Author: Nick Linford

An Ofsted investigation into foundation learning has pointed towards a host of problems with the scheme just weeks before the replacement 16 to 19 study programmes are introduced. The education watchdog uncovered “poor” attendance and “little or no” work placement, along with “low” progression rates. Its report, Lessons from the Foundation Learning Provision for the […]

Ofqual is investigating exam spending by colleges after its annual report found payments by schools had more than doubled in ten years, from £154m in 2002/3 to £328m in 2010/11. Between 2006/7 and 2010/11 the number of different qualifications available schools and colleges also rose by almost 10,000, from 8,150 to 18,100. Much of the […]

Skills Funding Agency announces transition factors hitting provider funding rates by 25 per cent or more. Colleges and training providers have been told their Skills Funding Agency earnings rate could fall by a quarter or more, with just two months before the new academic year. The agency is introducing protection measures for colleges and training […]

The 16 to 18 apprenticeships budget has been cut by £166m as would-be apprentices were squeezed out of places by “competition” from older applicants, a senior Department for Education (DfE) civil servant has revealed. Simon Judge, the DfE’s finance and commercial director, wrote to the Education Select Committee after its expected funding of 16 to […]

Booming application numbers plus an increasing list of vacancies show apprenticeships are growing as a career alternative to university, according to Skills Minister Matthew Hancock. The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has revealed there were 90,420 more online applications between February and April this year than the same period last year, when 278,410 were submitted. The […]