The National Union of Students has voted to keep its vice president for FE for a second term.

Shakira Martin, the NUS’ outspoken vice president for FE, will keep her role for another term after succeeding in an election at the NUS’ national conference 2016 in Brighton today.

She was uncontested for the post and was elected at stage one, with 152 votes compared to only 11 votes to re-open the nominations.

Speaking to the conference floor during her election speech, Ms Martin said: “FE stands for Free Education, Further Education, for everyone.”

This year she has been the champion of a new campaign to force the government to recognise the impact that post-16 area reviews are having on learners.

The #FEunplugged campaign was officially launched in January, with the aim of raising “the profile of area reviews and making sure the student voice is not ignored during the process”.

It led to Ms Martin appearing in the cartoon (see above left) for edition 162 of FE Week.

The NUS also elected a new president, Malia Bouattia (pictured right), at conference today.

Previously the NUS’ black students’ officer, Ms Bouattia was elected in stage one of the count – by 372 votes to 328 for previous national president Megan Dunn.

She is the first black and minority ethnic woman to hold the role.

Ms Bouattia has recently caused some controversy over her religious and political views.

An open letter was reportedly sent to Ms Bouattia last week from protesters and heads of student Jewish societies asking: “Why do you see a large Jewish society as a problem?”

The letter was said to be a response to an article co-authored by Ms Bouattia in 2011, in which she said the University of Birmingham was “something of a Zionist outpost in British higher education”.

Ms Bouattia reportedly responded to the letter by saying that she was “deeply concerned” that her views had been misconstrued, and adding that she is dedicated to “liberation, equality and inclusion”.

The Department for Education’s financial statements lack “truth and fairness” according to the government’s audit watchdog.

The department (DfE) finally published its accounts for 2014/15 today, four months later than usual, after it used a statutory instrument to delay publication.

FE Week’s sister publication FE Week reported in January that the department had started getting its accounts in order after the National Audit Office (NAO) labelled them as “not acceptable on any level”.

The watchdog last year issued a rare “adverse opinion” on the department’s 2013/14 accounts after it discovered a £166 million overspend.

The issues stemmed from the department having to combine the accounts of more than 2,500 organisations – most of them academy trusts  – across different accounting periods.

Today’s publication of accounts has again been met with an “adverse opinion” from the NAO.

Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Sir Amyas Morse branded the level of error and uncertainty in them as “material and pervasive”.

His probe into the department’s finances revealed it had exceeded three expenditure limits set by parliament.

Sir Amyas, head of the NAO, said: “Providing parliament with a clear view of academy trusts’ spending is a vital part of the DfE’s work – yet it is failing to do this.

“As a result, I have today provided an adverse opinion on the truth and fairness of its financial statements.

“The department will have to work hard in the coming months, if it is to present parliament with a better picture of academy trusts’ spending through the planned new Sector Account in 2017.”

A statement from the NAO said the department and the treasury were now working to develop an alternative approach to accounting for academy trusts.

The DfE is now planning to publish a separate report with accounts for academies, on an academic year basis.

Although the move falls outside the normal parliamentary spending control procedures, it considers the solution “attractive and appropriate”.

Neil Carmichael, chair of the education select committee, which questioned the department in March following the delay of its accounts, said of today’s judgement: “At a time of continued pressure on public spending, it is vital government departments file their accounts on time to enable proper, effective public scrutiny.

“We recently questioned senior civil servants at the DfE on financial management and we shall continue to keep a close eye on this area.

“In providing an adverse opinion on the DfE’s group financial statements, the C&AG has given us serious reason to question the DfE’s ability to manage its programme of educational reform.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “Academies are subject to a rigorous system of accountability and oversight, tougher and more transparent than maintained schools. This is reflected in the NAO’s finding that there are no material inaccuracies in individual academies’ statements. However, the consolidation of thousands of those accounts into the format required by parliament is one of the largest and most complex procedures of its kind.

“All of these accounts are published individually by trusts ensuring they can be held to account by the department and the public.”

The spokesperson said the department recognised the challenges with its current format and will introduce a new methodology for 2016/17.

