Latest news from FE Week | FE Week

Bronze for team GB

A South Gloucestershire and Stroud (SGS) College student has returned from the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships in China with a bronze medal for Team GB.

SGS student Vada Finniear celebrates with partner Kennedi Cross after winning a bronze medal at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships

A-level learner Vada Finniear competed in the mixed pair category in the 13-19 age-group with his partner Kennedi Cross.

Going up against 12 other partnerships, the pair got off to a shaky start with their first routine but “calmed down” for their second which saw them qualify for the final.

After a nervous final round, they placed third with Russia in second and America
in first.

Vada said: “The competition was so exciting, and we never imagined we would get a medal, so that made the competition even more memorable.

“Whenever someone has asked me what I want to achieve with gymnastics in the future, the one thing I’ve always said is to compete in the world championships as a member of Team GB — I’m ecstatic to have actually done it.”

The 18-year-old, who studies classical civilisation, design technology, film studies and product design at SGS, is a member of Harriers Acrobatic Gymnastics Club.

A walk on the wild side

A rtistic students from Sussex Downs College have teamed up with a local children’s charity, Rockinghorse, to create a special mural for sick children.

The team of five, all studying applied art and design, spent six weeks creating the wildlife-themed artwork in the children’s emergency department at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

Samantha Clark working on the tiger painting

The vibrant mural features a variety of wild animals and insects.

It is hoped the painting will relieve anxiety for children and parents when they have been admitted to the A&E unit.

Student Vita Measure-Hughes, 17, said: “I am hugely grateful for this opportunity and being able to give back to such a fantastic hospital that helped me a lot when I was younger.

“I hope our mural helps patients and families by making their stay a little bit easier, along with the wonderful staff who are still just as engaging and caring as they were for me 15 years ago when I was an inpatient.”

Main pic: From left: Sussex Downs College students Isabel Macpherson, Vita Measure-Hughes, Amy Godfrey, all aged 17, and Archie Benton and Samantha Clark, both 18, with the finished mural

Young refugees need emotional as well as academic support

Victoria Leney explains how the findings of her study into support procedures for 16-18-year-old unaccompanied refugee learners can be applied to FE.

The media has shared the difficult situations refugees endure to make the journey to the United Kingdom.

But as a society we are less aware of the struggles and challenges they face after they have settled in a new country, and how their past experiences affect their educational needs, an area which desperately needs to be addressed.

I undertook a research study, with 16-18-year-old unaccompanied refugee learners, to determine what support procedures teachers need to put in place to ensure that they are engaged in education.

There are lessons to be learned for FE and our teaching strategies that I would like to share.

They often need emotional support from their teachers and guidance about how to function in society

My research identified three main elements needed for student success — emotional support, consistency and differentiation.

The first issue, and the most important one is awareness of the emotional needs of the learner and how to be prepared to support them with pastoral matters, as well as educational ones.

For many unaccompanied refugee learners, the only consistent and responsible adult in their lives is their teacher, and this often leads to the teacher being viewed as a parent figure.

For refugees, it is important to remember that their needs go beyond learning English.

They often need emotional support from their teachers and guidance about how to function in society, because they are not just learning a language, they are learning an entirely new culture and way of life, which can be incredibly stressful and frustrating.

When teaching a group of students with complex emotional needs, having a disrupted timetable and constant changes in rooms and teachers can be unsettling to their routine and add further stress to their lives.

Students rely heavily on a consistent timetable and on their teacher being there and available to talk to about any issues.

With the migrant crisis comes long-lasting emotional issues which are inevitably brought into the class.

One student commented that when lessons are particularly challenging for him, it increases his stress and causes physical symptoms, such as severe headaches.

We cannot expect students suffering from PTSD to bounce back as quickly, or in the same manner, from a challenging activity as a non-migrant learner might.

To ensure that students are supported, differentiation is a crucial teaching strategy and should be well planned and executed in a manner which stimulates the students without overwhelming them.

The migrant crisis is not going to go away.

We will continue to see an influx of refugees and asylum seekers into the country, who, provided with the right language and skills, can become self-reliant and valuable members of our society.

By engaging refugee learners in an FE college, we are not just exposing them to the language, but to the culture of education, and bringing them into an environment which offers other courses, such as IT and maths, giving them more opportunities to build their skill set in an environment in which they feel safe and secure.

Despite this initial stage of my research focusing on teenage learners, I shifted to adult refugees and soon realised that the same support needs to be in place for them.

Imagine being a refugee parent with your youngest children just starting school in England, being unaware of how the education system works, or unable to communicate with their teachers about their progress, or what to tell the doctor if your child falls ill.

