Colleges face new legal duties through SEND overhaul

Colleges will face fresh legal duties to produce new support plans for learners with SEND under proposed reforms that set out to reduce the number of young people receiving education, health and care plans.

A Department for Education consultation, launched today, contains proposals to reserve education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for learners with the most complex SEND needs and provide learners with less complex needs with new individual support plans (ISPs).

The overhaul aims for one in eight students with EHCPs to be moved to the new ISPs by 2035, with new statutory duties placed on schools and colleges to develop and deliver the plans.

Colleges, as well as schools, will have access to inclusion funding of £1.6 billion over three years, £1.8 billion to improve access to external support and £200 million for staff training.

Officials are consulting on whether colleges should be required to demonstrate how they use inclusion funding in their accountability agreements.

The consultation is open until May 18.

Inclusion accountability

The DfE said it will work with colleges to develop an “appropriate and proportionate” approach for inclusion support in FE.

Targeted support will give children and young people access to ISPs – interactive and annually reviewed plans developed with parents.

The government is consulting on whether to make it statutory for colleges to produce an ISP for young people with SEND. FE providers would develop them with parents to identify barriers to learning, their provision, any reasonable adjustments and the intended outcome.

Ministers argue that while fewer learners will require EHCPs, more will receive multi-agency support through the new “targeted” and “targeted-plus” layers.

Meanwhile, the specialist support layer will bring out new “specialist provision packages” designed by experts and tested with parents to detail provision based on evidence. In future, they will form the basis of ECHPs.

It follows Ofsted’s renewed framework from November, which shifted more focus on inclusion in colleges for the first time.

Post-16 transition planning to start earlier

DfE vowed to work with colleges and local authorities to design a “clear” approach to support transition from school to college to reduce the risk of SEND learners becoming NEET.

Schools, councils and post-16 providers will be asked to plan for transition needs to begin at least 12 months in advance to allow time to create bespoke learning packages.

“In doing so, they will ensure young people can choose a suitable study programme and are supported from day one through to further education,” DfE said.

From September 2029, subject to legislation, children and young people with an EHCP will have their needs assessed by local authorities at transition points, such as the end of primary school, secondary school and post-16, and either move onto a specialist provision package or ISPs.

Young people with EHCPs in mainstream settings at the point the legislation comes into force would retain them until the end of their current education phase. This in specialist settings will not be required to move to a mainstream setting unless they choose to.

Staff training

The consultation said colleges could be subject to new statutory duties to deliver a national inclusion training programme to all workers in the 0 to 25 system, not just specialist SEND staff.

This will be done through an amendment of the SEND code of practice. A separate public consultation on the proposed changes to the code will be launched after the government responds to this consultation.

Backed by £200 million over three years starting this September, FE staff will be trained on building on “best practice” to ensure learning is accessible.

DfE will also review the equivalents of the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) in colleges to examine how they can use their expertise “more strategically”.

Experts at hand

The reforms also revealed a £1.8 billion ‘experts at hand’ programme over the next three years, embedding educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists into schools and colleges.

The investment, most of which will be pumped into local authorities and integrated care boards, will be expected to improve access to the experts for general FE colleges and specialist post-16 colleges.

This programme will be available to learners who need the “targeted plus” level of support.

DfE acknowledged that each sector may need to “tailor” its approach.

“An alternative model may be more appropriate for colleges and localised post-16 providers given that their size and therefore commissioning capability is varied and often spread across multiple local authorities,” DfE said.

Inclusion bases

The consultation also detailed £3.7 billion capital investment by 2030 to create tens of thousands of new places for SEND learners in so-called “inclusion bases”.

These bases replace SEN units in schools and are meant to provide tailored learning environments and equipment for learners’ needs.

Colleges are included in the programme and will be able to access the funding to make their buildings more accessible.

Specialist settings cap

The government is also examining the prices that councils pay for SEND places in specialist settings after finding school places were “unreasonably” high compared to state special schools – £62,000 vs £24,000 in respectively in 2024-25.

Ministers will for the first time cap the fees independent special schools can charge councils for provision, with the education secretary vowing to “crack down on providers who put profit before children”.

DfE said it will legislate to require new reporting duties on financial transparency and give new powers to ministers to refuse opening new independent special schools.

Officials added they are considering what changes would be required to ensure special post-16 institutions are “treated in a similar way”.

