A former chief executive of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, who reportedly received a £230,000 voluntary redundancy pay-off from the local authority just six months ago, has been appointed to lead two merging colleges.

FE Week has exclusively learned that John van de Laarschot will start as chief executive on August 1, when the merger between New College Nottingham (NCN) and Central College Nottingham (CCN) is complete.

It is understood the new institution will be called Nottingham College.

A spokesperson confirmed today that the announcement of Mr Laarschot’s appointment had been made to staff and students at both merging colleges, but added the “legal contractual process” was ongoing.

Mr van de Laarschot left his previous £200,000-a-year post at Stoke-on-Trent City Council last year.

This followed an ‘Extraordinary City Council Meeting’ on November 11 to discuss the “extended leave arrangements that had reportedly been sanctioned for the council’s chief executive”, according to council minutes.

His departure stirred controversy at the time, as he reportedly received a £230,000 pay off.

FE Week asked leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council David Conway if the council would expect Mr van de Laarschot to repay this, now he was taking up a new position in the public sector — but he was unable to respond by the time of publication.

In July 2015, FE Week reported that governors at both the Nottingham colleges had voted to merge, following a review of FE provision in the city by commissioner David Collins.

Dr Collins launched the review in May following recent grade three Ofsted inspection results for both colleges and financial difficulties which led to a £12m rescue package from the Skills Funding Agency so NCN could complete a campus revamp.

The result of the merger will be one 40,000-learner “Nottingham College” in the heart of the city, with a new £60m skills hub reportedly planned for land near the Broadmarsh Centre off Canal Street set to be the home of the new establishment.

NCN was rated as grade two by Ofsted in January this year, while CCN received a grade two in February.

FE Week contacted Mr van de Laarschot for comment on his new position, but received no response ahead of publication.

A college hit with two inadequate Ofsted ratings in three years has been told by Skills Minster Nick Boles that it is “failing too many of its students”, following an FE Commissioner report.

Dr David Collins’ team visited City College Coventry in February, following its most recent Ofsted inspection in November.

The report, dated April 2016, was published today.

In the accompanying letter to college chair, Maggie Galliers, Mr Boles said: “The key finding is that the college is clearly failing too many of its students through a combination of poor teaching and weak curriculum management”.

But he added: “It does, however, have a number of strengths which, deployed vigorously and over time, could turn the institution around.”

Today’s report comes after Dr Elaine McMahon took over as interim principal in January, following the departure of previous principal Steve Logan after just 18 months in charge.

He was appointed in July 2014, the same month that the college received a grade three rating from Ofsted.

Mr Logan replaced previous interim principal John Hogg, who was appointed following the departure of long-standing principal Paul Taylor in May 2013 after an inadequate-across-the-board rating from Ofsted in April 2013.

Dr Collins’ report found that Dr McMahon had “made an immediate impact on the health of the college and the coherence of its leadership.”

There was “clear evidence” of an “emerging quality culture among senior managers” and “a belief that leaders are now taking more responsibility for improvements”, he said.

But he recommended that the college “aim to achieve stability in its key managerial and curriculum posts” and “clarify its strategic direction and its intended stronger vocational character”.

The report noted: “The board is clear the FE offer in Coventry is not organised such as to give maximum benefit to students and the local economy.”

It added: “The college itself is too small to sustain the current 14 areas of learning.”

There “appear to be no insuperable barriers” to a proposed three-way merger with Henley College and Hereward College, Dr Collins said.

He recommended that it worked with the two colleges “to consider methodically a full range of options for creating a robust FE curriculum for Coventry, including relationships with higher education”.

Dr Collins praised the college for its “good” financial control, and for acting “appropriately and promptly to address its financial deficit” which resulted in it returning to a satisfactory financial health rating “a year earlier than projected”.

While he recommended the college should “rebalance” its board to include “businesses relevant to the college’s vocational curriculum”, Dr Collins noted that “even as it stands it is a strong governing body”.

A spokesperson for the college told FE Week that it had been “involved in a fundamental review” of its priorities since November, and had taken advice from a “wide range of stakeholders” including the FE Commissioner.

“We found that process extremely useful and constructive and our improvement plan addresses all of the recommendations made in the report,” the spokesperson said.

Referring to the line in Mr Boles’ letter about the colleges’ strengths, quoted above, the spokesperson added: “We share that optimism and are working every day to ensure that happens as soon and as effectively as possible.”

