Welcome to this month’s SDN Mesma Group insights and resources!
- Self Assessing Brilliantly 2026: Our annual deep dive
- Compliance and funding professional development: Confidence for the 2026/27 academic year and beyond
- Andy Burnham – parity of esteem starts with pay, not pathways and Ofsted analysis insights. By Lou Doyle
- Ofsted Insights: Data-led analysis of inspection findings across FE, skills and apprenticeships.
We also share our regular round-up of highlights from the news in the FE and skills sector.
Grab a cuppa, have a read, and as always, do share with your friends and colleagues.
Free webinar recording: Self Assessing Brilliantly
Our annual webinar supports anyone involved in evaluating and improving their provision, with a focus on making self-assessment a driver of improvement.
Compliance and funding professional development:
Built to move you from theory to practice.
- Apprenticeship compliance fundamentals for your role | Starts 21 Sept
- Data Management in Apprenticeship Programmes: including ILR and Operational Effectiveness | Starts 22 Sept
- Apprenticeship Compliance for Leaders | Starts 6 Oct
- Confidently Claiming Apprenticeship Learning Support Funding | Starts 3 Nov
- Understanding Apprenticeship Financial Management: Funding, Forecasting, Costs and Budgeting | Starts 4 Dec
- Apprenticeship Units 2026: Designing and Delivering a Compliant Offer | 1 Dec
We offer group bookings and bespoke sessions tailored to your organisation’s needs.
Can’t make the live date? Most sessions are recorded. Register your place and we will send you the recording and/or resources once the sessions have taken place.
You can also register your interest in future dates.
Please note all funding and compliance professional development has been updated in line with the new 2026-27 apprenticeship funding rules.
Burnham – parity of esteem starts with pay, not pathways
“I’m behind the announcement in principle but I wonder whether the value placed on technical education is about the education itself, rather than the career waiting at the end of it.”
Read the full blog from SDN Mesma Group Co-Founder, Lou Doyle, here.
Ofsted analysis insights: Inclusion
Take a moment to read our latest Ofsted Insights: deep dives into inspection data across further education, skills and apprenticeship provision under the Education Inspection Framework. These reports help providers to make effective use of the findings in Ofsted reports in one simple-to-read document.
Read our Ofsted insights below:
📃 Inclusion
📃 Professional Development and Teaching Quality
📃 Curriculum, Teaching and Training Quality Analysis
Top News from the FE and Skills Sector
Under-25s exempted from apprenticeship co-investment hike: Levy payers that exhaust their accounts will avoid the new 25 per cent charge for younger apprentices
Benefit-hit apprentice families boosted by bursary: Apprentices can claim a new bursary up to £4,500 to offset costs of work-based training
Government commitment to remove barriers to social mobility welcome
Why hybrid assessment models are becoming essential for modern learners
Recent role changes: