We must avoid devolution’s risks to deliver for communities

This week’s announcement by the deputy prime minister that government plans to transfer more powers from Whitehall to local communities is welcome. The devolution white paper is an opportunity to put adult learning at the heart of local education plans.

Communities understand their own needs best. However, we all know engaging with local levers of power is never easy. Devolution should not just be about the machinery of councils but about empowering active citizens.

Putting community need at the heart of devolution could help to tackle some of our more challenging civic problems, from reinvigorating community activities such as volunteering to countering worrying trends in social division fuelled by disinformation.

To achieve this, resources must be directed to communities so that they can access and embrace devolved powers fully.

Rightly, ministers and mayors are talking about the importance of investing in skills and opportunities for growth. But with the right kind of investment, devolution’s impact could be both braoder and deeper than that.

For example, investment in community adult education is a powerful way to encourage active citizens; it is shown to increase a sense of belonging and raise participation in community activities.

Mayors will be able to choose to use their education budgets to fund courses that deliver these broader outcomes, helping their communities to understand their civic rights and to work towards better cohesion.

Community adult education providers are active across the country, including those which will see devolved powers for the first time. They will be instrumental in shaping this investment effectively, and will no doubt advise that a broad and flexible adult education offer can:

  • support adults into work, including those who are classed as economically inactive
  • enable better-informed and engaged citizens, and tackle the dangers of disinformation
  • improve health and wellbeing
  • create greater community connectedness and reduce isolation
  • tackle deficits in essential skills like literacy, numeracy and digital
  • and build and celebrate a more vibrant and diverse cultural scene.

This wide range of positive impacts will only come if mayors are able and willing to support a wide range of community organisations alongside skills providers and colleges.

The administration of devolution presents a real risk for organisations like ours

To fully understand local and regional need, mayoral and combined authorities should facilitate direct engagement with their local communities through local organisations and the voluntary sector. Indeed, the ‘Civil Society Covenant‘ being developed between the voluntary sector and central government could provide a useful framework for joint working at local and regional levels too.

The white paper will bring additional powers to existing mayors and complete the jigsaw of English regional devolution. As a national charity with hyper-local delivery, we welcome this direction of travel. Trusted organisations like ours already work within communities and stand ready to deliver even more for them.

However, the administration of devolution also presents a real risk for organisations like ours. Unfortunately, even in many areas where we are well established and have been delivering courses for adult learners for decades, the transition to a new devolved funding framework has been problematic. It has even disrupted or reduced support for adult learners in some cases.

For example, some mayoral authorities adopted the location of an organisation’s head office as a proxy for its local credential for funding eligibility. Others limit their skills budget to courses designed to progress people into work, leaving out equally valuable courses that promote wellbeing or community connections. As a result, well-established provision has already ended in some areas.

As a public body and a charity, the WEA is eligible for all the same grant programmes (and is subject to all the same regulatory frameworks) as, say, a local college. Yet on several occasions new authorities have defined the WEA as out-of-scope for funding through misunderstanding of our status and local track record.

It is crucial, therefore, that new local and regional leaders recognise the needs of their communities and understand the nature of the trusted organisations already active in their areas.

We must ensure a smooth transition to this devolved settlement so that adult education remains truly within reach. That’s why we want to see the minister for housing, communities and local government introduce a duty on new and expanding regional authorities to undertake full risk assessments and to publish a full rationale for their decisions in the intriduction of new funding frameworks.

This will reduce the risk of errors in classification of existing providers, ensure a level of continuity which is especially important in communities with low infrastructure, and align new funding more clearly with the needs of local people.

Teacher misconduct laws extended to FE colleges and providers

Lifetime bans for serious misconduct have been extended to teachers in FE colleges and independent training providers through legislation laid in Parliament today.

The previous government said it would apply Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) powers to the sector “when a suitable legislative opportunity becomes available” in 2022 before dropping its planned schools bill later that year.

A new children’s wellbeing and schools bill, first announced during July’s King’s speech, was introduced this afternoon and placed the FE sector in scope of misconduct rules if a provider teaches students aged under 19.

Notes for the bill state: “Increasing numbers of young people aged under 19 years now receive their education in a more diverse range of settings, such as further education institutions, and independent educational institutions or by online education providers, and clause 39(2)(b) would list these education settings as settings that would be subject to the teacher misconduct regime.

“This clause would extend the scope of the teacher misconduct regime so that, in future, a prohibited teacher would not be able to teach young people under the age of 19 in any of the settings listed.”

Teacher misconduct powers have also been extended so that the education secretary can investigate “a person who has at any time been employed or engaged to undertake teaching work (a teacher)”.

The children’s wellbeing and schools bill states: “It was always intended that the regime should capture individuals who have committed serious misconduct even when they were not employed or engaged in teaching work but who may try to return to the classroom, but current interpretation of the legislation only permits the secretary of state to consider misconduct while the person is undertaking teaching work. 

