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15 April 2026

Author: Jess Staufenberg

The skills bill endgame ushers in a new age of paternalism

The skills bill brings to a head over four decades of state-ist beliefs, writes Tom Bewick The skills bill has entered the last of its parliamentary stages, known as ‘ping-pong’. This rather cute verb, like the game of table tennis, is an apt way of describing the battle of wills now under way between the […]

Focus on vocabulary, and you improve attainment across subjects

Staff can prevent ESOL learners from needing to stay an extra year if they get targeted vocabulary interventions early, writes Saqib Brook Vocabulary and attainment are tightly linked in education. We know this – the research proves it. As far back as 1995, Hart and Risley showed that the size of learner vocabulary related to […]

Let’s have a new era of skills devolution to local leaders

Being given responsibility for the AEB has allowed City Hall to drive an increase in Londoners retraining, writes Jules Pipe The mayor’s delivery of London’s adult education budget shows how a locally driven approach can lead the way in supporting more people to get the skills they need to support the UK’s recovery. The government’s […]

Specialist SEND colleges go unmentioned in the green paper – that must change

The government should mandate local authorities to include specialist colleges in the new inclusion plans, writes Clare Howard Nadhim Zahawi introduced the long-awaited SEND green paper on Tuesday with the promise of “a more inclusive and financially sustainable system, where every child and young person will have access to the right support, in the right […]

Nikki Davis, incoming principal, Leeds College of Building

After 62 years, the Leeds College of Building has just appointed its first ever female principal. Jess Staufenberg asks the incoming Nikki Davis what she’ll do to grow the vanishingly small proportion of female learners studying construction Nikki Davis, currently vice principal at Leeds College of Building, is set to become its first ever female […]

We have more unaccompanied asylum-seeking students, but not enough support

Vulnerable refugee learners are being moved around between local authorities, threatening their education, writes Beth Moore At just 16 or 17 years old, imagine being alone in a foreign country, with no family or friends, few possessions, very little money and being unable to speak the language. Imagine also that you had been forced to […]

Lessons from a newcomer to further education

Agreeing on priorities, and working with other sectors on behalf of learners, can drive the sector forward, writes Naomi Phillips I recently joined Learning and Work Institute as deputy chief executive. While LWI draws on a 100-year history, I’m new to the further education sector. So, what have I learnt in the month or so since […]

Here are 5 ways ministers can improve prison education now

Yet another review has found that prison education fails learners at every stage. Action must be taken straight away, writes Francesca Cooney The challenges of teaching people in prison to read reflect the challenges facing prison education as a whole. Prison education is not organised in a way that supports people to improve their reading […]