SEND reform must mean better support, not fewer rights

Reforming the education system for children and young people with SEND is a gigantic task because it requires reforms to so many aspects of education.

Parents are understandably nervous, and many will be anxious that change will mean a reduction in their rights. We need to ensure that the reforms truly improve the system for every learner and aren’t just a way to cut costs.

The reforms set out in this week’s schools white paper are aimed at addressing those challenges head-on, recognising that the status quo isn’t good enough and ensuring no child loses their legal rights. The changes it sets out are well-thought through and have a real chance of making the entire 0-25 SEND system fairer, more effective and more efficient.

The fundamental shift from a system which negotiates funding for every individual towards one where schools and colleges are funded to have the capacity to meet the varied needs of all our children and young people is a game changer. The proposed new individual support plans (ISPs) will be vital in determining personal support and learning needs. But they should not be used to determine the distribution of overall funds for a college to have capacity to meet all those individual needs.

The current system has been a very poor driver for planning the complex mix of support and specialist services needed by children and young people. That’s a big part of the failing of the current system, where parents fight tooth and nail for education health and care plans (EHCPs) and too many families are let down.  

Overall support needs are broadly predictable in any group of students across an area so the funding should reflect that, instead of treating student with SEND as a surprising exception. So, it is good to see the reforms proposing more accurate information about all students with SEND at all ages, not just those who have formal plans now, coupled with a more strategic approach to planning and funding that provision. That way, we can be confident that colleges will have the support in place to meet every young person’s needs.

It’s easier to say than to implement, of course, and we must protect the brilliant work colleges already do. The new funding mechanisms, revenue and capital need to underpin the large proportion of learners with SEND in mainstream college programmes, as well as those in college specialist provision. There are some particularly tricky issues for the 19-25 age group; if some are to remain in education without an EHCP they would be funded via the adult skills fund which is already overstretched and has lower funding rates.  We need to do more work with officials on how many young people this would be, and how they will be impacted.

Our work with ministers and officials over the last year has given me optimism that these post-16 challenges are well understood. There’s a commitment to work with us to address them.

The reforms are likely to require more changes in schools than colleges, because inclusion of learners with SEND is generally lower in schools, resulting in soaring numbers of children placed in specialist provision in recent years. That’s where costs have soared, rather than in colleges. 

The reforms also need to result in better transitions, particularly at age 16. The two or three years our young people spend at college are pivotal for dictating their adult lives. At the moment, transitions into college are often poorly planned and inconsistent, even though we can see very successful transitions in some places. All too often college students slip through the net with adult social care and health services and much more needs to be done to encourage employers to recognise the skills that young people with SEND can bring with them when they transition out to work.

The reforms are designed to ensure that the specialist services needed from age 0 to 25 are secured and available for all, from speech and language therapists to visual impairment specialists. Colleges will want to work closely with schools in their areas to ensure these specialist services are available across the whole age range.

The changes proposed are ambitious, necessary and should result in a better system. There’s no doubt it will take careful planning and close engagement to get this right, to align curriculum reforms, teacher training and specialist support, and the role of local authorities. However, there is also a huge resource to draw on, with thousands of college staff bringing their incredible expertise and passionate commitment to inclusion. And it’s good that the government views this as a long term plan to build a better system for generations to come.

It can be done and we need to help make it happen. The current system is not good enough. We need to get behind these reforms and make sure that they genuinely improve young people’s journeys through the education system so that they can work, thrive and play their full part in society.

As SEND needs rise, apprenticeships face an inclusion reality check

New analysis of individualised learner record (ILR) data shows that the proportion of apprentices declaring a learning difficulty, disability or difference (LLDD) has increased steadily over the past five academic years, from 11.9 per cent in 2020-21 to 16.1 per cent in 2024-25.

That is a 50 per cent increase in the number of apprentices requiring additional learning support compared to five years ago. For providers, this is a material shift that directly affects staffing, delivery models and quality assurance. The challenge is whether the apprenticeship system is realistically resourced to support learners, particularly in the context of Ofsted’s renewed emphasis on ensuring that no learner is left behind.

Better identification, broader need

There are good reasons why LLDD rates are rising. Increased awareness of neurodiversity, reduced stigma around disclosure and improvements in initial assessment all play a role. Many providers have invested in improving screening and learner conversations at the start of programmes.

In 2024-25, learning difficulties accounted for the largest share of declared needs, with 8.1 per cent of apprentices identifying a learning difficulty as their primary LLDD. Dyslexia remains the most common condition at 5.5 per cent.

