Specialist colleges transform lives yet remain invisible in policy

It’s hard to pigeonhole our sector into a singular, narrow definition because specialist FE exists for many purposes. But let’s be clear: specialist FE is not predicated on a deficit model. We’re not a symptom of a failing system. We exist because our young people need our skills and expertise to thrive.

During this Power of Specialist FE Week, we celebrate the breadth and depth of our wonderful sector and its power within an inclusive education system.

Our colleges are the opportunity for young people to translate their schooling into life skills and capabilities for their future. In this sense, specialist FE is the same as the wider FE sector. We all want our young people to have a sustainable place in society. What will help our learners sustain their future will look different, but the ultimate goals are aligned. For some, the key to their next steps will be a suite of qualifications; for others, the confidence and self-advocacy needed for a job interview with unfamiliar people; and for some the ability to indicate preference in their care and support. The FE sector is already highly collaborative and successfully inclusive. Ninety per cent of learners with EHCPs are already in a mainstream FE setting, with Specialist FE meeting the needs of the remaining students who require our specialisms.

Specialist FE is often the most positive and transformative period in a young person’s educational journey. We know that many have faced a challenging route through their education, where support has only been accessed by first proving current provision was demonstrably notworking. We unlock our learner’s education, transforming this complex history by delivering highly inclusive, specialised support, creating life-changing results.

This Power of Specialist FE campaign celebrates our sector and its power to secure greater recognition and parity of esteem in policy reform so we can continue delivering long-term, meaningful outcomes for our learners.

Despite our demonstrated success and efficiency, our ability to maintain this vital provision is hampered by an absence of recognition by policymakers. Our young people’s education is entirely publicly funded but we are treated differently from colleges in the statutory FE sector, viewed as independent or exclusive, creating systemic barriers to equitable investment and funding.

Our settings are wonderfully unique. We have colleges that operate multiple sites across large metropolitan cities, small single sites with highly adapted buildings, colleges who operate almost entirely within local business environments and large residential settings with onsite nursing and therapies.

Some are run by charities, others are community interest companies and some have origins as schools or adult social care provision. These unique estates and structures need to be recognised and understood in funding decisions to ensure their uniqueness can thrive and meet the needs of their learners. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for our young people and it won’t work for specialist FE. 

The final, most important chapter in this story is the people who make specialist FE the magical and transformative world it is. The work we ask our staff to do is often challenging. Teaching and supporting young people with complex needs, highly individualised communication and at times much shorter life expectancy requires exceptional talent and passion. But all across the country, our skilled, determined staff make a difference to the lives of our learners every day. We need a governmental strategy to support recruitment and retention in our sector and address the pay disparity in specialist FE. Policymakers must also stop talking about care and support roles as ‘low skilled’ – they are far from that, and the term is often an analogy for low pay. The depth of expertise and passion in our teams ensures we deliver on the highest aspirations, whatever the complexity. This is the life blood of the sector and to every single person in it, I say thank you. 

The specialist FE sector consistently delivers high-impact, life-changing outcomes. It is a vital contributor to social inclusion and economic opportunity. We’re calling on the government to recognise the power of Specialist FE. This week I want to celebrate it and say how grateful I am to get to be a part of it. Together we unlock education, we transform lives and we create lasting impact.

Work experience gap is a driver of inequality we cannot ignore

The recent budget renewed attention on young people and particularly those most at risk of poor employment prospects.

Entry points to work are increasingly difficult for young people, making it difficult for them to hit the ground running. Work experience provides the foundations for that.

The eight trailblazer pilot projects in devolved regions that underpin the youth guarantee are adopting work experience among a range of activities to help young people re-engage with their education and to reduce inactivity and unemployment. 

This and more are needed. A growing gap is leaving too many young people on the outside looking in. This isn’t about motivation or talent; it’s about whether the system around them opens doors, especially in regions where opportunity remains sparse.

This gap – often driven by local socioeconomic conditions – is becoming a major driver of inequality in progression and a leading cause of young people becoming NEET.

