Lewisham Southwark College still wants Newcastle merger despite local offers

A struggling London college is still trying to engineer a merger with a group based almost 300 miles away in Newcastle, despite rejecting offers from both a neighbouring college and a nearby university.

Lewisham Southwark College, which last year became the first college ever to receive two ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted in a row, has explored a number of what it called “potential options” to improve in the wake of the London (central) area review, according to a spokesperson.

Options under consideration included separate mergers with two nearby institutions: London South Bank University and Lambeth College.

Both options were deemed unviable by the bosses at Lewisham.

The college is instead revisiting its “preferred” proposal – of merging with Newcastle College Group, based in the north-east of England.

Lewisham first approached NCG last autumn and representatives from both colleges have confirmed to FE Week that “active discussions” are ongoing.

LSC said it had carried out “extensive work and engagement” on a merger with LSBU, but governors concluded that joining an HE institution was not a “strong way forward”.

In reaching this conclusion they considered the examples of failed HE/FE mergers

A Lewisham spokesperson said: “In reaching this conclusion they considered the examples of failed HE/FE mergers, the fear that FE would be lost in the bigger university, and the belief that most of the strengths of the proposal could be achieved through good partnership work and without the risks of a merger.”

Dave Phoenix, the chancellor of London South Bank University said a collaboration with Lewisham would “not be a merger”, but would “bring together a formal group structure of educational bodies such as schools and colleges, respecting the importance and specialist nature of each”.

Lewisham also considered merging with Lambeth College after former FE commissioner David Collins asked it to explore the option last October, but concerns were expressed about the potential risk of merging two colleges that are in financial and quality recovery.

LSC was the first college to receive two ‘inadequate’ ratings in a row from Ofsted, after an inspection in February 2015, while Lambeth retained a grade three the month before.

The spokesperson for Lewisham said the colleges had “agreed to look at” the option of a merger, but it would “require a significant financial package” to reduce the financial risk.

She said that Lewisham’s “preferred” option is therefore for a merger with NCG.

“A merger with NCG doesn’t need a financial package to go ahead, and would see Lewisham Southwark College fully retain its local identity within this national group.

“At the same time we have agreed to do some further work on whether a merger with Lambeth College could be an option if suitable finances were available.”

A Lambeth College spokesperson said there is “only an expressions-of-interest stage at present” from LSC.

Lewisham Southwark College is led by Carole Kitching, who took on the role last summer after leaving Newcastle College, where she was in charge from 2013.

NCG is made up of three FE colleges, one sixth form college and two independent training providers.

Of these, two are based in Newcastle: Newcastle College, and Newcastle Sixth Form College.

The remaining four members are based in other parts of the country: Kidderminster College, West Lancashire College, Manchester-based Rathbone, and Sheffield-based Intraining.

A spokesperson for NCG said: “We are pleased that NCG remain the preferred merger partner of the board of Lewisham Southwark College, however we of course recognise their requirement to consider all options as part of the London area review.”

 

Ron Dearing UTC expands a year before opening

A University Technical College (UTC) scheduled to open in Hull next year has expanded to accommodate an extra 50 student places in its first intake, in response to huge demand.

The Ron Dearing UTC will focus on engineering and digital skills and is backed by the University of Hull and a number of employers, including communications provider KCOM, engineering business Spencer Group, and Siemens.

The new UTC had planned to take on 150 students for its first year, beginning September 2017, but applications have already outstripped that target, so a successful application to the Department for Education will allow it to increase this intake to 200 students.

Principal Sarah Pashley (pictured) said the news was “really encouraging”.

If we receive sufficient demand to take us over the new level of 200 places, we can choose to reapply to the DfE to request a further increase

“We expected the UTC to be popular, but we’ve been surprised by how quickly the applications have come in,” she said.

Almost 200 applications have already been received for the 100 places each available in years 10 and 12, but Ms Pashley stressed that students who want to attend should continue to apply up to the end of January, as “places will not be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis”, and capacity might even expand further.

“If we receive sufficient demand to take us over the new level of 200 places, we can choose to reapply to the DfE to request a further increase,” she said.

