A provider that plummeted straight from Ofsted outstanding nearly a decade ago to inadequate escaped a visit from inspectors until this year despite recording success rates more than 10 percentage points below the national average in 2010/11, FE Week can reveal.

London-based Chelmer Training was given the grade four overall rating this month and was also hit with inadequate scores for every other single judgement.

The result, which comes eight years after its last inspection resulted in a grade one result, has seen the Department for Education (DfE) “take steps to withdraw Chelmer Training’s contract”.

However, FE Week has uncovered worrying evidence suggesting an inspection from Ofsted — which claims to have a “clear moderation process to identify where standards are slipping” — should have taken place three years ago.

Chelmer, which has around 130 learners all aged 16 to 18 and on study programmes, recorded success rates of 54.1 per cent in 2010/11 — the equivalent national figure for the year was 65.1 per cent.

The Ofsted FE and skills inspection handbook outlines how providers, even rated outstanding for overall effectiveness, would usually have another full inspection if there were concerns over performance or standards were dropping.

However, alarm bells might also have been ringing due to Chelmer’s growth, having quadrupled in size from the time of the 2006 inspection and 45 learners, to more than 200 learners for 2010/11.

Ofsted declined to comment on why Chelmer was not inspected until this year in light of the 2010/11 success rates, and growth, but insisted it acted where concerns were identified.

A spokesperson for the education watchdog said: “In order to effectively raise standards in the FE sector, Ofsted prioritises inspections of providers rated ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’. Providers deemed ‘outstanding’ are not regularly re-inspected.

“Ofsted also has in place a clear moderation process to identify where standards are slipping. If concerns about a provider are identified we will take quick action to inspect their performance, regardless of their previous inspection rating. We will only take action to re-inspect an outstanding provider where there is a clear basis to do so.

“In the case of Chelmer Training Ltd, concerns about performance were identified and we swiftly inspected the provider to asses these concerns. Ofsted deemed provision for the study programmes to be ‘inadequate’.”

Ofsted inspectors, who visited Chelmer around the end of June, looked at the quality of the provider’s teaching, learning and assessment for its study programme offer on employability training, and hairdressing and beauty therapy.

They were both judged inadequate, as was the effectiveness of leadership and management, despite inspectors reporting that, “leaders have established a stable team that is now in place after a period of considerable change in staffing.”

But the report on Chelmer, which has centres in Romford and Chelmsford, Essex, also said: “The proportion of learners who achieve their qualifications and successfully complete their courses is too low, particularly in English and mathematics. Not enough learners progress to further study or employment.”

It added: “The provider’s evaluation of its provision is insufficiently self-critical and lacks accuracy in its evaluation of performance.

“The leadership team does not evaluate sufficiently the limited number of actions in the quality improvement plan in order to assess their impact during the year. As a result, leaders and managers do not have a sufficiently clear picture of how much progress they are making in rectifying weaknesses.”

A DfE spokesperson told FE Week: “Following their recent Ofsted inspection, we have taken steps to withdraw Chelmer Training’s contract. Chelmer Training will ensure that all current learners complete their courses as planned and any further student recruitment has been frozen.

“We are working closely with the London Borough of Havering and Essex County Council to make sure that any gaps in provision created by the wind-down of Chelmer Training’s contract are filled by high-quality alternatives.“

Chelmer declined to comment.

A major recruitment agency has stopped re-selling courses run by troubled Rotherham-based provider My Distance Learning College (MDLC) amid concerns over the certification of more than 30,000 paying learners.

NCFE stopped certificating MDLC claiming it had around £20,000 of “outstanding invoices owing,” while the Cache (Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education) awarding organisation (AO) has also withdrawn approved status because, it claimed, the provider had been re-selling its qualifications through other firms without permission.

Both claims were disputed by MDLC director Joshua Cole (pictured right), who said the certificates of 32,000 learners had been put at risk. But now recruitment agency Reed, which had been re-selling for MDLC for the past year, has told FE Week it had removed the provider’s courses from its website.

A spokesperson for Reed said: “We partner with a number of training providers to offer the widest choice of qualifications, some of whose courses we sell on their behalf directly to our customers.’

