It took the second world war to make politicians realise just how valuable a healthy further education (FE) sector was to the UK. The 1943 white paper, Educational Reconstruction, preceding the 1944

Boris Johnson can’t have it both ways. Either the government has to start honouring its multiple pre-election promises: it can fund our colleges and apprenticeships properly so they can turn out fully trained young people needed to kickstart our stuttering, Brexit-ridden economy.

Secret Lecturer: Let’s beat the blues with fun projects but, please, no texting  The winter term draws to a close, the election decided, funding promised. ‘Promised?’… errrr, well, ‘mentioned’ then.

When in August chancellor Sajid Javid pledged £400m to fund 16- to 19-year-olds in FE, it was warmly welcomed by the sector. Anything to start the funding ball rolling. But as David Hughes from the

Secret Lecturer: How to counter mental illness in class?

This month sees the implementation of Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF), which replaces the Common Inspection Framework (CIF) introduced in 2015 as a blanket set of standards for schools and colleges. The question is will the new framework be good news or make FE teachers’ jobs as hard as its predecessor? At the moment, the jury’s out.

The growing links between funding, courses taken and students’ exam results beggar belief.

The latest negotiations between opposition parties to block a ‘no deal’ EU exit highlight what a key role more creative thinking and innovation could play and should be playing in the fiasco still

Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?That great carrot in the sky left dangling by the chancellor as a campaigning target for FE colleges may not happen this summer. Recent

Secret lecturer: No pretence, total honesty and more funding?That great carrot in the sky left dangling by the chancellor as a campaigning target for FE colleges may not happen this summer. Recent