The 157 Group is set for expansion following a strategic review, chief executive Ian Pretty has revealed in an exclusive interview with FE Week in which he claimed that up to 15 colleges had already asked about signing up.

The results of the review were explained at an event in London on Thursday (January 14) and Mr Pretty, who took over from executive director Dr Lynne Sedgmore in September, said members told him they wanted the group to grow.

Mr Pretty (pictured above), whose previous roles included senior roles in HMRC, the Cabinet Office and Capgemini, told FE Week: “The members wanted to take the 157 Group in a different direction, which is why they took the conscious decision to hire someone from outside the sector.

“What I said to them was in order to create this new mandate for the 157 Group we need to undertake a strategic review — the members agreed.”

He added: “Our members have agreed that we should look to take on new member colleges. We have 26 members at present and there has been discussion over whether we want to have more or less in future. We decided to look at expanding.

“I am aware that anywhere between 10 and 15 colleges who have expressed an interest in joining us, with the bulk of those contacting us over the last six months.”

26 @157Group colleges right now but talking to other forwarding thinking colleges. Watch this space. https://t.co/hb74iADM50

— Ian Pretty (@IanPretty1) January 14, 2016

The 157 Group is now based at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, which according to the representative organisation’s website was still a member, even though it was hit with an inadequate Ofsted rating in December. It indicates a relaxation of previous membership guidelines, as Dr Sedgmore said in March 2014, with an “honourable agreement” existing among members that they would “voluntarily leave” if served with a grade four Ofsted rating.

Mr Pretty said: “A set of new attributes have been agreed to assess any future requests from a college to join. Colleges would typically be large, diverse, technically and professionally focused, employer facing, focused (or aspiring to focus) on level three four and five provision and successful.”

But, he said: “Ofsted grades one and two are regarded as successful, but inadequate is not, but there are other factors to be taken into account. There are a number of indicators of success that could be considered, for example if a college has been given a Beacon Award or impressive success rates.”

Mr Pretty acknowledged the 157 Group “was previously very focused on influencing government policy”. But he said following the review “we want to move toward a heavier focus on policy implementation — so, for example, how we can work with the government to help in area such as the development of Institutes of Technology and technical and professional education pathways including apprenticeships.

“I’m of the view that there is little to be gained from spending an awful lot of time on trying to affect a policy decision,” he said.

Mr Pretty said that over the next five years members aimed to, for example, support devolution, find alternative funding streams to government payments, and identify cost efficiencies which “means effectively collaborative buying” for example with energy suppliers.

Visit the research section on the 157 Group website for more details of its new strategy.

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Editor’s comment

Stick to founding principles not floundering principals

The 157 Group was set up in 2006 because of a perceived gap in the market.

Sir Andrew Foster described in paragraph 157 of his review of FE colleges the need for “greater involvement of principals in national representation”.

Specifically, “those from larger, successful colleges where management capacity and capability exists to release them for this work.”

The Association of Colleges represents nearly all colleges, so Foster’s paragraph 157 spawned a new membership organisation, with very particular “large and successful” entry requirements.

Jump forward a decade and the 157 Group has its second boss in chief executive Ian Pretty consulting with members as to where to take the organisation next.

Growing the large and successful college membership is to be encouraged, but at what cost to the group’s reputation if unsuccessful colleges aren’t politely shown the door?

Foster was right that the FE sector needed a 157 Group and I wish Ian and the new team another decade of success.

Chris Henwood

chris.henwood@feweek.co.uk

 

Stewart Segal will be stepping down as chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) at the end of March to move to a newly-created role at a grade one-rated apprenticeship training provider.

Mr Segal will continue in his current role until March 31, an AELP spokesperson said, before starting as the director of strategy, policy and funding at Aspire, Achieve, Advance (3aaa) on a yet-to-be agreed date in April.

Speaking exclusively to FE Week, Mr Segal said: “I’ve been working on policy issues around apprenticeships for many years, and this was just an opportunity, with the apprenticeship policy established now, with the levy, to work more closely with a training provider, more directly, to help put those policies into practice and to get a bit closer to the delivery side.”

Mr Segal said the AELP was “in a strong position” after his three years in charge.

“I think the voice of training providers is now respected and very much part of the development of policy and providers are now seen as part of the solution. And the organisation itself is very strong. Membership is growing.”

Martin Dunford OBE, chairman of AELP, said: “Stewart has done an excellent job in what is an extremely demanding role. We have many members and a multitude of relationships with government, their agencies and many other stakeholders and Stewart has managed this growing network very effectively.