“However, in light of issues currently ongoing between MDLC and a number of AOs, reed.co.uk has suspended sales and advertising activity relating to courses provided by MDLC or any associated organisation.

“We understand that some students may be concerned about their certification. We will maintain close contact with MDLC to ensure students who we have referred to MDLC are receiving the appropriate level of support.”

Courses re-sold on reed.co.uk until Friday (August 22) included one for a level three human resources qualification, which it said was “NCFE-approved,” for an undisclosed fee.

The AO was listed as Focus Awards, which was launched three years ago and counts MDLC’s Mr Cole as chief executive and director. But a message on the Reed website stated today that the course was “no longer available”.

And a number of MDLC courses that had been re-sold on amazon.co.uk, including a level three teaching assistant course which cost £99 and had been certificated by NCFE, now also display the message “Not available”.

But others certificated by Focus Awards, including an online certified higher level teaching assistant course costing £99, were still on offer.

Focus Awards is registered with Ofqual, but a spokesperson for the qualifications watchdog said the AO was not currently running any officially recognised qualifications, although “they do have some qualifications currently going through the accreditation process”. She added that Ofqual was aware of the dispute between MDLC and NCFE and would “continue to monitor the situation closely”.

When asked if there was a potential conflict of interest over Mr Cole’s dual roles at MDLC and Focus Awards, she said: “All recognised awarding organisations are required to meet our conditions of recognition, which includes the appropriate management of any possible conflicts of interest. Any awarding organisation that does not adhere to those conditions will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.”

She added no investigation had been launched by Ofqual into MDLC and Focus Awards.

Mr Cole said: “We are not aware of any decision by Reed to stop working with MDLC. We are continuing to deliver an exemplary service to all our corporate partners and will continue to do so.

“I would like to make it absolutely clear that the Focus Awards accredits bespoke non-regulated courses for MDLC. We make it absolutely clear online and in our advertising that these courses are non-regulated and are bespoke courses for learners to undertake.”

An MDLC spokesperson said: “With regards to Amazon – any deals that appear to be inactive are simply deals that have ended.”

A Cache spokesperson said: “We have not authorised MDLC to engage in the so-called ‘re-selling’ of our courses and they might be breaking the law by doing so.”.

An NCFE spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, until this situation is resolved NCFE will be unable to provide external quality assurance visits and certification to MDLC and its learners.”

No one from Amazon was available for comment.

The government has been warned by FE sector leaders against making “simplistic decisions” that could limit funding to qualifications for a specific occupation — after it identified 174 qualifications in this category.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) yesterday listed 174 qualifications, at level two and above, facing the public spending axe unless the government is convinced otherwise through a consultation with colleges, independent learning providers, employers, learners and awarding organisations.

It came after the SFA identified 1,477 Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) level two to four qualifications in January which it said would not be approved for 2014/15 funding.

A report accompanying the latest list of threatened qualifications said the government only planned to fund those that “support meaningful outcomes in terms of enabling entry to an apprenticeship or other work, progression through work, or progression to the next level of learning”.

It also questioned the need for Level 2 QCF units that focus on more general skills — for example preparing CVs.

The report stated: “Where a [Level 2] qualification focuses on the skills needed to research and apply for jobs, we do not intend to continue including it within the publicly funded offer.”

Learners will only be able to start on courses for the 174 qualifications up to the end of February, unless the government decides to retain any of them.

Courses facing the axe include a Pearson BTec level two diploma in WorkSkills.

But questions were asked as to whether this would simply force providers to register learners for equivalent lower-level courses (for example Pearson offers a similar BTec level one diploma in WorkSkills).

Lynne Sedgmore, chief executive of the 157 Group, said: “We are concerned at the increasing suggestion that funding should only be directed to qualifications which lead to a specific occupation.

“What we know about the labour market in the 21^st century is that people will have many jobs and will need a very broad base of skills in order to manage their own careers.

“The increased focus of much vocational qualification reform on preparing people for specific occupations seems at odds with that.

