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Study programmes

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Study programmes have had more than a year to bed down now and so it’s a fair time to reflect on what effect they’re having on the FE and skills sector.

While a work experience element is included in the study programme ‘package,’ the most notable component is that of the requirement for learners to achieve English and maths qualifications.

A huge leap in the amount of teaching was always going to be required with providers’ funding dependent on this provision where a learner has not achieved his or her GCSE grade C in the subjects.

And so efforts to meet this demand are covered in our first news item on the page opposite, where there is an update from the Education Funding Agency on its review of planned hours, announced nearly five months ago.

On page 4 there is a more in-depth explanation of study programmes, before the architect of the system herself, Professor Alison Wolf, outlines her view of their progress.

North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and South Leicestershire College principal Marion Plant and National Hairdressers’ Federation chief executive Hilary Hall discuss the impact of study programmes on page 5, before the Ofsted review of last month is covered on the following page.

An exclusive Q&A session with Skills Minister Nick Boles just months into his ministerial tenure features on page 7.

The learner view of study programmes from National Union of Students president Toni Pearce is on page 10, along with an explanation of how the maths element is being handled by providers from Steve McCormack, communications manager at the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM).

With such a monumental change in education policy, where funding shifted from per-qualification to per-learner, there were bound to be knock-on effects — or unintended consequences. These are the focus of page 11.

An exclusive FE Week survey shows how the sector is coping ‘on the ground’ with study programmes, and the results feature on pages 12, 13 and 14, before the work experience element of the system is discussed on page 15 by Fairtrain chief executive Beth Gardner and UK Commission for Employment and Skills senior manager David Massey.

Lambeth strike vote shelved to consider ‘new offer’

A ballot that could have led to renewed industrial action at Lambeth College has been suspended to allow union members to consider a “new” offer, FE Week can reveal.

University and College Union (UCU) members walked out for five weeks from June 3 in a dispute over new staff contracts introduced on April 1, which the UCU said would leave staff with longer working hours, less sick pay and less annual leave.

The UCU opened a ballot on September 22 on whether to launch a new strike ahead of scheduled talks between college and union leaders on October 6.

But a UCU spokesperson said the ballot, which was supposed to close on Monday (October 13), was suspended on Friday (October 10) to allow for consideration of offers made during the October 6 meeting by college management.

He said: “The ballot at Lambeth was suspended following the improved offer by the college management. Members are now being consulted over that new offer and the consultation finishes on Wednesday [October 22].”

A college spokesperson said it had offered a guarantee that staff taken on before April 1 would stay on the original contract until at least September 2017.

Alternatively, existing staff could accept a £1,500 “cash incentive” to transfer to the new contract by September 2016.

The spokesperson said both options would be dependent on staff agreeing to work an extra hour per week from September — increasing their overall annual working hours from 828 to 864.

Mark-Silverman,-Lambeth-web

The UCU spokesperson said members would now vote on whether “they wanted to accept one of the two options or reject both”.

There could be another ballot for strike action if both offers were rejected.

Principal Mark Silverman (pictured) said: “I remain hopeful that UCU members, the majority of whom understand and support the changes that have transformed this college since 2012, will accept our propositions and that we can bring a swift and decisive end to the dispute.”

Meanwhile, the UCU’s FE committee was set to meet on Friday as FE Week went to press to decide how to respond to a court ruling that stopped it launching a national strike.

The protest, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday (October 14), was called off after the High Court handed down an injunction the day before barring industrial action.

Members were due to walk out over an ongoing row over pay, but the AoC challenged the UCU over the validity of a ballot of members.

Marc Whitworth, acting director of employment services at AoC, said: “Strike action relying on an old ballot was prevented, which meant colleges and their students could go about their day-to-day business as normal.”

The UCU spokesperson said: “We were disappointed the AoC decided to make a late dash to the High Court to overturn the ballot rather than deal with members’ concerns over pay.”

Trial over a4e seven accused of fraud offences under way

The trial of seven people charged with fraud-related offences after allegedly ripping off the taxpayer at welfare-to-work provider A4e is under way at Reading Crown Court.

Ex-A4e recruiters Hayley Faye Wilson, Matthew Hannigan-Train, Sarah Hawkins, Serge Wyett, Yasmin Ahmad and former account managers Ines Cano-Uribe and Zabar Mehmood Khalil all pleaded not guilty when the trial opened on Monday, October 6.

