Author: Billy Camden

Tributes have been paid to former FE Commissioner Sir David Collins who died after losing his fight against cancer. Sir David (pictured), whose career in FE spanned over 40 years, which included becoming the first elected president of the Association of Colleges, passed away last Thursday. He held the role of FE Commissioner from 2013 […]

The Association of Colleges has revisited its funding rate plea for 16 to 18-year-olds and upped it from £4,760 to £5,000 at a cost of over £1.2 billion per year, which it says is needed to avoid a T-levels crisis. In its latest call for an increase to the £4,000 unweighted base rate, the AoC […]

The Association of Colleges has rejected six out of 14 proposals put forward by the government in its consultation on T-level funding from 2020. The consultation, which closes tonight after running for 12 weeks, sought opinions on four new funding bands and subsidy for the industry placement element of the new technical qualifications, among other […]

A team of 16 education experts have joined Labour’s lifelong learning commission. Among the new commissioners are former education secretary Estelle Morries, former Association of Colleges chair Carole Stott, managing director of City and Guilds Kirstie Donnelly, and FE Week contributor professor Ewart Keep. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will officially launch the commission, which will […]

A college that recently terminated its contract with the controversial Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme due to on-going delays in claiming back a £500,000 debt has now recovered the cash. Dudley College, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, began work with the Saudi government in 2011 and most recently delivered Capacity Building Contracts in Hafr Al-Batin […]

Calls to replace GCSEs and A-levels with a “holistic baccalaureate” have been branded a “non-starter” by an advocate of a similar model. Tom Sherrington, a trustee of the National Baccalaureate Trust, warned that “headline-grabbing” comments made this week by parliamentary education committee chair Robert Halfon and a number of other high-profile leaders were “reckless”. He […]

A major training provider with around 1,000 staff has called in the administrators, FE Week understands. Working Links (Employment) Limited, which holds contracts across numerous government departments including around £2 million for apprenticeships and adult education, told their workforce yesterday afternoon not to come into work today. It is understood that thousands of learners will […]

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is delaying the issuing of European Social Fund contracts for a third time after it experienced “technical issues” with its latest award notices. FE Week can also reveal that one provider that is fuming with the way in which the recent controversial tender for these contracts was run has […]

There is “serious concern” among universities that the government has still not found an organisation to assess over 1,000 nursing apprentices who have six months left on their course. New FE Week analysis shows there are currently 17 apprenticeship standards ready for delivery with no end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) in place. Of these, nine have […]