Lewisham Southwark College has been given the ignominious honour of becoming the first FE and skills provider to be branded inadequate by Ofsted twice in a row.

In a report on an inspection in February, which was released today (pictured above), the college was mauled by the education watchdog over the pace of improvement and a failure to raise standards after it was first given a grade four rating in January last year following a visit by inspectors in November 2013.

The 17,943-learner general FE college, which has a current Skills Funding Agency (SFA) allocation of almost £24m, actually got an even worse result than last time with grade fours across the headline fields as opposed to two fours and two threes last time (see below).

It is believed to be the first to receive two inadequate ratings overall in a row under the current common inspection framework.

In its report, Ofsted warned that governors, senior leaders and college staff had “not made enough progress in improving key weaknesses identified at the previous inspection”, including poor provision in both English and maths.

It added that teaching, learning and assessment were improving too slowly, with too few learners experiencing good teaching, and described attendance and punctuality as poor.

It said: “Since the creation of the college in 2012, leaders and governors have failed to raise standards and expectations of both teachers and learners.

“The college’s curriculum does not currently meet the skills needs of local employers, and progress to resolve this weakness has been far too slow.”

Carole Kitching (pictured), who is due to take over as principal and chief executive of the college in the summer from interim principal Jo Lomax, said she was disappointed with the outcome.

She said: “Clearly the outcome of the Ofsted re-inspection is a disappointment to everyone but the report makes many references to recent improvements and ‘green shoots’.

“Over the next few months I will be working with the interim team to drive forward the pace of change and to ensure the hard work of everyone who works at the college bears fruit for all our students.”

The report also raised concerns about the college’s “precarious” financial position, which Ofsted said limited its ability to improve provision “swiftly”, in contrast with Ofsted’s first full report last January which made no mention of the financial position.

The rating comes after four Ofsted monitoring inspections since the first inadequate rating, and three visits by FE commissioner Dr David Collins, who identified some weaknesses in the governance and leadership of the college following a visit last January.

After a second visit in July, following the departure of former principal Maxine Room and the appointment of ex-Warwickshire College principal and former 157 Group chair Ioan Morgan to the position of interim principal, Dr Collins praised the progress of new leadership. He also visited in January this year. His follow-up findings have not been made public.

Lewisham Southwark College, previously named Lesoco, was formed in 2012 when Lewisham College, which had been outstanding in 2006, merged with Southwark College, which was branded inadequate in 2011.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and SFA are yet to comment on whether further intervention, including a revisit from Dr Collins, would take place.

Two FE colleges have defended their dealings with a religious school chain denounced as a “cult” by former members and under investigation by the Department for Education (DfE).

City College Coventry and Barnet and Southgate College both held contracting agreements, as leads, with Focus Learning Trust, an independent school chain run by the Exclusive Brethren (also known as the Plymouth Brethren), until last year.

Focus Learning Trust’s subcontracting arrangements are being “looked at” by the DfE  and concerns were reported in The Times last month over the trust’s teaching practices, which allegedly included banning certain books and refusing to teach about evolution, sex or homosexuality.

The Brethren, a Christian sect which believes members should live separately from the rest of the world to avoid being corrupted by non-believers, has been condemned as “a cult” by former members over its practice of exiling defectors and preventing them from seeing their families.

However, City College Coventry principal Steve Logan defended the college’s relationship with a group, which held an £80,000 a-year contract to deliver A-level provision for around 20 students at the trust’s Coventry school and briefly at its Gloucester school.

Mr Logan told FE Week: “I am only able to comment on our experience of the extremely good provision delivered at the Copsewood School in Coventry. On that basis, I must question the validity and accuracy of the comments made in the press.”

The arrangement had been in place for 10 years, added Mr Logan, but concluded in 2014.

The trust also had a £475k agreement in 2013/14 with Barnet and Southgate College, where a spokesperson said the arrangement was “subjected to the full and usual contracting due diligence”.

“Where necessary, this included seeking specific assurances on eligibility from relevant agencies. In accordance with funding rules the contract was covered by in-year quality control processes,” she said.

“The sub-contracting arrangements were concluded in July 2014, reflecting the changes to college funding allocations and revised strategic objectives.

“The college has, therefore, no relationship with Focus Learning Trust in 2014/15. The college has been in contact with the EFA and has received assurances about its historical position and Focus.”

