A teaching job in FE… is this some sort of prank? 

A prank show that aims to attract professionals into FE teaching jobs has been released on social media channels after being commissioned via Channel 4. 

Three 10-minute episodes of Undercover Education have been released in the last month, featuring a bricklayer, a mechanic and a chef who give a lesson to an FE teacher posing as an adult seeking a career change. 

Sitting in another room, former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq watches and tells the FE teacher to play pranks that test the professionals’ patience and teaching skills. 

After the prank is revealed, each episode concludes with the professional reflecting on whether they would take a job in FE. 

Channel 4 said the “uplifting” series aimed to highlight the professionals’ “patience, creativity and value of their existing, real-world industry experience”. 

Prank your skills

It is part of the Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education campaign that has run since 2022. 

Previous videos included Share Your Skills last year – which featured Sky Sports News-style ads with presenter Mike Wedderburn talking to brickies who became FE lecturers. 

The Labour government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers for schools and further education colleges by spring 2029 at the latest. 

However, a National Audit Office report this week found the DfE estimated between 8,400 and 12,400 FE teachers were needed by 2028/29 to meet a rising demographic of young people and to deliver T Levels. 

The FE sector is the worst affected type of education provider with 5.1 of every 100 teaching roles vacant in general FE colleges.

Modest success so far

Commissioned by the DfE’s workforce and communications teams since 2022, an FE Week freedom of information (FOI) request last year showed the media recruitment campaign cost £2 million in its first year, £4.1 million in 2022-23, and increased again to £5.1 million for both 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

FE Week asked the DfE how much it had budgeted this year, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. 

In response to the FOI request, the DfE shared data that suggested its campaigns had proved a modest success. 

Attitudinal research of the campaign’s target audience – adults between 35 and 65 years old with two years’ experience in priority sectors such as engineering, manufacturing or construction – suggests the proportion of people considering a job in FE rose slightly from 21 percent in 2021-22 to 25 per cent in 2023-24. 

However, the target audience’s understanding of FE teaching only rose by 1 percentage point to 24 per cent over that period. 

The Teach in Further Education website’s visitor sessions more than tripled from 134,000 in 2021-22 to 457,000 in 2023-24. 

In the first two years, unique page views hovered around 500,000 annually, while visits to the website’s job boards section shot up from 32,000 in 2021-22 to 190,000 in 2022-23, before dropping to 124,000 in 2023-24. 

DfE sorry for councils’ adult skills powers confusion  

Officials have apologised to councils involved in a “back door” skills devolution pilot for failing to consult them properly before increasing adult education funding powers in their areas.   

The trial, which the Department for Education denies is a formal devolution, will hand adult education cash to 11 councils to test “a theory” that they are better placed than Whitehall to address local skills needs. 

As revealed by FE Week in March, each pilot council could gain control of up to 70 per cent of their area’s adult skills fund allocation, worth a total of at least £7.8 million, from August. 

The pilot suggests the government could devolve control of adult education funding at an even faster pace than set out in its recent devolution white paper. 

Training providers operating in the 11 areas were told their nationally funded programmes would “not be fundable” as local councils were getting the cash.

Some areas surprised

But when FE Week approached the councils seeking more information in March, some were surprised to learn they had been named in the DfE’s pilot list, and suggested there had been “confusion” as they sought clarity from the department. 

A DfE policy official admitted in an email last week, seen by FE Week, that local authority devolution teams should have been fully briefed on the plans. 

The email said: “We have been communicating with the adult learning arm of the [local authorities] involved in this pilot, but understand and appreciate we would have been better served including devolution colleagues in those conversations as well, and we apologise for that oversight where this hasn’t occurred.” 

Under the pilot, nationally contracted independent training providers will lose funding in the affected areas from August to “avoid duplication of provision”.

The DfE has not publicly announced the one-year pilot, but stated in the email it wants to support areas preparing for full devolution in 2026. 

