Further Education sector leaders have joined forces with senior representatives from the schools world to plead with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Chancellor George Osborne for an increase in 16 to 19 education funding from 2016-17.

Two joint letters, signed by Martin Doel (pictured right), chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), Brian Lightman (pictured below left) and general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), were sent on Friday (June 5).

Further signatories from the FE sector were David Igoe, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), and Sir Geoff Hall, general Secretary of the Principals’ Professional Council.

The note to Ms Morgan, which was also signed by senior representatives from the Freedom and Autonomy for Schools National Association, Independent Academies Association,  and Grammar School Heads Association, urged her to “raise the issue of the current low funding of 16-19 education with the Chancellor” before next month’s Budget.

It said: “We are urging you to address the growing and significant disparity in the funding for the education of 16-19 year olds in schools and colleges.”

The Conservatives pledged before the general election to freeze education spending for five to 16-year-olds at its current level, leaving 16 to 19 funding vulnerable.

And the letter, along with a supporting paper, is dated June 5 and comes with the Treasury having announced that £900m of in-year departmental savings would hit the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education, with each department expected to save £450m as part of £3bn of overall cuts.

It also comes amid news the Skills Funding Agency has delayed until after next month’s Budget the annual announcement on whether third quarter growth requests would be approved. It also left the door open to requests for growth, with delivery having already taken place, being turned down for even key areas such as 16 to 18 apprenticeships and traineeships.

Nevertheless, the joint letter to Ms Morgan added that “the substantial dip in funding, between pre-16 education and higher education is already having significant and adverse consequences for their [providers] continued ability to provide choice and high quality education to 16 to 19-year-olds”.

It called for “action” over the funding problems, looking ahead to the 2016-17 budget cycle, adding that the “next comprehensive spending review should re-evaluate the resources needed for a good education for all 16 to 19-year-olds in state education”.

The letter to the chancellor, which was signed by the same FE and school leaders, said: “This joint letter urges you to consider the issue of the current low funding of 16-19 education with the Education Secretary as part of your discussions with her before your July budget.”

An AoC spokesperson told FE Week today: “The issue of funding for 16 to 19-year-olds is so important to all of us, and that’s why we decided to work together on a joint approach to the ministers.

“We are calling on the government to make sure that funding is spread fairly across all stages of education to ensure young people have access to the high-quality education they deserve.”

An SFCA spokesperson said: “This letter highlights how serious the crisis in 16 to 19 funding actually is. The message from SFCs, FE colleges, academies, grammar schools and others is the same — ongoing funding cuts are seriously damaging the life chances of young people.
“Sixth form funding should not be regarded as a soft target. It is already difficult to offer students much more than a part time educational experience. A review of education funding is now urgently required.”

An ASCL spokesperson said:  “Put quite simply the current funding level for 16 to 19-year-olds in our schools and colleges is totally inadequate.

“This has already led to a decrease in contact time for students with their teachers, a narrowing in the range of subjects that institutions are able to offer and a reduction of the broadening curricular activities that help develop the life and employability skills so essential for young people’s future prospects.

“The situation will become critical over the next few months as schools and colleges have to find funding to cover the increases in employers’ National Insurance and teachers’ pensions contributions, as well as salary rises and general inflation.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Thousands more students are staying in education or training after the age of 16, giving them the skills and experience they need to thrive in modern Britain.

“We have ended the historic and unfair funding difference between schools and colleges from the 16 to 19 funding formula, and are maintaining funding rates for 2015/16 so they can plan their future offers for students. The funding is sufficient for every full-time student to undertake a full timetable of courses.

“It is for schools to set their own budgets, taking into account our national funding formula, which ensures pupils on the same courses are funded equally, no matter where they study.”

He added: “We are determined that post-16 providers have the resources they need to ensure young people in FE can enjoy high quality courses.

“The base rate of funding for 16 to 19-year-olds in the academic year 2015/16 will continue at the same level as in the academic year 2014/15: £4,000 for full-time 16 and 17 year olds and £3,300 for full-time 18 year olds.

“From 2016/17, funding will be increased for those that get grades B and above – or equivalent – in four or more A levels and large TechBacc programmes, giving schools and colleges the green light to further help their most able students.”

