TeamUK finished in seventh place at this year’s WorldSkills competition, held in Brazil.
The team took home three gold medals, three silver, two bronze and 21 medallions for excellence – winning 46 medal points in total.
Beauty therapist Rianne Chester, 21, who runs Beauty By Rianne, was handed the award for best overall WorldSkills competitor at the closing ceremony on August 16.
TeamUK plumbing and heating competitor Gary Doyle, from Northern Ireland’s Southern Regional College and Kieran Trainor Plumbing and Heating were the other gold medal winners.
The Brazilian team came out on top, with 11 golds and 105 points.
The table has only today been released due to technical issues in judgement in finalising the medallions of excellence.
At the last WorldSkills’ competition in 2013, held in Leipzig, the UK came in at 10th place in the medals table.
This year Team UK managed to beat its nearest rivals France, Germany and Austria.
Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “Congratulations to Team UK on its impressive medal tally and achievement at WorldSkills São Paulo.
“Their hard work shows how far apprenticeships and professional and technical training can take young people, and the skills they are learning will help drive them towards an exciting and rewarding career.”
We have put together a free souvenir supplement from the event, with all the details of this year’s event. You can download it here.
A further six general FE colleges have been listed by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) as intending to take on learners from the age of 14.
The EFA yesterday published an updated list of FE colleges intending to start ‘direct recruitment’ of full-time younger learners for 2015/16.
The six new providers are Cambridge Regional College (CRC), Central Bedfordshire College, East Durham College, East Kent College, John Ruskin College, in Croydon, and South Tyneside College, according to the EFA.
It brings the total number of colleges “intending to deliver the programme” over the coming academic year to 20, the EFA confirmed.
Anne Constantine (pictured above), CRC principal, said the programme was a “new and exciting development” for education in the Cambridge area.
“We have created the Academy@CRC to offer a high quality learning experience, with more practical and vocational content, to young people aged 14 to 16 residing in Cambridge City, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire,” she added.
“Its aim is to nurture a mature and independent approach to learning and to develop the skills students will need to be successful in securing and sustaining employment and a career.
“Practical and applied learning suits some 14-year-olds more than the traditional academic curriculum.
“We will offer core GCSEs and a substantial vocational programme and we expect this to enable the young people who choose to come here to progress more quickly.”
CRC will launch the programme as a pilot scheme for 15 pupils from nearby secondary school Chesterton Community College in September, and, subject to its success in the first term, offer open access to 14-year-olds from September 2016, Ms Constantine added.
East Kent College principial, Graham Razey, said his college has seen a “significant reduction in the opportunities for local young people to access high quality technical education at 14”, which is the reason why they are choosing to deliver the programme.
Graham Razey
“East Kent College is committed to meeting the needs of the locality and is offering the Technical School to those who have the aspiration of a career in catering and hospitality or early years education,” added Mr Razey.
“The college has developed a technical school within the Broadstairs Campus which offers a discrete base for the school students and staff whilst giving easy access to the technical facilities. This includes the college’s nursery and hotel where the students will put their knowledge into commercial practice.”
Alison Maynard (pictured right), principal of South Tyneside College’s professional and vocational College, said: “Our primary motivation in establishing Career College North East was to provide outstanding instruction to young people who want more than purely academic study.
“It gives those who are clear about their future educational path the opportunity to learn the important skills they need to pursue the career they want, and to be ahead of the field by at least two years.
“We know from our close links with regional employers that there is demand for intelligent and motivated young people – employment opportunities are being created, but there remains a significant skills gap in the areas that will be covered by Career College North East.
“It is vitally important that the training given to people coming through our schools and colleges reflects genuine employment need in the areas in which they will live and work, and that is what the career college aims to do.
“For example, the ongoing creation of an International Advanced Manufacturing Park on the border of South Tyneside and Sunderland will create great opportunity for young people, and it is essential that they have the skills to capitalise.
“Career College North East will benefit greatly from being a partnership between South Tyneside College, which has outstanding bespoke facilities and highly skilled staff, and St Wilfrid’s, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted.
