Implementation of the government’s study programmes among providers surveyed by Ofsted has been “too slow,” the education watchdog’s director for skills has said.

Ofsted director for FE and skills Lorna Fitzjohn (pictured) made the comments during her lecture today at Spotlight youth centre in Poplar, East London.

Ms Fitzjohn used the lecture to release Ofsted’s report on study programmes, which were launched by the government last year and require learners aged 16 to 19 to demonstrate progression to a higher level of attainment, take part in work experience and study maths and English to level two if they have not done so already.

She began her lecture on the subject of youth unemployment, claiming that 1,184,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 did not have a full time job and were not attending full-time education or training courses, and that 955,000 of these were considered not in education, employment or training (Neet).

Ms Fitzjohn said: “The 16 to 19 study programmes, introduced on August 1 last year, seemed to hold some of the answers. They were developed to provide a step-change in provision for all young people. All learners aged 16 to 19 should now be on individualised programmes which support their progression to their next planned step, be it further, higher education, training or employment.

“We used inspection findings and specific visits to explore how well providers were adapting their provision in line with the new requirements. The survey [on youth participation] explored how well local authorities, schools, FE and skills providers and the voluntary and community sector ensure effective participation of all 16 to 19-year-olds in education, employment or training, especially those who are disadvantaged.

“Both surveys identified a few providers with good practice, but much more needs to be done to ensure a secure future for all of those aged 16 and beyond.”

She added: “I fully acknowledge that the field work for our survey, undertaken in the first six months of the programme, only captured providers’ initial stages of implementing this new provision, however, even though providers had a full year to prepare, inspectors found little evidence that the transformational step-change intending in schools, academies and FE and skills providers sampled.

“Too many of these providers had not changed what they offered sufficiently. They were not yet offering programmes which met the pre-requirements of the study programmes. In particular we were concerned that too many learners were not progressing to a higher level of study to meet their educational potential or career aspiration, particularly on those level one and two programmes.

“Most of the providers didn’t use work experience effectively. Inspectors also found that the introduction of these programmes had disappointingly led to little change to level three programmes. Many school and academy leaders seemed to be unaware of the requirements, and the implications for sixth form provision. Implementation in these contexts was too slow.”

She also used the lecture to call for extra powers for councils, which currently have a duty to record data on the status of young people, but don’t have the legal power to demand the information from providers.

She said: “We need to know the world we are in better. Understanding fully the extent of youth unemployment is made difficult by the lack of definitive data on the number of young people who are in fact Neet.

“Quite simply, there are far too many people who are un-accounted for. The category used for these people is ‘current activity unknown’. They are often called the unknowns. If you don’t know who these young people are, how can you support them?”

Sixth Form Colleges’ Association deputy chief executive James Kewin said: “It is very early days in the life of study programmes, but this report provides some useful initial insights and recommendations that will aid their development.

“The study programme model, particularly the flexibility it provides, has been welcomed by sixth form colleges. However, the accompanying reduction in funding (more than 15 per cent for some institutions) has been less welcome – greater flexibility has come at a very high price for sixth form colleges. The government has got the model right but the funding wrong for 16 to 19 education.

“Sixth form colleges will build on the findings in this report. At the same time, Ofsted and the Department for Education [DfE] should ensure that their inspection and audit regimes do not penalise institutions that are adopting the flexible and innovative approaches to delivery that the report encourages. There must also be an acceptance that it is colleges and schools that are best placed to make decisions about the content of individual study programmes.”

Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, said: “Coming, as this survey does, less than one year into the implementation of the most

radical reform to 16 to 19 education for many years, it is perhaps unsurprising to see Ofsted’s comments about the pace of change.

“We know from other countries with high-performing education systems that major change takes time to embed and to produce results, and we know there is more to do here.

“What is clear from this report is that all those with a stake in the success of the study programmes policy must work together to ensure its success – colleges, schools, employers, local authorities and the government. It is reassuring that today’s report acknowledges this, with a comprehensive package of recommendations for all.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “The number of young people Neet is at its lowest level since consistent records began. And it is encouraging that this report by Ofsted shows our plan for post-16 education is already having a positive impact just two terms after coming into effect.

“The report shows positive early signs that schools and colleges are entering young people for more rigorous qualifications. In fact, the latest figures show that the numbers of those over the age of 17 taking GCSEs in English and maths are rising, giving thousands more the vital knowledge and skills demanded by employers.

“Following Professor Alison Wolf’s ground-breaking review of vocational education we have scrapped thousands of low-quality qualifications so that only the gold-standard, employer-valued courses remain. And providers are now incentivised to ensure young people study valuable courses after we changed post-16 funding from per-qualification to per-student.”

See edition 110 of FE Week, dated Monday, September 15, for more coverage.

Ofsted inspectors have branded the improvement action plan of an inadequate-rated university technical college (UTC) as “not fit for purpose”.