Today’s labour market is shaped by continuous technological change and persistent skills shortages. Rather than fulfilling a tick-box exercise, young people’s work experiences should help them step confidently into further study, apprenticeships and employment.

Work experience should not be a nice-to-have; it is an essential stepping stone into the world of work. Employers agree. Around eight in 10 business leaders say work experience is a great way to attract entry-level employees and apprentices. Yet the opportunity gap persists.

What employers tell us

Our poll of 750 business leaders helps illuminate why the gaps remain. Employers are committed to offering work experience, but many face barriers: 36 per cent find it too time-consuming, 35 per cent believe they lack suitable tasks, 34 per cent are worried about safeguarding, and 22 per cent don’t feel equipped with a clear structure.

Schools and colleges, grappling with demands and shrinking budgets, report similar constraints.

For small businesses, issues arise around capacity and a need for more flexibility in the way student engagement is offered. Small firms account for 60 per cent of UK private sector jobs, and play a crucial role in opening young people’s eyes to real workplaces. 

The budget offers incentives to do that by extending funding for SME apprenticeships for individuals under 25 and creates an opportunity for smaller businesses to engage earlier and with purpose to attract young talent.

Momentum grows

There is firm policy momentum behind a work experience guarantee, trailed in revised statutory guidance, restated in the skills white paper and highlighted through the curriculum and assessment review.

And we are seeing a growing consensus behind this approach. Around 1,600 leaders from business and education recently assembled to explore how they can break down barriers and transform work experience as agents of change to support growth, strengthen skills, and reduce disparities.

An abundance of goodwill was reflected in a shared ambition to make work experience more inclusive and impactful.

Evidence of what works

CEC’s mission has been to support the conversion of intention into action. We have been working with regional partners across Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Liverpool City Region and West Yorkshire, plus multi-academy trusts and employers such as KPMG, to test approaches to modern work experience.

Early signs are encouraging, showing a more flexible approach can reduce pressure on employers, increase the relevance of local skills and offer entry points for young people who might otherwise be left out.

The budget’s additional investment in regional growth and local priority sectors, if well directed toward activities such as meaningful work experience, could offer a powerful spur to redoubling focus on the skills employers are seeking.

Stakes never been higher

We face the unignorable prospect of one million young people becoming NEET, alongside an escalating number of learners with special educational needs who, without meaningful support, risk being locked out of the workforce.

The conditions are in place: policy impetus, cross-sector consensus, proven models and growing urgency. What we need now is coordinated ambition.

National and local government, employers, schools and colleges pulling in one direction, amplifying the importance of high-quality work experience, committing to practical, scalable models and ensuring every young person can access experiences that shape their future.

FE and skills must be at the heart of curriculum reforms

The curriculum and assessment review’s ambition was to build a ‘world-class curriculum for all’. The challenge now is to ensure that the emerging framework truly embraces the critical role of the FE and skills sector.

The post-16 education and skills white paper has already outlined the need for a coherent tertiary system that integrates FE, HE and lifelong learning, underpinned by high-quality teaching and leadership. This review must be part of building that coherent system.

The good, the gaps, and what FE and skills bring

The review’s report rightly highlights our curriculum’s strengths: it is knowledge-rich, with breadth of subject coverage. International comparative performance remains solid in many areas.

It also identifies stubborn attainment gaps: for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, for those with SEND and/or disabilities, and for transitions across phases.

Importantly, when it comes to 16-19 education the report recognises that A Levels and current academic routes do not suit all learners. It notes that many young people need additional applied, high-quality options and acknowledges the ‘extensive changes’ needed to create these coherent qualification pathways.

This is where FE and skills comes into sharp focus. The sector’s strengths lie in bridging vocational and technical learning, responding to local and employer needs, offering applied and professional pathways, and nurturing adults and young people who may not succeed in purely academic settings.

For the review to achieve its ambition of high standards for all, FE and skills cannot be an afterthought.