“We want to stress we will not go over more than 150 in any year group and 600 in total.”

FE Week asked Mrs Pashley what she felt set her UTC apart from certain others which have closed amid reports of low student numbers, such as UTC Lancashire, Central Bedfordshire UTC, Hackney UTC and Black Country UTC.

“The biggest positive about Ron Dearing UTC is that our employer sponsors and Hull University are extremely proactively involved in the whole project,” she added.

“They’re not paying lip service to this; they are involved from leadership and governance right down to choosing the qualifications, developing the projects.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “UTCs have a vital role to play by providing young people with the technical knowledge and skills employers are after, and it is encouraging that the Ron Dearing UTC is proving so popular.”

 

Providers found ignoring apprenticeship register application guidance just hours from critical deadline

Organisations wanting to deliver apprenticeships from next May are failing to follow instructions from the Skills Funding Agency just hours before a critical deadline.

The new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which providers have to be on if they want to deliver apprenticeship starts from May 1 next year, closes for applications at 5pm today (November 25).

The SFA has been clear that providers can only register under one of three routes – the main route, the supporting route and the employer-provider route.

But at lunchtime today it issued a message to all providers via its BRAVO e-tendering portal that not everyone was following instructions.

The message (pictured below), which had the subject line ‘Important message’, said: “The SFA has noticed that some organisations have submitted multiple PQQs (Pre-Qualification Questionnaires) despite clear guidance.”

“Organisations are reminded that only one PQQ route must be submitted. Please check that this is the case.”

Providers that have applied for more than one route should decide which one is their preferred route, and decline the other, the message continued.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “The SFA’s guidance is very clear on this, so it is a little surprising that there is confusion about it. 

“It just goes to show that in the few remaining hours until the deadline, providers and employers must thoroughly check and recheck their applications against the guidance before they hit the Send button.”

The supporting route is an “entry route to the apprenticeship market for organisations that offer a specialism, and providers who only want to deliver as a subcontractor”, according to the SFA’s guidance.

The employer-provider route is for companies that wish to deliver apprenticeship training to their own staff.

Providers and employers must thoroughly check and recheck their applications

The SFA’s guidance clearly stated that providers “must apply through one of the application routes”.

And, in a separate ‘important message’ on its BRAVO e-tendering portal at 13:31 today, the SFA has also highlighted that providers tendering for funding to deliver training to non-levy-paying employers also need to submit a main route PQQ.

It said: “We would like to remind applicants that if you are submitting an ITT application, this MUST be submitted in addition to a main route PQQ. Failure to submit a main route PQQ will lead to your ITT submission being automatically excluded as we will be unable to process your application without a main route PQQ submission.”

bravo-message

Nescot appoints principal but controversial former head Sunaina Mann stays at Saudi subsidiary

LATEST: Nescot accepts former £360k a year principal was unfairly dismissed

Nescot, which has been dogged by scandal throughout 2016, has appointed a new chief executive officer and principal, but representatives are refusing to reveal what’s happened to its previous leader since she stepped down in June.

The college was eager to share the news that Frances Rutter currently chief executive at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, had been appointed to its top role, but was reticent to provide an update on the whereabouts of its controversial former head Sunaina Mann (pictured).

A spokesperson for the college declined to comment on whether Ms Mann had maintained any working relationship with the group after stepping down in June, when FE Week reported her husband had been paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for a contract of which governors were unaware.

However, Ms Mann herself told FE Week that she still holds the headship of the Surrey college’s Saudi Arabian project, the Jeddah International Female College.

The Jeddah Female College opened in 2013 as part of the Saudi government’s Colleges of Excellence programme, which was established to promote technical and vocational education in the region.

Ms Mann said: “I remain CEO and principal of Jeddah International Female College.

“After spending 18 months working at Jeddah International Female College, we are now the top provider in the Colleges of Excellence Performance table.

“I wish Frances well in her new appointment and hope she can continue to build on the many achievements of the college under my leadership.”