Many times I have been asked by adult students to explain school or bank letters. Who else would they turn to?

Learning English is not just about learning a language.

It is about teaching citizenship, giving people the ability to find employment to integrate into society, and giving them a chance to start a new life in a country where they feel safe, many of them for the first time in their lives.

With that comes the responsibility to understand the complexity of their situation and the importance of emotional support, consistency and differentiation, because without that understanding, we, as educators, are failing them.

Setting the scene for a devolved future

Shane Chowen looks at how the upcoming local elections and devolution could affect FE.

More than 475 elections will soon be taking place throughout the UK, with thousands of candidates trying to reach millions of voters.

I was a candidate in a by-election in Milton Keynes last year (I lost).

It’s exhausting, but also exciting, because once you’re over that initial apprehension about knocking on the doors of complete strangers, people are generally respectful of the fact you’re putting yourself out there.

Generally. I was desperate for a doorstep conversation about adult education, or apprenticeships or lifelong learning. It never happened.

This year’s elections feel somewhat overshadowed by peripheral but more dominant political issues, most notably the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership on the European Union, which is dividing political parties as well as the public.

Demanding even more power from central government is a common theme

Because of this, and the potential for a lengthy, painful and dominant aftermath whatever the result, this could cause even further delays on the Government’s programme for the sector on things like the Digital Apprenticeship Service and devolution.

In some parts of the England, devolution and the introduction of new ‘Metro-Mayors’ is becoming an increasingly visible and divisive issue, particularly in the largely rural and Conservative parts of the country whose devolution deals were announced at the Budget — places like West of England, East Anglia and Greater Lincolnshire.

Local MPs are beginning to get tetchy about losing power to a new type of local politician with a larger electoral mandate.

So with a make or break referendum casting doubt over the very fundamentals of our politics, and new domestic democratic devolution developments meaning even more elections in a year’s time for some of us, is it any wonder that policy – what all these people standing for election actually want to achieve – is not easy to come by?

As no major devolution of learning and skills has taken place just yet, the sensible place to start would be the manifestos of mayoral candidates and national parties.

In the future though, even within five years, there could be mayors of Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands, North Midlands, Greater Lincolnshire, East Anglia and West
of England.

Hopefully this won’t trigger Game of Thrones style power trips but will mean locally tailored skills and employment policy.

In London, policy from the two main candidates for the Iron Throne at City Hall, Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan, could give us some indication about what other devolved mayors could pledge to achieve in the future.

Demanding even more power from central government is a common theme throughout both candidates’ manifestos.

Sadiq Khan wants FE funding for 16-19 year olds as well as the adult education budget, while Zac Goldsmith wants powers to fund smaller courses, for example.

Both candidates have also responded to concerns around local skills gaps and are committed to establishing new groups and organisations to help tackle the problem.

Data and accountability also seem to come hand in hand with devolution.

London has led the way on open data, such as how Transport for London has made tube and bus timetables open, leading to a proliferation of new (and better) apps for people planning journeys around the capital.

Both candidates commit to more open data which could link to things like outcome agreements, learner satisfaction and earnings to provide learners and employers with better information about what and where to study.

With more flexibility and powers, more local politicians could choose to prioritise basic skills which are inhibiting local people’s access to public services.

A good example of this is in London, where both candidates have committed to establishing a chief digital officer to lead on digital inclusion, ensuring residents have the digital skills needed, and that adequate provision is on offer.

So while the elections this week won’t be game-changers for our sector, in England at least they do set the groundwork for the devolved future of FE and skills.

And of course please do all you can to ensure your staff and learners go out and vote.

Sacked by 2 colleges over child abuse images

A tutor has been sacked by a two Liverpool-based colleges after admitting to making and possessing hundreds of child abuse images.

Barry Sanders, who taught science, was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence and made to sign the sex offenders register at Liverpool Crown Court on April 21.

The 42-year-old, of Manor Close, Bootle, had been working as a tutor at Hugh Baird College and Knowsley Community College, until police warned them that he was being investigated in May and June last year respectively.

He was immediately dismissed by Knowsley.

Sanders was also suspended by Hugh Baird, until he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photos of children and one for possession of the indecent images and was sentenced — after which he was sacked on Wednesday (April 27).

A Hugh Baird spokesperson said: “Mr Sanders commenced employment at the college in January 2008, with all associated pre-employment checks, including CRB check, List 99 check and employment references proving satisfactory.

“During this time we understand he gained secondary employment with Knowsley College.”

She added Sanders was “immediately suspended” after the college was informed by Merseyside Police 11 months ago that he was under investigation.

This was in line with the college’s “safeguarding procedures”, as well as “those of the Sefton Local Safeguarding Children Board”, she added.

