Latest news from FE Week | FE Week

Let’s keep pushing to make TFE bill better

The end of 2016 will feel like a much bigger occasion than other years. It’s been a relentless rollercoaster of emotions.

So much so that I now hesitate before checking my phone when a news alert goes off, wondering what 2016 could possibly throw at us next. I’ve also seen people blaming their own clumsy mishaps on the calendar. “I knocked my coffee over and it went all over my interview papers. Typical 2016.”

Without a doubt, this year has been disruptive culturally and politically – even in the world of FE and skills. The skills minister Robert Halfon, and his shadow Gordon Marsden, will be finishing the year seeing through the Technical and Further Education Bill which should by then have made its way through the House of Commons.

To recap, the TFE bill enacts technical education and training proposals in the Skills Plan for defined occupational groups; provides a broad remit for the Institute for Apprenticeships (and adds ‘and Technical Education’ to its title); introduces an insolvency regime as an exceptional last resort for financially struggling colleges; and ensures that devolved holders of the adult education budget will share information with the government.

For the last two weeks, the bill has been in committee stage in the House of Commons, when a group of MPs gather evidence and debate each line. They have until December 6 to agree the wording of the bill to pass back to the whole House of Commons for third reading before it goes to the House of Lords.

Fourteen witnesses have provided evidence to the committee in person, including me. Eleven written evidence submissions have been submitted; 10 from organisations and one from a college governor. For a crude comparison, 30 witnesses were asked to provide evidence and more than 60 submissions of written evidence were received by the bill committee for the current Higher Education and Research Bill also making its way through parliament.

One area that has been of interest in discussions about the bill so far is the role of the new Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

The Skills Plan gives the Institute several important roles: overseeing training routes within occupational groupings; keeping standards and qualifications up to date; and enshrining it as a sort-of-quasi-regulator for quality in the sector.

However, the Labour Party, AoC and others have highlighted concerns about timescales and the capacity of the institute to deliver its substantial new responsibilities.

Without a doubt, this year has been disruptive

The bill committee heard from Peter Lauener, shadow chief executive of the new Institute, that it will have only 60 members of staff to begin with, despite the TFE bill adding new technical education responsibilities to its existing role with apprenticeships.

A lot of the evidence to the committee points to the importance of proper engagement with employers, learners and providers in developing technical education routes and apprenticeship standards, yet significant concern remains over whether the new institute will be adequately resourced to do this properly.

Several evidence submissions have highlighted points that are in the Skills Plan but not in the bill. City and Guilds, NCFE and LSE highlight the lack of provisions over exclusive licensing arrangements for technical education qualifications, which was proposed in the Skills Plan.

The Learning and Work Institute has meanwhile said the new institute should have a remit to promote access to apprenticeships for under-represented and disadvantaged students, similar to the role that the Office for Students will have in higher education.

While sector campaigners may be disappointed in the government’s apparent lack of interest in changing the TFE bill at this stage, this is normal behaviour. In debates, the minister has publicly recognised the issues raised and has been broadly positive so far about taking action in ways other than through primary legislation.

That said, the sector doesn’t often have the opportunity to push for good quality legislation, so it’s really important to continue raising issues and ideas to improve the TFE bill as it progresses through the House of Lords in the New Year.

Shane Chowen is head of policy and public affairs at the Learning and Work Institute and a governor at Westminster Kingsway College

Dan wins gold for Team UK at EuroSkills in Gothenburg

Team UK has bagged an early gold medal at EuroSkills Gothenburg after Daniel McCabe came out on top in 3D game design earlier today.

The 20-year-old from West Cheshire College was the team’s first competitor to finish on the final day of the competitions at around 11:30am.

He had a four hour wait until he could find out the results, and it was to be a stunning gold.

“I’m mind blown,” he told FE Week moments after the announcement.

“I’m absolutely made up, couldn’t have asked for anything more. I was originally not expecting to get a medal, as this was a presentation skills. When I found out they did, nerves struck, I did the best I could and my best was obviously enough. So really ecstatic.”

3D game design is one of two presentation skills Team UK is taking part in at EuroSkills this year, which are being tested out to be considered for the mainstream competition at the next EuroSkills in Budapest in 2018.

The medal was presented today ahead of the closing ceremony tomorrow as it is not counted in the official medal tally.

But Daniel said he has no doubt in his mind it will become an official skill in the future.

