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Ofsted reinspection timeframe halved

Ofsted proposals to halve the time between inspections of good FE and skills providers have been questioned by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has launched an eight-week consultation on reforms to the education watchdog’s inspection regime intended to give “much clearer focus on ensuring that good standards have been maintained”.

Currently, good FE and skills providers face reinspection up to every six years if there are no concerns to trigger an earlier revisit — but Ofsted is looking at changing that to a “short inspection” up to every three years, unless concerns trigger one sooner.

Sir Michael said: “The time has come to introduce frequent but shorter inspections for good schools and FE and skills providers.”

He added: “It’s [six years] too long for us to spot signs of decline and it’s too long for improving institutions to show that they are now delivering an outstanding standard of education.”

But Dr Stephan Jungnitz, colleges specialist for the ASCL, said: “We feel strongly that moving to more inspections isn’t the right way. We understand the need for Ofsted, but the current thinking that college professionals can’t be trusted to make sound judgements themselves over what areas need improving and see those through themselves is misguided.

“What we need is fewer inspections and more responsibility placed with college professionals to drive improvements.”

Gill Clipson, deputy chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “There’s a balance to be struck between allowing good and outstanding colleges to get onwith the job and ensuring performance remains high. We’ll be consulting colleges to ensure our response reflects this balance.”

Also among the reform proposals was the introduction of a single common inspection framework for nurseries, schools and colleges, as exclusively revealed by FE Week two months ago.

The consultation further sets out proposals for four categories of judgements — leadership and management; teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children and learners.

“Ofsted’s decision to introduce a single inspection framework for pre-school, primary, secondary and further education (FE) will need careful implementation,” said Ms Clipson. “We understand the principle behind this decision, but will need to be convinced that training provided by FE colleges, particularly for adults in the workplace, can really be judged on the same basis as the education given to school children.”

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), questioned the sense of another round of inspection regime reforms.

She said: “None of this helps teachers to do a better job. Ofsted doesn’t look like it knows what it wants. It has made substantial changes to school inspection frameworks or guidance on average twice every year since Michael Wilshaw became chief inspector in January 2012.”

Dr Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, said: “We will be taking time to digest the full details of Ofsted’s proposals but welcome anything which signals increased trust in the professional abilities of educational leaders to maintain high quality.”

The consultation is available on www.ofsted.gov.uk and runs until December 5.

EDITORIAL

Keeping an eye on providers, no matter what their last inspection grade was, is the role of Ofsted.

From outstanding (grade one) to inadequate (grade four), the education watchdog must be alert to signs of declining quality across the sector.

While more frequent inspections might therefore be welcomed, by some, it should be remembered that Ofsted is just talking about good (grade two) providers here.

Under changes brought in from last month providers requiring improvement (grade three) could go two years before reinspection — previously it was a maximum of 18 months. Yes, that’s Ofsted inspecting good providers more frequently than before, but ones requiring improvement potentially less frequently than before.

Inadequate providers continue to expect a revisit within 15 months, and outstanding ones will only see an inspector if there is something going wrong — at least, that is according to Ofsted.

In the summer, FE Week reported how one provider graded outstanding eight years ago was next inspected this year and was branded inadequate. And yet in 2010/11 it had recorded success rates more than 10 percentage points below the national average.

Get tough on good providers who might be slipping, fine, but outstanding ones can slip too and so, in light of the above example, better monitoring of grade one providers and an end to the open-ended timescale for reinspection seems equally valid.

Jill Westerman, principal, Northern College

Jill Westerman had a very tough year in 2006 — the kind of year that might have persuaded others to consider their futures.

But instead, Westerman drew inspiration from the difficulties to step up and become principal of her beloved Northern College in September the following year.

“My youngest daughter Tanith was seriously ill with kidney failure,” she says.

“We took her to the doctor thinking she had a virus and within 24 hours she was in the children’s renal unit in Nottingham.”

The emotional turmoil of seeing 14-year-old Tanith suffering clearly still has an impact on Westerman, who struggles to tell me about it when we meet at the British Library in London, a regular haunt of Westerman’s.

