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11 April 2026

Author: Paul Offord

Careers and Enterprise Company agrees to publish board minutes

The Careers and Enterprise Company has responded to savage criticism from MPs over secrecy by finally agreeing to publish its board minutes. Its chair Christine Hodgson and chief executive Claudia Harris were grilled in May over the CEC’s lack of transparency, during a bruising appearance before the Commons education select committee, where CEC was called an “over-bloated quango”. The […]

3aaa inspection ‘incomplete’ as whistleblowing sparks review

An investigation is being carried out by government officials into apprenticeship giant Aspire Achieve Advance, after claims made by a whistleblower. FE Week revealed last week that Ofsted’s latest inspection of 3aaa – which holds the largest ESFA apprenticeship allocation – had been declared “incomplete” following intervention from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. We can […]

National Audit Office reviewing apprenticeship reforms progress

A follow-up review of apprenticeships has been launched by the National Audit Office, which will focus on whether the reform programme is delivering value for money. The NAO is requesting submissions, with a key theme being whether the Department for Education is ensuring that the system is not being abused by stakeholders. This comes after […]

Massive subcontracting top-slices finally revealed

Subcontracting top-slices exceeded £100 million last year, and 28 per cent of prime providers were charging more than 20 percent, FE Week can reveal. The long-overdue subcontracting figures for 2016/17 have finally been published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. FE Week’s analysis of the data has shown that just under a third of […]

Leaders missed significant teaching weaknesses at ‘inadequate’ UTC

A university technical college has been rated inadequate across the board, in an Ofsted report that warned leaders and governors were unaware of “significant” teaching weaknesses for years. Health Futures UTC, in West Bromwich, became the ninth UTC to be rated grade four when the report was published yesterday. It was quickly followed this morning […]

Ninth UTC closure announced

Another university technical college will close next year, taking the total to nine. UTC@Harbourside, based in Newhaven in East Sussex, has announced it will close in August 2019 after failing to recruit enough pupils to become “financially stable”. The announcement comes ahead of the UTC’s first Ofsted report, which is due out on Wednesday. The […]

Secrecy surrounds Ofsted’s decision to declare its 3aaa inspection ‘incomplete’

Ofsted’s latest inspection of Aspire Achieve Advance – which holds the largest ESFA apprenticeship allocation – is “incomplete” following intervention from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The inspectorate had at first confirmed on June 20 that it had inspected the provider, which is commonly known as 3aaa, in May and that nothing was amiss. […]

AoC announces Julie Nerney as next chair

The Association of Colleges has announced Julie Nerney as its next chair of the board. She will take over when Carole Stott MBE steps down at the end of the year. Ms Nerney is currently chair of the board of governors at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, having previously led the City College Brighton and Hove […]