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‘ofsted watch’

Ofsted watch: Major retailer ‘requires improvement’

A major retailer has failed to improve its in-house apprenticeship provision beyond a grade three, in a less than positive week for the sector. Halfords, which delivers training to its own apprentices in retail, management and warehousing, was rated as ‘requires improvement’ across the board in a report published September 13 and based on an […]

News

BREAKING: Milton grants Somerset MPs emergency meeting with funding agency

Somerset MPs held an emergency meeting on Wednesday with the skills minister to reverse the massive £3.3 million funding cut imposed on a 10,000-learner community-based provider. Four of the county’s five Conservative MPs, Marcus Fysh, James Heappey, Rebecca Pow and David Warburton, met with Anne Milton to “urgently review” the 97 per cent cut to […]

News

Ofsted to ask FE learners if they feel safe in residential provision

Ofsted is asking young people in residential provision at FE colleges if they feel safe and able to raise concerns. The inspectorate is kicking off its annual drive to obtain their views using “point-in-time” questionnaires, which will also be sent to boarding and residential special schools. “Ofsted inspectors want to hear what children and young […]

News

Ofsted watch: A quiet summer of good news

This week has seen an all-too-rare period of all good news when it comes to Ofsted inspections. The heaviest hitter in the last full week in August is probably TTE Training, an independent learning provider based in Ellesmere Port, which went from a ‘good’ grade at its last inspection to an ‘outstanding’ this time around. […]

News

EXCLUSIVE: DfE’s decision to defend small school sixth form cost £76,000 in fees

A legal challenge brought against the government by the Association of Colleges over the opening of a small-school sixth form last year has cost the tax payer over £75,000, FE Week can reveal. According to a Freedom of Information we submitted to the Department for Education in July, it paid out a huge £60,000 for […]

News

Ofsted watch: Two providers crash two grades to inadequate

Ofsted has hit the headlines over the publication of its damning grade four-overall verdict on FE giant Learndirect – during a week which also saw another provider slump to ‘inadequate’. Reports into both UK Training and Development Limited and Learndirect Limited were published on August 17, and were both based on inspections carried out almost […]

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There is no such thing as equality in funding or inspection

The strange case of Learndirect’s long-awaited ‘inadequate’ grade shows that providers in this country are not created equal, argues former Ofsted HMI Phillip Hatton The history of Learndirect is interesting when you consider what it is today. Almost 20 years ago, I was sent to a launch event with Dr Anne Wright, the first chief […]

Opinion

College clings on to RoATP despite ‘inadequate’ apprenticeships

The Department for Education has remained silent over why a college with a grade four for its apprenticeship provision has not been removed from the register of apprenticeship training providers. St Helens College received the lowest possible grade for its provision in an Ofsted report published on June 16, just three months after it was […]

News

What do the people behind the privatisation of Learndirect think now?

Former publicly-owned FE giant Learndirect recently lost a High Court battle to quash an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted, which could prove devastating for its very existence. FE Week has spoken to major players in its 2011 privatisation, including Vince Cable, who was ultimately responsible for a sale considered by Labour, before Ofsted’s full report is […]

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