Legal win fails to spark Catholic sixth form academy bids  

None of England’s Catholic sixth form colleges have applied to become academies – despite a church campaign that forced a legal change two years ago.

Nearly all secular sixth form colleges have been able to academise and enjoy the luxury of not paying VAT since the then-chancellor George Osborne changed tax rules in 2015.

But for a group of 13 Catholic-run sixth form colleges, it took another eight years before the law was amended to allow them to academise while maintaining protections in areas of curriculum, acts of worship and governance.

Since 2023, however, Catholic sixth form college principals have faced calls from bishops to join mega multi-academy trusts based on diocese boundaries and designed for schools.

The Catholic college leaders – responsible for educating about 30,000 students across England – appear unwilling to give up their independence by joining the church-run MATs.

Catholic Education Service director Paul Barber, who personally called for the Department for Education to close the “legal anomaly” that excluded Catholic colleges, admitted: “Due to the block on Catholic sixth form colleges becoming academies, diocesan strategies were developed without their inclusion.”

One option now being proposed is for Catholic sixth forms to form their own MAT which would be better suited to the “specialised” 16-to-19 education they offer.

‘A more flexible approach’

The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), which represents the Catholic sixth form colleges, is calling on some dioceses – regional branches of the church responsible for education – to “adopt a more flexible approach” to colleges and recognise the unique “scale and complexity”.

Although Catholic sixth forms and their leaders have a high level of autonomy via the standalone governance structure of a college, diocesan bishops have ultimate control through the appointment of governors. Diocesan trustees also usually own the college building and grounds.

Those with knowledge of the Catholic education system told FE Week the 2023 rule change was too recent to expect any colleges to have launched conversion plans.

Labour’s withdrawal of a £25,000 academy conversion grant, and proposed tightening of rules on academy accountability, also suggests the party is less open to academy conversion than the previous government. 

Dioceses’ mega MAT plan

Most Catholic dioceses in England are pursuing trust growth plans that aim to move their remaining local authority-maintained schools into bishop-backed trusts.

But these mega-merger plans, launched in 2022 following the publication of a Conservative government white paper, were designed without Catholic sixth form colleges in mind.

A SFCA spokesperson said college leaders had “little appetite” for these rapidly progressing plans which dioceses had found “difficult to amend”.

They added: “We’d like to see some dioceses adopt a more flexible approach to conversion that reflects the scale and complexity of sixth form colleges and the unique role they play in the local education landscape.”

But the Catholic Education Service, which advises and represents diocesan education services, told FE Week its MAT merger plans were already “being reviewed” to ensure sixth form colleges are “part of the wider family of Catholic schools rather than standalone institutions”.

Barber said: “As with all schools and colleges seeking to become academies, the Catholic sector is developing its strategies to respond to the recent changes to the support packages that were previously available.”

Protect unique status

Catholic sixth form colleges have similar levels of autonomy to standalone sixth form and FE colleges.

The 13 colleges appear to be thriving academically and financially, despite facing the same challenges navigating complex funding rules and shrinking budgets that have pushed many colleges into joining large groups or converting to academy status.

As a result, leaders such as Martin Twist, principal of St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College in Ladbroke Grove, west London, said his college was seeking an academy model that is “right for us”.

He added: “Academies are probably the right option for most institutions – but not at any cost.

“It’s about protecting our culture, organisation and staff, and making sure what we do is the right thing for our students.

“The main thing for me is all parties are open to dialogue and open to academisation, but because of the additional structural requirements of working across government, individual dioceses and canon law, and the Catholic Education Service, it’s just going to take more time to work through those challenges.”

MAT for sixth forms

Twist said some leaders had floated the idea of a national or regional Catholic sixth form college MAT that would build on strong existing relationships.

He told FE Week: “We work in close partnership with each other through the Association of Catholic Sixth Form Colleges, we understand each other and are all committed to the distinctive nature of Catholic Sixth Form colleges.”