The three knotty issues as ETF sees it are: the detail behind V Levels and ensuring they are fit for purpose and deliverable; the perennial issues surrounding English and maths; and the growing, critical need for curriculum and assessment to adapt to technological, social and environmental change – including through the incorporation of digital skills, media literacy and sustainability or ‘green’ skills for all learners.

Professional development is critical

One persistent barrier to a world-class curriculum for all has been the status of technical and vocational pathways and the professionalism of practitioners. Reform of the curriculum and qualifications alone will not close attainment gaps unless the FE and skills workforce is recognised, supported and developed.

That means embedding professional standards, providing routes to status, developing our leaders and charting clear career pathways.

These factors all contribute to systemic positive change across FE and skills and the broader education sector, laying the groundwork for a reformed, coherent curriculum and qualifications landscape to succeed.

FE and skills practitioners with clear career pathways, who have opportunities to hone their dual professionalism and receive recognition for their practice, are better enabled to deliver the best experiences for their learners, including enabling vital employer connections and experiences across new and existing technical and vocational pathways.

Sector leaders play a crucial role in driving the system-wide change needed to provide clear pathways and opportunities for every learner.

When supported with tailored development and network opportunities, leaders’ power to find shared solutions and foster collaboration within – and beyond – FE and skills is amplified, leading to better outcomes for all.

Path to success

The ambition to build a world-class curriculum is welcome and necessary. Yet success will be judged not by textbooks or qualifications, but by outcomes for learners, employers and their communities.

To achieve this review’s highest ambitions, the FE and skills sector must be positioned squarely in design, delivery and governance of a reformed curriculum.

If we get this right, we will unlock improved individual life-chances, stronger local economies and a workforce fit for the future. If we ignore this opportunity, we risk reforming part of the system and leaving too many behind.

Now is the moment to elevate the workforce to the heart of this change via recognised professional statuses, a strong community of practice and rigorous standards, so that our education system can deliver the opportunities and enriching experiences that every learner deserves.

Focus on T Level shortcomings gives hope for ‘T’ and ‘V’ system

All the talk has been about V Levels since the skills white paper was published. But they aren’t quite the revolution some think – they’re an evolution of what already exists. This is no bad thing, and there are welcome new features.

V Levels will be the same size as one A Level and used in a ‘pick and mix’ fashion. They represent a middle ground between academic A Levels and technical T Levels, offering a broader programme of study. The white paper also suggests they will have an increased proportion of non-exam assessment compared to A Levels.

Same thing, different name?

While providers do use applied general extended certificates this way, one complication of the old landscape was the range of naming conventions, branding and subject choice.

Subjects will now be pre-determined by the DfE, and a provisional list has already been published. Ofqual will also set the design rules for structure, assessment and grading, ensuring all awarding organisations have the same grade scale and UCAS points.

Finally, it’s proposed there won’t be any awarding organisation branding or different naming conventions for size, such as foundation or introductory diplomas.

These changes will standardise the offer and reduce confusion. Notably, DfE will nationally set high-level outline content linked to occupational standards. So content will be derived from Skills England’s work and underpinned by employers, ensuring learners have the skills needed in the labour market.

T Levels future

Combinations of V Levels could represent an effective pathway for undecided learners. But what about those who study large or extended diplomas?

In 2023-24 there were over 100,000 16-19 learners enrolled on extended diplomas alone, and far more if we include other smaller diplomas. And over 20,000 T Level learners.

Under the new landscape T Levels will be the only large qualification, as funding for all others is removed. But can T Levels be scaled to meet demand? And will the narrow scope of subjects be expanded?

Both questions are addressed in the recent post-16 Level 3 and below pathways government consultation document.

Deliverability concerns

Sector stakeholders have spoken publicly on the T Level teething problems, but it’s rare for the DfE to comment directly.

However, the consultation states they’re “continuing to refine them to enhance deliverability whilst maintaining rigour and quality,” and “have looked to reduce duplication and the volume of assessment to help manageability at scale.”

This commitment to more effective delivery is promising, as T Levels must be fit for purpose to replace large applied generals.