“The bill proposes to broaden the scope of the regime to include persons who commit misconduct when not employed as a teacher, but who have at any time carried out teaching work; to broaden the scope of the regime to include a wider range of education settings; and to enable the secretary of state to consider referrals of serious teacher misconduct regardless of how the matter comes to her attention. 

“These clarify that the secretary of state is able to consider a referral of those who have previously taught and who commit serious misconduct whilst not in teaching, ensuring that they can be prevented from returning to the classroom.”

Under the touted plans, FE colleges, special post-16 institutions and independent training providers will have a legal duty to decide whether to refer cases of serious misconduct for the TRA to investigate. The TRA has powers to issue prohibition orders – preventing someone from working in teaching. 

Only cases of serious misconduct can be referred to the TRA. This is broadly defined as “unacceptable professional conduct”, “conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute” or “conviction, at any time, of a relevant offence”. 

Once the TRA receives a referral, a professional conduct panel is formed which makes a recommendation on whether or not to issue a prohibition order. This would ban the individual from carrying out teaching work, usually for life. Their name would also appear on the “prohibited list” for employers, local authorities and teacher supply agencies to be able to check. 

Outcomes of the TRA’s misconduct panels are made public, even when no prohibition order is made.

Bailout saves WCG from going insolvent next month

A West Midlands college group has received a last-minute government bailout to avoid being declared “insolvent” next month.

Today, the Department for Education (DfE) published Further Education Commissioner (FEC) Shelagh Legrave’s ‘intervention assessment summary report’ into a financial crisis at Warwickshire College Group (WCG).

The report, signed off by Legrave in October, reveals that the college wanted government bailout loans totalling £4.7 million.

This included a £1.7 million emergency loan for “working capital” and clawbacks demanded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

WCG also asked the government to refinance a £3 million loan owed to Lloyds bank, with a three year “repayment holiday” until 2027.

In a letter published alongside the report, skills minister Jacqui Smith said the DfE has approved a “financial support package” for the college.

‘Increasingly concerned’

The FEC report tells a story of a college group that struggled with strategic direction as it approached the financial brink.

Its focus on repaying debts by relying on income surpluses and selling assets left it “financially vulnerable” with cash due to “run out” in January 2025.

WCG approached the FEC in May after the chair and governors became “increasingly concerned” about what the college group would need to do to remain “financially solvent”.

In July, the college group had £1.2 million in unrestricted cash – enough to last eight days.

Staff costs were “significantly above budget” in that academic year, with £2 million in agency costs that were “insufficiently challenged” by senior management.

The ESFA also demanded a clawback of an estimated £1.4 million from apprenticeship and 16 to 19 funding claims from 2023-24, with audits “likely to go back further years”.

In a recent interview with FE Week, Legrave said the college’s financial strategy was “interesting” and “wouldn’t be one that I would have followed”.

Board lacked ‘clarity’

Board members responsible for challenging college leadership said information given to them “lacked sufficient clarity”, resulting in “limited strategic discussion”.

A staff survey in June suggested that 40 per cent of staff had “no trust” in college leadership.

Budgeting was “done late” and agreed by senior managers with “limited consultation and engagement with middle management”.

However, the commissioner praised the college’s new principal’s “positive, joined up approach to leadership and governance”.

The college group is currently run by CEO and principal Sara-Jane Watkins, who took on the job in September. The college was run by Peter Husband for an interim period after Angela Joyce left to lead Capital City College Group in January 2024.

It has also recruited a new chief financial officer, turnaround director Robert Griffiths and four new board members have been recruited to “strengthen” governance.

Recommendations from the FEC include developing a ‘single improvement plan’ covering three to five years, refreshing its holistic strategic plan, reviewing its curriculum and agreeing performance indicators to monitor progress ahead of an ‘intervention assessment stocktake in March next year.

WCG hopes to receive £1.4 million from the sale of its Malvern Hills campus after fighting a high court battle with the local council.

It also plans to sell part of its Evesham campus which is “assumed to be surplus to requirements”.

Challenges ‘not insurmountable’

Sara-Jane Watkins, WCG’s CEO and Principal said “The intervention report has highlighted some important areas where we need to improve, but we are already seeing positive steps towards change. 

“We view this intervention as an opportunity to reset our strategic plan and re-establish our ambitions for a stronger, more sustainable future.

“The challenges identified in the report are not insurmountable – they are stepping stones to refining our vision, strengthening our approach, and aligning our resources to meet the needs of our students, staff, and local communities.”

She added that securing the loan from the government demonstrates that the college is on the “right track”.

A spokesperson for the college did not respond when asked the total value of the loan.

The college group is responsible for about 13,000 students, including more than 2,000 apprentices, and has 1,300 staff across six colleges in Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

It’s made up of Evesham New College, Warwick Trident College, Rugby College, Royal Leamington Spa College, Moreton Morrell College and Pershore College.

