Weymouth College principal Liz Myles has been suspended — around six months after FE Commissioner Dr David Collins identified “significant weaknesses” in leadership.

The reason for the suspension has not been disclosed.

Ms Myles (pictured), an Ofsted associate inspector of more than 20 years, took up the principal post two years ago.

A statement issued by the 7,000-learner college said: “We have no further comment other than to confirm that Liz Myles has been suspended from her post, pending an investigation.

“To ensure we maintain the integrity of the investigation, no further information can be provided at this time.”

The college was inspected by the education watchdog in June last year and recorded its second consecutive grade three result, with leadership and management as good — it even singled out Ms Myles for her “good leadership”.

However, Dr Collins visited in March after the Skills Funding Agency assessed its finances as inadequate and recommended, among other things, that “the principal should engage a ‘peer mentor’ with a good financial track record to assist her in dealing with the college’s present financial situation”.

Then-Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, who told the college that Dr Collins had “identified significant weaknesses in the capacity and capability of the existing governance and leadership,” demanded “robust action that will deliver financial recovery”.

Meanwhile Norton Radstock College has announced plans to merge with City of Bath College.

Norton Radstock was visited in August by Dr Collins, who said the 4,700-learner college — rated by Ofsted last year as inadequate, including for leadership and management — needed to operate “within a larger partnership”.

Henry Logan, acting principal at Norton Radstock from this month (December), said: “I believe this is a positive outcome for the college, its staff and students. It will bring financial security and secure FE for the district.”

The two colleges, which are nearly 10 miles apart, are due to present the final merger proposal to the City of Bath governing body in February, with formal merger expected before the summer.

The 5,129-learner City of Bath College was graded as good by Ofsted last year. Its chair, Carole Stott MBE, said: “We are well placed to deliver a local solution to meet the needs of students, employers and communities.”

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson said Dr Collins would return to Norton Radstock after the merger to review progress.

The chief executive of a two-college federation has been told his position has been made “redundant” with the break-up of the organisation after just over 12 months.

Mike Hopkins stepped down as principal of Middlesbrough College to became chief executive of the newly-formed federation of Middlesbrough and Gateshead colleges in September last year.
However, two months ago the board agreed to disband the organisation.

In a joint statement Gateshead chair Robin Mackie and Middlesbrough chair Bob Brady said: “Following the decision to dissolve the federation, the position of chief executive is now redundant and Mike Hopkins has been released from his contract.

“We recognise Mike’s contribution in developing and launching the federation and wish him every success in the future.”

Mr Hopkins will also step down from his role as chair of the Principals’ Professional Council (PPC) this month (December).

Nick Lewis, PPC general secretary, said: “PPC has been very fortunate to have benefited from Mike’s energy and his experience of FE and we wish him the best for the future.”

Mr Hopkins was not available to comment.

Colleges should form closer ties with schools to encourage more young people into apprenticeships, Ofsted FE and skills director Lorna Fitzjohn has told MPs.

She gave evidence on Wednesday (November 26) to the Education Select Committee in Portcullis House, Westminster, that focused on how the number and quality of apprenticeships for 16 to 19-year-olds could be improved.

She said poor careers advice at schools, which tended to encourage learners to take A-levels and higher education degrees, was one of the main reasons that apprenticeship starts in the age group had “flatlined”.

She said colleges could do more to help schools see the benefits of vocational training and offer students an alternative to traditional academic routes through developing closer working ties.

She suggested “clustering schools and colleges together so that you haven’t got that at 14 or 16 where you go up one route and thereby you stay [away] from the other route”.

“If you bring a variety of establishments together… young people can perhaps even carry out a combined programme and move between organisations,” she said.

“You see those systems in Switzerland and Germany and it’s maybe something we ought to have here.”

Her comments reflected the suggestion made late last month by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry, in Coventry, where he said schools and colleges would benefit from forming local “clusters”.

Ms Fitzjohn also told MPs that local enterprise partnerships were “beginning” to play a more proactive role in co-ordinating apprenticeships.

But, she said: “I don’t think they are as interested necessarily in the lower level aspects of the workforce. They haven’t always been involved in FE and skills.”

Ms Fitzjohn commented on plans announced two weeks ago by Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg to launch a UCas-style “fully-comprehensive national database” of post-16 skills and employer led-courses and opportunities in England from September.

She said: “I think it will help but apprentices look for apprenticeships locally because they are more likely to need family support.”

UCas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook responded to Mr Clegg’s announcement by pointing out that UCas Progress, its service for post-16 choices, had already expanded to offer “national coverage of vocational and academic courses in England and Wales”.

And when pressed after the hearing on whether she thought a UCas-style system could work for apprenticeships, Ms Fitzjohn said: “UCas would need to run a more local-based system than it does for universities.”

Head of skills and policy campaigns at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Katerina Rudiger, said there was a “real issue where schools… see apprentices as something for people who don’t succeed”.

She added: “If young people don’t know about apprenticeships and don’t know how to apply for them, then obviously we won’t be making any progress.”

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is due to give evidence at the committee next meeting, on Wednesday (December 3), focussing on exams for 15 to 19-year-olds in England.

The principal of a troubled London college has conceded there were “no excuses” for the poor results in an Ofsted monitoring report that found insufficient progress had been made in its efforts to bounce back from an inadequate grading.

The Ofsted monitoring visit found Lewisham and Southwark College, which late last month had ministerial permission to rename from Lesoco, had made “insufficient progress” in each of the areas looked at.