The local authorities involved are: Devon County Council, Torbay Council, Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council, Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Warwickshire County Council, Buckinghamshire Council, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council. 

Officials have told local authorities they could take charge of between 29 and 69 per cent of their adult skills funding – which for Norfolk County Council would be a spending increase of £1.5 million. 

Local authorities told FE Week they do not know why some councils have been offered lower increases than others. 

Not all have accepted the additional funding. Warwickshire County Council said it was yet to “secure clarity on funding that is being offered” and “how this has been invested previously”. 

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Skills are crucial for our mission to grow the economy through our Plan for Change.

“We know that local leaders are best-placed to advise on local skills needs. That’s why we have invited local authorities to take part in this pilot scheme.

“We have communicated with providers, including local authorities, directly affected by this pilot. We continue to have positive conversations, and will update in due course.”

Reports into nearly 200 college and ITP financial probes remain hidden

The outcomes of almost 200 investigations into fraud and financial misconduct at FE providers are still unpublished, despite the government releasing probes into academy trusts this week.

For at least a decade, the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) ‘investigation publishing policy’ promised to be “fair and transparent” by releasing detailed financial investigation reports into education providers it funds “where appropriate to do so”.

The majority of investigations carried out by the ESFA related to England’s 1,900 colleges and independent training providers (ITPs) with access to almost ten billion pounds in public funding for FE and skills each year.

Meanwhile, during the same period, the ESFA, which has now merged with the Department for Education, released 17 reports into academy trusts.

But an FE Week investigation found only two reports into FE providers had been published – the most recent six years ago – despite at least 193 ESFA investigations being made into FE providers since 2017.

Delayed academy findings

On Tuesday, the DfE published five investigation “outcome” reports about academy controversies that included financial conflicts of interest and spending on antique furniture, booze and gift cards, some dating as far back as 14 years.

In January, following concerns from the Public Accounts Committee about a lack of reports hindering transparency, permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood repeated a pledge to publish investigation reports “within two months, subject to legal or regulatory activity”.

She told the committee that preparing “very detailed reports” about named individuals was “causing significant delays”, due to the Maxwellisation process, which offers people who are criticised a right of reply.

Financial investigators’ time would be “better deployed” looking into fraud and error, the review concluded.

So officials instead decided to only publish much shorter “outcome reports” that would avoid naming individuals to prioritise “transparency” and “timeliness”.

Still no FE accountability

However, the permanent secretary did not explain why the public had yet to see reports of probes into FE providers.

Anne Murdoch, senior adviser in college leadership at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “While we welcome the DfE’s recommitment to publishing outcome reports, we are yet to see this come to fruition.”

“More has got to be done to ensure there is transparency around ESFA/DfE’s investigations and to allow the sector to learn lessons from these.”

In January, Acland-Hood also claimed the investigation publishing policy did not include FE providers until 2023, despite several past versions of the policies clearly stating they included “colleges” and “training providers”.

The policy has included “colleges” and “any other provider in receipt of funding”, which would include ITPs, since at least 2014, when the permanent secretary was director of education and funding at the DfE.

‘We’ll consult colleges’

Acland-Hood claimed that including details on individuals, or explaining how fraud, financial irregularity or error happened, was “not required” to support other providers to learn lessons.

But she did say future reports would be “more explicit” in describing the learnings for the sector and promised officials would consult trust and college “forums” to “seek feedback” on how they “further support” the sector “to understand the gaps in practice identified and lessons they can learn from the investigations”.

The outcome reports released this week all contained ‘lessons learned’ sections produced following “prevention analysis exercise[s]”.

But some ‘lessons learned’ were generic recommendations such as trusts having “a robust policy and procedures for procurement”.

Gathering dust

The permanent secretary also reiterated the DfE’s commitment to publishing the “outcome reports within two months, subject to legal or regulatory activity, to provide transparency over how public money is spent”.

However, the most recent of the five reviews released this week was completed last summer.

