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‘ofsted’

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

College claims Institute of Technology bid ‘not in jeopardy’ despite Ofsted grade three

A college that has plummeted two Ofsted grades from its previous ‘outstanding’ has insisted its bid to open an Institute of Technology is “not in jeopardy”. Swindon College was rated ‘requires improvement’ overall and in five out of eight headline fields, in a report published today and based on an inspection in December. It was […]

News

New Learndirect owner wins £20m in ESFA contracts

Learndirect has started to win government funding to deliver skills training again, after its new owner secured more than £20 million worth of European Social Fund contracts. FE Week understands that the nation’s former largest FE provider won the funding, which is used to deliver employment and skills support to disadvantaged people, in four different […]

News

Top-performing college owed £500k pulls out of Saudi Arabia programme

A college has terminated its contract with the controversial Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme due to “on-going delays” in receiving payments resulting in an alleged £500,000 debt. Dudley College, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, began work with the Saudi government in 2011 and has taken part in various ventures in the country over the last […]

News

£2m bank charge for college clearing debt with bailout

A cash-strapped college has spent almost £2 million of the bailout cash it received from the government on bank charges – although it has actually saved money. Stoke on Trent College successfully bid for a reported £21.9 million from the Department for Education’s restructuring facility in September. According to its recently published 2017/18 accounts, £1.93 […]

News

Ofsted watch: Two NHS trusts hit with poor reports

Two NHS trusts have been put in intensive care this week, following poor Ofsted reports – one a monitoring visit, the other a full inspection. Elsewhere, a trio of providers have maintained their grade three ratings for at least the second inspection in a row. Walsall NHS Trust was rated ‘inadequate’ across the board for […]

News

Provider integrity at heart of Ofsted’s new Common Inspection Framework

Ofsted will soon focus on providers’ “integrity” during inspections, but its chief inspector has said she cannot turn the education watchdog into a police force. In a speech to launch a consultation on the new inspection process, Amanda Spielman said: “Two words that sum up my ambition for the framework and which underlie everything we […]

News

Let’s not have arbitrary caps on apprenticeship provider growth

If ESFA introduces a limit on the scope of providers to grow it could hinder the delivery of apprenticeships, says Simon Ashworth At the AELP autumn conference, ESFA apprenticeships director Keith Smith announced that the ESFA was giving serious consideration to introducing a “provider earnings limit” on all apprenticeship providers in 2019, or in plain […]

Opinion

Ofsted talk tough on integrity in new regime, but they can’t do it alone

A first glance there is little new in the draft Common Inspection Framework and accompanying Handbook for FE and Skills, due for implementation from September. Those hoping for the four grade structure to change or the introduction of campus level inspections for college groups will be sorely disappointed. There was also an opportunity to take […]

Opinion