Learndirect | FE Week

Special Investigation: Over 1,600 jobs at risk after Learndirect fails bid to overturn Ofsted ‘inadequate’

The country’s largest FE provider has lost a High Court bid to quash an as-yet unpublished ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating, FE Week can reveal, leaving more than 1,600 of its staff at risk of losing their jobs. Learndirect failed in its judicial review to overturn the damning report on August 4 – the release of which […]

Mystery surrounds late Learndirect performance breach

The nation’s largest FE provider has finally been hit with a serious performance breach notice, a month after its apprenticeship achievement rates plummeted below minimum standards. But some in the sector are wondering why the notice did not appear earlier – or why it was only eventually included in the government’s notices of concern list […]

Learndirect : One in ten staff could face redundancy at nation’s largest provider

The nation’s largest training provider is consulting on a new wave of redundancies – with its chief executive admitting around one in 10 staff could be affected. Learndirect employees were told the devastating news yesterday. It is understood that hundreds of for example sales and operational staff working on apprenticeships, employment related services, European Social […]

Achievement rates at Learndirect fall under minimum standards

The nation’s largest FE provider has been badly shaken by the changes in the way achievement rates are calculated, recording a 7.3 per cent drop that puts it below the government’s minimum standards. Learndirect’s achievement rate tumbled from 65.1 per cent in 2014/15 to just 57.8 per cent last academic year, according to national data […]

National provider enters redundancy consultation with staff

Staff at the nation’s largest FE provider are on tenterhooks, as they wait to find out whether they will still have a job at the end of a 30 day consultancy period enforced this week. Learndirect informed employees that they were being placed in the month-long consultancy period via a “script” delivered in a conference […]

Why the delay for Learndirect inspection report?

Ofsted’s eagerly awaited inspection report on the nation’s largest FE provider has been delayed by six weeks, with the “silence period” before the election given as the reason. Learndirect was visited by the education watchdog a month ago, and speculation has been mounting over the grade it will receive. However, in an unusual move Ofsted […]

Learndirect top-slices almost £20 million through subcontractors deals

Latest figures have shown that Learndirect top-sliced almost £20 million through its deals with subcontractors last academic year, FE Week can reveal. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has threated to suspend public money for lead providers that fail to publish all of their management fees – the amount of government cash they withhold for themselves, […]