Ofsted | FE Week

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Ofsted finds learners unaware they are on an apprenticeship programme

An experienced commercial training provider has been heavily criticised by Ofsted after it found a “high proportion” of learners not knowing they are on an apprenticeship programme. Manatec Limited, which had 550 apprentices at the time of inspection and is based in Grimsby, received two ‘insufficient’ ratings in its first monitoring visit since it started […]

Ofsted slams large employer provider with no apprenticeship passes – again

A large employer provider in the security sector that was suspended from recruiting apprentices last year has been rated ‘inadequate’ after Ofsted found none of its apprentices achieved their qualification. Securitas UK said today it will challenge the education watchdog after it criticised leaders and managers for being “too slow” to improve the weaknesses identified […]

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 […]

English and maths GCSE resit policy helping tens of thousands

The policy requiring students to continue studying English and maths if they fail the subjects at GCSEs at age 16 continues to bear fruit, as revealed in FE Week’s analysis of the government’s latest attainment figures. The controversial “condition of funding” policy, introduced in 2014, means that colleges must help students who narrowly failed to […]

Ofsted watch: Solid start to the summer term for most providers

The summer term has kicked off on a solid footing with two colleges and one university being graded ‘good’ while one dance and drama college was rated ‘outstanding’. However, the good news was slightly overshadowed by two ‘inadequate’ full inspections and three ‘insufficient’ monitoring visits. Liverpool Theatre School & College Limited was upgraded to ‘outstanding’ […]

Ofsted finds ‘prohibited’ subcontracting – again

A loans-only provider has been rated ‘inadequate’ after Ofsted found it was using banned subcontracting. The watchdog gave Be A Better You Training Limited a grade four rating as its freelance teachers were found to teach much of the provision, who then “delegate this work to others”. Ofsted said managers failed to recognise these arrangements […]