“With the Education Funding Agency’s rigorous oversight of the academy system and the expanding role of the Regional School Commissioner we are confident that the accountability system for the expanding academies programme is robust and fit for purpose,” he added.

The chairs of the Business, Innovation and Skills and Public Accounts Committees have demanded to see key government documents relating to the cost of controversial planned closure of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Sheffield office.

The call was made in a letter sent today to Martin Donnelly, permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

It comes after BIS was accused of launching an “FE brain drain” when it unveiled plans in January to close its Sheffield office, which it is feared could lead to nearly 250 people with a wide variety of specialist knowledge of the sector losing their jobs.

Iain Wright, chair of the BIS Committee, and Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC, have now called in their letter for Mr Donnelly to release information on the department’s estimate of the costs of closure of the Sheffield office and the transfer of posts to London.

It stated: “We are asking for precise information about the work done, to estimate the cost in relation to different scenarios in relation to the closure of the Sheffield office and transfer of posts to London.”

It added information previously provided by Mr Donnelly relating to the reorganisation of the department had been “wholly unsatisfactory” with answers in oral evidence “obfuscatory, if not misleading”.

Iain Wright MP, chair of the BIS Committee, said the Permanent Secretary’s previous responses to MPs on this issue “simply isn’t good enough”.

“He is accountable for the use of public funds and needs to demonstrate the financial rationale and evidence-based business case for the decision to cut jobs in Sheffield and centralise policy making in London,” he added.

Meg Hillier MP (pictured above left), chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said: “The government must be held properly to account for its decisions and use of public money.

“In this case, effective scrutiny is being undermined by the department’s most senior civil servant. Taxpayers deserve better from those working on their behalf.”

“We expect the Permanent Secretary to respond swiftly and with clarity on the points of concern raised by our committees. Only then can the decision to close the BIS Sheffield office be properly scrutinised.”

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, also said: “It’s not just [a question of] how much Sheffield costs, but how much more expensive it will be to move those posts to London. I want the whole truth so that I can make my case to keep the jobs in Sheffield.”

It comes after Lois Austin (pictured above right), the PCS full-time official for BIS covering the Sheffield office, told FE Week in March that widespread opposition to the plans to centralise the department’s policy-making in London had forced BIS to delay its consultation by two months.

She said: “They told us back when all this was first announced that the consultation over the closure of the Sheffield office should be completed by the start of March.

“But we’ve now been told that it will be May 2, which shows how shaken up they are by the scale of opposition to this.

“They’re saying that centralising to London will save money and improve policy decisions.

“But we asked Martin Donnelly for evidence of the analysis they have done to prove this.”

BIS was unable to comment on the PAC and BIS committee letter ahead of publication.

However, a spokesperson for the department previously told FE Week: “There are ongoing discussions with staff members and their representatives to support staff affected, but any specifics would be confidential and so we can’t comment on anything individuals might have said.”

Mr Donnelly has previously said: “The decision to close Sheffield by 2018 has not been taken lightly. It is my top priority that all our staff are fully briefed and consulted on the process. We will provide comprehensive support to all those facing a potential change or loss of job.”

The government has today announced the employer time limit on using their levy funds, due for introduction in April 2017.

The news came in an updated guide to the apprenticeship levy and “how it will work” web page, published this afternoon.

An apprenticeship levy operating guide for employers, to be published in April, had been promised in last month’s budget.

The latest version of the guidance stated: “Funds will expire 18 months after they enter your digital account unless you spend them on apprenticeship training,”.

It continued: “Whenever a payment is taken from your digital account it will automatically use the funds that entered your account first. This will minimise the amount of expired funds.”

The apprenticeship levy, first announced by the government in July, is set at 0.5 per cent of an employer’s paybill.

As outlined in the new guidance, all employers will receive a £15,000 allowance to offset against the levy. This means that only businesses with a paybill of more than £3m – about 2 per cent of employers – will actually pay the levy.

The money raised by the apprenticeship levy will be ring-fenced, so it can only be spent on training apprentices.

