Latest news from FE Week | FE Week

Council u-turn on outsourcing adult education

Councillors have U-turned on their decision to outsource local authority adult learning services – citing the current area reviews of post-16 education and training as a key reason for the decision.

In June funding cuts prompted Croydon Council to agree to find a private provider to run its community and adult learning service from 2017, with a view to getting out of the contract completely in the future.

But cabinet members voted on Monday to reverse this decision and keep running the services until at least September 2018 – after it emerged that tendering them out would actually cost the local authority £500,000, instead of leading to savings.

A spokesperson for the council told FE Week that the decision would “enable us to take into consideration the outcomes of the FE area review and adult education reviews, when making our decision on any new delivery model.”

Cuts to its adult skills funding allocation were cited as one of the original key drivers behind the discredited decision to outsource adult learning, through a report presented to the cabinet meeting on June 20.

The service, which had 4,413 learners in 2015/16 and was rated good overall at its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2010, was allocated £2,445,321 for adult skills in 2015/16, according to SFA figures – a drop of almost £600,000 from 2014/15.

The report said it was not “possible or desirable” to get out of its contract with the SFA “due to the ongoing area reviews”.

It was not “possible or desirable” to get out of its contract with the SFA “due to the ongoing area reviews”

Instead it proposed “that the council moves to commission the provision, through an open competitive process from September 2017, with a view to potentially transferring the provision at a later date when funding and structures are known.”

The intention was to sub-contract the provision for one year “where-after the position will need to be assessed in light of funding and the outcome of the reviews”.

But a financial review report presented on Monday night recommended overturning the decision made in June, on the basis of new evidence.

These included a projected £500,000 loss to the council which the report said was due to losing the service’s “contribution to council overheads which would create a short-term budget gap”, as well as confirmation that its SFA funding would not be cut in 2016/17.

It also highlighted uncertainty around the outcomes of the current area reviews and the impact on colleges in the local area, as well as the possibilities of working with other local authority providers raised through a separate London-wide review of adult learning providers.

The council spokesperson said: “We recognise the important role adult learning services play in Croydon which is why, in spite of a £600k reduction in government funding we have committed to directly deliver the service until at least September 2018.”

Croydon Council is involved with the south London area review, part of the third wave of area reviews, which had its first steering group meeting on April 22.
According to plans put forward to the London-wide steering group in February, the review was due to have completed by September.

But, as previously reported by FE Week, minutes from a number of colleges involved in the London reviews indicate that the review is now not expected to complete until November.

Marsden survives Labour party reshuffle

The “indefatigable” shadow minister for higher education, FE and skills has kept his post, following a Labour party reshuffle.

Gordon Marsden has held onto the role since September 2015, when he moved over from the transport department, and was praised by Jeremy Corbyn during an exclusive interview with FE Week back in February.

The Labour leader praised his “indefatigable skills at following things through”.

As his title suggests, Mr Marsden (pictured right) will continue to hold responsibility for shadowing both Robert Halfon, the apprenticeships and skills minister, and Jo Johnson, minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation.

It represents a vote of confidence as not everyone in Labour’s top team came out of the October 7 reshuffle so well – with chief whip, Dame Rosie Winterton, for example, being sacked from her post.

Mr Corbyn was moved to praise his shadow skills minister for his doggedness, during the FE Week interview, for his efforts to hold David Cameron to account over his promise to create an apprenticeship fund from Libor fines.

David Cameron pledged last April that if he won the election, his government would fund 50,000 apprenticeships and traineeships for unemployed 22 to 24-year-olds using a £200m pot from fines paid by bankers in the wake of the Libor scandal.

However, no further details about the proposed fund were revealed, leading Mr Marsden to repeatedly push for an explanation.

His continued presence in the shadow cabinet has been met with a warm and congratulatory response.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner tweeted that she was “extremely pleased” with the new shadow education team, while Kirstie Donnelly, managing director of City and Guilds, said she was “pleased to hear” that Mr Marsden had kept his role, adding that the FE sector “desperately requires stability”.

Other Twitter followers have described him as a “strong voice” with a “passion for social mobility”, who is “extremely passionate about skills and apprenticeships” and “understands the issues”.

Mr Marsden recently demonstrated his commitment to the FE sector through supporting FE Week’s #SaveOurApprenticeships campaign.

On September 14, he hosted the launch of the campaign against devastating cuts to apprenticeship funding in committee room nine of the Houses of Parliament.

At the event, he warned listeners that the cuts – which could see funding for 16 to 18-year-olds in some of the most deprived areas of the country slashed by up to 50 per cent – are “an elephant trap in his [Mr Halfon’s] in-tray”.