“We all do the same thing, we understand each other.”

Most Catholic sixth forms are situated in London and the north west of England.

But FE Week understands that a specialist sixth form MAT crossing several dioceses would be difficult to deliver as bishops have a high degree of independence in how they choose to run their diocese, including education.

A cross-diocese MAT would present complications around who appoints trustees and holds responsibility for buildings.

DfE to relax functional skills rules for apprentices

English and maths functional skills rules will be relaxed for adult apprentices, FE Week understands.

The government is expected to soften controversial exit requirements following years of lobbying from the sector.

Under current rules, apprentices must achieve level 1 English and maths functional skills qualifications if they are on a level 2 apprenticeship and did not pass the subjects at GCSE. Similarly, if a learner is on a level 3 or higher apprenticeship, they must achieve functional skills at level 2 to complete their training.

Following the shake-up – expected imminently – it is understood the rules will become optional for apprentices aged 19 and older. Adults without an English or maths GCSE pass can still opt to take the tests but will be able to do so without needing to pass as an exit requirement.

The rules are unlikely to change for 16 to 18 year olds.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We recognise that employers want more flexibility on apprenticeships, and we are looking into what improvements can be made to break down barriers to opportunity and help more skilled workers drive growth.”

Full details are expected to be published shortly.

Reformed functional skills qualifications were launched in 2019 with revised content and assessment requirements. The aim was to give the qualifications greater credibility with employers.

Functional skills pass rates currently sit at around 75 per cent, down from 84 per cent before the pandemic and before the reformed qualifications were introduced.

No other qualification, such as A-levels and T Levels, have English and maths as an exit requirement. However, 16 to 18-year-old students without a pass in the subjects must work towards them as a condition of their place being funded.

Only around half of apprentices successfully complete their apprenticeship each year and functional skills qualifications exit requirements are constantly flagged among the biggest barriers for apprentice dropouts.

In December, research by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers found three-quarters of apprenticeship vacancy adverts blocked applicants who had not already achieved a grade 4 pass in GCSE English and maths.

Former Labour shadow skills minister Toby Perkins committed to reviewing functional skills exit requirements while in opposition in March 2023.

Labour’s current DfE ministerial team has hinted it would reform functional skills since last year’s election victory.

Ofsted report cards: We’ll face more pressure, not less, say FE staff

Four in five further education leaders and teachers fear Ofsted’s new report cards will heap more pressure on the sector, a snap FE Week readers’ poll has suggested.

The inspectorate unveiled proposals this week to replace current inspection reports with a new system it deems will “provide a more nuanced view of a provider’s strengths and areas for improvement” from 2025-26.

While FE colleges and providers will no longer be subjected to overall headline grades, they will be judged on a colour-coded five-point grading scale from “exemplary” to “causing concern” across up to 20 areas – compared to a maximum of 10 under the current system.

Inspectors will place a bigger focus on staff wellbeing, workload, inclusion and achievement rate data.

Chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said: “We hope this more balanced, fairer approach will reduce the pressure on professionals working in education, as well as giving them a much clearer understanding of what we will be considering on inspection.”

But early critics have warned the increase in graded areas for FE providers will inevitably create a “greater risk of error” which is likely to lead to more complaints.

An FE Week survey of 250 sector leaders and teachers found 80 per cent think the reforms will actually increase pressure placed upon them by Ofsted, while just 15 per cent feel there will be a positive change.

One anonymous comment said: “All it achieves is one-word judgments in many more categories. The plan does not reduce pressure on anyone and the public will still find it difficult (if not more so) to understand. Feels like we are going backwards with all this.”

Ofsted’s reforms follow a “Big Listen” exercise that was prompted by a coroner’s ruling in 2023 that an inspection of Caversham Primary School in Reading “contributed” to the suicide of its headteacher, Ruth Perry.

