News

List of notices of concern and serious breach of contract published for first time

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has published a list of live notices of concern and serious breach of contract…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

DfE overspend results in 16-18 apprenticeship funding shortfall

Training providers have branded “ridiculous” the overdue news that many of their 16 to 18 apprenticeship and traineeship growth…

Jude Burke
Jude Burke
News

College area review rerun

Five FE and sixth form colleges involved in a pilot review of post-16 provision in Norfolk and Suffolk last…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Cost of college bailouts as high as £100m

The Government is propping up colleges to the tune of £100m, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ (AELP)…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

College surges from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ in Ofsted report praising 100 per cent GCSE English pass rate

“Outstanding” GCSE English results have helped a formerly ‘inadequate’ sixth form college surge to ‘good’ in less than 18…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Experienced principal appointed chief executive designate ahead of merger

Andy Wilson (pictured above) has been appointed as the new chief executive designate of City and Islington and Westminster…

Alix Robertson
Alix Robertson


News

Cameron to break bank fine pledge?

George Osborne has been challenged to reveal in Parliament whether a proposed apprenticeship fund created from Libor fines –…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

College given Ofsted boost after double grade four

Troubled Lewisham Southwark College is continuing to improve in all areas according to its latest monitoring visit report from…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Joint strike action in FE colleges will be taken by Unison and UCU members on February 24

Joint strike action will be taken by members of the University and College Union (UCU) and Unison working in…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Almost 90 per cent of ethnic minority FE staff have faced promotion ‘barriers’

Almost 90 per cent of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) FE staff members have ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ faced…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
News

Tough new strike threshold won’t apply to college support staff

Tough new rules requiring a 40 per cent threshold for strike action in key public services will not apply…

Alix Robertson
Alix Robertson
News

Colleges in Norfolk and Suffolk launch ‘collaborative’ group

The leaders of all 11 colleges in the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area have joined forces to be…

Nick Linford
Nick Linford

Must read

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
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