Great scoop by @billycamden.bsky.social. In my recent report for the @smfthinktank.bsky.social (bit.ly/3DXrd2S), I called for a ban on uni graduates taking up these Level 7 apprenticeships. An 'under 21' approach would have a similar effect and similar trade offs + still lots of unhappy punters.

Alright, Galadriel

🚨 Early win 🚨 Laleh, the learner quoted who paid a 'discounted' fee out of fear she'd have to pay the full amount, has been contacted by CoGrammar within hours of our article being published to say she can expect a full discount

A truly shocking case. Students on fully funded DfE bootcamps left terrified the bailiffs would come after their provider tried charging up to £4,950k The attempt came after DfE suspended payments and terminated the firm's £20m+ contracts Refunds have been promised plus a £25 'goodwill payment'...

I spy @fcdwhittaker.bsky.social in this morning’s Playbook Read his great story here 👉 schoolsweek.co.uk/lower-your-t...

I am in no way surprised to see the CEO role given to civil servants. Remember when IFATE twice failed to find anyone external who was willing to take on the CEO role, given what happened to its predecessor (UKCES)? History repeats itself....

DfE has now confirmed it will axe English and maths FSQ exit requirements for adult apprentices with immediate effect Ministers also reveal the apprenticeship minimum duration will be reduced from 12 to 8 months from next AY #NAW2025 feweek.co.uk/english-and-...

Positive news for many ahead of National Apprenticeship Week feweek.co.uk/dfe-to-relax...

This is a real backward step. Adult skills budget already £1bn lower than in 2010. Who will build the houses, fit the heat pumps, upgrade the infrastructure the Government says it wants?

Ruthless Reeves hits adult education Big scoop from the boss 👇

NASUWT incredibly claims that college bosses have made 'spurious arguments' to justify not matching the school pay award Seems so so harsh and out of touch with reality

🆕 T Level results data for individual colleges will be made public this year for the first time – but an overall attainment measure for the new qualifications has been delayed

So DfE will release £50m in 24/25 AY as a 'one-off grant' to help fund pay Not enough to match school pay award but it has enabled SFCA to up its recommendation to 5.5% from April. Wonder whether AoC will will also amend its rec of 2.5% Top work by SFCA challenging through judicial review

Oof - big drop in GCSE English resit G4 pass rates for those taking the exam in November Suspect it may be related to the Pearson 2.0 issue Slight rise in maths pass rates

Top FOI and analysis from @tom-richmond.com as per Fascinating that of the 56k apprentices last year who already hold a degree, 14k did a level 2 or 3 apprenticeship Not sure I agree with the recommendation to ban graduates from all apprenticeships but the report is great for generating debate

First day in the office of 2025 for Team @feweek.bsky.social "I'm going to start my new notebook with my best handwriting" pledges @billycamden.bsky.social

Interesting move for ESFA chief David Withey - he'll become a college principal when the agency closes and integrates into the DfE in March feweek.co.uk/esfa-chief-d...

💥 Kicking off 2025 with a scoop on the FE teacher pay snub judicial review SFCA teases an agreement has been reached but details kept shtum for now Association 'looks forward to an announcement by the government soon' as % pay offer increased Meanwhile, teacher strikes continue. Full story 👇

It seems like an annual event for us now at Schools Week - but super chuffed to be at the British Journalism Awards @jessjanehill.bsky.social has been shortlisted in *two* categories - and also joined by a former Schools Week legend Jess Staufenberg who’s also up for an award 🙌🙌🙌

So on the day the government tells the sector what alternative T Level quals get a stay of execution, ministers announce they're scrapping a T Level that has been running for 3 years due to 'lack of demand'...

The boss with today's BTEC/level 3 outcome 👇 Good news or just another short-term fix? The latter IMO

Big day today as ministers prepare to release the outcome of the controversial level 3/BTEC review. Keep an eye on @feweek.bsky.social for developments

Interesting finding from AELP today. Their report comes as ministers confirm they are considering removing functional skills exit requirements from apprenticeships

TL;DR 'Education has happened and some of it is very good. Except in prisons.'

I get this is a 'slimmed down' version of Ofsted's usual annual report but I did find the 'observations' for FE to be a bit bland...