“Upon being notified by the police of the conclusion of their investigation and subsequent court hearing, the college completed its internal safeguarding investigation and employment was terminated.”

A spokesperson for Knowsley Community College said: “Barry Sanders was employed by the college as a sessional tutor for six hours a week, teaching science. He started in September 2014.

“Police contacted the college in June 2015 and said he had been arrested for having indecent images of children, and he was dismissed immediately.”

Merseyside Police declined to comment.

Fears IfA won’t have the staff to police standards

Questions are being asked about the ability of the new Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) to police new Trailblazer standards — after FE Week discovered it is only set to have 40 members of staff by 2019/20.

A leaked document called ‘BIS2020 — Finance and Headcount outline’, seen by FE Week, indicated that the IfA would take on 40 employees in 2016/17 — and the number would not increase over the next three years.

This compares, for example, to more than 100 people who worked for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills in 2013-14 and 2014-15, according to its accounts up to March 31 last year.

It comes after Skills Minister Nick Boles told key FE figures he had “no idea — or if I had an idea I’m not going to share it” about how big the IfA should be to effectively police employers once reforms took effect.

He made the comments at a January Policy Exchange round-table discussion, after being quizzed by FE Week on how it would keep checks on hundreds of new Trailblazer standards, around 600,000 starts a-year, 1,000 or more providers, and half a million employers.

Mr Boles has also now admitted that “there has not yet been an assessment of the potential location for the new IfA”.

It prompted shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden (pictured) to warn that the “continued vacuum of information” around the IfA was “extremely concerning”.

He raised concerns over the “relatively small number of staff which we now know they will have at their disposal to deliver an extremely complex set of activities — not just around the standards but indeed liaising over any issues that may arise in a period of considerable expansion”.

“The continued failure to clarify further what the membership of the board will be and whether it will have the necessary width and input not just from employers but from all those other groups concerned, is extremely concerning,” Mr Marsden added.

The only IfA appointment so far has been of former senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Rachel Sandby-Thomas, as shadow chief executive.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “The government continues to expand the remit and responsibility of the IfA.

“Therefore it is vital for the success of the apprenticeship reforms that the organisation is fit for purpose and is able to respond promptly and flexibly.”

The leaked document also indicated that IfA costs had been “excluded” from analysis of BIS departmental savings.

A BIS spokesperson confirmed on April 27 that 221 Trailblazer apprenticeship standards had currently been published, of which 91 have had final government approval, while “more than 160” are still in development.

The spokesperson declined to respond directly to FE Week questions over the heavy workload for a relatively small number of IfA employees.

However, she said: “The institute will be responsible for setting quality criteria for the development of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, advising on the maximum level of government funding available for standards and increasing the quality of apprenticeships.

“The IfA board will be appointed through a public appointments process. The outcome will be announced as soon as the process allows in 2016.”

Boles warning over fresh college mergers

Three more college link-ups have been announced as the Skills Minister Nick Boles warned against colleges rushing into mergers ahead of their area reviews.

The latest potential mergers, involving three general FE colleges, two sixth form colleges (SFCs) and a university, add to the 15 previously reported by FE Week as being on the cards for 2016.

All of these latest announcements have been made while the colleges’ respective area reviews are still ongoing, or before they have started.

During House of Commons education questions on April 25, Mr Boles cautioned: “In general, we do not want mergers to be rushed into before an area review has had a chance to look at the provision in a whole area.”

But Shrewsbury College (SC) confirmed on April 21 that it would join forces with Shrewsbury SFC (SSFC) on July 31 — following a consultation on a possible three-way merger also involving New College Telford (NCT), an SFC.

Meanwhile, NCT announced on April 22 it is no longer looking at linking up with SC and SSFC, and is instead in talks about a possible merger with Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT).

All four colleges are part of the Marches and Worcestershire area review, in wave two of the area reviews, which had its first steering group meeting on January 18, and is yet to conclude.

Fiona O’Brien, NCT principal, said: “From our discussions in recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that the benefits of merging our two Telford-based colleges have overwhelming advantages for learners in the borough.”

The “reluctance” of learners to travel from Telford to Shrewsbury was one of the reasons cited by Ms O’Brien for the change of plan.

Merging the two Telford-based colleges was also the “preferred option” of the area review panel, she added.

Jo Lomax, TCAT interim principal, said “this is a merger which makes sense on many levels, and that there is enthusiasm on both sides to see if we can make it happen”.

Newham College, part of the London (East) area review in wave three of the reviews, which will hold its first steering group on May 10, also announced on April 21 that it had formed a strategic alliance with the University of East London.

