Higher education

Trainee teachers dumped in cafes and shops for work placements 

Applied Business Academy liquidated before facing ‘significant penalties’

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
Ofsted

‘Inadequate’ blow for newcomer to care home manager training

Franhen Consultancy’s apprenticeship funding contract now hangs in the balance

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
News

AQA buys Construction EPA Company

Exam body expands further into vocational training space

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Colleges

Revealed: £302m college condition allocations

DfE also dishes out additional £20m to Leeds and Greater Manchester to help manage student population surge

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
AI

AI tool for electronics teaching developed by ex-IfATE board member

The tool was funded through a competition for AI tools that could save teachers time

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
WorldSkills UK

WorldSkills UK names squad for Shanghai 2026

Over 80 students and apprentices will undergo intense training to prepare for WorldSkills Shanghai

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel


Adult education, Devolution

‘Back door devolution’ as 11 councils get extra procurement powers

But not all councils are aware of the DfE’s plans

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Long read

Attending to the problem

Exclusive data reveals student absenteeism has got worse across further education since the Covid lockdowns – but colleges are…

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Skills bootcamps

Bootcamp provider in whistleblower probe collapses

‘I’m not one of these cowboys who treat people like dirt’

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
Ofsted

Joyce’s interim replacement at Ofsted revealed

Senior skills inspector steps into FE deputy director role temporarily

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
T Levels

DfE revises 2023-24 T Level pass rates

Updated analysis also reveals league table of T Level results at provider level for first time

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel

Must read

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
Colleges, FE Commissioner

Weston chair felt powerless over £2.5m payments to former principal

Ex-Weston college chair gives tell-all interview following FE Commissioner probe

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
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