The consultation says T Levels should be extended to more subjects, and Skills England’s “analysis” will be used to “ascertain whether a large qualification is needed to meet the skills needs of the industry”.

This implies that where there is evidence of strong performance with existing large Level 3 diplomas, they will look to reproduce these pathways in a T Level.

Missing standards, emerging possibilities

Many Level 3 standards exist for new T Levels, such as sport and social care. However, DfE seems pragmatic about creating T Levels in areas without appropriate standards.

Previous governments would have dismissed the lack of standards as evidence of zero need for a T Level. But this paper sensibly suggests “adjustments to either the standards or the focus of the T Level would be required to meet the needs of students and employers.”

This opens up possibilities. Take protective services pathways, which had roughly 15,000 16-19 learners on Level 3 study programmes in 2023-24. Naturally, some would move to V Levels. But a third are on the extended diploma.

The armed and emergency services are major progression routes into employment, but the relevant standards at Level 2-4 don’t match up for T Levels.

Under the previous policy, no Level 3 standards meant no T Level. But with this new flexibility and desire to expand, could a protective services T Level emerge? We hope so, given the clear demand.

V and T Level mix

Current suites of qualifications cater for small, medium and large programmes. For a sector to thrive, it will need both a V and T Level. The introduction of V Levels is exciting, but the government’s appetite to address ongoing issues with T Levels and widen their scope is even more so.

Large qualifications are the bedrock of general FE colleges, and T Levels must function properly once the big diplomas are gone. There’s far more to come, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

FE says it celebrates diversity, but where are the Black leaders?

When I was asked to give a Black History Month workshop at a college, it caught me off guard.

I’ve been teaching in FE for more than 15 years, but I’d never seen myself as someone who teaches Black history. I always thought my presence as a Black lecturer opened the door to honest conversation. In practice, it’s different.

I started teaching in my late 20s in Ipswich, where around 3.5 per cent of the population identifies as Black.

Growing up, Black History Month felt forced. In school it was a lecture about struggle, not culture or pride. Maybe that’s why I avoided it in my teaching.

Yet, as a media lecturer, I realised that I already teach elements of Black history through the stories, people and visuals I bring into lessons.

Walking into a classroom as the only Black teacher some students have ever met, I am representation. I face questions like “Do you rap?” or “You’ve smoked weed before, right?”

Those moments show how narrow some young people’s exposure to Black culture is.

So my first job is always to challenge stereotypes and open minds. But that isn’t enough. To understand a people, you have to respect their history.

That’s what I tried to do in my workshop at West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds where the Black population is even lower, at around 1.6 per cent.

I wanted students to feel invited in, not lectured to. I spoke about figures like Spike Lee, Naomi Campbell and Ashley Walters, icons who show creativity, resilience and influence across industries.

My approach came from my other role as a BBC radio producer, where I curate a three-hour show celebrating Afro-Caribbean stories and voices across the East of England.

The goal is always the same: to connect people through real, lived experiences rather than guilt or politics.

What surprised me most was how many students had never heard of these names or their achievements, and how engaged they became once they did.

Maybe it was my delivery, or maybe they had just never been told these stories in this way before. Either way, their curiosity reminded me that representation is not only about visibility; it’s about storytelling.

For me, Black history was not a lesson. It was a lifestyle. My parents filled our home with African art, books, and films like Mario Van Peebles’ Posse. They showed me that Black history lives through creativity and pride. That foundation shaped how I teach today, with honesty and context.

One key point I made in my workshop was about awareness. None of the students were visibly of African heritage.

I asked them to think about their future workplaces. Would they stay in Suffolk or move elsewhere? Would they understand the cultures of their colleagues and communities? If not, they may be at a disadvantage.

I learned British, German, French, and American history at school. I can work comfortably in diverse spaces because of that. Can they say the same?

After four engaging sessions, I left feeling both proud and reflective. I had spent years teaching without formally including Black history, assuming it was covered elsewhere. Now I know it must be part of everything we teach – not just in October, not just in diversity week.