All levy-paying companies will receive a 10 per cent top up on their monthly levy contributions, the government announced in the budget last month.

Details of the digital apprenticeship service (DAS) were first revealed by Keith Smith, director of levy implementation at BIS, at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference in March.

Nadhim Zahawi, the co-chair of the apprenticeship delivery board and the Prime Minister’s apprenticeship adviser, revealed at the same conference that only levy paying businesses would have access to the DAS when it launches in April 2017.

Also speaking at the AAC, Iain Wright MP, chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee, said that he didn’t see a “hope in hell” of the government’s hitting its 3m apprenticeships target.

He also criticised the government’s plans to make further announcements on the levy later in the year: “Further work will be outlined in April and further details in June. They are making this up as they go along!”

For more analysis see the next edition of FE Week

Bury College has launched a consultation on its proposed merger with the University of Bolton.

The move was first revealed in an article by FE Week on April 7 — after our analysis found that at least 15 mergers involving 28 FE colleges and three sixth form colleges were planned for August.

A consultation on its proposal to merge with the university has now been launched by Bury College and will run until May 20, with the merger planned to complete by August 12.

Merging with the university was the “most compelling” option available to the college, through the Greater Manchester area review, according to the consultation document.

It said the decision had been based on a number of key considerations — including that it would be able to retain the name Bury College, and develop strong links already in place between the two institutions.

The college would operate as part of the university, but retain its own brand and identity “with substantial ownership and support”, the document added.

This would preserve the college’s identity “while providing a stronger infrastructure to support the delivery of its mission and its long term financial sustainability”.

The document claimed that being part of the university would “achieve substantial improvements in learners’ overall experience” and “enable provision of a state-of-the-art education environment”.

“It is clear that the university can help Bury College provide a wider and more compelling offer to the businesses of the local area than it can currently do alone, or in partnership with another FE provider, which only offers similar training and the same level,” it added.

“The introduction of significant higher education opportunities into Bury, via the college, is a major and decisive consideration in assessing the best option for Bury and its economic growth.”

The report added the merger “effectively at a stroke creates a university presence” in Bury, which would boost “enterprise, innovation, talent attraction and inward investment”.

Principal Charlie Deane (pictured above) said the proposal would “allow the college to provide a more comprehensive, flexible and responsive curriculum offer, with the potential to improve access and increase choice for a broader range of learners at all levels”.

He added: “It will allow us to build upon the existing strengths and specialisms of both organisations in order to strengthen the educational opportunities for learners, supported by employer demand and the guidance of our stakeholders.”

A spokesperson for the University of Bolton said: “We work closely with Bury College which offers some of our degree courses on its campus.

“The university welcomes the current proposals by the college to consider joining forces with the university, not least to strengthen opportunities for learners to gain even greater access to educational opportunities, including, higher education,” the spokesperson said.

 

The government has today announced who will be taking over from Chris Wormald as the head civil servant at the Department for Education (DfE).

Jonathan Slater (pictured above), currently director general and head of the economic and domestic affairs secretariat at the Cabinet Office, will take up the role of permanent secretary at the DfE on May 3.

The news follows the announcement in January that Mr Wormald, who has been the DfE’s permanent secretary since March 2012, would be moving to the same position at the Department of Health (DoH).

Mr Slater, who described the new appointment as a “tremendous honour”, has been in his role at the Cabinet Office since October last year, where he has been responsible for co-ordinating policy advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

Earlier roles include director general of head office and commissioning services at the Ministry of Defence, from July 2011.

Mr Slater’s appointment was made by the Prime Minister David Cameron, in agreement with the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, and Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, following an open competition.

Ms Morgan said she was “delighted” by Mr Slater’s appointment.

“As well as his experience at the Cabinet Office, Jonathan will bring invaluable expertise in leading major delivery programmes at both the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defence, as well as his background in local government,” she said.

“He is particularly well-placed to lead the department to deliver the next phase of our reforms to education and children’s social care, and I look forward to working closely with him,” she continued.

Mr Heywood echoed Ms Morgan’s comments, and said that Mr Slater “has a real passion for education and helping all children to fulfil their potential”.

