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6 June 2026

FE needs an independent pay panel, says report

An independent panel for FE pay should be formed to help fix the disparity between technical lecturer salaries and what they can earn in the field, according to a new report. The Edge Foundation says that ingrained funding challenges have left college principals “strapped, unable to recruit the staff they need”, particularly from industries like […]

DfE fears not all providers able to submit funding data

The monthly data return to claim FE funding, known as the individualised learner record (ILR), need only be returned if providers “have the resources available to do so”, the Department for Education has said. A list of data collections and services which will be cancelled or paused owing to the coronavirus pandemic was published this […]

DfE to launch online portal for colleges to apply for free student laptops

Thousands of disadvantaged students across the country are being offered free laptops and tablets to continue learning at home during the coronavirus lockdown. From next week, schools and colleges will be allowed to put business cases forward via an online portal to the Department for Education for individual students. Those eligible include children with a […]

DfE publishes furlough rules for colleges and training providers

The government has this evening published their rules for furloughing staff for colleges and training providers. Here they are in full: “Further education and apprenticeship providers include further education colleges, sixth form colleges, designated institutions, independent training providers, adult and community learning providers, and higher education institutions to the extent that they provide further education […]

NHS opens coronavirus testing sites on college car parks

College car parks are being transformed into coronavirus testing centres for NHS and care sector workers. Hopwood Hall College, based in Rochdale, and Preston’s College are among the first to offer up their facilities for the service while they’re closed to the majority of students. Another, Central Bedfordshire College, has agreed to have two of […]

Despite constraints, flexibility means assessment of apprentices can go on

Assessing apprentices in lockdown conditions presents unique challenges but collaboration and flexibility will ensure disruption is kept to a minimum, writes Rob Nitsch End point assessment is no exception to the disruption being felt across the whole apprenticeship sector. It is inevitable that an activity involving close interaction between apprentices and assessors, and in some […]