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FE commissioner to face questions on area reviews

Sir David Collins is to face a grilling from MPs on the progress of the area reviews of post-16 education and training next week.

The outgoing FE commissioner will be giving evidence to the education select committee’s area reviews inquiry on Wednesday morning.

The evidence session will focus on the progress, effectiveness and impact on the FE sector of the government’s on-going programme of reviews.

Sir David, who is due to retire in November, has had overall responsibility for the reviews since they began in September 2015.

As previously reported by FE Week, many of the early reviews have been subject to long delays – with some taking more than nine months.

But the FE commissioner told FE Week’s area review summit in July that all the areas in wave one and a number of those in wave two had completed.

And a recent letter from Sir David to college chairs and principals, dated August 25 but published by the Department for Education on Wednesday, acknowledged the early delays but said they had not been repeated in later waves.

Other witnesses at Wednesday’s evidence session will include Andy Wilson, chief executive of the WKCIC Group – formed through the merger of Westminster Kingsway and City and Islington colleges – and Angela Joyce, group principal of the Warwickshire College Group.

Also giving evidence at the session will be Theresa Grant, Trafford council chief executive.

Ms Grant chaired the Greater Manchester area review, which was subject to long delays and deep tensions between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the colleges involved.

City of Liverpool College placed in administered status by ‘extremely concerned’ minister

Administered status has been imposed on City of Liverpool College by apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon, who is “extremely concerned” about its decision to dispute being referred to the FE Commissioner for a second round of intervention.

Mr Halfon wrote to chair of the board of City of Liverpool College Peter Grieve on October 19, 2016, following a recent ‘stocktake assessment’ by the FE Commissioner, Sir David Collins.

He noted in the letter that former skills minister Nick Boles had also written to the college on May 18, and “made clear that it is not acceptable that the college has failed to deliver sustained improvement over a prolonged period”.

City of Liverpool then became the first institution to be re-referred to the FE Commissioner, following as a result of long standing quality and more recent financial failings.

Mr Halfon said he was “extremely concerned by the college’s response” since receiving Mr Boles’ letter, because “rather than focussing on securing improvement you have sought to challenge the commissioner process and spent college funds on engaging lawyers”.

He added that the government has already provided £2m of exceptional financial support to the college, as a result of its poor financial management this year.

This led to the FE commissioner’s stocktake not being completed, for the first time in any college since the intervention process was established in 2013.

Being placed into administered status will now mean that a member of the Skills Funding Agency’s local team will observe all of the college’s board meetings and the college will be required to consult the SFA about any significant changes to its operations or finances.

Mr Halfon said: “In considering the college’s position my priority must be the needs of the young people and adult learners in Liverpool … Since 2011 around 100,000 students have studied at the college and the provision it has offered has not been good enough. This failure cannot be allowed to continue.”

Back in 2009 City of Liverpool College was inspected by Ofsted and was rated ‘outstanding’.

However, after the appointment of the current principal in 2011, it fell to ‘inadequate’ in 2013.

It moved up to ‘requires improvement’ after intervention from the commissioner and his advisers in 2013 and managed to maintain that grade through to its latest inspection in November 2015.

But in his letter Mr Halfon described City of Liverpool College’s financial problems as “severe”.

He highlighted that the commissioner’s assessment of the college in April indicated leadership members had not exercised adequate financial oversight, while the recent, incomplete stocktake found that the board had not properly managed the senior leaders or held them to account.

“Financial mismanagement is not simply a matter of hitting annual budgets, but of proper financial planning which enables the college to invest in outcomes and quality,” he said.

The college exited its previous FE Commissioner intervention in December 2014.

The intervention team is now set to conduct a full assessment of the college’s position in November, when the latest accounts become available.

Mr Halfon commented: “At that assessment I have asked the team to explicitly consider taking into account local stakeholder views of how the executive team and governing body can be strengthened. The assessment will both review recent progress, and consider the college’s longer term record.”

Responding to the minister’s decision to place the college into administered status, Mr Grieve said: “It is important to emphasise that this will not affect day-to-day operations or impact on students or the quality of the education they receive.