“If this goes wrong, not only will ministers have egg on their faces, but faith in the whole new system they want us to take part in will be undermined,” he said.

Mr Marsden also attended a special rally in support of the campaign at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on September 27.

Earlier in the month he wrote to Mr Halfon to express his concerns about the funding cuts, saying that the government’s proposals “offer a damaging lack of support for young apprentices and further weaken proposed attempts to widen participation”.

Majority of sixth-form colleges look to academise

Around 70 per cent of sixth-form colleges have registered an interest in converting to an academy with four already launching formal consultations, FE Week has learned.

The figure was provided by the Sixth-Form Colleges’ Association, which said around 65 of the country’s 93 SFCs were exploring converting to an academy as “plan A or B” following recommendations in their area reviews.

Priestley College (pictured), in Warrington, is the latest to announce formal proposals for academy conversion, following bids by Hereford sixth form college, Rochdale sixth form college, and New College Pontefract.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the SFCA, said the plans will move sixth form colleges “from the margins to the mainstream”.

“It is a way of positioning sixth-form colleges to drive up standards in schools, to bring their business expertise,” he added.

The move follows former chancellor George Osborne’s announcement last year that becoming an academy would allow a sixth-form college to avoid paying VAT.

Guidance published by the Department for Education in February said that academisation would only be available to SFCs as part of the area review process.

SFCs have the option to convert either as a standalone academy, or as a multi-academy trust – either by joining an existing MAT or setting up a new one.

Priestley college hopes to launch The Challenge academy trust from next April, and currently has two secondaries and one primary signed up. It is also in talks with a further three secondaries and two primaries.

Principal Matthew Grant told FE Week: “Money is tight and we don’t think it is going to get any easier, therefore we want to work together with other schools to make efficiencies, share resources and expertise.”

Colleges currently pay an average of £317,000 per year in VAT; conversion would save Priestley college about £250,000 a year.

But Mr Grant said the move was “mainly about improving education across Warrington”.

Rochdale sixth form college is proposing to set up Altus Education Partnership from next February.

The multi-academy trust would provide “high quality educational support, improvement and governance to schools within the area local to Rochdale,” according to a public consultation published on the college’s website.

New College Pontefract is set to become part of the New Collaborative Learning Trust, which will include New College Doncaster and New College Bradford when they open in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Pauline Hagen, principal of New College Pontefract, said ensuring that all three institutions shared the same “legal rights and benefits” was a “tremendously important part of our plans for raising the quality of post-16 education across the region”.

Meanwhile, Hereford sixth form college is planning on becoming a single academy trust.

A consultation on its website said there would be “no change” in the character or ethos of the college and it would keep its name.

“As a single academy trust we would establish formal links with local 11 to 16 schools to develop shared approaches to quality assurance, shared staffing, professional development and resources,” the consultation said.

“The ability to reclaim VAT payments will provide additional funding of between £200,000 to £300,000 annually, which will be used to improve provision for students.”

The first conversion could be as soon as January, with applications for both Hereford and New College Pontefract being reviewed by the Department for Education and their relevant regional schools commissioner.

First two national colleges open their doors to students

The first two of five planned new government-backed national colleges have opened their doors to students, after £80 million was allocated by the government for their development.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon was guest of honour at Tuesday’s official opening ceremony for the National College for Digital Skills, in Tottenham Hale.

A spokesperson said it had taken on 58 students aged 16 to 19, and the aim is “to equip them with the skillsets, mindsets and networks to thrive in tomorrow’s workplace”.

The institution, also known as Ada, has so far received £18.2 million from the London Local Enterprise Partnership’s Further Education Capital Fund and £13.4 million off the Government.

The National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries, based in Purfleet, Essex, which was allocated £5.5m from the public purse, opened to students last month.

It currently only has 16 students and no website, but a spokesperson said this would be up and running by the full brand launch in March.

Principal Jane Button told FE Week: “Students [studying for a level four diploma in technical and production] will learn from industry professionals in real working environments.

The aim is “to equip them with the skillsets, mindsets and networks to thrive in tomorrow’s workplace”

“The work placement element of the course gives a direct line of sight to employment. Our network of industry employers gives opportunities such as the Southbank Centre.”

A college spokesperson added in response to being questioned about the website that “a microsite [not full website] will be launched in the coming weeks”.

Mr Halfon said after the National College for Digital Skills launch: “The young people I met will be the digital innovators of tomorrow. They’ll benefit from top quality training and leading industry work experience. It was excellent to see the remarkable work that the college is doing.”

FE Week reported in December that business proposals for seven different employer-led National Colleges had been considered — but only five were given the go-ahead by the government following due diligence checks.