Central Bedfordshire UTC was slapped with the grade four result in June with inspectors criticising the quality of leadership, governance, teaching and the curriculum. They also said learning was “not secure” because teachers “do not always check students’ understanding or how well they have developed skills in lessons”.

Following the initial Ofsted report, then-Education Secretary Michael Gove asked nearby Bedford College to step in as sponsor for the 150-learner UTC that specialises in engineering and design.

But now a monitoring visit — carried out before Bedford College had stepped in — has resulted in a findings that “the statement of action, which incorporates the college improvement plan, is not fit for purpose”.

The inspectors’ report on the revisit, which took place mid-July, also revealed how “due to too few applications, the college is not expecting to admit any students into year 10 in the academic year 2014/15”.

Nevertheless, the principal of Bedford College and newly-appointed UTC chair of governors Ian Pryce (pictured) told FE Week he was “confident the UTC has a very bright future.”

He added: “The Ofsted conclusion was expected given the visit took place only a few weeks after the original inspection report was published, and before Bedford College stepped in.”

Of the three other UTCs inspected so far, Black Country and Hackney UTCs got grade three results while the JCB Academy in Staffordshire received a good rating.

However, the issue of low enrolment figures has hit a number of UTCs, including the one in Hackney, which is to close after this academic year having failed to recruit enough students.

But Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt (below right) appeared to be keeping faith with UTCs, telling FE Week sister publication Academies Week today that he wanted “ considerable growth” in their numbers.

However, he stopped short of the recommendation in June’s review for the Labour Party by Lord Adonis, called Mending the fractured economy: Smarter state, better jobs, in which the Labour peer outlined how he wanted 100 more UTCs by 2020.

Mr Hunt told Academies Week at the CBI Education Conference: “There should be considerable growth in UTCs but I won’t put a figure on it.”

However, the future of the Central Bedfordshire UTC could be in the balance following the poor monitoring report because the Department for Education said after the initial inspection that, “if Ofsted continues to judge the UTC to be inadequate, then we will not hesitate to take swift action, which could lead to terminating the UTC’s funding agreement.”

The monitoring visit report said: “The [improvement] plan lacks precise detail about what specific actions are to be taken and what the support is intended to be in order to raise standards in the college.

“There are also some missed opportunities to measure the success of the actions you plan to take, so that members of the governing body can check at regular intervals whether you are on track to achieve your targets.”

It warned that “a more rigorous improvement plan, which covers a longer timescale, should be in place and applied for the start of term in September 2014, once the new sponsorship of the college begins”.

Mr Pryce said: “Since Bedford College became sponsors of the UTC over the summer, we have appointed a new head, new senior team, strengthened the teaching team, revised the curriculum and invested in new facilities including the library.

“The Ofsted visit also took place before the summer exam results came out and these included excellent pass rates in engineering courses and improved A-level results.”

No one from the college was available to comment on whether a second UTC action plan had been produced, replacing the one criticised by Ofsted.

Councils are failing to track the status of learners in FE colleges and other training providers, a senior Ofsted director will claim in a speech to the sector tomorrow (Wednesday, September 10).

Ofsted’s director of FE and skills Lorna Fitzjohn will demand legal powers for councils to enable them to force colleges and other FE providers to report on the status of their learners.

She will also use the event, Ofsted’s annual FE and skills lecture, to publish the findings of the watchdog’s survey report into the government’s 16 to 19 study programmes.

In her speech, Ms Fitzjohn will say that while councils have a duty to collect data from schools, colleges and FE providers, they have no power to enforce it, making it nearly impossible for Ofsted to know the true number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet).

She will recommend giving councils legal powers to require providers to record and report on the status of their learners.

She will say: “All education providers need to implement the principals of the 16 to 19 study programmes and senior leaders made accountable for this. Learners must also be given access to impartial careers advice which gives them a clear idea of the paths available to them.”

Ms Fitzjohn will also call for the government to widen its focus away from reducing the number of young people not in education, employment and training (Neet).

She is expected to say will say that, a year on from the launch of study programmes, “much more is to be done to ensure a secure future for all those at 16 and beyond”.

She will add: “Much of the focus in tackling the number of young people classed as Neet has been on the 16 to 18 age group, however, this focus is too narrow and does not capture the full extent to which young people are falling through the cracks.

“If we look at the 16 to 24 age group then the number of young people not in education, training or working full-time rises to 1.18 million. 955,000 of these young people would fall into the Neet category. This age group is at risk of becoming the ‘new NEETs’.

“One initiative set up by the government to tackle this are the ambitious 16 to 19 study programmes.  This aims to make sure providers give learners a tailored course that benefits their aspirations, offer beneficial work experience placements and ensuring all learners have achieved GCSEs in English and mathematics at grade C or above.

“In conjunction with increasing the education and training participation age to 17, and next year to 18, the scheme looks to equip learners with the extra skills and experience they need to achieve their career aims.”

Ms Fitzjohn will also state that many local authorities are failing to track the progress of learners in their area, with the destinations of 40,000 16 to 17-year-olds currently unknown.