“We are disappointed in the government’s decision given the progress which has been made, especially when one considers our progress against the backdrop of an £8 million funding cut last year.”

He added: “The outcomes for our students continue to improve and we are now achieving parity with national rates for 16 to 18-year-olds and those aged 19 and over.

“The college is subject to the same funding pressures as many other public sector organisations but our financial situation is also improving and we are confident that we have the right plans and leadership team in place so that we can continue to play a key role in supporting the economic growth of the city region.”

City of Liverpool’s FE commissioner intervention report from August was one of four to be publicly released this week.

Strike cancelled after college gives compulsory redundancy assurance

Planned strike action at Hull College has been called off, after bosses gave assurances that there would not be compulsory redundancies.

The strike had been due to take place yesterday (October 20) after being postponed from last week (October 13).

But the University and College Union decided not to go ahead following “positive talks”, and no further strikes are planned.

Julie Kelley, UCU regional official, said: “Strike action is always a last resort and we are pleased that on this occasion we have been able to negotiate a resolution which avoids the need for industrial action.”

A Hull College spokesperson said: “Following positive consultation with our recognised trade unions Hull College Group has achieved the required savings it needs to make through a voluntary and redeployment process, negating any need for compulsory redundancies for academic or support staff.”

The row follows the college’s announcement that it would make around 70 redundancies and close its three nurseries before the end of the year, to address a £2.6 million deficit.

A ballot that closed on September 30 resulted in almost nine in 10 UCU members (86 per cent) who voted backing strike action, while 96 per cent backed action short of a strike.

Staff had been due to walk out on October 13, but the union announced the day before that it was suspending the action as there was a chance of reaching agreement without striking.

At the time the strike was announced a college spokesperson had said it was “in consultation with trade unions and staff regarding a proposed redundancy programme.

“The group is also in the process of recruiting up to 45 new jobs as part of our highly successful HCUK Training commercial arm as we significantly grow our apprenticeship and commissioned work to employers.

“All of these new roles and jobs are being offered as redeployment opportunities for staff which will significantly mitigate job losses.”

Since 2011, the college has seen 385 job losses through redundancy, according to the UCU.

A previous strike in May, over pay and a controversial new lesson observation system, ended in a payrise for staff and an end to the no-notice observations.

Karl Turner, MP for Kingston upon Hull and former shadow attorney general, had joined college workers on the picket line five months ago supporting the dispute over pay and the lesson observation system.

He ended up calling for an investigation into the college’s chief executive Gary Warke, after he was allegedly sent a “threatening and derogatory” letter.

The MP uploaded a copy of the letter to his blog, in which Mr Warke allegedly wrote to “express my sincere disappointment that you chose to address striking UCU members without the courtesy of informing me”, adding: “We find your actions, two days before local elections, highly inappropriate and disrespectful to the Hull College Group.”

Speaking ahead of the planned strike ballot in September, Mr Turner told FE Week that “redundancies have become a yearly exercise at Hull College, which will not help staff morale”.

He said: “It is deplorable that many staff found out about redundancies during the summer holidays, reducing their ability to organise effectively, and have an input in the consultation period.”

National programme launched to boost apprenticeship end-point assessment

The government has launched a new programme to tackle the shortage of end-point assessors in apprenticeships, after FE Week reported that almost 60 per cent of apprenticeship standards cleared so far don’t have an approved assessment organisation.

The new large-scale scheme is funded by the Department for Education and commissioned by the Education and Training Foundation, with the aim of improving capacity to deliver independent end-point assessment in apprenticeships.

It will be co-managed by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers and the Strategic Development Network and ultimately will work towards building up to a critical mass of end-point assessors.

The launch follows FE Week analysis of a Skills Funding Agency update on October 12, which revealed that there are only 63 standards with an approved organisation to do the end-point assessment.

That’s out of 147 standards that have been granted final approval by the government and are therefore available for learners to start on.

The revelation provoked Dr Sue Pember, who stood down as the civil service head of further education and skills investment in February 2013, to comment: “It is diabolical to let an apprentice start a programme, without explaining not only what the end test will contain, but where it will be, what shape it will take and who will be the organisation to oversee and manage the process.”

