The government is “presiding over a skills emergency which threatens economic growth” while cutting FE funding and “dumbing down apprenticeships”, the new Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle warned her party’s conference-goers today.
Ms Eagle, who is beginning her third week in the role, raised concerns about the impact of government policy on FE during her speech on the third day of the event in Brighton.
In a speech which focused mostly on the government’s trade union bill, the future of British steel and the country’s membership of the European Union, Ms Eagle spoke out about the government’s “ideologically-driven recipe of cuts and neglect”.
She said: “This Tory government is also presiding over a skills emergency which threatens economic growth.
“Success in the 21st Century means partnering with business to make the most of all our talent. Yet more than two thirds of businesses now need more high-skilled staff. In construction, manufacturing, in science, engineering, technology, the skills shortage is at its worst.
“And so what is the government answer to this challenge? They’ve cut FE budgets, they’re failing young people on vocational qualifications and they’re dumbing down apprenticeships.
“Our young people deserve more than this ideologically-driven recipe of cuts and neglect.”
A Solihull learner braved the chop and had her long locks cut off to show support for a close friend who has just started chemotherapy.
Kathryn Sainsbury-Wilkes, who studies biology, mathematics and photography A-levels at The Sixth Form College, Solihull, took part in Macmillan’s ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign in August.
She did it to raise money for the cancer charity and her friend, 21-year-old Tanya Marie Henderson, who has lost her hair because of chemotherapy treatment.
Kathryn said: “I wanted to show her [Tanya] support and so decided to do so by shaving all of my hair off while raising money for a charity supporting people with cancer at the same time.”
The 17-year-old managed to raise more than £1,000 and has also donated all her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that makes real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair while undergoing chemotherapy.
A group of once disengaged young people from Brighton and Hove have returned to college with a positive attitude this year after experiencing a life-changing trip to Tanzania, writes Billy Camden.
Life at home may seem tough for this group of eight City College Brighton and Hove learners, but their eyes were opened up to true poverty during a summer trip to Tanzania.
The group, all on a pathways course aiming to re-engage disadvantaged students back into education by improving their vocational and employability skills, spent a week in the remote village of Wasso, where they renovated rundown school rooms at Lumo English Medium School.
Pathways construction tutor Stephen Wilkins, who led the trip, said: “They [the Tanzanian’s] have very little facilities out there so it was great to try and make their schools fit for purpose and create something that they could feel comfortable in.”
The group scrubbed down walls and filled them in, as well as painting and decorating with stencil designs in the classrooms that “really were in desperate need of it”.
During the trip, as well as donating their practical skills, the students played with the local schoolchildren and led a variety of activities for them.
Deaf student Kieron Nugent with the Tanzanian school children
They also experienced a safari, seeing the Ngorongoro Conservation Park, met with Maasai tribe warriors, and enjoyed beading with the Maasai women.
Deaf student Kieron Nugent, aged 17, who studies a level two sport pathways course, had a particularly memorable experience on the trip, befriending a local deaf child, Rogati, and teaching him basic sign language.
“I feel like Rogati and I connected so quickly, I taught him many things he’d never seen before and it was so touching how delighted he was to learn sign language and express himself,” said Kieron.
“I thought that Tanzania was an amazing place and the bonds we made with the local people made it a very emotional experience.”
Faustas Elenbergas, an 18-year-old who recently moved to England from Lithuania and studies a level two motor vehicle pathways course, also found the trip inspirational.
Learner Faustas Elenbergas watches the sunset on an inspirational trip to Tanzania
“As well as feeling that we were making a positive difference at the school through all our hard work, seeing the incredible local landscape and wildlife and experiencing such kindness from the Tanzanian people made this a life-changing trip for me which I’ll never forget,” he said.
The highlight of the trip for most was experiencing the robing of the new chief of the Maasai. The ceremony included the Maasai warriors dressing in their uniforms with painted bodies, with students joining them by chanting and singing.
“It was a real African experience,” said Mr Wilkins.
“The students reacted really positively. One or two were maybe a bit overawed but generally speaking they engaged with the local children, joined in with dancing and singing and overall got really involved which was great for their development.”
He added: “The trip really does opens the students’ eyes, it takes them out of their comfort zone and broadens their horizons. It is a hell of an experience for them.”