I wish Frances well and hope she can continue to build on the many achievements of the college under my leadership

Ms Mann left her job as CEO and principal of Nescot on June 2, after it was revealed that her husband, Jaswinder Singh Mann, had been paid almost £200,000 over the course of a contract with the Saudi Arabian college subsidiary that Nescot’s board of governors were ignorant of for 18 months.

In 2014/15, she received a salary of £363,000, making her the most well-remunerated college principal in the country.

Her successor will join Nescot in the spring, when she will take over from Cliff Hall, the interim CEO and principal.

Mr Hall said: “The senior management team and I are delighted Frances will be taking over, and we know she’ll do a really great job.

“All the staff at the college are looking forward to working with Frances to help the college realise our vision.”

Ms Rutter was appointed from a shortlist of five outstanding candidates on November 10, following a two-day process of interviews and assessments involving students and staff from across the college.

A qualified solicitor, she has been in charge at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council for the last eight years.

She was with Elmbridge Borough Council for 13 years before that, with two years spent as assistant chief executive.

Mrs Rutter also previously served as a governor at Nescot, before stepping down in 2013 when the college sought planning permission to redevelop its site.

“I’m honoured to be given this role, and I can’t wait to get started,” she said.

“This is a really exciting time for post-16 education, with plenty of opportunities for Nescot.”

Professor Sam Luke, chairman of Nescot Corporation, said: “Frances is a proven leader, and she will bring a wealth of relevant senior-level experience and expertise to this role.

“We’re absolutely confident that Frances is the right person to lead Nescot on to the next phase of our journey.”

 

Scotland and Wales dominate Skills Show 2016 medal table

Around 200 of the UK’s top vocational learners were rewarded with gold, silver and bronze medals at the closing ceremony of the Skills Show on November 19.

Medals were awarded to the best entrants in 61 different skill areas, with a further 29 young people highly commended for their efforts.

It was colleges from Scotland and Wales which emerged as the big winners of the night, with the two countries claiming the top three places on the official medal table.

New College Lanarkshire took the top spot with 32 points, bagging the most medals with an impressive haul of four gold, two silver, four bronze and two highly commended.

City of Glasgow College, which was best overall in 2015, came second, followed by Coleg Sir Gar in third.

Speaking after the medal presentation Neil Bentley, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said: “It has been an incredible, inspiring and hugely successful Skills Show culminating in a ceremony to honour the very best young talent Britain has to offer.”

I congratulate every one of the competitors and wish them every success, especially in their future jobs

The closing ceremony marked the end of this year’s national skills competitions finals and Skills Show 2016, which saw more than 90,000 people walk through Birmingham NEC’s doors from November 17 to 19.

An abundance of careers advice from leading employers such as Dyson and Jaguar Land Rover was on offer at the show, as well as the chance to have a go at more than 50 different skills, and the opportunity to speak to past WorldSkills UK competitors.

More than 500 talented young people took part in the national finals where winners were presented with awards at a special evening event, attended by around 1,000 people, which featured an opening speech by Carol Stott, chair of organisers WorldSkills UK and hosted by TV Presenter Will Best.

Daniel Pickering, aged 17, won a gold medal in mechatronics for UTC Sheffield, who finished in joint fifth position with 12 points, taking home one gold, two silver, and one bronze medals.

Daniel said winning the competition was one of his “greatest ever” achievements.

“I really had to draw on all of my problem solving skills,” he said. “I am so proud to be recognised as one of the best in the UK.”

Abigail Buckingham, an apprentice with The Goldsmiths’ Centre, won gold in fine jewellery making. She said: “It’s been a great competition, an amazing opportunity a totally different experience. You find out for yourself what you like about the trade and this will help you in your future career.”

Skills and apprenticeship minister, Robert Halfon (pictured above), visited the show on the Thursday and dubbed it as the “future of Britain”.

Speaking with FE Week after the results of the national finals he congratulated the competitors and all involved.

“The Skills Show is the future of Britain. It is the competitors that make the show so special and important.

“I congratulate every one of the competitors and wish them every success, especially in their future jobs as examples of all that is best that skills can offer.”

