Shane Chowen

Whatever little coverage FE gets on the BBC, it's still more than most other national outlets. Axing the dedicated education editor role will just dilute the important role the BBC has in reporting on FE even more. Very sad news. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...

SCOOP: When Andy Burnham said he delivered 1,000 work placements in Greater Manchester ... that wasn't true. GMCA could only prove 92 placements from its T Level pledge campaign, and had to correct its own report on how many were actually delivered. feweek.co.uk/burnham-put-...

Good morning from Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham where earlier today this delegate had his sword confiscated

Outstanding

This is a very smart appointment - congrats @sarahjwaite.bsky.social!

UPDATE: Ministers expect to implement their 'new model of government' - which includes putting mayors in charge of 16-19 education - by the end of this parliament (so by mid-2029). feweek.co.uk/mayors-to-ta...

🚨 BREAKING: Mayors will be handed control of 16-19 funding in a radical break from England’s Whitehall-run post-16 system. Colleges and schools are all in scope, with plans due alongside the autumn budget. feweek.co.uk/mayors-to-ta...

A warning if you're a subscriber to the BBC Newscast podcast - I'm on it today

Sparing thoughts for picture editors with only a one in three chance of getting the right Baroness Smith currently serving in government

Andy Burnham loves The Smiths so much he’s appointed three Baroness Smiths as ministers: Baroness Smith of Basildon, leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Malvern, skills minister Baroness Smith of Cluny, advocate general for Scotland

🚨Breaking: Jacqui Smith has been reappointed minister for skills by Andy Burnham feweek.co.uk/jacqui-smith...

🚨Breaking: Lucy Powell has replaced Bridget Phillipson as education secretary feweek.co.uk/lucy-powell-...

🚨Breaking: Pat McFadden has been reappointed work and pensions secretary feweek.co.uk/mcfadden-rea...

This is a serious escalation on BIIAB's security qualifications, with the SIA regulator taking unprecedented steps to bar the awarding organisation after finding persistent malpractice in BIIAB-approved centres as part of 'Operation Resolute' feweek.co.uk/security-reg...

🗑️ Bins are all the rage right now. But not for nearly £4m of public cash feweek.co.uk/ofsted-bins-...

Can the chancellor refuse an application from a sitting MP for the Chiltern Hundreds?

David lived and led by his values. He unapologetically put learners first, did what he thought was right and led from the front when times got tough. All of our thoughts are with David's family, friends and colleagues. feweek.co.uk/ncfe-chief-e...

Hidden in the government's children's wellbeing and schools act were new laws extending the government's power to ban misbehaving teachers from FE colleges and independent training providers. But what counts as misbehaving? @annieiseating.bsky.social investigates feweek.co.uk/school-rules...

In a rare display of unity, college leaders & unions have joined forces to warn the government current spending plans could mean a 0% pay rise for staff It comes as we wait for school pay rises (who are already paid more) & as colleges are recruiting record numbers feweek.co.uk/college-staf...

Coming up in @feweek.bsky.social 0️⃣ Unions & colleges join warn DfE FE staff face possibility of 0% pay rise recommendation 🧑‍⚖️C&G bonuses: We examine the contradictory claims as another inquiry on the sale to PeopleCert is launched 🤝Unite drops dispute against PeopleCert after deal on redundancies

🚨PeopleCert has said it will move to reclaim 'unauthorised' bonus payments worth millions from former City & Guilds executives feweek.co.uk/peoplecert-p...

So there is a bill going through parliament to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 and this report of restrictions on social media for 16 to 18 year olds. Isn't this an argument that harmful social media (X and the like) should be restricted for *all* adults, not just children.

Times reporting 16 and 17 year olds will have their social media use restricted by curfews. Social media ban discourse has until this point been on under 16s. www.thetimes.com/article/631a...

Mental health support teams seem to be making a positive difference where they've been rolled out - but new data shows 16-18 learners are losing out. From a level playing field, secondary school coverage is now double colleges: Story 👇 feweek.co.uk/post-16-stud...

Proof that the buzzword "hub" has now got out of control. 18 months ago the CITB said it will open 20 purpose-built skills "hubs" for construction training. In fact those 20 hubs won't be new anything, they'll be existing training providers paid £33k grant to train apprentices quickly.

Every Whitehall education minister: Vocational qualifications are too complex, there are too many. We're going to rationalise so it's easier for employers Mayors: Hold my beer

Ofqual's 'intervention' on exam cheating devices today would have been timely in 2020, not 2026. While the regulator discovers "smart spectacles", students are being aggressively targeted on social media with tech that, on current trends, Ofqual may or may not discover until the mid-2030s:

📢Breaking: Staff at City & Guilds have threatened legal and industrial action over redundancy plans from new owners PeopleCert feweek.co.uk/city-guilds-...

Absolutely heartbreaking. The only silver lining is that this is a solvable problem, but it will not solve itself without significant and sustained investment and attention from government. A new scheme over here or an apprenticeship tweak over there will not cut it.

Breaking: There are now over a million young people not in education, employment or training feweek.co.uk/youth-neet-r...

📢 It's UCU Congress next week! FE delegates will debate prioritising national bargaining over pay rises, ethnic minority representation in college leadership & a union subscription fee increase for higher-earning lecturers Here's @feweek.bsky.social's Congress preview feweek.co.uk/switch-focus...

Not a story I had on the flatplan at the start of the week, if I'm honest feweek.co.uk/gemma-collin...

Today's @feweek.bsky.social 👂We uncover the world of cheating tech targeting students behind the backs of regulators and providers 💷 New adult ed contracts have been paused after a legal challenge ⛓️‍💥SME apprenticeship support services at risk after post-Brexit cash cuts

News moves fast

Starmer and his team clearly feel there is capital in bigging up FE's working class credentials (and rightly so) in his political speeches - but it hits a sour note after real-terms funding cuts for 16-19 year-olds feweek.co.uk/starmer-to-g...

📖10+ years after the raising of the education participation age and the government is still trying to plug "anomalies" - this time it's seriously ill teenagers falling through the net Excellent investigation here from @annieiseating.bsky.social feweek.co.uk/seeking-more...

👀 A sneak peek at this week's @feweek.bsky.social front page Get our edition exclusives first with an FE Week membership (and fewer ads, plus other perks) For a free trial, use code LAUNCHTRIAL2026 at checkout: feweek.co.uk/subscribe/

I thought Skills England bosses got a fairly easy ride from the DWP committee this morning. Our live blog takes you through the highlights ⬇️ feweek.co.uk/skills-engla...

Fare well, Tim Apple. I will miss replying ‘good morning’ to you in your keynotes.