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12 April 2026

Author: Billy Camden

ESFA ‘withdraws’ AEB funding clawback plans following sector backlash

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has “withdrawn” plans to clawback this year’s unspent adult education budget grant funding following criticism from the sector. Last week the agency announced that providers and colleges would retain their full 2019/20 allocation only if they attempted to continue delivering during the Covid-19 period and they delivered 80 per […]

ESFA plan traineeship funding tender despite history of tendering woes

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is to launch a tender to “quickly” widen the provider base for adult traineeships despite a recent history of botched procurements. It follows chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the government is to invest £111 million to triple the number of people taking part in the pre-employment programme as part […]

Ofqual wants admissions ‘flexibility’ for students with ‘one or two lower grades’

Post-16 providers have been urged to “offer greater flexibility” in admission decisions to ensure students who get “one or two lower grades” still get the courses they’ve been offered. Sally Collier, Ofqual’s chief regulator, said providers could focus less on this year’s calculated results and instead place more weight on other evidence, such as speaking […]

ESFA reveals spending and audit rules for £96m 16-19 Covid tutoring fund

Colleges and other 16 to 19 providers will be paid at least an additional £150 per disadvantaged learner next year to help them catch-up with the studies they missed during the Covid-19 pandemic. But providers will need to prove that the funding has been spent to support tuition activity “above and beyond the programmes of […]

Concern over T-level industry placements rises as employers pull out

Employers are cancelling T-level industry placements and providers are finding it increasingly challenging to find alternatives, new research has found. A survey of 32 of the 44 providers due to teach the first T-levels in just six weeks’ time was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) earlier this month. The results, supplemented […]

T-levels: optimistic preparations continue but Covid-19 heightens challenges

Despite recent announcements, the impact of Covid-19 on T-level preparations remains acute in some areas, writes Suzanne Straw T-levels will become a reality in under two months’ time, as the government and 44 remaining providers push forward with final preparations for delivery in September. As someone who has closely studied their progress over the past […]

Another two providers delay T-level launch plans

Two more providers due to teach the first T-levels in just two months’ time have delayed delivery for at least a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It means the number of colleges, schools and other providers in England in wave one of the rollout of the new post-16 technical qualifications has now fallen from […]

Nine things we learned from the ESFA’s 2019-20 annual report and accounts

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has this afternoon published its annual report and accounts for 2019-20, revealing college loan write-offs, hefty fraud investigation costs and salary boosts for top civil servants. FE Week has the main findings:   1. College keeps £15m in overpayments During the last financial year, South Thames College received an […]