A spokesperson for the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, which runs Focus Learning Trust, said the arrangement with Barnet and Southgate College had been “legitimate and approved”.

She added: “Some Focus Learning Trust schools have in the past entered into approved sub-contract arrangements with City College Coventry and Barnet and Southgate College.

“Our own in-house FE provision is evolving and improving and there are currently no sub-contract arrangements in place.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are looking into the arrangements between Focus Learning Trust and other institutions to ensure they meet our strict subcontracting standards.

“These partnerships can be used to give students access to facilities they may not otherwise have.

“Our guidance is clear that if subcontracting arrangements are not meeting these standards then they will be investigated. In extreme circumstances, we will not hesitate to terminate a funding agreement.”

The Exclusive Brethren is already facing investigation by HMRC over multimillion pound gift aid claims to fund its schools and is being questioned over whether it should count as a charity and so can be eligible for tax breaks.

A Brethren spokesperson said the issues HMRC was looking into “derive from uncertainty about the correct application of the rules” and said other faith schools were also being investigated, although HMRC declined to confirm this.

*** Hands up if you fell for it? Yes, this was our April Fool’s Day 2015 prank story, and thanks to Dr Lynne Sedgmore for playing along.

Thanks too, to Martin Doel and Stewart Segal.

“We may have played a joke — some fun amid the gloom — but we are clear that  the severity of cuts facing the sector is anything but a joke,” said Dr Sedgmore.

“And on a serious note we do pay homage to all the dedicated FE professionals who continue their excellent work and their commitment to students.”

_____________________________

The FE and skills sector is set for its own Poet Laureate later this year with outgoing 157 Group executive director Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE the first to take up the newly-created role, FE Week can reveal.

It is understood the post will feature in the Queen’s Speech on May 27 having already been agreed as a biennial appointment.

And, in a break with Queen’s Speech protocol, details of the first Poet Laureate were released today by the first incumbent — Dr Sedgmore, who is already a published poet. Her first collection “Enlivenment” was published in 2013 by Chrysalis Press.

The appointment is set to be made official with Dr Sedgmore’s retirement from her 157 Group post later this year following the appointment of her successor, for which a date is yet to be set.

However, she has already penned her first poem for the role. It is entitled “A Farewell Ode to FE” and has been released exclusively to FE Week — see below to read Dr Sedgmore’s poem.

Dr Sedgmore described her appointment as “ground-breaking”.

“For a sector to have its own official Poet Laureate is quite an achievement and I was overwhelmed to learn that I would be the first post-holder,” she said.

“The schools and higher education sectors do not have an equivalent post and so I hope to raise the profile of FE and skills through words to heights the likes of which have hitherto never been imagined.

“This is a ground-breaking role and I hope to do justice to not only the sector but also poetry as an art form.”

The new post, and Dr Sedgmore’s appointment, was welcomed by Association of Colleges chief executive Martin Doel (pictured right).

“FE will benefit from having its own bard,” he said.

“I’m sure that Lynne will be able to translate the emotional attachment that we all have for our sector into words, capturing the highs and lows of working with students, principals, governors and government, as well as other representative bodies.”

Meanwhile, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal (pictured left) said Newcastle-under-Lyme -raised Dr Sedgmore’s poetry would be more accessible than the works of, for example, Charles Baudelaire, William Morris and Lord Alfred Tennyson for modern workplace learners.

He said: ‘”This is a very important appointment when we are looking at the attainment of good GCSE or Functional Skills within the context of vocational programmes.

“Nineteenth Century poetry is not enough to arm young people with the skills for today’s workplace, so the Stoke Bard’s take on modern life will make a huge difference to their prospects.”

Five former A4e workers have been jailed for their parts in a back-to-work scheme fraud that cost the taxpayer nearly £300,000.

A further five former employees were handed suspended sentences at Reading Crown Court  for a plot that involved creating faked records of welfare-to-work learners.

Between 2008 and 2011, the defendants submitted fraudulent paperwork for learners on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Aspire to Inspire programme, claiming to have found work for learners who either did not exist or who remained unemployed.

Four people were convicted following the 13-week trial at Reading which finished on January 14, with sentencing taking place yesterday.

Former account manager Ines Cano-Uribe, aged 39, of Madrid, Spain, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for two counts of forgery.

