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14 April 2026

Author: Alix Robertson

DfE ditches Boles back-to-school plan for apprentices

A plan to force apprentices to go back into schools and promote apprenticeships has seemingly been dumped just a year after it was announced by the former skills minister. Nick Boles told the parliamentary sub-committee on education, skills and the economy last April that the government would introduce the “commitment on the part of an […]

Don’t shy away from campus grades

The ongoing decline in the number of colleges with outstanding inspection results risks seriously undermining confidence in the sector. This comes at a time when our minister Robert Halfon keeps stressing the importance of boosting the public image of FE. Surely colleges can’t be solely to blame for this. They clearly have a problem with […]

Commissioner concerned over ‘strain’ on leaders running two colleges

Concerns about the “strain” on a leadership team running two colleges simultaneously – one of which is deeply troubled – have been raised by the FE Commissioner, in one of three reports. Richard Atkins and his team visited Huntingdonshire Regional College in January, following an inadequate Ofsted grade in October – with the report now […]

Levy launch overshadowed by horror story

On the eve of the apprenticeship reforms being implemented the government might have expected the sector to be apprehensive, but excited. Yet the ESFA clearly bit off more than it could chew when tendering for non-levy allocations. The tender pause and subcontracting rule extension presented a welcome offer of stability until December. Any pretence of […]

National College for Onshore Oil and Gas opening delayed

Plans to launch a National College for Onshore Oil and Gas later this year have stalled while the industry “develops further”, FE Week can reveal. Last May, the government committed nearly £80 million to the creation of five new national colleges across the country, each focusing on a different type of “high-tech training” in “industries […]

Why the delay for Learndirect inspection report?

Ofsted’s eagerly awaited inspection report on the nation’s largest FE provider has been delayed by six weeks, with the “silence period” before the election given as the reason. Learndirect was visited by the education watchdog a month ago, and speculation has been mounting over the grade it will receive. However, in an unusual move Ofsted […]

Emily Chapman elected as new NUS VP for FE

The FE sector has a new student champion, with Emily Chapman winning today’s election to become the National Union of Students’ new vice-president for FE. The Leeds City College student union president beat challenger Myriam Kane, who had served as union president at Lewisham Southwark College, at this year’s annual conference in Brighton. It comes […]

Meet the candidates for new NUS vice president for FE

In around 24 hours the FE sector will have a new representative, when the National Union of Students chooses its next vice president for FE at this year’s national conference in Brighton. The election vote will take place at 12:15 tomorrow (April 26), with results announced soon after. Voters will choose between Emily Chapman, student […]

Expansion plans with Saudi Colleges of Excellence revealed

An English college will extend its involvement with the Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme, squashing rumours that the controversial project was on the cusp of being wound down. FE Week approached all the English FE providers involved with the scheme, after rumours circulated online that the entire project – to boost technical and vocational […]