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15 April 2026

Tag: FE commissioner

Troubled Easton and Otley College to be demerged and taken over

A troubled land-based college is to be broken up and merged with two other colleges, following two consecutive ‘inadequate’ ratings by Ofsted. Easton and Otley College was told to urgently improve its leadership earlier this year after the FE Commissioner raised serious quality and financial concerns. Just a few of months ago the college, which […]

Former college staff get a chance to challenge FE Commissioner reports

Former employees or governors criticised in FE commissioner reports can now read and challenge the report before it is published. Updated guidance on FE commissioner visits, released in April, explains how reports written by Richard Atkins’ team will shared ahead of publication. FE Week understands that Department for Education officials changed the policy on legal […]

Funding clawback for college at risk of cash crisis

A college already in financial difficulty is being forced to pay back nearly £1 million to the government as a result of working with a subcontractor investigated for falsifying learner records. In a report published last Friday by the FE commissioner, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College was warned that it needed to take “urgent […]

Bailout cash will still be available under new insolvency regime

Colleges will still be able to access some bailout funding once the insolvency regime comes into effect next year – even though the government has previously said the tap will be switched off. This was revealed in a letter from Peter Mucklow, FE director at the Education and Skills Funding Agency, published on Wednesday, which […]

FE commissioner: check with me before appointing a principal

The FE commissioner has urged college governors to check with him before appointing a principal as part of a crackdown on “serial offenders” ahead of the incoming college insolvency regime. Richard Atkins was speaking exclusively to FE Week in the same week he was reappointed to the role for another two years. “I would encourage […]

Richard Atkins re-appointed FE commissioner for further 2 years

Richard Atkins has been re-appointed FE commissioner for a further two years, the Department for Education has revealed today. The announcement, which comes two years after the former Exeter College principal took over the reins from Sir David Collins, follows an exclusive FE Week interview with the commissioner earlier this week in which he recapped […]