FE Week

Education questions March 2026: Live blog Phillipson takes questions on SEND and the student loans system today

⏲️ Follow live updates as Bridget Phillipson and her education ministers take questions from MPs on SEND, student loans and the 'two thirds' student recruitment target at 2.30pm today

https://feweek.co.uk/education-questions-march-2026-live-blog/

ESOL cuts are 'bizarre', says skills minister Jacqui Smith ‘concerned’ by Reform UK mayor’s decision and vows to explore how ESOL provision can be ‘available everywhere’

🤯 Cutting funding to English language lessons aimed at migrants is a 'bizarre' decision that undermines ambitions to build cohesive communities, the skills minister has said https://feweek.co.uk/esol-cuts-are-bizarre-says-skills-minister/

📰 FE Week Weekly News Update

Check out this week's news summary. If you still need to register for our newsletter updates, you can sign-up at the below link.

🔗 https://mailchi.mp/mkt.educationscape.com/weekly-news-summary-from-fe-week-13370009

Nostalgia is not a strategy to navigate assessment evolution Mark Carney’s catchphrase applies as much to apprenticeships as Western powers in the Trump era – we must move forward and change, says Steve Smith

✍️ Ahead of ATC 2026 tomorrow, SIAS MD Steve Smith calls on the sector to lean in to assessment reforms ... and let go of the past

https://feweek.co.uk/nostalgia-is-not-a-strategy-to-navigate-assessment-evolution/

Joe Docherty: Labour peer quit college role over ‘inappropriate conduct’ The former education executive has been suspended by the party weeks after being sent to the House of Lords by Sir Keir Starmer

🚨 Breaking: Former NCG CEO Joe Docherty, now Lord Docherty, has been suspended as a Labour peer after it emerged he resigned from his college role after conducting sexual liaisons during working hours

https://feweek.co.uk/joe-docherty-labour-peer-quit-college-role-over-inappropriate-conduct/

Second LLE short course trial falls short on recruitment A £5 million degree level short course trial hit a fifth of its student recruitment target, an interim evaluation has found.

🎓 A £5 million degree level short course trial hit a fifth of its student recruitment target, an interim evaluation has found, raising further questions about demand for the upcoming lifelong learning entitlement
https://feweek.co.uk/second-lle-short-course-trial-falls-short-on-recruitment/

Hope of more cash to re-engage hard-to-reach youth Councils wishing for extra funding from DfE 'intention' to extend pilot work programme for SEND learners

📆 Cash to help students with additional needs find work could be handed to councils again after ministers suggested extending an employment training pilot programme for another year

https://feweek.co.uk/hope-of-more-cash-to-re-engage-hard-to-reach-youth/

L3 clear-out: Hundreds courses get fewer than 10 students Simplifying post-16 study options by introducing V Levels will involve cutting funding for hundreds of qualifications with hardly any enrolments, data shows.

✂️ Simplifying post-16 study options by introducing V Levels will involve cutting funding for hundreds of qualifications with hardly any enrolments, data shows
https://feweek.co.uk/level-3-clear-out-hundreds-of-courses-get-fewer-than-10-students/

🕣 The long-awaited level 2 administration assistant apprenticeship has been pushed back again – possibly until August https://feweek.co.uk/level-2-admin-assistant-apprenticeship-sign-off-delayed-again/

🗞️This week's FE Week front page:

EHCP curbs trigger new duties for colleges
and
Level 2 admin apprenticeship still out of office

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#TomorrowsPapersToday

Minister moves to tighten grip on FE teacher training The Further Education (initial teacher training) Regulations 2026 set out new student data and curriculum requirements

🔎 Tighter scrutiny of FE teacher training to root out poor-quality courses has been put before MPs

https://feweek.co.uk/minister-moves-to-tighten-grip-on-fe-teacher-training/

‘Fundamentally wrong’: Greater Lincs approves ESOL cuts Plans to cut funding for English language lessons to avoid alleged “segregation” have been approved in Greater Lincolnshire, amid concerns harm to integration

🗣️ Plans to cut funding for English language lessons to avoid alleged 'segregation' have been approved in Greater Lincolnshire, amid concerns about “serious harm” to local community integration.

https://feweek.co.uk/fundamentally-wrong-greater-lincolnshire-leaders-approve-esol-cuts/

Kevan Collins to be Phillipson’s SEND delivery adviser Collins, already a senior DfE figure, will focus on white paper roll-out and reviewing how DfE 'engages with councils'

Kevan Collins has been appointed as the education secretary’s delivery adviser with a focus on SEND reform and reviewing how the department engages with councils https://feweek.co.uk/kevan-collins-to-be-phillipsons-send-delivery-adviser/

There is hope in SEND reform if we help steer what's next Imposing SEND solutions designed for schools on colleges comes with risks, but there is time to get proposals right, says Clare Howard

Improving outcomes for SEND learners must come alongside fair investment, accountability and genuine partnership with specialist colleges, writes Natspec CEO Clare Howard

https://feweek.co.uk/there-is-hope-in-send-reform-if-we-help-steer-what-comes-next/

