Billy Camden | FE Week

Exposed! Nationwide transport charges for SEND learners

With more and more councils introducing travel charges that deter learners from further education, the government has ignored the AoC’s appeal for a review of transport arrangements for post-16 learners with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). FE Week investigates how widespread these charges really are, and considers their impact. Two thirds of county councils […]

Colleges must justify ‘excessive’ staff pay, union demands

Colleges must justify staff who are paid over £150,000 a year, according to the University and College Union, which says oversight is “desperately needed”. Seventy-one college leaders earned salaries of that size or more in 2015/16, according to FE Week analysis of DfE accounting records. This rises to 132 (over two thirds of all colleges) […]

Consultation launched on closure of 18th studio school

A studio school in Manchester plagued with financial and performance problems since it opened three years ago faces closure, after its schools commissioner admitted turning it around would be a “challenging task” for any new sponsor. The regional schools commissioner, Vicky Beer, has written to everyone involved with the Manchester Creative Studio to inform them […]

Apprenticeship standards left in limbo by IfA red tape

Thirteen separate apprenticeship standards with approved assessment plans have been left in limbo for two or more months because their costs still haven’t been agreed, FE Week can reveal. It is understood that the holdup is the result of various new lengthy and complicated processes which came into force when the Institute for Apprenticeships introduced […]

T-levels: DfE won’t consult on 3-month work placements

The education secretary has ruled out T-levels at level two and will not budge on mandatory three-month work placements, no matter what emerges from a new public consultation. Justine Greening used her speech at the Skills Summit in London on Thursday to unveil the long-awaited T-levels consultation, urging businesses and training providers to share their […]

Milton’s mission – An interview with the Apprenticeships & Skills minister

Anne Milton has just passed her six-month mark as apprenticeships and skills minister. FE Week paid her a visit to find out how she’s handling her vast brief, and her vision for FE. A self-confessed troublemaker who was always up to mischief at school, Anne Milton now wants to change the way parents and teachers view […]

BREAKING: Government launches 10-week T-levels consultation

The long-awaited public consultation for T-levels has today been launched by the government. The consultation, which has been delayed for over a year, comes in the form of an online survey and is made up of 45 questions. It is seeking views on the implementation of the new “gold standard” technical qualifications, which are expected […]

Anne Milton apologises for non-levy tender delays

The skills minister has offered her “sincere apologies” to FE providers which have been caught up in the non-levy tender debacle and insisted the delay is to ensure government “gets it right”, in an exclusive interview with FE Week. Anne Milton admitted she understands the “frustration” the sector has been put through with this exercise, […]

Ofsted Watch: ‘Good’ news all round for FE

It was ‘good’ news all round for FE this week as all inspected providers either maintained or improved their ratings to a grade two. Two colleges, which previously hit the headlines for management issues, were celebrating after boosting from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’. Its welcome news coming after FE Week revealed earlier this month that […]