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‘ofsted’

Ofsted watch: Up-and-down week for FE

It’s been an up-and-down week for the FE sector, which saw a return of three ‘good’ ratings, but two ‘insufficient’ monitoring reports. There was also disappointment for five other providers that got grade three reports, including a grade one college falling two ratings. Holy Cross College in Manchester has improved on its last inspection, going […]

News

It’s time FE learnt to embrace the embarrassing

So the news isn’t good. Treat it as a chance to be open about your problems, to value others’ points of view and to listen and improve, says Ruth Sparkes We’re all aware that it’s a tricky time for FE; the spending review is rolling ever closer, the sector has been financially starved for years, […]

Opinion

Will the new Ofsted framework work for FE?

Frank Coffield steals Ofsted’s language to grade last week’s new inspection framework How do FE and Skills (FE&S) fare in the new inspection framework? I’ve inspected the proposals from the perspective of FE&S and provide formative feedback using Ofsted’s grading scale and language. First, its strengths. The handbook is much shorter than its predecessor, but […]

Opinion

Ofsted exposes apprenticeship firm for recruiting without ‘integrity’ and breaking funding rules

A new provider has been exposed by Ofsted after inspectors found it failed to recruit apprentices with “integrity” and was in breach of government funding rules. Citrus Training Solutions, based in Pudsey, was paid an early monitoring visit by inspectors in December which resulted in an ‘insufficient’ report being published today. Despite training nearly 200 […]

News

Apprenticeship upturn need not be a predictable shift away from helping those in most need

Last February, when Skills Minister Anne Milton was faced with a 41 percent fall in apprenticeships starts since the levy was introduced, she bravely told me she expected to see an upturn by September. “I will be told by my officials that I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to say it anyway,” she said. […]

Opinion

Management apprenticeships continue to soar as Milton ‘thrilled’ with rise in starts

Management standards are continuing their reign as the most popular apprenticeships, according to the first statistics for 2018/19 published by the Department for Education this week. The team leader/supervisor had the most starts of any standard in the first quarter of the year, while three other management standards were among the 20 most popular. They […]

News

Six UTCs received ESFA bailouts totalling £1m last year

Six university technical colleges received bailouts from the government totalling almost £1 million last year, with the ESFA’s funding chief warning she doesn’t want to create a “culture of dependency”. The funding is given in “exceptional cases … where additional funding is absolutely necessary to stabilise the school’s finances and ensure minimal disruption to pupils’ […]

News

College in £1.4m legal battle with Nigerian state unblocks staff access to FE Week

Highbury College has unblocked access to FE Week on its internet servers following heavy backlash from government officials and the national media. The Portsmouth-based college pulled the shutters down on this newspaper’s website last week following an exposé about its ill-fated venture in Nigeria. But the fallout from the attempt to suppress the media coverage […]

News

Colleges will put learners on inappropriate courses without funding increase, warns Ofsted boss

Colleges are likely to increase the amount of courses that “attract the most learners” but which don’t offer “real long-term life prospects” if funding isn’t increased, Ofsted chief inspector has warned. Amanda Spielman appeared before MPs on the public accounts committee this afternoon, during which she was asked about the impact of cuts of the […]

News