Civil servants raced to beat their own level 7 apprenticeship deadline ‘Contradictory’ government behaviour contributed to level 7 starts rush before funding ended in January
Free meals funding frozen in FE while schools rate rises College leaders bite back at ‘insulting’ DfE decision
Ministers accused of breaking 16–19 funding promise with 0.5% rate rise An uplift on older T Level courses will also be removed in the new academic year
AI Skills Hub risks ‘copy and paste of past failure’ New AI skills hub initiative reeks of pandemic-era ‘skills toolkits’ failures
DfE revises approach to Ofsted grades in apprenticeship accountability framework Three ‘supplementary indicators’ have also been suspended, and the past planned end date measure has been refined
Bids open for 19 more technical excellence colleges Wave 2 sees expansion to sixth form colleges and ‘rare’ opportunity to hold multiple TEC status
Millions lost in fraud from Covid apprentice payments Independent covid counter-fraud report finds only £1 million recouped in apprentice incentive scheme
Perm sec advises against ‘blanket’ council duty on post-16 SEND transport Top education civil servant also highlights soaring post-16 transport costs for SEND learners that have outpaced pre-16 spending
DfE confirms crackdown on HE franchise fraud New registration law to come into force from May 2026 to ‘protect’ nearly 100,000 students