York College
‘ofsted’
It’s one thing being inspected by Ofsted — and feeling aggrieved by the process or outcome — but it’s another thing to be carrying out the inspection and potentially exposing managing directors and principals to the ugly truth about their organisations. Here, just weeks after ex-Newcastle College Group chief executive Dame Jackie Fisher revealed why […]
News
The managing director of a London-based independent learning provider has defended his firm after details of an alleged subcontractor payment dispute emerged. James Clements Smith, of Prevista Ltd, a lead provider allocated £3.8m by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) this academic year, confirmed there was an issue, but claimed to have paid all subcontractors “in […]
Former Skills Minister John Hayes has called for more to be done to improve careers advice for young people in what he jokingly called his “comeback” to FE. Speaking on FE and skills for the first time since leaving the role, Mr Hayes said the sector had a lot to be proud of. But, Mr […]
Greater Manchester independent learning provider has appointed a new chief executive. Julie Robinson has taken the helm at Bolton-based Alliance Learning having risen through the ranks from sales and marketing manager 20 years ago. She started her career at Gullick Dobson as an office junior before joining Alliance Learning in 1994 as a sales […]
Movers and Shakers
On the office wall of K College principal Phil Frier hangs a picture of Mount Everest. It’s a reminder of both his gruelling ascent to its base camp last year — 5,364m above sea level — and a comforting metaphor that even the most apparently impossible of challenges can be overcome. It’s also picture that […]
Profiles
Last week, ex-NCG (Newcastle College Group) chief executive Jackie Fisher spoke exclusively to FE Week about her notorious 2012 Ofsted inspection. She explained why she booted the education watchdog out of the college mid-inspection before calling for the Ofsted complaints-handling procedure to become more transparent. Here, Policy Consortium trio Colin Forrest, Mike Cooper and Carolyn […]
Ofsted and the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) have teamed up to share examples of good practice in vocational teaching and learning with a new set of case studies. Ten best practice examples, in which workplace-relevant skills were key, were released today having been handpicked by a panel of experts, including members from the Commission on Adult […]
Dr Jane Overbury says it is “genuinely a surprise” to find herself principal of Inner London’s Christ the King Sixth Form College. “My ambition has always been around being the best I can at whatever I’m doing, and I have always had just very short-term goals,” says the 55-year-old, who was awarded an OBE for […]
Ambitious plans to become an incorporated FE college and develop new sites across the country have been revealed by Essex-based charity Prospects Learning Foundation. The independent learning provider (ILP), which has a current Skills Funding Agency allocation of £2.6m and already brands itself as Prospects College, has launched a consultation on plans to get FE […]
