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‘ofsted’

AoC defends colleges after Wilshaw renews questions over engagement

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News

Falling numbers and competition blamed as Totton seeks merger

A Hampshire sixth form college principal has blamed falling learner numbers and local competition for financial problems forcing it to look at a merger. Totton College principal Mike Gaston (pictured) has announced the college will be seeking a partnership in the new year after Sixth Form College Commissioner Peter Mucklow (pictured below) warned it could not […]

News

College governors get AoC code preview

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has launched a consultation on a proposed new code of governance for English colleges. Ex-head of FE and skills investment and performance at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Dr Sue Pember who is now AoC governance adviser, has spent the last six months travelling the country collecting […]

News

Feltag’s ‘assessment tail wagging the pedagogic dog’

The effect of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag) is being felt across the sector, explains Bob Harrison. At a recent Think Out Loud Club, a community of innovative FE practitioners supported by City & Guilds, the Feltag was described as “a movement not just a report”. It is six months since the […]

Opinion

BIS red tape plan a ‘Groundhog Day’ for FE and skills

Efforts by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to cut red tape succeeded in reducing up to £300m of costs by around 2 per cent. Christine Lewis assesses the situation from the point of view of the sector admin staff she represents. The Simplification Plan was but the latest iteration in a line […]

Opinion

Ofsted annual report presents mixed bag for FE and skills with growth in quality provision — but employer engagement remains an issue

Ofsted’s annual report today painted a mixed picture for FE and skills, highlighting a rise in the proportion of good or outstanding providers while also pointing to one-in-six learners at less than good providers. It said that in 2013/14, 3.2 million learners were at grade one or two providers because 81 per cent of providers […]

News

Principal of cash-strapped college backs ‘look at finances’ plea for Ofsted

The principal of a college recovering from financial difficulties has backed FE Commissioner Dr David Collins in his view that Ofsted could “be more useful” in looking at bank balances. Mark Robertson (pictured), from City of Wolverhampton College, which was visited by Dr Collins in May over Skills Funding Agency (SFA) concerns about finances, said […]

News

Edition 121: Jo Watson, Fiona Quick, Andy Davidson, Liz Redwood, Darran George, Barbara Titmuss and Richard Deane

Half a dozen new directors have been appointed at Weston College, in Somerset. The new appointments include Andy Davidson, as executive director for strategic intervention; Liz Redwood, as enterprise and commercial development director for data compliance, funding; and, Fiona Quick, as external partnership director. Jo Watson assumes the role of new business opportunities executive director; […]

Movers and Shakers

Bank of BIS launches emergency college loans

General FE colleges turned away by the banks and facing financial meltdown have been thrown a possible lifeline with a new system of emergency loans from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The rules for “exceptional financial support” were released on Thursday (December 4) and provide hope for a last chance source of funding […]

News