A University Technical College (UTC) which had to be rescued by its local FE college after a damning Ofsted report could be on its way out of special measures, inspectors have said.

A monitoring visit report on Central Bedfordshire UTC came out on March 2, revealing it had made “reasonable progress” since an inspection in March last year resulted in an inadequate rating and special measures.

The revisit was the third since the full inspection, which found learning was “not secure” because teachers “do not always check students’ understanding or how well they have developed skills in lessons”.

Following the initial Ofsted report, published in June, then-Education Secretary Michael Gove asked nearby Bedford College to step in as sponsor for the 150-learner UTC.

The latest monitoring report said: “The quality of teaching is steadily improving. Teachers’ subject knowledge has strengthened. Whereas previously not all teachers were teaching their specialist subject, this is no longer the case. Students have more confidence in their teachers.”

It added: “Students typically display positive attitudes towards their learning because teachers have become more skilled at meeting their needs when planning for learning.”

It also praised the support Bedford College had offered the UTC, saying it had been “successful” in strengthening the quality of teaching.

Central Bedfordshire UTC head teacher Lesley Glover (pictured) said: “Improvements are being made since Bedford College became involved with the UTC.”

The news comes as the Baker Dearing Trust, which oversees UTCs, announced it would be establishing a new UTC in Newcastle.

Northern Futures UTC will specialise in IT and healthcare science and is so far is the only UTC due to open in September 2017.

There are 30 UTCs currently open, and 13 more are due to open in September, with a further 14 in September 2016.

Baker Dearing Trust Chair Lord Baker said he was “delighted” by the announcement.

He said: “Our challenge now is to ensure that young people and their parents have access to the information and advice they need to take advantage of this exciting and important technical provision.”

For groups wanting to apply to open a UTC, there is expected to be an application round later this year, closing in October.

 

A Hampshire sixth form college has had to go back to the drawing board in its search for a partner with Sixth Form College Commissioner Peter Mucklow having warned it could not function alone financially.

Totton College principal Mike Gaston (pictured below, left) announced in December that his college would be seeking a partnership and Eastleigh College had emerged as a favourite.

But Eastleigh rejected the move this month following a governors’ board meeting.

A Totton spokesperson told FE Week: “Eastleigh College has been in discussion with the Education Funding Agency [EFA] regarding merger with Totton College.

“They have now had the opportunity to model the impact of a closer relationship and following their recent corporation board meeting have decided not to proceed.”

Mr Mucklow visited the 3,000-learner Totton College, which was deemed by Ofsted to require improvement a year ago and has an EFA allocation of £5.4m, in October after concerns were raised about a lack of improvement since it was issued with a financial notice to improve.

He warned the college, which also runs adult provision with a £2m Skills Funding (SFA) allocation and through subcontracting, faced an “immediate” crisis with the SFA seeking to claw back funding allocated for 24+ apprenticeships never delivered.

In response, Totton had been in talks over a potential merger with 14,000-learner and grade one Ofsted-rated Eastleigh College, also in Hampshire, which has a current SFA adult skills budget allocation of £16m.

The Totton spokesperson said, having missed out on the Eastleigh merger option, it was working the EFA “to agree a solution that is considered to be in the best interests of its students and our community”.

“We have been advised by the EFA to continue recruiting for September 2015 intake. It’s important to highlight that meeting students’ needs will be at the heart of any decisions. We are still looking for a partner to realise the college’s ambitions for future stability and growth,” she said.

A spokesperson for Eastleigh College said: “In any merger situation we would want to deliver the same outstanding level of provision for learners at all the sites while achieving the necessary economies of scale.

“We were unable to see how this would be possible in this instance. Therefore we have now withdrawn from the Totton College process.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are aware that Totton College’s preferred partner has withdrawn. The EFA is now working with the college to agree a solution that is in the best interests of its students and the community.

“Discussions are still ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

David Igoe (pictured below, right), chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, said: “It’s sad to see another sixth form college get into financial difficulties and not table to find a suitable partner to aid its recovery.”

He added: “This college’s plight highlights the general problem which we have been at pains to point out to Government, that the funding settlement for 16 to 19 is insufficient for many colleges to continue to offer the kind of education that young people need.

“We need a fundamental review of the way all state education is funded to ensure that young people at every stage and age gets the educational opportunities
they deserve.”

 

Skills Minister Nick Boles told the House of Commons the government has no intention of “promoting the establishment” of new sixth form colleges (SFCs).

Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins, chair of the all-party parliamentary group for SFCs and vice-chair of governors at Luton Sixth Form College, asked Mr Boles if he supported opening more SFCs during education questions on Monday (March 2).

Mr Boles replied that while the government had backed the creation of new sixth form schools, “we do not currently plan to promote the establishment of more sixth form colleges”.

He said SFCs were “generally fantastic institutions producing great results, but I disagree… on this obsession with particular forms and structures”.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, told FE Week: “It is this obsession [with structures] that has seen the inexorable rise of more expensive and less effective free school and academy sixth forms, while the number of sixth form colleges has continued to decline.”

