £11.7 million fund to help more adults back into the classroom have been announced. The Flexible Learning Fund will support 32 “innovative” projects across England. The idea is to “encourage more people to take part in new training or courses that will help them progress in current employment or […]

Applications open for nine new T-level employer panels

Representatives from business are being asked to apply to join panels that will help develop new T-levels. The Department for Education is establishing employer panels for T-level routes that will be delivered from 2022, in agriculture, environmental and animal care; business and administration; catering and hospitality; creative and design; and hair and beauty. “The DfE is […]

Learndirect’s second Ofsted monitoring visit: 15 key findings

The second monitoring visit report on crisis-hit Learndirect has been published by Ofsted. This was the second reinspection monitoring visit to Learndirect Ltd following publication of the inspection report last August, which found the provider to be ‘inadequate’ overall. Learndirect Ltd is “winding down its contracts to deliver apprenticeships and adult learning”. These will finish at […]

Bids to open for share of new construction retraining fund in April

Bidding is to open next month for a share of a new construction retraining fund worth tens of millions of pounds. The Treasury announced back in November that it would establish a “formal partnership” with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, to oversee a new national retraining scheme focusing on improving […]

First Ofsted subcontracting visit report criticises Wigan and Leigh College

The first ever report of an Ofsted monitoring visit into subcontracting has found that governors and senior management at Wigan and Leigh College have been too slow to improve performance. The report out today recalled that Paul Joyce, Ofsted’s deputy director for further education and skills, warned last month that the inspectorate planned to focus […]

More traineeships are leading to apprenticeships

The proportion of young people who complete a traineeship and move on to an apprenticeship has risen but it still sits below 40 per cent. A pre-employment programme, traineeships were launched five years ago in the government’s drive to support low-skilled unemployed people below the age of 25 onto apprenticeships. But interest – which was […]

Ofsted Watch: Encouraging week for adult and community learning providers

A strong week for adult and community learning providers saw three climb up from ‘requires improvement’ ratings. Slough Pitstop Project Limited was rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. Inspectors recognised that “leaders, managers and trustees set a clear direction for the charity”, and “welcome all learners to their courses, which benefits the local community”. It was […]

AAC2018: CBI demands urgent levy upheaval

The apprenticeship levy is “not fit for purpose” and the sector needs much more flexibility on spending the cash it raises, the deputy head of the CBI is to warn the FE Week Annual Apprenticeships Conference. Josh Hardie will use his keynote speech in Birmingham today to give large employers more latitude on levy money […]

Twelve providers now have chartered status

A twelfth provider has achieved FE chartered status: Manchester’s Mantra Learning. The floodgates have seemingly started to open at the Chartered Institution for Further Education, after three attained the status last month: WMC – The Camden College, Trafford College, and Burton and South Derbyshire College. They are all rated either ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted. […]