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29 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Colleges tell MPs of apprenticeship funding reform fears

Further education colleges have added their voices to a growing list of sector organisations warning apprenticeship funding reforms could put employers off the programme and result in falling numbers. In written evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee (pictured right), which will hold the first hearing of its inquiry into 16 to 19 […]

Andy Gannon, director of policy, 157 Group

Most teenagers spend their schooldays daydreaming about life outside the classroom, but that wasn’t the case for Andy Gannon. The 157 Group director of policy admits it was his “nerdy side” which prompted him to crave a career in education from an early age, but not quite in the way you might expect. “I have […]

Keep it simple on grading

Government reforms to apprenticeships go further than simply how the programme is funded and looked to include the introduction of a new grading system. Stewart Segal explains his concerns about these grading changes. We raised a number of concerns about grading from the first recommendations following the 2012 report of Doug Richard. While we welcome […]

A U-turn — or simply listening?

Skills Minister Nick Boles told FE Week that he was willing to allow some apprenticeship to be graded as simply pass or fail, despite reforms seeming to have been heading in the direction of a pass, merit or distinction system. Iain Mackinnon explains why he welcomed the move. he maritime sector has been one of […]

Four education policy principles to stick to

The 157 Group’s latest report, Future Colleges, outlines four principles it wants those in power to adhere to in determining education policy, as Lynne Sedgmore explains. At the 157 Group, we know about the excellent work that colleges, both our members and others, are doing every day across the country to enable learners to acquire […]

Election time is not the only occasion to listen to learners

With the General Election soon coming around we are all hearing the word ‘vote’ over and over again. But what I want to know is how young people are franchised to represent their views on education and skills in two ways. The first as the electorate affected directly by future changes in government and the […]

Edition 116: Chris Toon and Jacqueline Grubb

Two new deputy principals have been appointed at opposite ends of the country. Chris Toon has taken up post at Gateshead College, while Jacqueline Grubb has done the same at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCot). Mr Toon, who had spent the previous two years at Liverpool’s Knowsley Community College, has more than 15 years’ experience […]