Ofsted Ofsted pledges specialist inspectors for most visits from November All FE inspections will also be led by either current or recent HMIs, says the watchdog Anviksha Patel 1mo Anviksha Patel 1mo Higher education Think tank calls for FE-style franchising crackdown in HE Planned DfE reforms to franchising amount to ‘regulatory negligence’, says The Post-18 Project Shane Chowen 1mo Shane Chowen 1mo Skills reform FE inquiry: MPs grill Smith on pay, cuts and careers Parity of teacher pay is a ‘fairly basic problem’, the education committee chair suggested Josh Mellor 1mo Josh Mellor 1mo Ofsted Ofsted: Unions consider asking leaders to quit as inspectors Leadership unions warn they will take the ‘unprecedented step’ unless watchdog changes course over inspection plans FE Week Reporter 1mo FE Week Reporter 1mo Apprenticeships Long read Banter, firework emails and power ‘grab’ defended by ex-SFA chief in Marples trial Sir Peter Lauener was cross-examined for 2 days. Here’s what we learned… Billy Camden 1mo Billy Camden and Charlie Moloney 1mo Skills reform Industrial strategy: growth and skills levy courses start next year Other new measures include ‘defence technical excellence colleges’ Josh Mellor 1mo Josh Mellor 1mo T Levels £6.3m available for T Level placement incentive fund for employers DfE confirms funding for health and construction employers, including SMEs Anviksha Patel 1mo Anviksha Patel 1mo Adult education, Long read Inside the evergreen sanctuary of Fircroft adult residential college Inspired by Denmark’s folk high schools, Birmingham’s Fircroft College still provides a home-from-home for people with addiction and mental… Jessica Hill 1mo Jessica Hill 1mo Colleges WCG sells contentious campus after High Court win The proceeds will be used to pay off debts from an ongoing government funding audit Josh Mellor 1mo Josh Mellor 1mo Colleges DfE appoints three new FE national leaders Principals of ‘outstanding’ colleges have been enlisted to help other colleges improve FE Week Reporter 1mo FE Week Reporter 1mo SEND SEND deficits to be kept off council balance sheets for two more years SEND deficit ‘statutory override’ protecting potentially scores of councils from insolvency extended to 2028 Freddie Whittaker 1mo Freddie Whittaker 1mo Apprenticeships DfE agrees ‘transitional period’ for new off the job policy Four-month grace period for 39 apprenticeships with revised off-the-job training hours follows sector concerns Anviksha Patel 1mo Anviksha Patel 1mo Newer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 819 Older Must read Colleges, Long read 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 2w Jessica Hill 2w 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 2mo Jessica Hill 2mo Long read, Prison education Long read 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 2mo Jessica Hill 2mo Next 3 stories Apprenticeships, Politics Exclusive Phillipson to exempt young people from level 7 apprenticeships funding axe Education secretary makes ‘important concession’ amid backlash from other government departments Billy Camden 3mo Billy Camden 3mo Colleges, FE Commissioner Exclusive 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 3mo Anviksha Patel 3mo 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 4mo Anviksha Patel 4mo