The breakdown of how much was cash was going to each of the five new national colleges was confirmed five months later.

It was revealed that the National College for High Speed Rail, which is set to open next September and will be located in Birmingham and Doncaster, would receive around £40m for the construction of new buildings and equipment.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, visited the building site for the Birmingham campus two weeks ago, to witness the completion of the building’s main flat roof.

He said: “The UK is highly regarded for its engineering capabilities but we need to do more to attract new talent to the sector as well as improving the skills of the current workforce.

“The National College for High Speed Rail is a vital part of these plans as it will provide the cutting-edge skills we need to deliver HS2 and other world-beating infrastructure.”

It was also confirmed in May that the National College for Nuclear, in Somerset and Cumbria, was to get £15m off the government for buildings and equipment, together with a further £3m from the South West LEP and £4.5m from Bridgwater College. This is set to open next academic year.

The Blackpool and The Fylde College-affiliated National College for Onshore Oil and Gas, set to receive £6m, was also expected to open in 2016/17. But plans are understood to have stalled since Theresa May became prime minister, while they wait to see what level of support her government gives to fracking in the coming months.

Lack of assessment organisations ‘disrespectful’ to apprentices

A former top skills civil servant has turned on “diabolical” government planners, after exclusive FE Week analysis showed there are no approved awarding organisations for over 40 per cent of learner starts on new apprenticeship standards.

Number crunching of government data published this month showed this applies to 1,790 (42 per cent) out of the total number or starts (4,240) so far on the employer-developed programmes.

The revelation provoked scathing criticism from Dr Sue Pember, who stood down as the civil service head of further education and skills investment in February 2013, with the government also admitting there’s a problem.

It’s a serious issue because apprentices on the standards, which will gradually replace old frameworks, will have to pass end-point assessments for the first time.

They must be carried out by organisations that have been cleared for the task by the government, on the Skills Funding Agencies register of apprentice assessment organisations.

But as well as the startling figure for learners, our analysis also highlighted 33 standards with at least one start but no-one assigned to run their crucial tests.

Dr Pember said: “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.”

The Department for Education admitted on Thursday (October 13) that it is struggling to recruit enough of these assessment organisations.

“We know there is more work to be done to ensure we have the range and breadth of high quality assessment organisations we need,” the spokesman said.

“That is why we are working with the Skills Funding Agency to raise awareness of the register and encourage more assessment organisations to sign up.”

He added the level of demand for a standard was “one of the factors that will be taken into account when it comes up for review”.

“On top of this, we now require all groups of employers bidding to develop a standard to commit themselves to using it,” the spokesperson added.

The government has so far fully-approved 147 standards.

However, the October Statistical First Release reveals only 56 standards attracted one or more apprenticeship start by July, despite over 100 being available at the time. And of the 56 standards, a massive 59 per cent (the 33 highlighted above) still has no approved assessment organisation.

The government’s struggle to get to grips with the problem is being further exasperated because some of the assessment organisations are only allowed to operate in limited parts of the country.

Training 2000 Ltd and Leicester College are, for example, limited to the North West and West Midlands respectively.

FE Week has also got confirmation that at least two approved assessment organisations for the most popular standard, the level two property maintenance operative – which had attracted 650 learner starts by July – are not yet ready to deliver assessments (see boxout).

Dr Pember, who is currently director of policy for adult learning provider membership body Holex, joined the then-Department for Education and Skills in 2000 as director of adult basic skills strategy, before rapidly rising through the civil service ranks to the role of head of further education and skills investment by 2007.

She worked under ten FE and skills ministers and eight secretaries of state before leaving the civil service six years later.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) annual conference in June saw her previously speaking out on the issue of assessment.

She told delegates at the time: “I think it’s really morally wrong to start an apprentice on a programme when you don’t know how they are going to be tested at the end.

“You wouldn’t start somebody on the equivalent of an A-level without knowing the assessment at the end.”

Here’s what Dr Sue said in full:

do think 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.

The learning process around skills acquisition is made up of four parts -instruction/teaching, learning, practice and feedback and assessment.

When you start splitting this up it is not easy to ensure quality, trainers are not able to ensure the trainee is covering the right material and it becomes very ineffective for the apprentice.

Also, there will be a prestige and credibility element to the end assessment organisation that shouldn’t be ignored.

No-one will want to spend two/three years following a programme only to end up being assessed by a back street assessment provider who has no credibility with the sector and was only chosen because they were cheap.

