DfE | FE Week - Part 12

‘Politically driven’ post-16 policy churn has damaged stability, think tank warns

Leaders urged to address ‘short attention spans’ to create more stable political consensus and improve post-16 inequalities and data collection

‘We never had a secretary of state whose heart was in further education’

Tim Leunig, the brains behind some of the biggest education policies of the past decade, knows that some of the opinions he’ll be sharing in his new role as an FE Week columnist will raise some eyebrows. But he has never been shy about courting controversy. We meet at Westminster Abbey, where Leunig gives me […]

DfE to pilot funding simplifications for colleges

Several funding rules and ringfences to be removed as officials bid to reduce complexity

DfE agrees to publish ‘urgent’ sustainability plan

All settings to have a climate action plan ‘in place by 2025’, DfE assures MPs

Providers wanted for £10m civil service apprenticeships

Government to hunt for providers to deliver 33 apprenticeships in DfE and ESFA

5 things we learned from Keegan’s education committee hearing

Education secretary gives updates on RAAC, transgender guidance, ABS consultation and FE recruitment

Unit for Future Skills’ ‘useful to a point’ £2.5m spend in 15 months

Experts say staff costs are a “reasonable amount” of spending but users highlight some teething problems

DfE to appoint ‘expert’ apprenticeship training providers

Stringent criteria will eliminate many of the largest from applying

Legrave’s term as FE Commissioner extended

DfE’s chief college trouble-shooter will now serve until at least March 2024