Darren Hankey, principal of Hartlepool College, said: “I’m not sure what happened in the Big Listen, but it seems as though no listening took place and we’ve now potentially got a system which is more complex, less reliable and less valid than the one it replaced.

“The new system will do exactly what Ofsted says it doesn’t want to happen – add to leaders’ and staff workloads. At a time when we have staff recruitment and retention issues; this is just not on.”

Ofsted proposes to judge FE providers on seven headline areas: leadership, inclusion, safeguarding, curriculum, developing teaching and training, achievement, and participation and development.

The latter four areas will also receive one of the judgments for each of the following types of provision offered: education programmes for young people, provision for learners with high needs, apprenticeships and adult learning programmes.

Colleges will also continue to be judged on whether their contribution to meeting skills needs is ‘limited’, ‘reasonable’, or ‘strong’.

So for an FE college offering courses to young people, adults, apprentices and learners with high needs, this would see the number of grades they receive double from 10 to 20.

As well as headline grades for each area, Ofsted will publish short descriptions summarising their findings.

Half of the respondents to FE Week’s survey disputed Ofsted’s view that this approach would provide more nuanced information and put learners first.

Forty-five per cent said the proposals were “bad” for FE and skills, while 39 per cent said the reforms won’t make a difference.

One anonymous inspection nominee in an independent training provider said the plans were “a good idea in principle but too complicated with far too many categories”.

Gemma Baker, a senior policy lead for the Association of Colleges who is also an Ofsted inspector, said: “We do have concerns that the proposals will double the number of judgments made in a single inspection. This inevitably creates a greater risk of error which will make the post-inspection and complaints processes even more important.

“We are also concerned that the school and FE categories have diverged more in a way that could obscure proper judgments about 16-to-19 education quality.”

Hankey said the “biggest elephant in the room” regarding Ofsted was its “lack of reliability and validity”.

He added a “simpler approach” would be to report on what a college “does well, what a college needs to improve and, if serious concerns are found, stick around to help the college get better”.

£16k legal bill blow as apprentice assessor’s £50k fine upheld

Ofqual has stood by its decision to fine an apprenticeship assessment organisation that challenged a £50,000 penalty – and lumped additional legal costs of almost £16,000 on top.

Qualifications for Industry (QFI) owner Richard McClelland had vowed not to pay the charge and shut down the firm after claiming the regulator forced him out of the apprenticeships market.

He disputed the fine when it was issued in October but Ofqual’s internal enforcement panel upheld the decision this week.

QFI, a specialist construction end-point assessment organisation, became dormant in March after surrendering Ofqual recognition following a six-month probe into its capacity and delivery.

Ofqual claimed QFI breached a special condition imposed in 2021 which ruled no more than 200 learners could be registered to take its qualifications at any one time, and a maximum of 200 learners could take assessments in any 12-month period.

QFI did not dispute volumes were breached but alleged the regulator misled staff into believing the special condition had been lifted. 

The company also argued the 200 cap only applied to the qualifications and apprenticeships it first gained recognition for, not the many other courses it was recognised for following later expansion requests.

Ofqual reviewed further representations in December but ruled QFI’s “non-compliance” was “deliberate” – the company allegedly chose not to cap the number of registered learners “due to the impact compliance would have on its profitability”.

The enforcement panel said there was “no proper basis for QFI to presume a decision to approve the expansion request meant the special condition had been lifted or varied, in the absence of any notification from Ofqual”.

It added the panel “remains of the view that QFI either wilfully and knowingly breached the special condition, or was grossly negligent if it in fact assumed at any stage the special condition no longer applied”.

McClelland had accused Ofqual of using QFI as a “sacrificial lamb” after the notice to fine revealed the enforcement panel had considered reducing the £50,000 fine in light of QFI’s decision to surrender recognition. But the regulator decided this was not “appropriate” as its “fining power” would be “less of a deterrent if awarding organisations believed they could operate in a non-compliant manner and surrender recognition to avoid a monetary penalty”.

