News

First4Skills: what happened after its disastrous collapse?

The apprenticeships giant First4Skills went bust in March after its skills funding was pulled due to an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

Revealed: £200m adult education budget underspend

FE providers failed to spend a giant chunk of the adult education budget over the past academic year. A…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Learndirect Apprenticeships tries to avoid the past with major rebrand

A firm set up by Learndirect as a separate entity to run its apprenticeships division has begun a significant…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

Labour conference: Corbyn to tackle automation jobs threat with free FE

Jeremy Corbyn will pledge to tackle the threat to jobs from automation by offering free tuition for all FE…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Grenfell community rage over college sell-off

Leaders of a college that sold its main campus to make way for housing ahead of a planned merger…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Rayner pledges £1bn for FE to deliver T-levels

The Labour Party has pledged to invest one billion pounds to deliver T-levels, as its shadow education secretary spelt…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden


News

FE principals angry with academy chain small sixth form plans

Two FE principals are up in arms over a planned new academy-chain small school sixth form, which they claim…

Paul Offord
Paul Offord
News

Halfon questions costly employer perspectives survey

The chair of the influential Commons education select committee has questioned the worth of the employer perspectives survey, which…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

Revealed: How to get the DfE Institute of Technology kite-mark

UPDATE: The Department for Education has now confirmed they’ve published documents launching the IoT invitations on the lep network…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Top civil servant announced as new apprenticeships boss

A civil servant who led the Department for Education’s response to the Grenfell Tower blaze has been appointed as…

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
News

New RoATP window opens on Monday

The register of apprenticeship training providers will open for a third time starting on Monday, FE Week can reveal,…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

Ofqual considers special treatment for new AOs

New apprenticeship exam bodies are next in line for special treatment, after Ofqual hinted that it’s considering a lighter…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke

Must read

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
Adult education, ITPs

Mayors dump adult education cuts on independent training providers

Up to two-thirds axed from devolved procured budgets

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor