Videogame fans from Canterbury College used their hand–eye coordination skills to raise more than £3,000 for a local children’s hospice.
The games development learners put on a four-day celebration of games and gamers in the last week of February for Demelza Children’s Hospice.
It was the seventh year the tournament has been run by the college, which has in the past raised money for charities including Cancer Research UK and Help for Heroes, with the total amount now reaching £11,549.
Games development tutor Stuart Dodd said the students were “stunning” during this year’s event. “When we were doing the SingStar [karaoke] game on the final day, students from all different courses joined us to sing along, which really reinforced why I teach in an environment like this,” he added.
The event included a host of different games, including modern beat-em-ups and shoot-em-ups for hardcore gamers, a college spokesperson said, while older students and staff could play the classics on an old-style arcade machine.
Representatives from Demelza were also invited to sell second-hand games, consoles, dvds and clothes in the college.
Pic: Stormtroopers flank learner Cherish Watson, aged 18, in a self-made Kylo Ren costume and Kye Keegan, 16
A student from Newcastle Sixth Form College has been crowned the winner of a national female engineering competition.
Jennifer Olsen won the Talent 2030 National Engineering Competition for Girls for her project, where she sought to develop cost effective ways of producing 3D printed prosthetic limbs.
Competing against students across the country, Jennifer, who studies A-level maths, biology and chemistry, was asked to explore engineering solutions to 21st century problems.
Run by the National Centre for Universities and Business, Talent 2030 is a campaign which aims to bring female talent into engineering and manufacturing industries.
Jennifer said: “I feel really happy to have won this award. I’m so grateful for Talent 2030 running the competition as I would never have had this amazing opportunity to exhibit my project at the Big Bang Fair.
“I felt honoured that they found my project interesting and selected me as the winner.”
As the winner, Jennifer was awarded £1,000 and Newcastle Sixth Form College will receive £500 to purchase new science equipment.
Pic: Winner of the Talent 2030 National Engineering Competition for Girls, Jennifer Olsen
A hard-hitting East Durham College student fought her way to the title of female youth champion at the Amateur Boxing Association of England National Championships.
Shauna-Leigh Taylor, aged 16, travelled to Rotherham to compete in the championships, defeating her opponent Michelle Lynch in the under 51kg final.
The level two diploma in sport learner trains at the East Durham College boxing club and, since 2014, has been part of the England ABA national set up.
She was overwhelmed to win the title.
“This is a great achievement for me and the proudest moment of my boxing career so far,” Shauna said.
“I love the sport and to see all my training pay off really shows that with the right amount of effort and dedication you can achieve your goals.”
East Durham College head boxing coach, Dave Binns, added: “Shauna joined us here to train last summer and she has just gone from strength to strength, she’s a fine advert for the female side of the sport and I’m sure she will continue to develop and go on to achieve great things.”
Pic: KNOCK OUT: Shauna-Leigh Taylor with her female youth champion belt
Redcar & Cleveland College is helping to tackle a local health and social care skills shortage by almost doubling the number of apprentices it is placing at a North Yorkshire care village for people with learning disabilities, writes Billy Camden.
Abbey Care Village struggled in vain to find enough skilled care staff to look after its special needs residents by conventional means — so turned to its local college for a growing supply of apprentices instead.
Sixteen apprentices studying level two and three qualifications in health and social care with Redcar & Cleveland College have so far been employed at the care village, in Scorton.
And the college has now announced it will supply a further 15 apprentices to provide residential care, nursing care, mental health support, and support for people with learning disabilities.
CARING STAFF: Redcar and Cleveland College apprenticeship students Daria Ashton, left, aged 31, and Julia Duncan, right, 36, care for resident of Abbey Care Village, 90 year-old June Stephenson
Steven Winterburn, apprenticeships manager at Redcar & Cleveland College, said the partnership was having a really positive impact on the residents who “love” being cared for by the students.