More notable, however, is the growth in areas historically under-identified. Apprentices reporting autism spectrum disorders have increased more than threefold since 2020-21, as have those reporting other learning difficulties not otherwise specified.

This suggests that providers are seeing a wider range of needs that require flexibility, resources and time. As inspection frameworks place greater emphasis on inclusion, personalisation and progress for all learners, the operational implications of this shift become even more significant.

Pressure concentrated at level 2

While LLDD rates have increased across all apprenticeship levels, the impact is not evenly spread. At Level 2, 20.9 per cent of apprentices now report a primary LLDD need, up from 15.2 per cent five years ago. By comparison, LLDD rates at level 7 remain below 12 per cent but are increasing at the same rate.

For providers, this matters because level 2 apprentices are more likely to require structured support, confidence-building and regular intervention. Rising LLDD prevalence at this level places additional pressure on providers, particularly where funding does not reflect the intensity of support required.

Many providers are responding creatively by adjusting caseloads, redesigning reviews and investing in staff training, but these responses are often constrained by limited resources. In an inspection landscape that increasingly looks at how well providers support disadvantaged learners; capacity pressures are not just operational, they are strategic.

Identification is improving but delivery challenges remain

Apprenticeship funding rules require providers to screen learners for learning support needs as part of initial assessment. Structured screening tools, including platforms such as Aptem Assess, are helping providers identify previously undisclosed needs earlier.

Embedding support into day-to-day delivery by adjusting reviews, tailoring learning activities, and coordinating employer expectations takes time and skilled staff. In a system under cost pressure, this is often the hardest part to sustain. Yet this is precisely the area where inspectors will look for evidence that identification leads to meaningful support and measurable progress.

With LLDD rates rising, providers are expected not only to identify needs, but to demonstrate how those needs are actively supported and reviewed, and how they translate into sustained progress. If we want apprenticeships to remain an inclusive and credible route into skilled employment, learning support needs to be factored into how programmes are funded, staffed and evaluated, particularly as the sector works to uphold a clear commitment that no learner is left behind.

Planning for the learners we now serve

The apprenticeship system is becoming more neurodiverse. Providers are adapting at pace, but adaptation alone cannot bridge a growing gap between learner need and system capacity.

The conversation now needs to move beyond awareness. If apprenticeships are to work for an increasingly diverse learner base, the system must recognise what that support costs in time, training and people. The learners have changed. Providers are responding. The question is whether the system will change with them, and whether it will truly deliver on the ambition that no learner is left behind.

DfE to fund maternity pay improvements in colleges

Colleges are set to receive additional funding to improve maternity pay for their staff, the Department for Education has announced.

The plans come ahead of the schools white paper, due on Monday, which will commit to double the period of full maternity pay for teachers and leaders from four weeks to eight weeks from academic year 2027-28.

Unlike maintained schools, the government has no formal role in setting pay and conditions for staff in further education colleges, meaning maternity policies vary by institution.

However additional funding “commensurate to investment in schools” will be paid to colleges to “support them to improve the maternity offer for their staff”, the DfE said in a statement.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Having met so many incredible teachers and staff in schools and colleges, I’ve heard how tough it can be juggling between a career you love and starting a family, and I’m concerned that too many women feel they don’t have the support they need to make the right choice for them.”

It’s not yet clear how much funding colleges will receive, or how it will be calculated.

It comes amid government efforts to improve teacher retention, which is expected to be a theme in next week’s schools white paper alongside major reforms to the SEND system.

Poor retention of further education teachers was flagged in the post-16 education and skills white paper, published in October, citing research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies showing 60 per cent leave in their first five years.

While it did not suggest improvements to maternity pay, it did propose bonus payments to teachers in shortage subjects, a professional development framework and increased 16 to 19 funding to help colleges retain staff.

This is not the first time the government has sought to provide parallel funding for colleges alongside a schools-focussed announcement.

Colleges have previously been given additional funding alongside school teacher pay awards. However the funding for these have been allocated through colleges’ 16 to 19 funding, meaning colleges with larger adult education and apprenticeship provision lose out. Ministers at the time “encouraged” colleges to spend this funding on staff pay, but they have no power to force them.

The department has not yet confirmed how this upcoming funding towards maternity pay will be allocated or whether it will be ringfenced.

