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‘ofsted’

Why the ESFA wants more apprenticeship providers – despite no starts at over 500 last year

The government’s top apprenticeships civil servant has defended the decision to allow more providers on to the provider register – after FE Week analysis revealed a third already on there aren’t delivering. When asked by this newspaper why the Education and Skills Funding Agency didn’t focus on removing the inactive providers before making the register […]

News

Revealed: How two businessmen left a trail of insolvency and debt in the apprenticeship market

A month-long FE Week investigation has uncovered a trail of insolvency and debt left by two businessmen, David Harper and Mark Hargreaves, who’ve created a complex web of companies involving Talent Training and AMS Nationwide which received millions in apprenticeship funding from the government. Questions are now being raised over why a multinational employer, Santander, […]

News

Ofsted Watch: Three providers rated ‘good’ in first inspections

It’s been a big week for new providers, with five first-time inspection reports published – three of which resulted in a ‘good’ rating. Elsewhere a college was downgraded from a grade two to three, while seven monitoring visit reports were published. The Results Consortium Limited, an independent learning provider, got a ‘good’ result this week […]

News

MBA apprenticeships defended by their biggest provider

As management degree apprenticeships continue to hit the headlines, with sector leaders voicing growing concern about their rising costs, FE Week spoke to the biggest apprenticeship MBA provider to hear the other side of the story.  Last year 550 people started an apprenticeship MBA, according to official statistics, and the Cranfield University School of Management […]

News

Provider to challenge ‘inadequate’ grade after Ofsted found copy and paste assignments

A private provider rated ‘inadequate’ across the board by Ofsted has launched an appeal against the grade and accused inspectors of “failing to understand” their provision. Beyond 2030, a talent development training firm, received the worst possible grade from Ofsted in its first inspection, with inspectors warning that learners “often copy information from the internet […]

News

Thousands of apprenticeships hang in the balance as Interserve rescue plan prompts share collapse

The survival of another outsourcing giant that trains “around 14,000 apprentices each year” appears to hang in the balance, after its shares plummeted amid its attempts to secure a second rescue deal. Interserve, an international support services and construction group which runs a large UK training provider called Interserve Learning and Employment Ltd, is desperately […]

News

Ofsted watch: Three providers improve to ‘good’

Three providers – including two colleges – have boosted their grades from three to two this week, while one provider went the other way. Elsewhere it’s been a busy week for monitoring visits, with nine reports published – six for new apprenticeship visits, and three for grade three providers. MidKent College and Northampton College were […]

News

The apprenticeship levy is public money that needs priorities – before it runs out

The Institute for Apprenticeships is forecasting a £500 million overspend on the levy budget by July 2019, rising to £1.5 billion for the year ending July 2021. It is clear that forecasting models for expenditure, before the Levy’s introduction in May 2017, significantly underestimated the reality, in terms of starts on high value apprenticeships with […]

Opinion

Apprenticeship quality remains a ‘mixed picture’, says Ofsted’s Paul Joyce

In July the prime minister claimed that apprenticeship quality had risen since the introduction of the levy and standards – even though Ofsted had found the reverse. Five months on from Theresa May’s comments in parliament, FE Week editor Nick Linford asked Paul Joyce, Ofsted deputy director for FE and skills, if things have improved. […]

News