Colleges face new legal duties through SEND overhaul Consultation proposes mandates for accountability agreements, staff training and tailored student support plans

✍️ Colleges will face fresh legal duties to produce new support plans for learners with SEND under proposed reforms that set out to reduce the number of young people receiving education, health and care plans

https://feweek.co.uk/colleges-face-new-legal-duties-through-send-overhaul/

SEND reforms spell diet EHCPs and red herring funding Replacing EHCPs with a three-tier system under SEND reforms could end Gladiators-style Gauntlet parents face

Replacing EHCPs with a three-tier system could end the Gladiators-style 'Gauntlet' battle that parents face, says Chris Quickfall of Cognassist
https://feweek.co.uk/send-reforms-spell-diet-ehcps-and-red-herring-funding/

Apprenticeships face an inclusion reality check across FE A 50% rise in apprentices declaring learning difficulties or disabilities is reshaping delivery

New ILR data analysis by Aptem shows a sharp rise in apprentices requiring additional learning support. Unless policy evolves, providers risk being judged on inclusion without being resourced to deliver it
https://feweek.co.uk/as-send-needs-rise-apprenticeships-face-an-inclusion-reality-check/

Welsh college pulls plug on England apprenticeships Leaders want to 'concentrate expertise' in Wales following latest Ofsted criticism

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 One of Wales’s largest apprenticeship providers has confirmed it will withdraw from delivering apprenticeships in England https://feweek.co.uk/welsh-college-pulls-plug-on-england-apprenticeships/

DfE to fund maternity pay improvements in colleges Funding to match a pledge to double school staff maternity pay to come in 2027

Colleges are set to receive additional funding to improve maternity pay for their staff, the Department for Education has announced

https://feweek.co.uk/dfe-to-fund-maternity-pay-improvements-in-colleges/

University hit by seven-figure apprenticeship clawback Leaders claim to have rectified all ‘legacy’ issues and repaid government

🔍 A university has been forced to repay £1.385 million in apprenticeship funding after government investigators found widespread missing evidence of apprentices’ eligibility, off-the-job training, and employer co-investment contributions

feweek.co.uk/university-h...

Greater Lincolnshire to cut ESOL from 2027, mayor confirms Greater Lincolnshire’s mayor will press ahead with plans to scrap publicly funded ESOL courses, despite consultation responses opposing the move.

🗣️ Greater Lincolnshire’s mayor will press ahead with plans to scrap publicly funded English language courses from 2027, despite a majority of consultation responses opposing the move
https://feweek.co.uk/greater-lincolnshire-to-cut-esol-courses-from-2027-reform-uk-mayor-confirms/

Julie McCulloch to join EPI as new chief executive ASCL policy chief 'hugely privileged' to take over as CEO of think tank EPI

Julie McCulloch has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Education Policy Institute https://feweek.co.uk/julie-mcculloch-to-join-epi-as-new-chief-executive/

Suella Braverman named Reform UK’s skills spokesperson Former home secretary wants half of all young people to train in trades

📢 Former Conservative home secretary and recently-defected Reform UK MP Suella Braverman has been named as the party’s education and skills spokesperson

https://feweek.co.uk/suella-braverman-named-reform-uks-skills-spokesperson/

Jonathan Bourne wants gov to consider that some apprenticeships may not meet the legal definition of 'apprenticeship' before they swing the axe on level 7 and management apprenticeships
https://feweek.co.uk/stop-blaming-level-7-and-management-apprenticeships-non-compliance-could-be-the-real-problem/

'To question their utility is nothing short of heresy'
Mission statements have become ubiquitous in the education world, but teacher David Murray questions the point of them
https://feweek.co.uk/mission-statements-are-the-holy-writ-no-one-reads/

Learner loan probe lands provider with £111k clawback Lioneheart in the Community has challenged the findings

🔍 A training provider has contested a £111k clawback over adult learning loans rule breaches

https://feweek.co.uk/learner-loan-probe-lands-provider-with-111k-clawback/

📰 FE Week Weekly News Update

Check out this week's news summary. If you still need to register for our newsletter updates, you can sign-up at the below link.

🔗 https://mailchi.mp/mkt.educationscape.com/weekly-news-summary-from-fe-week-13369935

In this profile interview, new FE commissioner Ellen Thinnesen sets out her vision for the FEC, as the skills white paper heralds a new dawn for FE college oversight
https://feweek.co.uk/new-fe-commissioner-ellen-thinnesen-heralds-a-new-dawn-for-oversight/

🥇 A former Come Dine With Me winner and Geri Halliwell tribute act star in this week's movers

https://feweek.co.uk/movers-and-shakers-edition-523/

ESOL success is still judged by attendance and test scores, but real progress often happens in everyday conversations long before it shows up in the data
Dr Nafisa Baba-Ahmed, education and social justice scholar
https://feweek.co.uk/we-fail-to-score-esol-students-real-progress-in-real-life/