DfE | FE Week - Part 14

DfE being sued for millions by training provider

CCP claims the department unlawfully held back fees which led to a loss of business

DfE switches to individualised learner record for skills bootcamps amid dodgy data concerns

There were reports of serious gaps in outcomes data under the previous system

£60m tender launched for third wave of skills bootcamps

Providers have five weeks to bid for contracts

The government’s FE policy is dangerously wishful thinking

Government rhetoric not rooted in reality will cause colleges to choose the easy options, writes Ian Pryce As a fan of country music, the untimely death of Nashville-based singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith gave me an excuse to play all her old albums. She never achieved great fame because she championed traditional American folk music, rather than […]

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

‘Civil servants spend too much time in a room with other civil servants’

After four years in the job, Jonathan Slater was unceremoniously sacked as permanent secretary of the Department for Education. Now he’s calling for better accountability within the civil service Jonathan Slater, former permanent secretary at the Department for Education, is on the phone to one of his daughters. He and his family have just moved […]

Procurement proposals could shake up how colleges go to tender

There are many more freedoms – but also more scrutiny – in the government’s new procurement proposals that would affect how colleges go to tender, write Ben McGirr and Toshif Vally You’d be forgiven for not noticing that in December, the Cabinet Office published a green paper called Transforming Public Procurement. The three-month open consultation […]

Government warns colleges as email ‘phishing’ scams inflict financial losses

FE colleges and other “educational institutions” are being warned about new cyber-attacks which have already claimed some victims and resulted in financial losses. The latest Education and Skills Funding Agency update, published today, contains information about a “phishing” scam – where a fraudster disguises as a trustworthy source in an electronic communication to trick people […]

Apprenticeship register reapplication process branded a ‘farce’ by provider

An Ofsted grade two provider has hit out at the government’s “farcical” process for reapplying to the register of apprenticeship training providers, after its bid was rejected on a technicality. According to the guidelines, providers can be exempt from filling out some parts of the application if they have received a short Ofsted inspection confirming […]