Providers which have over-delivered on their apprenticeships contracts face a long wait to find out if they will be paid.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has written to providers who were expecting to hear back about their quarter three growth requests last week to inform them the announcement will take place following the government’s emergency budget on July 8.

Under SFA rules, providers can over-deliver on their contracts at their own risk, and apply three times a year for money to cover the extra training.

But the postponement of the announcement has led to concerns that apprenticeship funding, which the government has pledged to protect, could be affected by any savings announced on July 8, with even growth funding for 16 to 19 apprenticeships – seen as a priority growth area for the government – up in the air.

Stewart Segal (pictured), chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said he was “disappointed” by the delay.

He said: “This is very late notice for providers that have responded positively to the government’s priorities. The delay will cause problems for prospective apprentices and employers who have made the commitment to the programme but will now not be funded.

“Training providers have to make commitments to employers before they get confirmation of contracts. They take calculated risks which are based on previous experience and short notice changes like this will cause major issues. Even if notification is given soon after the July 8 Budget, there will not be time to deliver the growth by the end of the year.

“This is the first time for many years where funding for 16 to 19 apprentices has been restricted.”

He said the delay also came at a time “when many providers were planning to increase the numbers of Traineeships and many young people and employers will not be able to delay the start of their programmes”.

He added: “We have also talked to the SFA about needing a very flexible approach to managing any extensions to contracts after July 8 because many providers will not be able to deliver the growth they predicted because of the delay.

“This decision is a good example of the AELP view that constant changes to contracts with little or no notice are the major barrier to expanding the apprenticeship programme. Attempts to engage more employers will be affected by these short-term decisions. If training providers were given a more secure contracting process, we would be able to engage more employers and deliver the growth we need.”

It comes after the Treasury announced that £900m of in-year departmental savings would hit the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education, with each department expected to save £450m as part of £3bn of overall cuts.

The SFA is yet to comment.

Concerns about the University Technical Colleges (UTCs) programme will be raised in Parliament this afternoon after a decision to close one in the Midlands prompted the local MP to take action.

David Winnick (pictured), MP for Walsall West, has tabled an adjournment debate in the House of Commons this afternoon following the announcement that the Black Country UTC will close its doors in August after just four years of operation.

The decision to close the UTC, which will be the second, along with Hackney, to close this summer, was announced with publication of its inadequate Ofsted grade pending.

But Mr Winnick said he intended to raise concerns about the way the decision and announcement were handled.

Mr Winnick told FE Week: “The UTC in my constituency was one of the first five and opened four years ago. Apart from mine closing in August, so is Hackney.

“At the same time, they are being opened and encouraged, especially in Cameron’s speech [following the Queen’s Speech].

“What I want to ask about is what has happened after all the acclaim? After all the visits made by various characters including one of the royal Dukes? The Ofsted report didn’t recommend closure, it urged improvement and said the new Principal was getting the situation in hand.

“Their comments were very negative but the aspect which concerns me was the manner in which it was decided to close it. Why was it decided at that particular time to close it? It was all a bit hole-and-corner, it sort of leaked out without a proper statement being made.

“A lot of money has been spent and all in all what I want to ask the minister if he is satisfied, whether there are lessons to be learned from what’s occurred over the past four years.”

It comes after FE Week revealed in April that six of the 30 UTCs which opened between 2010 and 2013 were operating at up to just a third of their capacities.

No exact time has been set for the debate, but live updates can be received by following FE Week on Twitter.

Three quarters of councils think government policy on 16 to 19-year-olds “requires improvement,” a Local Government Association (LGA) survey has revealed.

The results of the LGA’s survey of 87 councils on 16 to 18-year-old participation have also prompted concerns over government careers policy and the ability of local authorities to tackle a lack of participation among young people in the face of funding cuts.

The survey revealed that 75 per cent of councils rated overall government policy for 16 to 19-year-olds as requiring improvement, while 95 per cent said the government’s decision to modify its influence over schools and FE colleges had “restricted” councils’ capacity to deliver on their statutory duties.