Former contract administrator Zabar Khalil, 35, of Slough, received a 12-month sentence suspended for two years, 150 hours’ unpaid work and £2,000 costs for one count of forgery.

Former deputy business manager Matthew Hannigan-Train, 31, of Bristol, was sentenced to 12-month sentence suspended for two years, 200 hours’ unpaid work and £2,000 costs for one count of forgery.

Former recruiter Hayley Wilson, 27, of Milton Keynes, was handed a 12-month sentence suspended for two years, 200 hours’ unpaid work and £2,000 costs for one count of forgery.

Six other defendants pleaded guilty to their part in the scheme at earlier court hearings.

Former recruiter Dean Lloyd, 38, of Milton Keynes, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for 13 counts of forgery.

Former recruiter Julie Grimes, 52, of Surrey, was jailed for 26 months for nine counts of forgery.

Former recruiter Aditi Singh, 31, of Slough, was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years, 150 hours’ unpaid work and £530 costs for three counts of fraud and forgery.

Former recruiter Bindiya Dholiwar, 28, of Slough, received 15 months in prison for seven counts of forgery.

Former recruiter Nikki Foster, 31, of Workingham, was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment for eight counts of fraud and one of conspiracy.

Former recruiter Charles McDonald, 44, of Surrey, received a 40-month sentence for six counts of fraud and one conspiracy.

The defendants worked at A4e branches throughout the Thames Valley.

Although the money claimed from the DWP was given to the company rather than to the fraudsters themselves, they received bonuses for helping people into work and meeting targets.

When the Department of Work and Pensions audited the contract and asked to see 21 files in March 2011, Cano-Uribe, Hannigan-Train and Wilson were all involved in making the files appear to be in order, including fraudulent ones.

A4e helped 558 people find jobs on the £1.3m Aspire to Inspire contract for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, but staff fraudulently claimed for a further 167 people.

The fraud came to light when Grimes confided in a new member of staff that she had forged signatures, who reported it to senior staff.

However, defence lawyers claimed that fraudulent practices were “entrenched” within the company itself which, they said had a “culture of dishonesty” and put “unrealistic demands” on its staff. A4e rejected the claims.

Andrew Dutton, A4e group chief executive, said: “We note that the judge in her sentencing remarks dismissed claims that a culture of dishonesty existed within our business.

“We also note that those who made these claims raised no concerns about workplace practices or culture until they were confronted with the proof of their own dishonest behaviour.

“Their claims do not reflect the way this company operates, or the values of our 2,100 staff, whose honesty and integrity are much valued.”

He added: “A4e has a zero tolerance policy towards fraud and took this case extremely seriously.

“The sentences bring a conclusion to the investigation that was started by A4e in 2010, when we uncovered some irregularities in a small contract in the Thames Valley, and we co-operated fully with the Department for Work and Pensions and police to bring this case to court.

“These convictions relate to a single contract which ended four years ago and represented only 0.24 per cent of our annual business at that time, and to people who no longer work at A4e.

“We are obviously disappointed and sorry that there were people working for us on this historical contract who behaved dishonestly, and in doing so let down the customers we had intended them to help and the taxpayer.

“A4e long ago set aside the money to pay back the DWP the amount it received as a result of the unsubstantiated claims and we have ensured that the taxpayer will have lost nothing from the conduct of the people involved.

He added that A4e had made “far-reaching” improvements to its control system.

Detective Inspector Gavin Tyrrell, from the Thames Valley Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said the offences had “targeted vulnerable people who had been out of work for long periods and were trying to find jobs during what was a very difficult employment climate”.

“I hope the convictions send out a clear message,” he said.

“Thames Valley Police takes offences of this nature seriously and makes every effort to ensure offenders face the consequences of their actions.”

 

The Government has been branded “cynical” by the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association (SFCA) after responding to a long-running campaign to scrap members’ VAT a day before Parliament was dissolved.

The SFCA’s e-petition to bring sixth form colleges in line with school sixth forms, which do not pay VAT, reached the 10,000 signatures needed to trigger a government response on January 9, and was handed to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan with a letter of support from the Education Select Committee chair Graham Stuart that day.

However, her response, explaining the DfE “cannot afford” the scrap the tax, was only given to Mr Stuart on Friday and published this morning, the day Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election on May 7.