“It is so competitive and very intricate with what you have to know and the creativity aspect is big. This skill is going places.”

FE Week spoke with Daniel as he finished his task this morning and it was evident he was over the moon with what he produced.

He said: “A car mechanic normally works on cars. Well we work on games in a similar way. I was given a BMW M2 for the Need for Speed Game.

“And we had to modify it in a similar way to how a mechanic might.

“I changed the bonnet, added new skirts and a spoiler. Basically the person who did the best job at modifying their vehicle won. With our skill it could have been anything. It doesn’t have to be a car. It could have been a spaceship or building. That’s why I think this skill has a lot of potential in the future.

“I definitely did the best I could, I couldn’t have done better.”

Team UK will find out just how many medals they have won in the 20 other skills they are competing in at the closing ceremony tomorrow.

FE Week is media partner and you can follow all the action as it happens on Twitter @feweek. Also keep an eye out for our full EuroSkills Gothenburg supplement Monday morning, sponsored by Smart Assessor.

We’ll give the final word to Daniel, from our video interview below: “It is the best experience of my life.”

DfE takes back £3m from colleges failing in English and maths

Colleges across the country have lost almost £3 million in Education Funding Agency cash through failure to comply with the notorious maths and English condition of funding rule.

The combined figure includes City of Liverpool College, which was hardest hit through losing almost £500,000.

It was originally stated by the government that any 16 to 18-year-old student that did not have at least a grade C in English and maths, and failed to enrol in the subjects as part of a post-16 course, would be removed in-full from allocations for the next-but-one academic year.

The rule was subsequently relaxed for 2016/17, with the penalty halved and only applied to providers where more than five per cent of relevant students did not comply.

But despite this, the EFA’s 2016/17 allocations published in November still revealed heavy financial ‘adjustments’ inflicted on colleges, in what is the first year such deductions have come into force.

A total of £2,842,016 was deducted across 26 general FE colleges.

FE Week analysis showed the biggest losers, with City of Liverpool College down £479,188, after it failed to meet funding conditions for 458 of its learners.

The college declined to comment on why this had happened.

A total of £2,842,016 was deducted across 26 general FE colleges

Westminster Kingsway had the largest number of non-compliant learners – 592 – leading to a loss of £321,483.

A college spokesperson blamed this funding loss on a “misinterpretation of the EFA’s guidance requiring students to study for both a maths and English qualification”.

But she added: “We had a very successful year so this had no impact on the student experience, and this matter was also rectified for 2015-16 enrolments.”

According to DfE data, compliance with the condition of funding rule stood at 97 per cent across the sector in June 2015.

This means that around three per cent of those who should have been studying English or maths were not enrolled on relevant courses.

FE Week estimated last year that this non-compliance would have cost colleges up to £150 million had it been applied in full.

Other large losses include £327,174 from City of Bristol College, £288,463 from Newham College and a £254,872 reduction for Cornwall College.

Di Gowland, Newham College principal, said the college had faced “many complex issues” around 2014/15 enrolments, which had now been “tightened up”.

Other factors including greater investment in specialist resources, attendance monitoring and parental involvement had “brought about significant improvement”, she added.

A spokesperson for City of Bristol College said it was “anticipating a significantly improved condition of funding picture in the future”, while a Cornwall College spokesperson said it had reviewed its processes and “our systems and monitoring will ensure higher levels of compliance in the future”.

Peter Mucklow (pictured), the EFA’s director for young people, announced at the Association of Colleges annual conference in November that the five per cent threshold of tolerance would also apply to 2017/18, based on enrolments in 2015/16.

He said: “We said we would keep that under review, and ministers have decided to extend for 17/18 that threshold of tolerance, so that it applies in exactly the same way in that year.”

He continued: “The level of compliance across the whole of the English and maths condition of funding remains at 97 per cent, in terms of that 15/16 performance.

Movers & Shakers: Edition 192

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving.

Frances Rutter has been appointed chief executive officer and principal at North East Surrey College of Technology.

She’s currently the chief executive at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and will take up the role in spring, overseeing everything from courses to commercial ventures. She will also be responsible for building relationships with employers, civic and voluntary organisations, and the public.

It isn’t her first experience of working with the college, as she has previously served as a board member, stepping down in 2013.

Speaking of her new role, she said: “This is a really exciting time for post-16 education, with plenty of opportunities for Nescot. I am looking forward to working with governors, staff and students to help it become even stronger.”

