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22 April 2026

ESFA apprenticeship assessment register needs to be ‘purged’

The government has been told to “purge” its official register of end-point assessment organisations (RoEPAO) after FE Week found a sole trader and a new company with no trading history had successfully applied. Sixteen companies were added to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s register last month, taking the total on there to 215. FE […]

NCG temporarily abandons search for new chief executive

England’s largest college group has paused recruitment for a new chief executive after its initial hunt proved fruitless. NCG was left without a permanent boss in October after Joe Docherty left. Docherty was one of eight high-profile principals to step down in a spate of resignations last term. He was replaced by Chris Payne, the […]

Labour launches second National Education Service consultation

The Labour Party has launched its second consultation on its plans for a National Education Service, which will explore how to move to a system “empowered” by “local accountability”. It will be of particular interest to colleges, considering Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn previously revealed to FE Week his plans for free lifelong learning could mean […]

DfE urges colleges to report whether they are adopting AoC’s controversial senior pay code

The Department for Education is “encouraging” colleges to be more transparent about senior staff pay when they file their accounts – along with whether they have adopted the Association of College’s new code. A “college accounts direction” for 2018/19 was published by the department today and included “substantial” updates that corporations should include when submitting […]

Is a criminal investigation into 3aaa about to begin?

A criminal investigation into disgraced apprenticeship firm Aspire Achieve Advance could soon be launched after the Department for Education requested a meeting with the police. The company, better known as 3aaa, went into administration on October 11 after the government pulled its skills funding contracts following allegations of fraud. Derbyshire Constabulary then started making enquiries […]

DfE seeks help with course to support young people prepare for T-levels

The Department for Education is searching for an organisation to design and support the phased implementation of the T-level transition offer in 2020 and 2021. As recommended in Lord Sainsbury’s technical education report from July 2016, the government plans to develop a course which 16-year-olds can take if they are not ready to start a […]

Mega college in debt consulting on demerger

A mega college that recently saw its principal quit before receiving a third consecutive ‘requires improvement’ rating from Ofsted is looking at demerging one of its divisions. Birmingham Metropolitan College, which has five main colleges plus other satellite sites and had an income of £58.5 million and 20,000 learners in 2017/18, is one of the […]

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt resigns

The general secretary of the University and College Union has resigned for health reasons, it was announced today. Sally Hunt has held the top position at the union since it formed in 2007 and has won three elections, most recently in June 2017. The union’s national executive committee will meet on Friday (March 1) to […]

Potential for extra funding for small employer apprentices – but no promises

The government “anticipates” it will be able fund all over-delivery on non-levy apprenticeships for providers who exceed their contract allocation in the January 2018 to March 2019 period. The news will be met with a cautious welcome by the many providers who surpassed their share of funding to train apprentices with small employers this year, […]