York College
‘ofsted watch’
Colleges could be judged inadequate by the education watchdog if they do not ban pupils from wearing face veils when they believe it is hindering effective teaching. Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has announced today he gives his “full support” to college principals who “decided to take a stand against the inappropriate wearing of […]
News
Phil Hatton rebuts claims by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw that the FE sector was “inadequate at best” and questions the consistency of the education watchdog. The chief inspector does not understand first-hand what it is like to work in a sector that is often a ‘second or third chance’ for those who have […]
Opinion
Key FE figures have spoken out in defence of the sector following a scathing attack by Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw. During a speech on Monday (January 19) for thinktank CentreForum, the education watchdog’s chief inspector accused the sector of being “inadequate at best” and criticised the sector for offering “uniformly weak” careers advice. “It […]
The 157 Group is set for expansion following a strategic review, chief executive Ian Pretty has revealed in an exclusive interview with FE Week in which he claimed that up to 15 colleges had already asked about signing up. The results of the review were explained at an event in London on Thursday (January 14) […]
Stroud MP Neil Carmichael knew a thing or two about the world of FE and skills before he was elected as chair of the Education Select Committee in June. He did not study in the sector himself, attending St Peter’s independent school in York and then taking a politics degree at the University of Nottingham. […]
Profiles
Two local authority FE providers have slumped from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ Ofsted ratings. The grade four-overall results on adult and community learning at Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (WMDC) and West Sussex County Council (WSCC) were published on December 23 and 16 respectively. They were the first two inadequate ratings dished out by the education watchdog […]
Further Education Commissioner Dr David Collins has been given a knighthood for services to the sector in the New Year’s Honours list. A Damehood was also granted to chief regulator and chief executive of Ofqual Glenys Stacey, while CBEs went to Association of Colleges (AoC) chief executive Martin Doel and former AoC president Richard Atkins […]
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has confirmed that publication of the next round of nationwide qualification achievement rates will be delayed by around two months, FE Week can reveal. The final Qualification Success Rates (QSR) figures for 2013/14 were published in January this year. But a note sent to providers by the SFA’s central delivery […]
Two visits from FE Commissioner Dr David Collins triggered first by financial problems and secondly by an Ofsted inadequate rating was the scene into which Tim Eyton-Jones stepped in February. Dr Collins has since drawn a line under his involvement and inspectors have also seen improvements. Mr Eyton-Jones spells out what’s been happening at Barnfield. […]
