HS2 college ‘blocking’ Ofsted report

THE National College for HS2 based in Birmingham is attempting to block publication of a highly-critical Ofsted report, it has been alleged.

The education watchdog visited the college for the first time in November of last year, and reportedly found the provision of education so poor that they were set to award the lowest possible grade, a grade four.

However lawyers acting on behalf of the college, renamed the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) last year, have reportedly filed a judicial review to halt publication of the report, meaning it has still not been released to the public.

The Department for Education have confirmed that they placed the college into formal intervention on December 6 following November’s inspection, while a notice to improve and a Further Education Commissioner report are set to be published shortly.

The board of the college have also voted to stop publishing board minutes and are delaying signing off the accounts, a move which they say was taken with the recent Oakervee Review in mind. The government-backed college has struggled since launching in 2017, and last year received close to a £5 million bailout deal in order to keep the doors open.

A spokesperson for Ofsted said: “The inspection and report are the subject of litigation. The report has not been published. In the circumstances, we are not able to say more.”