In light of the Chancellor’s announcement he wanted to see £900m of in-year savings split evenly between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Education (DfE), Mick Fletcher considers how FE might be affected — and how to lessen that effect.

What we know is that the two education departments, BIS and DfE, are each being asked to make an extra in-year cut of £450m — almost a third of the total sum being sought in the emergency budget planned for July.

What we don’t know is where the cuts will fall; but here’s a prediction. In this round and in the subsequent autumn spending review the Chancellor will find it easier to pick on provision for the weak and disadvantaged rather than tackle the big vested interests defending much larger sums.

We will probably see action on the manifesto pledge to reduce provision of full time FE at level two and below, hidden behind a fig leaf of increased apprenticeship opportunities.

It seems likely that we will see a further move from grant funding to loans, once again spun as ‘empowering the learner’.

Other soft targets could be learner support funds (less need as student numbers fall?) or adult and community learning (replaced by the big society in the form of the University of the Third Age). A further blow to the last remnants of social partnership represented by sector skills councils must be high on the hit list.

There are however a couple of sacred cows that could yield much larger savings but are far less likely to be touched. The biggest is the long running scandal of small school sixth forms, surviving only by robbing resources from the lower school.

If government has pledged to ring-fence funding for pupils up to the age of 16 it seems only fair for schools to be forced to do the same, leaving sixth form pupils to be taught efficiently and effectively in sixth form and tertiary colleges.

Since, shockingly, the average class size for the 16 to 18 phase in schools is less than half of that in primary schools, there are serious savings to be made from the £2bn or so in this bit of the schools budget.

Although it is both logical and feasible the chances of sensible reform of sixth form provision are vanishingly small. They are only marginally greater for tackling the second great vested interest; the unholy alliance of providers and employer bodies that argue strenuously against any attempt to make employers pay their share of training costs.

We will probably see action on the manifesto pledge to reduce provision of full time FE at level two and below, hidden behind a fig leaf of increased apprenticeship opportunities

It cannot be right however that FE colleges are more dependent on state funding than they were at the time of incorporation over 20 years ago, or that private providers are even less likely to secure co-funding.

It is true that demanding cash contributions towards the cost of providing apprenticeships and adult training risks lessening demand, but that risk is faced with equanimity elsewhere in the adult skills budget.

Under Matthew Hancock’s watch as Skills Minister the government developed a firm co-funding policy based around a generous two-for-one funding offer — far better than the deal for individuals.

If they can’t make it stick now, with an austerity budget and private sector growth they might as well abandon the whole idea forever.

The third big vested interest that the Chancellor faces is his own ministerial colleagues. At the very same time that they demand cuts in well-proven and valuable provision they indulge in an endless stream of pet projects for which there is little evidence of either need or efficacy.

Significant savings could be made if ministers held back from schemes such as the employer ownership pilots, national colleges, free schools in areas with no shortage of places or differing varieties of technical schools that duplicate what FE colleges can deliver. The chances, however, seem slim.

Finally, it is just possible that savings might be demanded from one quarter normally thought untouchable.

There is a growing body of opinion that sees the £200m or more spent on Ofsted annually as poor value for money. If he is bold the Chancellor could perhaps achieve the impossible — an education cut that is welcomed by schools and colleges.

 

With the issue of 16 to 19 funding dropping to critical levels, sector leaders have written to Chancellor George Osborne and Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, as reported on feweek.co.uk. Malcolm Trobe explains what why he wants government to reconsider its view on funding education for the age group.

Education for 16 to 19-year-olds is in danger of becoming a Cinderella service. It covers some of the most important years in the lives of young people, but it is the most poorly-funded part of the system.

The base rate of funding for each student is £4,000 per year. This is less than pre-16 education, where the average base rate is about £4,700, and higher education where students are generally charged £9,000.

FE colleges have been struggling along for years on around this £4,000 rate without any inflationary increases. School sixth forms and sixth form colleges were better funded, but no longer. Over the past five years their funding has been cut to the same level.

And over the next five years, the situation is set to become much worse.

Schools and colleges face significant rises in costs because of increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions, pensions, staff wages and general inflation. This is bad enough for pre-16 education, but for the 16 to 19 sector it is even more disastrous because funding is already so low.

