Author: Billy Camden

Colleges that experience “serious” cash flow pressures, breach bank covenants, or have significantly delayed accounts will be placed into formal intervention from now on, according to new Department for Education guidance. A new “one-stop document” that sets out a “strengthened college oversight” regime has been published by the DfE this morning. It follows the introduction […]

Further questions are being asked about the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s recent European Social Fund tender, after FE Week discovered an “unprecedented” amount of tie-breaks in the controversial procurement. Many providers have alleged that the competition, worth around £282 million in total, was botched after the agency broke tender rules and made “errors”. One […]

The chief executive of a grade one college has apologised after an audit exposed data manipulation that resulted in more than £500,000 being paid back to the government. Lowell Williams (pictured), the boss at Dudley College, told FE Week he even considered resigning over the “blunder”, which has led to the college being excluded from […]

The quality of apprenticeships is “sticking” instead of moving forward, according to Ofsted’s chief inspector who today urged the sector to “improve”. Amanda Spielman (pictured) delivered a keynote speech on day one of FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference and provided delegates with an update about what the education watchdog is finding during inspections. She said […]

Apprenticeship starts for January are up 15 per cent on last year but down 21 per cent on the same month in 2017 before the levy was introduced, new government figures have revealed. There have been 29,100 starts recorded so far in January 2019, compared with 36,700 in January 2017 and 25,400 in January 2018, […]

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has insisted that an apparent change it made to the off-the-job training policy last week has always existed and does not contradict the funding rules. As reported by FE Week yesterday, providers were left baffled after the agency updated its ‘apprenticeship off the-job training policy background and examples’ document […]

Colleges, training providers and employers have flooded to Birmingham for the Annual Apprenticeships Conference (AAC) 2019 which officially gets underway this morning. Across two days the conference, in partnership with the Department for Education and now in its fifth year, will provide over 1,200 delegates with an opportunity to access vital updates on apprenticeships policy […]

The government appears to have changed the off-the-job (OTJ) training rule again, and is now telling providers they should cap the 20 per cent calculation based on 30 hours per week. The unexpected change, made in an ESFA ‘apprenticeship off the-job training policy background and examples’ document released last Thursday, contradicts the official apprenticeship funding […]