Skip to content
11 April 2026

Author: Jude Burke

Ofsted watch: Two providers rated outstanding and a UTC bounces back

Two providers have been awarded the highest possible grade from Ofsted – and a university technical college has bounced back from inadequate to good in just eight months. As exclusively revealed by FE Week, Dudley College became the first general FE college to be rated outstanding in 14 months this week. In a report published […]

Desperate college seeks university take-over before merger consultation even begins

A struggling London college is preparing to hand over wide-ranging control of how it is run to a university, through a highly unusual move that does not require government approval. The planned changes – which are currently under consultation and come months ahead of a planned formal merger – will see Lambeth College’s principal stripped […]

NSAFD U-turns on mandatory vetting of apprenticeship qualifications

In an embarrassing U-turn, the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink has dropped controversial plans for mandatory vetting of apprenticeship qualifications. The body, which leads the food and drink apprenticeship trailblazer group, recently announced that any awarding organisation wanting to develop their own versions of qualifications included in food and drink standards must submit […]

Horror show for degree apprenticeships

There’s no sign that the non-levy allocations farrago will be solved any time soon – and now higher education leaders are issuing dire warnings about the future of degree-level apprenticeships. The FE sector reacted in horror after the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced in April that it would pause the procurement process for providers […]

Breaking: Sixth form college principal resigns with immediate effect

The surprise resignation of Bolton Sixth Form College’s principal has been confirmed this morning to FE Week, three days after it was reported he had been suspended. Alex Fau Goodwin only took over as principal at Bolton in July 2016, following the retirement of former leader Steve Wetton. But the Bolton News reported last week […]

Ofsted watch: Three providers drop to ‘requires improvement’

It’s been a largely disappointing week, as all three published full FE and skills inspection reports resulted in a drop from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’. “Significant weaknesses” in its 16 to 19 study programmes and apprenticeships, were among the factors contributing to Northampton College’s slide to grade three, in a report published May 23 but based […]

Ofsted watch: Provider on apprenticeships register rated ‘inadequate’

A provider on the new apprenticeships register has been hit with an inadequate overall grade, in the only full inspection report to have been published this week. But Norfolk Training Services Limited, which we reported had been added to the register in April, was given a grade three for its apprenticeships provision – meaning its […]

College student named as Manchester bombing victim

A Lancashire college has expressed its “enormous sadness” at the death of one of its students in last night’s terrorist attack in Manchester. Georgina Callander, an 18-year-old health and social care student at Runshaw College, was the first named victim of the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena. The college released a statement this morning […]

What now for colleges that tried and failed to merge?

When they were launched in July 2015, the area reviews were expected to result in a huge number of college mergers. The former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills made it clear that the aim of this mass rethink of nationwide post-16 education and training was to create “fewer, larger and more resilient” colleges. Early […]