The areas were improving teaching and learning, learner attendance, tutorial arrangements, teaching support and maths and English provision.

It was Ofsted’s fourth return to the college since the initial inspection in November last year.

On previous monitoring visits inspectors noted the college had made “reasonable progress” with maths and English but had struggled elsewhere. And the latest report said improvements had “slowed”.

Interim principal Ioan Morgan (pictured): “No excuses, this is not good enough. We will have the college in better shape for its new principal and on a much more secure financial footing. The bottom line, however, is that this is a long haul recovery.

“Impact from our new systems will be seen in improved learner performance in this academic year when new data is available resulting from improved teaching and learning.”

FE Commissioner David Collins visited the college in late January and a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said he “identified some weaknesses in the governance and leadership of the college”.

Then-principal Maxine Room later stepped down and was replaced by Mr Morgan and a revisit to the college by the commissioner in July resulted in praise for the new leadership.

However, a BIS spokesperson told FE Week: “The commissioner and his advisers continue to monitor and review progress at the college and are challenging the governing body and senior executive to take action to increase the pace and quality of improvement.

“The commissioner is set to conduct a stocktake assessment of the college in early 2015 to formally review progress against his recommendations, advising Ministers and the chief executive of the funding agencies on progress. If there has been insufficient progress, further action will be taken.”

Ofsted monitoring visits occur around every three months after an inadequate inspection result, until the full re-inspection, which takes place around 15 months after the initial inspection.

The college was formed by a merger between Lewisham College and Southwark College in 2012 and was rebranded as Lesoco in 2013 at a cost of £290,000, as exclusively revealed by FE Week two months ago.

And Skills Minister Nick Boles has now given the college permission to ditch Lesoco and officially call itself Lewisham and Southwark College.

Mr Morgan said: “We are very pleased that common sense has prevailed.”

He added the name change would “enable us to get on with the important work that lies ahead with the assurance that we will still be recognised as the local college serving the two boroughs and surrounding parts of London”.

An East London council has given out a £2m loan to “help safeguard” the future of its local college.

Newham Council cabinet approved the cash for Newham College of Further Education, which it said had been put in an “extremely difficult position” by government cuts.

The college described the council’s support, agreed at a meeting on Thursday, November 20, as “invaluable”. The loan will be repayable over two years at an unspecified “commercial” rate.

Newham councillor Lester Hudson, cabinet member for finance, regeneration and planning, said: “Newham College has been placed in an extremely difficult situation by Government cuts to its funding, which has seen almost £5m cut from its budget.”

He added: “As a council we want to ensure that changes to funding for FE do not harm our education establishments and that they can continue to meet the needs of the borough’s young people.

“This is why the council’s cabinet approved a loan of £2m to help safeguard the college’s future.”

He said the loan would “ensure the college can aid in the skills development of the borough’s young people and adults, as well as supporting the council’s aim to provide tailored programmes to help people into work”.

Around 60 per cent of the college’s 20,750 students are Newham residents.

Principal Di Gowland said: “The council’s support is invaluable given the level of cuts throughout the FE sector and the impact these will have on the Newham community.”

The loan proposal was initially put to a full council meeting on September 29 as part of the Mid-Year Review of the 2014/15 Budget and Overall Financial Position. A ruling was then delegated to the cabinet.

Ms Gowland said: “The borough has one of the most diverse populations in the country and the wide range of education and training offered by Newham College is giving our residents the skills they need to boost the borough’s economy.

“This short term loan will ensure we are positively engaged in developing and delivering the training needed to support the local skills and employment agenda.”

An Association of Colleges (AoC) spokesperson said: “There have been many loans, grants and in-kind contributions from councils to colleges over the last 20 years, which reflects their joint work in meeting community need and fostering local economic growth.”

However, she said AoC was unable to give specific examples of such agreements and could not offer advice on seeking local authority loans.

A report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) which warned workforce skills and skills provision must be increased to boost productivity, wages and social mobility has been branded “disappointing” by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP).

The report, Growth through people, published on Monday (November 24), outlined five priorities for action over the next 20 years, including giving employers leadership in the skills and apprenticeship system, measuring job outcomes as success not just qualifications, increasing workplace productivity, more opportunities to earn and learn, and stronger links between employers and education.

A spokesperson for AELP said it welcomed the report’s “focus on skills as a key driver of sustainable economic recovery” and its calls for closer working between employers and training providers of all types.

“However it is disappointing that the paper says ‘FE colleges should be supported to work with employers’,” he said.

“This institutional view of the sector does not reflect that the best provision of technical skills often involves partnerships between employers, colleges and independent training providers.”

Stewart Segal, AELP chief executive, added: “The partnership approach to skills with employers having the choice to work with training providers of all types is the only way forward.”

But, he added: “There is much in the UKCES report that we can support. The focus on employer engagement, the role of skills in driving productivity and the focus on earning and learning are all approaches AELP has promoted over many years.

“We need to drive the apprenticeship programme and we need a period of long term stability not fundamental change proposed by the government.”

And Mr Segal warned “employer leadership” should not necessarily mean complete control over funding. “Employers want to retain the choice of direct funding or working with their chosen training provider and we should retain this option in the system,” he said.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, described the report as “important” — pointing to a “perfect storm” of widening skills gaps, high unemployment an aging population and a reduction in employer investment in training over the last five years.

“There are solutions to this. The UKCES itself is a good start in establishing the national and local partnership approach between Government, employers, providers and workers,” he said.

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Employers must work together with the education community to create meaningful qualifications for today’s fast-changing global skills economy.”