News

Apprenticeship quango says less than half passing to be ‘expected’

The proportion of apprentices that last year passed the new style ‘standard’ has been revealed as just 46.6 per…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Apprenticeship starts fall 7% in first half of 2019/20

The number of apprenticeship starts in England dropped by 7 per cent in the first half of 2019/20, new…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

National apprenticeship achievement rates fall below 65%

The overall achievement rate for apprenticeships fell last year by 2.2 percentage points to 64.7 per cent.  National achievement…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Committee of MPs to probe DfE’s response to coronavirus

The response of the Department for Education to the coronavirus outbreak and the impact of the disease on schools,…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Coronavirus: Ofqual admits teacher assessment not possible for all vocational qualifications

Ofqual is “urgently” working out how to calculate grades for students studying vocational and technical qualifications this year, but…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
AEB, Covid-19

Coronavirus: Some mayoral combined authorities guarantee AEB payments to ALL provider types

Multiple mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) have promised to honour adult education budget payments to all types of providers during…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon


News

Coronavirus: ‘Furious’ AELP boss says government wants skills sector to collapse

The government’s goal seems to be for the skills sector to “collapse”, a “furious” Mark Dawe has told FE…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

College funding support confirmed, and 4 other key points from latest DfE Covid-19 guidance

The government confirmed it will honour all payments to grant funded providers for the remainder of the 2019/20 funding…

Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
News

Coronavirus: 9 key points from the government’s apprenticeships guidance

The government has this evening released a package of measures that it hopes will help apprenticeship training providers amid…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

FE minister writes to apprenticeship providers about COVID-19 response

Apprenticeships and skills minister Gillian Keegan has today written to independent providers and other non-college stakeholders in an effort…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Coronavirus: Universities warned over rush to unconditional offers

The universities regulator has said it will use “any powers available” to prevent institutions from switching students’ offers to…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Coronavirus: Ofsted pauses publication of inspection reports

Ofsted has paused the publication of inspection reports during the coronavirus crisis and promised that it will have “do…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon

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