Apprenticeship reform: An opportunity to future‑proof skills and unlock career pathways

Apprenticeship reforms promise to simplify processes, reduce bureaucracy, and reflect the realities of modern work and learning. The education sector now has a unique opportunity to build something more accessible, more responsive, with a renewed focus on quality.

At City & Guilds, apprenticeships and quality have always been central to their mission. In September 2025, they marked an important milestone: over 100,000 apprenticeship end‑point assessments completed across industries including construction, engineering, digital, and health and social care. Behind those numbers are thousands of people unlocking career pathways, developing industry‑relevant expertise, and future‑proofing their skills in an ever‑changing world. This is apprenticeships at their best.

Rising confidence in apprenticeships

Apprenticeships have evolved far beyond their traditional image. Once seen as a vocational route for a handful of industries, they now range across multiple industries and are highly competitive. Colleges and training providers report growing appreciation among learners for the blend of practical experience and classroom learning. Employers, too, increasingly view apprenticeships as a vital solution to address skills shortages.

In the 2024/25 academic year, apprenticeship starts rose by 4.1% to 353,500, while participation increased to 761,480 learners. Higher-level apprenticeships are booming too: Level 6 and 7 starts jumped by 20.4%, now accounting for 17.1% of all starts. It shows clear confidence in the apprenticeship model across the board.
The reforms aim to build on this success by reducing bureaucracy and giving providers greater control over assessment. This means more flexibility for providers and a better learner experience.

Challenges and opportunities ahead

City & Guilds’ engagement with providers and employers highlights a strong sense of optimism about apprenticeship reforms, as long as quality remains central.
Employers welcome assessment approaches grounded in real‑world working environments to produce apprentices who are more “job‑ready” and better equipped for long‑term success.

Providers, meanwhile, appreciate the shift towards greater internal assessment. Many already have strong quality assurance, trained assessors and established digital processes, positioning them well for the transition. They point to benefits such as more control over scheduling, potential for reduced costs, and a calmer, more familiar assessment environment for learners.

While the sector is enthusiastic, there is recognition that the move to internal assessment may present challenges for smaller or less established awarding organisations (AOs). Adapting to the new requirements, particularly the need for robust quality assurance and digital capabilities, may stretch resources. Delivering consistent, high‑quality assessment at national level demands infrastructure, expertise and investment.

Why an expert skills partner matters

Awarding organisations have a central role to play in ensuring the success of the reforms. As occupational standards align across qualifications and apprenticeships, providers need partners who can help them navigate this shift.

As a leader in qualification and apprenticeship delivery, City & Guilds brings the scale and experience to help providers adapt with confidence, offering an integrated service that supports at every stage.

By working with a single awarding organisation across both qualifications and apprenticeships, providers can eliminate duplication, streamline delivery and benefit from a more joined‑up learner experience. As learners increasingly move between qualification‑based routes and apprenticeships, the value of an experienced AO that understands the full skills ecosystem becomes even more significant.

City & Guilds work with employers and providers to build programmes that are industry‑aligned and designed for long‑term success. Whether it’s future‑proofing skills, reducing administrative pressure or creating smoother learner journeys, they are committed to helping deliver pathways that truly change lives.

Embrace change with City & Guilds

The reforms represent a pivotal moment – a chance to shape an apprenticeship system that is better equipped to unlock career opportunities for learners of all ages. Providers and employers who embrace this shift, supported by partners with the expertise and capacity to guide them, will be at the forefront of delivering high‑quality, future‑focused apprenticeships.

City & Guilds is here to help you lead that change. Working together to build a system that not only meets today’s challenges but equips tomorrow’s workforce with the skills to thrive.

Find out more at cityandguilds.com/apprenticeship-reform

Welsh college pulls plug on England apprenticeships

One of Wales’s largest apprenticeship providers has confirmed it will withdraw from delivering apprenticeships in England.

Gower College Swansea currently supports just 27 apprentices in England – down from 45 at the time of a recent Ofsted inspection in November – and will now “teach out” the remainder by summer 2027.

The move comes after a report by the inspectorate criticised the college’s small English operation, delivered mostly online, for too many withdrawals and slow progress made by apprentices.

A spokesperson for the college told FE Week the decision to exit England’s apprenticeship market was, however, made before the inspection and was a “strategic” move taken by a new leadership team due to the provision’s “relatively small scale”.

