Skills Minister Nick Boles ducked a question about delays to the first skills white paper in more than 10 years — after Labour’s Gordon Marsden raised the issue in parliament.

The exchange, during House of Commons business, innovation and skills questions, came after FE Week exclusively revealed last week that the first skills white paper in more than 10 years has been delayed.

After quizzing Mr Boles (pictured right) yesterday about cuts to the adult skills budget, Shadow Skills Minister Mr Marsden (pictured above) asked: “Why is the government’s key white paper to address technical skills shortages being delayed?”

But Mr Boles’ response focused on government funding for FE and did not answer the question about the white paper directly.

He said: “We are increasing total funding available for further education by 40 per cent in cash terms during this parliament.

“He talks about last year because he doesn’t like this year, because this year tells a story of a government investing in skills for the future,” Mr Boles added.

This prompted Mr Marsden to table a parliamentary question about government plans for the skills white paper.

He asked the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills “when his Department plans to publish its skills white paper”.

The question, tabled on May 3, has yet to be answered.

As reported by FE Week, the Skills Funding Agency released a document in February called ‘The Legal Entitlements for 2016 to 2017’ which referenced an upcoming skills white paper that it said would be published in the spring.

But this reference to when it would be unveiled had been removed in version two of the document, updated in March.

The delay to the white paper may be because the independent panel on reforms to technical and professional education (TPE), set up by the government and led by Lord Sainsbury, has not yet reported its findings.

The panel, which was set up to help the government create “up to 20 specific new professional and technical routes, leading up to employment or degree-level”, was due to have completed by March.

But FE Week understands the panel will now not be reporting its findings until mid-to-late May.

A spokesperson for DfE said the report from the Lord Sainsbury review would be published in due course, but declined to comment on the planned briefing for awarding organisations.

“Angry and demoralised” staff at Hull College have voted to go on strike in a row over pay, and a controversial new lesson observation system.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the college had offered staff a 0.7 per cent pay rise last September, and had also promised to make changes to unannounced lesson observations, which have been heavily criticised by teachers.

But the college went back on its promise to increase pay, while staff have complained that changes to the lesson observation system are leaving them more stressed and anxious than ever, the union has claimed.

John Giddins, UCU’s Yorkshire and Humberside regional branch development organiser, branded the situation as “appalling financial management”.

He told FE Week: “The staff have had no pay rise for the past couple of years while other colleges in the region have implemented pay deals to reward their staff. Hull College is unwilling to do that even though they were forecast to make £103,000 surplus.”

Mr Giddins said staff were “rightly anxious” that a “judgement based upon a snapshot”, such as the college’s observations process, could affect their career, type of pay, or even leave a “massive slur on people’s professionalism, which demonstrates a lack of trust in their staff”.

He added: “Part of the issue is that observations are flawed in essence. A whole raft of academic evidence shows that big decisions should not be predicated on the results of classroom observations because of the lack of reliability and validity.”

Hull College currently uses lesson observations to make a variety of decisions on staff, including peer progression, selection for redundancy criteria, and capabilities.

Mr Giddins said: “The consequences of these unannounced observations is that people could be waiting all year for them, and instead of focusing on teaching and learning, they are actually wondering when someone is going to walk in with a clipboard and use quite a restrictive notion of what is good teaching practice to measure them by.

“Staff really want to play a part in owning an observation teaching and learning policy rather than having it done to them.”

Julie Kelley, one of UCU’s regional officials, said strike action was always a “last resort” but staff at Hull College felt they had no choice.

Mr Giddins added that the way Hull College had conducted its industrial relations was “appalling and threatening”.

He said: “They have issued a statement on their staff portal that is unequivocal in that any action short of a strike would be deducted at full pay, and the language that they use is appalling.”

A spokesperson for Hull College said that less than 12 per cent of the college’s overall workforce voted for the strikes.