“During his time as chief executive, AELP has achieved a great deal during a period of substantial change.  AELP is in a very strong position with apprenticeships, skills and employability at the centre of the government’s agenda and the voice of training providers is stronger than ever.

Mr Segal has worked with AELP in a number of roles since its formation in 1998.  He was one of the original directors and then worked with AELP as the funding and contracting expert for 10 years before becoming chief executive in 2013.

Peter Marples and Di McEvoy- Robinson, Founders and joint owners of 3aaa said they were “absolutely delighted” to announce Mr Segal’s appointment.

“We have invested heavily in the business over the past five years and these appointments are further commitment of this,” they said.

Mr Segal will continue to work with AELP as a representative member organisation and supporting the work on policy issues such as apprenticeship reform.

“I’m not disappearing, I’ll just be working with AELP in a different role,” Mr Segal told FE Week.

 

 

Senior figures from across the FE world gathered for the official launch of the Learning and Work Institute (LWI) at London’s Canary Wharf.

The new organisation was formed through the merger of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) and the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion (Inclusion).

More than 100 guests, including Jeremy Benson, executive director for vocational qualifications at Ofqual, David Harbourne, acting chief executive of The Edge Foundation, and Carole Stott, chair of the board of the Association of Colleges, attended the launch at JP Morgan, on Wednesday (January 13).

David Hughes, former chief executive of Niace, who has taken up the role of chief executive at LWI, thanked them for showing support, adding he assumed they would agree the organisation’s new website was “sexy”.

He said: “It is great to see so many friends of both Niace and Inclusion.

“I hope you realise how excited we all are about the new organisation. The logo of course is brilliant, the branding is amazing, the new website is really quite sexy, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

“We have a very ambitious vision,” added Mr Hughes. “We don’t think that everyone has equal life chances and can realise their potential in life and are ambitious to change that.”

“We really want to make inroads into poverty and disadvantage. To achieve that, we have to work with all of you [bodies represented by the guests].”

“On the one hand this is a new organisation,” said Mr Hughes. “But we also want to continue the legacy of two really, really important long-standing organisations [Niace and Inclusion].”

Reflecting on what learning and work will mean to LWI, he said: “By ‘learning’, we mean expansive lifelong, all forms, all types and for all sorts of people.”

“We have a very broad sense of what that means and we think ‘work’ needs to be a good experience,” he added.

Other speakers, including Jeremy Moore, director general at the Department for Work and Pensions, and Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), reflected on how their organisations had worked with Niace and Inclusion in the past and could now help the new organisation achieve its aims.

The other speakers were Hang Ho, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Helen Chicot, skills and employment manager, economic affairs at Rochdale Borough Council.

A spokesperson for the LWI, which launched its website on Tuesday (January 12), told FE Week on Tuesday (January 12) that no staff members from either body had been laid off as a result of the merger.

Niace, based in Leicester, and Inclusion, based in London, announced their alliance in February 2015 and said at the time that future merger could not be ruled out.

The full merger and was confirmed at the IntoWork Convention on July 14, 2015.

The new name of the LWI had previously been approved by Niace members on November 4.

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The head civil servant at the Department for Education (DfE) Chris Wormald will move to the Department of Health later this year.

Mr Wormald was appointed Permanent Secretary for the DfE in March 2012.

But the government announced today that he will take up the same role at the Department of Health, replacing current boss Dame Una O’Brien, who will stand down at the end of April.

Mr Wormald, who said his new appointment was a “privilege and an honour”, joined the DfE in 2012, having previously worked as director general in the deputy prime minister’s office and as head of the Cabinet Office’s economic and domestic secretariat.

He has also served as director general for local government and regeneration at the Department for Communities and Local Government, and was principal private secretary to former education secretaries Estelle Morris and Charles Clarke.

Mr Wormald appeared before MPs on the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee hearing on October 19 that ‘overseeing financial sustainability in the FE sector’, as reported in FE Week.

He addressed the issue of whether new school sixth forms should be approved while post-16 area reviews are going on.

Hwe told MPs that the reviews would not influence approval decisions “at this moment”.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan and cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, who is head of the paid civil service, both paid tribute today to Mr Wormald and his tenure at Sanctuary Buildings, but no details of plans to find his successor have been announced.

Ms Morgan said Mr Wormald had done a “superb job” in leading the DfE, and played a “crucial role” in major reforms.

She said: “Ministers and staff will miss Chris hugely when he moves on, and we wish him all the best in taking up this new challenge.”

Sir Jeremy Heywood echoed Ms Morgan’s praise, and said he would bring a “wealth of leadership, implementation and policy experience” to his new role.