However, from November, the DfE and ETF programme will look to address the problem by offering 15 workshop packages across the country, with the intention of helping organisations to understand the opportunities better and decide on their role in end-point assessment.

This will be followed by further workshops to help organisations become an approved Apprenticeship Assessment Organisation and prepare them to actually deliver the end-point assessment.

The first phase of the programme will include the development of eight industry-focused ‘Professional Dialogue Groups’ to explore the knowledge, skills and resources that are required by end-point assessors.

The findings will then be used in putting together guidance and materials for end-point assessors and will inform a programme of support to be rolled out in 2017.

Alison Morris (pictured right), head of technical and vocational education and training at ETF, said: “The introduction of independent end-point assessment is a substantial change to apprenticeships.

“Organisations and individuals will need to develop their capacity, knowledge, skills and resources to deliver end-point assessment successfully.”

She added: “This programme has been designed to meet that need – supporting individuals to develop to become end-point assessors; and leaders / managers to develop their organisations to deliver end-point assessment.”

But unrest over end-point assessment remains rife in the sector at present, with the issue being raised in both a meeting of the Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy and at the Federation of Awarding Bodies conference just this week.

Peter Lauener, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency, Education Funding Agency and the Institute for Apprenticeships, revealed to the Sub-Committee that the SFA has had to “knock-back” a number of applications to the register of apprenticeship assessment organisations because their plans for end-point assessment were not up to scratch.

Meanwhile Paul Eeles, the new chair of the FAB, called on Ofqual chief Sally Collier to play a stronger role in addressing the shortage of end-point assessment organisations.

Some may be encouraged by the fact that the new programme will be bringing together a wide range of partners in its attempt to tackle the issue, including the Association of Colleges, 157 Group, HOLEX (Dr Pember’s own organisation), the Federation of Industry Sector Skills and Standards, the University Vocational Awards Council, the Federation of Awarding Bodies, the Learning and Work Institute, City & Guilds and Cambridge Assessment.

The consortium will form an expert ‘Reference Group’ to advise on programme activities and content, to make sure the programme is relevant to all potential AAOs and staff.

Mike Cox, programme director at AELP, said: “We’re at a critical juncture in the apprenticeship reforms – an increasing number of apprentices are starting on the new standards, and frameworks are starting to be switched off.

“It is clear that significant end-point assessment capacity is required. The programme will help to drive this forward, ensuring high-quality AAOs are in place to meet demand and help secure the success of future apprenticeships.”

At £200 per person, interested organisations can book onto the first ‘Apprenticeship end-point assessment – deciding on your organisation’s involvement’ workshop packages here.

Exclusive: AoC India to close after 25 colleges quit

A college partnership network set up by the Association of Colleges to provide UK vocational education and training programmes to India is to close after losing over three quarters of its members.

AoC India was established in 2012 as a partnership of 33 FE colleges, but after being left with just eight members this year and facing pressure from the area review process the organisation is now closing down.

The latest AoC India Limited director’s report and financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2016, confirmed that “AoC India was established on an initial two-year basis and after completing this period eight colleges have decided to continue with the partnership.”

However, a going concern was also recorded in the document, which stated: “Over the next 12 months the focus for member of AoC India is likely to move away from international work due to area reviews, as well as other factors.

“As such member may take a view to withdraw from membership of AoC India and AoC India may cease trading at the end of the 2016/17 financial year.”

FE Week asked AoC to confirm any plans to liquidate AoC India Limited and to explain why the area review process was being blamed for members choosing to leave the partnership.

An AoC spokesperson said: “AoC India and its partners agreed to wind down the partnership from July 2016.

“Area reviews are part of significant changes ongoing in further education and colleges are likely to focus closer to home as a result.”

In an expert piece for FE Week in June 2013, John Mounford, AoC international director, said the “ambitions” of AoC India were: “to promote, represent and support UK FE colleges in India; to develop business opportunities; to establish a base that allows colleges to build mutually beneficial partnerships; to build consortiums that help to ‘scale up’ the UK college offer to better meet the needs of the Indian market; to act as a springboard for colleges looking to enter India for the first time; and, to explain and articulate the UK college offer to Indian partners.”