Also worryingly, the 16 to 19 sector is unprotected in terms of government spending, raising the fear it may suffer further cuts.

This background explains why the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and six other organisations joined together to send letters to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Chancellor George Osborne [see feweek.co.uk for more]. Together, the signatories represent a huge range of schools and colleges, demonstrating the strength of feeling over this issue.

In addition to ASCL, they are the Association of Colleges, the Principals’ Professional Council, the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, the Independent Academies Association, the Grammar School Heads Association, and the Freedom and Autonomy for Schools National Association.

We recognise the financial situation is difficult, but we are asking that, at the very least, the government gives 16 to 19 institutions enough money to meet the additional costs they face. If this does not happen they will be hit with real-terms cuts of about 5 per cent over the next 12 to 18 months.

FE colleges have been struggling along for years on around this £4,000 rate without any inflationary increases

The consequences of inadequate funding are already being felt and will become more severe if not addressed. One of these is that it makes it difficult for schools and colleges to provide the full range of A-levels, AS-levels, and other courses, to meet the needs of students. This is particularly so in smaller sixth forms which cannot sustain an appropriate breadth of options on such low funding levels.

The result is that fewer students will apply, and the sixth form is trapped in a downward spiral, probably ending with its closure.

Another consequence is that it becomes increasingly difficult for schools and colleges to provide courses in subjects which attract relatively low numbers of students.

As these include modern foreign languages and further maths, this will undermine areas which are important to the wider economy.

The funding crisis also damages the ability of schools and colleges to offer students additional curriculum opportunities.

Everybody recognises the importance of equipping young people with life skills and a rounded educational experience through things like team-building activities, enterprise days, sports clubs, music and other creative arts-based opportunities.

However, the funding situation makes it is increasingly difficult for many schools and colleges to provide these opportunities. This places students in the state sector at a significant disadvantage to their peers in independent schools where these sort of activities are energetically promoted.

Indeed, if the funding crisis results in fewer of these activities and fewer course options for state students it will have a damaging effect on social mobility.

Austerity inevitably means making tough decisions. However, it is not good economics to fail to invest in the future, and this is precisely what is currently happening in 16 to 19 education. The country’s prosperity relies upon ensuring we have a workforce with the training and life skills for the 21st Century. And we have a responsibility to young people to give them that future.

 

David Maguire became the new Jisc chair last month and outlines for the first time his view of the FE sector and technology

ow can organisations leverage digital technologies to improve learning and teaching and equip learners with the skills they need for the future, under burgeoning cost pressures?

This is the big question facing UK education and research today, and one I am attempting to address in my new role as Jisc chair.

The FE sector in particular is facing a ‘do-or-die’ outlook when it comes to technology adoption. In this article I want to look at the challenges that learning providers are facing and what Jisc is doing to future-proof the sector, concentrating on three key areas.

First is the current austerity agenda, with the dual cost pressures of impending budget cuts under already high financial constraints hanging heavy over the sector.

‘Efficiency’ is a term generally treated with trepidation as cost-cutting in lieu of quality, but in our view efficiency means using technology to promote smarter working, increase productivity and engender cost savings.

I am committed to extending the excellent work Jisc has done to broaden access — providing thousands of free ebooks to FE and skills

One of the big areas Jisc is prioritising is shared services. For example, learning providers are having to house more data as their use grows, impacting on their electricity bills and taking up expensive estate. Shared data centres can solve this problem, and free up staff time to concentrate on core activities.

Getting access to high quality resources is also a concern for cash-strapped colleges. To this end I am committed to extending the excellent work Jisc has done to broaden access — providing thousands of free ebooks to FE and skills, creating tools such as the hairdressing training app, and offering resources like Digimaps for Colleges.

Second is the changing expectations of students. Today’s iPad generation has grown up with technology and expect it to be part of their normal everyday experiences.

Just as other sectors and industries are having to evolve their delivery models to incorporate digital, so too must education. Colleges need to understand what it is students actually want from their digital environment in order to meet their needs.