“If there were less apprentices there, then there would be less staff meaning the residents get less attention, so any new workers that are brought on board are very popular and really well received,” he said.
“The learners also love caring for them. It is what the students want to do as a career and being able to spend time with the residents and make a difference to their lives is really rewarding for them.”
It comes as figures from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills show that up to 2m more care workers will need to be trained and recruited by 2022 to meet demand — more than half the current workforce.
Shirley Leighton, training manager at Abbey Care Village, said: “It’s no secret that we need new talent coming into the industry, not just young apprentices but also older workers with the necessary skills and experience.
“Our partnership with Redcar & Cleveland College is helping us to tackle the issue head on.”
She added: “Our staff have to be NVQ trained for us to pass our Care Quality Commission inspection, so having properly trained apprentices is really important to us staying open.”
Each apprentice spends around 36 hours a week at the home where they deliver basic health care.
Their duties include bathing the residents, making their breakfast, taking them for walks around the gardens and spending quality time with them if family can’t be there.
Level three health and social care learner Daria Ashton, aged 31, said: “I’m really enjoying my time at the care home, being involved in delivering patient care and continuing to learn as I go along.
“It’s great to be part of a team and know that I play a part in delivering patient care. The experience is standing me in good stead for my future career in the health and social care industry.”
Another level three student, Laura Ciubotaru, aged 41, said the care home was giving her first-hand experience of “learning the role in the workplace” and helping her to take a “step in the right direction towards a successful career in social work”.
“The tutors and staff have all been extremely supportive and I’m really grateful of the opportunity,” she added.
Mr Winterburn added: “I’m really pleased about the project with Abbey Care and what we have going there. It is good for us to help North Yorkshire as well as an industry that is crying out for support.”
Main pic: Learner Daria Ashton (front left), aged 31, signs up for apprenticeship with tutor Shelly Hughes from Redcar and Cleveland College at Abbey Care Village
A troubled London college has been in talks with a view to “closer working” with a college group based almost 300 miles away.
Lewisham Southwark College (LSC), which was recently found to have been making reasonable improvement following two consecutive inadequate Ofsted ratings, approached Newcastle College Group (NCG) last autumn, according to representatives from the two colleges.
The move comes ahead of the first meeting of the London (central) area review, which LSC is part of, scheduled for March 17.
“Lewisham Southwark College approached NCG in the autumn of 2015 to explore options for working together which would bring benefits to students, employers and other stakeholders in south London and accelerate the rate of recent improvements and growth opportunities at Lewisham Southwark College,” a spokesperson for the college said.
“This may lead to a strategic alliance at which point options for closer working would be explored and consulted upon with all stakeholders and within the London area review.”
The college is led by Carole Kitching, who took on the role in the summer, after being principal of Newcastle College from 2013.
The college has since had three monitoring visits from the education watchdog, most recently in January. Inspectors found “reasonable improvements for learners in all areas” at the last two of these visits.
LSC and neighbouring Greenwich Community College had been in discussion with each other about a possible merger, FE Week revealed last May.
These discussions came at the same time as both colleges were undergoing structure and prospects appraisals, led by the FE commissioner, Dr David Collins. However, nothing came of those discussions.
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 Kidderminster College, West Lancashire College, Manchester-based Rathbone, and Sheffield-based Intraining.
Joe Docherty, the chief executive of NCG, confirmed that the group was in talks with LSC.
“I am certainly aware of the London area reviews and I recognise the importance of ensuring any discussions are positioned within that context,” he added.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “Colleges are independent organisations and are free to consider what arrangements best suit their needs.
“Where they are considering a merger then we expect this to be included as part of the area review discussions which will need to consider how the needs of learners and employers can be best met through new structures and patterns of delivery.”
> Up to 20 per cent full level 2 and 3 to lose entitlement status
> SFA initially deny knowledge of awarding body concerns
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has been criticised over a consultation on the future of hundreds of qualifications, after five of the 14 working days it was open fell over half-term.