A spokesperson for the AoC told FE Week this week that “the AoC and its partners consider AoC India to have been a success”.

She added: “Colleges in the UK and India have formed sustainable partnerships and, despite the substantial amount of time it takes for Indian skills opportunities to develop, there is growing confidence in the UK’s further education sector in India.”

The spokesperson also claimed that “the winding down of AoC India will not prevent member colleges from continuing with the partnerships they have developed in India”.

Nevertheless, the decision to withdraw from the project in India may mark a change in direction for the AoC under new chief executive David Hughes (pictured left), moving away from an international remit towards a more local focus.

The decision also echoes comments made by former Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw (pictured below) in a speech at a conference organised by AoC in September 2012, when he called for “More Deptford less Delhi” in warning the audience that colleges could be at risk of focusing on international opportunities to the detriment of home-grown learners.

In 2012 FE Week was also part of the delegation that travelled to India to launch AoC India, and produced a supplement documenting the trip.

For the full story of AoC India, and the lessons learned by providers involved, see the next print edition of FE Week.

aoc-india-colleges-s4-office2 — The AoC delegation at the launch event in Delhi in January 2013

Colleges that have participated in AoC India include:

Barking & Dagenham College

Barnet and Southgate College

Belfast Metropolitan College

Blackburn College

Birmingham Metropolitan College

Bournville College

Bradford College

Bournemouth and Poole College

Burton and South Derbyshire College*

City and Islington College*

Coleg y Cymoedd*

City of Westminster College

Dudley College*

Edinburgh College

Exeter College*

Grimsby Institute

Guildford College of FE and HE

Harrow College

Havering College of FE and HE

Henley College Coventry

Highbury College*

Isle of Wight College

Nescot (North East Surrey College of Technology)

New College Durham

Oaklands College

Solihull College

South Thames College

Stockton Riverside College

Westminster Kingsway College

West Nottinghamshire College*

Walsall College*

Warrington Collegiate

Ytsrad Mynach College

*remaining members

Federation of Awarding Bodies appoints new chair and vice chair

A new chair and vice chair have been appointed at the Federation of Awarding Bodies, the membership organisation for vocational awarding bodies in the UK.

The appointments of Paul Eeles (pictured above) and Terry Fennell (pictured below left) were announced today at the first day of the Annual FAB Conference, at the Marriott Hotel in Leicester.

Mr Eeles and Mr Fennell will replace Fiona Ballantine Dykes and David Grailey, who end their terms of office as current chair and vice chair today (October 20).

The new chair and vice chair have both been co-opted members of the FAB board since 2014, and were fully elected in 2015.

They will take on responsibility for the governance of FAB and ensuring the organisation meets the needs of its 125 members.

Stephen Wright, chief executive of FAB, said he was “delighted” with the news.

He commented: “I have already enjoyed working with them both as board members and we all share the same passion to provide excellent practical support to members as well as driving the sector forward, strengthening its position among policy makers and helping to provide learners with the excellent technical and professional qualifications that they need.”

Mr Eeles has worked in the FE and skills sector for almost 30 years, including roles such as director of sector reforms at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers and, most recently, chief executive of emfec and ABC Awards.

This year, he also led the formation of the Skills and Education Group, a charity that aims to bring together education and skills organisations which share similar values.

Commenting on his new position, Mr Eeles said: “I am pleased to be taking on the role of chair at FAB during this turbulent time in the further education sector.

“While the sector continues to face challenges in light of interminable changes to post-16 educational policy, it is our role at FAB to ensure that we are offering the best service to our members in terms of promoting their needs and raising the profile of vocational education.”

Mr Fennell is group operations director of the Food and Drink Training and Education Council group of companies, which incorporates FDQ, an awarding body for qualifications in the food industry, and the Institute of Meat, a professional body for people in the meat industry.

He has previously worked at AELP and Improve, the sector skills council for food and drink manufacturing.

Ofqual boss urged to ‘fight’ for apprenticeship assessment watchdog role

“Stand up and fight” to become the apprenticeship assessment watchdog – that was the call to Ofqual’s boss from new Federation of Awarding Bodies chair Paul Eeles at conference today.

