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‘ofsted’

Older and wiser on inspection

Ofsted’s criticism of the college sector last year was a bitter pill to swallow and the toughened up common inspection framework offered little hope for sector praise. However, it hasn’t quite worked out like that says Joy Mercer. It this time last year, colleges felt they had not weathered an Ofsted storm but were beached, […]

Opinion

The hunt for an FE Commissioner goes on

The new FE Commissioner post is due be re-advertised next week with an appointment expected before the first Ofsted inspections reports in October, FE Week can reveal. The role was advertised in May, but no-one was appointed despite a number of interviews. A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) confirmed new […]

News

College turns down 16 to 18 traineeships

A York college that will be running traineeships for 19 to 24-year-olds has said no to putting the programme on for 16 to 18-year-olds because of a lack of government funding, FE Week can reveal. The 2,000-student Askham Bryan College was rated as good by Ofsted early last year and so can run the government’s […]

News

Skills Funding Agency warnings on the rise

The number of notices of concern slapped on colleges rose by 25 per cent in 2012/13 from nine notices in 2011/12. Notices of concern are triggered by inadequate Ofsted results or fears over the college’s financial health or controls. A Freedom of Information request by FE Week has uncovered that that as of May 15 […]

News

Serving the apprenticeship time

It’s just over a year since the minimum duration rule was applied, meaning most apprenticeships would have to last at least a year. Phil Hatton looks at whether the rule offers the quality assurance it was hoped for. I was one of the two authors of the first NVQ back in 1987, which really changed […]

Opinion

Apprenticeship guidance plea despite growing application numbers

Guidance on apprenticeships needs a “no-holds-barred” review, NUS president Toni Pearce has claimed despite official figures indicating application numbers rocketed more than 30 per cent last year. She spoke out with statistics from the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) showing that 1.4 million applications were made online last year — an increase of 32 per cent […]

News

An argument to qualify

As the government does away with the legal requirement for defined teaching qualifications in FE, Noel Johnson discusses the problems that could arise as a result. After working so hard over the past 20 years to achieve recognised, legislated professionalism within the post-16 sector, it is disappointing (and worrying) to see government moving away from […]

Opinion

Government appoints FE Commissioner advisers

Four advisers, including a former 157 Group chair and an ex-college finance director, have been appointed to the new FE Commissioner’s office. The commissioner is yet to be appointed, but the adviser posts have gone to Marilyn Hawkins, Malcolm Cooper, Lynn Forrester and David Williams (see biogs below for full details). Between them, they are […]

News

Former AoC president takes governor post at college mauled by Ofsted

A former Association of Colleges president has become City College Coventry’s new governors’ chair after a disastrous Ofsted report resulted in the Skills Funding Agency calling for “fundamental changes”. Maggie Galliers, who was the association president for 2011/12, was unanimously voted into the post and joins new interim principal John Hogg in a revamped leadership […]

News