News

Education secretary to open Festival of Education 2021: how to watch

Education secretary Gavin Williamson will open the Festival of Education today, kickstarting the two-week long virtual event. The festival…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

DfE scraps ‘ludicrous’ bootcamp research and launches leak investigation

The Department for Education has been forced into an embarrassing U-turn by dropping “secret” plans to ban thousands of…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Ofsted

Ofsted bosses contradictory over limiting inspection grades for poor careers advice

A confused picture has emerged after Ofsted’s chief inspector contradicted her FE director on whether poor careers advice could…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Skills Bill: Labour to seek amendments to local skills improvement plans and IfATE powers

Labour will seek amendments to the Skills Bill so that metro mayors have a bigger role in local skills…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Feature, News

Can the Centres for Excellence master the GCSE resit problem?

The Centres for Excellence in Maths are headed into their fourth year. With just two years of funding left, FE…

Jess Staufenberg
Jess Staufenberg
News

DfE reforms to BTECs and other level 3 quals will hit disadvantaged students hardest, sector warns

Government plans to remove funding for the majority of BTECs will hit the most disadvantaged young students the hardest,…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden


News

Strikes on the cards at 11 colleges

University and College Union members at 11 colleges across England are voting on industrial action from today. Ten of…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Number 10 seeks education and skills deputy director for new delivery unit

Number 10 is seeking a “deputy director for education, jobs and skills” to work in a new unit set…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

FAB warns of ‘conflict of interest’ arising from Skills Bill legislation

Plans to hand the government’s apprenticeships quango new powers over technical qualifications are a “retrograde step” and introduce a…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Two more struggling UTCs join multi-academy trusts

Another two university technical colleges are being absorbed into multi-academy trusts and expanding their age ranges after facing possible…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021: Who received what in FE?

The next FE commissioner and the author of the landmark post-18 education review are among those receiving gongs in…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

ITPs will be included in catch-up plans, DfE confirms

Independent training providers can rest assured they will be eligible for the government’s latest catch-up funding, it has been…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon

Must read

community cohesion

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