Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu | FE Week

Ofsted updates report after grades omission fiasco

Ofsted has been forced to revise a published inspection report after being made aware it was missing both apprenticeship and adult course grades and commentary. Peter Symonds College teaches around 4,200 young people aged 16 to 19 and was rated ‘outstanding’ across the board in a report published by the education watchdog last week. But […]

London’s mega-college to be hit with a grade three

A large London college group wrestling with an unexpected £10 million deficit is set to receive a grade three after its first-ever inspection took place last month. FE Week understands Capital City College Group’s (CCCG) Ofsted report will be published imminently. Chief executive Roy O’Shaughnessy previously told this newspaper in December that he was trying […]

Could free travel drive the sector to new heights?

As the Manchester mayor’s flagship policy for students enters its second term, JL Dutaut asks if it’s one worth following – and if so, who should drive? It’s boom time for Manchester’s colleges. “We are seeing a significant increase in the number of students entering further education,” says The Manchester College principal and Greater Manchester […]

College complaint forces Ofsted to reopen grade 4 inspection

Ofsted inspectors will return to a college after the principal questioned the accuracy of serious safeguarding failure claims that led to a provisional ‘inadequate’ rating. Shrewsbury Colleges Group, which teaches more than 9,000 students mostly aged 16 to 18, insisted the judgement from an inspection in November was “wrong”. Its principal, James Staniforth, told FE […]

Minister warns college bosses it could go bust next year

A minister has warned a college that it could go bust next year if learner losses are not reversed and the sale of a campus is “delayed further”. Lord Agnew wrote to Warrington and Vale Royal College chair Mervyn Ward last month with the concern following intervention from the FE Commissioner Richard Atkins which found […]

Troubled college to tumble two Ofsted grades from ‘outstanding’

A college that is currently investigating an unexpected £6 million deficit is set to be downgraded by Ofsted from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’. It is the latest blow to Gateshead College, which has also seen its high-profile principal and chair quit in recent weeks. The college announced to staff last Friday that it received a […]

Khan criticised as being ‘wasteful’ for £40k splurge on AEB consultant

London’s mayor is planning to spend up to £40,000 of the capital’s adult education budget on hiring a consultant to review a consultation – despite employing more than 50 staff to manage the policy. The move has been slammed as “wasteful”, with one college principal labelling it as “just wrong”. Newly published agenda papers for […]

Changing perceptions, raising aspirations, making improvements

The new secretary of state for education introduces National Aprenticeship Week with his vision for how the sector will change on his watch. His focus will be on challenging misconceptions about apprenticeships, tightening oversight of providers, and encouraging headteachers to promote the apprenticeship concept to their students I’ve enjoyed so many great “firsts” since becoming […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 306

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Morag Davis, Centre Principal, Accrington and Rossendale College Start date: January 2020 Concurrent job: Assistant principal for technical curriculum, Nelson and Colne College Group Interesting fact: She is a qualified snowboarding instructor. Andrew Wathey, Interim Chair, Student Loans Company Start date: February 2020 Concurrent job: Vice-chancellor, Northumbria […]