The case followed a police investigation into financial rewards claimed for helping the unemployed into work through the European Social Fund (ESF) ‘Aspire to Inspire’ Lone Parent mentoring programme, which ended in July 2011.

It is alleged that they “made false instruments” — forged documentation to support fraudulent claims for rewards for work with learners who had not found work or did not exist over a period of four years until February last year.

Wilson, aged 26, of Milton Keynes, Cano-Uribe, 38, of Madrid, Hannigan-Train, 30, of Bristol, Hawkins, 32, of Bagshot, Surrey, and Wyett, 40, of Richmond, are all charged with conspiracy to make false instruments.

Cano-Uribe and Khalil, 35, of Slough, are jointly charged with making false instruments but separately face further charges — Khalil is charged with a further three counts of making false instruments, while Cano-Uribe faces one more of the same charge.

Yasmin Ahmad, 40, of Colchester, faces charges of making false instruments and making articles for use in fraud.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Under the terms of the contract, payments were made when the scheme successfully placed individuals in employment.

“It is alleged that many of the reward payments related either to people who never attended A4e or to clients whom A4e had not successfully placed in employment. The contract was to deliver motivation and training and to assist people to find employment.”

Andrew Dutton, A4e chief executive, said: “A4e co-operated fully with the police enquiry, after our own internal investigation first brought these alleged incidents to light.

“Since these alleged events took place, we have augmented our controls and processes to seek to ensure that nothing like this could ever happen again.

“Furthermore, rigorous audits undertaken by the Department for Work and Pensions [DWP] and the Skills Funding Agency have concluded that there is no evidence of fraud on any of the contracts that we hold with them.

“A4e has, of course, committed to paying back in full the total value of alleged unsubstantiated claims that were made to the DWP.”

A CPS spokesperson said the case was expected to run for five weeks in total.

All defendants are on unconditional bail.

[Proceeding]

Campus 29

Apprenticeship starts fall by more than 60,000, according to government figures

All-age apprenticeships starts fell by 13 per cent last year according to provisional government data released this morning.

The figures, published in the Statistical First Release (SFR), suggest that the number of people starting apprenticeships has dropped for the second year running.

In 2013/14 the number of apprenticeship starts was provisionally put at 432,400 [click here and view table 18.1], a drop of 62,700 (from 495,100) since the same figures were released for 2012/13 [click here and view table 16.1].

The final figures for 2012/13 showed the first drop in apprenticeship take-up in seven years (from 510,200 to 499,800 — a 2 per cent drop) and if today’s provisional figures are confirmed in the next SFR (due in January), they could prove that this trend is continuing.

The number of under 19-year-olds starting apprenticeships meanwhile, appears to have risen 5 per cent, to 117,800, since last year, but the number of 19 to 24-year-olds fell by 3 per cent, to 156,900, and the number of 24 + apprenticeships tumbled from 222,200 to 157,700 — a drop of 29 per cent.

For more on the SFR, see edition 115 of FE Week, dated Monday, October 20.

Award will help domestic violence survivor train to be a social worker

A dyslexic single mum-of-two who suffered at the hands of an abusive ex-partner before returning to education to pursue her dream of becoming a social worker has won a £1,500 Helena Kennedy Foundation bursary, writes Paul Offord.

ig-hearted Charlotte Davies always feared she was “too stupid” to train to be a social worker.

The experiences of losing her five-month-old sister Nicolette in cot death when she was six years old and domestic violence as a younger woman left her with an instinctive urge to help others.

But the 31-year-old single mum-of-two wrongly assumed for many years that she was not intelligent enough to pursue her dream of becoming a social worker.

It was only after she plucked up the courage to enrol on an access to higher education diploma at City of Bath College in September 2013, which she completed in June, that she was diagnosed with dyslexia and realised that had been the cause of her struggles with studying.

Charlotte has now started a BSc in social work at Wiltshire College and has been awarded £1,500 by the Helena Kennedy Foundation, which helps disadvantaged students who have overcome significant barriers to continue their education.

She said: “Losing my sister gave me a lot of empathy towards bereaved families. My parents responded positively by raising a lot of money for the National Cot Death Society. The help I received from social workers to escape domestic violence also inspired me.”

She added: “When I started at City of Bath College I had very little self-confidence and self-belief, but I’ve achieved things academically that I never even thought were possible.

“I was able to pass level two maths and level three English through the access to higher education course, which allowed me to apply for my degree. It also developed my academic skills, for example with research and essay writing.”

Charlotte was nominated for the award by her Bath City College access to higher education tutor Larissa Perry.

