Billy Camden | FE Week

Editor Asks part two: Apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon on employer ownership, assessment organisations and subcontracting

Last week, I spoke to apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon about the government’s so-called funding U-turn and the apprenticeship levy. Part two of the interview takes in employer ownership, assessment organisations and subcontracting. So, I asked, is employer ownership compatible with social justice? “Absolutely,” he told me. “If you don’t incentivise the employer you then don’t […]

EXCLUSIVE: AoC reaches out-of-court settlement with DfE over sixth form judicial review

The Association of Colleges has agreed to a settlement before the first judicial review against the government in more than a decade – meaning a small sixth form will now not go ahead. The AoC joined with Havering Sixth Form College to launch a high court challenge against the Department for Education’s decision to fund […]

Dip in higher-level courses holding up loan growth requests

The delay in advance learner loans is not down to a lack of resources, but has come about because the Skills Funding Agency is trying to build funding for higher-level qualifications, according to a senior civil servant. Janet Ryland, the SFA’s head of technical and professional education, said that growth requests had been halted by […]

Two more UTCs struggling: one planning to become a secondary, the other facing takeover

A university technical college with low pupil numbers has been ditched by its sponsor for costing too much, while recruitment problems in another has forced it to consider converting into a secondary school. Bright Futures Educational Trust (BFET) is relinquishing sponsorship of Wigan UTC as it can no longer afford the 14-19 institution. The UTC […]

Majority of sixth-form colleges look to academise

Around 70 per cent of sixth-form colleges have registered an interest in converting to an academy with four already launching formal consultations, FE Week has learned. The figure was provided by the Sixth-Form Colleges’ Association, which said around 65 of the country’s 93 SFCs were exploring converting to an academy as “plan A or B” […]

Hull College strike postponed following ‘positive talks’

A long-running dispute over redundancies between Hull College and the University and College Union took another twist this week, after planned staff strike action was postponed following “positive talks”. UCU members at the college were set to walk-out on Thursday (October 13) over planned job losses. But the union announced the day before that it […]

Team UK prepares for EuroSkills with yoga, meditation and stress tests

Dozens of the nation’s most talented FE students found their zen as they prepared for the psychological strains of competing on the international stage, at a special training session attended by FE Week ahead of EuroSkills 2016. The 85-strong Team UK squad visited Loughborough University last weekend to take part in sessions, one of which […]

Fresh concerns over failing UTC model as one in 10 now shut

More than 10 per cent of university technical colleges are now expected to close, just six years since they were first introduced. The latest to close its doors will be Royal Greenwich UTC in London, on which Greenwich Council is forking out £13m in order to convert it into a secondary school. Royal Greenwich UTC […]

Funding reform roll-out in 2017 still on track, insists DfE

There will be no delay to apprenticeship funding reforms, the government has insisted, despite growing concerns in the sector over a series of setbacks to key policy details. The Association of Colleges called for all funding and regulation reforms to be delayed beyond the planned May 1 launch date for the first time last week, […]