Meanwhile, reports from several high-profile investigations are gathering dust, including those into Brooklands and Strode colleges, as well as independent training providers such as 3aaa and four companies owned by Angela Middleton.

Figures obtained by FE Week under the Freedom of Information Act show that between 2017 and 2024, the ESFA recovered £49 million in public funding from colleges and training providers following 193 investigations.

But the agency only published two investigation reports detailing the findings and outcomes – for the College of West Anglia in 2018 and Bournville College in 2019.

The DfE was contacted for comment.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 495

John Yarham

Interim CEO, The Careers and Enterprise Company

Start date: April 2025

Previous Job: Deputy CEO, The Careers and Enterprise Company

Interesting fact: John’s first jobs included working in an ice cream van and a factory making wine racks

Paul Lomas

Chair, RNN Group

Start date: April 2025

Previous Job: Retired Chief People Officer

Interesting fact: Paul has just completed a 200km charity bike ride across Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in support of Nordoff & Robbins Music Therapy, Teenage Cancer Trust, Childline and Save the Children

Capital City College pays out again after disability tribunal

A staff member of a large London college group has been awarded a hefty payout after she was unfairly dismissed due to her disability.

Capital City College (CCC) was ordered to pay Ms M Garwood £62,281.52 after a tribunal hearing heard bosses discriminated against her disability.

Employment Judge Lewis ruled that the college group “failed to make the reasonable adjustment” of allowing Garwood to work from home from March 2022, subject to a review after three months, according to judgment documents posted last week.

Instead, the college placed Garwood on sick leave, which the tribunal ruled was disability discrimination as it did not consider any reasonable adjustments first.

The tribunal unanimously deemed Garwood was then unfairly dismissed.

Neither the details of the case, Garwood’s disability nor the written reasons for the employment tribunal judgment have been published. 

Garwood’s other complaint of unauthorised deductions from wages was thrown out.

The former worker was awarded a basic award of £4,282.50, plus £500 as an award for the loss of employee statutory rights arising from her unfair dismissal.

The financial loss Garwood incurred from the college’s failure to make reasonable adjustments was calculated as £6,682.41 plus £823.13 in interest.

She was then awarded £15,121.84 for financial loss from dismissal, plus £1,694.21 in interest as well as £1,979.54 in pension losses.

The tribunal also awarded a payout for Garwood’s injury to feelings before and after her dismissal.

Pre dismissal, the judge awarded £8,000 for injury to feelings plus £1,958.57. On dismissal, her award was £12,000 plus £2,377.64 in interest.

In total, Garwood will receive a net figure of £55,419.

The London college group has been involved in several employment tribunal cases in the last year.

Last April, CCC had to pay out £44,000 to an art and design lecturer after it failed to act on classroom safety complaints, including about regular flooding, which caused him to resign – an act that was deemed constructive dismissal.

Additionally, earlier this month, a part-time ESOL lecturer won a £30,000 pay award after her complaint that she was treated unfavourably compared with full-time workers was upheld. 

Capital City College and legal representatives for Garwood declined to comment.

Adult learner numbers have bombed to post-war levels, says L&W

Adult participation in further education has plummeted to levels not seen since the aftermath of the Second World War, research reveals.

The Learning and Work Institute (L&W) estimated the proportion of adult learners in FE institutions peaked at around 15 per cent of 16 to 64 year olds in 2009, a total of more than five million students.

But the figure had halved to about 7.5 per cent by 2023 – just above two million students – which was a low last seen in 1940s and 50s.

During the last century adult learner numbers steadily grew from about one million students in 1911 to the 2009 peak, with a decade-long plateau following the Second World War.

The dramatic fall in learner numbers is unique in adult education history, according to L&W.

It comes as the Labour government plans to cut core adult education funding, now known as the adult skills fund, by 3.7 per cent in total in the next academic year.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of L&W, told FE Week the impact of ongoing cuts was “disastrous” for economic growth and warned England and the UK are “going backwards”.e

Reducing funding for adult learners is “harming social outcomes, health and wellbeing, economic growth and individual opportunity”, he said.

