York College
‘ofsted’
Three decades of service to FE will come to an end in August with the retirement of New College Stamford principal Andrew Patience. He took the Lincolnshire college job in 2010 having moved from his deputy principal role at Bury College. He had already spent 31 years in the sector and in his first year […]
Movers and Shakers
What an interesting few weeks it has been since the funding agencies released details about priorities for next year and our funding agreements. Without a shadow of doubt up and down the land the collective wringing of principals’ hands will be taking place. What to do with less? That is the question of the moment […]
Opinion
Employers will be able to anonymously rate, review and compare providers using an online tool launched by Ofsted today (Monday, April 28). Employer View will allow staff to share their thoughts on providers they have worked with, and find out what other employers think about any provider which trains their employees, apprentices and work placement […]
News
The principal and governors’ chair at a grade four London college that Ofsted said was failing to improve are clinging to their posts — despite FE Commissioner Dr David Collins having identified leadership as a weakness, FE Week can reveal. LeSoCo was rated inadequate in January and came in for renewed criticism from the education […]
Ofsted monitoring inspections of three colleges that took over apprenticeship provision following accusations of bullying found safeguarding had improved, but warned the programme was still in need of modernisation. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) demanded “immediate action to safeguard the welfare of all trainees” in June last year after physical and verbal bullying, harassment and […]
Chichester College has received an outstanding grade from Ofsted. The 14,500-learner college, previously rated as good, achieved the top grading in all headline fields. Inspectors praised staff for putting learners “at the heart of all college activity”. The University of Sunderland also received a grade one result for its art and design foundation diploma provision […]
Lorna Fitzjohn has taken over as Ofsted’s new director of FE and skills. She was previously deputy director for FE and ran operations in the Midlands for the watchdog. Here, FE Week reporter Freddie Whittaker asks Matthew Coffey’s successor a few questions as she begins in her new role. Q: What are your priorities for […]
The break-up of K College is under way with governors confirming the transfer of provision to East Kent College and Hadlow College. K College governors named East Kent College principal Graham Razey as principal-designate for the Dover and Folkestone campuses while Hadlow principal Paul Hannan will take on the West Kent and Ashford campuses. The […]
Ofsted and data can both hold fear for principals, but Chris Thomson says embracing both can provide a path to success. With a fear of being shunned by my peers, I actually view Ofsted as a free consulting service, which all colleges should embrace. I’ve been principal at Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College […]
