Billy Camden | FE Week

National adult education budget tender results revealed

There are 83 winners sharing £62.6 million from the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s adult education budget tender, FE Week can reveal. Results for the delayed procurement were finally communicated to training providers last night. They will now be observing a voluntary ten-day standstill period until July 26 before commencing contracts on August 1. Tender […]

ESFA boss Eileen Milner to become combined authority chief executive

Eileen Milner will become the chief executive her local combined authority when she leaves the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority announced today that the senior civil servant will take up the position in the autumn. Its board voted unanimously on the appointment on June 30, the same day that […]

NHS trust’s apprenticeship contract terminated after Ofsted finds ‘inappropriate behaviour’

An NHS trust has had its apprenticeship contract terminated after Ofsted found serious safety concerns. Nearly 700 apprentices are currently being moved to alternative providers to complete their training after the East Of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was slammed by the inspectorate. In a safeguarding monitoring report, published today, inspectors said a “significant minority” […]

ESFA pays apprenticeship firm £6m before terminating contract

Owners of a new apprenticeship provider that quickly raked in £6 million have had their contract terminated after hundreds of apprentices were found to be unemployed. Personal Track Safety Ltd, which trades as PTS Training Academy, began recruiting in May 2018 and within two years had started more than 2,500 apprentices in sectors such as […]

Fears that London’s adult education budget could be cut as colleges struggle to spend funding

London colleges are struggling to spend chunks of their adult education budget – leading to fears that the Greater London Authority’s future allocation from central government could be slashed. Agenda papers for an AEB mayoral board meeting this week revealed that £110.6 million (60.7 per cent) of the £182 million dished out to grant-funded providers […]

GLA adult education admin costs soar to meet new corporate overhead charges

The cost of managing and administering the Greater London Authority’s adult education budget may soon reach almost £6 million. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (pictured) was criticised by college principals in 2019 after he took control of the AEB for the capital but announced plans to top-slice £3 million of it annually to hire and […]

Shane Chowen announced as new FE Week editor

Shane Chowen has been appointed as the new editor of FE Week. He will take the reins in August from Nick Linford, who is returning to writing FE funding and data blogs, publishing technical guides and expanding his workshops and webinars. Chowen is currently the East and West Midlands area director at the Association of […]

Ofsted finds learners unaware they are on an apprenticeship

A private provider has been suspended from taking on new learners after Ofsted found a “few cases” of apprentices who did not know they were enrolled on an apprenticeship. Inspectors also claimed that a “minority” of employers who work with NextStep Training Limited are not aware that apprentices should have time in work for off-the-job […]

Easing Covid restrictions: What FE providers need to know

The government plans to remove bubbles and social distancing rules in FE providers from July 19, the education secretary confirmed today. Gavin Williamson told the House of Commons that most Covid-19 restrictions in education settings will be eased under step 4 of lockdown. Department for Education guidance for colleges and FE providers has also been […]