• 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

  • Ex-learner guilty of rape at college criticised for safeguarding

    A former student at a college that Ofsted identified as struggling from “endemic” sexualised behaviour has been found guilty of raping another pupil multiple times on the campus. Hereward College said this week that it was “deeply saddened” and extended its sympathies to the victim, after a 23-year-old man was convicted of four counts of…

    17.33 Oct. 9th, 2017 | News

  • Report shows college struggle with ‘endemic’ sexualised behaviour

    Ofsted has blasted a college for “endemic” sexualised behaviour and incidents of sexual assault in a damning new report. In November, the inspectorate awarded Hereward College the lowest possible grade for its most recent inspection, which saw it fall from the ‘good’ rating it had earned just 18 months ago. That report said the college’s…

    14.00 Jan. 27th, 2017 | News

  • What is the safeguarding duty and what happens if providers get it wrong?

    Ofsted inspectors recently gave a 16 to 19 independent learning provider an inadequate rating having discovered it failing to meet its statutory requirements on safeguarding learners. Geraldine Swanton explains the safeguarding learners issue. A positive duty to promote and safeguard the welfare of children was imposed on FE colleges and schools by the Education Act…

    7.00 Nov. 10th, 2014 | Opinion