The spokesperson said: “The management team and UCU are continuing to meet to resolve the issues which ensure the group’s overall financial position is protected in a challenging funding climate for the FE sector, as well as ensuring the high quality of our teaching and learning is maintained, as highlighted by Ofsted in our most recent inspection.”

The college was rated as good by Ofsted in its latest inspection which took place in November 2015.

Picture caption:
Hull College staff during strike action, in February, over the Association of Colleges’ recommendation for a zero per cent pay rise in 2015/16

The government has delayed publication of a new skills white paper that is supposed to spell out its technical and professional education (TPE) reform plans, FE Week has discovered.

The last 14-19 education and skills white paper to be released by the government came out over 10 years ago, in 2005.

However, in February the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) released a document labelled ‘The Legal Entitlements for 2016 to 2017’, which referenced an upcoming skills white paper for this year.

The document said: “The 2016 to 2017 funding year is part of a transitional period as we move towards full skills devolution and the implementation of Technical and Professional Education (TPE) reforms.

“This transition gives time to move to new entitlement qualifications as well as make any changes to curriculum that come out of the reform of TPE. More information will be available when a skills white paper is published in the spring.”

But the release of the paper appears to have been delayed, as an updated version of the same document appears to have removed the reference to when it would be unveiled.

The link to the first version of the document has also been altered to redirect straight to the new updated copy.

It highlights the recent TPE reform work of an independent panel, led by Lord Sainsbury (pictured) and set up to help the government create “up to 20 specific new professional and technical routes, leading up to employment or degree-level”.

Other contributors on the panel included Professor Alison Wolf (pictured), whose landmark 2011 Review of Vocational Education sparked the introduction of the study programmes; Simon Blagdon, non-executive chairman of Fujitsu UK; and Bev Robinson, principal of Blackpool and the Fylde College.

FE Week understands the panel will not now be reporting its findings until mid-to-late May — even though this was supposed to have been completed last month — which may be delaying the release of the white paper.

The ‘Legal Entitlements for 2016 to 2017′ documents also highlight a hold-up in agreeing “the process for adding new qualifications”.

The first version promised that by March a “final list of qualifications that can be delivered as part of the entitlements” and that a “process for adding new qualifications to the entitlement” would be agreed with the Department for Education.

This, it said, would follow a “consultation with colleges, other training organisations and awarding organisations”.

However, the March version indicated this had still not been carried out.

It said: “We will agree the process for adding new qualifications to the entitlement with the DfE. We will confirm this following the publication of the skills white paper.”

The DfE and SFA declined to comment on the delay, or when the skills white paper would be released, or whether further information about reforms to technical and professional education would be provided.

Three more colleges have had concerns raised over their finances, alongside Wakefield council’s adult education provision, according to the latest reports from the FE Commissioner.

The reports for Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT), Richmond upon Thames College (RUTC), Warrington Collegiate, and Wakefield District Council were published on April 21, following visits by the Commissioner, Dr David Collins’ (pictured), team to each of them between December and February.

His report into TCAT recommended placing the college in administered status.

Dr Collins’ advisers visited the college from December 7 to 11 after it was issued with a financial notice of concern by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) in November.

He said in his report that “the college has experienced a rapid decline in its financial health in recent years”.

In his letter to TCAT chair Rick Tyrer, dated January 27, Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “The financial recovery plan is incomplete and there are still serious concerns over financial planning and forecasting.”

Jo Lomax, TCAT’s interim principal, whose appointment was one of a number “significant changes” to its senior management following Dr Collins’ visit, said the college had been “disproportionately affected” by funding cuts to adult education provision.

“We welcome the support from the FE Commissioner in helping us to overcome difficulties,” she added.

The FE Commissioner’s intervention at RUTC came after the college was assessed as inadequate for financial health for 2015/16 by the SFA.

In his report, dated January 2016 and based on a visit by his team from December 7 to 11, Dr Collins said the college’s staff-costs-to-income ratio was too high, and reducing it could save the college £1m.