Ofsted annual report due out this morning. Looking forward to seeing what new insight chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has for FE Preview of some of the stats we’re expecting to be included 👇 feweek.co.uk/colleges-wit...

It's a low bar, but DfE cleared it.

It's 'T Levels Celebration Week'! DfE kicked it off on Monday by further relaxing rules for industry placements feweek.co.uk/dfe-eases-t-... Beats last year when Rishi decided to use the week to announce his intention to abolish the quals (@ukshane.bsky.social had fun making that front page)

Much of the 'uncertainty' college leaders are complaining about could have been remedied by just publishing the level 3 review terms of reference We tried - but DfE kept it secret feweek.co.uk/btec-review-...

Loads of independent training provider and college investigations have gone unpublished in recent years This appears to be why

🧵 Recap of some of the stories in last week's edition of @feweek.bsky.social First up: Dozens of colleges that threatened to take awarding body Pearson to court over this summer’s GCSE English resit grade boundary controversy have ditched their legal action feweek.co.uk/pearson-and-...

DfE kicks off 'T Level Celebration Week' by watering down industry placement rules More hybrid working on its way (incl. 50% allowance for digital!) and 'stimulated' activity to be allowed on college sites Guidance to come in Jan - takes effect immediately feweek.co.uk/dfe-eases-t-...

Great videos and more pics in the story from today's sixth form college strike Teachers took their pay fight directly to Sanctuary Buildings

Officials have ditched plans to introduce weekly minimum teaching hours. Instead, colleges will deliver 100 hours of teaching for each subject at any point in the AY Plans to move to a 0% tolerance threshold have also been shelved

In case you missed our @sdupp.bsky.social cartoon on Ofsted's leaked report card proposals last week ...

My FE starter pack now has 100 big names for you to follow go.bsky.app/NELirA7

New figures show spending on level 7 apprenticeships stayed around the £235m mark over past 3 years Gives a good sense of how much (c10% of programme budget) that's available to redirect to 'other priorities' if/when defunding goes ahead questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

🧵👇

Anyone else reading Labour's 'youth guarantee' plan and thinking 'is that it?!' As per @tom-richmond.com, can't see anything new other than a command for mayors to better signpost existing opportunities bsky.app/profile/tom-...

Graphic designers clearly felt the brunt of civil service cuts

I've read A LOT of Ofsted reports over the years and this is up there with the best you'll find Congrats @ellenthinn.bsky.social and team

Get Britain Working white paper due out in next couple of hours Little bit more info on plans for the 'youth guarantee' and National Careers Service merger with job centres in a trail to press from DWP overnight feweek.co.uk/get-britain-...

'This bill is clear on the door it closes (IfATE), but silent on the doors it opens (Skills England)' Baroness Barran kicks off the IfATE abolition bill committee stage in the Lords Watch here 👇 www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

New data suggests NEET rates at their highest for a decade. Numbers up 20% since the pandemic, driven by rises for young men. Thought twice about posting as it's Labour Force Survey data, and there's huge problems with that. But without overinterpreting, NEETs almost certainly up & that's worrying.

NEET stats out today don't make for pretty reading 946,000 young people not in employment, education, or training - 13.2% of all 16-24s, up from 12.2% last quarter Labour expected to set out plan for tackling the NEET problem in their Get Britain Working white paper before the New Year

Tomorrow, Lords get to scrutinise the IfATE abolition bill in detail in the first of two scheduled committee stage debates. Here's a piece about the bill and what it means for much-lauded new skills body, Skills England feweek.co.uk/from-ifate-t... Thread below for fellow nerds 👇

Hinds was full of beans in Westminster Hall today Enjoyed this: 'The instinct in difficult circumstances is to break glass and reach for a new quango. But Skills England isn’t even a quango, it's nada. It's not quasi-autonomous it is a non-accountable department agency' feweek.co.uk/skills-engla...

Skills England launches 'initial engagement exercise' with employers in priority sectors on what non-apprenticeship training should be funded through the new growth and skills levy Interesting choice of email to send evidence! feweek.co.uk/priority-emp...

A pleasure to be here