Author: Billy Camden

The education secretary has hit back at the Federation of Awarding Bodies “deeply disappointing” threat of a judicial review of T-levels, warning that it could “disrupt” their rollout. Damian Hinds vowed to press ahead with the new technical qualifications as planned, and said the proposed legal action was “unnecessary”. He told awarding organisations to “focus […]

Colleges have slightly narrowed the gap with private training providers by 2.5 percentage points when it comes to learner satisfaction, according to new government figures. The Department for Education released the results of its 2017/18 student survey this morning, which showed overall satisfaction with all FE providers fell by nearly 2 per cent compared to […]

The prime minister has claimed that apprenticeships quality has risen since the introduction of the levy, despite Ofsted finding the reverse. Theresa May (pictured) was quizzed on the “disastrous” government policy by Alan Whitehead, the MP for Southampton Test, during prime minister’s questions today. Mr Whitehead said that the largest apprenticeship provider in his constituency […]

The West Midlands has become the first combined authority to strike a “skills deal” with the Department for Education, with £69 million available to be unlocked for training. Up to £49 million will come via government investment, while the extra £20 million is being pumped into the region by the authority itself. The funding, to […]

A training provider in Somerset that found itself at the sharp end of the adult education budget debacle has unsurprisingly won a special procurement worth £2.6 million to deliver “community learning services”. The Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a tender specifically for the area in May following a campaign by Somerset Skills and Learning, which […]

The skills minister is expecting a “slow take-up” when T-levels are launched, and admitted that as a parent she would tell her children to “leave it a year” before studying a brand new qualification. Anne Milton left one member of the commons education committee “staggered” by her comments on the post-16 technical qualifications during an […]

Battle lines have officially been drawn by the Federation of Awarding Bodies, after it outlined its intention to launch a judicial review of the government’s T-level implementation plans. The legal action began with a letter sent to the Department for Education and the Institute for Apprenticeships yesterday setting out FAB’s grounds, following a unanimous decision […]

A feisty commons education select committee meeting, held this morning, saw Anne Milton quizzed on a number of pressing FE topics. The skills minister offered a few outlandish opinions while updating MPs on her progress in areas such as funding and subcontracting. FE Week has the main findings:   1. Milton may ask colleges to […]

The recent sale of Learndirect Apprenticeships Ltd is causing some of its large levy-paying customers to take their business elsewhere, FE Week has learned. William Hill, the world’s biggest bookmaker, has signalled its intention to look for alternative providers to train their apprentices. It is understood that the betting company may transfer its business to […]