Colleges

Stop depleting your cash reserves, Legrave tells colleges

FE Commissioner also calls on leaders to better understand severance payment rules

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Colleges, Politics

College teacher pay snub goes legal

SFCA launches judicial review against DfE

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Skills bootcamps

Bootcamp ‘outcomes’ remained elusive in 2022-23, new figures show

The government may ‘evolve’ how the courses are funded next year

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Pensions

First rise in teachers’ pension contributions since 2015 proposed

DfE also proposes to amend legislation to apply fair deal pensions guarantee to college teachers

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
T Levels

DfE told to abolish ‘overwhelmingly negative’ T Level transition course

Think tank says foundation year is ‘failing’ in main aim – promoting progression to T Levels

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges, Industrial action

NEU announces sixth form college strike dates

Three strike days confirmed following teacher pay snub

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen


Colleges, Curriculum review

FE lacks capacity for major reform, says curriculum review chair

English and maths grade 4 pass mark also labelled a ‘relatively random indicator’

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Colleges

College social action awards finalists revealed

Good for Me Good for FE announce shortlisted staff, students and projects for this year’s awards

FE Week Reporter
FE Week Reporter
Colleges

Pensions ‘guarantee’ to save colleges £30m

Additional funding will also be handed to colleges to cover employer national insurance rises, estimated to be worth £100m

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Colleges, Ofsted

College celebrates second consecutive Ofsted ‘outstanding’

West Midlands group praised for ‘strong’ contribution to skills needs and ‘role model’ teachers

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Strikes

32 sixth form colleges vote to strike over ‘farcical’ pay situation

But no date for action has been set yet

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Apprenticeships, Long read

Gripped by fear of a special needs cash clawback

Most apprenticeship providers don’t claim apprentice support funding due to complexity and worries a mistake could wreck their finances,…

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill

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