“The fact that no-one questions which specific occupation individual A-levels might prepare people for suggestions that we risk creating an unequal funding situation between those on an academic pathway and those studying vocational programmes.”

Dr Fiona Aldridge, assistant director for development and research at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, said: “Deciding whether the courses under consideration will achieve the purpose outlined by the government will not be an easy task and we must avoid simplistic decisions.

“Before any qualifications are cut from public funding, it is vital that we have a full understanding of their value to a range of stakeholders.

“That is why we are pleased that the consultation will listen to the views of learners.”

But Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “We welcome the fact that the SFA will be involving all of the key groups in the review of these qualifications, including training providers.

“I am sure that qualifications which are being used effectively will remain fundable as part of this review.”

A spokesperson for Pearson said: “Three of the 174 qualifications identified by the SFA are owned by Pearson. We will therefore be contributing to their discussions with stakeholders, as part of this review. We will also be seeking to explore how we can continue to help students develop the broader employability skills necessary to succeed once they’ve left education”.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is looking for a general FE college to step in after a major private provider pulled out early from London’s £17m prison education contract, FE Week can reveal.

In the latest example of a college taking on provision where the private sector has waked away from a multimillion pound Skills Funding Agency contract, welfare-to-work provider A4e has given notice it was terminating its Offender Learning and Skills Service (Olass) contract for a dozen London prisons — although it would continue providing the service until an alternative provider was found.

It had won London’s Olass4 contract in August 2012 and had been expected to deliver the training until July 2016. It had won the work with Kensington and Chelsea College having delivered all three of London’s previous prison education contracts since the Olass system was first rolled out across the country in 2006.

An A4e spokesperson said: “Over the last two years, delivering the service in London has become extremely challenging due to a number of constraints beyond our control and which could not have been anticipated when the contract was let. These have had a heavy impact on learner attendance, completion and achievements.

“We have concluded, in order not to continue to deliver the contract at a loss, to give notice to terminate our provision of Olass 4 in London.”

It comes just over a year after Newcastle College Group’s Intraining division took on the apprenticeship contract for supermarket giant Morrison from Elmfield, which later went into administration, and nearly two years after West Nottinghamshire College saved more than 100 jobs when it took on apprenticeship providers Pearson in Practice. And Newcastle College struck a similar deal in March 2008 when it acquired Carter and Carter.

An SFA spokesperson told FE Week that it was looking to return London’s prison education to a general FE college provider. She said that the three other providers to have won Olass4 — the Manchester College, Milton Keynes College and Weston College — had been invited to “express an interest” in taking on the A4E work.

She said: “We have invited providers who were awarded contracts through the original Olass4 open and competitive tendering process to express an interest in delivering the service in London.

“Following this stage we carried out an assessment of the capability and capacity of those organisations to take-up this contract and discussions are now under way to secure ongoing provision.

“We expect to announce which successor organisation will be awarded the London Olass contract in good time for handover of responsibility by December.”

She added no other providers would be invited to submit bids.

And it looks like Manchester College could be getting the contract with Weston and Milton Keynes appearing to have distanced themselves from the opportunity.

Dr Paul Phillips, principal at Weston College which provides prison education in the South West England, indicated to FE Week that he would not be pursuing the contract.

He said: “It would be our intention to expand our offender learning portfolio in the future rather than now.”

A spokesperson for Milton Keynes College, which holds the South Central and East Midlands Olass4 contracts, said it would “not be pursuing the contract at this time”.

The Manchester College, which holds the North East, North West, Kent and Sussex, and Yorkshire and Humberside Olass4 contracts, declined to comment.

The A4E spokesperson said that transfer of undertakings protection of employment (TUPE) rules were expected to apply to its 400 teaching and support staff in London, adding that the company would continue to run its Olass4 contract for 14 prisons in the East of England.

Rod Clark, Prisoners’ Education Trust chief executive, said: “The delivery of education for prisoners across the country is being seriously affected by overcrowding and staff shortages which are leaving people locked-up for longer, so they can’t get to class and providers struggle to meet their [payment] targets. It may be that this latest decision by A4e to stop working in London’s prisons is a result of these problems.”