Ms Rutter, who is a qualified solicitor, has held her position at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council for eight years, and prior to this spent 13 years at Elmbridge Borough Council, with two years as an assistant chief executive.

Cliff Hall will stay on at Nescot as CEO and principal until Ms Rutter takes up her new role in early 2017.

_________________________________________________________

Peter McCann has joined North Shropshire college as interim principal.

The college based in Shropshire comprises of two main campuses in Walford and Oswestry, with smaller centres used throughout the county.

As interim principal, Mr McCann hopes to develop technical training at the college.

He said of his new role: “I look forward to working with the staff and our partners to ensure that we provide the creative and responsive technical training, skills development and progression our students, community and employers deserve.”

Mr McCann has a wealth of experience in the FE sector, and has previously turned around a college with a grade four Ofsted rating to a grade two within 18 months. At his last college, he led an employer engagement strategy, which increased the volumes of young adults taking up apprenticeships from 400 to 2,250.

He has been chair of both the Leeds City Region LEP Skills Network and West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, and has also sat on the board of the Education Training Forum since its inception.

_________________________________________________________

Nick Burnham has been elected chair of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association.

The SFCA represents, supports and promotes sixth form colleges, and often leads national negotiations with trade unions on the pay and conditions of staff.

The new role will see Mr Burnham chair the SFCA council, which supports and guides the work of the association.

He takes up the role of chair alongside his position as principal at Cardinal Newman college in Preston, and will replace Eddie Playfair, the principal of Newham Sixth Form, who steps down after a successful three-year term.

Mr Burnham has 24 years of experience in the FE sector, and began his career as an economics teacher at Peter Symonds College in Winchester.

He then spent nine years working as a deputy principal at Carmel College St Helens, before being appointed as principal of Cardinal Newman in 2012.

Commenting on his new role, he said: “I firmly believe in this sector and its power to effect the lives of students – it is often deservedly referred to as the jewel in the crown of education. We will be working hard to influence the major issues affecting the sector and how best the association can work to meet the needs of the member colleges.”

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk

FEATURE: Archbishop of Canterbury gets personal paparazzi

Two students have undertaken an unusual photography project, becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal paparazzi during his recent trip to Bath. Samantha King reports.

Two level three photography students at Bath College, Sebastian Roberts and Louise Wakeham, have jumped at the chance to add a high-profile name to their photography portfolios, volunteering to document a visit from the Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury during his visit to the spectacular Bath Abbey.

The pair were invited to join the ranks of press photographers from high-profile magazines and newspapers in order to snap the archbishop from every angle, as he delivered a talk on a new project at the Abbey.

Accompanied by college photo technician Joseph Wooltorton, who was on hand to give tips and advice to the budding photographers, the students were let loose with their lenses.

The pair soon got a flavour of the professional photography business, networking with other photographers, and learning the importance of framing a shot quickly in order to capture all the key moments.

Seventeen-year-old Louise from Wiltshire, said: “Quite a few people were taking photographs, including the Times Magazine, so it gave us a chance to talk to them. We soon learned that you really have to be quick to take a shot, especially when you’re shooting in manual mode. You don’t get second chances.

“Joe came down with us for the day to give us some pointers. It was a busy day, but a great learning experience. It gave us an insight into what the photography business is like.”

The reason for the archbishop’s visit was to discuss the Footprint Project, a £19.3 million initiative to stabilise the ground beneath the Abbey and heat it using energy from Bath’s famous hot springs; as part of the project there are also plans to renovate the interior of the Abbey to make it more inviting for worship.

Following the talk, the archbishop met with the key players in the project and led a Eucharist service which was attended by 800 people from the area, with songs performed by the abbey’s choir, as well as local schoolchildren.

Speaking of the experience, 18-year-old Sebastian, from Somerset, said: “It was quite nerve-wracking and it was a very big responsibility. I enjoy anything photography-related, and being a photographer makes you appreciate everything that’s around you.

“I really like the practical side of the course and going out to experiment, because experiments are the things you learn from.”

The visit concluded the archbishop’s three-day tour of Taunton, Wells and Bath, which gave him the opportunity to meet and pray with individuals in the area. He also conducted a discussion on faith with students from across Bath’s two local universities at the Students’ Union.

Arran Hodgson, the photography course leader at Bath College said: “We have lots of live experiences on the photography course.

“Opportunities such as these give our students a taste of what it’s like to work as photographers and pick up tips from the professionals.”