This week’s judgment revealed Ofqual has also charged QFI legal costs of £15,846, taking its total bill to £65,846.

McClelland told FE Week: “For reasons unknown to me, Ofqual forced QFI out of business, then after the fact attempted to justify doing so. QFI has refuted all allegations made by Ofqual. 

“Now after Ofqual has concluded its internal process we will take advice on the independent legal options available to us.”

Fury as DfE cuts adult education budgets

Adult education budgets are set to be slashed by the government, FE Week understands, sparking a fierce backlash from FE leaders.

Mayors have been told to expect cuts of around 2 per cent to their adult skills fund and free courses for jobs allocations for the 2025-26 academic year.

FE Week understands the same reduction will also apply to non-devolved allocations as the Department for Education scrambles to find savings for the Treasury.

Sue Pember, policy director at Holex, said cutting funding after more than a decade of debilitating budget freezes “flies in the face of the change we were promised at the general election”.

She added: “This decision is anti-growth, and anti-opportunity.”

Prime minister Keir Starmer warned last month that the Treasury would be “ruthless” with public spending decisions ahead of this summer’s spending review to meet its fiscal rules by not increasing borrowing or raising taxes.

FE Week estimates the cut to adult education budgets will save the department around £30 million.

Unlike schools, further and adult education budgets are not protected within the Department for Education, making them vulnerable to Treasury demands for cutbacks.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, adult education funding rates have remained frozen for a decade, with learner numbers halving over that time. Year-on-year erosion of the value of per-student funding has made lower-level courses particularly unaffordable to deliver.

Mayoral combined authorities were told yesterday they would see reductions in their adult skills fund and free courses for jobs budgets of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent for 2025-26.

Over half, £828 million, of the DfE’s overall £1.4 billion adult skills fund is now devolved to mayors. This funding is topped up with funding for other programmes, including free courses for jobs and skills bootcamps. 

Department of missed opportunities

Sources across multiple combined authorities confirmed they were re-forecasting reduced adult skills budgets for the coming academic year.

Pember, whose organisation represents local authority-run adult education organisations, accused Labour of “ignoring the visible and dire consequences of cuts to adult education”.

She said: “The requirement for retraining has never been so important. Home Office ministers were only saying at the weekend that retraining would lower migration. We know DWP is looking to DfE to support nine million economically inactive people into work.

“Adult learning is core to growth, core to challenging the dangerous rise in populism, core to keeping all of us active and engaged in the economy.

“The secretary of state calls her department the “department for opportunity”, but the evidence points to a ‘department for missed opportunities’ on her watch.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “Skills will power our mission-driven government, which is why we are rewiring the system through Skills England and our overhauled Growth and Skills Levy, as well as funding Mayoral Combined Authorities to deliver schemes such as Skills Bootcamps.

“This government inherited an incredibly challenging fiscal context, including a £22bn black hole in the public finances, which is why we’ve had to take tough decisions to fix the foundations.

“We will work closely with mayors on our skills agenda to unlock opportunity, drive growth and deliver on our Plan for Change.”

Sending the wrong message

Adult education providers have battled rising costs with flat central government funding for years while reporting significant demand for courses in basic skills and English for Speakers of Others Languages (ESOL).

The WEA, one of England’s largest adult education providers, said more adult education cuts will “make it harder for people to thrive in life and work”.

It added: “The adult skills fund is key to supporting people into work as well as delivering crucial health and wellbeing outcomes. Cuts now will lead to greater spending need on benefits and the NHS.”

Last year’s autumn statement provided £300 million for further education, but the cash has been ringfenced for 16-to-19 education providers such as FE colleges.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “That [£300 million] decision looks less positive now that adult funding is being cut, because it sends the wrong message, just at the time employers in key sectors of the economy like construction are calling for growth in adult education, not cutbacks. 