From suspension to good to needs attention

Gower College Swansea trains 2,200 Welsh apprentices through the country’s ‘Medr Apprenticeship Commissioning Programme Wales Framework’, according to its latest financial statements that boast of award-winning delivery and achievement rates above 70 per cent for the past three years.

The college made the rare move to become a non-England based provider that delivers apprenticeships in England in October 2017, keeping its operation across the border at around 50 apprentices annually.

Its England-based delivery, which requires a different ruleset to Wales, initially struggled and starts were suspended by the Department for Education in 2019 after an Ofsted early monitoring visit found the college making ‘insufficient progress’ across the board.

The suspension was lifted after the college significantly improved and Ofsted judged the college as ‘good’ overall in 2021.

Gower College Swansea was criticised by the watchdog again in a report published last week under the inspectorate’s new report card approach.

Out of five areas judged, Ofsted said the college was hitting the ‘expected standard’ in two areas – inclusion and participation and development – and ‘needs attention’ in three areas – leadership and governance, achievement, and curriculum and teaching.

Safeguarding standards were met.

Gower College Swansea’s overall apprenticeship achievement rate for 2023-24 in England was 55 per cent, against a national average of 61 per cent. It delivers a range of standards between levels 2 to 5 in sectors like manufacturing and management.

Ofsted’s report said: “Too many apprentices in England do not make expected progress or complete their qualifications. 

“Although achievement rates improved on a few apprenticeships in 2024-25 and were high, the proportion of apprentices who achieved across other apprenticeships remained very low.”

It added that tutors and assessors “do not support the many apprentices with low levels of English and mathematics well enough to substantially improve these skills”.

Gower College Swansea does not have a base in England so delivers training to apprentices online, but with additional delivery supplied in person at employer partners’ premises predominantly across the south of England and the Midlands.

Ofsted criticised the college for a lack of routine meetings between apprentices, their assessor and line manager to review progress and plan learning together. 

“Although they can access online college services and resources, most choose not to, citing time pressures,” inspectors found, adding that “a few” apprentices “struggle to use the online system that enables them to track their progress”. 

The watchdog also said some apprentices do not receive the required protected off-the-job training time needed to complete their learning activities.

New leaders new ideas

Over the past year Gower College Swansea has brought in a new CEO and principal who have now decided to end delivery of apprenticeships in England.

Ofsted’s report noted that following a quality review, the college’s recently appointed senior leadership team “quickly and correctly identified most of the long-standing failings in the English apprenticeship provision” and implemented “comprehensive quality-improvement actions”.

However, sustained impact of the team’s actions was “not evident at the time of the inspection” and the team had not identified “shortcomings in the quality of training and support for apprentices with low English and mathematics skills”.

A Gower College Swansea spokesperson told FE Week: “Given the relatively small scale of the college’s English apprenticeship activity, leaders and governors made a strategic decision, prior to the inspection, to teach-out apprenticeship provision in England and to focus fully on supporting our existing apprentices to complete successfully. 

“This decision enables the college to concentrate its expertise and resources on its core Welsh provision in the future, where we are delivering strong outcomes for learners and employers.”

Apprenticeships were never just for the young – history proves it

Policymakers in Whitehall might do well to lift their gaze and consider a quiet irony: much of the Palladian grandeur of their surroundings was designed by an older, career-hopping apprentice.

Inigo Jones was in his thirties when he started to apprentice under Renaissance masters in architectural principles. He had already switched careers several times, working as a clothmaker, a joiner, and a theatrical set designer.  He was thirty-five years old when he produced his first architectural design, practically ancient by seventeenth century standards.

During these times of seismic reforms in the apprenticeship system, I find it useful to recall the ‘first principles’ of an apprenticeship. Contrary to Alan Milburn’s insistence that an apprenticeship should be “an entry opportunity for young people, not in-work training for older people”, the early guild system did not view apprenticeships as a one-off teenage intervention. It was a structured pathway into mastery often stretching well into adulthood. Apprenticing was occupationally anchored and deeply embedded in real economic activity.

Notions of a modern apprenticeship have shifted expectations, but the dual principles of developing mastery and economic capability should remain intact.

That’s why calls for restrictions on higher-level and older-age apprenticeships are historically illiterate, economically short-sighted and strategically dangerous. The political re-imagining of the apprenticeship ‘brand’, with shorter durations, apprenticeship units, and foundation apprenticeships, already risks dilution of the first principles, but “streamlining” the apprenticeship offer towards young people and lower-level training, and away from higher-level apprenticeships being taken-up by older workers risks degrading the apprenticeship brand even further, diminishing true career utility and effectively introducing a form of labour market warehousing where young people are “stored” in low-level training schemes to keep them off the unemployment statistics, without any intent to build their long-term value.