The client (the apprentice) needs to know who is assessing before they join that apprenticeship programme.
And then I am worried about the equality issues, for example:

1. Someone with dyslexia may not want to do a programme if it relies just on written tests, if he or she knew that before they started they would make a judgement on whether the programme was right for them;

2. A single mum may not want to do a programme if it means going away and leaving her children for two days to go to an offsite centre. Again, if she knew this before she started, then she would probably look for another type of an apprenticeship.

I just don’t think apprentices are being given the respect they deserve. They will be giving up two/three years of their lives, will be expected to work hard, and for many the salary will be low. They need to know the facts before they start.

If this was HE there would be uproar – “Come to our prestigious university, we don’t know how we going to do the end assessment, but it won’t be with us and probably it will be with someone you have not heard from of, and by the way you won’t be getting qualification from us, but a certificate that’s going to come from some government quango, that might not be in existence by the time you have finished your programme!!”

MPs given clearest public indication yet of u-turn on apprenticeship funding cuts

Top skills mandarins have given the clearest public indication yet that they will reverse huge apprenticeship funding cuts exposed by FE Week for disadvantaged 16 to 18 year-olds, during a bruising encounter with the Public Accounts Committee.

The cuts were raised in this afternoon’s evidence session by Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, with committee chair Meg Hillier (pictured above) subsequently welcoming the response from top skills civil servants during an exclusive interview.

It comes after FE Week revealed yesterday that the Skills Funding Agency is understood to have gone some way to address the framework rate cuts in their final plans, due for publication later this month.

Ms Phillipson asked about the impact of proposed reforms that would see funding for 16- to 18-year-olds in some of England’s poorest areas cut by up to 50 per cent for starts from May 2017, as highlighted by FE Week research and our subsequent #SaveOurApprenticeships campaign.

Sir Martin Donnelly and Jonathan Slater during the hearing

Jonathan Slater, permanent secretary to the Department for Education, said in response that getting the funding rate correct for young people from deprived areas “is one of the most active debates we’ve been working through” and that “we’re doing our best to get that right”.

He added this issue was “a very strong point that’s been made during the consultation phase and how we get that right is one of the most active debates we’ve been working through”.

Ms Hillier told FE Week afterwards she was pleased that it “looks like the civil servants will be looking at funding for 16- to 18-year-old apprenticeships again”.

She continued: “They need to do that otherwise there will be areas of the country that will lose out on the benefits of apprenticeships.”

She warned that her committee would hold the officials to account to “make sure the money for apprenticeships is spent wisely”.

david-hill-paul2 — David Hill giving evidence

Ms Hillier added her committee would hold the officials to account in the coming months to “make sure the money for apprenticeships is spent wisely”.

Earlier in the session Mr Slater was questioned on contingency planning for the apprenticeship reforms, after last month’s National Audit Office report highlighted this as an area that needed urgent attention.

Mr Slater said it had been “a good challenge from the NAO, and the team have been cracking on putting each of those into place.

He commented: “I’ve seen some very detailed contingency plans submitted since then.”

peter-lauener — Peter Lauener before the PAC

The mandarin added he had been told by the chief executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, the body that oversees delivery of major projects across government, that they were “on track” for contingency planning.

Other witness at the hearing included Sir Martin Donnelly, who is now permanent secretary for the Department of International Trade, but headed-up the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until June this year.

David Hill, director of apprenticeships at the Department for Education, and Peter Lauener, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency, also gave evidence.

Mr Lauener told MPs: “We consulted on the funding system for post-April 2017. It’s been a very lively consultation, lots of comments. We’re looking hard at the comments that have come back in and ministers will be considering the way ahead shortly and we expect to publish soon.”

Employers more satisfied with private training providers than colleges

Private training providers will be patting themselves on the back this week, following Skills Funding Agency research that revealed they are significantly more popular with employers than general FE colleges.

Training providers scored a massive 83.9 per cent for employer satisfaction according to the results of the latest SFA employer satisfaction survey, while colleges’ rating was nearly ten per cent lower at 74.9 per cent.

The percentages reflect the median score for 214 colleges and 301 private training providers with sufficient employer satisfaction feedback to be counted in the ‘FE Choices’ data.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, commented on the findings, saying: “These figures reflect the findings of the annual CBI skills survey and other surveys – therefore it’s hardly a surprise that independent providers account for three quarters of apprenticeship delivery.

“They are further evidence that it is futile and a waste of taxpayers’ money to try and fix the apprenticeship market to favour one set of providers over another.”

He added: “Independent training providers have always welcomed fair competition and providing we are dealing with a level playing field, they will be getting more from universities and colleges who have stepped up to the plate on employer engagement.

“No set of providers need any further subsidy to compete for apprenticeship provision.”