“It also poses a risk for the delivery of the youth guarantee and the commitment to increase the employment rate to 80 per cent. Both of those ambitions need colleges to have the capacity to deliver training to help people into work.

“The decision to reduce adult skills funding across combined authorities for 2025-26 takes funding away from an already deeply diminished budget.”

Recent FE Week investigations have revealed that the DfE struggles to spend its non-devolved adult education budget. Meanwhile, mayors now return underspends on the free courses for jobs scheme. 

Association of Employment and Learning Providers deputy CEO Simon Ashworth said reducing adult education funding “shows a lack of appreciation of the importance and impact of adult education when setting funding priorities and will reduce opportunities for those who need support the most”.

Prevent referrals to be ‘routinely’ escalated

Referrals to the government’s anti-terrorism scheme for young people will be “routinely” escalated so more vulnerable youngsters get support. 

A rapid learning review of the Prevent programme comes after teenager Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls in Southport last summer, had been referred to the programme three times.

FE Week revealed last year that Prevent referrals in FE were at a record high – but fewer cases were getting escalated through the scheme.

Among the14 recommendations for improvements, reviewers said the programme should consider “routinely referring” reports involving children and those with “complex needs” to “channel panels”.

These multi-agency panels involve the local authority, counter-terrorism police, social services, and education and mental health professionals. 

They assess the most serious referrals and set up support to help young people “move away from harmful activities and ideas”.

Prevent closed all Rudakubana referrals before they reached a channel panel.

In a statement to parliament on Wednesday, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said the teenager’s case was closed “prematurely”, and that he should have been managed through a channel panel. 

Rudakubana was jailed last month for a minimum of 52 years after pleading guilty to three charges of murder.

Jarvis said the government had accepted the review’s findings, and “rapid action” had been taken to implement its recommendations.

Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times between December 2019 and April 2021, when he was 13 and 14. All the referrals were made by staff at his schools.

The first referral reported a teacher’s concerns about Rudakubana’s behaviour in school, internet searches on mass shootings, and his previous exclusion for carrying a knife. 

During an art lesson, the teacher reported Rudakubana had questioned why he was able to draw images of guns but not search them on the internet. He then asked: “Can we have a picture of a severed head then?”

On the same day, he was overheard talking to a pupil about watching videos of people hurting themselves. He also made a graphic comment about a drill bit breaking and killing someone.

Just a few days later, he returned to his previous school and attacked another pupil with a hockey stick. He was arrested.

Prevent officers asked Rudakubana about his search history, and the boy admitted to looking up shootings. Officials decided that he was not a terrorist risk and, while “extremely vulnerable”, support from other agencies was already in place.

The case was closed on Prevent systems on January 31. A second referral was made a day later. 

The designated safeguarding lead at Rudakubana’s school reported concerns from the boy’s previous school, where a pupil had flagged his social media posts about Libya and its then ruler Muammar Gaddafi. 

The case was closed two weeks later.

A third referral was made by a teacher in April. During an ICT lesson, Rudakubana had been searching the internet for “London bomb” and, according to the report, seemed to have a “passionate interest” in the Israel/Palestine conflict, MI5 and the IRA.

Again, officials decided that Rudakubana was not a terrorist threat. “[Rudakubana] is generally interested in history and current affairs,” they reported. “There are no extreme views, [and he] shows a developing level of critical thinking regarding different viewpoints.”

The case was closed.

Three years later, Rudakubana killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, at a Southport dance class.

Intervention lifted at pandemic-hit City Lit

England’s largest adult education institution has been released from government intervention over its finances after nearly three years. 
 
London’s City Literary Institute’s (CityLit) finances took a tumble following the pandemic because of its atypically high levels of self-funded students. A 27 per cent drop in income by 2020/21 triggered an ‘inadequate’ financial health assessment and financial notice to improve, placing the college in intervention in March 2022. 
 
