Adult education

It’s wrong that nobody knows if the adult skills fund actually works

Unlike apprenticeships, adult skills funding operates in a data black hole. Should the grant-allocated system in adult education be...

Jessica Hill
Aidan Relf
Colleges

Why FE colleges must lead the fight against coercive control

When our students took the stage to perform scenes of coercive control, their raw performances revealed an uncomfortable truth:...

Jessica Hill
John Revill and Tanya Schottlander
Ofsted

The unseen impact of Ofsted: What one grade can really cost

How a single Ofsted grade for a small part of overall provision triggered contract losses, staff redundancies and even...

Jessica Hill
Ian Ross
The Staffroom - opinion

Colleges should be civil society guardians in a more uncivil world

As populism rises and trust in institutions crumbles, FE colleges are quietly doing the vital work of rebuilding civil...

Jessica Hill
Henry Taylor-Toone
Access to HE

For Access to HE students, bills now matter more than books

Data shows economic pressures are the biggest barriers to learning but the tools we developed during Covid offer a...

Jessica Hill
Ken Duckett
ITP funding

The country needs us so why treat ITPs as second-class providers?

Independent training providers are treated unfairly with unequal access to funds so it’s time funding followed the learner, not...

Jessica Hill
Stuart Allen
Apprenticeships

I know how apprenticeships can fail… these reforms can fix that

Changes to funding rules are to be applauded but employers and providers must embrace their spirit

Jessica Hill
James Kimble
EDI

How FE can be a force for hope in an increasingly polarised world

Teachers should acknowledge the influences students face and provide safe spaces for dialogue

Jessica Hill
Ellisha Soanes
AI and colleges

The AI hallucination: Why tech will add problems, not solve them

The government’s AI ‘initiatives’ are little more than shiny distractions – the tech could increase burdens and threaten jobs

Jessica Hill
Andrew Otty