All eyes are now turning to Sweden, where 22 of the country’s top apprentices and learners will be going for gold at EuroSkills 2016.

They will compete against the top European talent under the age of 25, from more than 30 countries in over 35 different skill areas between December 1 and 3 in Gothenburg.

You can download our Skills Show 2016 supplement here. Keep an eye out for our coverage of EuroSkills live from Gothenburg next week.

 

Jaguar apprentices rescued after provider collapses

Training provision has been saved for thousands of learners, including those on a high-profile scheme with Jaguar Land Rover, after the Skills Funding Agency oversaw a last-minute buyout of one of the biggest training providers in the country.

Pera Training had looked like it was just days away from going bust despite holding a huge SFA contract, leaving around 2,400 apprentices, including around 1,200 at Jaguar Land Rover alone, without a provider.

But Talent Training stepped in with a last-ditch rescue by purchasing Pera’s assets, including staff and its multimillion-pound contract with the SFA.

Sam Morgan (pictured), chief executive of HarperCo Limited, which owns Talent Training, told FE Week that his company stepped in after the administrators called in the debt.

“We purchased Pera Training’s assets, including the SFA contract, but not the shareholding, so the provision will now be run directly by Talent Training,” he said.

“The biggest employer was Jaguar Land Rover, and we had to confirm that they were happy with the transition – and they were.

“Their learners are still being taught by the same people at the same place. That was really important.”

Pera Training was previously a company with a turnover of £30 million.

Most businesses go into this sort of arrangement with the aim of making money, but this will not be the case for us

It had been trading for 16 years and was a prime contractor for the SFA, allocated just under £7 million by the agency for adult apprenticeships in 2016/17 as recently as September.

An application to strike the company off was published on November 21, the same day a resolutions agreement was published confirming the takeover.

Talent Training, which was rated ‘good’ by Oftsed in 2013, said the acquisition would include 62 members of staff, and confirmed there would be no job losses.

It confirmed that 100 per cent of the students previously on training programmes with Pera, including those with Jaguar LandRover which is often lauded by ministers as a standout apprenticeship scheme, will be transferred.

Mr Morgan said “a lot of work went on” with the SFA to ensure “everything worked out best for learners and staff”.

“Most businesses go into this sort of arrangement with the aim of making money, but this will not be the case for us,” he confirmed.

“It was a moral question of doing the right thing. I live near the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull and have friends and family who have trained with them.

“We wanted to act in their best interests.

“The acquisition of the assets of Pera Training provides us with the opportunity to draw on the wealth of experience and professionalism of the team,” he said.

“The team members who are transferring will be crucial in helping us maintain continuity of service for 51 employers and more than 2,000 students currently enrolled on programmes delivered by Pera Training.”

An SFA spokesperson told FE Week: “In line with our established procedures designed to ensure continuity of training for learners and to minimise any disruption to employers, we have arranged for the transfer of 2,400 learners covered by Pera’s contract with SFA to Talent Training.”

 

Scammers target colleges during AoC conference

FE colleges have been targeted by a spate of attempted frauds in the past few weeks – including several attempting to capitalise on the fact principals were attending the recent Association of Colleges’ annual conference.

Finance officials at four FE colleges have all received emails purporting to be from their bosses, and asking for transfers of significant sums of money.

None of the colleges were hoodwinked and police are investigating, but principals want to get the word out that FE institutions are apparently being targeted.

The finance director of New College Swindon was asked to make a payment of £9,850 to someone named ‘Antael Nguessan’.

The fraudsters must know that my principal isn’t in today

In an email seen by FE Week, a bemused official wrote: “The fraudsters must know that my principal isn’t in today. I’ve just had the email asking me to make a same-day payment from an email address that has nothing to do with the principal. Am just stringing them along at the moment…”

Both New College Swindon and Northampton College received emails last week (November 15 and 16 respectively), when the principals were at the AoC conference in Birmingham.

The finance officer of Truro and Penwith College received similar correspondence on November 8, while Hartpury College’s vice-principal for business and finance was the first to flag up a scam email, after they received it on October 20.

