Apprenticeships

DfE raids budgets to cover ‘landmark’ apprenticeships overspend

Experts warn that further ‘trade-offs’ may need to be made in future

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Colleges, Skills reform

Raising participation age to 18 had ‘limited impact’, study suggests

But researchers say the policy has ‘untapped potential to expand learning opportunities’ as they call for a review

Ruth Lucas
Ruth Lucas
Colleges, Skills reform

BTECs axe will cause huge ‘qualifications gap’, ministers warned

Report claims key areas of the economy will be hit by scrapping ‘vital’ courses amid slow T Levels growth

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Ofsted

Missed inspection targets and 5 more findings from Ofsted’s annual report

Ofsted’s staff are also less happy this year, and turnover rates remain above civil service targets

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks
News

Members revealed for white working-class kids inquiry

Union leaders and two former education secretaries to lead group investigating issue

Ruth Lucas
Ruth Lucas
Devolution

Legislation paves way for mayors to appoint ‘skills commissioners’

But combined authority leaders urged to be cautious in drawing more funding away from frontline delivery

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor


Colleges

College staff scholarships announced to tackle antisemitism

Long-awaited £7m training contract will also help colleges navigate ‘difficult’ conversations on Israel-Gaza conflict

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges

MP criticises college group after another campus sale

WCG has now closed two sites since it merged in 2016

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
News

Schools and colleges ‘need more funding’ to hit 2030 tech target

‘The lack of technology infrastructure is a problem’, says union

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks
News

DfE accounts 2025: Apprenticeship ‘failures’ and minister payouts revealed

Report also shows a bumper pay rise for the DfE’s top boss and money paid to companies linked to…

Billy Camden
Joshua Mellor and Freddie Whittaker
Ofqual

Ofqual probe finds exam extra time figures wrong for years

‘We are correcting the record as soon as possible’, regulator says

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship starts rise as tax and wage hikes come into force

But adverts fall while vacancies begin to plummet

Billy Camden
Billy Camden

Must read

Qualifications

Revealed: V Levels incoming as axe looms for BTECs

New qualifications set to launch as ‘third route’ between A-levels and T Levels

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
Politics, Skills reform

DWP will take over apprenticeships, minister confirms

Shifting adult skills and apprenticeships policy will give “bigger emphasis on skills”, Jacqui Smith claims

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges, Long read

Colleges on the frontline of a divided nation

As social media algorithms fuel intolerance and binary thinking, college staff increasingly find themselves dealing with the fallout. Jessica…

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Colleges, Long read

Alun Francis, chair of the Social Mobility Commission

Deprived areas need vision – not victimhood – to level up, and Social Mobility Commission chair Alun Francis is…

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Long read, Prison education

The prison that’s offering hope for a new life upon release

‘We’re saving people’s lives as well as turning them around’

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Apprenticeships, Politics

Phillipson to exempt young people from level 7 apprenticeships funding axe

Education secretary makes ‘important concession’ amid backlash from other government departments

Billy Camden
Billy Camden