The proposals are an understandable political instinct as NEET (not in employment, education or training) figures for 16-24 year olds soar to decade-high levels.

But apprenticeships are fundamentally a tool for professional development, not a social policy safety net. Lately, I’ve talked to employer partners across hospitality, retail, and care sectors who agree. These sectors are struggling with era-defining pressures of labour shortages, razor-thin margins, soaring national insurance costs and policy-induced hiring paralysis, and right now they are desperate for one thing – workforce stability. This means their priority is not just attracting new workers into service industry jobs but holding onto them, and nurturing them into experts and leaders. In normal times, that responsibility may fall squarely on employers’ own budgets. But these are not normal times, and after all, the levy is employer-funded, and employers want to use it to meet the real skills needs of their businesses, not to compensate for policy failings elsewhere.

By focusing policy on the starting line of employment, the government may be heading towards a catastrophic failure of foresight which prioritises volume over value; a system which creates what economists like to call the ‘progression paradox’. The paradox being that the more government policy obsesses over “getting people in,” the more it structurally prevents them from “getting on,” turning what should be an escalator of opportunity into a low-wage, low-skill economy.

Admittedly the crash in under-25 starts is concerning. But I’ve heard no evidence that restricting older learners will automatically increase youth starts. If higher-level pathways are removed, employers are unlikely to magically redirect funds and efforts to recruiting and training more 16 – 18-year-olds; for one, there is a finite pool and a workforce that is aging demographically. Instead, employers may simply underinvest in training or return funds unused. The risk is that the system shrinks rather than rebalances.

The increase in apprentices aged 25 plus reflects structural shifts in the complexion of the labour market. Approximately four million people in the UK have changed careers since the pandemic, with research from recruitment company Michael Page consistently identifying thirty-one as the most common age for a complete career pivot. Covid triggered a mass exodus of workers aged 50-64. But by 2025, the cost of living crisis forced many to return to the workforce in entirely new roles, with many bringing experience beyond ‘entry level’.

Ultimately, by stripping away the opportunity for these older workers to reinvent themselves and for younger workers to rise into leadership, we aren’t solving a crisis; we are merely capping our nation’s potential.

An older apprentice built the original palace of Whitehall. We should be building a system that rewards aspiration at every age.

University hit by seven-figure apprenticeship clawback

A university has been forced to repay £1.385 million in apprenticeship funding after government investigators found widespread missing evidence of apprentices’ eligibility, off-the-job training, and employer co-investment contributions.

Birmingham-based Aston University was hit with the clawback after a Department for Education investigation found 11 breaches of apprenticeship funding rules between 2020-21 and 2023-24.

The university is one of the largest university apprenticeship providers in the country and received a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in 2024 when it was training over 1,000 apprentices.

According to a new investigation outcome report, the DfE’s then-Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a probe in October 2024 after it identified concerns with the “validity” of some of the university’s claims and “accuracy” of submitted data.

The report, which is lists off generic rule breaches, found the university failed to check eligibility of all learners and to retain evidence of their eligibility as well as completed and signed apprenticeship agreements.

Aston University also failed to accurately record the start and end dates for some apprentices, could not demonstrate apprentices were involved in active learning throughout the apprenticeship or provide accurate off-the-job training records.

Investigators additionally found the university did not retain evidence to show apprentices were exempt from functional skills or that they were undergoing training, lacked evidence of employer co-investment contributions being collected, and could not prove that assessment of prior learning and experience was conducted before apprentices started their programme.

Aston University has already repaid the £1.385 million that the government said was overclaimed and has “commenced” implementing improvements.

The university has not faced any suspension on starts or contract termination.

A spokesperson for the university said the report concerned “legacy issues” and prior to the government’s review the university “commissioned an external audit firm to produce a report and action plan which has been wholly implemented”.

“The university through its own governance, audit and risk processes undertook to rectify all legacy issues by also engaging external expert oversight for transparency and accuracy,” the spokesperson added.

Aston University has been offering higher level apprenticeships since 2017 in business, healthcare, digital, engineering, and logistics. It is also a lead partner of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute of Technology (IoT).

The university recorded an overall achievement rate of 57.5 per cent in 2023-24.