He added the government could afford to stop charging SFCs VAT, while schools and academies get a 20 per cent refund, if it stopped “lavishing money” on school sixth forms.

 

Staff at Milton Keynes College were among thousands of sector workers up and down the country to have set up events for National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), which launches today (March 9)

They created a specialist apprenticeship zone at college that will give learners an opportunity to explore a variety of industries available at all levels during an open event tomorrow.

And in the run up to the week, NAW has been boosted by a pledgeometer.

A total of 221 firms placed pledges to take on apprentices at the time of going to press.

Throughout the week, ministers and senior government officials will be out and about taking part in events, visiting businesses, and talking to apprentices.

To learn more about NAW events be sure to read the FE Week supplement free with this edition.

 

Main pic: from left, Business services administrator for apprenticeships Harmony Wood and 21-year-old apprentice marketing administrator Alixandra Fisher

 

The success of nearly 90 learners helped by the Helena Kennedy Foundation to overcome a variety of obstacles was celebrated at the House of Lords.

Each Learner selected by the foundation — which is supported by FE Week — received a bursary of £1,500 to help cover the costs of going from FE college study to higher education, as well as on-going guidance and training from the foundation.

Lady Kennedy said: “It is an honour to support such inspirational and deserving people in their rise to success. Presenting these students with one of our awards in acknowledgment of their achievements at university marks a crucial milestone in their lives and future careers.”

The event took place on Monday, March 2.

Lady Kennedy (front, second from right) with learners helped by her foundation

 

World class apprenticeships should be developed to solve a “productivity shortfall”, the International Skills Standards Organisation (INSSO) has claimed.

In a report based on research in the UK and overseas, INSSO chief executive Tom Bewick calls for a “real debate about whether continued university expansion is the best policy choice for the 21st century”.

He says: “A lot of blind faith has been applied to the notion that expanding the flow as well as the total stock of graduates in society would act like some kind of elixir, a magic formula capable of translating human capital potential into stellar economic performances across the board.

“Yet nowhere is such a hypothesis supported by the evidence.”

The report analyses data which shows that the number of graduates in work 3.5 years after graduating has steadily declined since 2003, while the unemployment rate for those with a skilled apprenticeship is less than 5 per cent

It also shows that almost 40 per cent of global employers cite a lack of skills as the main reason for entry-level vacancies and that countries with lower university participation rates and better quality vocational training systems, like Germany and Switzerland, report lower observed levels of youth unemployment.

Mr Bewick adds: “University education is becoming more expensive across the developed world, student indebtedness is growing, and graduate–level jobs are not necessarily resulting in gainful employment for every former student.

“Meanwhile, the learning-and-earning approach associated with formal apprenticeship models reveals positive data that generally shows higher completion rates, more limited indebtedness for young people, and financial gains to companies.”

The report has been welcomed by Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) chief executive Stewart Segal, who said: “We need to improve comparisons between different countries’ apprenticeship programmes and any progress on generating effective comparisons would be really helpful.

“AELP doesn’t believe though in the wholesale adoption of another country’s system and it’s better that we build here on our own successful programme.”

Read a special 16-page report based on FE Week senior reporter Freddie Whittaker’s trip to America and Canada last year with INSSO here.

Hartlepool Sixth Form College focused too much on getting students through the doors and not of the quality of provision, the sixth form college commissioner has said.

The college, which was slapped with an inadequate Ofsted grading in November, was visited by commissioner Peter Mucklow on February 28.

In his report, published today, Mr Mucklow said teaching, learning and assessment had not been “consistently good across the college” and that systems for observing teacher performance were “not sufficiently robust”.

He said: “The college had previously focused on attaining student numbers and financial viability to the detriment of quality.”

The Ofsted report found too few students complete AS courses or progress from AS to A level, leading success rates which have remained low for the past four years, and only a minority of students reaching the grades of which they were capable.

Mr Mucklow said this was connected to “a culture of low student expectations” and “insufficient monitoring and challenge of student performance”.

He said: “Students had not been receiving impartial information, advice and guidance and this contributed to a decline in success rates and retention.

“The decline was exacerbated by students being allowed to enrol onto courses in which they were unlikely to succeed and which did not lead to progression, typically from AS to A level.

“In addition there was an accepted practice of a significant minority of students returning to the college to repeat their courses.”

However, he said the new principal, Alex Fau-Goodwin, had identified steps to improve college performance and had drawn up a “comprehensive” postinspection action plan.

Mr Mucklow said: “These changes are being implemented with clear leadership and at pace and teaching staff are engaged with them.”

Mr Mucklow made 10 recommendations for improvement in the report, including recruiting “rapidly” a governor “with recent experience of managing a college delivering 16 to 19 education” to the board.

He added that the chair of governors and committee chairs should consider “twinning” with peers in a high performing college who could share experiences and advice.

