Careers ‘Short-sighted’: DfE controversially cuts ASK careers programme funding Providers say the programme has helped thousands of young people understand their career options Josh Mellor 1d Josh Mellor 1d Colleges South west colleges reignite merger talks Governors hope to sign off on the Devon merger in November FE Week Reporter 1d FE Week Reporter 1d Ofsted Eureka! Science trainer given Ofsted’s highest grade Inspectorate full of praise for 500 learner-strong Birmingham-based provider’s curriculum and teaching Billy Camden 1d Billy Camden 1d Skills bootcamps Only builder bootcamps extended as scheme dismantled Local leaders in some parts of the country will continue bootcamps for other sectors Josh Mellor 1d Josh Mellor 1d Colleges, FE Commissioner Exclusive Weston chair felt powerless over £2.5m payments to former principal Ex-Weston college chair gives tell-all interview following FE Commissioner probe Anviksha Patel 1d Anviksha Patel 1d News Safety trainer BSC fined for anti-fraud failures ‘Long running, repeated and systemic failures’ related to CSCS cards exposed Josh Mellor 2d Josh Mellor 2d T Levels T Levels will hit sustainable levels ‘by 2029’ DfE officials ‘confident’ of hitting new forecasts after huge shortfall in early years of the qualification’s rollout Billy Camden 2d Billy Camden and Shane Chowen 2d Apprenticeships Replace level 2s with foundation apprenticeships, says report Uni VC claims ‘many’ level 2 apprenticeships have ‘not offered high-quality training, nor been sufficiently accessible to potential learners’ Billy Camden 3d Billy Camden 3d T Levels ‘Disappointment’ as T Levels funding rate uplift halved Decision comes weeks after the NAO revealed a £688m underspend on the total T Level budget Billy Camden 3d Billy Camden 3d Skills England Skills England: Ministers will make decisions on FE resources, not us Highlights from Skills England’s first grilling by the education committee Anviksha Patel 3d Anviksha Patel 3d Apprenticeships Struggling Babington joins Paragon Skills at Knovia Group Takeover comes as Babington faces hefty government clawback and ‘worsening’ financial position Billy Camden 4d Billy Camden 4d Ofsted Nearly two-thirds think Ofsted reforms are worse, ‘alternative’ consultation finds Survey launched by Ofsted critics finds 90% of respondents said five-point grading system not fit for purpose Lydia Chantler-Hicks 5d Lydia Chantler-Hicks 5d 1 2 3 4 5 6 803 Older Must read Colleges Weston College governance failure allowed ‘concealment’ of £2.5m payments to former principal Paul Phillips was paid £1.8m in 2023, including a ‘significant’ six-figure retention payment which his COO son ‘resisted’ paying… Anviksha Patel 3w Anviksha Patel 3w T Levels NAO reveals enormity of T Level take-up failure Forecasts missed by 75% and secret DfE estimates show staff and employer shortages could limit places to 48,000 students Anviksha Patel 4w Anviksha Patel 4w Adult education, ITPs Investigation Mayors dump adult education cuts on independent training providers Up to two-thirds axed from devolved procured budgets Josh Mellor 1mo Josh Mellor 1mo Next 3 stories Bootcamps, Skills bootcamps Exclusive Coding firm caught charging students for free bootcamps Ed tech provider ‘regretful’ after complaints and promises full refunds as bosses try to sue DfE over non-payments Billy Camden 2mo Billy Camden and Frances Read 2mo Apprenticeships Entrepreneur chased for millions after apprenticeship collapse ESFA uncovers ‘fake’ taxi apprentices as liquidator reveals intercompany payments days after firm decided to shut Billy Camden 2mo Billy Camden 2mo Adult education Exclusive Fury as DfE cuts adult education budgets Combined authorities told to expect reductions in ‘already deeply diminished’ adult skills funding Shane Chowen 3mo Shane Chowen 3mo