Growth requests are being offered for the delivery of any of the new apprenticeship standards, FE Week can reveal.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) announced this today as part of a “targeted growth exercise” to increase 16 to 18 and 19+ apprenticeship delivery.

An initial statement uploaded onto gov.uk by the agency said the offer would apply to standards — not existing apprenticeship frameworks — but did not specify which ones.

But when asked by FE Week if this meant providers needing more funding could lodge growth requests for “any of the new standards”, an SFA spokesperson said: “Yes, on standards, we have not been specific on sector areas”.

“Requests are subject to affordability and our normal credibility checks,” she added.

So far 96 new standards have been approved by the government for delivery, with more than 160 still in development.

The SFA also said on gov.uk that its “targeted growth exercise” would apply to other apprenticeship delivery — covering higher and /or degree level, food, farming and agritech, and those that are science, and technology, engineering and maths (STEM)-based.

A spokesperson said: “We will also fund credible growth cases on 16-18 traineeships and 19-24 traineeships.”

She said the SFA would consider providers’ final 2014/15 apprenticeship and traineeship delivery, along with 2015/16 delivery against year-to-date profiles, when reviewing growth requests.

The review process will also take on board whether they can prove there is immediate demand from employers or learners that providers “cannot meet from your current contract value”.

Providers must also “provide details of the frameworks /standards you will deliver on food, farming and agritech apprenticeships and/or other STEM based apprenticeships or a specific commitment from an employer confirming an agreed volume of starts,” she added.

Providers have been asked to submit growth request forms relating to today’s announcement, via ProviderPerformanceManagement@sfa.bis.gov.uk by 5pm on May 20, which will be viewed by many as a rushed turnaround.

The funding will be added to 2016/17 allocations.

The SFA spokesperson added: “We will also review the baseline data used in calculating 2016/17 allocations and where more recent data shows evidence of increased performance, we may increase your allocation accordingly.

“You do not need to include reference to this within your growth request.”

It comes three months after training providers branded “ridiculous” the overdue news that many of their 16 to 18 apprenticeship and traineeship growth requests had not been funded in full by the SFA.

The SFA announced in early February that it had awarded an additional £25m to colleges and training providers to deliver 16 to 18 apprenticeships — but there was no extra cash for 16 to 18 traineeships.

The announcement, which should have been made on January 8, was in response to growth requests submitted by providers to help fund apprenticeships and traineeships in 2015/16.

It came just a week after FE Week exclusively revealed that the delay in confirming the growth requests was due to an overspend by the Department for Education.

The SFA was unable to say ahead of publication how much growth funding it has to distribute relating to today’s growth request announcement.

Bridgwater College in Somerset is the latest new member of the 157 Group, it has been revealed this morning.

The announcement was made by the college group via Twitter at 11am, and brings the total number of members to 32.

Bridgwater is the sixth college to have signed-up since 157 Group exclusively revealed its expansion plans to FE Week in January, following a strategic review.

Mike Robbins (pictured above), the college’s principal, said: “We are delighted to be joining, and look forward to the prospect of working with like-minded and forward thinking colleges to share ideas, learn from each other and jointly confront some of the challenges facing the sector.”

Bridgwater, which has 17,000 learners, was rated outstanding across the board when it was last inspected by Ofsted in November 2006.

Ian Pretty, 157 Group chief executive (pictured right), said he was “thrilled” to welcome a “world-class institution” on-board.

“They bring a wealth of expertise and a deep commitment to their students, which they develop through leading edge practice and partnerships with employers,” he added.

“Bridgwater College proactively works to maximise the skills, investment and career opportunities for employers and learners in their region, and is a leading provider of business training to employers across Somerset.”

Today’s announcement comes after FE Week revealed on March 14 that Middlesbrough College had become the fifth college to join the 157 Group as part of its expansion plans.

South Staffordshire College and South Thames College joined on March 7, and City College Plymouth joined the group on March 1.

Those announcements came a little over a month after Cardiff and Vale College became the first new member of the group following the review.

Bridgwater is currently involved in merger talks with neighbouring Somerset College.

A Bridgwater spokesperson said a final decision on the merger was expected soon, following a consultation that ran from October 1 to November 2.

The government has announced the breakdown of £80m funding it has dedicated to creating five new national colleges — with one for high speed rail scooping half the total amount.