“It is a combination that we firmly believe will benefit young people in the North East for many years to come.”
The four original colleges that took on 14 to 16 provision in 2013/14 were Hull College, Leeds City College, Middlesbrough College and NCG (formerly Newcastle College Group), according to the EFA, while a further 10 FE colleges delivered the programme last academic year.
The additional colleges that were listed as “intending to deliver” the programme in 2014/15 included Bromley College of Further and Higher Education, Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, Hugh Baird College, in Merseyside, and Newbury College.
The others were South Devon College, West Thames College, St Helens College, Leicestershire-based Stephenson College, Oldham College, and Tower Hamlets College.
The EFA and the other four new colleges are yet to comment.
Policy Exchange’s “Crossing the Line” report explores “improving success rates among students retaking English and Maths GCSEs” and is a welcome acknowledgement of the funding difficulties faced in the further education (FE) sector, but presents a deeply problematic solution in a “per pupil levy” for schools where students fail to achieve a grade C.
At BSix we are proud of, and committed to, our comprehensive ethos, and for us this means enrolling a wide range of students, whether they have achieved “well” at school or not.
We have large numbers of students resitting maths and English; and we feel the funding implications keenly.
The high stakes nature of GCSEs, in particular for maths and English GCSE, for schools and headteachers means extensive intervention work and support has already been given to any student at risk of not achieving. These kids have already had everything thrown at them; retaking is not as simple as doing a few more lessons and getting their head down.
They often have very low previous attainment, and deep-seated beliefs about their own ability in these core subjects.
Given this context, it was refreshing to read a report which acknowledges the difficulty recent legislation has created for FE.
Some of the strategies the report highlights may be useful for 16-19 providers, although it is unlikely they have suggested anything most colleges have not already thought of: the report suggests the most effective providers are those which create “dedicated space and resources for GCSE retakes” – not particularly revolutionary, but perhaps a helpful starting point.
Where the report does suggest something new is in answer to how such dedicated space can be funded. They suggest a “per pupil levy on a ‘home’ secondary school to cover the costs of some or all students who then transfer from the school to continue to study in FE and need to retake their GCSEs.”
The report makes the argument that the compulsory resit policy places a large burden on FE colleges, who already face funding difficulties, and it is unfair for this burden to fall solely on them. I wholeheartedly agree.
However the suggestion of a levy, paid by schools in direct proportion to the number of pupils who fail to achieve a grade C, is not “fair” either: it’s not fair to the schools who are struggling to get pupils to pass GCSEs, and it’s definitely not fair to the pupils in later cohorts in those schools.
Schools with fewer pupils passing GCSE maths and English are likely to be struggling. In fact, the report suggests a “Progress 8 Safeguard” to protect schools where students make good progress but do not achieve the magic C grade.
Therefore the schools that will pay the levy will only be those that are struggling – good schools are protected. It seems obvious, but apparently needs pointing out to Policy Exchange, that these schools are not the ones who can afford to lose funding.
A set of poor GCSE results is a time of crisis for a school, when they need to evaluate their provision carefully and closely, and plan for a quick turnaround to deliver better outcomes for their next cohort.
This policy reduces their funding at this crucial stage, meaning they have less money to implement strategies and interventions that will improve things for their pupils.
It may lead to “improving success rates amongst students retaking English and maths”, but what about success rates in the schools who have paid the levy? They will be hit by a financial penalty that will reduce their ability to address the issues that led to the problem in the first place.
The report is right to highlight the funding challenges implicit in the changes to legislation around retakes, and with the current Government in power we cannot simply cry for more money.
However, while a levy may solve this particular problem, it will cause huge other ones elsewhere, and I simply cannot believe there is not a smarter solution.
I also cannot believe the report doesn’t even acknowledge this as a potential problem: it’s not clear whether they thought of it, but considered it unworthy of comment, or failed to appreciate this implication for already struggling schools?
The report says Policy Exchange is undertaking wider work around how to ensure financial sustainability of the FE sector. Hopefully that work will put forward some alternative suggestions, where Peter is not robbed to pay Paul.
