Latest news from FE Week

The unpicking of the qualifications and credit framework (QCF) was a “small but not insignificant step for mankind”, Ofqual chief regulator Glenys Stacey has told MPs.

During a hearing of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, Ms Stacey said the qualification watchdog’s move to scrap the QCF was “actually extremely technical” because it had not been designed to be “unpicked”.

She also emphasised the watchdog’s renewed focus on vocational qualifications, claiming Ofqual was making “quiet inroads” into an area of work which was “not often focused on”.

She said: “It’s quite interesting, people generally deride the QCF and I understand why and I would probably join them in that.

“But when you create something like the QCF people don’t think about whether you could readily unpick it, and actually unpicking it has been extremely technical and we have done it and we have achieved it.

“It is a small but not insignificant step for mankind.”

Ms Stacey said she was pleased to be asked about vocational qualifications, lamenting the fact there was “so much attention on general qualifications”, despite the fact most awarding bodies are “in a different market”.

She said: “What we have done is about 18 months ago recognised that we could raise our game on vocational qualifications.

“So we have actually restructured the whole organisation, created a vocational qualifications directorate, appointed an experienced executive director for vocational qualifications, Jeremy Benson, and we have I think on the last count about 50 staff dedicated in that area.”

She said Ofqual had developed a “very good understanding” of the “diverse nature of so-called vocational qualifications” and had taken steps to review functional skills qualifications, adding: “They are significant qualifications within apprenticeships and elsewhere, and particularly important in colleges.

“We have done comprehensive audits of a good group of vocational qualifications providers focusing on particular qualifications which are thought to equate to others but perhaps don’t.”

The committee’s one-off evidence session on the role of Ofqual took place yesterday and also included the qualification watchdog’s chair, Amanda Spielman, as witness.

Further education sector members of Unison have “overwhelmingly” voted to reject an Association of Colleges (AoC) pay freeze recommendation for 2015/16, FE Week can reveal.

Unison has written to the AoC, and colleges it is negotiating for, with the result and a warning that unless the offer was improved the union would be “in dispute” with them.

A total of 95 per cent of those voting in the Unison consultation rejected the offer, with twice as many colleges participating as last year. Unison has called for an urgent meeting of the union side of the Joint National Forum, with a view to discussing next steps and also a campaign against further funding cuts ‎expected in the Autumn Statement.

Jon Richards, national secretary for education at Unison, said: “The unprecedented recommendation for a pay freeze has caused anger at a time when staff are being asked to carry greater burdens and when there is a need to provide a united front to defend the sector and learners.”

The University and College Union (UCU) also opened a ballot with its members in September on the pay freeze proposal and potential subsequent strike action. The results are expected by the end of the week with the ballot officially closing at noon tomorrow (October 15).

“Our FE committee will meet shortly after we have the result to consider our next steps,” said a UCU spokesperson.

The Association of Teachers & Lecturers (ATL), has also debated the AoC’s proposal for a wage freeze, but said members were reluctant to pursue industrial action.

The ATL submitted a ballot early last month in the form of a survey to its members, and to members of its leadership section, the Association of Managers in Education (AMiE).

Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: “ATL and AMiE members in FE colleges affiliated to the AoC in England were consulted on their attitudes around taking industrial action over the AoC’s recommendation for a 0 per cent pay rise.

“Although members expressed significant unhappiness with the offer, there was little enthusiasm for sustained industrial action at this time.”

In response to the results of the Unison consultation, Marc Whitworth, Director of Employment Policy and Services at the Association of Colleges (AoC), said that colleges want to reward their staff for the work they do, but are also faced with limitations.‎

“The zero per cent pay recommendation AoC has made reflects the feedback we have had from our member colleges about the stringent financial circumstances in the sector.

“Cuts to funding for both adults and young people have left budgets stretched and this means colleges have to make some tough decisions,” he added.

In reference to the UCU ballot which closes at noon tomorrow (October 15), Mr Whitworth has previously said: “Although not unexpected it is nevertheless disappointing that the UCU will ballot for action … Strikes are very disruptive for colleges and more importantly for students.

“We would encourage UCU to consider how we might better work together to represent our respective members collectively and position the FE sector to remunerate more effectively in the longer term.

“There is a willingness from the employers’ side to work together to protect the prospects of FE, its skilled workforce and the students it serves.”

