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‘ofsted watch’

Ofsted watch: A ‘good’ week for sixth form colleges

It’s been a ‘good’ week for sixth form colleges, with a pair of grade two verdicts following full inspections. At the opposite end of the spectrum, an independent provider has received the lowest possible grade in the only other full inspection report published this week. Longley Park Sixth Form College, in Sheffield, was rated ‘good’ […]

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Damning Ofsted report finds apprentices went eight months with no training

Apprentices at one training provider had not had any training eight months after their start date, according to a damning Ofsted report published today. XTP International, based in Stockport, was rated ‘inadequate’ across the board by the education watchdog, following an inspection in early October. Among its many failings, inspectors noted that “there has been […]

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College refuses to explain spending millions on mysterious subcontractor

A college has refused to explain why it has given £16.5 million over the last three years to a subcontracting partner that employs fewer than 10 people. Brooklands College relies on SCL Security Ltd, a private provider run by Andrew Merritt, to deliver hundreds of level-three IT apprenticeships every year, for mostly 16-to-18-year-olds. The company […]

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Ofsted watch: A trio of ‘inadequate’ providers

It’s been a bad week for the FE and skills sector, with a trio of reports returning ‘inadequate’ grades and a major private university found to be making ‘insufficient progress’ in its apprenticeships. Elsewhere, two providers have seen their ratings go up from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’, while seven monitoring visit reports have been published. […]

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Ofsted boss backs calls for more 16-to-18 cash to combat falling standards

Ofsted’s chief inspector has offered her “strong view” that 16-to-18 funding should be increased in the forthcoming spending review, after inspections found a lack of cash has directly led to falling standards in FE. Amanda Spielman (pictured) backed sector calls for more money in a letter to the Public Accounts Committee, dated October 30, which […]

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Ofsted slate wiped clean for grade four UTC joining MAT

A university technical college rated ‘inadequate’ earlier this year will have its Ofsted slate wiped clean as it joins a multi-academy trust under a new name this week. Medway UTC, which received the lowest possible grade from the education watchdog in May, will join The Howard Academy Trust (THAT) on November 1 as Waterfront UTC. It’s […]

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Revealed: Another four apprenticeship providers banned from taking new recruits

Four more apprenticeship providers have been banned from taking on new starts after facing criticism from Ofsted – bringing the total number barred up to 16. The latest update to the register of apprenticeship training providers, on Friday, shows the four new providers which will be facing the penalty after being deemed as making ‘insufficient […]

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Ofsted Watch: Mixed results for private providers

It has been a mixed week for independent learning providers, after four were found lacking in Ofsted inspections – one of which fell from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’. However, it was more positive news for four other ITPs and a general FE college, which were found to be making good headway in their own monitoring […]

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Another studio school to close – meaning nearly half have wound up

A studio school in Bath that has struggled to meet costs as a result of severely low student numbers is likely to shut in August 2020, after the government agreed to close it “in principle”. The Wellsway Multi Academy Trust, which has run The Bath Studio School since it opened in 2014, “regretfully” announced the […]

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