Nick Linford | FE Week

Pushing for a pilot

The latest apprenticeship levy operational guidance is almost totally geared at explaining how it will work for the employers forced to pay it. This is welcome, although 5,000 words on a single government web page seems a little rushed and half-hearted. But colleges and independent training providers remain largely in the dark about how it […]

Leaked report warns BIS move to London could increase costs

A leaked government report has warned that plans to close the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) office in Sheffield and move it to London could cost rather than save money. The document marked “official sensitive”, which has been shown to FE Week, stated that while potential savings through rent, rates and maintenance, rail […]

First sixth form school to opt in to post-16 area review

A sixth form in Liverpool has become the first school to opt in to a post-16 area review, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) says it hopes others will be encouraged to do the same. South Sefton College, a sixth form school, will be joining seven FE colleges and three sixth form […]

DfE accounts lack ‘truth and fairness’ says finance watchdog

The Department for Education’s financial statements lack “truth and fairness” according to the government’s audit watchdog. The department (DfE) finally published its accounts for 2014/15 today, four months later than usual, after it used a statutory instrument to delay publication. FE Week’s sister publication FE Week reported in January that the department had started getting […]

Department for Education announces new permanent secretary

The government has today announced who will be taking over from Chris Wormald as the head civil servant at the Department for Education (DfE). Jonathan Slater (pictured above), currently director general and head of the economic and domestic affairs secretariat at the Cabinet Office, will take up the role of permanent secretary at the DfE […]

Area review completion delays drag on as new six month target missed

At least three of the seven regions involved in the first wave of post-16 education and training area reviews have already overrun the extended government target for completion, FE Week has found. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) initially advised in September that post-16 education and skills area reviews should take three to […]

Level three vocational route on rise as A-levels fall

The number of 19-year-olds gaining level three through A-levels has fallen for the first time in seven years, while the figures for those achieving the same standard through vocational routes continues to rise. The proportion for A-levels fell by 0.3 per cent last year — the first drop since 2008, according to statistics published by […]

Kelvin Hopkins, chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sixth Form Colleges

With his softly-spoken and self-effacing manner, Kelvin Hopkins MP might seem an unlikely candidate for prompting one of the biggest ever upsets in British politics — but appearances can be deceiving. The leftwing MP for Luton North since 1997 and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs), which has backed calls […]

Left to sink or swim

Mick Fletcher reflects on the findings of the House of Lords Social Mobility Committee’s report on improving the transition from school to work. If I have one big criticism of the important new report from the House of Lords Social Mobility Committee it is that the title ‘Overlooked and left behind’ implies neglect of those […]