Skills reform

Revealed: 37 business groups chosen to lead local skills plans

Leading employer groups across England will write local skills improvement plans which detail how provision should change to meet…

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
Ofsted

Ofsted ditches Covid disruption deferral policy

The inspection code of conduct has also been strengthened

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth and Tom Belger
Ofsted

SEND college judged ‘inadequate’ over safety concerns

Staffing issues and gaps in SEND experience highlighted by watchdog

Jason Noble
Jason Noble
Apprenticeships, Higher education

Revealed: First solely apprenticeship provider granted degree awarding powers

Euan Blair’s Multiverse can now run and award its own degree level apprenticeships

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Exams

Pearson faces record £1.3m fine for letting examiners remark own work

‘No evidence’ students received the wrong outcomes but schools and colleges awarded £300k compensation

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth


News

Provider plans to quickly double apprentice numbers after securing ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating

MBKB Ltd secures top rating just six years after first offering apprenticeships.

Jason Noble
Jason Noble
Colleges
Billy Camden
Devolution

East Midlands area secures adult education budget powers in first of a kind county devolution deal

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire secure adult education budget responsibilities as first mayoral combined county authority.

Jason Noble
Jason Noble
Awarding, Higher education

Access to HE awarding body files for insolvency

It comes weeks after the organisation split from the NOCN Group

Jason Noble
Jason Noble
GCSEs, Results 2022

GCSE results 2022: Maths and English resits pass rate takes big drop

Pass rate also takes a slight dip on pre-pandemic levels

Jason Noble
Jason Noble
BTECs, Results 2022

Pearson warns 7,000 students won’t get BTEC results tomorrow

It comes as exam boards finally admit nearly 2,000 grades still to be issued five days after level 3…

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth

Must read

Colleges

Weston College governance failure allowed ‘concealment’ of £2.5m payments to former principal

Paul Phillips was paid £1.8m in 2023, including a ‘significant’ six-figure retention payment which his COO son ‘resisted’ paying…

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
T Levels

NAO reveals enormity of T Level take-up failure

Forecasts missed by 75% and secret DfE estimates show staff and employer shortages could limit places to 48,000 students

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Adult education, ITPs

Mayors dump adult education cuts on independent training providers

Up to two-thirds axed from devolved procured budgets

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Bootcamps, Skills bootcamps

Coding firm caught charging students for free bootcamps

Ed tech provider ‘regretful’ after complaints and promises full refunds as bosses try to sue DfE over non-payments

Billy Camden
Billy Camden and Frances Read
Apprenticeships

Entrepreneur chased for millions after apprenticeship collapse

ESFA uncovers ‘fake’ taxi apprentices as liquidator reveals intercompany payments days after firm decided to shut

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Adult education

Fury as DfE cuts adult education budgets

Combined authorities told to expect reductions in ‘already deeply diminished’ adult skills funding

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen