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‘ofsted’

How Ofsted are changing their approach to ‘requires improvement’ providers

While around 80 per cent of further education and skills providers are good or outstanding, the number requiring improvement has increased over time. For these providers, inspectors conduct ‘support and challenge’ visits to help them improve. We want to do all we can to be a force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection […]

Opinion

Education select committee launches inquiry into apprenticeships and skills training

A new inquiry into the quality of apprenticeships and skills training has been launched by the House of Commons education select committee. Former apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon, who now chairs the committee, will confirm this during a speech at The Skills Show in Birmingham today. A spokesperson for the committee said: “While many […]

News

Chief executive standing down from troubled college group

Bradford College has confirmed that its group chief executive is stepping down after it received both a financial notice to improve and an Oftsed grade three in short succession. Andy Welsh, who became group chief executive in August 2014, is stepping down at the end of this academic year. The Education and Skills Funding Agency […]

News

Spielman: Ofsted to begin hunt for ‘scandalous’ apprenticeship providers

Ofsted will conduct early monitoring visits at new providers entering the apprenticeship market to sniff out any “scandalous” attempts to waste public money, the chief inspector has said. In front of hundreds of college leaders at the AoC Conference this afternoon, Amanda Spielman announced new measures to ensure that situations like the Learndirect debacle are […]

News

Post-16 funding inequality has consequences

Nick Linford considers the extent to which poor college performance can be blamed on government interference and a lack of investment. If Ofsted inspection reports are to be believed, we should be very concerned that the college sector has been going downhill for three years in a row. This week we’ve crunched the figures and […]

Opinion

AoC Conference: Milton pleas for renewed ‘partnership’ with colleges

Anne Milton wants a refreshed “partnership” between FE and the government to help with the technical education reforms. The skills and apprenticeships minister used her speech at this year’s Association of Colleges conference to plea with sector leaders for closer collaboration after going through past turbulent years that have “put too much distance between us”. […]

News

FE practitioner research movement gathers pace

As one college principal puts out a call for greater support for practitioner research, moves are afoot to create a “meta network” of FE research organisations to facilitate collaborations on the ground. So what can principals do to support more research – and why does it matter? FE Week takes a look. Around 30 bodies […]

News

UTC makes impressive turnaround – then ditches the brand

A university technical college which clawed its way up two Ofsted ratings in eight months has denied distancing itself from the UTC movement even though it has removed all mention from its name. Once known as UTC Cambridge, the 14-to-19 provider has rebranded as the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology as it joins Parkside […]

News

How FE colleges can encourage research

It’s time the sector took control of its own destiny, argues Ali Hadawi Over the years, my sense of frustration with how policymakers and regulatory bodies view further education colleges has only increased. It can be disheartening that the wonderful impact of FE on individuals, society and the economy is not widely acknowledged. One way […]

Opinion