As a result, he recommended that “the college should revisit its decision not to take forward further staff restructuring during 2015/16”.

An RUTC spokesperson said the college acknowledged the findings of Dr Collins’ report.

The college’s strategy “is supported by a robust financial plan which will deliver outstanding financial health through continual review of revenue opportunities and management of costs,” she added.

Dr Collins’ involvement at Warrington Collegiate was also prompted by a judgement of inadequate financial health by the SFA in November.

In his report, based on a visit by his team from December 15 to 17, the FE Commissioner praised the “prompt action” taken by new principal Nichola Newton.

But he added: “The college faces a difficult financial situation, and needs to strengthen its recovery plan.”

Ms Newton said the report was “not reflective of the college’s current position” and that feedback they had received from his team, who revisited the college on April 26 and 27, “indicates good progress against all the recommendations”.

The Commissioner’s report on Wakefield District Council’s Adult and Community Education Service (ACES), based on a visit by his team from February 23 to 25, said that subsequent action taken by the council after the service had been branded inadequate by Ofsted in November was “very positive”.

But he said “there is no proof so far these changes have benefited learners”.

John Wilson, the council’s corporate director for children and young people, said a governing improvement board established “to focus on increasing the speed of improvement in the quality of teaching and performance of learners” was bearing fruit.

 

 

Main pic: David Collins

College and council responses in full:

Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT)
TCAT said it had already made significant changes to its senior management team since the Minister of State’s letter, including the departure of principal Chris Scott.
Interim principal Jo Lomax said: “These are challenging times in the Further Education sector, particularly for colleges with a large adult education provision, where funding has fallen significantly.

“Here at TCAT, we have one of the largest adult education provisions in the region, so we have been disproportionately affected. So we welcome the support from the Further Education Commissioner, in helping us to overcome difficulties that we are facing.

“It can only assist us in our quest to ensure that we continue to be a vibrant college playing a positive role in helping great futures to begin for our learners.”

The college has this month begun talks with its near neighbour, New College Telford, with a view to a possible merger – in line with recommendations from an area review of further education provision.

Richmond upon Thames College
The college acknowledges the findings of the FE Commissioner endorsing a college led recovery process which started with the arrival of a new leadership team in 2014/15.

We continue to deliver improvements in our financial position reflected in the improved outturn for 2014/15 and are committed to delivery of our strategic plan Richmond 2020. The strategy is supported by a robust financial plan which will deliver outstanding financial health through continual review of revenue opportunities and management of costs. The FE Commissioner’s report fully recognises the significant upside of the college redevelopment which in turn has the full backing from the Greater London Authority.

The college welcomes the area review process and the estate redevelopment not only provides for specialist facilities and resources but also demonstrably delivers a significant return to the public purse through estate rationalisation, creation of new schools and housing. The corporation board is regularly refreshed and continues to appoint members with considerable industrial and financial expertise, notwithstanding the reports acknowledgement that the chair has considerable capital and estate management expertise.

Warrington Collegiate
Nichola Newton, Principal and CEO of Warrington Collegiate, said: “The FE Commissioner’s report published only recently was the outcome of a visit from the FE Commissioner’s team in December 2015 and, having made good progress against the recommendations contained within it, is not reflective of the college’s current position.

“The FE Commissioner’s team has just completed a follow up visit (26th and 27th April) and, whilst we await the final report, we are very pleased with the positive verbal feedback we have received which indicates good progress against all the recommendations in the original report. We expect to receive the FE Commissioner’s report formally outlining the findings from the follow up visit in the next few weeks.”

Wakefield District Council
John Wilson, corporate director children and young people at Wakefield Council said: “The report confirmed the areas of concern which we had already identified and were already seeking to improve.

“Further to the Ofsted report we have established a Governing Improvement Board, with an independent chair to focus on increasing the speed of improvement in the quality of teaching and performance of learners. The board meets fortnightly and we are already seeing improvements in both these areas.”