Concerns about government policy on school careers advice were also revealed, with 44 per cent rating it as inadequate, and 45 per cent claiming it required improvement.

The survey also showed that 91 per cent of councils had reduced their expenditure on services supporting 16 to 18 participation since 2010, with one-in-five of those able to quantify the reduction claiming expenditure in that area had decreased by between 50 and 69 per cent.

David Simmonds (pictured), chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board and deputy leader of Hillingdon Council, warned that cuts without reform risked “undoing all of our collective good work, putting thousands of promising futures at risk”.

He added: “Councils are uniquely well placed to help young people access the opportunities created by the local employers increasingly frustrated by remote national institutions. It is important that we have the powers, levers and funding to fulfil our legal duties to young people.

“The new government has a real opportunity to build on recent successes and meet its ambition of full employment by enabling local partnerships of councils, schools, colleges, jobcentres and employers to locally coordinate a single youth offer. It will ensure every young person is either in work or learning.”

But the Department for Education has defended its record on young people not in education, employment or training (Neet).

A DfE spokesperson said: “Thanks to our essential reforms, there are 64,000 fewer 16 to 18-year-old Neets than there were in 2010.

“We are investing £7bn to fund a place for every 16 to 18-year-old in England who wants one. We have ended the historic and unfair funding difference between schools and colleges from the 16-19 funding formula, and are maintaining funding rates for 2015/16 so they can plan their future offers for students.

“We are also reforming academic qualifications and vocational education to ensure young people get the knowledge and skills that they need to move into a job, apprenticeship or to continue their education.”

It comes after councils were criticised by Parliament’s public accounts committee last year after a National Audit Office report showed disparities between local authority areas in terms of the tracking of Neet figures.

 

Vocational qualifications will be celebrated by hundreds of people at colleges and independent learning providers across the country to mark VQ Day 2015.

Winners of teacher of the year, employer of the year, and learner of the year VQ Day awards will be announced tomorrow (June 9), during a ceremony starting at 6pm at the Mermaid Theatre, Blackfriars, London.

The eighth annual VQ Day itself, which is a national celebration of vocational qualifications overseen by the Edge Foundation, will be on Wednesday (June 10) but events are taking place throughout the month.

David Harbourne, acting chief executive of the Edge Foundation, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the levels of support which VQ Day has enjoyed in previous years and are excited for 2015’s celebrations.

“VQ Day provides the opportunity to celebrate the many first rate vocational learning opportunities which exist in the UK — and those who undertake them — ensuring they are valued as highly as their academic counterparts.

He added: “Those of us involved in the field of vocational education, whether as teachers, trainers, learners, employers or sector partners, know only too well how essential high quality vocational qualifications are to UK society, providing young people with the skills, experience, motivation and inspiration to get ahead.”

Popo star Kate Nash (pictured right), who went on to record number one single Foundations and win the 2008 best female artist Brit award after passing a vocational diploma in drama from The BRIT School, in Croydon, London, is an ambassador for this year’s VQ Day celebrations.

She said: “University is definitely not the only option open to ambitious teenagers.

“There are alternatives to suit different career paths, whatever they may be, and I strongly challenge the elitists that think VQs don’t offer the same opportunities as traditional more academic routes.”

See below for a list of VQ Day events taking place across the country:

Events guide:

Southport College

When: June 8, 4pm to 7.30pm

Where: Southport College, Mornington Road, Southport, Merseyside

Open evening for anyone interested in learning about vocational courses available at the college

South Essex College

When: June 9, 7pm to 8.30pm

Where: South Essex College, Luker Road, Southend-on-Sea

The college is hosting its own awards ceremony recognising vocational qualification-related achievements

Nelson and Colne College

When: June 10, 9:30am to 3pm

Where: Nelson and Colne College, Nelson, Lancashire

The college will be hosting various skills demonstrations to celebrate vocational achievement and raise awareness of vocational courses. Activities will include beauty therapy, hairdressing, catering and hospitality, creative arts and sport. There are also plans to run an enterprise challenge with the college’s business team

St Helens College

When: June 10, 9am to 3pm

Where: St Helens College, Town Centre Campus, Water Street, St Helens, Merseyside