Colleges will be expected to foot the bill for changes recommended during government-ordered area reviews or risk having their funding withdrawn, official government guidance leaked to FE Week has revealed.
A draft of guidance on the first wave of area reviews of post-16 education in England places responsibility for funding of the implementation of changes recommended in the post-16 education reviews on the shoulders of colleges, local enterprise partnerships (Leps) and councils.
The document, which is expected to be released in its completed form later this week, sets out the government’s expectation that colleges will provide “funding and support to implement changes, particularly as we expect change to deliver significant net savings in the longer term”.
It adds that government finance “would need to be provided as a last resort”, and goes on to say that although participation in the reviews is voluntary, it would “expect funding agencies and Leps” to only fund institutions which take action to provide a “good quality” and “financially sustainable” offer.
The area reviews were announced in July by Skills Minister Nick Boles (pictured left), and a government report, Reviewing post-16 education and training institutions, set out Whitehall’s desire to move towards an FE sector with “fewer, often larger, more resilient and efficient providers”.
The first wave of reviews are expected to begin this month, but unions have raised concerns about the level of consultation and financial burden which will be placed on colleges under current plans.
University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt (above, left) told FE Week that although collaboration between colleges was “to be encouraged”, she was disappointed that the reviews had been announced “with little formal consultation”.
She added: “Colleges have already sustained massive funding cuts and now need to prioritise their resources on students rather than jumping through hoops to secure future funding.
“If government truly wishes to improve skills in local areas, it should focus on ensuring a properly resourced and sustainable system of further education which gives people easy access to the learning they need.”
Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Brian Lightman (above, right) also criticised the funding situation.
He told FE Week: “The last thing colleges need is a further funding pressure at a time when funding levels are so low that many colleges are struggling to maintain basic levels of provision.”
A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson said the bill for the administrative cost of the reviews themselves would be met by government, as it is with FE Commissioner visits.
Further education colleges struggling to cope with an influx of maths and English GCSE resit students should get extra cash through a special levy on schools, a leading think tank has claimed.
A report released today by the Policy Exchange, a right-leaning think tank founded by former Education Secretary Michael Gove, called for the “resit levy”.
It would mean schools having to help cover the cost for “some or all of their students” who fail to get a C grade in the subjects and transfer to an FE College to take their resits, the report said.
Natasha Porter, author of the paper, said: “It is unfair for some schools to pass the buck to FE colleges who are already facing extreme funding pressures to fix a problem they have not caused themselves.
“To recognise the additional burden on FE colleges and shoulder more responsibility, schools should cough up and pay a resit levy.”
John Widdowson (pictured right), president of the Association of Colleges, said: “Policy Exchange has rightly recognised the challenge faced by colleges as they support an increasing number of young people needing to re-sit their GCSE English and maths after 11 years at school.
“These resits are being provided alongside the technical and professional courses that produce the skilled motivated employees that the country needs to drive productivity.
But he added: “While specific proposal to place a levy on schools, payable to FE colleges, for those students who failed to get a A* to C grade, would bring welcome additional funding into colleges, it would be easier if the government recognised the new challenge taken on by colleges in the national funding system.”
Nansi Ellis
Nansi Ellis (pictured left), assistant general secretary at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said FE colleges had been “most affected” by students needing to re-sit English and maths, “with some colleges having to devote whole buildings to accommodate the huge number of students taking GCSE exams”.
However, she said: “While we agree that FE colleges should receive additional funding for helping students pass their re-sits, we do not think schools should have to pay for it.
“We also fundamentally disagree with making students keep re-sitting GCSEs in English and maths. Instead, young people who have failed to get Cs in English and maths should take functional skills qualifications.”
The report claimed that the post-16 funding system does not does not recognise the extra burden on FE colleges since resits became compulsory for learners that fail to achieve a grade C in the subjects at the start of 2014/15.
“An FE college will receive £4,000 for a 16-17 year old (and £3,300 for an 18 year old) to teach a full time (unweighted) qualification, and is now required to fund the remedial maths and English teaching and examination fees from within this sum,” it said.
