Jude Burke | FE Week

Principal with 30 years’ experience named next AoC president

York College principal Dr Alison Birkinshaw has been announced as the president-elect of the Association of Colleges. She will take over from current president Ian Ashman at the end of his one-year term on August 1. Dr Birkinshaw’s FE career dates back to 1984, when she began at Nelson and Colne College. She moved to […]

Devastating impact of non-levy allocations ‘horror show’

The allocations horror show has claimed its first victim, as a subcontractor with 18 years’ experience has announced it will be forced to close within months after it was dropped by its lead provider. Other subcontractors are meanwhile warning of “chaos” and mass redundancies due to the massive cuts the government has made in its […]

Breaking: Landmark EU court ruling could see colleges repaid millions in VAT

A Hampshire college has won a long-running dispute with the taxman, in a landmark ruling from the European Court of Justice which could save the sector millions. The case centred on whether supplies for Brockenhurst College’s training restaurant, MJs, were exempt from VAT, and was originally sent to the EU’s highest court in January 2016, after […]

Ofsted watch: Concern over weak governance at Manchester provider

Concerns over governance were raised in the first ever Ofsted report on Manchester-based Impact College, an independent training provider given a ‘requires improvement’ rating. That report, published April 26 and based on an inspection in mid-March, found that governance was “weak” and the “self-assessment process is not rigorous enough”. It noted that learners’ starting points were […]

Levy launch ‘horror’ story predicted following apprenticeship funding allocations

Apprenticeship providers are facing up to a “horror story” of bankruptcy and failure after receiving funding allocations that amount to a fraction of their current delivery, sector leaders are warning. The amount of cash colleges and providers will receive in order to deliver apprenticeships to small employers between May and December was revealed by the […]

Exclusive: North London colleges’ merger called off

A London merger that had previously gone from a three-way to a two-way is now not happening at all. Barnet and Southgate College and Waltham Forest College announced plans to join forces in October, after talks with College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London about three-way link up were shelved. But staff at the […]

Former principals named on mayor’s Skills for Londoners taskforce

Skills training took centre stage in the capital city this morning when a new strategic taskforce, containing two former college principals, was launched by mayor Sadiq Khan. Ian Ashman, previously boss of Hackney Community College, and Marilyn Hawkins, former Barnet and Southgate College leader, will join others from across the business and skills on Skills […]

FE champion Shakira Martin elected NUS president

FE champion Shakira Martin [pictured above] has emerged victorious in the race to become the next president of the National Union of Students – and only the second to have attended an FE college. The outgoing VP for FE beat incumbent Malia Bouattia and another challenger, Tom Harwood, in a stunning victory announced today at […]

Technical and FE bill passes: what does it mean for the sector?

The Technical and Further Education Bill received final clearance from the House of Lords this afternoon, and it is expected to be granted royal assent within the next few days. A major consequence of this will be the introduction of an insolvency regime for colleges, which could for the first time allow them to go […]