Westerman with daughter Aisling (left), husband Martin and daughter Tanith at the palace in 2010 when Westerman was awarded a CBE — Westerman with daughter Aisling (left), husband Martin and daughter Tanith at the palace in 2010 when Westerman
was awarded a CB

“She had three bouts of peritonitis with emergency hospital admissions following the diagnosis of kidney failure and for some months we had to drive her three days a-
week to Nottingham for haemodialysis,”says Westerman.

“She never once complained, she was so ill and she never once said ‘why me?’ — she just got on with it.”

In the same year, Westerman’s father, Albert, who had struggled with dementia and had lost his sight, died at the age of 82.

In the middle of all of this, Ofsted arrived at Northern College, where Westerman was programme co-ordinator at the time, and as nominee, she was on the front line dealing with inspectors.

The college sailed through the inspection, scoring outstanding across the board — a standard it has maintained to this day.

“I’d never really thought of myself as a principal before,” says 58-year-old Westerman.

“But I just thought, if I can manage this, I can manage anything.”

She was she says, also inspired by Tanith herself.

“After two years, she was lucky enough to have a transplant, this was in her GCSE year, but she went on to get the best grades in the school.”

Tanith is now her third year studying medicine at Leeds University.

Westerman was also prompted to move into leadership by taking part in a senior leadership development course.

Westerman with husband Martin after cycling the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2013

“It just really inspired me, both in terms of reading about the theory of leadership and being able to think about my own practice,” she said.

“That was almost ten years ago but many of us who were on the course, like Dawn Ward [now principal of Burton and South Derbyshire College] and Paul Wakeling [now principal of Havering Sixth Form College] still meet up.”

Westerman also spent time as a council member of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), which was closed and replaced with the Education and Training Foundation in August last year.

“It was a loss to the sector but we are where we are,” she says, adding that she is looking to the future.

Westerman is now chair of the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL), set up with £5.5m left over from LSIS and overseen by former LSIS chair Dame Ruth Silver.

“I think it’s really important to have that space to think, both for the individual principal and for leadership within the sector — and that space and time is something that’s difficult to find,” says Westerman.

“There’s a lot of research about leadership in schools, there’s a lot about universities but much less thinking has been done about the FE sector.

“We need to be thinking about leadership for the future, rather than focussing solely on present issues.”

I realised for the first time how much having an education means having power
and control over your own life

Westerman’s passion for education, she says, began with her mother, Sheila.

“She was very bright, very able, but she left school at 14 during the Second World War and I think she was frustrated that she’d never been able to go any further,” she says.

“So both she and my father drummed into my brother Roger and I how important education is and it is something for which I am eternally grateful.”

Roger, now retired, also went into education, becoming an education psychologist.

Under her mother’s encouragement, Wakefield-born Westerman passed her 11-plus and made it into the local grammar school.

However, at 18, the idea of going straight to university didn’t appeal.

“Nowadays it’s quite common to take a gap year – nearly everyone does it,” she says.

“But back then it was quite unusual.”

She initially took a job as a clerk at West Yorkshire District Council but within a few months decided it wasn’t for her.

Instead, she found herself teaching adults at the West Midlands Travellers School, and the experience of working with Irish travellers, she says, was a “real eye opener”.

“I realised for the first time how much having an education means having power and control over your own life — and how much these people who were already excluded from society were even more disadvantaged by not having education, not being able to read,” says Westerman.

The impression was confirmed a few years later when, after studying English at the University of Durham and a brief stint teaching English as a foreign language in Spain, Westerman got herself a job as a community support worker on an East London estate.

“I’d been hired by the residents themselves,” she says.

“Because they were bright people and very clued up — they know all the facts and all the issues, but they felt that, because they didn’t have an education, they couldn’t hold their own talking to developers and the council and utility companies and so on.”

In 1985 she enrolled on a certificate of education course at Garnett College, where she met future husband Martin, also training as a teacher.

After the birth of the couple’s daughters, Aisling, now 24, and Tanith, and with the price of housing in London beginning to rise, they decided to move North.

And it was in May 1993 that Westerman first walked into Northern College for Residential and Community Adult Education, in Barnsley, as a part time lecturer and, she says, it was love at first sight.

“It’s in such a beautiful setting in a big old stately home and the ethos there was, and is, so committed to helping people change their lives,” she says.

“Everyone, from the leadership and management, to the receptionists, really care about our students.