EuroSkills day 2: Intricate design could bag Danielle floristry gold

Danielle Scandone came out of day two of EuroSkills Gothenburg feeling reenergised thanks to her intricate fingers that produced a smashing floristry body adornment.

The Merrist Wood College 21-year-old (pictured above) has spent the last two days completing four different flower arrangements.

And she feels most confident about one in particular, her body adornment that include epaulettes – a flower piece that sits on the shoulder.

She told FE Week at the end of day two: “I have six tasks to do over the three days and done four so far.

“I’ve done a hand-tie bouquet with a frame, a floor standing arrangement, a body adornment, and a wreath.

“Tomorrow I’ve got a bridal bouquet and a table arrangement.

“But my body adornment today I felt I really smashed it and enjoyed doing it and I come out feeling really reenergised from it, I knew I had done well and got what I wanted.

“I made epaulettes, a piece that sits on the shoulder, and I really enjoyed it. That is my sort of bag, all the fine detail stuff involved in that.”

She added that the event as whole is something she “didn’t expect” and it has been “quite stressful at times”, but one she wouldn’t change.

“The event has been very pressurised and a little bit stressful at times but I’ve pulled through and got there in the end.

“The experience has been brilliant, I wouldn’t change it. I’ve had so much fun.”

Meanwhile over at the plumbing and heating competition, 21-year-old Daniel Martins, who works for Briggs and Forrester, had been using his precision skills to make sure his work was not even a millimetre out of place.

He told FE Week: “For the last two days I’ve been working on a mock apartment, doing the heating and cold water system where everything has got to be as accurate as possible to the drawing.

“All angles have to be within one degree and measurements within two millimetres. Tomorrow I have the gas to finish and the last bit of my heating module to complete and hopefully it will all go well.

“Competition can be very stressful. You want it to be perfect so you critique yourself a lot but it has been a great experience.

“By tomorrow I would have a created a mock apartment with two boilers and two pumps pumping around the system, a towel rail and a hot and cold water system.

“I’d like to think I’ve got a chance of a medal, but you never know until the end really.”

And joinery competitor Conor Willmott was happy with his progress but was wary of his “talented” competition.

The 21-year-old from West Suffolk College said: “We’re making a window and frame doing architectural joinery.

“The wood we’re using is a mixture of European oak and American white as, which I’m familiar with but this is a whole new level of work that I’ve never done before. I’ve never had to work to this sort of standard or make anything that complicated.

“I hope I get top three but I’m not too optimistic because there are some really talented guys in there.”

College bat faces eviction when demolition work begins

A college’s resident bat is facing homelessness following site clearance work on the building in which it lives.

Affectionately named Kevin, the bat currently lives in the roof of Bridgwater and Taunton College’s Montgomery House, which is being cleared to make way for the new National College for Nuclear.

Workers on the site have been careful to dismantle the roof tile-by-tile during the clearance process in order to minimise disruption to Kevin’s daily life and, after a successful application to Natural England, a number of bat boxes have now been installed across the area to offer alternative accommodation.

Kevin’s presence was discovered during an ecological survey of the site, which demonstrated evidence of bat feeding, and then the existence of a single long-eared bat living in the roof.

It is hoped that Kevin will take up residence in one of the new bat boxes following the demolition of his current home, with students on the college’s land-based programmes keeping a watchful eye on his future progress and welfare.

The new National College for Nuclear will be one of two hubs across the UK providing high-tech, specialist training to meet the skills needs of the nuclear industry employers.

Featured picture: One of the bat boxes ready for Kevin

Careers company coverage a postcode lottery?

A government-backed careers company does not cater to every college around the country, including the whole of London, FE Week has learned.

We have repeatedly pressed the Careers and Enterprise Company, which was set up in July 2015 to connect young people with the world of work, for details of the colleges that it works with.

After being told three months ago that we couldn’t have the information for “data protection” reasons, we were this week finally given a list of the colleges and local enterprise partnerships in its “enterprise adviser network”.

It revealed a postcode lottery for FE coverage, with 15 LEPs not covered – and London completely absent.

Claudia Harris, CEC’s chief executive, confirmed that the company did not work with any of the capital’s 44 FE and sixth form colleges.

During an exclusive interview with FE Week, she blamed the lack of coverage on “ramp-up”, and “the fact that we are only 18 months in”.

