Author: Billy Camden

The government is looking to the European Social Fund to help tackle the barriers that rural areas face with T-levels. A tender worth £500,000 was launched by the Department for Work and Pensions on Monday for an organisation to “broker opportunities” with small employers in the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding region for young […]

Outgoing prime minister Theresa May used her last speech at the dispatch box to plead with her successor to make increasing further education funding his “priority”. “I want to see that happening” was the message from May in front of a packed House of Commons during her last ever prime minister’s questions session this afternoon. […]

The government has confirmed it will continue to allow sixth-form colleges to academise, two months after FE Week revealed the move was on the cards. Converting to academy status, and in doing so enjoying the luxury of not paying VAT, has been a possibility for nearly all SFCs since November 2015. Many took the opportunity […]

Apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton has resigned from government. She announced the move on Twitter ahead of the appointment of a new prime minister today, and cited her “grave concerns about leaving the EU without a deal” in her letter of resignation. “Having abstained in the vote last week, today I have resigned from […]

Both the Department for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency have today published their annual accounts for 2018-19, revealing huge college write-offs, rising fraud allegations and an increase in civil servant bonuses. FE Week has trawled through both documents and pulled out the main findings:   1. Nearly £60m in loan write-offs for colleges […]

The government has pledged up to £32.3 million to help buy back a college campus that serves the community affected by the Grenfell Tower fire – marking a huge win for campaigners. The funding will support the recovery and refurbishment of Kensington and Chelsea College’s site on Wornington Road, as well as its merger with […]

The government must “urgently address the damage that has been done” to FE by raising the 16 to 18 base rate as part of a multi-billion cash injection and produce a ten-year education funding plan, influential MPs have said. A report by the parliamentary education committee into school and college funding has been released today […]

Five early monitoring reports for independent providers returned ‘insufficient’ ratings this week, with Ofsted finding some have not recruited with “integrity” and another had learners unaware they’re on an apprenticeship. It was also bad news for a local authority which was downgraded to ‘inadequate’. There was, however, promising results for colleges. The grade four came […]

An ‘inadequate’ university technical college is to close just four years after opening as it is “no longer financially viable” following a huge drop in student numbers. South Wiltshire UTC will become the eleventh provider of its type to close since the programme launched in 2010. Like many of the other failed institutions, it has […]