SFA | FE Week - Part 2

Apprenticeship frameworks could be discontinued without SFA approval

The UK’s food and drink frameworks could be switched off against the government’s wishes, FE Week has learned. The Skills Funding Agency is currently deciding on which frameworks it will discontinue from April 2018, but because the new food and drink standards are not yet ready, it hasn’t put them up for consideration. However, the […]

Government considers legislation change to protect learners with loans when providers go bust

The government is considering a change in legislation to protect learners left in loans debt after their providers go bust, in a move that would mark an early victory for FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign. We have been demanding justice for hundreds of learners who have recently been left with thousands of pounds of student loans […]

College governors brand SFA’s new apprenticeship contracts ‘ludicrous’

College governors have branded the SFA’s new apprenticeship contractual arrangements “ludicrous” during a heated discussion at the AoC’s Governance Summit. There is due to be a shift from contracts between the SFA and colleges to legal agreements between colleges and employers – which will amount to “a commercial relationship” with employers – according to Keith […]

Struggling college bailed out by SFA after bank refusal

A Warwickshire college in financial dire straits has been bailed out by the Skills Funding Agency, and is now seeking a merger partner following the departure of its principal. Stratford-Upon-Avon College was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in March 2015, but ran into money problems this year after planned projects which were expected to bring in […]

Ofsted could re-inspect after QAR loophole crackdown

Ofsted could re-inspect providers for questionable achievement rates that have come to light following a recent Skills Funding Agency crackdown. Last week the Department for Education admitted to a loophole in the SFA’s qualification achievement rates calculation, which it said “artificially” boosted the scores for around a tenth of all providers, with some benefiting by […]

SFA apprenticeship contract creates risks for employers

The new apprenticeship programme was designed to put employers in the driving seat, but the contract the SFA will make them sign places them in a risky situation, says Smita Jamdar. As the jedi master Yoda once observed, “always two there are, no more and no less: a master and an apprentice”. If only life […]

SFA close achievement rate “loophole” that boosted some provider rates by more than 20 percent

The Department for Education has admitted to a “loophole” in the Skills Funding Agency qualification achievement rate calculation, which until now “artificially” boosted the rate for around 10 per cent of providers. In some cases, providers benefited by more than 20 QAR percentage points. Figures published on February 16 in the updated January Statistical First […]

FE pays tribute to former SFA director Kim Thorneywork

The FE sector has paid tribute to Kim Thorneywork, the “distinguished” former chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency, who died this week. Ms Thorneywork joined the agency in 2006 and became its leader in July 2012, but the following October she announced that she was stepping down after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Sector […]

Skills Funding Agency to remain in charge of assessment organisation register

The Skills Funding Agency will stay in charge of the new register of apprentice assessment organisations, despite its slow start, and even though it is not related to funding. The government’s Draft Strategic Guidance to the IfA, unveiled on January 4, controversially confirmed that the SFA would “maintain responsibility for administration” of the register. This […]