More than 400 students from a number of schools in the area will be taking part in VQ Day-themed activities, including hands-on hair and beauty sessions, and demonstrations of how to use a drill and handsaw in construction, create a music video using ‘green screen’ technology, and check people’s blood pressure

New College Durham

When: June 10, 9am to 3pm

Where: Whitworth Park School, Spennymoor & Tanfield School, Stanley

Aimed at students in years 9 to 11. The college’s school liaison staff will visit the schools to educate learners about vocational qualifications, including engineering, sport, hairdressing and beauty therapy

Tresham College

When: June 10, 12pm to 1pm

Where: Manor Restaurant, Corby, Northants

Students will be presented with certificates for achieving excellence in their vocational subjects

YH Training Services

When: June 10, 9:30am to 4pm

Where: YH Training Services, Army Reserve Centre, Coldyhill Lane, Scarborough

The day, which is aimed at 14-16 year old students, college leavers, young people who are not in education, employment or training and 19 to 24-year-old Job Seekers Allowance claimants, will include a variety of taster activities, covering military fitness, command tasks, peer mentoring, camouflage and concealment, and an introduction to military careers

Truro & Penwith College

When: June 11 to July 13

Where: Truro and Penwith College, Gloweth, Truro, Cornwall

Taster events taking place on both college campuses, with 14 schools sampling various curriculum options and attending taster lessons

Yeovil College

When: June 13, 10am to 1pm

Where: University Centre Yeovil campus, Preston Road, Yeovil, Somerset

The motor vehicle team will be putting on a display to promote their part-time courses

Harewood and Avonbourne College

When: June 16, 9am to 4pm

Where: Avonbourne Sports Hall, Bournemouth, Dorset

It will be a mock interview day for year 10 students, who will already have lodged ‘applications’ for various vocational jobs by completing application forms and submitting CVs. They will be interviewed by employers

Derwen College

When: June 17, 11am to 3pm

Where: Derwen College, Whittington Road, Gobowen, Oswestry

There will be a variety of inclusive skills competitions and ‘have a go’ activities covering recycling, arts, ceramics and sports. There will also be a catering competition, restaurant service, word processing and functional skills session

Dearne Valley College

When: June 18, 10am to 12pm

Where: Dearne Valley College, Manvers Park, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire

The college will host an event for year 10 pupils, with vocational tasters for subjects including construction, sport, public services, health and social care, early years and engineering

West Thames College

When: June 30, 10am to 4pm

Where: Feltham Skills Centre, Boundaries Road, Feltham TW13 5DR

Aimed at individuals aged 14-25, the event will include ‘have a go’ activities for subjects including engineering, construction, catering and travel/tourism. Employers including Network Rail, Sky, Mace, Allianz, Vision Express, Mark Warner Ltd, and the British Army will be giving on-the-spot interviews and providing information about vacancies for more than 150 job and apprenticeships. The National Careers Service will also be available to give one-to-one specialist career advice and guidance

Got a VQ Day event taking place that’s not listed here? Get in touch with FE Week reporter Paul Offord by email on paul.offord@feweek.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior FE and skills figures warned that colleges would have to change “more than ever before” to survive, at the launch of a 216-page book celebrating ‘the coming of age of FE’.

The book, which focuses on the experiences of FE colleges since incorporation in 1993 and also considers their future, was unveiled at the Institute of Education (IoE), in Central London.

One of the book’s 25 contributors, Mick Fletcher, a founding member of the Policy Consortium and senior IoE research associate, spoke to the audience that included former Whitehall FE and skills chief Dr Sue Pember and chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers Stewart Segal.

“Surviving and surviving in its current form are two very different things for FE. Colleges will have to adapt,” said Mr Fletcher. He added: “Incorporation has done a lot of wonderful things, but people are still worried about many of the same things as they were all those years ago [around the time of incorporation]. Finance is obviously the biggest concern.”

Dr Lynne Sedgmore, 157 Group executive director, also told the 120-strong audience of college, awarding organisation, union, and other sector membership body leaders that “we need to change perceptions of the sector”.

This was something, she said, “we haven’t managed in the 35 or 36 years that I have been involved, but I think we can focus minds on the important economic contribution that we make”.

