News

Ofsted Watch: Royal Navy apprenticeships are ‘outstanding’

Everything about skills training at the Royal Navy is shipshape and Bristol fashion, after Ofsted judged the employer provider…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Mucklow tackles AEB devolution as director roles change at ESFA

The director of Young People and former sixth-form college commissioner has been given the mammoth task of devolving the…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Fresh round of redundancies at Learndirect as funding dries up

Learndirect Ltd appears to be on the brink of collapse, after a fresh round of redundancies belied the fact…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Special investigation: Why are colleges turning their backs on traineeships?

Colleges delivered less than a quarter of traineeships last year and nearly half across the country had no starts…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

UCU blasts 10% pay rises for ‘greedy’ college principals

College principals have been lambasted as “greedy and hopelessly out of touch” by the University and College Union, after…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

People 1st collapses, stunning the FE sector

People 1st, once a major sector skills council and a key player in the apprenticeship reforms, has entered administration,…

Paul Offord
Paul Offord


News

Apprenticeship payments system breakdown finally ‘resolved’

The government claims to have finally fixed its malfunctioning apprenticeship payments reporting system, more than two weeks after it…

Paul Offord
Paul Offord
News

Minister supports FE representation at Office for Students

The universities minister has backed FE representation on the board of the new regulatory body for higher education. Sam…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

Subcontracting fees will finally be published in June

The government will publish subcontracting fees for providers across the country in June, the education minister Nadhim Zahawi has…

Paul Offord
Paul Offord
News

Hull College Group backs embattled chief executive in bitter redundancy row

UPDATE: UCU members at the Hull College Group will walk out on strike tomorrow (May 9) over plans to…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Leo Shapiro steps down as OCR chief executive

Leo Shapiro, the chief executive of major awarding organisation OCR, has stepped down after less than two years in…

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
News

Isle of Wight studio school on the brink of closure

Another studio school that has severely struggled with recruitment has agreed to close “in principle”. Plans to shut the…

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