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26 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

MidKent supports former criminal

A former armed robber who spent eight-and-a-half years behind bars has started his own plumbing business with the help of the college where he trained while on day-release. Lee Saunders studied plumbing for two years at MidKent College when he was in prison. Since his release in July he has won two contracts worth £1,520 […]

Stockton Riverside College welcomes Duke

The Duke of York opened a £12m state-of-the-art sixth form building at Stockton Riverside College on September 5. The first students through the doors were greeted with a bright, Tardis-like building, full of state-of-the-art equipment, providing them with opportunities that were impossible in their old building. The new facilities include a geology lab, a TV […]

New Ofsted inspections to start this week

Matthew Coffey, Ofsted’s national director for learning and skills, writes for FE Week about the issues raised for providers. It has been an eventful year for all of us involved in the FE and skills sector. In July, for example, we held our first learning and skills lecture at City and Islington College where the […]

Go on – take the pill and join the tablet revolution, says Clay

The tablet computer is not new. It’s beenwith us for around 40 years, but only recently has it had an impact – and a big one – on learning and teaching in FE institutions. The Association for Learning Technology’s (ALT) annual conference in Manchester (see picture) was a chance to debate its use and its future. […]

Who’s fooling who over the GCSE fiasco?

Professor Daniel Khan OBE, chief executive of OCN London, considers this year’s change in grade boundaries. Since thousands of 16-year-olds collected their GCSE results, the unprecedented decline in A* to C grades has hardly been out of the press. For the first time in the history of the qualification, the percentage of students gaining these […]

Changes to your PAYE

The much-loved P35 is one of a host of forms on their way out under reforms of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system next year. Here, former Association of Colleges finance specialist Robert Russell looks at the issues those who hold the purse strings should be aware of. Finance directors have to budget for […]

Plans for audit of ‘rip-off’ provider fees shelved

Plans for a government clampdown on “rip-off” provider fees have been shelved as industry leaders look at self-regulation. The Skills Funding Agency had said providers who subcontracted would need to prove they weren’t charging excessive management fees. But its plans to introduce stricter controls, revealed in FE Week in July, were dropped in favour of […]

Focus on ‘Deptford not Delhi’ says Ofsted chief

Colleges  could be at risk of focusing on international opportunities to the detriment of home-grown learners, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned. The former head teacher and executive principal spoke  on the dangers of foreign recruitment in FE at a conference organised by the Association of Colleges (AoC).  His remarks came in  an  […]