A Cumbria sixth form college rapped over the knuckles for the condition of its finances by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) is hoping a merger will solve its funding problems.

Barrow Sixth Form College was issued with a financial notice to improve this month having been graded as inadequate for financial health in September.

The 900-learner college, rated by Ofsted in May as good, pointed to falling numbers of Year 11 students in local schools — from 959 in 2009 to 747 this year — among the issues it was facing.

It also explained how government funding for 16 and 17-year-olds was 22 per cent lower than 11 to 16-year-olds — and a further 17.5 per cent less for 18-year-olds.

However, it is in talks with Furness College, three miles away, about a possible merger to become “financially strong”.

Mike Phipps, governors’ board chair, said: “Our challenging financial situation is the same as that faced by many colleges across the country as funding to the sixth form sector has been cut, in real terms, year on year since 2010. Funding levels will remain the same for the next five years despite the fact that costs will rise.

“Barrow Sixth Form receives one of the lowest rates of funding per learner of any educational establishment in Cumbria and is not able to reclaim any VAT unlike schools.”

He added: “We are working hard to be proactive to find a solution and are currently in talks with Furness College about a merger.

“A merged college would be financially strong and ensure school leavers have a broad choice of education provision with opportunities to mix academic and vocational training to meet students’ career goals and the needs of our business community.”

The two colleges are expected to feature among wave three area reviews, taking place from April.

But Barrow was told by the EFA to prepare a corporation-approved financial plan by November last year to, according to the notice, “ensure that the college remains in satisfactory financial health through 2015/16 in readiness for the planned structural change at the end of that period”.

An implementation plan, reviewed by Sixth Form College Commissioner Peter Mucklow, is to be handed over by February 19 to the EFA, where a spokesperson said: “We are monitoring Barrow’s progress to ensure students continue to get the best possible education, and the notice will be in place until we are satisfied that effective action has been taken to address our concerns.”

John Butler, governors’ board chair at 3,000-learner Furness College, which was rated as good in April, said the two colleges had already been working together closely and that both boards were “keen” to explore how the relationship could develop to broaden the provision for students ahead of area review.

“This is an excellent opportunity to develop the post-16 curriculum in Furness to ensure that students can choose the best course to enable them to achieve their career aspirations, be that through A-levels, vocational courses or a combination of both,” he said.

“By coming together, the colleges will be in the strongest possible position to serve the needs of young people, adults and employers and to secure the long-term sustainability of education and skills training in the area.”

Providers could be forced to slow down 16 to 18 apprenticeships delivery with their requests for growth going unanswered.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) had been expected to let providers know the outcomes of their requests by January 8 following a shake-up of the process after similar delays last year.

The shake-up, instigated by SFA chief executive Peter Lauener, has seen the number of growth request windows fall from three to two, although it is understood the current hold-up is at the Department for Education (DfE).

The delay in deciding growth requests and the effect it is having on delivery will cause concern for Prime Minister David Cameron in light of his target of creating 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020.

John Hyde, chair of HIT Training, a lead provider with a current SFA allocation of around £28m, said: “Those providers with tight cash flow might well think twice about delivering additional volume at their own risk [because of the delay].”

But he added: “We are willing to take a risk on over-delivery of 16 to 18-year-old apprenticeships, as in more than 20 years of apprenticeship provision we have never been refused growth on our 16 to 18 apprenticeship programmes.”

Mike Gore, director of Blue Apple Training, a provider with more than £467,000-worth of SFA subcontracting as of December 2015, said: “I’m sure this could have an adverse effect for smaller providers with little cash reserve.

“We work with various primes and usually we can figure it out between us, however it isn’t ideal but we adapt as necessary.”

Teresa Frith, senior skills policy manager for the Association of Colleges, said: “The government considers apprenticeships to be vital to economic growth, so it should be more responsive when colleges achieve or exceed their apprenticeship delivery targets.

“The SFA should look at how it can make the process of funding in-year growth requests more efficient.”

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “Responses to all growth cases should be prompt because commitments have to be made to employers and learners.”

The SFA confirmed on Wednesday (January 13) in an Update message on its website that it was “not yet in a position to confirm support for your [16 to 18 apprenticeships and traineeships growth] request. We apologise for this delay and will confirm the position as soon as we can.”

An SFA spokesperson told FE Week said: “For further information, and as this is 16 to 18 apprenticeships, speak with the EFA [Education Funding Agency].”

The DfE declined to comment on behalf of the EFA.

The government has said that it will address recommendations made by a parliamentary committee that found evidence of “unacceptable” bullying of transgender adult learners.

