York College
‘ofsted’
Strong leadership at every level is critical if England wants to have a world-class education and skills system, says Matthew Coffey, national director of learning and skills at Ofsted. There is no doubt there is a great deal of good and outstanding provision in the learning and skills sector, but much work and improvement are still […]
Opinion
Ofsted has been accused of “moving the goalposts” for colleges following a damning annual report that pointed to a threefold increase in the number of colleges judged inadequate. Association of Colleges (AoC) chief executive Martin Doel hit out at the education watchdog after its report highlighted how 13 colleges received the lowest possible grading in […]
News
The government has been urged to “shine a spotlight” on the further education sector following a damning Ofsted annual report that has pointed to a threefold increase in the number of inadequate colleges. Click here to download the report. It said 13 colleges received the grading in 2011/12, compared to four the previous year. It […]
Sixth-form colleges must not rest on the laurels of past successes, says Mark Bramwell. First up, let’s tackle the relationship with academies… Sixth-form colleges are proving to be robust with most achieving high success rates and good or outstanding Ofsted grades. And most are oversubcribed – despite the demographic drop in the number of eligible […]
“I hated school with a passion, hated going every single day and even now don’t look back on it and say those days were the happiest of my life like a lot of people do,” says Graham Morley, Chief Executive Principal of South Staffordshire College. Being the youngest in the year, disliking football and in the […]
Profiles
The first general FE college inspection carried out under a new common inspection framework (CIF) has returned a good grading, while positives also emerged from the first re-inspection. Ofsted inspectors armed with the new CIF gave City College Plymouth two days’ notice for an inspection between October 1 and 5. They judged the 17,000-learner college […]
Download your copy of this free 16 page special supplement, produced in partnership with LSIS, via the link below: Supporting Improvement supplement Introduction to supplement A host of knowledgeable contributors have made this Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) supplement, put together by the team at FE Week, an invaluable source of advice and guidance on provider […]
News, Supplements
Ofsted’s new common inspection framework came under the spotlight when providers met for an expert guidance session led by inspector of more than 10 years’ experience Megan Whittaker. Around 35 representatives from a range of providers, including colleges and subcontractors, were at the conference entitled Preparing for Inspection with the new Common Inspection Framework. The […]
Uncategorized
If colleges want to improve, the leadership team must be honest and open about its weaknesses says Matthew Coffey. Ofsted’s How Colleges Improve report, published in September, was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service to highlight how colleges can build on best practice and ensure the education they are providing is at least […]