Skip to content
19 April 2026

Level 2 apprenticeships functional skills flexibility extended – AGAIN

A flexibility that suspends the requirement for level 2 apprentices to study towards and sit a level 2 functional skills assessment has been extended again. In an update published today, the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced the funding rule would remain suspended until 31 July 2021. The agency said this “recognises the continued disruption […]

Impact of ‘spiteful’ ESFA adult education claw back plans revealed

A college has warned it will have to hand back over £4 million under the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s “spiteful” adult education budget claw back plans. Leicester College told FE Week it has forecast to spend 53 per cent of its £11 million allocation for 2020/21 – meaning it could have to hand back […]

Threshold rate for college adult education under-delivery lowered – but only to 90%

Colleges that deliver less than 90 per cent of their national adult education budget allocation this year face having their unspent funds clawed back, the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced today. The agency said this new threshold, much higher than the 68 per cent set for last year, is a “fair representation of grant-funded […]

Public sector apprenticeship target restated for extra year

The public sector apprenticeship target is to continue for an extra year as the majority of bodies in scope struggle to hit the 2.3 per cent starts aim. The Department for Education revealed on Friday it will be amending legislation to set a new one-year target from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 347

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Mushall Khan Director of corporate operations, Learning Curve Group Start date: March 2021 Previous job: Chief operating officer, Corndel Interesting fact: At age 21, she planned and organised her sister’s wedding in Pakistan for 500 guests. Iain Hatt Principal, Wiltshire College and University Centre Start date: […]

‘All hell was breaking loose’: How hackers forced a mega college to close

FE Week tells the inside story of the cyber attack that shut down one of Birmingham’s major colleges, and finds out what others can do to protect themselves from similar threats. At around 3am last Saturday, an alert rang out around South and City College Birmingham’s key staff and managers that the server had crashed. […]

More licences to practice would show England ‘values’ skills

The lack of jobs in England which require a licence to practice shows the country does not place a high value on skills, a leading academic has said. Lorna Unwin, professor emerita in vocational education at the UCL’s Institute of Education, called for a “cultural shift” on the licences during an FE Week webcast on […]

College closes all campuses for a week following ‘major’ cyber attack

A Birmingham college has closed all its campuses to students for a week following a “major” ransomware cyber attack that disabled its core IT systems. The eight sites of South and City College Birmingham will be shut and revert to online teaching from today while computer forensic specialists work to fix the problem. The college […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 346

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Lizzie Beale Youth member of board, The Careers and Enterprise Company Start date: March 2021 Concurrent job: Charity and community partnerships manager, Heathrow Interesting fact: She has debated in the House of Commons twice as an elected Member of Youth Parliament. Asif Khan Head, Blackburn Sixth […]