Sustained improvements in the college’s finances since then have now resulted in the notice to improve being lifted. 
 
The FE Commissioner last visited the college in November and was satisfied it was moving in the right direction, though it was not “fully out of the woods yet”, according to CityLit principal and chief executive Mark Malcomson.
 
Malcomson said the college had recovered faster than planned, and praised his staff for “making sure we deliver an outstanding experience to our students at the same time as keeping costs under control”.
 
City Lit’s recovery plan was found to be based on “sound analysis” when it was first reviewed by the FE Commissioner in 2022. The college had no long-term debt, but successive pandemic lockdowns saw its fee income crash. Staffing was cut by between 10 and 15 per cent at the time. 
 
Despite the financial challenges, the college was judged ‘outstanding’, up from ‘good’, in an Ofsted inspection in July 2023.
 
Malcomson added: “It’s been a slog, and we’re still on a journey. But we’re delighted. We’re really pleased with the support we’ve had from the FE Commissioner and her team. Shelagh [Legrave] was involved right from the beginning. There was nothing accusatory; we were treated as ‘you’ve had unprecedented circumstances, and we’re here to help get you through’”.
 
This is the first college to come out of intervention in 2025, Legrave’s final year in post as FE Commissioner.

Apprenticeships are for life, not just National Apprenticeship Week

But once the noise and celebrations fade – and our focus starts to be drawn elsewhere – what are the other opportunities for us to champion and celebrate apprentices, and how else can we ensure a legacy of recognition?

Aspiration Awards

2025 marks an important year for NCFE. Not only is it the 80th anniversary of CACHE qualifications, it’s also the 8th anniversary of our Aspiration Awards. Launched in 2018, the awards have grown to champion all elements of the technical and vocational landscape – from centres and support staff to learners and educators.

Since 2022, it has also included apprentices as part of the Apprentice of the Year category. Having this as a standalone award is another opportunity for us to celebrate their stories of achievement, of overcoming adversity, of helping others, and most importantly, of building skilled and rewarding careers.

Last year’s winner was a perfect example of this. Ellie Burke overcame a range of challenges and faced an uncertain future after a family bereavement, struggling with her confidence due to alopecia, and caring for her brother who has Down’s Syndrome.

But after those same caring responsibilities sparked an interest in helping others and following a transformative 12-week course with the Prince’s Trust, Ellie secured an opportunity with Rochdale Training. 

After beginning her Level 2 Health and Social Care apprenticeship, Ellie’s confidence soared and she flourished academically and personally, completing numerous additional qualifications.

Beyond the classroom, she works with individuals with mental and physical healthcare needs at Gateway Leisure in Rochdale, which allows her to follow her passion for the care sector. Speaking at the time, she said: “The apprenticeship has helped me to become a better person and a better support worker. It’s allowed me to build on skills that I never thought I had.” 

This year’s Apprentice of the Year award is set to be the biggest one yet. It has an expert panel of judges including Kasim Choudhry, Multicultural Apprenticeship and Enterprise Ambassador for Pathway Group, Jane Hamilton, Journalist at The Times and The Sun, and Emily Rock, CEO of the Association of Apprentices.

Plus, there’s still time to enter your own nomination in recognition of an apprentice demonstrating excellence or going above and beyond. To learn more about the Aspiration Awards, see our previous winners, and to discover more about the Apprentice of the Year category visit the dedicated page.

Professional recognition

Alongside the Aspiration Awards, last year also saw the launch of a new bursary to help apprentices with their employability and professional recognition.  

The Post-Apprenticeship Recognition Scheme (PARS) was created by the Chartered Institute for Further Education (CIFE) in collaboration with the Association of Apprentices (AoA). NCFE became the first organisation to offer a bursary to eligible apprentices.

We committed an initial £5,000 bursary pot to support Level 2 and 3 apprentices across a range of sectors, who are currently underserved with their next steps. The bursary also aims to further the parity of esteem of apprenticeships alongside other qualifications.