“This should be a clarion call for urgent action to change direction – for all of those reasons,” Evans added.

Learning the lessons

L&W’s report Learning the lessons: understanding the history of adult learning and skills, produced its figures by piecing together data from sources such as the former Department for Employment and Skills, the Office for National Statistics and government education and training statistics.

The most “significant decline” has been in adult learners studying at level 2 or below, researchers found.

However, the proportion of people participating in higher education has also significantly increased from around 15 per cent in the 1980s to 55 per cent in 2023.

The report traces two centuries of evolving skills and training policy and institutions in Britain, from early education acts in the 1800s, to community-led organisations such as the Workers’ Educational Association, and industrial training boards set up in the 1960s.

It points to a £1 billion real-terms cut to adult education funding since the 2010s, with the government choosing to invest more heavily in apprenticeships instead.

Key recent policy changes that align with learner numbers dropping since 2009 include the coalition government’s scrapping of work-based training scheme Train to Gain in 2010, and the introduction of advanced learner loans for qualifications at level 3 or above in 2013 which was followed by a 31 per cent fall in student numbers.

Learning and skills ‘held back’

The report argues that learning and skills have been held back by “too narrow a focus” on learning for work, alongside “increasing centralisation”, “constant chop and change” in policy and a lack of proper success measures.

There has also been a “significant decline” in employer investment in training, with investment per employee falling by 26 per cent in real terms since 2005.

Evans said: “We’ve got a lot of confusion and fragmentation of policy at the moment.

“You could probably achieve more with the same money if there was a more coherent approach.

“But ultimately, if you want to reverse the trend in that chart – you need more money.”

Higher education ‘offsets’ decline

Imran Tahir, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the long-run decline in adult FE participation was “striking”, but pointed out that increased higher education participation may “offset” the decline in adult learning.

He added: “I’d emphasise that while the decline in adult learner numbers is clear, the economic impact depends not just on the number of people training but also on the quality and relevance of training.

“What kind of skills people are developing – and how well these align to labour market needs – is crucial for driving productivity and growth.”

David Hughes, chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “For more than a century, governments have felt compelled to make changes to this part of post-16 education, in isolation from the rest of the education system.

“Unless and until education, training and skills are viewed, post-16, as one system, we will suffer from weak policies which perpetuate a society in which lifelong learning is an empty hope, and in which the elite and middle classes mostly believe higher education is the only part of the system that really matters.”

The Department for Education said: “Skills are central to our mission to grow the economy under our Plan for Change.

“Despite the challenging fiscal environment we have inherited, we are spending over £1.4 billion next financial year on the adult skills fund.

“We demonstrated our commitment to skills through our recent investment in construction skills, where we are investing £600 million to train up to 60,000 more workers in the sector, helping to boost economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity for adults looking for skilled work in the sector.”

College silent about exit of principal before Ofsted visit

A college principal has mysteriously left her post – and leaders and governors have refused to say who is running the institution.

Karen Buchanan (pictured) began working at Burnley College in 1986 as a part-time lecturer and became deputy principal in 2011 before taking on the top job in 2017.

But FE Week understands she left the position just before an Ofsted inspection from March 11 to 14.

Rumours about her sudden departure have been swirling ever since, but the college has so far refused to give a reason for Buchanan’s exit, say whether she will return, or confirm who is now leading the college, which receives over £33 million in public funding annually.

Staff have been “left in the dark”, said University and College Union north west regional official Matt Arrowsmith.

He told FE Week: “UCU is increasingly concerned about developments at Burnley College. Our members have been left in the dark for weeks regarding the ongoing absence of the principal.

“Despite requests from UCU, all we have been told is that the principal is on ‘a period of personal leave’. 

“The lack of information regarding the principal’s role is fuelling speculation, and we are deeply concerned about the damage this may be causing to the standing and reputation of the college and its strategic leadership.”