In most FE colleges, Black History Month still sits as a one-off event in October, often led by well-meaning white staff relying on the same slavery heavy curriculum I endured. It is time to change that.

According to the Ethnic Equity in Education FE Report 2024, just 7.2 per cent of FE leaders are Black, compared with 30 per cent of students. As the report notes, “At no point in the FE workforce is there a reflection of the UK’s Black population”.

FE colleges need to bring in Black leaders and educators to write, teach, and reshape the narrative. Let’s make Black history a natural part of the curriculum every month of the year.

But what do I know? I’m just a rapper.

We need to stop leaving life skills to chance

Lack of workplace readiness amongst young people is becoming an epidemic. Recent research suggests that only 55 per cent think they can offer the skills employers want, while half believe they have the right work experience.

Starting their careers on the back foot affects not just young people, but the businesses they work for and the UK’s productivity.

One reason for this disconnect is inconsistency in education.

Our research shows that only 40 per cent of teachers are aware that financial education is already part of the curriculum. And without clear guidance or support on financial and enterprise education, schools are left to decide how, or if, they should deliver these crucial life skills.

As a result, many young people miss out, especially those already facing barriers to social mobility.

The government’s recently published curriculum and assessment review and skills white paper have started to address this challenge, recognising the need for stronger alignment between education and employability. However, both stop short of embedding financial and enterprise education across the post-16 phase.

Learning by doing

At Young Enterprise, we’ve seen how powerful hands-on learning can be.

Many students, especially those at risk of disengaging, are motivated thorugh ‘learning by doing’ – whether that’s earning while they learn, taking part in enterprise activities or getting real-world exposure.

These programmes not only teach knowledge, but build confidence, resilience and transferable skills.

In FE settings, applied learning is already central to delivery. Embedding financial capability and enterprise thinking into existing programmes, through the likes of simulated businesses, employer partnerships and community initiatives, give learners real-world context and connect their studies to the decisions they’ll make in work and life.

Take students on our practical ‘Start Up’ programme, aimed at those aged 18 plus, in HE or FE.

Recent award winners have included a team that aimed to end water scarcity by combining atmospheric water generation with renewable solar power energy to improve access to water.

Another group of psychology students offered a digital bereavement service, designed to help individuals create lasting memories of their loved ones.

From enterprise education to real opportunity

Enterprise skills such as innovation, marketing, finance and project management shouldn’t be reserved for business studies students. They should be immersed throughout the curriculum, showing how classroom learning connects to real careers.

Employers play a huge role in bridging this gap. By offering inclusive entry points, such as pre-apprenticeship programmes, mentoring or work experience, they can help young people from all disciplines take that all-important first step.

For those without professional role models at home, exposure to the workplace and hearing from relatable ambassadors can be transformational.

Moment for change

However, this isn’t something schools and employers can do alone. The government has an important role to play.

Now that the curriculum review and white paper have been published, attention must turn to implementation – how to profit from the vast wealth of resources already created by charities, often in partnership with financial services institutions.

The curriculum and assessment review shows that both children and parents place huge value on skills like budgeting, finance, problem-solving and creative thinking.

But while the report calls for consistency and coherence, it stops short of making financial education statutory at post-16.

Similarly, the skills white paper provides another chance to close the gap.

With the government aiming for two thirds of young people to move into higher-level learning, it is vital that financial and enterprise education is offered at this stage too.

Yet today, there is no universal offer for post-16 students, despite this being the point where many are stepping into independence for the first time.

Turning ambition into action

Financial education has been on the curriculum in schools for a decade, but without clear prioritisation or guidance, it has reached too few pupils.

Only 47 per cent of young people recall receiving meaningful financial education in school, and that needs to change.

Schools and FE institutions should be the place where firm financial foundations are built, supported by employers and underpinned by a consistent national approach.

From integrating budgeting and entrepreneurship projects into core subjects, to partnering with local businesses, there are many ways to embed real-world learning into the classroom.

Recent policies have set out a strong direction for technical learning, but the next step must be to extend that vision to financial and enterprise capability. These are the skills that give young people confidence, independence and resilience to thrive in the future of work.

