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11 April 2026

Author: Jude Burke

DfE takes back £3m from colleges failing in English and maths

Colleges across the country have lost almost £3 million in Education Funding Agency cash through failure to comply with the notorious maths and English condition of funding rule. The combined figure includes City of Liverpool College, which was hardest hit through losing almost £500,000. It was originally stated by the government that any 16 to […]

Careers company coverage a postcode lottery?

A government-backed careers company does not cater to every college around the country, including the whole of London, FE Week has learned. We have repeatedly pressed the Careers and Enterprise Company, which was set up in July 2015 to connect young people with the world of work, for details of the colleges that it works […]

Delayed area reviews outcomes bring limited change

Most colleges involved in the first two waves of the area reviews will neither change nor merge, it has been revealed. This lack of change was laid bare in the long overdue reports into the first 13 areas, which were finally published on Tuesday (November 29). Just 21 mergers involving 45 colleges are proposed – […]

Breaking: Ofsted annual report says GCSE English and maths resit policy is failing

Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw has said the GCSE English and maths resit policy is not working as the government hoped. He raised the issue in his fifth and final annual report as Ofsted chief inspector, published this morning. “While the policy’s intention to improve literacy and numeracy levels is well intentioned, the implementation of […]

SFA apprenticeship tender for small employers rejected by quarter of providers

A quarter of apprenticeship providers have declined the opportunity compete for an SFA contract to deliver training to small and medium sized businesses from next May. The new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which providers have to be on if they want to deliver apprenticeship starts from May 1 next year, closed for applications at 5pm […]

Half the levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but who are they?

Around half of the upcoming apprenticeship levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but the Skills Funding Agency won’t say who those companies are. The revelation came during a breakout session on funding at the Association of Colleges annual conference earlier this month. Keith Smith (pictured), the director of funding and programmes at […]

Lewisham Southwark College still wants Newcastle merger despite local offers

A struggling London college is still trying to engineer a merger with a group based almost 300 miles away in Newcastle, despite rejecting offers from both a neighbouring college and a nearby university. Lewisham Southwark College, which last year became the first college ever to receive two ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted in a row, has […]

Autumn statement: £200m levy pot reduction forecast by Treasury

Fresh concerns have been raised about apprenticeship funding in England, after predictions on what the levy would raise were revised down by £200 million. In the Phillip Hammond’s autumn statement on Wednesday, government forecasts suggested that the levy would raise a projected £2.8 billion in 2019/20. However the Treasury had predicted in last year’s statement […]