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‘Bicton College’

Skills Minister approves Bicton College merger following FE Commissioner advice

Skills Minister Nick Boles has approved plans for Devon-based Bicton College to merge with the Cornwall College Group (TCCG), FE Week can reveal. FE Commissioner Dr David Collins inspected the specialist land-based college in March after the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) raised concern about its “financial health”. He concluded Bicton, which was rated as ‘good’ […]

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Commissioner — ‘college cannot operate on own’

Norton Radstock College has been told it can no longer operate on its own after FE Commissioner Dr David Collins identified issues with leadership, governance and college finances. The 4,700-learner college, near Bath, was graded inadequate by Ofsted in May and has posted a deficit every year for the last three years. In a newly-released […]

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Colleges losing focus on student success, FE Commissioner warns

Colleges are losing their focus on student success in favour of other activities, FE Commissioner Dr David Collins has warned. In his third letter to the FE sector, which comes after he visited his 14th college since his interventions began, Dr Collins (pictured) said senior teams were often seen by staff as “invisible”, often in […]

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Principal who stood down amid allegations returns as deputy

A former principal who stood down from the top job at London’s Newham College amid a series of damaging allegations has been given a deputy’s role at another college. Denise Brown (formerly Brown-Sackey) left Newham in January, two months after it was claimed the college had failed to take action over a recording posted on […]

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FE Commissioner questions future of cash-strapped college that saw governor resignations over principal’s appointment

The FE Commissioner has questioned the future of a cash-strapped Midland college that saw governors resign after a new principal was appointed without a competitive application process. Dr David Collins was sent in to Stratford-Upon-Avon College by former Skills Minister Matthew Hancock in May after the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) rated its financial health as inadequate, […]

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BIS publishes summary reports from FE Commissioner visits

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has today published summary reports of FE Commissioner Dr David Collins’s visits to colleges. Dr Collins’s interventions are triggered either by a grade four Ofsted rating, a notice of financial concern from the Skills Funding Agency or Education Funding Agency, or failure to meet national minimum standards of […]

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Small classes, staff budgets and governors’ skills in the spotlight as FE Commissioner issues progress review

FE Commissioner Dr David Collins has criticised small classes, big staffing spends and a skills shortage on governing boards in a letter to the sector. Dr Collins, who has so far visited  at least 10 colleges since his appointment last year, has written to governors, chief executives and colleges to update them on his progress. […]

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Commissioner details fail to stop ATL questions

Questions remain over the role of the FE Commissioner despite the government having published a detailed outline of the intervention process. Association of Teachers and Lecturers general secretary Dr Mary Bousted (pictured) has accused the government of “re-inventing the wheel” when it comes to quality assurance in FE. She said: “We have serious questions about […]

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Process document offers glimpse of inner-workings of new FE Commissioner role

Providers have been offered an insight into the work of FE Commissioner Dr David Collins with the publication of a new document. The document, Intervention in Further Education: The strengthened intervention process, sets out information about the process Dr Collins and his advisers follow when they intervene with providers. It also includes detail of plans to publish […]

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