SFCA deputy chief executive James Kewin (pictured above) said: “Issuing this response on the morning Parliament was dissolved was a cynical move.

“Almost half of the 93 Sixth Form Colleges in England are in marginal constituencies and this announcement was obviously timed to minimise the damage to candidates in those seats.”

Because sixth form colleges do not receive a refund on VAT in the same way that school sixth forms do, they are left with, on average, £335,000 less to spend each year, according to the SFCA.

The Government response said it had “explored the possibility” of refunding sixth form college VAT and “understood” the arguments in favour of the move.

However, it added the estimated cost of the refund would “be in the region of £31m per year”.

“The DfE cannot afford to cover the costs of doing so in the financial years 2015-2016.”

Mr Kewin accused the government of ignoring “the pleas of parents, students and teachers that have signed the petition and the cross-party group of MPs that have lent their support to the campaign”.

“We hope an incoming government will move quickly to address this longstanding anomaly to ensure young people receive the same level of investment in their education, irrespective of where they choose to study,” he said.

As well as gaining more that 10,000 signatures on the e-petition, the campaign against sixth form college VAT has drawn support from celebrity former sixth form students including actor Colin Firth and TV presenter Dermot O’Leary.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has demanded an inquiry by MPs in the next Parliament into a “waste of scarce funds” after figures revealed the government’s employer ownership of skills pilot has resulted in just 37 per cent of desired starts.

A review of the early stages of the £340m pilot, which aimed to involve employers in the design of skills training by giving them public money to combine with their own investment, has revealed that starts were at 37 per cent of the 10,000 apprenticeships and 90,000 non-apprenticeship qualifications originally planned in grant offer letters from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The review, commissioned by BIS and carried out by CFE Research, the University of Sheffield and Qa Research, has led to criticism of the project by the AoC and Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), with AoC chief executive Martin Doel (above) calling for a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) investigation.

Mr Doel said: “We’ve always had considerable doubts about the employer ownership pilot, and it gives us no pleasure to note that the recruitment of students to training was only just over one-third of that which was expected.

“Financial contributions to skills education or training from employers were also mostly in-kind and the project’s sustainability is an ongoing concern.

“We hope the next government learns lessons from this expensive failed project, which was based upon unsubstantiated assertions and unrealistic assumptions rather than hard evidence.

“This project should be scrutinised by the new PAC, not only in relation to the waste of scarce funds but also the approach to policymaking that it embodied.”

As well as disappointing numbers in terms of starts, the review also revealed that five of six projects with targets higher than 300 apprenticeship starts were led by an intermediary rather than a single employer or group of businesses, and three of these achieved just 4 per cent of their target.

The report continued: “Only a minority of projects met or exceeded their target for both apprenticeship and non-apprenticeship provision, which shows that recruitment of learners has been a key challenge across all of the projects.

“Data from the interviews suggest the majority of employer investments were in-kind (mostly in staff time).

“Moreover both government investment and employer contributions are behind the expected expenditure profile, which is a direct consequence of the under-recruitment of learners.”

AELP chief executive Stewart Segal (left) said: “We have been calling for a review of the Employer Ownership Pilots for some time.

“We know there were a number of issues in setting up these pilots and the results are disappointing.  Some of the pilots have been successful but overall they have delivered only a third of the results that were set out in the projects.

“There are a number of lessons that can be learned from the projects including the fact that delivering to those aged 16 to 24 has been even more difficult for employers. We should also understand that most of the contributions from employers have been in kind and these are large companies.

“We should learn this lesson when looking at the proposals for the apprenticeship programme. In our view the funding for these pilots should be included in the mainstream support for apprenticeships and traineeships rather than setting up expensive pilots which have not delivered.

“The £340m set aside for employer ownership pilots would have made a big difference to the apprenticeship programme where one of the biggest barriers to growth is the budget.”

Any investigation by the PAC would have to be commissioned by the new committee, which will be elected by the new Parliament following next month’s general election.

New legislation around apprenticeships and training will be one of the first bits of work for a Labour government, with a bill expected in the first 100 days of the next parliament if the party wins, Tristram Hunt has said.

The shadow education secretary made the comments to journalists following his speech to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference in Liverpool today.