A Policy Exchange spokesperson said that FE colleges were also carrying more of the burden, in terms of the number of resitting students.
For students who completed their GCSEs in 2011 and retook them in 2013, he said, FE colleges took around five times more students who retook English — 100,239 compared to 20,544 who stayed at school.
It was a similar story over the same period for maths resits, he added, when 110,811 students re-took maths at an FE college, compared to 27,579 at schools.
The report added that the levy would, under the proposals, apply “where the student has both failed to get a C and achieved a negative score below a certain level on the new Progress 8 benchmark”, so long as he or she “has been on the roll of the secondary school for a certain length of time”.
Special educational needs and disabled students would only be exempt if they have an evidenced assessment showing they are not able to study the subject, it added.
The report added that there should be “a cap on the levy on any one particular school to provide some surety in financial planning from the school’s perspective”.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills declined to comment on the levy plan.
The sector skills councils for health and for justice today announced their merger — but also said they would continue to act separately.
Skills for Health (SfH) and Skills for Justice (SfJ) have “integrated” and a joint statement from the two organisations said the move would “maximise the synergies for customers and stakeholders”.
John Rogers (pictured right), SfH chief executive, will be the merged organisation’s chief executive — a post last held at the SfJ by Steve Clark, who left in March.
Mr Rogers said customers and stakeholders would see “very little change” to services and that it would be “business as usual”.
“However, over the next 12 to 18 months it is very clear that we will be able to deliver significant enhancements by maximising the strengths and expertise of both organisations across the combined wider sector footprint,” said Mr Rogers.
The new body will act as a not-for-profit UK charity in the way the two sector skills councils previously did, operating licences for the health and justice sectors.
Sir Duncan Nichol
However, SfH and SfJ will otherwise continue to act as two separate brands with their own websites and staff, according to an SfH spokesperson, who added that all existing offices would “be retained” and “there are no requirements for relocation and no current job losses” for employees of both organisations.
The move was announced in a joint statement released this morning by Sir Duncan Nichol, chair of SfJ, and Chris Hannah, chair of SfH.
They said the organisations “have worked in close partnership on a range of initiatives and services over a number of years, and both boards felt that the timing was now right to maximise the synergies for customers and stakeholders by bringing the two organisations together”.
“The work of the two organisations covers a wide expanse of UK public services including health, police, prisons, fire services, armed forces and local government,” they added.
Chris Hannah
“Through our history of joint working we have been very aware of the benefits that could be achieved for our customers and stakeholders by combining the strengths of SfH and SfJ.
“We are delighted that we have been able to integrate the two organisations and look forward to the very positive outcomes for the sectors that we serve.”
Sheffield-based SfJ has four offices across the country employing 40 workers.
It was established in 2004 as the sector skills council for police forces and law enforcement agencies, courts, tribunal and prosecution services, forensic science services, custodial care, and wider offender management services.
Meanwhile, SfH, based in Bristol, was set up in 2002 and currently employs 150 workers across five different offices.
It covers dental nursing, clinical support services, healthcare support services, pharmacy services and health and social care, among others.
Both organisations are involved in the development and promotion of vocational qualifications, including apprenticeships.
They work with a range of stakeholders including employers, education providers, education commissioners, professional bodies and awarding organisations across their sectors.
Stockton Riverside College has merged with independent learning provider (ILP) the NETA (formerly North East Training Association) Training Trust after 18 months of “talks” between the grade two Ofsted rated providers.
A joint statement released this morning by Phil Cook, principal of the FE college, and Frank Ramsay, chief executive of Stockton-based NETA, confirmed the merger.
It said that the move “will enable both organisations to align their values of keeping business and learners at its heart”.
“We are confident that together we will be stronger, sustainable and have the opportunity to further develop and grow high quality skills training into the future,” it added.
A spokesperson for Stockton Riverside told FE Week that NETA approached the FE college, which is “looking at an approximate operating surplus of £200k for 14/15”, 18 months ago with a view to “establishing a possible partnership”.
