News

Revealed: The 34 colleges with £270m of government loans and bailouts last year

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has revealed the colleges with millions in government loans and bailouts. According…

Simon Kay
Simon Kay
News

Chartered Institute of FE admits to having no employees

The Chartered Institution for Further Education has been left with no employees after its CEO quietly stood down in…

Jessica Fino
Jessica Fino
News

Two years since the levy launched, skills minister reflects on success of a ‘carrot and stick’ policy

Employers with a payroll of £3 million or more made their first monthly apprenticeship levy payment in April 2017…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Ofsted watch: UTC jumps from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’

A university technical college was celebrating this week after it climbed its way up from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’, while…

Jessica Fino
Jessica Fino
News

Universities and training providers clash on apprenticeship priorities

It is “entirely unacceptable” to expect public sector employers to subsidise low-level apprenticeships for chefs and hairdressers, a university…

Jessica Fino
Jessica Fino
News

Overspend: GLA warns of risk to AEB devo project

The Greater London Authority has denied that devolution of the adult education budget is at risk due to spiralling…

Jessica Fino
Jessica Fino


News

It’s FE Week wot won it: 5 month mystery of missing £300k levy ‘resolved’ by ESFA

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has finally returned £300,000 to a large high-profile employer within hours of FE…

Jessica Fino
Jessica Fino
News

Third of apprentices on standards not ready for planned end-point assessment in 2017/18

One-third of apprentices on standards were not ready for their planned end-point assessment last year, the government has revealed….

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Investigation by statistics watchdog after ESFA lists ‘unreliable’ providers

The country’s national statistics regulator is investigating whether the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s apprenticeship achievement rate data can…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

AoC ‘disappointed’ local sustainability reviews won’t include schools

The Association of Colleges has criticised the Department for Education’s new local area reviews for not including small “non-viable”…

Fraser Whieldon
Fraser Whieldon
News

Tenth UTC closure announced

Yet another university technical college will close later this year, taking the total to 10 for the troubled programme….

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

ESFA apologises over apprenticeship off-the-job calculation blunder

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has apologised for causing confusion in its off-the-job training rule and updated its…

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