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7 April 2026

Author: Expert Contributor

What quality work placements look like

Early reports into the efficacy of work placements suggest that they’ll be tough to get right, writes Bill Esmond The Sainsbury Review’s proposals for technical education, enthusiastically welcomed by government, focus on high-quality work placements as part of every course. The process is limbering up slowly, but research studies, modelling exercises and evaluations commissioned by […]

The DfE’s blanket BAME strategy is cloth-eared

The government’s strategy to increase BAME participation in further and higher education ignores important differences between ethnic groups, argues Safaraz Ali It is critical for all of us in the post-16 education sector to take action to widen BAME participation in apprenticeships across England, but it is only by recognising missed opportunities that we can […]

What’s so good about mega FE colleges?

Andy Wilson, who heads up one of the largest college groups in the country, explains why size does matter Large college groups are too easily dismissed as money-saving exercises, but this attitude overlooks the other benefits of scale. The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London is the latest member of the Capital City […]

What should the maths component of T-levels look like?

Much expert research and development has already been carried out into maths in technical education – let’s not reinvent the wheel, advises Paul Glaister The post-16 skills plan refers to a “common core”, “specialisation” and “digital skills requirements”, but what should the maths content of each of these look like? Anyone that chooses to answer […]

SPONSORED: Tech trailblazers – FE colleges leading the way

Using technology to assist the delivery of an engaging education experience is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. Tools like Canvas can help institutions change pedagogy and deliver a flexible, progressive and student-centred approach which focuses on meeting these unprecedented demands. In the face of dwindling budgets, increasing populations, and unprecedented global competition, […]

Healthy organisations need healthy leaders

The whole character of an institution is shaped by its leaders’ ethics, writes Dame Ruth Silver Leadership and mental health are subjects close to my heart and involve questions of trust, openness, civic responsibility and ethical engagement in further education. The issue is of current concern. In recent years, FE staff have been pushed towards […]

Whitehall can’t manage apprenticeship reforms alone

The reforms to apprenticeships have so far been demonstrably disastrous, says Simon Ashworth, who is pleading for a serious rethink April 2019 will be seen as the Big Bang for the government’s apprenticeship reforms. This is when smaller non-levy-paying employers will join levy payers on the Apprenticeship Service (TAS), and when – in theory – […]

Levy cash must be used to widen access to apprenticeships

The AoC’s Teresa Frith believes that the chancellor should make tweaks to apprenticeship funding, rather than wholesale changes Apprenticeships are an increasingly important part of the long-term plan for workforce development, enhanced productivity and social inclusion in England. The government’s reform programme is aimed at ensuring apprenticeships in England become more rigorous and more responsive […]

Machiavellian advice for college principals

Principals are often maligned, but they’re only mirroring government policy, argues Damien Page It is not hard to find criticism of college principals: academic literature is littered with it, the trade press is awash with it, social media thrives on it, and the staffrooms of colleges mutter it constantly. Principals are greedy, overpaid, uncaring, narcissistic, […]