A former Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) teacher was today facing a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to 20 sex offences, including the rape of a child.
Lloyd Dennis, aged 33, of Sopwith Road, Eastleigh, pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to indecent assault on a male and gross indecency with a child, between July 1997 and August 1999.
He had previously admitted, on July 31, to 18 offences that included the rape of a child aged under 13 and making and possessing indecent photos of a minor, between September 2013 and November last year.
Dennis will now be remanded in custody before he is sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on November 5.
He is likely to face a lengthy custodial sentence, as the minimum recommended prison term for child rape, for example, is 10 years.
A spokesperson for BCoT said today that Dennis taught at the college “for a total of 9.5 hours at the end of February 2014”.
“From what we have been told, the charges are not connected in any way with his time at this college,” said the spokesperson.
She added: “He was a sessional, hourly-paid member of staff with us. We did not ask him to leave; he chose to terminate his employment for personal reasons.”
Dennis had been due to stand trial for four days this week, starting today.
However, this was cancelled after he pleaded guilty to the two offences today.
The Crown Prosecution Service will allow the remaining eight counts that Dennis pleaded not guilty to in July, including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity between September 2013 and November last year, to remain on his file.
Two Stockport College learners are at the bullseye centre of Sky 1’s new darts-based series One Hundred and Eighty.
Learners Danny O’Donnell, aged 23, and Curtis Reeves, 22, spent three days working with hosts Davina McCall and Freddie Flintoff at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
They supported rehearsals by acting as competitors, working on the cameras, and aiding the production of the programme.
The opportunity came about after ITV Studios, who produced the series, contacted Stockport College’s darts academy to use their facilities to host auditions for the new game show.
From this, Danny and Curtis, members of the college’s Darts Academy and sports enrichment programme, were offered the chance to assist on set.
Curtis said: “For years I have been watching the match play darts at the winter gardens but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be up there myself, it’s been such an amazing experience that I will never forget.”
Pic: Danny (left) and Curtis with presenter Davina McCall during production of the One Hundred and Eighty game show
The new FE Prevent Duty guidance document became statutory on September 21, so the duty is now law.
All FE providers — college, private or adult education — now have a clear legal obligation to prevent extremism in their organisations and to protect their students from exploitation by extremists. The Prevent Duty applies to all providers and to all areas, not just the big cities.
Colleges, independent learning providers (ILPs) and adult and community learning (ACL) providers will all be aware of the high profile of the Prevent Duty. This may be because in the North East of England Liam Lyburd was recently convicted of planning mass murder at his local college or because families and young men and women are travelling abroad to join extremist organisations.
The ETF recognises what a challenge the duty is for providers. To comply with it, one requirement is that board members, staff and volunteers are Prevent Duty-trained. The ETF has developed a suite of four free online training modules, tailored to the needs of leaders and managers, practitioners, support staff and governors or board members. These present the Prevent Duty in various FE contexts with case studies. They cover different groups of staff including facilities staff, librarians and practitioners.
The Prevent Duty applies to all providers and to all areas,not just the big cities
The materials are flexible, accessible, and derived from work with the sector. They deal with the broad scope of the Prevent Duty, including who needs to comply, policies and procedures. The modules provide an insight into how to implement British values into practice and how to exemplify British values which include compliance with the Equality Act 2010. They give examples of how British values can be integrated into curriculum areas and what is expected in terms of staff, governor, board member and volunteer behaviour.
It is often difficult to get staff, governors or board members together for training sessions, which is why the training is provided free and online.
Staff, governors and board members can use the materials wherever they have access to the internet and at a time which is appropriate for them. This gives a flexibility which many providers appreciate.
The feedback on the modules has been very positive. Angie O’Neil, head of Wirral adult education service, said it was a “great resource – really straightforward, informative and easy to navigate”.
“The modules and the resources available are really helpful for all staff to understand what is meant by Prevent and how this understanding can be applied and integrated into wider service practice – in particular teaching, learning and assessment,” she told us.
The ETF is aware that it is very time-consuming for colleges, ILPs and ACL providers to collect the certificates for everyone who has completed the modules. Therefore in addition we offer a paid-for service, the Provider Access System (PAS), which allows provider to upload the details of all those who need to take the modules and to monitor their progress.