The consultation, which ran from February 10 to 29, was on plans to end full funding for up to 524 (20 per cent) full level two and level three qualifications offered by 56 awarding organisations (AOs) for 19 to 23-year-olds.
The short time period, made more challenging for respondents because five of the working days fell during half-term from February 15 to 19, provoked scathing criticism from the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB), which complained directly to the SFA.
A letter leaked to FE Week, sent on February 24 by NCFE chief executive David Grailey to SFA boss Peter Lauener, was also highly critical of the consultation process.
Mr Grailey wrote: “We feel it is unrealistic to expect awarding organisations to gather the required evidence in such a short period of time,” adding “this is particularly poorly planned as the period covers the half-term, during which a large percentage of the institutions listed above will be closed”.
Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, NCFE policy leader, then told FE Week on March 1: “We don’t think this short timescale was sufficient for a consultation of this nature.
“A longer timescale would have allowed for a more meaningful conversation and a quality response, which would have been significantly more beneficial for centres and, ultimately, learners.”
He added: “It is concerning as centres have either already completed their curriculum planning, or are about to sign their plans off, for the 2016 to 2017 funding year.
“This will cause more turbulence in a sector that has experienced year-on-year changes to the curriculum offer — we need some stability to avoid further negative impact on learners.”
The 56 awarding organisations affected had to supply evidence for each qualification to the SFA in the hope it might be saved under the new ‘legal entitlement’ alignment programme with the Department for Education.
Although the SFA published a list of the 80 per cent of full level two and three qualifications that were safe, they did not say how many were at risk or publish an easily accessible list of the remaining 20 per cent at risk.
It provoked further concern that a number of stakeholders did not realise the significance of the consultation.
This new approach comes around a year after awarding organisations had to supply evidence for all their qualifications based on SFA ‘business rules’.
An SFA spokesperson said: “The timetable for the consultation was designed to enable the SFA to publish, before the end of March, a final list of entitlement qualifications. This is aligned to the publication of our funding rules, and is intended to allow sufficient time for colleges and training providers to finalise their 2016/17 offer.
“This consultation itself is narrow in scope, as it relates solely to the qualifications available under the legal entitlements for 19 to 23 year olds. Many of the qualifications affected will continue to be funded in the rest of the adult education budget or via loans.”
She first said “we did indicate that awarding organisations for whom the deadline posed significant issues should contact us to discuss”, but “received no such requests”.
But when FE Week asked about Mr Grailey’s letter, she admitted: “We have received a letter from NCFE and we are in the process of responding.”
FAB chief executive Stephen Wright also said the SFA had been made “well aware of our position”.
FE Week has also learned that delegates at an SFA briefing for awarding organisations held at BIS Conference Centre in Westminster on February 18 were shown a slide stating that the consultation would only run until 29.
The SFA presenter said there would be no extension, when asked if this would be possible.
Federation complain to the SFA
Speaking to FE Week, Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) chief executive Stephen Wright said FAB had complained about the consultation process in its “original feedback to the draft document” and “raised it with” the SFA subsequently.
Stephen Wright Chief Executive, Federation of Awarding Bodies
He added: “I don’t even think they consider a 14 day deadline sufficient for this exercise, especially considering the period covered the half term break.
“For each qualification to be included in the legal entitlement, awarding organisations have not only been asked to gather letters that support the expected learner demand from colleges, but also either endorsement from a professional body or a reference in a local skills strategy.
“Getting the requests out, back in (with exactly the correct wording), collated and returned to SFA for all qualifications is unrealistic.
“The result is that important qualifications will fail to be included not because they don’t provide value to learners but because, for example, a letter from a college wasn’t received in time.
He added: “Awarding organisations are very aware of the impact the uncertainty and short timescales has on the ability of colleges and training providers to plan their provision.
“It is very frustrating to receive reasonable requests from colleges for information that awarding organisations just don’t have.”
