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‘ofsted’

College complaint forces Ofsted to reopen grade 4 inspection

Ofsted inspectors will return to a college after the principal questioned the accuracy of serious safeguarding failure claims that led to a provisional ‘inadequate’ rating. Shrewsbury Colleges Group, which teaches more than 9,000 students mostly aged 16 to 18, insisted the judgement from an inspection in November was “wrong”. Its principal, James Staniforth, told FE […]

News

Let’s celebrate the many apprenticeship successes

Jennifer Coupland took over as chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education last November. She reflects on her first National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the post. It has been a pleasure to travel across the country during NAW and speak to so many people who deliver and benefit from fantastic apprenticeships. Memorable […]

Opinion

Minister warns college bosses it could go bust next year

A minister has warned a college that it could go bust next year if learner losses are not reversed and the sale of a campus is “delayed further”. Lord Agnew wrote to Warrington and Vale Royal College chair Mervyn Ward last month with the concern following intervention from the FE Commissioner Richard Atkins which found […]

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Troubled college to tumble two Ofsted grades from ‘outstanding’

A college that is currently investigating an unexpected £6 million deficit is set to be downgraded by Ofsted from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’. It is the latest blow to Gateshead College, which has also seen its high-profile principal and chair quit in recent weeks. The college announced to staff last Friday that it received a […]

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Ofsted watch: Two sixth form colleges score top grades

Two sixth form colleges have been declared ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, with one retaining their top grade after more than a decade without inspection. Meanwhile, a publicly-owned private provider has dropped to a grade three after nine years as a grade one. After its last inspection in 2008, Peter Symonds College yet again achieved a grade […]

News

Who will gain this time from apprenticeship reform?

National Apprenticeships Week is now in its thirteenth year; launched in 2007 by the then Labour government as an “annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England”. For our readers, those delivering the training and assessment, the programme has changed considerably since 2007, a time when they were only available to young people at level 2 […]

Opinion

Perverse incentives and tangled pathways

If the new government is serious about its proposals, it must address the many problems with the levy, plus the accessibility of courses for those outside towns and cities, writes Emma Hardy Apprenticeships should be the perfect vehicle for meeting the challenges of social mobility, bridging the skills gap and raising productivity. However, the government’s […]

Opinion

Williamson offers his reassurance that apprenticeship system will be fixed

Days after Ofsted criticised the government for locking young people out of the apprenticeship system, education secretary Gavin Williamson has offered his “reassurance”. “I’m determined to make sure the apprenticeship system works for the people that can benefit the most”, he said. Williamson made the comments whilst writing in FE Week’s National Apprenticeship Week 2020 […]

News

Government research finds policy makers contributed to National College failures

The government’s own researchers have slammed policy makers for exacerbating National Colleges failures, according to an evaluation report into how the same mistakes can be avoided with Institutes of Technology. In the 107-page evaluation report published today, the Department for Education was criticised for setting up specialist National Colleges as stand-alone institutions that relied on […]

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