“We’ve had people arrived at the door, take a look around at the surroundings and decide ‘this isn’t for me’ and I’ve seen the receptionists run after them, bring them back and take the time to talk them round and encourage them to come in.”

The college offers short, intensive residential courses, as well as year-long access to higher education courses, giving students time to focus on their studies, away from what can be quite chaotic lives.

“When you think about it, we’re actually very used to the idea of residential adult education — that’s what universities and a lot of management training are,” says Westerman.

“And I really don’t see why access to that sort of experience should be limited by class or level of education.”

After that turbulent inspection of 2006, the college has been re-inspected this year and maintained it’s perfect grade one scoresheet.

And as a keen promoter of the importance of leadership, how much credit does Westerman take for her college’s success?”

Well I could jokingly to go ahead and say ‘all of it’,” she says.”But actually part of you wants to say ‘it’s all down to my team, my staff and the wonderful work they’re doing, it’s nothing to do with me’.

“Of course, I think the answer is that it’s probably a little bit of both.”

What is your favourite book, and why?

This is a difficult question as I have so many favourite books. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer is not necessarily a favourite, but I read it when it was first published and I was 14. It fundamentally changed the way I viewed the world, made me a feminist and has influenced my life ever since

What is your pet hate?

Small anti-social acts, like able bodied people parking in disabled bays

What do you do to switch off after work?

Physical activity as a contrast to work. I do jive and ballroom dancing classes and like walking and cycling at weekends. I’ve run a couple of half marathons for charity. I’m also in a book group and a member of the Women’s Institute. I do my fair share of slumping watching DVD box sets, too

If you could invite anyone, living or dead, to a dinner party who would it be?

Mo Mowlam, who worked at Northern College but left before I arrived, Nelson Mandela — my ideal leader, President Jed Bartlet from the West Wing (I do know he’s not real, but it would be a privilege to hear him discuss leadership with Mo Mowlam and Nelson Mandela), Bruce Springsteen, and George Eliot [Victorian era writer], for her wisdom, compassion and understanding

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be either a famous author, because I liked reading, or an English teacher, because it was my favourite subject. I achieved my ambition as I did become an English teacher

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Cable’s ‘FE saviour’ claim backed by ex-SFA boss

Claims by Business Secretary Vince Cable that he stopped government officials from “killing off” FE have been backed by former Skills Funding Agency (SFA) director of provider services David Hughes.

Dr Cable told a fringe event at the Liberal Democrats’ conference in Glasgow last week that he blocked moves in 2010 to enforce drastic funding cuts for “post-school” training.

The BBC website reported that Dr Cable claimed civil servants advised him to “effectively kill-off FE”, suggesting the savings could have paid for his party’s pledge to axe university student tuition fees.

And Mr Hughes, who left the SFA in April 2011 before becoming the chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) six months later, said: “Dr Cable was not misleading people with his comments. Those kind of views were aired by civil servants but never to the point that it became a serious policy proposal.

“It was an unprecedented time for government spending cuts and people were thinking the unthinkable.

“Dr Cable and [former Tory Skills Minister] John Hayes both fought the corner for adult skills and community learning.”

Mr Hughes joined Niace three years ago after a year at the SFA and before that served a number of senior roles at SFA predecessor body the Learning and Skills Council.

He dealt directly with Dr Cable through his role as national director for funding, where he oversaw government payments to providers.

Dr Cable reportedly told delegates at the fringe event: “I could have taken the advice we had from the civil servants, who said ‘well, why don’t you just effectively kill-off FE. Nobody will really notice’.”

He added: “The easy way out would have been to have taken all the money out of the FE sector and out of training and I said ‘we are not doing that’.”

Julian Gravatt, assistant chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “Although it is pleasing to hear Vince Cable prevented even worse funding cuts being handed out to FE colleges in 2010, it does need to be recognised funding for adult skills has fallen by 35 per cent since then.

“While the demise of FE colleges might not have been noticed by officials in the ivory towers of Whitehall, the vital services they provide to communities up and down the country in the ‘real world’, despite funding cuts, would definitely have been missed.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “In 2010, like all departments, we took a long hard look at all of our spending to achieve the level of cuts required.

“Despite the tough fiscal climate, we have retained our commitment to FE. Overall funding for adult FE and skills is £4.1bn in 2014-15.

