News

Revealed: How 3aaa spent £1.6m on sponsorship at sports clubs

Crisis-hit Aspire Achieve Advance spent over £1.6 million of its mostly government-funded income on professional sports sponsorship deals. One…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Ofsted on hunt for more apprenticeship inspectors

Ofsted is on the look out to recruit 10 FE experts as inspectors while it ramps up its workforce…

Pippa Allen-Kinross
Pippa Allen-Kinross
News

Ofsted watch: A mostly positive week for FE and skills

It’s been a mostly positive week for FE and skills, with one provider receiving a grade two on its…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

3aaa co-founder embroiled in police probe resigns as chair of academy trust

The co-founder of Aspire Achieve Advance has resigned from his position as chair of an academy trust, after the…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Colleges to march on parliament in funding protest

Up to 3,000 people are expected to march on parliament on Wednesday to demand more funding for colleges. The…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

Concerns raised about the quality of maths centres for excellence

The government has insisted “quality” was a factor in choosing 21 colleges to share £40 million funding as maths…

Pippa Allen-Kinross
Pippa Allen-Kinross


News

Have hopes for the new national colleges been derailed?

Nearly three years ago the government pledged to create five national colleges that would train more than 20,000 students…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

DfE wastes £2.3m on UTCs and studio schools that never opened

The Department for Education has wasted more than £2.3 million over the last five years on studio schools, UTCs…

Pippa Allen-Kinross
Pippa Allen-Kinross
News

Revealed: 37 colleges and providers chosen for first wave of Taking Teaching Further funding

The first colleges to train 80 industry experts as teachers for part of the £5 million Taking Teaching Further…

Pippa Allen-Kinross
Pippa Allen-Kinross
News

Multi-academy trust backs chair embroiled in 3aaa police probe

An expanding academy trust is backing its chair despite the government referring his giant private training provider to the…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Major subcontractor heavily criticised in ‘insufficient’ Ofsted monitoring visit report

A major subcontractor has been heavily criticised in a new apprenticeship provider Ofsted monitoring visit report that found it…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

DfE refers 3aaa to police following investigation

The Department for Education has referred Aspire Achieve Advance to the police following its investigation into the crisis-hit provider….

Billy Camden
Billy Camden

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