Aston University’s spokesperson added: “We are committed to excellence in all aspects of our degree apprenticeship provision that has Ofsted good assessment, and this year our BSc (Hons) digital and technology solutions degree apprenticeship was awarded tech industry gold accreditation in recognition of its effectiveness in preparing learners for successful careers in the digital and technology sector.”

Greater Lincolnshire set to cut ESOL courses from 2027, Reform UK mayor confirms

Greater Lincolnshire’s mayor will press ahead with plans to scrap publicly funded English language courses from 2027, despite a majority of consultation responses opposing the move.

Papers published ahead of a Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) meeting next week have confirmed Reform UK mayor Andrea Jenkyns wants to withdraw funding for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision through the adult skills fund (ASF) from August 2027.

Jenkyns said the courses don’t benefit the “native” Lincolnshire people who elected her and plans to redirect funding to “more inclusive” English literacy and numeracy courses.

But results from a consultation run over Christmas show that almost three-quarters of the 375 people and organisations that responded disagreed or strongly disagreed with the proposals.

Anonymised comments raised concerns that ESOL is a “lifeline” that prevents non-English speakers from being “effectively excluded” from society and warned that cutting funding could “reduce the pool of skilled workers” available to the regions strategic industries such as port logistics.

Supportive comments focused on the benefits of redirecting funding towards literacy, which “affects life chances”.

An analysis included from Lincoln College, the largest ESOL provider in the region, argued that 90 per cent of learners who achieve the course move into positive destinations such as employment or further study, contributing £1,700 per year more to the local economy than they would if they had not.

Lincoln College’s ESOL learner statistics for 2023-24 and 2024-25 suggest that about a third of its students came from Ukraine, with other common nationalities including Turkey, Bulgaria and Afghanistan.

The decision, which is due to be debated and formally approved at a combined authority meeting next week (February 25), will “end funding” for ESOL courses in 2027 and re-introduce a three-year residency rule for learners to receive free or subsidised courses in August this year, and commits to designing a “new literacy qualification” to help adults into employment.

An impact assessment admits that while mayor Jenkyns’ move to “free up” the £1 million spend on ESOL each year in favour of literacy will offer non-English speakers “integrated learning experiences”, the plans may also negatively impact people from refugees and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

As a mitigation, the authority said “delaying” the defunding a year later than planned to 2027 will allow time for the training sector to “adjust their provision to reduce the impact” and to develop a new curriculum or syllabus that is “open to all”.

Responding to the consultation, GLCCA noted that around half of consultation responses were from people “directly involved” in the sector, or experts and specialists, who are “more motivated” to raise concerns.

The residency rule, which could affect the estimated 5,800 people who move to Greater Lincolnshire each year, will be mitigated through an exemption for armed forces personal, refugees, victims of domestic abuse, and people who have moved to England under the Ukraine, Afghan, and Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa schemes.

Other updates to Greater Lincolnshire’s draft adult skills fund rules, which will apply when adult skills is devolved in August, include funding of up to £58 per learner for Construction Skills and Certification Scheme labourers’ cards for unemployed learners and “enhanced support” for young care leavers worth up to £1,500 per learner.

Paul Sceeny, co-chair of the National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults, said: “A delay is obviously welcome, if only because it averts an immediate crisis for providers with the risk of significant job losses. 

“Nonetheless, worrying it is that the Authority still doesn’t seem to appreciate the vital importance of dedicated ESOL provision to community integrity and economic prosperity.

“A further year might provide more space for all of us who understand and value the importance of language education to press our case, as well as enabling providers to develop more extensive contingency plans.”

Diana Sutton, director of the Bell Foundation, an ESOL-focused charity, said Greater Lincolnshire’s decision was disappointing.

She added: “Suggesting that learners acquire English language through online, private, or voluntary provision will not fill the gap.

“Furthermore, the proposed one ‘literacy qualification for all’ cannot address the specific language learning needs of ESOL learners.

“Literacy and language learning are fundamentally different with literacy provision designed to meet the needs of first-language English speakers to improve their reading and writing skills.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “I’m concerned that the decision to stop funding ESOL comes before the work to co-create a new curriculum to replace it. If the intention is to support the residents of Greater Lincolnshire to achieve greater proficiency in English, so that they can be active citizens and secure good jobs, then I’d like to see that curriculum work conclude before any decision to simply stop funding ESOL.”

GLCCA was approached for comment.