He did not say exactly what would be included in the new legislation, but his party’s pledges for FE so far in the election campaign have included overall protection of the education budget, including for 16 to 19-year-olds, new technical institutions and apprenticeships for every learner who “gets the grades”.

He also said the Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) would work together on the bill and work more closely generally if Labour forms a government.

Mr Hunt said: “Within the first 100 days you will have a Labour education bill about vocational education, apprenticeships and training.

“It will be a joint DfE and BIS bill because, once again, we are moving away from the isolated vision of the DfE. The DfE is going to work once again with BIS on apprenticeships and training.”

Mr Hunt also used his speech to announce “far-reaching reform” of Ofsted and plans to introduce a peer review improvement system by 2020, claiming the current system was too focused on a “target-driven, exam factory model” of education and had “reached its end stages”.

Mr Hunt said: “There can be no doubt in my mind that Ofsted has been an extraordinarily progressive force for improving this country’s educational outcomes and spreading equal opportunity to areas of historic disadvantage.

“But I also believe we may have reached the tipping point. The moment when our inspection system begins to choke something far more precious.

“When the joy, wonder and beauty of schooling risks being buried in the avalanche of bureaucracy that emerges out of the increasingly byzantine demands of inspection. Or at least the frazzled, insecure interpretation of those demands by some head-teachers.

“So whilst I believe Ofsted has been a vehicle for progress in our education system, it too must surely evolve.”

He added: “I want to see an end to the nonsense of FE experts inspecting primary schools, and other equally absurd misallocations.”

 

The election period officially begins today — and last week saw the leaders of the two largest parties being put on the spot by Jeremy Paxman and a studio audience on Channel 4’s Battle for Number 10.

Opinion was divided over who came out on top — but whoever it was, there were plenty of questions left unanswered for the FE sector.

So FE Week spoke to figures across the sector to ask them what three FE and skills questions they’d like answered by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the general election on May 7 — as well as a bonus question on a subject of their choice.

All of our panel’s questions have been put to the three main political parties and we’ll share their responses with you shortly.

Which questions would you like to see politicians answer? Let us know on Twitter with the #FEelectionQs hashtag.

 

 

April Carrol, principal of New College Stamford

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– Will FE be funded at all in the future and if so, for what?
– Will colleges be appropriately funded to deliver English and maths?
– How do you envisage the provision for learners requiring “second chances “ if students have not succeeded in the school system?

What else?

– Are you going to address tax avoidance?

 

Jean Duprez MBE, manager of K&M McLoughlin Decorating

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– What would you do to ensure that government funded training leads directly to a job outcome?
– Why do providers get hit by a charge of 30 per cent top slice for form filling and would you stop this happening?
– What are you going to do to make sure schools are giving young people the information about apprenticeships?

What else?

– What will you do to tackle bogus self-employment in construction, thus creating a two tier employment system, which not only is illegal but also discriminatory with a direct link to the now ever increasing skills shortage?

 

 

Crawford Knott, commercial director, Hawk Training

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– How can we ensure that vocational pathways have real parity with their academic counterparts?
– How do you intend to address the lack of effective careers guidance in our schools?
– What do you think of the introduction of vocational pathways in schools for those aged 14? What do you think it would look like?

What else?

How best can we address the imbalance of the UK economy and ensure that it does not continue to become increasingly London/South East-centric?

 

 

Marc Pate, former apprentice Stonemason and WorldSkills competitor, now production manager at Wells Cathedral Stonemasons

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– What are you going to do about careers advice?
– How are you going to address the relationship between university qualifications and vocational qualifications and make sure their contribution to the economy is equally recognised?
– What are you going to do to support skills competitions and help continue the great work they do for young people who are involved with them?

What else?

– What are you going to do to help support young people who have found themselves in difficult situations with the law or unemployment to turn their lives around and get into jobs?

 

 

Dominic Ceraldi, head of HR at Pimlico Plumbers

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– How does Government plan to better help employers financially to achieve its plan to place all school leavers, without a job or college place, into an apprenticeship?
– What does the Government intend doing to help build better relations between schools and businesses, in order to prepare school leavers for the workplace?
– The standard training provision supplied by colleges is often not relevant to the industry. How will Government address this issue?

What else?

– Will voters be given the democratic right to recall failing MPs during the next parliament?

