Colleges

‘Serious cashflow pressures’ put WCG in intervention

The college group’s annual accounts are nine months late

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
DfE, level 3, Qualifications

BTEC survival hope after Smith’s policy shift

Courses that ‘overlap’ with T Levels faced the cut under plans inherited from the Conservatives

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Apprenticeships

DfE ‘tore up AEB contract due to apprenticeship row’

Private provider owner also claims adult education payments were withheld as officials recovered clawback

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Apprenticeships

Turnaround job of a Lifetime at apprenticeship giant

An interview with CEO David Smith

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Ofsted

Revealed: How Ofsted will develop plans to inspect inclusion

Watchdog has so far provided little detail on what metrics will be used to judge inclusion for incoming report…

Lucas Cumiskey
Lucas Cumiskey
Politics

Tugendhat pledges millions for FE in Tory leadership bid

Apprenticeships and skills spending will reduce reliance on migrant workers, according to Tory leadership hopeful

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen


Prison education

Young offenders denied legal right to education

Staff shortages are preventing both adults and children from attending education and training

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
DfE

Pupil premium plus post-16 pilot reduces ‘cliff edge’ of support, report finds

Calls for long-term funding as evaluation highlights positive outcomes for vulnerable young people

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges, Politics

172 college leaders make collective investment plea to chancellor

Principals warn economic growth will be stifled without greater funding to build the FE workforce

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
WorldSkills

WorldSkills UK national finals will move to Wales in 2025

South Wales to host national event for the first time

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges

40 extra hours policy ‘helpful’ for 3 in 5 colleges, report suggests

But researchers warn they cannot accurately measure compliance

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Higher education

OfS dishes out further £14m for level 6 degree apprenticeships expansion

Comes a week after the government revealed plans to restrict level 7 apprenticeships

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