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‘apprenticeships’

Damning Ofsted report that caused downfall of huge provider published

The damning Ofsted report that caused the downfall of huge apprenticeship training provider First4Skills has now been published. The Liverpool-based provider went bust earlier this month, affecting around 200 staff and around 6,500 learners, after the Skills Funding Agency pulled its contract. That action was prompted by a grade four rating from the education watchdog, […]

News

Major provider chaired by ex-SFA boss calls in administrators

A major training provider whose chair was the first chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency has gone into administration after failing to make it onto the new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. Derbyshire-based Positive Outcomes Ltd has a current Skills Funding Agency contract worth more than £11 million, but failed to make it onto the […]

News

Exclusive: New Ofsted chief ‘worried’ about apprenticeship register

The new chief inspector at Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has spoken to FE Week of her concern following publication of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. In a wide ranging interview on March 17, Ms Spielman was asked about the impact RoATP would have on Ofsted’s resource, given it represents a near doubling of the number of providers that […]

News

More than half of apprenticeship standards still have no assessor

Too many uncertainties in the new apprenticeship system is fuelling the acute lack of assessment organisations for new standards, according to the boss of their industry body. FE Week research has revealed that more than half (87 out of 162) of the apprenticeship standards approved for delivery by the Skills Funding Agency still do not […]

News

No funded qualifications for over a third of approved standards

More than a third of the apprenticeship standards that the government has deemed ready for delivery involve no funded qualifications other than a final assessment, exclusive FE Week research has revealed. While the standards have end-point assessments in place, they will not provide apprentices with the chance to accumulate qualifications as they go along – […]

News

Ofsted watch: sixth form college plummets after 10-year inspection wait

A sixth form college that hadn’t received an inspection for 10 years sank from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’ – in a mixed week for FE Ofsted reports. Governors at Holy Cross College, in Manchester, were criticised for their failure to recognise the “significance of the decline in standards” at the SFC. The new report, published […]

News

Institute for Apprenticeships most popular for external quality assurance

The Institute for Apprenticeships is the most popular choice for external quality assurance for apprenticeship standards – even though it was only set up as a “last resort” option for this sort of thing. Of the 162 apprenticeship standards currently approved for delivery, 26 have chosen the IfA as their EQA route, compared with just […]

News

Level the playing field for colleges vs schools

Do colleges feel picked on? You bet. Funding cuts over the last 10 years and the difficulties in dealing with less money, annual redundancy rounds and adapting to a declining market have led to us being put under the cosh by government and Ofsted in a number of ways, some unfairly. There isn’t a level […]

Opinion

Don’t forget work experience in the apprenticeships frenzy

Of course there will be teething troubles as the levy kicks in, but current developments in the apprenticeships arena – the most significant overhaul of the system for more than 30 years – have to be warmly welcomed. Anything that significantly enhances employability, work readiness and job prospects must be good. Many of today’s senior […]

Opinion