Burnley College teaches around 10,000 students and is in a financially healthy position according to its latest 2024 accounts which show a £1.9 million surplus, £21.5 million in reserves and an ‘outstanding’ financial health rating.

The college employs almost 700 people, was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in 2021, and last year self-assessed as ‘outstanding’ on the watchdog’s scale.

It boasts on its website that it is the “number one” college in England for 16 to 18 achievement rates on the government’s most recently published achievement rates table in March 2024, and claims to have held the position since 2018.

Buchanan’s salary rose 10 per cent last year, rising from £169,000 in 2023 to £186,000 in 2024.

Burnley College failed to comment on the principal’s exit despite multiple requests from FE Week.

Current chair David Brown has been a governor at the college since 2005 and became the board’s leader last year when longstanding chair of over 15 years David Meakin retired.

Arrowsmith said the college had a “duty to be open and transparent” and UCU will be “writing to college governors, again, to request an update and to seek assurances about the leadership of the college”.

He added: “In the meantime, we will continue to support UCU members who, despite the ongoing uncertainty, are continuing to provide a first-class education for their students.”

Reckless FE leaders must be dealt with in public, says MP

The MP for the first college to go through the education administration process has urged ministers to amend the law so “reckless” leaders are publicly held to account.

Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat (pictured) also wants new safeguards to protect land for educational purposes if a college goes bust, instead of it being sold off to repay creditors.

He made the pleas during an adjournment debate in Parliament today about how the educational administration process could be improved following the Hadlow College scandal.

Hadlow became the first college to enter a newly designed education insolvency regime in 2019 and was shortly followed by its sister organisation West Kent and Ashford College after leaders racked up more than £100 million worth of debts amid a series of expansions and failed commercial ventures. 

Hadlow College leaders requested a £20 million bailout but the Department for Education refused and placed it in administration.

Top DfE officials had previously revealed how the administration process cost the taxpayer around £60 million, with a “gut-wrenching” £6 million spent on administrators’ fees alone.

Hundreds of staff lost their jobs and thousands of students were moved to other colleges.

FE Week revealed in November 2023 that the principal at the helm at the time of Hadlow’s collapse, Paul Hannan, agreed to never work in the education sector again or face a £250,000 fine.

A deal was also made between the deputy principal, Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, and administrators BDO where Lumsdon-Taylor agreed to pay a four-figure sum as part of a confidentiality agreement.

Limited information about the action against Hadlow’s leaders was included in a BDO creditors’ report, which was published by Companies House.

From left: Hadlow College deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor and principal Paul Hannan

Tugendhat described the situation as “financial mismanagement on a scale never seen before” in a college. 

He said there “must be some accountability for those who made those decisions” that led to Hadlow College going bust, adding that it was “disappointing to many that those responsible for this expenditure have not seen their investigations conducted in the public domain”. 

He told Parliament: “I find this part of the process extremely unsatisfactory. Tens of millions of pounds of public money has been poured into the educational administration process because of the reckless actions of these two senior leaders of Hadlow College at the time. 

“I do not think that a confidentiality agreement is appropriate given the scale and profile this issue has, and I would urge the department to bring forward amendments to future legislation which increase the level of transparency and accountability on these matters.”

Responding for the DfE, minister Janet Daby pointed out that BDO’s action against Hannan and Lumsdon-Taylor “are publicly available at Companies House”.

She said: “In summary, they reach settlement agreements with the individuals involved. The department welcomed the conclusion of the joint liquidators’ investigations into the conduct of certain relevant individuals at Hadlow and West Kent and Ashford colleges, and the department takes the protection of public funds extremely seriously and will continue to support robust action where there are concerns around the safeguarding of taxpayers’ money.”

Tugendhat also used his speech to explain the “sadly deteriorated” offer at Hadlow College since the educational administration process, including the loss of the Hadlow College Farm Shop and Broadview Tea Rooms. 