She added that “NETA has been looking for potential partners for the past five years, but up until that point hadn’t found the right fit”.
However, she said the leaders of the providers felt that they had now found sufficient “synergy” to merge — with both set to remain “individual entities” and benefit from the “added potential for sharing resources”.
Individual names and brands will remain, she said, and “each [provider] will continue to operate from respective campuses”.
“There will be no job losses,” she added.
Stockton Riverside, which was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in June last year and allocated £11.5m by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) as of April, had around 6,900 learners last academic year.
Meanwhile, NETA, which was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in May 2013 and allocated £1.5m for 2014/15 by the SFA as of April, had around 8,900 learners on average in 2014/15.
It was established as a charitable Group Training Association in 1975 and offers training for engineering construction companies.
A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said mergers between colleges and ILPs was “not unusual”.
“As this example shows, each can bring benefits to the other particularly in providing a more integrated service for local employers,” he added.
“No single model of partnership works best for everyone because of differing local circumstances, and they are generally most effective when it is a voluntary process on the part of the institutions concerned.”
It comes after struggling sixth form college (SFC) Totton confirmed to FE Week on June 22 that it would be merging with national crime prevention charity Nacro from November.
The deal was announced after the Southampton SFC, which had around 1,700-learners when it was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in June, failed to find a suitable nearby FE college to merge with.
A merger had been on the horizon for Totton since December when former principal Mike Gaston said it was looking at options. Sixth Form College Commissioner Peter Mucklow had warned it could not function alone having been placed under Financial Notice to Improve by the EFA.
Nacro had around 3,200 learners in June and improved from an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating in March 2013 to ‘good’ last June.
The Association of Colleges declined to comment on the Stockton Riverside and NETA.
A former principal of two colleges has been named as chair of a new steering group set up by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to support its work on simplifying the funding system for adult skills.
The SFA announced today that it has launched the new Funding Reform and Localism Steering Group (FRLSG) to “support our work on creating a simpler, more locally focused and responsive funding system for adult skills”.
“The group will help us shape how adult skills are funded, excluding apprenticeships, to meet local needs in a way that is simpler to operate,” an SFA spokesperson added.
She said that the chair will be Dr Ann Limb OBE, chair of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (Lep), who was principal of Milton Keynes College from 1986 to 1996 and Cambridge Regional College from 1996 to 2001, before moving to the charitable and private sector.
Dr Limb (pictured) said: “This is a critical time for the FE sector and an opportunity to reinvigorate the sector’s long-standing connections with local employers and communities.
“As a Lep chair who has worked in the private sector for the last decade and a passionate advocate of FE, I’m pleased to have been asked to chair this group.”
The FRLSG will be made up of representatives from FE sector, Leps, and “combined authorities”, the SFA spokesperson said.
She told FE Week that The Association of Colleges (AoC) and Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) would both be invited to join.
Gill Clipson, AoC deputy chief executive, said: “Colleges play a central role in providing a wide range of technical and professional qualifications which help adults to train for a new job or boost their skills in an existing role.
“We are interested in hearing more about the role of the steering group and would be keen to be involved to represent the interests of our members.
“Dr Limb is a passionate supporter of FE and we look forward to continuing our positive work with her. Adult skills funding has been cut by 28 per cent this year alone and we need to work together to protect this vital provision from further cuts.”
An AELP spokesperson said: “As well as apprenticeships, independent providers are heavily involved in the delivery of other adult skills provision, so we would be very pleased to be part of Dr Limb’s advisory group.
“The devolution agenda by definition will result in differing approaches adopted for skills in different areas, but there are important aspects such as funding arrangements with providers where some commonality in approach will be welcome to keep the system efficient and effective in terms of securing positive outcomes for employers and learners.”
Having reviewed the SFA’s existing advisory arrangements, the SFA spokesperson added, “our current groups, Funding External Technical Advisory Group (FETAG) and Qualifications Advisory Group (QAG) will cease to operate.