> Click here for spreadsheet list of 524 qualifications produced by FE Week.
> Click here for awarding body qualification count
Steve Warburton has been appointed as principal of the Greater Peterborough University Technical College (GPUTC), which is due to open in September 2016.
Mr Warburton, who has been involved in the GPUTC project for the last year and was already interim principal, brings more than 30 years of senior leadership and teaching experience.
He was headteacher of nearby Hereward Community College and was previously director of education at Thomas Deacon Academy and assistant principal and director of sixth form at Sawtry Community College.
For the last six years Mr Warburton has been a consultant specialising in educational technology and school improvement, latterly working for Novatia plc.
The new £10m UTC GPUTC will specialise in engineering and the built environment, with an emphasis on sustainability and new technologies.
Mr Warburton said the “fusion” between academic and practical, technical learning is what drew him to the job.
He said: “UTCs are small schools and I greatly value the opportunities that offers to focus on individual students.
“Integrating 40 employer challenge projects across the years and specialisms is an exciting aspect of what we are doing, as well as capitalising on my educational technology experience to ensure that our students and staff successfully utilise its potential.”
Mr Warburton has a degree in modern history from Oxford University and an MBA in educational management from Leicester University.
Meanwhile, Ivan Jepson is the new business development director at Gateshead College.
A spokesperson said the college hopes the appointment would further strengthen its links with the North East business community.
Mr Jepson brings almost 25 years of industry and private sector experience to the role.
He joins from Northumbrian Water, where he has spent most of his working career in various roles from laboratory scientist to customer service to public affairs.
“It was a difficult decision to leave a great employer but Gateshead College offered a real challenge and opportunity to make a difference to both regional employers young people and those working or looking for work in our region,” said Mr Jepson.
“Gateshead College is keen to strengthen and extend its already great connections with business, highlighting its flexible approach and attitude.
“My role is to help regional employers meet the skills challenges they face, helping provide them with young people with real employment edge.”
Gateshead College principal Judith Doyle said: “When we saw an opportunity to recruit, we recognised that Ivan, who has an understanding of the FE sector and the broader regional political landscape, could bring real value to the college and its management team.
“More importantly, we think Ivan’s close understanding of business and his considerable network of contacts will also be of invaluable benefit to employers we work with.”
It has also been confirmed that Ofqual chair Amanda Spielman will act as chief regulator on an interim basis after the departure of Glenys Stacey.
The former merchant banker and strategy consultant-turned education professional took up the post on Tuesday and will serve until a permanent replacement for Ms Stacey is found by the Department for Education.
Ms Stacey, who has led the regulator for five years, announced in August that she would stand down at the end of February.
Ms Spielman has been chair of Ofqual since 2011.
The regulator said the next chief regulator would be announced “in due course”.
Sir Michael Wilshaw is of course entitled to his own opinions.
But when called to give evidence to the education select committee, shouldn’t what he says be based on evidence?
His assertion that 16 to 19-year-olds should be taught in schools, not colleges, undermined so much good work being done in our sector.
And there has to be concern now over what impact his comments will have on future inspections.
Sir Michael, whose speech will be hotly anticipated by visitors to our AAC conference on March 17, could never be accused of towing the government line.
He has always steered clear of churning out bland civil service speak and we have been grateful at FE Week over the years for many bold statements that created winning headlines.
But the fact that both the Education Secretary and Ofsted distanced themselves from what he told the Education Select Committee speaks volumes.
And Sir Michael isn’t afraid to use evidence when he points out his inspectors find poor performance at many secondary schools.
So lets hope he takes up the challenge from the AoC to provide evidence to back up his recommendation that young people stay on in these same failing schools for another two years. Watch this space…
> Ofsted chief tells MPs colleges are in ‘mess’ and 16-19 should stay at school
> Personal opinion sparks ‘anger’ as AoC letter demands evidence for claims
The government is distancing itself from inflammatory remarks made by Sir Michael Wilshaw (pictured above), after the Ofsted head told MPs he believed 16 to 19-year-olds should be taught in schools, not colleges.