Larissa said: “Charlotte has overcome significant personal and social barriers to restart her education. This is a young woman who has not only turned her own life around but also made it her mission to improve the lives of others.”

Charlotte started working as a care worker for the Action on Hearing Loss in her early 20s.

She helped launched a drama group for local people with special needs, through the charity in 2010, which she still volunteers for.

Charlotte and other local parents also launched a social group for children in her road in Bath, called The Chandler Rangers, in 2012.

She said: “We encourage the children to look after the environment and have respect for elderly people.

“They do gardening at the local community centre and recently won the Bath in Bloom award for creating the best communal garden.

“I also help run a social group for our local elderly people. Our overall aim is to bridge the gap between old and young people in our community. I want our elderly people to feel happy, not frightened, walking down the street if they pass young people.”

Charlotte is managing to balance studying three days a-week with caring for her children Kenzie, aged seven, and Honey, five, working part-time for Action on Hearing Loss and helping out with the community groups.

She said: “It is a tough juggling act but it’s working out well. My son was actually under-achieving in school but going to college helped me to help him more with his maths and English homework.

“He even won an end-of-year prize in June for making the best progress in his class.”

Dr Ann Limb, chair and founder for the Helena Kennedy Foundation, said: “We were delighted to offer Charlotte the bursary, as she is an intelligent, determined and resilient woman.”

Caption from left: Charlotte Davies and City of Bath College principal Matt Atkinson

Footballer King meets students earning their ‘Spurs’

Former Premier League football club captain Ledley King scored with students during a visit to celebrate the third anniversary of a training partnership between Tottenham Hotspur and Waltham Forest College.

The club and college set up a programme three years ago, combining study towards level one, two and three BTec sport and coaching qualifications with football training, for 50 students at risk of drifting away from education and training after leaving school.

That programme has now trebled in size, with nearly 150 students registering from September. Mr King, who played for Tottenham from 1999 to 2012, unveiled a plaque at the college to mark the anniversary and spoke with learners.

The former central defender, who won 21 caps for England, told them: “In my career I saw plenty of good players fall by the wayside because they did not work hard enough. My advice would be to work hard and follow your dream.”

Amy Lewington, aged 18, who is studying on the programme, said: “I was studying A-levels at school but it wasn’t for me. I want to get into coaching and teaching and this course is brilliant.”

Caption from left: Waltham Forest College principal Robin Jones and ex-Spurs captain Ledley King with students on the training programme.

Abbie writes work experience leaflet

n A-level student will have a work experience advice leaflet published on an NHS Trust website after impressing staff during her own placement at a Wigan hospital.

Abbie Gartland, aged 17, who hopes to study medicine at university after completing maths, biology and chemistry A-levels at Wigan-based Winstanley College, completed a week’s work experience at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary hospital shadowing cardiac consultant Dr Sanjay Ayra.

She was asked for her views on the work experience application process during her placement and Dr Ayra was so impressed with her honest feedback that she was asked to produce an online guide.

She said: “My work experience coordinator at Winstanley College helped me to find the placement at Wigan hospital but the application process was quite complicated. I explained this to Dr Ayra at the hospital and we decided it would be useful to have a guide summarising the process for applicants.

“I’m delighted the hospital is going to make use of my work.”

The leaflet, which will soon be published on the by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust website, also explains how students should present themselves for placements and what to expect.

Caption: Abbie Gartland. Above: Royal Albert Edward Infirmary hospital

Cycle security boost

tudents tightened up on cycle security by having their bikes security-marked by visiting police community support officers (PCSOs).

More than 50 student pedal bikes were registered for the national scheme and branded with the police mark, a visible deterrent to bike thieves which makes it easy for officers to trace the rightful owners if they are stolen.

Andrew Charlton, a student liaison officer who organised the session, said: “We are very grateful to the PCSOs who came into college to deliver the bike marking service. There was a very good uptake from students and they were also given some useful information about the steps they can take to stop their bike being stolen.”

South Cheshire College received a ‘Smarter Ways to Travel’ award in September, from Cheshire East Council and the South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, for encouraging sustainable travel among its staff and students. There is a secure bike shelter on its campus and changing facilities for walkers and cyclists.

PCSO Vicky Fearnley, one of the officers who marked-up the bikes, said: “We had a good response from students. Hopefully the sessions have helped raise awareness across the college.”

Caption from left: Student liaison officer Andrew Charlton, IT student James Bonser, aged 17, and Police Community Support Officer Vicky Fearnley