Here's a brief update on recent developments in the Further Education Sector.

• Post-16 Area Reviews
  Further guidance has been issued on the government’s plans for Area Reviews of the Further Education sector.  The guidance includes the schedule for Wave 5 reviews which begin in November and December 2016, applying for restructuring funds and the procedure for Sixth Form Colleges wishing to apply for academy status.
  
  Whilst the deadline for written evidence to the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into Area Reviews has passed, discussions continue with oral evidence to the Committee ahead of the publication of its final report.
  
• FE Reform programme
  Robert Halfon MP has written his first letter on the FE reform programme to colleges and training providers in his role as Skills Minister.  The letter signals his priorities for the sector as apprenticeships, social mobility, the skills plan, post-16 maths and English, and transformation of the sector via Area Reviews.
  
• FE Commissioner
  Richard Atkins has been confirmed as the new Further Education Commissioner, taking over the role in November 2016.  In the Commissioner role, Mr Atkins, the former Principal of Exeter College, will advise ministers and funding agencies on the actions that need to be taken to drive improvement and tackle failing colleges.
  
• 157 Group re-launches
  A decade after it was founded, the 157 Group has been relaunched as the Collab Group following a strategic review of how the Group operates.  The Group represents 32 colleges and college groups who collaborate, at a local and national level, with a wide range of stakeholders to develop professional and technical skills to transform the UK economy.