“In the past four years, as part of the overall funding, £1.7bn in capital investment has been made available to FE colleges with funding set to continue.”

Clegg repeats ‘cradle to college’ pledge but questions remain unanswered

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has repeated his pledge to protect education funding “from cradle to college” in his last party conference speech before the election.

Mr Clegg told delegates at the Liberal Democrat conference at the SECC in Glasgow this afternoon that his party would protect education funding for everyone up to age 19, while also providing a two-thirds discount on travel to educational institutions for 16 to 21-year-olds if it returns as a junior coalition partner next May.

But questions about the detail of the policy remain unanswered. The party has not yet clarified whether the budget will be protected as a whole or in three separate parts – for early years, school and 16 to 19 education – to prevent large amounts of money from being moved from one to another.

He told conference that, “given half a chance, anyone can shine”, adding: “For me, that is what our new commitment to expanding childcare to all two, three and four-year-olds is all about. That is what our new commitment to healthy lunches for all primary school children is all about.

“That is what our new commitment to helping with the travel costs faced by all college students is all about. That is what our new commitment to a qualified teacher in every classroom is all about. That is what protecting funding from cradle to college – even as we clear the deficit – is all about.”

Campus 28

College ‘no longer a dirty word’

A rebranding exercise at Lewisham Southwark College cost almost £290,000 and the result — Lesoco — could be dropped after less than two years. Ruth Sparkes considers the rebranding question.

It’s all about the brand. Actually, it’s not. But in my line of business, education brands are very important.

Branding, rebranding and the cost of such college activities has won lots of column inches recently, and the merits of rebranding have been ferociously debated in some quarters.

To the cynical out there, ‘branding’ is all ‘smoke and mirrors’, marketing speak to keep people like me in business. “Get a design student to create a new logo, it’ll only cost you a pint” — bet you’ve heard similar.

Why would a college want to rebrand? Well, lots of colleges have rebranded or are going through the process of rebranding, I think we’re seeing a ‘college’ renaissance; there was a time, in the not too distant past when some colleges even ditched the word ‘college’ from their marketing communications.

I am pleased to see that it’s no longer a ‘dirty’ word, and it’s making a comeback, if not to the institution’s title, to the tagline
at least.

Rebranding is a chance to ‘start afresh’, to perhaps draw a line under the old and signal a new direction, a new team, a new focus — a new energy.

If not approached in the right way, rebranding can alienate rather than attract

The rebranding process is an opportunity to re-evaluate your key business messages, your cornerstones — mission, vision and values.

You can use it to create an identity that really supports what you’re trying to achieve, so that advocates and key stakeholders know what you organisation’s unique selling points really are, when they’re talking about it.

When is a rebrand a good call? When you want to change an existing perception — has your organisation suffered from constant bad press, have there been major problems with the college or its teaching methods?

Once issues like this have been corrected, then a new identity is a way of relaunching.

Other reasons might include the college not being seen as up with the times — old fashioned, tired, if you’re losing market share to other colleges and you want to relaunch with a bright new face or if you want to attract a different types of students and staff.

You might also want a new management team and a new direction for a college, you might have had a total revamp (building, facilities, equipment) and want this to be reflected in your brand.

You might also want to merge two or more colleges (this can be quite a difficult exercise because you are bringing together two sets of values, ways of working, existing brand equity — good and bad, so any new branding should be handled sensitively).

However rebranding is not always the right answer.

When considering a rebrand, there are lots of things to think about — how do your stakeholders feel about the change of direction, style, management? If there hasn’t been a change in any of the above — how are you communicating why you need a rebrand?

If not approached in the right way, rebranding can alienate rather than attract — I don’t think you need me to point out that an ill-considered name and logo can do more harm than good.

You need to make sure that you understand the heritage and existing value of your current brand. You need to make sure that you’re not ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’.

Recognise the existing value and be sure to bring some of that forward, if you can. It might be a case of evolution rather than revolution.

Do not use a rebrand exercise as a way of fixing other problems. Some institutions may use a ‘new logo’ like a sticky plaster.

Make sure you look carefully at all options before you start so you’re not wasting time and money — fix the problems first.

Also steer clear of rebranding when your college has a strong and recognisable brand and all your stakeholders ‘get it’. A minor ‘refresh’ might be a way forward in this case.

