FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says there are ‘no plans’ for further cut to 18-year-old funding rate

The government will not be cutting the 18-year-old funding rate again next year, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has told MPs. She made the statement during education questions in Parliament this afternoon. “We have no plans to reduce the 16 to 18 academic funding rate in the 2015/16 academic year,” she said. However, she said: “We can’t […]

EFA funding rate to be revealed in January, director confirms

The 2015/16 funding rate for 16 to 18-year-olds will not be announced until January, an Education Funding Agency (EFA) director has confirmed. Last year providers were warned in December that the EFA funding rate for 18-year-olds would be cut by 17.5 per cent, but they weren’t told what the top line figure for 16 and 17-year-olds […]

Boles makes U-turn on apprenticeship grading

New apprenticeship frameworks will no longer be forced to include pass, merit and distinction gradings, the Skills Minister has revealed. Skills Minister Nick Boles told FE Week he would be assessing whether apprenticeships should be graded on a “case by case” basis. The U-turn by the new Minister follows “very strong representations” by the sector, […]

More than 700 employers to set standards for 76 apprenticeships

More than 700 employers will design 76 new apprenticeships in professions ranging from policing, the Armed Forces and TV production to welding and boat building, the Government has announced. It will bring the total number of employers involved in designing apprenticeships as part of the Government’s trailblazers scheme to more than 1,000. A Government spokesperson […]

Lambeth College staff could strike again after rejecting ‘improved’ contract offer

Lambeth College staff who went on a five-week strike earlier this year have rejected “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 would leave staff with longer working hours, less sick […]

Colleges losing focus on student success, FE Commissioner warns

Colleges are losing their focus on student success in favour of other activities, FE Commissioner Dr David Collins has warned. In his third letter to the FE sector, which comes after he visited his 14th college since his interventions began, Dr Collins (pictured) said senior teams were often seen by staff as “invisible”, often in […]

Professor Alison Wolf given peerage

Vocational education expert and academic Alison Wolf is to join the House of Lords, it has been announced. Professor Wolf, who authored the ground-breaking 2011 report on vocational education which informed much of current government skills policy, was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister David Cameron. And it has been announced today that […]

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Award winning app manages muck raking

An app that up to 100 learners from the Rural Business School at Cornwallbased Duchy College helped develop has won an award at the Soil Association’s annual conference. The Farm Manure Management Application helps farmers assess the amount and variety of manure needed to grow their crops. The app, developed by learners from a variety […]