Jess Staufenberg | FE Week

Providers must seize the opportunities of the new provider access legislation

The new legislation is a call to action for renewed partnerships between schools and providers to deliver meaningful encounters for learners, write Oli de Botton and Jane Hickie The new provider access legislation presents a timely and important opportunity to take advantage of the growing interest in high-quality technical pathways. The conversation about technical and […]

Five reasons apprentices like me are dropping out

Training providers are struggling to give clear instructions on what’s expected of apprentices, writes Dexter Hutchings I started my level 3 in digital marketing in February 2017 and throughout my degree apprenticeship, I have felt like dropping out. But never have I been closer to doing so than now, as I tackle my end-point assessment […]

Focus feature: Decarbonising college estates

Decarbonising a college estate is a huge, multi-million-pound project. Jess Staufenberg talks to three leaders about risking it all for huge cuts to bills and carbon footprint Even before the current crisis in spiralling energy bills, colleges were sounding warning shots about the costs facing them this year. Cast your mind back to 2021, when […]

This is what I’ve learnt as a staff member with ADHD

Staff can use the term ‘ADHD’ flippantly, but a thorough understanding and compassion for the diagnosis is needed, writes Richard Moody At 26 years old I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It was a long journey to get there. Growing up, I knew I wasn’t necessarily ‘normal’. That feeling followed me through my […]

Could better investment in skills derail future train strikes?

Training and upskilling opportunities are an important way to improve job satisfaction and retention in essential jobs, writes Kirstie Donnelly Last week’s rail strikes highlighted many critical issues facing workers in our transport sector, with trade union RMT calling for better pay, better working conditions and the guarantee of no forced redundancy. But they aren’t […]

Councils are taking wildly different approaches to Multiply

Hard-to-reach learners won’t be helped by the programme if councils engage the same old providers, writes Ian Ross It has become apparent from contacting numerous local councils that many are taking wildly different approaches to rolling out the Multiply programme. As a quick reminder, the programme, part of the UK shared prosperity fund, is gearing […]

Collaboration between AELP, AoC and HOLEX is hugely important

The resilience of FE will be tested in the year ahead. Here are five key takeaways from our recent national conference, writes Jane Hickie AELP’s first in-person national conference in three years took place this week. Among the packed agenda, we learned a lot from the two-day event. Here’s five key takeaways from me: 1. […]

Thousands of students could be left without a qualification to study

Unless ministers take a slower, more iterative approach to T Levels, our analysis suggests many learners could be left without a course at all, writes David Hughes The English qualification system is a complex beast, so reforming it is tricky. There is a lot to consider and a lot at stake: the credibility and currency […]

Lord Mike Watson, shadow education minister

Having become an MP in 1989, Lord Mike Watson has spent many years in frustrating opposition for the Labour Party. As he steps down as shadow education minister in the Lords, he offers words of advice for his successors It’s not often you sit in a grand, wood-panelled room in the heart of Westminster, and […]