“I know he will do a great job at the Department for Education helping to support and deliver the government’s reform agenda,” he said.

A spokesperson for the DfE was unable to say when Mr Wormald would be moving to the DoH.

The Government has admitted to missing its target to recruit 300 ‘volunteer enterprise advisers’ by the end of March this year, with 127 places yet to be filled.

In a response to a parliamentary written question about the government’s careers initiatives, it was revealed that the Department for Education (DfE) currently has just 173 (or 60%) of the advisers in place.

The role of the volunteer enterprise advisers is to support young people between 12-18 in schools and colleges with careers advice.

Commenting on the response to his written question, Labour’s Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden said: “Over a year and a half since Ministers first announced their Careers and Enterprise Company, there is very little clarity on what focus or priorities it will have.

“How on earth does the Government expect to try to resurrect a careers programme with such flimsy foundations?

“Young people make career decisions on the basis of their own hands-on experiences as well as from advice by adults. Yet, the DfE continues to fail young people – by not including an obligation for work experience at Key Stage 4 in the curriculum.”

Mr Marsden estimates that with only 173 advisers in place, each currently has responsibility for supporting 18,408 students at secondary school level and 4,600 students in FE and sixth form colleges, making 23,000 young people in total.

When the Government reaches its 300 target, each adviser will support around 13,000 students.

He added that young people “are in danger of being short-changed” over their future career options, with information, advice and guidance or vocational routes in particular remaining “very restricted”.

The Careers and Enterprise Company, first announced by education secretary Nick Morgan in December 2014, was launched in the summer of 2015. Led by chief executive Claudia Harris, the company now has 18 full time equivalent staff members.

Ms Harris commented on the finding, saying: “In what can be a confusing landscape, we use targeted evidence and interventions to make it easier for schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise providers to work effectively together to support young people. By working in partnership with other organisations, we are able to significantly amplify our reach.

“We are working with the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to build local networks of senior business volunteers to connect to schools and colleges, and we are funding existing providers to scale-up proven careers and enterprise programmes in areas of need.”

She added that in its first year, the company has launched three key interventions which it is “delivering ahead of schedule”.

These include an analysis of areas in England where young people face the greatest need for careers and enterprise provision; the launch of a £5m Careers & Enterprise Fund to invest in organisations in these areas of need; and the launch of the Enterprise Adviser network, which is active in 35 LEPs with over 400 schools.

“The core of our approach is to work in partnership with others, building on what works and testing and learning as we go, to help better inspire and prepare young people across England for work,” she said.

When asked about missing the recruitment target, a Department for Education spokesperson: “Latest figures show the number of young people not in education or training is at the lowest on record and we have the highest ever number of young people going into higher education.

“We have introduced a more rigorous curriculum so every child learns the basic skills they need such as English and maths so they can go on to fulfill their potential whether they are going into the world of work or continuing their studies.

“We are investing £70 million in our careers strategy over the course of this parliament to transform the quality of careers education. We have also set up the Careers & Enterprise Company to bring young people into contact with employers and develop closer links with employers so they can play a greater role in preparing young people for the world of work.”

 

At least three of the seven regions involved in the first wave of post-16 education and training area reviews have already overrun the extended government target for completion, FE Week has found.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) initially advised in September that post-16 education and skills area reviews should take three to four months to complete — then extended this to four to six months in a second guidance document published in March.

At the time of going to press, three areas which held their first steering group meetings in September and early October had now passed the six-month deadline.

A number of principals involved blamed the hold-ups on the unexpected government announcements during this time that sixth form colleges (SFCs) could apply for academy status and that a restructuring facility was to be made available to fund area review recommendations.

Chris Thomson, principal of Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC), which is part of the Sussex area review, told FE Week: “We didn’t know anything at the start about academisation of sixth form colleges, which is a pretty key thing.

“We didn’t know anything at the start about a restructuring fund — again another really key thing. So clearly if you bring things like that on half way through a process it will lengthen it,” he said.

The Sussex area review, which began on October 22, was due to have held its final steering group on February 29, but this has been put back twice and is now scheduled for May 16, Mr Thomson said.