A Midland college principal hit with five votes of no confidence by staff has stepped down.

Beverley Smith has resigned from her position as principal of Stafford College with immediate effect, the college has confirmed.

It follows reports in local media this month that 14 members of staff at the college had been made redundant, after a summer-long review of staffing levels.

A statement from the board of governors said: “Principal Beverley Smith has decided to step down, and has agreed with the governors to pass the leadership of the college onto fresh hands for the next phase of its development.”

The college, which received a grade three (requires improvement) rating at its last Ofsted inspection in October last year, is expected to announce an interim principal on October 20.

Ms Smith, who took over at the college early last year, was the focus of growing unrest and concern among staff at the college, amid allegations that she was operating a regime of “crippling workloads, rising stress levels and a culture of fear”.

Ms Smith received five votes of no confidence from staff and management, including members of UCU, in June, as reported by FE Week.

According to reports in the local media, up to 150 members of staff took part in a protest outside the college, calling for Ms Smith’s resignation.

However, following a four-hour meeting on June 29, governors concluded that there was “no evidence presented which would support any action to be taken against the principal”.

According to reports in local media, Ms Smith subsequently went on long-term sick leave on July, with deputy principal Donna Brown taking over as acting principal in Ms Smith’s absence.

A spokesperson for the college could not confirm whether Ms Smith returned to the college before resigning on October 9.

College UCU representative Marina Bowler, in a joint statement with Unison representative Mike Steer, said:  “Following this announcement we are keen to continue our work with the leadership team and governors.

“Recent events have demonstrated how much the staff care about this organisation and it has united us all together.”

Mark Winnington, chair of governors at Stafford College, said: “The board would like to thank staff for their continued professionalism over the last few months.

“The college will continue to deliver outstanding education to our students, work with employers and provide a vital service for the local community.”

A spokesperson for Stafford College, which has 6,440 learners, confirmed that there had been 14 redundancies out of around 500 staff at the college. The affected staff, around half of which were teaching staff, had been informed over the summer period, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson confirmed that Ms Brown would continue as acting principal until an interim principal is appointed.

FE Week was unable to contact Ms Smith for comment.

Staff and students from across the FE sector gathered outside the Houses of Parliament in their hundreds today to protest against cuts to the provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol).

Demonstrators, said to number around 600 in total, joined the rally to protest against the government’s decision in July to cut funding for a £45m programme of English courses for foreign language speakers, run with Jobcentre Plus.

The crowds were brought together by campaign group Action for Esol and the University and College Union (UCU) London branch, which organized the event. As well as protesting with banners and chants outside Parliament, students and staff from a range of colleges attended talks and debated inside Westminster.

Speakers included Liz Lawrence, UCU president; Jenny Roden, from the National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults (NATECLA); Shakira Martin, NUS vice president for FE; and Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations at the Holex network of community learning and skills providers.

A handful of brave Esol students also faced the audience themselves to express what the language learning had meant to them, but no government representatives were present to respond to the concerns.

According to reports from the UCU, Bradford College has already announced it will cut one-third of its Esol classes with the loss of nine jobs, while Brent Adult and Community Education Service is to get rid of two-fifths of its Esol courses, leading to the loss of five jobs.

Two thirds of courses will go at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, where 25 jobs will be lost, and Hackney Community and Tower Hamlets colleges have said their Esol courses are not guaranteed to run after Christmas.

See edition 151 of FE Week, dated Monday, Octbober 19, for further coverage and click here for our rolling coverage today from Twitter

Main pic: Alix Robertson

The proportion of 25+ apprenticeships has gone back up to levels last seen before the failed 24+ apprentice loans system, provisional figures out today have revealed.

The figures, published in the Statistical First Release (SFR), suggest a full-year growth in apprenticeship numbers across all age groups — but the biggest growth was among those aged 25 or above.

In 2014/15, the number of apprenticeship starts was provisionally put at 492,700 [click here and view table 20.1]. Of these, 210,100 were aged 25 or above — a rise of 33.2 per cent, or 52,400, from the same figures last year [click here and view table 18.1].

And further comparing provisional figures, the 25+ age group made up 42.6 per cent of all apprenticeship starts last year, versus 36.5 per cent (157,700) in 2013/14, and 44.9 (222,200) the previous year.