Sir Michael’s comments during an appearance at the Commons Education Select Committee (ESC) on March 2 have provoked widespread anger in the FE sector.
“We are very supportive of the work done by colleges and distance ourselves from Sir Michael’s comments,” a source close to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has told FE Week.
The Ofsted chief inspector laid into the FE sector during Wednesday’s evidence session, describing it as “in a mess — that’s why the government is reviewing it”.
“My view is that 16 to 19 should be done in school,” he told the committee, chaired by Neil Carmichael MP.
Vulnerable learners who need a familiar environment “head off towards the FE institution which is a large, amorphous institution on a number of campuses and do badly. They get lost. Drop out,” he continued.
“Youngsters who don’t do very well at 16 often don’t do very well two years later, particularly in English and maths where the results are pretty poor,” he added.
The reliance on success rates to secure funding meant that “too many youngsters are put on level one courses when they should be challenged to do level two”.
Sir Michael went on: “We also find in too many general FE institutions that they haven’t thought carefully enough about their curriculum. The curriculum is often irrelevant to the local workplace and national employment.”
FE Week’snews story about the chief inspector’s comments provoked an unprecedented and unanimous backlash, with more than 40 comments posted on the FE Week website in just 24 hours – many of which criticised him for airing his personal opinions in a public capacity.
Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (pictured), has challenged Sir Michael to justify his opinions — which he said have caused “a good deal of consternation and anger” — in a letter that he has shared with FE Week.
Martin Doel
“Quite apart from the conflict inherent in Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector being called to give evidence in his official capacity and then providing a personal opinion, even personal opinions require justification if they are not to be regarded as mere prejudice or an unreliable anecdotal judgement,” Mr Doel wrote.
He called on Sir Michael to provide “as a matter of urgency a clear rationale for your conclusions”.
“It would be all the better if those conclusions corresponded with the judgment of the inspectors in your organisation;
“I fail to see how this could be so given that 82 per cent of colleges who provide 16 to 18 education have been judged good or outstanding in recent Ofsted inspections,” he continued.
Wednesday’s evidence session was not the first time Sir Michael has attacked the FE sector.
During a speech for the thinktank CentreForum in January, the Ofsted boss said that “educational provision, for the many children who do not succeed at 16 or who would prefer an alternative to higher education, is inadequate at best and non-existent at worst”.
The University and College Union described Sir Michael’s comments this week as unhelpful and offensive.
A spokesperson from Ofsted said it was clear that its boss’s comments were his own personal views.
The Department for Education declined to comment.
FE Week readers don’t hold back with online comments
Lynne Sedgmore, former chief executive at 157 Group
Lynne Sedgmore
This man speaks from limited knowledge as he has never bothered to visit or spend time in FE colleges or to read any facts.
He has no right to spill his personal unfounded predudice and ideological distortions onto hardworking, successful FE colleges, staff and students.
These statements are probably setting himself up for his next role – please retire with dignity not with such disgraceful nonsense.
Carole Kitching, Principal at Lewisham and Southwark college
Carole Kitching
Shockingly ill informed comments undermining the credibility of Ofsted and the positive choices made by over 840,000 young people every year.
No wonder technical and professional vocational education struggles to gain parity of esteem with traditional academic pathways.
Every public statement like this costs us 100s more young would be apprentices.
Ben Verinder, former director of comms at the AoC
Ben Verinder
‘Vulnerable learners do badly in college’ says Mr Wilshaw.
It’s so patently untrue, such a crude assessment, as to be laughable.
Except it was made in front of a select committee and the national media. Bravo to those calling out this nonsense, but sadly it doesn’t seem to be making any difference.
Can you impeach an HMCI? Strike them off? Before they blame colleges for, say, primary results?
It provoked further concern that a number of stakeholders did not realise the significance of the consultation.
