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12 April 2026

Author: JL Dutaut

Ministers should remove the high-vis and get to work on apprentice stereotypes

If Gavin Williamson seriously wants the UK to match the technical and vocational education opportunities offered by Germany by 2029, he needs to address the persisting stigmatisation and stereotyping of apprentices, says Niamh Mulhall As an apprentice I am all too aware of the perceptions and misconceptions surrounding apprenticeships. Young people are not just active […]

What to expect under the new framework when an inspectors calls

Ofsted’s new-style inspections have been much publicised, but some AELP members have been surprised by the new format. Simon Ashworth sets out what providers should expect and how to prepare. The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has been hearing from its members that inspections under Ofsted’s new framework (EIF) was not what they […]

It’s time to give back to the 300,000 young adult carers in this country

Each year more than two million adults and young people at college develop the knowledge and skills they need for work and wider life. Among them are tens of thousands of young adult carers – young people who care and support loved ones, but who, as a result, face significant disadvantage in learning and in […]

Vision express: how FE policy has wasted billions

As Gavin Williamson promises to match Germany in the delivery of vocational and technical education in ten years, JL Dutaut looks back at the mismatch between vision and reality over the past twenty years. It was an education policy announcement that grabbed the headlines. Fifty per cent of young people would access higher education. A […]

Can Gavin Williamson avoid falling into the ongoing NEET trap?

Looking to the national future is a nightmare at the best of times for politicians, let alone in this troubled period, but Gavin Williamson has done just that. Samantha Windett wonders whether he walked into a trap This year’s party conference season has been somewhat overshadowed by the Supreme Court, a potential autumn election and […]

Mind the gap. Williamson should look at education in the round

The FE sector will be pleased to have a champion in the new secretary of state, writes Ruth Gilbert, but as long as this false separation of schools and colleges continues we’re unlikely to “beat Germany by 2029” Gavin Williamson’s announcement of the government’s ambition to make English technical education rival Germany’s within a decade […]

FE and AP: A match made in heaven

An FE-led trust has benefited her alternative and special provision schools, says Jo Southby. They have contributed great things to the college too, but, most of all, it has influenced positive changes for young people at all stages of their education In 2017 our successful federation of alternative and special provision schools joined a multi-academy […]

Agnew’s appointment shows colleges are now being taken seriously

The Department for Education has appointed Lord Agnew to take responsibility for the FE Commissioner and college financial oversight and intervention. Kirsti Lord explains why this is something to be pleased about, not worried Colleges should welcome the announcement that Lord Agnew has become the third government minister to have further education as part of […]

Gavin Williamson’s vision is a catalyst for international perspective

Of all the words spoken at this week’s Conservative Party Conference, I don’t think any were more powerful or persuasive than those of the UK Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson. Referencing the fact that we have just recently met the 1997 Labour government’s target of 50% of young people going to university, the Secretary of State’s […]