York College
‘ofsted’
Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget last month was widely expected to be disastrous for FE. But while many are still awaiting the finer details, the sector appeared at least safe for now. Neil Carmichael outlines his view of the sector settlement. The mood of the Association of Colleges conference when I attended on the closing day […]
Opinion
English colleges who set up new learner ventures in Saudi Arabia as part of multi-million pound deals could be facing “bankruptcy” as the projects prove less popular than expected, it has been claimed. Education Investor has reported that Saudi’s Colleges of Excellence programme, which attracted the likes of Lincoln College, Moulton College and Activate Learning […]
News
High Street giant Next slashed £2.5m off its wage bill by employing hundreds of low-earning apprentices, according to a hard-hitting Channel Four programme exclusively previewed to FE Week. Apprenticeships come under scrutiny in Dispatches tomorrow night as investigators look at the wages and quality of training delivered by high-profile companies. The programme, entitled Low Pay Britain, focuses […]
Ofsted inspectors who uncovered “degrading treatment, racist comments and care from staff under the influence of illegal drugs” at a youth prison have reported an improvement. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as previously reported on feweek.co.uk, pledged “urgent action” in light of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre’s May inspection report. And the actions appeared to have […]
Ofsted deputy director for FE and skills Paul Joyce has outlined how the story of the education watchdog’s 2014/15 annual report was one of a huge rise in maths and English learners “undoubtedly” impacting upon worsening inspection grades. He spoke to FE Week moments after Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw unveiled the report, which […]
Phil Hatton reviews the Ofsted 2014/15 annual report and pinpoints as key its mention of how funding issues are affecting quality. Reading the learning and skills section of the Chief Inspector’s annual brought few surprises for those who have been monitoring inspections throughout last year. However, the picture painted of being ‘above’ or ‘below’ the […]
Sue Pember casts her eye over the Ofsted 2014/15 annual report. Ofsted’s mission statement is ‘raising standards and improving lives’ and that is certainly the focus of the 2014/15 annual report. Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw was absolutely right to highlight the failure of many secondary schools and point out how the performance of secondary […]
Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission chair Alan Milburn (pictured above) has told a Lords committee how the FE sector is “an absolute jungle” for learners and it needs to “take lessons from the higher education system”. Mr Milburn told the House of Lords Social Mobility Committee that FE was in need of “simplification” as […]
The 2014/15 Ofsted annual report painted a picture of an FE and skills sector in which two years of improvement came to a near-halt last academic year — and general FE colleges even saw a “decline” in performance. Click here for more of the report, which was launched at 10am, while sector responses to Ofsted’s findings can […]