I see Jisc’s role as arbiter, steering the conversations between students and staff and offering solutions that meet the requirements of both. The digital student co-design project has made great progress in scoping out the current view of technology and where it could be improved. The next step is engaging students as partners to act as change agents and drive technology uptake.

The third and final driver is the pervasiveness of cloud services and digital personal computing such as smart phones and devices — both of which I see as having a profound impact on education delivery.

Cloud has already been widely adopted by the business world. While there is some ground to walk before we see education using it at the same level, when this switch does come it will allow organisations to be more flexible, adaptable and resilient to change. Jisc has been busy brokering deals with some of the world’s leading commercial providers; next comes dissemination of practice and providing support for effective use.

Internet-enabled devices, on the other hand, are increasingly seen as learning tools. Curious individuals are able to pursue their interests whenever and wherever they are, using mobile devices. Building on my previous point around expectations, educators need to meet them there, offering suitable resources and content and supporting access through inclusive BYOD policies.

Since the Wilson Review of Jisc in 2011 — which highlighted both the invaluable nature of Jisc as a national resource, but also emphasised the need for it to simplify and reorganise its structure and processes to continue to deliver for the sector — significant steps have been made to evolve our offer.

A key priority for me is to establish a sustainable funding model for Jisc customers, so that they are able to continue to benefit from all the activities I mentioned above, and more.

 

Armed with the results of the annual learning participation survey, David Hughes takes aim at the number of adults taking up learning opportunities and calls for action to make the classroom a more attractive place.

Celebration, excitement, inspiration, exploration and fun encapsulate Adult Learners’ Week for me and thousands of other people who have a go at learning as well as joining in the awards ceremonies up and down the country.

It’s an annual shot in the arm for everyone involved in learning, providing a boost and reminding us all just how important lifelong learning is for the spirit, for communities, for families and for businesses.

This year, though, I think we need to be worried about the future because the learning and employment systems are broken for millions of people. We need major reforms to change that. Our research shows that millions of people are missing out on learning which will help them get on, help businesses and strengthen the economy and society.

The Niace annual learning participation survey provides the clear evidence that more needs to be done to stimulate demand for learning.

According to the survey, only two in every five (41 per cent) UK adults have taken part in learning in the last three years, but this is uneven when looked at for different groups. For instance, more than half of those in the higher socio-economic classes (54 per cent of ABs; 52 per cent of C1s) have taken part in learning during the previous three years, compared with just 35 per cent of skilled manual workers (C2s) and only 26 per cent of unskilled workers and people on limited incomes (DEs).

We’re failing to develop the lifelong learning society that’s essential if we are to compete with other nations.

Twice as many people who left full-time education aged 21+ participate in adult education, compared to those who left full-time education at 16. And nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of adults without regular access to the internet have not taken part in learning since leaving full time education.

We’re failing to develop the lifelong learning society that’s essential if we are to compete with other nations

Despite our ageing society, we are failing older people, with those 55 and over the least likely to take part in any form of learning. And we are failing to support unemployed people to gain the skills they need to find decent work.

Through our research and development work we know it does not have to be like this. People who have not participated in learning since leaving school can be motivated into learning.

The pilots for our Citizens’ Curriculum have shown that people can be motivated when they are involved in designing their learning. The pilots also show that once engaged, people do progress rapidly in confidence, further learning and into work.

Part of the challenge is to persuade and encourage people to have the confidence that learning will benefit them and that they have the ability to learn. But we also know that even where people do want to learn, the opportunities do not exist or are simply not accessible.

If this government truly wants to raise the productive potential of the nation, then we need to foster a universal culture of lifelong learning. That will require a different approach and bold actions from the government as well as from others; we are ready to support them in that.

We’ve looked closely at the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitments, and our Summer Budget submission, Raising the Productive Potential of the Economy, proposes urgent short-term measures which will help move towards a more inclusive, productive economy. These include: protected funding for English, maths, traineeships and ESOL which should be delivered through the Citizens Curriculum; a Careers Advancement Service aimed at the 5.2m people in low paid work; and new employment programmes for disabled people on benefits.

The benefits of lifelong learning are wide, deep and long-lasting. But unless we make major reforms, those benefits will increasingly be the domain of the privileged few. I think it is worth us fighting for those who missed out at school.