So, how much should it cost?

This can be variable depending on the type of organisation you use to help you rebrand and the extent of the rebrand exercise you want to go through, but a good guide would be between £10 and £20,000. This should include an audit of your existing brand, re-evaluating your positioning statements, running stakeholder workshops and, of course basic brand guidelines.

Ofsted looking at ‘frequent but shorter’ inspections for good providers

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has laid out plans for “frequent but shorter” inspections for good FE and skills providers from September next year.

Sir Michael this morning launched an eight-week consultation on reforms to the education watchdog’s inspection regime intended to give “much clearer focus on ensuring that good standards have been maintained”.

“Most schools and colleges have been improving over the past couple of years at a faster rate than ever before,” he said.

“This is hugely encouraging and testament to the commitment of leaders and teachers to deliver a higher standard of education for our children and young people. They have responded to Ofsted’s more challenging inspection frameworks, in particular the introduction of the ‘requires improvement’ judgement and our insistence that only good is good enough. This has been central to driving improvement.

“It is absolutely vital that this progress is sustained and that our system does not falter. Over two thirds of good schools and colleges maintain their performance, and so there is a strong case for more proportionate inspections which focus on a professional dialogue between head teachers and inspectors. But by no means all of them do. In the past academic year alone 860 schools we inspected, attended by 335,000 children, declined in performance.

“The time has come, therefore, to introduce frequent but shorter inspections for good schools and FE and skills providers. These inspections will be different to what has gone before. They will have a much clearer focus on ensuring that good standards have been maintained.

“In particular, inspectors will be looking to see that headteachers and leadership teams have identified key areas of concern and have the capability to address them. For good schools and FE and skills providers who have the capacity to show this, the changes being proposed will mean that there is no longer any need for a full inspection.

“Led by Her Majesty’s Inspectors, these short inspections will encourage professional dialogue and the sharing of good practice from across the country. They also mean that we can spot signs of decline early and take immediate action. If we find significant concerns then we will carry out a full inspection. Where we think the school or provider may have improved to outstanding, we may also decide to carry out a full inspection to confirm this.

“At the moment, it can be five years or even more between inspections for a good school or provider. This is too long. It’s too long for parents and employers. It’s too long for us to spot signs of decline and it’s too long for improving institutions to show that they are now delivering an outstanding standard of education.

“Parents and employers also need to know how schools are performing on a more regular basis. Shorter but frequent inspections of good schools and colleges will mean that we can keep them much better informed.”

The shorter inspections plan, which applies to schools as well, would be carried out by no more than two inspectors on site for one day and are likely to take place every three years.

Among the reform proposals is the introduction of a single common inspection framework for nurseries, schools and colleges, as exclusively revealed by FE Week two months ago.

The consultation also sets out proposals for four categories of judgements — leadership and management; teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children and learners.

“I believe that our new inspections should place emphasis on safeguarding, the breadth of the curriculum in schools, the relevance of courses and training in fe and skills, and the quality of early learning,” said Sir Michael.2

Only then will we be able to make sure that all children and learners are properly safeguarded and prepared for life in the modern world.”

However, no changes are proposed to the inspection frequency of those providers classified as outstanding, inadequate or requiring improvement.

The consultation is available on www.ofsted.gov.uk and runs until December 5.

College chefs serve up new dishes for evening diners

Catering students from Walford and North Shropshire College are dishing up three-course evening meals to outside diners.

The campus restaurant Scholars, which is staffed by more than 20 level one, two and three hospitality and catering students as commis, sous and head chefs, has opened to the general public on Monday evenings.

The learners helped develop a new three-course menu with dishes including wild mushroom risotto, sage stuffed belly pork, pan-fried haddock and cherry cheesecake.

They have also launched an express menu that will be served to staff and students throughout the week offering, for example, chicken tikka wrap, calzone and freshly baked quiche of the day.

Chef lecturer Dan Tompson said: “It is really exciting and great to see the development of the students. The level two students, for example, have led the creation of the new express menu, which means they will have real ownership of the dishes they are creating.”

Pic from left: Hospitality and catering students Daina Davies, aged 17, and Brandon Castle, Nesta Mayor, and Joseph Roberts, all 16