Final figures for 2013/14 showed that 36.7 per cent (161,600) of all apprenticeship starts were in the 25+ group, which was was lower than in previous years — 45.1 per cent (230,300) in 2012/13 and 44 per cent (229,300) in 2011/12. Final figures for 20145/15 are due out next month.

The troubled, and ultimately scrapped, 24+ advanced learning loans for apprenticeships are widely acknowledged to have been responsible for the 2013/14 fall.

In quarter four 2014/15, the 25+ age group was provisionally behind 50.9 per cent (55,900) of all starts, up from 49.1 per cent (58,000) in 2013/14.

Meanwhile, quarter four starts across the ages were down 1.5 per cent on the same period last year to 109,900 (from 118,100).

However, the overall number of apprenticeship starts in 2014/15 rose provisionally by 13.9 per cent, from 432,400 in the same figures last year to 492,700 this year, which halts the decline of the previous two years.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said the government was committed to “making sure apprenticeships deliver for individuals, businesses and the economy”.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has yet to comment on the rise in 25+ apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships will this week come under the spotlight in a House of Lords debate focussing on the quality and accessibility of the programme.

Lady Prosser (pictured above), former deputy general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union and ex-president of the Trades Union Congress, is to open a debate on Thursday (October 15) looking at the importance of apprenticeships to the UK labour market.

The Labour life peer said she was worried about the number of apprenticeships falling and that “diminishing funding for the FE sector is also a real concern, and the mismatch of skills to future jobs needs to be addressed”.

Other speakers were expected to include Liberal Democrat business, innovation and skills spokesperson in the upper house, Lord Stoneham of Droxford, former Ofsted chair Lady Morgan (pictured below right) and Lady Sharp (pictured below left).

The debate follows concern that, in its drive to create 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020, the government was in danger of sacrificing quality for quantity.

As reported recently by FE Week, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) consultation on the proposed apprenticeship levy, which closed October 2, raised the possibility of allowing employers to use providers that are not subject to an approval system or even Ofsted inspections.

And although Skills Minister Nick Boles has outlined his view that employers’ apprenticeship levy money could only be spent on Skills Funding Agency-registered providers, and that Ofsted would have a continued role in inspecting these providers, his shadow, Gordon Marsden, also expressed concern about the fall in apprenticeship success rates, from 74.3 per cent in 2011/12 to 68.4 per cent in 2013/14.

But the Enterprise Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Lords on Monday, includes a number of measures that are intended to boost apprenticeships.

Measures include a target for apprenticeships in public sector bodies, and a measure to protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ from misuse, making it an offence for a provider to offer an apprenticeship that doesn’t meet certain strict rules – such as a 12-month minimum duration.

However, as reported by FE Week, employers who run their own in-house apprenticeship schemes would be exempt from this legislation and could run ‘apprenticeships’ in less than a year, ignoring rules that apply to the statutory scheme.

Details of the apprenticeship levy, which was first announced as part of the summer budget, are expected to be set out in the government’s Spending Review, due November 25.

“I strongly believe that apprenticeships, in providing specialised and career-relevant training, offer a unique and immensely valuable way to get people’s careers off the ground,” said Lady Prosser.

“But it’s vital that the apprenticeship ‘brand’ is taken seriously and is a fully supported strand of a wider employment strategy, and we are not there yet in this country.”

The debate, which Lady Prosser described as a “great opportunity to explore the issue of apprenticeships, their availability and quality, and how we can ensure they continue to play a pivotal role in the labour market of the UK”, is due to start at 11.30am.

Further contributors to the debate were expected to include Lord Bhattacharyya, professor of manufacturing, director and chair at Warwick Manufacturing Group, Warwick University; Lady Garden of Frognal, former manager at City & Guilds of London Institute; Lord Mawson, social entrepreneur, and director of Andrew Mawson Partnerships; Lady Wall of New Barnet, chair of Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Lord Aberdare is also due to take part, along with Lord Addington, the Bishop of Derby, Lord Haskel, Lord Haughey, Lady Humphreys, Lord Lisvane, Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, Lord Snape, Lady Warwick of Undercliffe, Lord Watson of Invergowrie, and Lord Young of Norwood Green.

The Earl of Courtown is expected to respond on behalf of the government.

A House of Lords library note has been produced for the debate (click here to download), which will be broadcast live on www.parliamentlive.tv and covered by FE Week on Twitter.