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In this week’s TES Further, Stephen Grix , chief executive of MidKent College, offers five key ways (article free for subscribers) to make sure the books at your college really do balance up when committing to a budget.  He writes that 20 years ago it wasn’t deemed crucial for him, as a CEO or principal, to be financially literate - but this has changed. From adopting a laser-like focus on pay costs - which will account, on average, for 60 per cent of total expenditure - to avoiding vanity projects, Mr Grix says that if the senior team aren’t concentrating on the balancing books, the staff and students will be the first to suffer.

Meanwhile, Richard Guy, apprenticeships policy adviser for City and Guilds, writes about the challege providers face when it comes to end assessment (article free for subscribers).

Exclusive: campus grades mooted

TES FE editor Stephen Exley reveals how Ofsted are considering introducing separate grades for individual college campuses. The move would aim to boost local accountability in colleges with geographical spreads, he writes. Following discussions between Ofsted, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education, a consultation is expected to begin this month which will seek views from the sector on whether inspection reports should also include a separate overall grade for each campus.

Simply ELATTed

Anthony Harmer, chief executive of ELATT Connected Learning (which won the overall FE provider of the year gong at this year’s TES FE Awards), writes about how FE leaders should protect their teaching staff from external policies, and let them concentrate on what they’re best at - teaching. He says that external procedures can put a high level of stress on teachers and argues that it is up to leaders to shield them from it.

‘FE needs to take control’

Dame Ruth Silver, president of the Further Education trust for Leadership (FETL), writes that simply adapting to upheaval in FE isn’t enough (article free for subscribers) - the sector needs to take control. Policy turbulence is a constant in FE, she argues, and leaders need to shape the agenda rather than simply reacting to it.

This week, FErret is confused about the Skills Funding Agency’s concept of how long a year is (article free for subscribers). In the weird world that the agency inhabits, a year can either be 366 or 372 days long, depending on which version of the apprenticeship framework you use. The mind boggles. FErret also delves into the delays behind the long-awaited Sainsbury review, and reveals how an imminet Ofsted report could be about to ruffle a few feathers.

Supersize me

Janette Thompson offers some food for thought in this week’s TES Further with seven foodie concepts that can help in the classroom (article free for subscribers) - from laying placemats for a variety of classroom-management strategies, to understanding that learners who learn quickly might need a supersize version of a particular resource. Food for thought.

Doggie dilemma

Sarah Simons writes about Norah, her dog who is old and keeps waking her up in the night. Although this is much to the annoyance of the Simons household, she is determine that this latest doggie dilemma will not impact on her work as a “glamorous high-flyer” of FE (article free for subscribers) - tongue firmly in cheek.

All this and much, much more in this week’s TES Further.

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