Billy Camden | FE Week

Apprentice travel discounts yet to manifest

Six months after the Conservatives committed to cutting travel costs for apprentices in their election manifesto, there is no evidence the policy is near to being implemented. It was one of the major FE policies included in the Conservative manifesto in May, when the party pledged to “introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for […]

Don’t ‘punish’ young people with mandatory T-level work placements, AoC pleads

The Association of Colleges has asked the government not to “punish” young people by making 315-hour work placements mandatory in T-levels, as officials begin to explore whether the policy is feasible. Apprehension about a tough compulsory component planned for the new “gold standard” technical qualifications has been rife across the sector since initial plans were […]

Mandatory T-level work placement rule is madness

I’m sure when the DfE came up with the idea to make the substantial T-level work-placement mandatory and call it an “entitlement”, it was done with good intentions. But in the real world, they should not need to commission research to confirm what we all know: it’s simply impossible. Will all T-level routes and related […]

Ofsted proposes to publish monitoring visits of grade 3 providers

Ofsted is seeking views on a proposal to carry out monitoring visits to FE providers judged ‘requires improvement’ and publish the results. Under current rules, providers that are given a grade three by the education inspectorate are given subsequent support and challenge visits that result in unpublished letters until they are re-inspected within 12 to […]

AoC boss talks tough over management apprenticeships

David Hughes has “serious concerns” about the unstoppable rise of management apprenticeships and the consequent lack of opportunities for young people. In an exclusive interview with FE Week ahead of the AoC’s national conference next week, the organisation’s boss warned that FE would end up with a “polarised system” if the numbers taking apprenticeships in […]

Learndirect accounts reveal huge debts and an uncertain future

The long-term survival of Learndirect will hinge on the success of its sister companies, including Learndirect Apprenticeships, over the next 12 months, as newly released accounts show it saddled with debts of more than £50 million. The nation’s biggest FE provider, which has had serious financial and performance issues ever since Ofsted damned it with […]

Extra-curricular and student support cuts exposed

Two thirds of colleges and schools have had to cut extra-curricular activities and student support services due to crippling 16 to 19 funding cuts, a damning survey has found. This was one of the main findings in a report published by the Sixth Form Colleges Association today, based on a survey of 341 college and […]

Milton appears to back subcontractor inspections

The skills minister has appeared to agree that Ofsted should inspect subcontractors during an exchange at education questions in the House of Commons today. Anne Milton seemed to echo the beliefs of her predecessor Robert Halfon when he asked her about subcontracting in Parliament. Mr Halfon, now the chair of the influential education select committee, […]

Greening ‘all talk’ on BAME apprenticeships

The education secretary has been accused of putting more talk than action into growing apprenticeships amongst ethnic minorities. Justine Greening repeatedly told the education select committee that the Department for Education has had a “big focus” on encouraging “a higher proportion of BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] young people going into apprenticeships”, during a […]