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29 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Morgan’s funding rate assurance leads to long-term security plea

Sector figures have called for long-term funding security after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan (pictured) told MPs the government had “no plans” to cut the 18-year-old funding rate again next year. The 157 Group and the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association (SFCA) welcomed comments from Ms Morgan during education questions in Parliament on Monday (October 27). She […]

Commissioner — ‘college cannot operate on own’

Norton Radstock College has been told it can no longer operate on its own after FE Commissioner Dr David Collins identified issues with leadership, governance and college finances. The 4,700-learner college, near Bath, was graded inadequate by Ofsted in May and has posted a deficit every year for the last three years. In a newly-released […]

‘Plan C’ fears as Hub back-up phased out

The closure of the Skills Funding Agency’s (SFA) online data collection (OLDC) system as a back-up for its breakdown-plagued replacement Hub system has prompted concerns about the lack of a “plan C”. The OLDC was phased out on Friday (October 31), meaning providers must route all future Individualised Learner Record (ILR) returns data through the […]

Fine for college after worker breaks back

A Lancashire college has been fined £20,000 after an employee broke his back while changing the filter of an air extraction system. Burnley College admitted it failed to protect the 63-year-old engineering technician — despite specialising in teaching health and safety courses — at Preston Crown Court On October 23. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) […]

Lambeth College staff back to polls on industrial action

Lambeth College staff who went on a five-week strike earlier this year will vote on whether to take further industrial action after rejecting “improved” offers over contract changes. University and College Union (UCU) members walked out indefinitely on June 3 in a dispute over new staff contracts introduced on April 1, which the UCU said […]

The FE Wolf at the Lords’ door

Professor Alison Wolf, the influential academic who authored the government’s 2011 report on vocational education, is one of just four people to have been given a coveted life peerage by the Prime Minister in this Parliament, and will soon join the ranks of Peers as a cross-bencher without party political affiliation. As she prepares to […]

Accounts committee looks at Dfe participation record

A sector leader has called for “coherence” in government’s approach to improving participation of 16 to 18-year-olds in education and training after a key committee announced an inquiry into the issue. Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, welcomed news the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) would begin to examine participation […]

New minimum standards system prompts questions

New minimum standards categories have been unveiled by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for 2014/15 — but the sector has been left asking why they were not ready earlier. Guidance for post-19 training, issued on Tuesday (October 28), revealed how qualification success rates (QSRs) will change. Previously, providers’ QSRs were divided into three categories — […]