Skinners’ Academies Trust
‘ofsted’
After an overwhelming response to our call for nominations, the shortlist for the inaugural AAC Apprenticeship Awards has been announced. Earlier this month the judging panel (pictured above) met in central London to deliberate on the eventual winners; over 250 organisations submitted nominations this year, from colleges and training providers to the Home Office and […]
News
The government needs to establish a set of FE-centric measures to get a better idea of what it wants from the sector. Ali Hadawi has a few suggestions Two new Ofsted reports out this week have raised the proportion of colleges now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ to almost three quarters. There is no denying that […]
Opinion
Over 200,000 people working in FE have completed training to help them understand their duty to prevent the radicalisation of learners, FE Week can reveal. The Education and Training Foundation launched the online support programme in September 2015, when the government first applied the Prevent duty to the sector. FE teachers, trainers, leaders, support staff […]
Our analysis of colleges’ Ofsted grades suggests a significant improvement in the past five months. By the end of August last year, the sector’s grades had declined for three years in a row, with only 69 per cent of colleges at ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. But with a flood of college inspections improving from a grade […]
Just under three quarters of colleges are now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, as the sector’s rapid improvement continues into 2018. Two reports published this morning – for Chelmsford College and Craven College – record a crucial step up from grade three to grade two. And Leicester College and Lakes College both achieved the […]
Ofsted will increase its focus on management and quality in subcontracting, according to its most senior director for FE and skills. The letter is being sent out today by Paul Joyce, with new “sample based” monitoring visits on the horizon. “This letter is to inform you that Ofsted will be increasing its focus on the […]
A college rated ‘inadequate’ for its apprenticeship provision more than seven months ago was given special dispensation to remain on the register of apprenticeship training providers. St Helens College (pictured) was given the lowest possible grade for apprenticeships in a report published last June, but has never been removed from the register – even though […]
Two huge colleges are walking away from their 14-to-16 provision because the government’s new progress measures are too “onerous” and damaging to their reputation, FE Week can reveal. London South East Colleges was the third-biggest college recruiter in this age group last year, and its principal has described the situation as a “travesty”. NCG, one […]
News, 14-16, Colleges
As education secretary, Michael Gove was “forced” to create university technology colleges by George Osborne and David Cameron, a former senior minister has revealed. David Laws, a Liberal Democrat who served under Mr Gove as schools minister in the coalition government from 2012 to 2015, told FE Week that he “never liked” the policy, but […]