Steve Frampton, principal of Portsmouth College, an SFC in the Solent area, which had its first steering group meeting on November 5, spoke of his frustration at not having all the information needed at the start of the process.

“It is clear the whole process was launched prematurely in my view, and this has resulted in excessive workloads for both sides,” he told FE Week.

Another college principal in the Solent area told FE Week that the final steering group meeting for her area had been delayed from late April to early June.

And FE Week understands that only the Birmingham area review, which began September 18, has held its final steering group meeting.

A total of 50 FE colleges and 33 SFCs are involved in wave one of the area reviews, covering Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Tees Valley, Sussex, the Solent and West Yorkshire.

The announcement over SFC academy status was first made by the Chancellor during the spending review in November, and guidance was published on February 19.

BIS published guidance on the restructuring facility on March 1, two weeks after it had been reported by FE Week.

A BIS spokesperson said guidance on both had to be published after the start of the area reviews, as it had been dependent on the outcomes of the government’s spending review in November.

“It is right that each steering group should take the time needed to make sure that they can gain the benefit of these important initiatives,” she added.

The number of 19-year-olds gaining level three through A-levels has fallen for the first time in seven years, while the figures for those achieving the same standard through vocational routes continues to rise.

The proportion for A-levels fell by 0.3 per cent last year — the first drop since 2008, according to statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) for level 2 and 3 attainment by age 19 in 2015.

In contrast, the figures for those gaining level three through vocational qualifications by age 19 rose by 0.8 per cent in 2015, to 18.4 per cent.

This represents an increase of over 15 per cent since 2004.

Responding to the results, David Corke, director of education and skills policy for the Association of Colleges, said: “The figures show that young people studying academic and vocational qualifications at level three are maintaining a good level of attainment.

“This demonstrates not only the hard work of the students but the quality of colleges’ teaching.”

The report, ‘Level two and three attainment in England: Attainment by age 19 in 2015’, also found that the number of students successfully gaining level two English and math by age 19 in England reached 70 per cent in 2015, up from 67.8 per cent in 2014.

The proportion of young people who had failed to achieve a level two qualification in English and maths at age 16, but had achieved both by age 19, also rose from 16.9 per cent in 2014 to 22.3 per cent in 2015.

Mark Dawe, incoming chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, responded to these findings, saying: “The data for vocational qualifications is encouraging, especially in respect of the increases in attainment for English and maths.

“We believe the success in English and maths is thanks to learners being put on appropriate programmes for their learning and in particular functional skills at the core of work based learning provision.

“We will be making this clear to Sir Adrian Smith’s review of the feasibility of compulsory maths until 18, announced in the Budget.”

David Hughes, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, said: “It is encouraging to see overall attainment of level two English and maths rising and that achievement gaps are closing.”

But he added: “Far too many young people are still leaving compulsory education without these vital skills.”

The DfE report also showed an improved outlook for students eligible for free school meals (FSM), and those with special educational needs (SEN).

Some 71.9 per cent of students eligible for FSM at 15 had achieved level two by age 19 in 2015, compared to 88.4 per cent of those that were not.

This was a small rise on 2014, when 71.3 per cent of those on FSM at 15 had achieved Level 2 by age 19, compared to 87.9 per cent of those that were not.

For students with SEN at 15, nearly two thirds (65.7 per cent) achieved level two by the age of 19 in 2015 — 0.5 per cent higher than in 2014.

In comparison, 91.9 per cent of those without a SEN at 15 achieved this level, leading to an attainment gap of 26.2 per cent — 0.7 per cent smaller than last year.

A DfE spokesperson told FE Week: “We are clear that vocational and academic qualifications are equally important, but serve different educational purposes.

“We are reforming AS and A levels to be robust and rigorous, to match the best education systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. Our reforms also incentivise the take-up of those 16-19 vocational qualifications that are of high value and support progression to further study or a good job.

“It is important that schools and colleges provide students with high quality advice about their qualifications choices, including which qualifications will support their future education and career aspirations.”