York College
‘apprenticeships’
Several major retailers have turned their backs on delivering their own apprenticeship training, with one blaming the costs of training as the reason for their exit. Sixty-four providers made “unplanned exits” from publicly funded provision in 2019/20, as revealed in the impact assessment for the government’s landmark Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, published in May. […]
News
A new human resources T Level has been pulled from the flagship qualifications’ rollout after no awarding organisations could be found to develop it. An update from the Education and Skills Funding Agency today revealed development work had ceased on the T Level as of this month. “We were not able to award the contract […]
Providers are being blocked from offering traineeships to 16- to 18-year-olds as the government drags its feet on a “market entry exercise” that was promised last October. Sector leaders are warning that the issue, described as “barmy”, will put the nail in the coffin of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s target to triple the number of starts […]
The Ofsted chief inspector appears to have changed her view on using education to direct learners into work, after years of attacking arts courses for their minimal job prospects. Speaking at the Festival of Education today, Amanda Spielman said inspections should not focus on a “utilitarian” view of education. “We do children a great disservice […]
News, Ofsted
The education secretary has defended plans to hand new powers to the government’s apprenticeships quango, saying it will “strike the right balance” with Ofqual’s responsibilities. Gavin Williamson, today speaking to the education select committee, called proposals to hand the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education sign-off on approving and regulating technical qualifications a “tidying up […]
Ofsted inspectors will “always” report where a school fails to comply with the Baker clause and “consider” how it affects their grade, the watchdog has clarified following mounting pressure. Yesterday, the Commons Education Select Committee recommended schools be limited to ‘requires improvement’ if they are not allowing training providers to access their pupils, as mandated […]
MPs have called on Ofsted to cut schools off from the top two inspection grades if they fail to comply with the Baker Clause. In a report out today, the education select committee recommends a school be limited to a grade three under such circumstances. This comes days after Ofsted bosses caused confusion about whether […]
The government is measuring colleges by using unfair historical references that are of out of date and do not present a level playing field, writes Chris Webb. Colleges that are graded 3 and have shown significant improvement are consistently being denied access to money due to their Ofsted grade especially when they have been waiting […]
Opinion
Applications for a £9.5 million government pilot to bolster teacher training in the further education sector have opened today. The Department for Education has announced a four-week bidding window for the FE Professional Development Grants pilots, which will run in 2021/22. They will focus on strengthening staff’s skills and confidence in using technology to deliver […]