Each of the colleges identified the emails as fraudulent before any action was taken, and all of them reported their cases to the police.

They also warned other providers of the scam through a discussion forum for finance directors run by Jisc, a not-for-profit organisation for digital services in UK FE and higher education.

Steve Rankine, the director of finance at Northampton College, said: “We take cybersecurity extremely seriously and remain vigilant at all times.

“We received an email purporting to be from the principal, but on closer inspection it appeared to be from a suspicious address.

“We immediately reported the case to ActionFraud.”

FE Week contacted ActionFraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, but could not obtain a comment without the crime reference number, which Northampton College did not disclose.

A spokesperson for New College Swindon said: “Our finance director was emailed on November 15, and guessed it was a scam immediately.

“She obtained the permission of our head of IT to ‘go along with it’ to get more information, and when the other side provided details for a payment to be made she then reported it to the police.

We received an email purporting to be from the principal, but on closer inspection it appeared to be from a suspicious address

“She made the decision to alert the finance directors’ email network, because she was aware it was the AoC conference and wanted to warn other people as principals were likely to be out.”

Truro and Penwith College and Hartpury College declined to comment.

Meanwhile, on November 22, the Sixth Form College in Solihull was sent an official-looking letter claiming to be from the Commercial Register and asking for the college’s details to be updated “cost free” by December 20.

The letter also came with an attached form that required a “legally binding” signature, but closer inspection of the small print revealed that signing meant agreeing to pay a yearly fee of £863 plus VAT for the data to be published “as an advertising insert for a period of three years”.

Paul Ashdown, principal of the college, said: “Our director of finance saw this scam for what it was and no payment was made.

“We have robust financial procedures, which protect the financial security of the college and as those procedures were adhered to, we did not fall victim to this fraudulent request.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We trust schools to make sure their financial management procedures are robust.”

 

For Prevent to succeed, we can’t ignore religion

With Prevent and British values still in the spotlight, now is a bad time to lose the National Council of Faiths and Beliefs in Further Education, says Sam Parrett.

As we approach the end of an extremely busy term, and indeed year, I am saddened to learn that the National Council of Faiths and Beliefs in Further Education will close down in March 2017.

There has never been a greater need for understanding and tolerance of faith and beliefs. At a time when Prevent is under the spotlight, Ofsted has made it very clear that colleges need to be assessing the impact of their policies. This is something the FBFE can support, with its expert understanding and experience of these very issues.

Yet another victim of FE funding cuts, the FBFE was previously well supported by the sector – both directly through college subscriptions and indirectly via income-generating activities with organisations like the government-funded Education and Training Foundation.

However, much of this funding has dried up and the charity has been left with no option but to close.

Over the years the FBFE has brought together a unique combination of college managers, principals, chaplains and members drawn from the many other faith and belief communities found in FE.

Since its inception in 2008, representatives from many organisations have been involved, including the Association of Colleges, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, the former National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, and Ofsted. I myself have been a trustee since 2011.

As leaders of colleges or groups of students, we may be led by spirituality, a strong moral compass, a sense of purpose or indeed all three. We all draw on our own personal values and beliefs, whether these are founded in faith or not, when making decisions and often need guidance.

This is exactly what the FBFE supports, and it is entirely unique in terms of the service it can provides to the sector. Put simply, no other organisation can offer the same support.

There has never been a greater need for understanding and tolerance

Not only has the FBFE produced a range of excellent materials for the Spiritual, Moral, Social Cultural development (SMSC) curriculum, it has also trained many colleges in how to implement it.

Staff can often find it challenging to deal with controversial issues that relate to faith and beliefs. This is entirely understandable but makes it all the more imperative that they receive support.

Here at London South East Colleges we have used FBFE’s consultancy and training services to support our British values programme. We have also engaged the organisation to help train our staff on issues relating to religious tolerance.

This has been especially important where we are located in Greenwich, which has had a sad history of racial tensions and high-profile murders and incidents that have hit the national headlines.

There is no doubt that understanding issues relating to faith, belief and culture is essential for those working in FE and within society generally. The mission of our sector is to educate and train the next generation of citizens, apprentices, employees and employers.

