Author: Billy Camden

A publicly listed company is in talks to buy Learndirect Ltd, FE Week has learned. PeoplePlus Group Limited, which is owned by Staffline and already trains tens of thousands of people each year, opened a dialogue with the nation’s biggest FE provider over a purchase last week. Discussions are understood to be in the early […]

Staff at the Hull College Group will walk out for seven days in June as part of an ongoing bitter row over plans to slash hundreds of jobs.   University and College Union members, who represent nearly 400 of HCG’s 1,200 workers, announced today that they will strike for an initial five days starting on […]

Detail on the government’s new adult education budget policy has been published, after FE Week revealed yesterday it would offer free courses for anyone earning less than £15,726.50. The Department for Education will trial the policy in 2018/19, enabling AEB providers to “fully fund learners” who are employed on low wages and cannot contribute towards […]

Tens of thousands of adults on low wages are set to benefit from a new rule which will see their training fully funded from next year, FE Week understands. Up until now, adults have had to have been on benefits to receive full funding for education courses. But a radical adult education budget rule-change is […]

An early monitoring visit to Learndirect Apprenticeships Ltd has produced mainly positive feedback, with only a few downsides to its delivery. Ofsted deemed the provider to be making “reasonable progress” in all fields it judges in an inspection undertaken as part of a series of visits to new apprenticeship training providers. But no significant headway […]

FE providers are being asked to apply to become centres of excellence for “basic” maths – as part of plans to address the controversial forced GCSE resits policy. In November, the Treasury pledged £40 million to establish these centres across the country to “train maths teachers and spread best practice”. The Department for Education began […]

The controversial tender process for T-levels’ awarding organisations has been launched, and will begin with two “market engagement” events next month. The government is ploughing ahead with its contentious plans to use just one AO per qualification, as per Lord Sainsbury’s recommendation in his review of technical education, despite high-profile concerns. On Friday, the Department […]

The Institute for Apprenticeships has extended the deadline on its latest T-levels consultation by four working days, following outcry from the sector at such a quick turnaround. It is seeking suggestions for the content of new pathways in digital (production, design and development), childcare and education, and construction (design, surveying and planning). However, it infuriated […]

The new president-elect of the Association of Colleges will campaign to get his fellow principals to involve learners far more in FE decision-making over the course of his tenure. In an exclusive interview with FE Week, Steve Frampton, who is also the principal of Portsmouth College, revealed that he wants to focus his year in […]