“The offer will be made available to all schools and colleges over the coming years,” she said.

Ms Harris said the CEC was working with “nearly all” local enterprise partnerships across the country, but the list of colleges that FE Week saw listed just 24 of the 39 LEPs.

And despite being titled ‘list of colleges in the EAN’, the document also included around 35 schools alongside 44 FE colleges and 21 sixth form colleges.

It’s not clear if the CEC is working with any of colleges in the 15 uncovered LEPs. Ms Harris told FE Week the list was not complete and “the missing LEPs are areas we’re waiting for returns from”.

She added: “To be honest, we needed to get permission from each of the LEPs to share the data, which takes a bit of time, so it’s basically that we haven’t done that yet in all of the LEPs”.

She admitted that “we’re not working with colleges” in some of these LEPs, as the CEC’s enterprise coordinators had only “been in post for a few weeks”.

“We’re really pleased we’ve got 80 coordinators. We’re pleased that we’ve got so many schools and colleges signed up, but it’s very early days,” Ms Harris said.

Her organisation, which is thought to have been backed by more than £70 million of government funding, boasted of working with over 700 schools and colleges in July.

Its enterprise adviser network was described by former education secretary Nicky Morgan as the “cornerstone of the company’s work” during a speech at CEC’s conference in May this year.

It uses paid enterprise coordinators, who work with volunteer enterprise advisers, to support schools or colleges in their efforts to improve careers guidance and work-related education.

The aim is to help them “connect better” with local businesses and develop an employer engagement strategy.

The coordinators, who are cofunded by the CEC and local enterprise partnerships, each have a patch of 20 schools or colleges, while the volunteers work with an individual school or college, Ms Harris said.

“There are a whole bunch of colleges that clearly benefit from the offer – they’re colleges which are smaller, or which don’t have very strong employer links, and they therefore need this coordinator and work with our enterprise advisers,” Ms Harris said.

Larger colleges that already have these links in place could “become the hub that then provides the employer connection to some of the local schools”, she added.

Disappointment over further delay to FE maintenance loans decision

Sector leaders have been left “disappointed” after the government delayed its decision on whether to provide maintenance loans for higher level learners studying technical education in FE.

On September 9, FE Week reported that the Department for Education had stalled on the issue, but promised to “make a statement in the autumn”.

With the season drawing to a close, FE Week followed up with the DfE, asking if they would be announcing the decision by the end of November.

The answer was non-commital, with a spokesperson only prepared to say: “We will set out our next steps on FE maintenance loans in due course.”

The department was unable to give any firm details on the date of any future announcement, meaning there has been a further delay.

It is important to ensure there is access to the loan scheme so that people can use it to gain the necessary skills for the workplace

Julian Gravatt (pictured), assistant chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “It’s disappointing to see that the DfE has pushed back the announcement of its decision on providing maintenance loans for those studying at higher levels.

“With the current economic uncertainty, there’s demand for people with high-level skills.”

He added: “It is important to ensure there is access to the loan scheme so that people can use it to gain the necessary skills for the workplace.”

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “We’re a little disappointed that there is no news yet on this.

“We’re hoping that the announcement will have something to say on loans being available for higher level and degree apprenticeships.”

In September, when it published the outcome of a consultation on whether to introduce maintenance loans, the DfE concluded that it would “take time to consider the responses” and scheduled a full announcement of its plans for November.

A DfE spokesperson said at the time: “We are going to take time to consider the responses to the consultation in light of the report by Lord Sainsbury, which has implications for higher level technical learning and how it should be delivered in the future.

“We will need to consider the value for money case and fiscal position before taking any decision on the case for FE maintenance loans.

“We expect to make a statement in the autumn.”

The consultation, which was carried out by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills between March 24, and June 16, 2016, aimed to test whether support for the introduction of maintenance loans in FE was on a par with the level of support available in higher education.

It also looked at whether this support should only be made available to 19+ learners studying level four to six technical courses at specialist providers, and whether part-time learners should be supported as well.

The DfE found that “respondents felt that the introduction of a loans package would help achieve the objective of increasing the number of learners undertaking technical and professional learning in key sectors that are important to the economy”.

The consultation outcome report said: “When taking the written responses and the strength of feeling in the focus groups, the majority believed that this offer should be made on the basis of the qualification studied rather than the institution where the learning took place.”

Nearly three quarters of respondents thought that maintenance loans in FE should also be available to part-time learners.