Author: Fraser Whieldon

Another flagship national college is set to dissolve after facing insolvency and requiring government bailouts to stay afloat. The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI), formerly known as the National College of High Speed Rail, is consulting on plans to dissolve its FE corporation and reform as a subsidiary company of the University […]

The Labour Party has called for the wages of 85,000 young apprentices to be subsidised this year, by using the £330 million apprenticeship budget underspend handed to the Treasury in 2019. The opposition party has put forward the policy in order to boost apprenticeship starts, following a drop of a quarter over the past decade, […]

The Education and Training Foundation and the Association of Colleges have appointed a joint director of diversity to “drive plans to increase diversity within the further education workforce”. Jeff Greenidge, whom the ETF call an experienced teacher, coach and leadership mentor who also chairs Learning and Work Institute Wales, will start working next Monday for […]

Following the government’s decision to let providers decide whether to cancel exams this month, awarding bodies have been outlining how they plan to award grades for vocational qualifications if any exams do not go ahead. All of the media attention has unsurprisingly been on what will happen with BTECs, so FE Week has spoken with […]

A representative body for awarding organisations has said it is “bemused” by the government’s decision to leave it up to colleges to decide whether exams should go ahead this month. Federation of Awarding Bodies chief executive Tom Bewick said it was “nonsensical and wrong-headed” to place the onus on college leaders to “make these important […]

The awarding body that runs BTECs has pledged to award a grade for any student who is unable to take this month’s exams and has “enough evidence to receive a certificate that they need for progression”. Those unable to take their assessment this month may also “be able to” take it at a later date. […]

Colleges leaders have told FE Week they want a delay to face-to-face teaching for most students until at least February amid rising cases of Covid-19. Central Bedfordshire College principal Ali Hadawi (pictured) says “certainty and clarity” is needed through longer term planning rather than “dribs and drabs” announcements that are currently being made weekly. He […]

The outgoing FE Commissioner Richard Atkins has been knighted in the 2021 Queen’s New Year Honours. Around 30 people from the further education and skills sector have been recognised, including various top college leaders, a former chair of the Association of Colleges and a vice chair of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers. Atkins […]

Influential MPs have added their voices to calls for the return of individual learning accounts to help reverse the decline in adult education. The Commons’ Education Select Committee has today published a report following an inquiry into lifelong learning, in which they learned participation in adult education has dropped to its lowest level in 23 […]