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‘apprenticeships’

Apprenticeship provider register closure ‘stalling’ training industry, says former SFA manager

A former Skills Funding Agency manager has accused the government of “stalling” the training industry at a time of national crisis. Martin Taft, who is now the managing director of Midlands-based Springboard Training, said the suspension of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) in April has prevented new providers from offering support during the […]

News

Ofsted wins battle to inspect ALL apprenticeships

Ofsted will soon be handed powers to inspect all universities that offer apprenticeships – including the likes of Cambridge, FE Week can reveal. In a controversial move, the education watchdog is set to take on responsibility for overseeing all apprenticeships, including those at the degree levels of 6 and 7, for the first time. Only […]

News

How can we be in financial intervention yet ineligible for Covid relief?

Being turned down twice for relief funding feels like we are losing out partly because of our hard work, writes Chris Malish As lockdown began to really bite in April, the announcement of the ESFA’s post-16 provider relief scheme was welcome. The aim of the extra cash was “to continue to retain capacity within the apprenticeships […]

Opinion, Uncategorized

Why route reviews are so critical for the future of technical education

The resumption of route reviews is a wonderful opportunity for us to consider together how technical education can play a more important role than ever in supporting the nation’s economic recovery, writes Ana Osbourne It has now been nearly six months since the Institute announced that all route reviews would be postponed due to the […]

Opinion

Apprentice quality assurance charges to end from October

Controversial £40 charges for the external quality assurance of apprenticeship endpoint-assessment will start being phased out as soon as October, it has been confirmed. The fees will end as the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education hands over EQA responsibility for over 300 apprenticeship standards to Ofqual. Federation of Awarding Bodies chief executive Tom Bewick […]

News

Loss of some autonomy for colleges is a step in the right direction

Appointing regional FE directors would enable colleges to stop competing and work together for the best learning provision, writes Tom Richmond. When education secretary Gavin Williamson recently described colleges as “the beating hearts of so many of our towns”, I’m sure many people in the FE sector were smiling and nodding their heads. The money […]

Opinion

NAO reveal £726m in college bailouts and loans with ‘nearly half’ in intervention

Nearly three-quarters of a billion pounds in public funds has been spent on bailing out and restructuring colleges, while the government is intervening in nearly half of them, a new report has revealed.  The National Audit Office has today released its ‘Financial sustainability of colleges in England’ report, which details how the Department for Education […]

News

Ofsted chief now ‘open to exploring’ direct inspection of all FE subcontractors

For the first time Ofsted is exploring a move to directly inspect all FE subcontractors, something until now it has ruled out. Subcontracting in FE is big business, with 2,221 subcontracting arrangements at 856 subcontractors accounting for “around 14 per cent of the spending on apprenticeships and adult education” in 2018/19, according to Ofsted. The […]

News

Investigation: College sector recruitment highs & lows after virus and exams fiasco

As colleges re-open their doors after a summer like no other, staff have had to cross their fingers and hope new learners turn up, on the right courses for them. The outlook was nerve-wracking – schools that would usually hold students’ hands until they reach college hadn’t seen their pupils in months. Employers normally offering […]

Feature, News