Kirstie Donnelly, managing director of City & Guilds UK, said: “We have to be more responsive to learners and what they need. They are going to be paying for their training, either directly or indirectly [through employers], so we need to listen to them.”

She added: “We must be bold about technology and look at more innovative ways of delivering learners’ needs.”

The book was published by the IoE and was partly inspired by an FE Week supplement in April 2013 entitled Celebrating Twenty Years of College Independence.

Paul Grainger, co-director of post-14 research and innovation at the IoE, which published the book, said: “This is a very proud day for everyone at IoE. I think it is the first time that a book has gone into so much detail about the changing fortunes of our wonderful sector.”

Click here to buy the book, priced at £24.99 and entitled The Coming of Age for FE? Reflections on the past and future role of further education colleges in England. The book launch took place on Thursday (June 4).

Click here for an expert piece by Ann Hodgson

From left: Ian Nash, Dr Lynne Sedgmore, book editor Ann Hodgson and Mick Fletcher

 

————————————————————————————————————————————–

‘Newcomer’s’ view of incorporation book

Nikki Gilbey (pictured), head of learning, land-based at Chichester College, gives her view on Ann Hodgson’s new book on FE.

For those of us who are relative newcomers to the sector, with less than a decade under our FE belts, this publication comprehensively covers a range of issues and topics that give a broad yet detailed understanding of, as described in the first chapter, this “important but visible sector”.

Ann Hodgson, Bill Bailey and Norman Lucas’ contribution to The Coming of Age of FE? in opening chapter What is FE? should be recommended reading for all politicians, teachers elsewhere in the education sector, employers, in fact everyone should read this.

The authors’ sense of importance of the sector and the impact it clearly has on thousands of people shines through the data and descriptions of what FE colleges do, how they are managed and also how they have changed over the years since incorporation.

Hopefully this book will go a long way in changing the problem of the “low political profile” of the sector, reminding all who read it of the numbers of students who have successfully passed through the doors of colleges with qualifications, knowledge and skills and the dedicated staff at all levels who make that happen.

————————————————————————————————————————————–

Twenty one years of central government control

Politically, FE has been an instrument of central government control from day one of incorporation. It was soon apparent that “freedom” was tied to unrelenting “efficiency savings” — a euphemism for cuts.

Labour did bring huge funds and a heyday of lifelong learning expansion with former Education Secretary David Blunkett’s vision in The Learning Age, but this was with hindsight remarkably short-lived and everything soon focused on skills in line with the Treasury-commissioned Leitch review demands for meeting skills targets.

From then on, if not before, FE policies of all parties converged. It became clear that Labour’s big spending had brought false hopes as an unrelenting shift of emphasis
on funding for skills priorities took precedence only to accelerate with
ensuing spending cuts.

Considerable research evidence in support of wider lifelong learning as an effective means of social and economic inclusion — getting people on to the first rungs of the skills ladder — was swept aside as too slow. Has the skills push really achieved much? No, other than to minimise demands for employers to meet essential training costs.

With no-one other than government paying for FE and skills training in any substantial way, FE colleges were forced as ever to follow the money and, consequently, successive failing government skills-for-work strategies.

The constant effort to get employers on board too often ends in spending money on dead weight training and scams, with exaggerated claims on all sides about the success of apprenticeships and other schemes.

The answer from politicians of every political hue is to shift the focus to schools with the creation of University Technical Colleges, Career Colleges and the like. FE colleges were seen as suitable sponsors — particularly when businesses failed to come forward in significant numbers — but this meant they were yet again tarnished by the failures resulting from bad policies, poor strategy and
lack of cash.

In the end, you could not get a cigarette paper between the policies of different political parties, with an increasing consensus around an ever-narrowing skills agenda and colleges taking blame
for shortcomings while the schools sector and employers take the increasingly limited resources.

But if one thing is certain it is that colleges will creatively bounce back and — being the “adaptive layer” as defined by Dame Ruth Silver — will bail out those who fail the system created by the short-term strategies of politicians. And, when they do, they will yet again bear the brunt of blame for any perceived failures.