Today’s announcement revealed that the National College for High Speed Rail, located in Birmingham and Doncaster, will receive £40m from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) for the construction of new buildings and equipment.

Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield Combined Authority and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) will provide a further £6m each, alongside around £5m in equipment from industry.

It comes after FE Week reported in December that business proposals for seven different employer-led National Colleges had been considered — but only five had been given the go-ahead subject to due diligence checks.

This morning’s announcement was the first time BIS officially confirmed they had passed the checks, and a breakdown of where the £80m will be allocated had been provided.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said the approved “national colleges have been designed with employers, for employers. They will produce the skills needed now and into the future to ensure the UK remains innovative and at the forefront of pioneering industry”.

The National College for Nuclear in Somerset and Cumbria will gain the second largest slice of the BIS funding — securing £15m for buildings and equipment, together with a further £3m from the South West LEP and £4.5m from Bridgwater College.

These new institutions for high speed rail and nuclear, along with the National College for Onshore Oil and Gas, in Blackpool, will open in September 2017.

The National College for Onshore Oil and Gas will also get £5.6m from BIS, with equipment donations from industry.

The National College for Digital Skills, set to open in September, will receive £13.4m from BIS and £18.2m from the Greater London Authority and the London Enterprise Panel.

And the National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries, which will also open at the start of next academic year, will get £5.5m from BIS, £5,000 from Creative and Cultural Skills and £1m in equipment from industry.

All five of the new national colleges will focus on delivering high-level technical skills at levels four to six.

BIS originally pitched the idea of national colleges in June 2014.

It released a document, named ‘National Colleges – a call for engagement’, which stated they would “set a new standard for higher level vocational training” and “deliver the higher level technical skills that businesses need”.

The government department called on interested parties who saw the opportunity for a national college in their sector, industry or profession to apply, stating that it had £50m to invest in match funding from April 2015 up to March 2017.

Twenty of the country’s most skilled young people have been selected to represent the UK at EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016.

Those chosen for Team UK, which was announced today, will go for gold against the most talented young people from more than 30 European countries in more than 35 different skill areas ranging from engineering and construction through to creative and hospitality.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “The young people who have earned a place on Team UK are worthy ambassadors and show the great things you can achieve with high quality apprenticeships and technical training.

“I congratulate each and every member of Team UK and look forward to hearing about their performance at EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016.”

The members of Team UK were selected after excelling in the National Finals of the WorldSkills UK Competitions.

Tom Revell, an apprentice with Toyota Manufacturing UK, who will represent the UK in mechatronics, said he was “thrilled” when he found out he had been selected.

“My apprenticeship at Toyota has opened so many doors for me and to be able to say I could be the best in Europe at my job has made me determined to give it my all. From now until December I will be spending every spare minute I have training for the competition.”

Members of Team UK will now go on to complete an intensive training programme, supported by their trainers, employers and training providers, before competing in Sweden from December 1 to 3.

Dr Neil Bentley, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said: “By entering international competitions, we can benchmark the employability skills of our apprentices with those from the rest of Europe, ensuring more young people are being equipped with the right skills to help UK businesses better compete globally.”

The competitors who take part in EuroSkills this year will also go onto compete for a place in the team that will represent the UK at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.

Last year, the UK team took home three gold, four silver, and two bronze medals from WorldSkills in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which gave TeamUK 46 points in total to place it seventh in the overall medals table — up three places on WorldSkills Leipzig two years ago.

Team UK for EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) will be contacting lead providers who have failed to publish subcontracting information in a crackdown on non-compliance.

The SFA told FE Week on Wednesday (May 4) that it had found evidence of providers failing to publish full details of their subcontracting figures — including fees and charges — despite previous threats that this would cause their funding to be suspended.

A spokesperson said: “As a result of our non-compliance subcontracting work, we will be writing to our lead providers who are non-compliant in: publishing their fees and charges for 2014 to 2015 and/or 2015 to 2016; and those that are non-compliant in producing a valid audit certificate on their subcontractors, to advise them of the next steps.”

The SFA declined to explain what these next steps would be.

The threat comes after the agency warned last September that it would suspend public money for lead providers who failed to publish what they charged each of their subcontractors in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The SFA had previously introduced a rule requiring providers to reveal their management fees — before FE Week found (pictured) that it was being ignored by a number of providers.