The hope is that it can help improve the recognition and esteem of apprenticeships and support apprentices with their progression by enabling them to become even more marketable to employers.  

But this will only happen if it’s fair access and means for all apprentices – regardless of their background and, importantly, their current situation. We want as many beneficiaries as possible to experience truly transformational learning experiences, over a lifetime, that enable them to fulfil their potential in their career, and life more broadly.

Parity of esteem

PARS will help facilitate the recognition of apprenticeships and celebrate the learner’s achievements. The NCFE bursary is intended to enable those who wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to take advantage of this scheme to do so, and we hope that other organisations will follow our lead and contribute to this valuable initiative.

Professional recognition through post nominals is well established, such as BA Hons in higher education. Research conducted with apprentices and employers suggests strong support for a professional recognition scheme as the award of post nominal designations can elevate the cachet of both the recipient and the apprenticeship route.

Apprentices and employers believe it can lead to increased retention and improved achievement, contribute to raising parity of esteem against other qualifications, and build awareness of the skills, behaviours, and impact that qualified apprentices can offer to businesses and employers.

National Apprenticeship Week and beyond

This National Apprenticeship Week let’s continue to bang the drum for apprenticeships and celebrate those doing amazing things with this critical pathway, but let’s also think about the impact we can all have beyond greater awareness.

Let’s challenge ourselves to find new ways to add value, to place the learner at the heart of everything we do, to improve the system for all, and ensure apprentices truly are for life – not just National Apprenticeship Week.

NEU calls off sixth form college strikes

Sixth form college teachers in the National Education Union have called off further strikes after receiving “firm assurances around future pay parity”.

A planned walkout for Thursday and Friday is no longer going ahead while the union consults members on a pay offer from the Sixth Form Colleges Association.

Eight days of strikes have taken place so far, including one that was held last week despite the offer on the table rising from 2 per cent to 4.3 per cent in December.

The SFCA increased the pay recommendation after securing £50 million from the government following a threat of a judicial review, which will be pumped into colleges this academic year to help with wages.

After initially rejecting the 4.3 per cent offer last month, an NEU spokesperson told FE Week today: “The strike action planned for Thursday 6 February and Friday 7 February has been suspended while we consult members in non-academised sixth form colleges on the pay offer from SFCA, now that we have received firm assurances around future pay parity.”

FE Week understands the “firm assurances” the NEU is referring to is the government’s promise, made in January, to “aim” to “ensure that all 16 to 19 providers are funded on an equitable basis from 2025 to 2026”.

The NEU’s spokesperson added: “We have received firm, written assurances from the SFCA, secured from government, that there will be no two-tier pay offers put forward in future years and all pay awards will have a single pay settlement date.”

Strike action stems from the government’s decision to inject £1.2 billion into schools and 16 to 19 academies over the summer to help fund a 5.5 per cent pay rise for teachers in 2024/25.

No cash was offered to sixth form colleges or general FE colleges to help with the workforce until last month’s £50 million pay deal.

While the NEU has suspended its strikes, another teacher union – NASUWT – currently has a live ballot for industrial action in standalone sixth form colleges, which is due to conclude next week.

Responding to the NEU’s decision today, Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said he was “delighted to implement the employers’ pay offer that will see hard-working teachers in sixth form colleges receive a significant pay increase this year and end the disruption to students’ education caused by ongoing strike action”.

He added: “Following SFCA’s legal challenge and protracted discussions with the Department for Education, an additional £50 million grant was made available to colleges and that enabled us to increase our pay offer from 2 per cent to 4.3 per cent.

“The department also agreed to use all the funding for further education announced at the budget to boost the 16 to 19 funding rate and made a commitment to treat all 16 to 19 providers equally when it comes to teacher pay. 

“Taken together, this has helped put an end to this dispute which is good news for students, staff and industrial relations in the sector.”