He added: “The college should undertake scenario and contingency planning for the consequences of a further decline in student numbers in 2015 to 2016 academic year and beyond, given local demographic trends and local competition.”

The college is yet to comment.

A challenge to complete the “overhaul” of apprenticeships is being put to the next government, as National Apprenticeship Week launches today.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the decision to reform the way apprenticeships were funded, a gradual increase in the apprentice minimum wage and reaching the two million apprentices target, were all significant changes made in the last year.

However, more work was needed, it said, to convince small businesses that apprenticeships were a wise investment, and young people that they offered long-term career prospects.

The FSB wants the government to “introduce reforms to the apprenticeships system to make it easier and more cost effective for employers to use” and said it should include ways to promote apprenticeships to small businesses.

The FSB alongside the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) is to hold a series of seminars around the country to highlight the benefits of employing apprentices.

FSB national chairman John Allan (right) said: “High quality apprenticeships are vital to the future of British business, and are a fantastic way to enable young people to gain the skills they need to succeed.

“These seminars are an exciting way of showing off the benefits an apprentice can bring, but the next government will need to maintain the momentum for high quality apprenticeships throughout the next parliament, and make it easier for small firms to participate.”

BCC director general John Longworth said: “Apprenticeships benefit businesses, individuals and the UK economy – while equipping people of all ages with skills beyond the classroom.

“As business confidence grows, we expect to see the number of apprenticeships rise. We are delighted to be working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the FSB to deliver a series of events that promote apprenticeships amongst the business community.”

The call has been supported by the City & Guilds Group, but it cautioned against basing success purely on numbers.

Its chief executive Chris Jones said: ‘In the run up to the general election, it’s been great to see so much cross-party support for apprenticeships.
“The FSB is right to call on the next government to maintain this good work.

“But it’s not just about the numbers. Over the past few decades, there has been so much change in our skills system. What we need to see now is more stability. A longer-term, non-partisan approach to policy will create a more sustainable and credible apprenticeship system.

“This will help get more young people into work and fill the skills gaps that are threatening our economic recovery.”

The seminars take place through March, May, June and September. Click here for details.

Welfare-to-work provider A4E, which in January saw several employees found guilty of fraud, has been put up for sale.

Company founder Emma Harrison, who is a former adviser to the Prime Minister, has appointed auditors Deloitte to advise on the sale or break-up of the business, according to the Financial Times.

The business has been dogged by scandal since 10 of its employees were found guilty or admitted ripping off a Department for Work and Pensions welfare to work scheme, submitting fake learner records to claim extra funding.

A4e chief executive Andrew Dutton has said none of the 10 convicted fraudsters was still working for A4E.

A4E employs more than 3,000 staff and reported a pre-tax loss of £11.5m in 2013-2014, but had climbed to a pre-tax profit of £2.2m last year.

Ms Harrison stepped down as David Cameron’s “families champion” when the fraud allegations emerged in 2012.

She had also been criticised for pocketing £8.6m in share dividends on top of her £385,000 salary.

A4E has pledged to pay back the money which was fraudulently claimed by the 10 recruiters, who submitted successful outcome records for learners who did not exist or who not found work.

On January 14 a jury at Reading Crown Court found Ines Cano-Uribe, aged 38, of Madrid, Matthew Hannigan-Train, 30, of Bristol, and Hayley Wilson, 27, of Milton Keynes, guilty of conspiring to make false instruments on the Inspire to Aspire contract to cover up fraudulent claims.

Cano-Uribe was also found guilty, with Zabar Khalil, 35, of Slough, of a separate count of forgery.

A further six defendants had already pleaded guilty before the 13-week trial to 48 counts of forgery and related conspiracy offences.

They were Dean Lloyd, 38, of Milton Keynes — 13 counts of forgery, Julie Grimes, 52, of Laleham, Surrey — nine counts of forgery; Aditi Singh, 31, of Slough — three counts of fraud and forgery, Bindiya Dholiwar, 28, of Slough — seven counts of forgery, Nikki Foster, 31, of Wokingham – eight counts of fraud and one conspiracy, and Charles McDonald, 44, of Egham — six counts of fraud and one of conspiracy.

An A4E spokesperson said: “All the charges related to a single contract which no longer exists, having ended in July 2011.

“This was the ‘Inspire to Aspire’ ESF Lone Parent Mentoring contract in the Thames Valley. (To put this into its true context, this was a relatively small contract, representing less than 1 per cent (in fact 0.24 per cent) of our annual business at the time).”

Mr Dutton said: “We are obviously very disappointed and sorry a number of people who worked on this contract behaved so dishonestly.” He added: “None of the people who were convicted remain in our organisation.”

Mr Dutton said A4e would pay back all the money that had been fraudulently claimed, adding that DWP and Skills Funding Agency audits found no evidence of fraud in current A4e contracts.

Both A4E and Deloitte declined to comment on the sale of the company.