Mr Dawe also referred to comments from the Department for Education permanent secretary Jonathan Slater in a Public Accounts Committee evidence session on October 12, when he “repeatedly told MPs that the apprenticeship reforms would lead to a much more employer-driven system focused on quality and service”.

Mr Dawe said: “We expect employers to be able to make their choice of provider on clearly available information such as this on the Digital Account System.”

David Hughes, new chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said the result of the survey was “important feedback for colleges and providers to use to help them improve the quality of the experience for both students and employer”.

He added: “I am sure that colleges will be looking at the breakdown of this data and making sure they learn how to improve.”

For all types of provider, the Skills Funding agency survey found that 78 per cent of employers said they were satisfied with the quality of training and assessment, compared to 73 per cent last year.

A significant 80 per cent said they would recommend their provider to other prospective employers – an increase of three per cent on last year.

Furthermore, over 80 per cent of employers rated the professionalism of staff delivering their training or assessment at eight out of ten, and 79 per cent gave the same score for training courses reflecting up-to-date practices in their sector.

Employers’ ratings for how well providers understand their training needs also scored highly, with 76 per cent giving their providers eight out of ten.

The survey represented the views of more than 60,000 employers between March and July 2016, and was based on training in 2015/16.

Employers who participated in the survey were delivering apprenticeships and work based learning in a range of areas,
from construction to horticulture to animal care.

The academic year 2015/16 was the first year that employer satisfaction scores were determined by the percentage of respondents that would recommend the college or training organisation to another employer (i.e. gave a response of eight or higher out of ten to this question).

Hull College strike postponed following ‘positive talks’

A long-running dispute over redundancies between Hull College and the University and College Union took another twist this week, after planned staff strike action was postponed following “positive talks”.

UCU members at the college were set to walk-out on Thursday (October 13) over planned job losses.

But the union announced the day before that it had suspended the industrial action until next week (October 20).

Regional official, Julie Kelley, explained this was because there was now a chance of agreement being reached without striking.

The decision was taken “following positive talks,” she said. “Industrial action is always a last resort and we remain optimistic that this dispute can be resolved without the need for action.”

A Hull College spokesperson said: “The group can confirm that no strike action will take place [this week] and all campuses will be fully open as usual.

“This follows positive discussions with the UCU and staff to secure the required savings through a voluntary process negating any need for compulsory redundancies for academic teaching 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.

Since 2011, the college has seen 385 job losses through redundancy, according to the UCU, who said the latest proposals “made a mockery” of what they claimed was a college promise not to cut more jobs following the last round of redundancies.

The college spokesperson said last week that it was “currently 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.”

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.

Former shadow attorney general and MP for Kingston upon Hull, Karl Turner, renewed his war of words with the college bosses last week over the planned job losses.

He told FE Week the college cutbacks would “hit students the hardest”.

The MP, who was unavailable to comment after the strike was postponed, 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 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.”

No approved assessment organisation for over half of new apprenticeships

Almost 60 per cent of apprenticeship standards cleared so far by the government for learner starts don’t have an approved assessment organisation, a Skills Funding Agency update has today revealed.

The online document showed there are only 63 standards with an approved AO 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.

It comes after former leading skills civil servant Dr Sue Pember, said at Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) annual conference in June that it was “morally wrong” to start an apprentice on a course without knowing what the end-point assessment would be.

The director of policy at adult learning provider membership body Holex, who was a senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for 12 years – including six focused on FE funding, spoke out against the lack of clarity around end-point assessment.

Dr Pember said: “I think it’s really morally wrong to start an apprentice on a programme when you don’t know how they are going to be tested at the end.

“You wouldn’t start somebody on the equivalent of an A-level without knowing the assessment at the end.”

Stephen Wright, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB), raised concern over the summer about lack of regulation and slow progress surrounding the register of apprenticeship assessment organisations (tendering process).

He spoke out after FE Week showed in June that only three apprentice assessment organisations had been approved by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), which first began accepting submissions to the new register in March, in the previous three months — taking the total at the time up to just 16.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of AELP, also warned about end point assessments unduly influencing teaching practices.

He said: “The end-point assessment drives behaviour and you will get teaching to the test.”

He added: “The whole thing around end-point assessment, I just think is a nightmare.

“I have heard it in so many corners now that it is a car crash that is going to happen.”

He has now called for the pace of change from old apprenticeships frameworks to new standards to be slowed down, because too many issues including how end point assessment will work remain unresolved.

He said: “The Government has committed to shutting down the frameworks over the next two years while this standards creation and approval process proceeds at pace.

“To avoid potentially disastrous consequences, AELP urges that a shutdown of a framework should only occur when the replacement standard has been properly tested and evaluated.”