A youth guarantee isn’t enough without a green skills guarantee

There was an inevitability about the recent flurry of announcements from the government about tackling rising NEET (not in education, employment or training) numbers.

Once the number of young people not earning or learning nears the million mark, the pressure to act becomes overwhelming.

In quick succession we’ve had the announcement of £820 million for the youth guarantee, which includes the new jobs guarantee – providing a six-month, 100 per cent subsidised work placement for eligible 18 to 21-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for 18 months – and an ‘independent investigation’ by Alan Milburn to add to the range of ‘trailblazers’ being piloted across the country.

For many this will all sound familiar and there will be legitimate questions about what more we need to learn.

We know a lot about what works in re-engaging young people, what motivates them to learn and how to build progression pathways with employers. What we lack are the resources, capacity and long-term contracts to do it as well as we would like. 

This is why I hope the latest round of reviews will not just restate the evidence base but help us understand better how to connect complementary – and crucial – parts of the system. 

This needs to start at the front end with a recognition that engaging young people who have drifted away from formal learning requires investment in youth and community work, in particular if we’re going to find those young people – up to half of all NEETs – who are not engaging with the system at all.

We then need to understand how the growth and skills levy might support training among young people for whom level 3 is a distant goal, and encourage more employers, especially SMEs, to invest in workforce development.

The third aspect is to ensure alignment with wider strategies for skills, growth and investment.

If we’re going to intervene in the labour market by creating subsidised jobs then we should do that with a clear purpose, rather than merely cutting wage costs for large employers.

And if we want to attract the attention and maintain the motivation of young people who may already feel let down by the system, then we need to open up learning pathways into economic sectors that are likely to grow.

The ‘green economy’ fits the bill on both fronts. It offers learning and work opportunities in areas as diverse as energy efficiency, land management and the circular economy. It has major skills shortages in a mixed economy of large contractors, SMEs, social enterprises and charities.

According to economists, global demand for green talent is growing twice as fast as supply, leading to a risk of one in five green jobs going unfilled by 2030.

Despite the breakdown in political consensus around net-zero targets, the economy is changing rapidly and long-term plans for energy transition, home insulation and nature recovery are providing the confidence employers need to invest.

If this transition is going to be equitable, we need to ensure the ‘jobs of the future’ are accessible and attractive, creating entry-level roles in supportive workplace environments with access to training that is both tailored and transferable.

We’re pushing at an open door. Worldskills UK reports that 80 per cent of young people feel it’s important to work in an organisation tackling climate change but lack understanding of what roles are available, and what skills they require.

Compounding the issue is the narrow range of job roles available within the apprenticeship system. Few school leavers know the precise career path they want to follow, so roles with a broad skills base that provide a grounding in a core range of competences are likely to be more attractive.

Green jobs are not all about advanced skills in high-tech industries. We also need more people who can work safely outdoors, more plumbers, electricians and construction workers and more people able to embed the principles of environmental sustainability into everything from care and retail to logistics.

These are all things the skills sector knows how to deliver. We just need the government to confirm this is a priority and make it possible to align different parts of the system to achieve maximum speed and impact.

Troubled Burnley College appoints new principal

A scandal-ridden college has appointed a new permanent principal, months after its long-serving leader quit ahead of an Ofsted report that revealed inflated achievement rates.

Jason Faulkner will stand down from his deputy chief executive role at the Education Training Collective to take the helm and help mark the start of an “ambitious new chapter” for Burnley College.

Inspectors revealed in July that Burnley College, which boasted to be the “number one” in the country for achievement rates, “misled” students and parents by inflating their data.

The inspection report, which downgraded the college to a ‘requires improvement’ rating, came just a day after former principal Karen Buchanan officially resigned from her role.

She had mysteriously disappeared from the college in March. Buchanan was later suspended pending an investigation.

Faulkner is set to join the college on February 2, 2026.

Faulkner said: “Burnley College feels like a place where my skills and experience align, and I can add real value. This feels like the right fit.

