• Ofsted director seconded to government Covid response team

    A senior Ofsted director has been seconded to a government team planning for the return of students to schools and colleges. Sean Harford, the watchdog’s national director of education, moved temporarily to the Cabinet Office this week to work on the government’s response to the pandemic. He will be there until the end of the…

    19.09 Aug. 14th, 2020 | News

  • College failing to protect vulnerable students from 'acute risk of self-harm', Ofsted finds

    A college with 200 vulnerable young learners has been warned by Ofsted its arrangements to keep students safe are “weak” and it’s not taking appropriate action to protect them from “acute risk of self-harm”. The education watchdog carried out an unannounced monitoring inspection last month at Suffolk New College following safeguarding concerns that had been…

    12.42 Jul. 12th, 2019 | News

  • Ofsted watch: Busy week with good news for most providers

    It has been a promising week for all types of FE providers, with 22 positive reports published by the education watchdog. However, the week wasn’t without its bad news, with three ‘insufficient progress’ early monitoring visits and one provider dropping from grade two to three. Two other providers were also rated ‘requires improvement’. Crewe Engineering…

    14.46 Jul. 5th, 2019 | News

  • Ofsted’s new framework is not a good fit with FE providers

    With just over two months to go until the new education inspection framework comes into action, Ofsted has found its model for assessing the quality of lessons “does not fit” FE providers. In what one adviser to a former skills minister called an “extremely worrying” admission, the education watchdog said it needs to come up…

    10.30 Jun. 28th, 2019 | News

  • 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…

    12.00 Jun. 21st, 2019 | News

  • Ofsted watch: UTC impresses while colleges flounder

    A university technical college stood out this week for the right reasons – it was rated ‘good’ in its first ever inspection. General FE colleges didn’t reach the same heights, with two large college groups dropping to ‘requires improvement’ while another received a second consecutive ‘inadequate’ report. UTC Warrington was given a grade two after…

    16.49 Jun. 21st, 2019 | News

  • Sixth form college retains its grade one after 12-year respite

    A sixth form college in Merseyside has become the first SFC to score a grade one Ofsted rating in nearly two years, during which time three have lost their “outstanding” status. Carmel College retained its top rating this week, following a respite inspection period of over 12 years. Mike Hill, the college’s principal, said it…

    10.00 Jun. 14th, 2019 | News

  • It is easy to conclude that the DfE are not serious about apprenticeship quality

    This week we report that the Department for Education will announce that the Office for Students, not Ofsted, will inspect the quality of all level 6 and 7 apprenticeships. It comes after FE Week exposed the fact that thousands of apprentices were at providers where Ofsted had to exclude them from inspection because they were…

    9.30 Jun. 7th, 2019 | Opinion

  • Ofsted watch: Airports apprenticeship provider slammed by Ofsted – again

    A new apprenticeship provider that was suspended from recruiting learners last year has been rated ‘inadequate’ in its first full inspection, in what was otherwise an average week for the FE sector. The only other bad report came in for Prospects Training International Limited, which trades a Geason Training and was bought out in a…

    15.13 Jun. 7th, 2019 | News

  • Speedy Ofsted criticism of provider just months after multi-million pound purchase

    A new provider that was allowed to recruit over 1,000 apprentices before being inspected has been found making ‘insufficient progress’ by Ofsted in a monitoring visit.  Prospects Training International Limited trades as Geason Training and was acquired by Speedy, one of the UK’s leading tool hire services company, in a deal worth up to £26…

    14.54 Jun. 5th, 2019 | News

  • Ofsted watch: Tough week with one employer provider crashing to a grade four

    It has been a tough week for FE as one provider was hit with ‘inadequate’ and three others found making insufficient progress. Securitas UK, a large employer provider in the security sector, was rated as ‘inadequate’ in its first full inspection after Ofsted found none of its apprentices achieved their qualification. Ofsted’s report found that…

    15.56 May. 24th, 2019 | News