The cost of the licences varies between £250 and £850 depending on the number of licences organisations need to buy. If you are interested in finding out more about the provider access system then go to
www.preventforfeandtraining.org.uk.
We are confident that free online training modules and the PAS will make it much easier for colleges, ILPs and ACL providers to Prevent Duty train their staff, volunteers and governors or board members.
We plan to continue to develop Prevent Duty support for the sector in the form of face to face training sessions for Safeguarding officers and a consultancy offer to provider face to face support for providers.
Further education’s struggle for survival may not be quite on a par with Tom Cruise battling the Syndicate — that network of dastardly operatives out to establish a new world order following the demise of the IMF.
Nevertheless, it looks increasingly like a Mission Impossible to many people in the sector. Well, they do seem to be bearing the brunt of austerity after the near collapse of the world’s banks. And the network of — maybe not quite as sinister — ministers and civil servants certainly wants to see a radically different world order for colleges and other providers.
“Mission impossible” sums up the views of teachers, managers, leaders, directors and governors interviewed in-depth six months on from the Policy Consortium/FE Week annual survey. This representative group of 32 from the 700-plus original respondents was asked whether they were more optimistic than around Easter time and prior to the General Election. Had minsters set out a fair and effective reform programme and what impact was envisaged?
The results published this week are disheartening. As one might expect, cash concerns and low staff morale feature prominently — this is austerity after all and it is symptomatic of the wider public sector. That said, there is equally a remarkable sense of determination to make reforms succeed provided they have the wherewithal, freedom from central constraints and flexibility to respond to local and national need rapidly. And there’s the rub.
What emerges from interviews at every level is concern over inconsistency, the rise in bureaucracy despite repeated ministerial pledges to the contrary and a restrictive target-driven culture focusing almost exclusively on an ill-defined notion of apprenticeships. Such initiatives are being developed piecemeal, on the hoof (and in some cases cutting across each other). There is irritation over the way the latest consultation document specifically equates commitment to training with involvement in apprenticeships, even though this is patently inappropriate for many learners.
There is incoherence and contradiction from government around pressing issues such as the wind down of adult education and the end of mandated English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol), negating wider social cohesion policy. A lack of consultation over apprenticeships means employers, especially small to medium-sized enterprises, will have little real ownership. Nor are reforms likely to increase employer confidence in the sector. Many people in the interviews reported a lack of sufficient and adequately qualified teachers to fulfil maths and English policy. And, most of all, there can be no coherence in conducting area reviews while schools can stand outside.
Were this just about FE then that would be bad enough. But the key threats are to economic revival through lack of skills for work and social cohesion through reducing services to people who are most in need. So, the FE practitioners say, they are teaching maths without maths teachers, selling loans to a public that rejects them and trying to integrate communities while ESOL is cut, etc.
To paraphrase the majority of people interviewed, what they are saying is ‘give us the right vehicle or change the destination because we can’t get where you want like this’.
Awarding organisation (AO) NCFE is set to appoint Loughborough College principal Esme Winch (pictured above) as its first managing director.
The Newcastle upon Tyne-based AO has also unveiled a new commercial and finance director as part of a senior team revamp.
A spokesperson for the AO said Ms Winch, whose post had been newly-created due to the “ongoing growth of the company” and would begin from January, would oversee day-to-day operations in awarding, and work closely with NCFE chief executive David Grailey.
Ms Winch said she was “delighted” at her appointment “at a time of such rapid change and development” in the sector.
“NCFE’s well-recognised strengths underpin an ambitious and confident outlook on the future,” she added.
Ms Winch has been principal and chief executive of Loughborough College since September 2012 and before that was group director for finance at Newcastle College Group (NCG). Her 35-year career has also included a management buy-out of Paperchase and senior roles at high profile companies such as Timberland, Laura Ashley and Polo Ralph Lauren’s office in Paris.
Audrey Traynor, chair of governors at Loughborough College said Ms Winch was “leaving the college in an excellent position for the future”.
“The governors, staff and students of Loughborough College would like to wish Esme all the very best for her new appointment with NCFE,” said Ms Traynor.
