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‘apprenticeships’

DfE commission research to review high prices for apprentices with prior learning

The government is looking into whether apprenticeship delivery is being adjusted to account for apprentices’ prior learning, a sign that funding overclaims could soon be clamped down on. A tender was launched by the Department for Education last week for suppliers to research if and how providers and employers are adapting training and the associated […]

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Providers turning apprentices away as non-levy cash dries up

Training providers’ non-levy funding is running dry and some are even having to turn apprentices away – but the government can’t offer more cash as it doesn’t have any left in the system. The unprecedented issue, which one sector leader has described as “market failure”, comes just weeks after the Department for Education launched a […]

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FE bosses criticise ‘ridiculous variability’ of external quality assurance charges

Sector leaders have hit out at the “ridiculous variability” in approved external quality assurance charges, ranging from a free service to a whopping £179 per apprentice. There are currently 18 approved external quality assurance (EQA) bodies that monitor end-point assessment organisations, to ensure the process is “fair, consistent and robust”. The EQA bodies are allowed […]

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Finalists announced for AAC Apprenticeship Awards 2019

The national finalists of the AAC Apprenticeship Awards 2019 have been unveiled. More than 350 entries were submitted from colleges, training providers and employers for the awards, which are in their second year and run by FE Week and the Association of Education and Learning Providers. Following the success of last year’s inaugural awards organisers […]

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FE Commissioner reports published for 3 struggling colleges

Three struggling colleges have had FE Commissioner intervention reports published today. Among them was one for North Hertfordshire College, which recorded a £5 million deficit last year and received a £2.5 million government bailout, as revealed by FE Week last week. Easton and Otley College also had its commissioner report published this afternoon after being […]

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ESFA warns it could trigger college insolvencies with adult education budget claw-back

The government is encouraging under-performing colleges to reduce their 2018/19 adult education budget now, to avoid cash flow problems as a result of the ESFA clawing-back funding. A funding claims and reconciliation update was published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency today. It states that if a provider considers it “may not fully spend […]

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ESFA delays European Social Fund contracts due to alleged breach of tender rules

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has delayed issuing European Social Fund contracts after multiple providers who lost out in a recent procurement alleged that the government broke tender rules. Winning bidders from the exercise, which was worth £282 million in total, were supposed to be awarded their contracts on Tuesday following a 10-day standstill […]

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Starts suspended at mysterious apprenticeship provider after ESFA launches investigation

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has suspended starts at an apprenticeship firm with multimillion-pound subcontracting deals while it investigates the provider, following revelations in FE Week about its shady set-up. SCL Security Ltd, a private provider based in Kent that is run by Andrew Merritt, has taken £16.5 million from Brooklands College in Surrey […]

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Ofsted watch: Promising week for new apprenticeship providers

It’s been a promising week for new apprenticeship providers, with only one ‘insufficient progress’ finding from six monitoring visits. One of the reports, for LDN Apprenticeships Ltd, even scored a clean sweep of ‘significant progress’ findings. Inspectors found that the provider’s managers “use progress tracking systems and frequent discussions with the provider’s learning and development […]

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