The role has currently been laid at the door of the Skills Funding Agency, which has been slow to approve organisations to carry out new end-point assessments for apprenticeships – as conceded to MPs yesterday by interim chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships, Peter Lauener.

Paul said that needs to change at the FAB annual conference today, when he implored Ofqual boss Sally Collier to be more proactive on the issue.

The discussion was responding to FE Week’s report on Friday (October 14) that there are currently no approved awarding organisations for over 40 per cent of learner starts on new apprenticeship standards.

Paul said today: “I’m the last person to ask for more regulation and more of Ofqual being regulating, but in this area I think there’s a real need for Ofqual to stand up and come alongside and fight with us for quality and standards and be the regulator of end-point assessments.”

Ms Collier, who was appointed chief regulator of Ofqual in April this year, responded: “Thank you for that. Absolutely we’re fighting the standards, but I don’t decide, I don’t get to decide what the landscape looks like.”

She added: “If there’s more we can do, absolutely. I stop short of saying ‘you know, hey look, it’s us, it’s only us because that’s not what I’ve inherited. If as a result as we go along that needs to change, then I’m sure the IfA will look at that.”

She also told delegates: “We are here today giving advice, supporting organisations developing end-point assessments.

“If we do that well, if, and employers are saying to us, ‘hey, thank you for that’ we think we’re going to get a better product as a result’, then that will snowball.”

FE Week editor Nick Linford pointed out that there are now over 2,000 apprentices on new apprenticeship standards, with no approved awarding organisations for their end point assessments.

The failings caused former top skills civil servant Dr Susan Pember to call government planning on this “diabolical”, as reported on the front page of the last edition of FE Week.

Mr Linford told Ms Collier: “Sally, as an independent watchdog I think you’re being too generous, too kind saying that we’re here to help.

“I’d like to hear more of those words, perhaps, from the independent regulator, stepping up – as someone suggested – now, not waiting for the crash, because it’s crashing, in my opinion.”

Ms Collis responded by saying that she had taken on board the strength of feeling at conference.

But she stopped short of making any guarantees, adding: “I can’t – you know, yes we’ve got a voice, and we’ve got a voice to play, but my voice should come on the standards issue and on the risk, not my voice, our voice.”

Chief executive of the Association Employment and Learning Providers also joined the debate, Mark Dawe, saying: “Can you imagine the parental outcry, if their children were put on A-levels where there was no understanding of what the assessment was going to be and who was going to do the assessment?

“And these are in many cases, the same young people, the same age, and the parents have no idea.”

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Collab Group: Building on yesterday for tomorrow

Ian Pretty explains why the former 157 Group has changed its name.

Ten years ago a group of colleges came together with a grand vision.

These principals formed what would become the 157 Group, an organisation formed to showcase the best of what FE can be.

Since then, the 157 Group has lived up to its promise, it has been a voice of credibility – of experts – in this sector and its achievements have been far reaching.

In October 2015, 157 Group principals took a collective decision to review how to stay relevant in our increasingly changing sector.

Principals felt the need for the 157 Group – almost a decade after its founding – to define how it will continue to innovate, continue to be responsive.

We looked at four government policy priorities – growth, productivity, devolution and public finances- and we asked how can a modern 157 Group make a difference in these areas?

As a result of that review, principals felt the need for a shift, for the 157 Group to continue to lead we must become more outward facing, more in tune with our place within the wider economy.

Working with business and with government, the skills sector is one corner of a three-legged stool that supports the productive capacity of this country.

The skills sector is one corner of a three-legged stool that supports the productive capacity of this country

Principals realised that to get our offering right, so that it has the greatest impact on our nationwide skills gap, on our productivity gap, and on our economy, we must collaborate.

We are now Collab Group, putting collaboration at the very heart of our mission. Never losing sight of what has gone before, but steadfastly focused on the future.

Working with local and national employers, and using key government priority areas, our members are transforming the FE sector, they are transforming industries, they are transforming the lives of their learners, and they are transforming the economy.

With Emsi we will shortly be publishing an Economic and Employability Impact report of our member colleges, the first aggregate study of its kind, and the results show the strength of our colleges.

