Adult education

For Access to HE students, bills now matter more than books

Data shows economic pressures are the biggest barriers to learning but the tools we developed during Covid offer a...

Jessica Hill
Ken Duckett
Adult education, Long read

Inside the evergreen sanctuary of Fircroft adult residential college

Inspired by Denmark’s folk high schools, Birmingham’s Fircroft College still provides a home-from-home for people with addiction and mental...

Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Adult education

Spending review marks yet another failure for adult skills

Despite cross-government recognition of adult skills being vital for growth, Rachel Reeves has not delivered the investment needed to...

Jessica Hill
Sue Pember
Adult education

Hasta la Prevista as training provider suffers liquidation

The company was sold to an employee ownership trust four years ago

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Adult education

Bootcamp job interviews treated as ‘tick-box’ exercise, third year participants say

Evaluation does however show ‘encouraging’ improvements in the programme

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Adult education, Apprenticeships, Training Providers

DfE toughens up on ITP contract sanctions

New contracts expand termination danger from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’ training providers

Shane Chowen
Shane Chowen
Adult education

Tough immigration talk ‘but no plan for ESOL’  

Language teachers hit out at 'mismatch between rhetoric and rules versus reality on the ground'

Josh Mellor
Josh Mellor
Adult education

Why Labour’s immigration plan misses the mark on ESOL

Labour’s new immigration plan ties English proficiency to visas, but ignores a deeper crisis in investment in ESOL provision

Jessica Hill
Diana Sutton
Adult education

Funding cuts mean the immigration plan won’t add up

With funding slashed and demand rising, the ESOL and wider adult education sector is being set up to fail...

Jessica Hill
Caroline McDonald