Adult education, Apprenticeships

DfE toughens up on ITP contract sanctions

New contracts expand termination danger from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’ training providers

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
recruitment

DfE perm sec cannot explain 6.5k teacher recruitment pledge

Colleges still in the dark over promised share of new teachers

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Apprenticeships

First list of foundation apprenticeships published

Typical duration for the new entry route will be 8 months

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Apprenticeships

Lifetime Training replaces David Smith with Charlotte Bosworth as CEO

Former Post Office boss departs after almost two years in the role

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
SEND

SEND job scheme extended after recruitment success

Flagship SEND programme rewarded with extra cash after target to double enrolments ‘reached’

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
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


Devolution, Politics

Devolving 16-19 funding would be a nightmayor, minister warned

Doing so would lead to more ‘bureaucracy’ and ‘inequalities’, expert says

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Apprenticeships

DfE’s apprenticeships budget passes £3bn mark

Treasury figures suggest the largest cash increase since the levy was introduced

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Ofsted

SEND college awarded first ‘outstanding’ from Ofsted

Oakwood learners praised for ‘impeccable’ behaviour

Anviksha Patel
Anviksha Patel
Colleges

Leaders quit as Furness College continues recovery

The principal will leave in October and the chair has been replaced by a former deputy FE commissioner

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
Adult education

Tough immigration talk ‘but no plan for ESOL’  

Language teachers hit out at ‘mismatch between rhetoric and rules versus reality on the ground’

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Ofsted

‘Remarkable’ spike in ‘outstanding’ college grades

Big increase in top results as inspectorate prepares to turn off headline ratings

Billy Camden
Billy Camden

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