Author: Fraser Whieldon

Colleges and training providers will now be given as little as two weeks notice of a financial assurance audit and only three days to present sample files, the ESFA has warned. A letter from the agency, titled ‘ESFA Funding Assurance’ visits, says it plans to give providers as little as two weeks’ notice of an […]

The education secretary Gavin Williamson has taken responsibility for the apprenticeships and skills brief. Despite it previously being understood universities minister Jo Johnson would take on the brief in addition to his responsibilities as universities minister, after Anne Milton resigned from the role last week. However, the Department for Education has today said the new […]

Boris Johnson has said it is “vital” the government invests “now” in further education and skills, and has promised to make this a “priority”. He made the statement in answer to a question from ex-skills minister Anne Milton during his first appearance in the Commons as prime minister this afternoon. Milton asked Johnson: “Would my […]

FE providers have shown great promise in Ofsted inspections this week, except for one national waste disposal employer which made ‘insufficient progress’ in two areas. Biffa Waste Services, which currently has 21 apprentices, had not ensured it met the requirements of successful apprenticeship provision in its first monitoring visit since it won a direct contract […]

Gavin Williamson has been appointed the new education secretary, replacing Damian Hinds who was sacked earlier this evening. A former defence secretary in Theresa May’s government, Williamson has been the MP for South Staffordshire since 2010. He was educated at a comprehensive, before taking his A-levels at Scarborough Sixth Form College. He has previously spoken […]

With the WorldSkills 2019 competition only a month away, we introduce the 37 members of Team UK that’ll be flying the flag for our country. They are drawn from all four corners of the United Kingdom, and various disciplines: from landscape gardening to cyber security; from cabinet making to hairdressing. Each will be competing in […]

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has today published its annual accounts for 2018/19. This is only the second year of the institute’s existence and the report comes shortly after it took on responsibility for T-levels. Here are six things we learned from the accounts. Staff headcount has increased to nearly 150 The number […]

A private provider has been slammed by Ofsted after it found learners and their employers unaware they were taking part in an apprenticeship programme. The report from an early monitoring visit of Prospect Training (Yorkshire), which has 112 apprentices, found: “Too many apprentices are not aware that they are on an apprenticeship, and often their […]

The principal of a collapsed college was referred to the police after his assistant principal wife benefited from a sweetheart deal involving pay rises of over a fifth and a £240,000 severance package between them. That is according to an ESFA report into Bournville College, which dissolved into South & City College in August 2017, […]