The two institutions aim to develop a “more coordinated approach” to FE and HE provision in the area through the partnership, the college said in a statement.

Di Gowland, Newham College principal, said: “This will enable Newham College and the University of East London to develop an unrivalled range of seamless education opportunities for both local people and our wider communities.”

News of the partnership comes after Bury College announced earlier this month that it was planning to merge with the University of Bolton.

ATL blasts six-month Birmingham area review

The Birmingham and Solihull area review was a waste of time and money, according to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), which claims the six-month process has resulted only in “limited change”.

The review, which involved four general FE colleges and three sixth form colleges (SFCs), only recommended one merger — between Bournville College, and South and City College.

However, a merger for Bournville would still have been “on the cards” without the review because of its “serious” financial problems, ATL’s post-16 policy specialist Janet Clark told FE Week.

Dr Mary Bousted (pictured), ATL’s general secretary, was “shocked and concerned” that “taxpayers have funded an area review of post-16 education and training in Birmingham and Solihull which has resulted in limited change to the current provision”.

She added: “If the government was really concerned about the sector, young people, and efficiency savings, it could have saved everyone’s time and money, and arrived at the same result, by consulting the expert and highly dedicated college staff in the Birmingham area.”

But a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said the recommendations — which also include possible academy status conversions for all three SFCs — would “deliver significant improvement” and “enable the colleges to collaborate more effectively”.

She added “these changes will include addressing at speed the failing delivery of one of the institutions”, but declined to say which college this involved.

Details of the review recommendations were set out in a joint press release by the seven institutions involved in the area review, following the final steering group meeting on March 4.

But the recommendations have not yet been formally published by the government.

Bournville was rated “inadequate” for its financial health by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) in 2014, and is still subject to two SFA notices of concern.

Rob Smith, Bournville’s vice-principal of corporate services, denied the merger had been a virtual certainty for the college before the area review.

“During this process, it became clear that the college would be able to achieve improved financial viability if it was able to secure agreement with an appropriate merger partner,” he said.

“A number of merger options were considered during the review, before the one with South and City College Birmingham was recommended,” he concluded.

The area review also recommended that Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet), Solihull College and Joseph Chamberlain SFC remain as standalone institutions, according to a statement from
the college.

It added SFC Solihull should pursue “conversion to academy status and merger with the Ninestiles Academy Trust”, while Cadbury SFC could either merge with Bournville College and South and City College, or join a multi-academy trust.

But Cadbury SFC subsequently announced on April 22 that it was in talks with Coventry University about becoming part of its academy trust.

Andrew Cleaves, principal at BMet, told FE Week that the “really big change” that had resulted from the area review was new understanding of how “colleges and SFCs are much better working together rather than competing”.

Michael Sheehan steps down at Wigan & Leigh

A college principal in the north-west has left his post unexpectedly, but his former colleagues remain tight-lipped as to why.

Michael Sheehan (pictured) first took charge at Wigan & Leigh College, which has recently been part of the Greater Manchester area review, in August 2014.

A spokesperson for the college told FE Week that Mr Sheehan had “decided to leave the college”, but declined to provide further explanation of his reasons.

She added: “Michael, one of the country’s leading FE professionals, has led the college through a rapid period of transition and improvement during his time as principal.”

Liz Shea, chair of the governing board, said: “The college has seen great improvement throughout Michael’s time as principal and I am confident that it will continue to go from strength to strength.

“I would like to thank him for his commitment and dedication to the college throughout this time.”

Anna Dawe, Wigan & Leigh’s vice-principal for curriculum, has been appointed acting-principal until a permanent appointment is made.

FE Week reported Mr Sheehan’s appointment at the college in September 2014.

Previously head of Pendleton College in Salford, and Runshaw College in Lancashire, he replaced Catherine Hurst when he joined Wigan & Leigh.

Ms Hurst was the principal for six years from 2007 and left the college to “explore new challenges”.

At the time Mr Sheehan said: “I am excited to be offered the opportunity to lead Wigan & Leigh College and am looking forward to working with students and staff.

“The college is at the heart of the local community and is a key provider of education in the borough. With the multimillion-pound redevelopment of the campus, coupled with staff who are dedicated to providing a positive learning experience, the college has a bright future.”

Mr Sheehan’s decision to leave his post was announced on April 22, 2016.

In the college’s most recent Ofsted report, released in April 2015, Wigan & Leigh had fallen from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.

Problems included poor attendance, work that was deemed “insufficiently challenging”, and the proportion of students and apprentices achieving qualifications being “too low” – with English and maths a particular weakness.

However, the report noted at the time that “the new principal and senior management team have taken swift action in recent months to improve outcomes for learners”.

Mr Sheehan was unavailable for comment.