Heather MacDonald, who was principal of Sheffield College until June, replaces Ms Winch as interim principal from October 1. Ms Winch will be on leave from October 2 until taking up her post with NCFE.
Joining Ms Winch at NCFE is chartered accountant Phil Murray (pictured right) as commercial and financial director. The role was previously known as director of business services, and was most recently held by Graeme Walker, who left the post in September last year.
Ms Winch and Mr Murray are joining NCFE shortly after the awarding organisation’s acquisition of the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education (Cache).
“I’m pleased to be working with an award-winning organisation that has such a strong reputation nationally for awarding and customer service,” said Mr Murray.
“I was keen to join NCFE as I recognised it was an organisation that was looking to grow, and that although there are of course challenges within the FE sector, there are also opportunities for consolidation.
“The recent acquisition of specialist AO Cache is a major milestone in NCFE achieving its ambitions. I’m looking forward to helping NCFE to grow and develop further in the coming years, and to being part of this forward-thinking organisation’s exciting vision for the future.”
Mr Grailey said: “Our new directors’ extensive experience will be crucial as we move forward with this as well as other developments and projects we have in the pipeline.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Esme and Phil to NCFE and are confident that they will play a significant role in our ambitious short-term and long-term plans for growth, helping our strategic management team to drive NCFE forward.”
Anyone that works in the awarding sector will understand that for us change is the only constant. I was involved in qualification development during the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), and now we are at the dawn of another new qualifications framework, the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).
This is the third qualifications framework I have experienced during my time at OCR and the framework is only one aspect of the qualifications system that is subject to reform. You would be forgiven for thinking that all this framework change matters only to the awarding bodies (and for a large part, I think you’d be right), but the framework does fundamentally affect what we develop and therefore what is delivered in classrooms and work places.
I recently gave an update to one of our teams at OCR about what the implications were of replacing the QCF with the RQF. I used a slide containing two pictures; the first was of a person whose arms had been freed from chains that were binding them and the second was a sign that said ‘this changes everything’ only ‘everything’ was crossed through and ‘nothing’ was written over the top. I think the reality of the implications of the RQF is probably somewhere between the two.
The introduction of the RQF provides awarding bodies with greater flexibilities when we are creating qualifications or reviewing and refreshing or replacing existing ones. The QCF relied too heavily on structural regulations that stifled rather than supported innovation.
The RQF, created to be a descriptive framework, allows us to design and develop qualifications in ways that meet the identified purpose of the qualification, in a size and structure that supports that purpose.
It also supports Ofqual’s role as the regulator of awarding organisations. It is their expectation of us that we have processes, procedures and experience in place to design, develop and award valid and reliable qualifications.
So if the RQF gives awarding organisations greater flexibility, it also brings greater emphasis on our responsibilities. The RQF once again returns us to the role of owners of the content and design of our qualifications and it is a responsibility we welcome.
If the new framework gives awarding organisations greater flexibility, it also brings greater emphasis on our responsibilities
It is an opportunity that awarding organisations must take full advantage of. We want to be able to directly engage with stakeholders about the content and assessment of our qualifications; we want to ensure that they lead to positive outcomes. The changes to the framework and other associated changes have removed some obstacles that became barriers to this sort of engagement.
Part of the difficulties with the QCF came with the speed of its implementation, which were as much the responsibility of funding drivers as the introduction of the QCF itself. We are particularly glad to see that this is not a step that will be repeated. Although the RQF officially comes into effect on October 1, there is to be a phased transition for existing qualifications with the requirements on removing reference to QCF from qualification titles and ensuring that all qualifications assign a total qualification time value by December 31, 2017.
So what does this mean for those providers offering QCF qualifications? In the short-term, probably very little. Ofqual has confirmed that where qualifications are valid and reliable they can continue. Awarding organisations must keep their qualifications under review to update and withdraw or redevelop when they no longer meet the need they were designed to address. As those reviews happen you may see changes to qualifications that replace them, but these changes will not necessarily be due to the framework, unlike when the QCF was introduced.
Frameworks, like qualification reforms, need time to settle in and embed themselves. So, we and other awarding organisations have again a big responsibility to explain our qualifications and their position in the system in a way that is clear and easily understood by learners, educators and employers. And hopefully, this framework acronym will be the last one we have to explain.
