News

Winners of the 2020 Festival of Learning awards announced

A mother bullied out of school aged 13, and an agency which fights serious and organised crime nationwide are among…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Highbury College appoints permanent chair as merger option explored

A college that has been led by a troubleshooting interim chair for almost a year has appointed a permanent…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

WorldSkills competitions in China and France postponed by a year

The next two WorldSkills competitions, set to take place in Shanghai in China in 2021 and Lyon in France…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Eight more T Level qualifications put out to tender

Awarding organisations are being sought to develop T Levels in areas such as media, animal care, and hair and…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Fears growing number of 16-19s will stretch budgets this year

Fears are growing that the government’s FE funding boost for this year will not be sufficient to cover an…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Ofsted ‘visits’ to go online during national lockdown

Ofsted has confirmed it will undertake school and FE provider visits “remotely” during the national lockdown. In a Twitter…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden


News

Devolve greater skills funding powers for Covid-19 recovery, government urged

The government has been urged to devolve more skills funding to mayoral combined authorities to allow them to develop…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

New Careers and Enterprise Company CEO named

The founder and headteacher of a “nationally recognised” school in east London is the new chief executive of the…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Revealed: The 68 apprenticeship standards to be overseen by Ofqual from November

The 68 apprenticeship standards which will have the quality assurance of end-point assessments transferred from the Institute of Apprenticeships…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Independent Commission on the College of the Future releases final UK-wide report

The government should introduce a duty on colleges to deliver an education offer aligned to employer needs, a commission…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Colleges applying for bailouts will NOT be automatically placed in formal intervention, DfE says

Colleges which apply for government bailouts will not automatically fall into formal intervention from now on, the Department for…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

What Ofsted found in the first 10 ‘interim visits’ of FE providers

Virtual work placements, redesigned curriculums for practical courses and borrowing prosthetic limbs are among the creative adjustments made by…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden

Must read

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
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