“I am optimistic about the future and being able to share the skills I have developed with another college and the surrounding communities, and add value to their, and my, next chapter.”

He joins from the Education Training Collective, where he has spent over two decades teaching and working at Stockton Riverside College and Redcar and Cleveland College before their mergers with the college group.

The Education Training Collective (ETC), which comprises six colleges and training providers, was upgraded to ‘outstanding’ in May.

Faulkner said his biggest achievement was renewing Redcar and Cleveland College. He became principal of the college in 2018, after an FE commissioner visit was prompted over a breakdown in merger talks to save the college’s finances.

Redcar merged with Stockton Riverside in 2018 and then became part of the ETC a year later.

“That’s not just about the achievement data or student numbers,” Faulkner said.

“It is the work that has been carried out with supportive partners, the capital investments that have led to massive innovation at the college, and the relationships built with the local authority and employer partners.”

David Brown, chair of governors, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jason to Burnley College. His dynamic leadership and forward-thinking vision are exactly what we need to continue building an educational environment where every student and staff member can achieve their ambitions.

“We are confident that under his guidance, the college will reach new heights of excellence and further solidify its role as a cornerstone of the community.”

New recruits

The college is also advertising on its website for an FE governor to join its board.

It comes after Ofsted recommended it “strengthen” the governing board with people with FE experience.

The advert is looking for someone with experience in senior FE education or leadership, who can “use their understanding of learning outcomes, further educational policy and inclusion to support the college’s strategic development”.

NCFE shuts down systems after ‘cyber incident’

A “cyber security incident” has forced a major national awarding organisation to shut down its IT systems, triggering widespread cancellations to assessments and a halt to new learner registrations.

NCFE has locked down all of its online systems, including staff emails and its learner registration portal, while investigators determine the extent of the incident, which occurred late last week.

NCFE could not confirm at this stage whether any sensitive data was compromised

In a message to customers yesterday afternoon, seen by FE Week, NCFE said it had detected “suspicious activity” on its network late last week. It immediately shut down its systems “as a precautionary measure” but acknowledged that would create “significant disruption” across its services. 

Phone lines, live web chat and NCFE staff email accounts have all been temporarily shut down. The awarding body’s ‘Portal’ is also offline, meaning providers cannot currently register learners, upload evidence or claim certificates. NCFE has promised to let customers know when services will resume as soon as it is able to. 

Any late registration or late booking fees incurred by centres as a result of systems going offline will be waived.

The shutdown also means most planned assessments have been cancelled. NCFE has told centres that T Level assessments scheduled for this week will continue as planned, and on-demand functional skills assessments can still be booked. 

But paper-based assessments and all face-to-face and remote apprenticeship end point assessments planned from yesterday, December 1, have been cancelled and will be rearranged. 

Students’ T Level employer-set project evidence can also not be uploaded until systems are back online. 

External cyber security specialists are in the early stages of a forensic investigation to understand the cause and scope of the incident. NCFE was unable to confirm whether any sensitive data was accessed or compromised. 

NCFE said: “As our investigation is in its early stages, we are currently not in a position to confirm details or draw any conclusions on any specific data involved. These investigations take time, but please be assured that understanding this is a key focus of our investigation.”

David Gallagher, chief executive of NCFE, apologised for “any inconvenience or concern” and said staff were working “around the clock” the bring systems safely back online.

Cyber attacks against awarding organisations are rare. 

An Ofqual report last year said there was one attack on an organisation “affiliated to three awarding organisations” and one attack on an awarding organisation that delivers general qualifications in 2024. 

An Ofqual spokesperson said: “Ofqual is aware of a cyber incident affecting NCFE. We are in discussions with NCFE, who have engaged fully and appropriate steps are being taken to protect students’ interests. NCFE has confirmed that T Level assessments will continue as planned for the next two weeks.

“Ofqual will continue to assess closely NCFE’s actions.”

NCFE was approached for further comment. 

More information and FAQs for students and centres are now available on NCFE’s website.