 

Jim Sims, development manager at Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley Lep

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– What will you do to break the current ‘top down’ nature of the skills funding system, to put more power in the hands of the customer (employers)?
– How will you support the FE Sector to generate more income to replace the 24 per cent reduction in Adult Skills budgets?
– What will you do to overcome the inherent mismatch between young people’s career aspirations and the skills needs of industry?

What else?

– What will you do to make apprenticeships and higher level apprenticeships the educational pathway of choice?

 

 

Phil Hatton, former Ofsted inspector, currently lead consultant with the Learning Improvement Service

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– Rather than put increasing pressure on colleges and independent providers to improve the English and mathematics skills of our young people, how are you going to address the poor teaching in schools that is the main reason for the problem?
– What are you going to do about ensuring independent careers advice?
– How are you going to help the FE sector in raising the vocational skills and qualification levels achieved so we can compete in the world market in the face of yet more cuts?

Any other questions?

– To bring back respect for politicians should MPs not be allowed to have a ‘second job’ and should their salaries simply be linked to the cost of living index like so many others are?

 

Dee Stephenson, NCFE futures team leader

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– As funding for adult education decreases by 24 per cent for the 2015/16 academic year, how do politicians expect adult education to be supported in the future?
– All of the political parties have ambitious plans for increasing apprenticeships but funding support alone will not achieve this — how do you think the reforms will help to achieve these Apprenticeship targets?
– What effect has raising the participation age had on young people not in education, training or employment?

What else?

– What’s the best and worst thing about being a politician?

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, policy leader, NCFE

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– Could you commit to protecting spending on adult skills outside of apprenticeships?
– Would you accept an evidence-based approach to education and skills, rather than a constant cycle of reform based around the parliamentary calendar?
– What are your plans to ensure that the current apprenticeship standards being written will be reviewed and maintained by the sector?

What else?

– Could we focus on reducing corporate (and personal) tax avoidance as a deficit reduction measure, rather than burdening it on the vulnerable in society?

 

Mervyn Ross, electrical installation lecturer at College of North West London

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– How are you going to support FE by ensuring that by the time students come to us at 16 they are already equipped with the English and maths they need?
– What are you going to do to ensure there is parity between the way academic expertise and vocational expertise — which can be up to degree level — are recognised?
– How are you going to make sure that opportunities for adults to change or develop their careers don’t decline due to lack of funding?

What else?

– What are you going to do about careers advice in the compulsory education system?

 

Dr Sandra McNally, director of the Centre for Vocational Education Research at the London School of Economics

What three FE and skills questions would you like politicians to answer before the election?

– By how much would you cut the adult skills’ budget?
– What measures will you introduce to improve basic skills in the working age population?
–  How do you think the quality of apprenticeship programmes should be monitored?

What else?

– What measures would you take to improve UK productivity?

Concerns that two official internet search engines for apprenticeships were causing confusion among potential applicants are expected to be resolved when the old website is taken down in just over a month.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has kept the old National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) vacancy matching website running while its replacement, which went live in December, is tested and developed.

The SFA was unable to give FE Week a firm date three months ago for when the old site would be taken down, saying that it would be “after April”.

But an SFA spokesperson said today “the new ‘Find an apprenticeship’ system will run as NAS’s sole search facility for apprenticeship vacancies from May onwards”.

She added: “People using the old apprenticeship vacancy system will be redirected to the new site, where they will be encouraged to create a new account, from May.

“In the meantime, developers will continue to work closely with candidates and careers advisors to continuously improve the service.”

It comes after FE Week reported in January on concern among users about the two sites throwing up different search results.

And an example search on the old site today uncovered 2,180 apprenticeship vacancies in London compared to just 727 on the new site.

An SFA spokesperson said the differing figures were down to the old apprenticeship vacancies service automatically searching for vacancies within a 10-mile radius of the requested location.

The new site, however, operates a five-mile radius default, unless users change the radius. The default radius on the new system had been two miles in January.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace), said: “I’m pleased that any confusion [over the two websites running simultaneously] will now be cleared up.

“It is good news for people searching for apprenticeship opportunities that the website search system is being modernised and improved, but it is important to remember this is just one of many ways that need to be looked at of helping people navigate their way towards adult training.”

A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said: “It is good that there will only be one website search engine from May, as it will stop any potential confusion and hopefully direct more people to apprenticeships than ever.”

Click here to use the new search service.