“We would like to thank both FETAG and QAG groups for the considerable support and commitment to the SFA over the last few years in implementing and embedding the current streamlined funding system and qualification funding reforms”.
“The advice members of FETAG and QAG have given has been invaluable,” she added.
The Data and Management Information Advisory Group (DMIAG), chaired by Dawn Ward CBE, principal of Burton and South Derbyshire College, will continue to offer advice to the SFA on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR), data collections and related issues, she added.
The UK’s leading employers’ organisation has criticised the government’s new apprenticeship levy consultation for failing to explore the cost involved or the minimum size of “larger employers” set to cough-up.
While the document accompanying the consultation launched this morning said that the levy will be paid by “larger employers” in all sectors, based on “the total number of employees”, it failed to give any indication of the size of workforce this would entail.
The document, published ahead of an announcement this morning by Prime Minister David Cameron on how public procurement contracts will help boost apprenticeship numbers, added that the government wants the levy “to be calculated on the basis of employee earnings and for employers to pay the levy through their PAYE return”.
But it failed to give any indication of the cost involved, instead stating that the “rate and scope” of the levy for “all sectors” will be announced as part of the autumn spending review.
Neil Carberry, director for employment and skills at the Confederation of British Industry, told FE Week: “There isn’t anything here on rate, remit or the definition of a larger employer, which was something we think is important and does need to be discussed with employers and the sector.
“Our view is these are critical issues and the CBI will respond to them, even though the consultation does not ask for it.”
He added: “The UK is facing needs a world-class apprenticeship system which delivers the higher level skills that business and the workforce need.
“We must not sacrifice quality for quantity. While we did not support the introduction of a levy, the key thing now is that the apprenticeships it delivers meet business demand and give young people routes to great careers and higher pay.
“The best way to drive up quality is to give employers real control and ensure that levy cash is committed to only funding apprenticeships in levy-paying businesses.
“The consultation is welcome, but there is much to do to build a system that works, including deciding the rate of the levy and building a levy structure that avoids the mistakes of the past.”
A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson said: “The threshold for what defines a larger employer will be announced in the spending review.
“This consultation will help determine what that threshold is.”, although there was no mention of a threshold or related question in the consultation.
The document says that this diagram shows how information and funding could flow round the system to allow employers to control their own spending decisions
Views are only requested in the consultation on how “the size of firm[s] should be calculated” as no system has been agreed.
The document also said that “larger employers” would, under the proposals, claim back levy payments to fund training through a digital voucher system.
Smaller firms would be expected to use the same voucher system too, it stated, although the BIS spokesperson told FE Week last night that they would not have access to the levy fund.
He was unable to comment ahead of publication on how apprenticeships run by small firms would funded under the new system.
The document added: “We envisage that employers will receive ‘top-ups’ to their levy account over and above their own contribution,” it added.
There would though, under the plans, be “a limit” to how much employer’s voucher accounts “will be topped up each year”.
The document also raised questions over whether providers funded through the levy would need to be approved and their provision inspected.
It added that employers would be able to use the vouchers to cover all costs of an apprentice’s training, including English and maths, assessment and certification.
The consultation forms part of what the Prime Minister calls a “package of radical plans” to help the government hit its target of 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020.
The BIS spokesperson said that this would include new measures requiring all bids for government contracts worth more than £10m to “demonstrate a clear commitment to apprenticeships” from September 1.
Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne said that the Conservatives had made an “apparent U-turn” on the issue — after Tory MPs opposed previous Labour proposals for enforced targets on apprenticeship recruitment ahead of the general election.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will also today announce plans to create 30,000 apprenticeships in the road and rail industry over the next five years.
Meanwhile, the government confirmed this morning that a further 59 new Trailblazer apprenticeship standards have been published, although none are “ready to deliver”.
It adds that government finance “would need to be provided as a last resort”, and goes on to say that although participation in the reviews is voluntary, it would “expect funding agencies and Leps” to only fund institutions which take action to provide a “good quality” and “financially sustainable” offer.
colleges as they support an increasing number of young people needing to re-sit their GCSE English and maths after 11 years at school.