He said: “Its land holding has decreased. All of which enabled Hadlow College to be a sustainable provider prior to the reckless expansion plans pursued in the last decade. All now gone because of the need to pay back for failed business ventures. 

“Put simply, what has happened here is a gamble with students’ education in order to expand beyond the core purpose of Hadlow College.”

In 2022, parcels of land around Hadlow were marketed for sale by Knight Frank on behalf of the administrators, with the proceeds used to repay creditors. 

Tugendhat said he understood this rationale from a financial perspective, but pointed out this was not a standard administration process, “it was an ‘educational administration’”. 

“There is broad agreement from all those now responsible for delivering further education at Hadlow – including North Kent College and Hadlow Rural Community School – that the sale of parcels of land has impacted the student offer right now. This is deeply regrettable,” he said.

The MP asked how the government “might be able to adapt the educational administration process to ensure land sales are not the default, especially for land-based educational establishments with this specialism”. 

Principal warns of ‘significant redundancies’ amid DfE intervention

A Hampshire college hit by “serious cashflow pressures” has warned of “substantial redundancies” after it was placed in government intervention.

Havant and South Downs College (HSDC) was deemed to have ‘inadequate’ financial health by the year ending July 2024 and its audited accounts warned of “material uncertainty”.

Financial statements show a £550,000 deficit, a negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) and a high staff-to-turnover ratio of 72 per cent – 7 percentage points above the FE Commissioner’s benchmark.

“Ongoing delays in the sale of land” related to its South Downs campus are also to blame for the college’s poor financial position, as it has meant that HSDC has had to “finance a higher proportion of its capital programme from working capital”.

The college also saw a fall in 16-to-19 enrolments in September 2024, which will “present a further financial challenge” due to the government’s lagged funding model that will hit budgets in 2025-26.

The Department for Education published a “financial notice to improve” (FNTI) for the college today which triggered FE Commissioner intervention.

HSDC principal Mike Gaston warned that large numbers of the college’s 1,000-strong workforce are likely to lose their jobs as leaders try to balance the books.

He told FE Week: “While the challenges outlined in the FNTI are significant, they compel us to take decisive action, including a process of right-sizing that may, regrettably, involve a substantial number of redundancies. I want to be unequivocal; these decisions are never made lightly. 

“Our foremost priority is to stabilise the college to secure a sustainable future, ensuring that we continue to offer the high-quality education our students expect.”

According to HSDC’s accounts, the college self-assessed its financial health grade of ‘requires improvement’ for 2023-24, but this was moderated down to ‘inadequate’ by the government during a post-moderation process.

The FE Commissioner’s team will now conduct an “independent assessment of the college, and the capacity and capability of its leadership and management, and governing body to bring about the required changes and improvements”. The first visit was scheduled for May 1.

The FNTI said: “The Department for Education is issuing this financial notice to improve HSDC following the serious cashflow pressures facing the college and the confirmation of a post-moderated financial health grade of ‘inadequate’ for the year ending July 2024. This means that HSDC is now placed into formal intervention.”

The college’s accounts said leaders “recognise the importance” of addressing its high pay costs, tight control of non-pay costs and improving curriculum efficiency in order to improve EBITDA and help to lift the financial health score to at least ‘requires improvement’. 

HSDC is now working on achieving cost reductions of “at least £2 million by 2025-26 to help”.

Gaston said: “I acknowledge the personal and professional challenges and distress this restructuring presents to my colleagues. The notice to improve does not in any way relate to the quality of teaching at the college, nor does it relate to or impact the experience of our students. The goal now is to build a college for the future, one that is financially secure, operationally sustainable, and continues to provide meaningful employment within the community.”

The college has over 1,000 staff, around 6,500 students and was judged ‘good’ by Ofsted in July 2024.

HSDC was originally incorporated as The South Downs College before merging with Havant Sixth Form College in 2017, and then in 2019 the combined college merged with Alton Sixth Form College.