colleges | FE Week

Some colleges to keep masks in class despite PM ending Plan B regulations

One said sudents without a mask will not be permitted to enter the college

Measure college success by social outcomes as well as students’ jobs, report says

Colleges should choose social outcomes for learners like confidence or making friends, the think tank says

This is how my sixth form college will tackle the mass testing challenge

Staff will be mass testing dozens of students an hour in order to get them safely back into learning, writes Gerard Garvey Colleagues at Newcastle Sixth Form College were relieved to have clarity over the reopening of colleges and an end to fully remote learning this week. Whilst staff at our college have astounded me […]

More employers want technical skills delivered via FE, not university

Businesses are tired of graduates not having the right technical skills – but the FE white paper and other changes allow colleges to step in, writes Mark Smith The word ‘university’ is derived from the Latin word universus, meaning ‘whole, entire’. In a strictly academic sense, it is the shortening of the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et […]

Delayed traineeships are unacceptable in the face of our youth unemployment crisis

There is an urgent youth unemployment crisis that needs addressing with comprehensive traineeships fast, writes Stephen Evans Young people are facing the double whammy of a disrupted education and a weakened labour market. Youth unemployment has doubled since March 2020. A period out of work when young can have serious long-term impacts, so this represents […]

Could private training provider cash-in after college sell-off?

A national training provider could step-in to become the only education provider in Stourbridge, after the area’s FE college is sold-off. Skills Training UK, which currently trains more than 2,000 learners across London, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Brighton, said it would launch the new the centre for 16-18-year-olds “subject to demand”. Cash-strapped Birmingham Metropolitan College […]

Colleges fail to win any OfS mental health funding

All three college bids for a £6 million fund to help reduce student mental health problems have been rejected. Instead, ten universities have been chosen to share the cash on offer from the Office for Students, along with co-funding of £8.5 million to develop “innovative” projects. The call was open to both universities and colleges, […]

Ofsted watch: Two providers straight in with ‘good’ in uneventful week for FE

One specialist college and a private provider received a grade two rating in their first ever Ofsted inspections, in what was otherwise an average week in the FE sector. The only critical report came in for an NHS trust, after inspectors found it was making ‘insufficient progress’ in an early monitoring visit of its apprenticeship […]

AoC Sport National Championships: south east reigns victorious

The southeast retained the coveted Wilkinson Sword trophy when it stormed to victory for the third successive year at last weekend’s AoC sport national championships. The battle for the top spot was once again with their neighbouring rivals, the southwest, but the southeast proved too strong, finishing 42 points ahead. Coming in third was the […]