Colleges all put a strong emphasis on the employability skills of our students. Integral to this is the development of personal qualities within an individual and the way they can relate to others as well as technical skills and knowledge.

To deliver this to our students – as well as meeting the requirements of Prevent and the Common Inspection Framework to promote British values – we and others in the sector need external, expert support.

This development is both disappointing, but very worrying. At a time when faith, belief, culture and identity are high on the political agenda – set against a background of increased hate crime – the sector simply cannot afford to ignore the issues.

It’s time to mobilise on this issue. We need to restore the FBFE or think long and hard about what will take its place.

 

Sam Parrett OBE is principal and CEO of London South East Colleges

 

Technical education is our best chance to achieve social mobility

Far from being “elitist”, Lord Sainsbury’s recommendations give those who can’t get into elite universities a chance to compete, says Andy Forbes.

I was incensed at Lord Sainsbury being branded “elitist” for his definition of technical education; he is right to set a high bar for quality education in the sector.

Far from being “elitist”, the Sainsbury Panel’s recommendations give the FE sector a golden opportunity to challenge the elitism of a system where the curriculum of Eton and Oxbridge is seen as the model for all to follow.

We are standing at a turning point in the fortunes of the English FE sector. More importantly, we are standing at a turning point in the strategy for economic prosperity and social mobility, which has been at the root of modern educational policy in the UK.

Most importantly of all, we are at a pivotal moment in which we have a chance to arrest the policies that inadvertently have condemned thousands of young people and adults, primarily from disadvantaged backgrounds, to an educational and qualification cul-de-sac. Far from improving their prospects of career advancement, the “widening participation” policies of the past 20 years threaten to trap students from hard-pressed families in a permanent limbo of low wages, insecure employment and chronic personal debt. Exactly the opposite of what most of us working in FE would hope for.

Technical education has been squeezed out by this rush towards honours degrees

All of us have been won over by the argument that in a modern economy where knowledge and expertise are the most valuable resource, the expansion of higher education is the right thing to do. And it certainly is – all the evidence is that an economy based on advanced technology requires a higher proportion of highly skilled people in the workforce if it is to be successful. But this does not mean it is right to focus only on expanding the number of students doing full honours degrees and throttle funding for all other high-level courses. And it doesn’t mean that it’s right to expand willy-nilly the numbers doing degrees of all kinds – with no regard for the exact type of skills or volume of skilled graduates the labour market actually requires.

Reckless expansion by universities of degree courses is producing a massive over-supply of graduates with the wrong sorts of degrees, who have little chance of finding a graduate job and who, thanks to the student loan system, have been saddled with an eye-watering level of debt. Those who are in this position tend to be those from poorer backgrounds, disproportionately from ethnic minority communities, and disproportionately female. Whether we like it or not, they haven’t gone to the top-brand universities and they haven’t done high-premium degrees in science, medicine, law or economics. Despite the BTECs and A-Levels they’ve battled to get, they simply can’t get in.

Technical education has been squeezed out by this headlong rush towards honours degrees. Yet it is exactly the right path for those people who don’t have the social and cultural networks – and often, the money – to get them into elite schools and universities, but nevertheless want to earn good wages and avoid bad debt. Technical education is the academic and vocational preparation of students for jobs involving applied science and modern technology – exactly what the modern economy desperately needs in abundance.

So, yes, keep pushing to get disadvantaged students into Russell Group universities doing prestigious degrees. But for those who don’t make it, the best alternative is not necessarily doing a degree at your friendly neighbourhood university. It’s doing an HNC, HND or degree apprenticeship, or at least it certainly should be.

Widening participation in universities does not in itself promote social mobility. What will do is the return of high quality further education, linked to high quality technical education.

Lord Sainsbury is right. Professor Alison Wolf is right. We in the FE sector should be clamouring for their alternative vision for social mobility to be implemented right away and for the FE colleges best placed to deliver it to be resourced at least as well as the universities have been.

 

Andy Forbes is principal and chief executive at the college of Haringey Enfield and North East London