For every £1 spent at one of our colleges, society receives £4.50 in return, that’s an average annual rate of return of over 19 per cent.

The accumulated impact of former learners who are currently employed in the regional workforce amounts to nearly £25 billion in added income to Great Britain’s economy each year.

Even more impressive than that is that is that altogether, the economic impact of our members to the local business community in Great Britain is £26 billion each year. That £26 Billion is around 1.6% of the total economic output of the entire country in 2014-15.

Going Forward, Collab Group will be concentrating on key sectors and priority areas, so we can better understand the needs of industry and industry can better understand the unparalleled impact FE can make.

These sectors: Construction, Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Technology, Creative Industries, Professional and Financial Services, Health and Hospitality- form the backbone of the UK economy.

They are areas of huge opportunity in terms of productive capacity and the prospect for growth, but they are also areas where we are seeing an ever expanding skills gap. We want to change that. We want to capitalise on the opportunities these sectors present and our colleges have the skill and commitment to do so.

Collab Group will continue its work influencing government policy, with an emphasis on shaping implementation of those policies and offering real solutions that will jointly benefit the sector and the economy.

Collab Group will continue its work influencing government policy, with an emphasis on offering real solutions

We are working actively with government on solutions to deliver Institutes of Technology. We are continuing our work shaping the structure of a new sector insolvency regime. We are undertaking research into the most effective models to successfully deliver the Sainsbury Review recommendations.

We are working with the CBI on the right answer to apprenticeship pricing bands. And we are supporting devolved administrations around solutions to their skills agendas.

Our members bring an unmatched expertise to the issues facing the skills sector and through collaboration with government we can advance meaningful and positive answers.

We want business, we want government and we want the skills sector to know that we are ready and able to work together. Only by working together can we achieve real change, can we impact the lives of learners. Together we can strengthen the economy.

Devolve FE funding to tackle post-Brexit skills gap, London mayor demands

Demands are being made by London mayor Sadiq Khan for devolution of all post-16 FE funding, to bridge post-Brexit skills gaps.

His team announced today that he wants new powers to develop “a home-grown talent pipeline equipped” to help London’s businesses stay globally competitive.

Key to this would be the “devolution of FE funding for 16-19 year olds and adults to create high-performing colleges to meet the needs of London’s economy and help reduce youth unemployment”.

Mr Khan’s demand goes much further than much-criticised government plans just to devolve the adult education budget.

Mr Khan stressed today that it was important to press ahead with devolution, so City Hall has the tools it needs to plug any skills gaps for businesses that could emerge from Britain pulling out of the European Union.

He said: “London has a strong, dynamic economy that makes a significant contribution to the UK.

“When London does well, Britain does well and it is therefore crucial we have the skills system to continue to be a globally competitive city that works for all Londoners.

“The uncertainty around Brexit means it is critical we have a strong skills base with a good mix of local and global talent to both retain and attract business.

”I am the mayor to lead a new skills agenda for London and it’s important we give businesses the confidence that London will continue to deliver for them and we’re doing all we can to build and protect the skills base they need to thrive.”

The announcement comes a day after it emerged that Mr Khan had joined calls on the government to rethink proposed apprenticeship funding rates for younger learners in some of the nation’s most deprived areas.

His concerns about the effect of such drastic cuts on social mobility and on young people in the capital were outlined in a letter to Tottenham MP David Lammy and seen by FE Week.

“I am concerned that these proposals may be in conflict with the government’s social mobility agenda and could make it more difficult to achieve my manifesto pledge of creating a fairer and more equal city, as well as achieve my commitment to create thousands of new, high quality apprenticeships that will play a vital part in securing opportunities for young Londoners,” he wrote.

“The proposed removal of both the area cost adjustment and the disadvantage uplift may result in some of the most vulnerable people from the most deprived areas of London being excluded from accessing apprenticeship opportunities on the basis of cost, and I have responded to the government’s consultation setting out the challenges the new funding system will present to London.”

Mr Khan’s letter came amid growing anger from politicians, employers and providers, since FE Week published its analysis of the provisional apprenticeship funding rates in August and launched the #SaveOurApprenticeships campaign.