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee’s Transgender Equality report, published on Thursday (January 14), called on the government to take action in a number of areas, including post-school education, to ensure equality for transgender people.

Education Secretary and Women and Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan (pictured above) said: “Transgender people often face huge challenges, from appalling harassment and abuse to obstacles in accessing public services.

“We will now review the committee’s report, and work with other government departments to look at the recommendations.”

At the time of going to press, a spokesperson for BIS had not been able to confirm to FE Week what action the department would be taking.

During its inquiry into transgender issues, the committee, chaired by MP Maria Miller, found evidence of what it called “unacceptable levels” of bullying and harassment of transgender people in the FE sector.

Key findings in the area of post-school education, which covered both FE and higher education, included one third of trans-students having been bullied or harassed on campus, and trans-students being more likely to leave their courses as a result of this harassment.

“The levels of bullying and harassment experienced by trans-students in further and higher education are unacceptable,” the report said.

The inquiry had “heard evidence that in FE the learning environment for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] learners might be more hostile than that in higher education,” it said.

Evidence to the inquiry had been submitted by the National Union of Students (NUS), the Government Equalities Office and Skills Minister Nick Boles, among others.

The report’s authors said they “welcomed” Mr Boles’ offer, given during the inquiry’s evidence session on October 28, to raise the issue with universities.

“We recommend that the government hold similar conversations with FE providers,” they reported.

The report also called on the government “take steps” to ensure that all FE staff received training in gender identity awareness.

Charley Hasted, aged 29, who is studying for a BTec in applied science at Lambeth College, was assigned female at birth, but identifies as neither male nor female.

“I know who I am, but I still hear comments, homophobic, biphobic language, get thrown around,” they said.

“I’m in a position to challenge that when I hear it from other students but I think I’m very lucky. I’m also the LGBT officer at the college, so I know I’ve got staff members who’ll back me up if I do challenge it whereas I think a lot of students wouldn’t have the assurance that they know the staff are there to back them up if they do challenge.

“There are two trans people at Lambeth — me and one other — and neither of us are out to our classmates. We’ve both mature students, but neither of us feel comfortable being out to our classmates — which I think tells you a lot.”

Joyce Black, assistant director for research and development at the Learning and Work Institute, said: “We know from our work as a member of the Forum for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity that transgender equality remains a stubborn taboo in the sector.

“We should all take the time to digest what the report has to say and recognise our responsibilities to end bullying and discrimination in our institutions.”

Leora Cruddas, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the ASCL was “strongly committed” to promoting transgender equality, and would be considering “what further action we can take as a leadership association.”

Fran Cowling and Robbiie Young, NUS LGBT+ officers, said that the report showed there was “much more to do” to ensure that “trans students can equally participate” in FE.

Helen Carr, head of equality at the University and College Union (UCU), said she hoped the sector would “respond positively” to the recommendations.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The government must now invest properly in services for transgender people for the report’s recommendations to mean anything.”

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‘Telling principal of change to full-time role as a female was daunting’

“It makes me feel very disappointed and quite saddened,” says Natalie Roberts (pictured below), who works for Bishop Auckland College and who transitioned from male to female in 2014, when asked how she feels about transgender people being bullied and harassed in FE.

“It is sad that these opinions and behaviours exist in general society, but in the education sector especially it is simply unacceptable,” added Natalie.

Unlike many of the people whose experiences fed into the Women and Equalities Committee’s Transgender Equality report, Natalie said her college had been “very supportive” of her change — although she described discussing the move to a “full-time role as a female” with the HR director and principal as “quite a daunting thing”.

After her transition, which happened over the summer break, Natalie said she had just “one or two initial problems around certain staff members who weren’t able to get used to me but that’s passed”.

Some of the students, Natalie says, “because of their ages they’re a little bit giggly at first but when you talk to them they’re fine.”

Since her transition Natalie has moved to a new role within the employment services team at the college, as trainer/assessor for management and social media marketing. The college has involved her in drafting a transgender workers’ policy, and she’s been supporting LGBT students at the college.

Kirsty Walker is achievement coach at City of Liverpool College and works with transgender people. She set up a trans mentoring service “to signpost students to external agencies and also to deal with the college’s systems and make sure they weren’t disadvantaged”.

She also trains staff and students in trans issues, and supports trans students if they choose to come out to their class.

“When I’ve spoken to people at other colleges they’ve been very impressed by what we do, but I find that worrying. I think we do a good job – it’s our responsibility to do that. Just making sure that there are no barriers to students is a very simple job.”