Local MP for Warwick and Leamington Matt Western said: “I was deeply concerned to learn of the financial difficulties that the group are facing but I thoroughly welcome the involvement of the FE Commissioner and the financial support package to protect learners.  

“It is of the utmost importance that those learning at the group are not impacted by this financial situation.” 

We must secure another 10 years of progress on literacy and numeracy

Just over a decade ago, the OECD’s survey of adult skills delivered a shocking wake-up call about the state of literacy and numeracy among young people in England. The findings painted a grim picture: our young adults ranked among the worst in these critical skills and we were the only country where older adults outperformed the younger generation. The report generated headlines in national news outlets that spoke of an ‘education crisis’

Last week, the results from the latest version of that survey revealed a major turnaround. Now, our young people perform better than the global average in both literacy and numeracy. Not only are we no longer an international outlier due to underperformance, but we’re one of only three countries in the study where the literacy skills of young people have improved in the past decade.

There wasn’t much by way of media coverage this time around. Nevertheless, this warrants both celebration and reflection on the education policies that have contributed to this transformation.

For one, the young adults who took part in this survey would have benefitted from the focus on driving up literacy and numeracy in schools across consecutive governments.

For another, over the past decade, the condition of funding policy has ensured that all young people who fall behind in English or maths at age 16 are given the opportunity to continue to build their literacy and numeracy skills in 16-19 education.

Whereas previous generations would typically stop studying these subjects, all the young adults in this latest survey who did not hold a standard pass in GCSE English and maths will have fallen under this policy change.

In fact, the improvement among young people in this survey shouldn’t be surprising. Similar improvements are evident in our national datasets.

Since the introduction of the condition of funding, there has been a 94-per cent increase in those achieving a standard pass at GCSE English and maths in 16-19 education. The number of young people in England who hold a level 2 English or maths qualifications by the age of 19 is now the highest it has ever been, just shy of 80 per cent.

Crucially, the sector has also demonstrated its potential to narrow the attainment gap. As of 2022/23, more young people from low-income backgrounds achieve a standard pass in GCSE English and maths in 16-19 education than their wealthier peers, leading to a slight narrowing of the gap by age 19.

Currently, this is the only part of our education system where a narrowing of the gap occurs. This is a testament to the dedication and efforts of teachers in the further education sector, as well as to the importance of policies that create opportunities for lifelong learning.

The findings from the OECD survey are not wholly positive. As the report’s researchers, the NFER have highlighted, there has been less improvement in the literacy and numeracy skills among the adult population generally.

Around one in five adults in England still have low proficiency in literacy or numeracy (or both), amounting to 8.5 million working-age adults. More focus and better investment in adult learning opportunities are crucial if this is to be resolved.

Moreover, there is still much more to do to improve literacy and numeracy skills among young people. International counterparts like the Netherlands show us that it is possible to have an education system where fewer than 10 per cent of 19-year-olds are without the equivalent level 2 qualifications in English and maths.

Significantly, the new government has committed to driving up standards in the foundations of reading, writing and maths.

If this commitment extends to those aged over 16, then in another 10 years’ time we will hopefully be looking back and reflecting on the remarkable transformation of education and skills in this country, not just for young people, but across the system more widely.

The importance of governors in setting the tone for a college

Early on in my chair career, the principal of Kensington and Chelsea College said to me that I “set the tone”. We were working through some difficult times together, absorbing justified local anger following the Grenfell tragedy. I didn’t really know what he meant at the time, but decided the best thing to do was to take it as a compliment!

I now see “tone” as the mood music setting up the great symphony that is a strong and positive organisational culture. I believe tone is quite strongly anchored in modelling behaviours and setting standards as a governor.

How do you talk to students and members of staff beyond the executive leadership team? Are you seen as an active listener? Are you prepared to challenge a board colleague who makes a casual but inappropriate remark either in or out of a board meeting?

Setting the tone can also be about softer cues like how you dress. A governor wearing a suit and tie might briefly attract the attention of college staff in a college building, especially if that governor doesn’t regularly wear a suit and tie. Staff might briefly wonder what’s going on in their college that day that a governor is dressing formally.

At Croydon College, we are well on our way to striking up our own grand symphony, in south London and more widely. We have focused hard on quality and on teaching and learning, and were delighted with our recent Ofsted ‘Good’ judgment – an excellent platform for our ambitious new strategic plan. This will all help to positively define our organisational culture.

Culture is famously the subject of hundreds of different definitions in academic literature. But we can be pragmatic about it. Critically for our sector, I see it as meaning that all staff including the executive team and governors understand and support what the organisation is trying to achieve.

This cannot happen unless the board and executive team work closely and productively together.

In many or even most organisations, however, wider staff might have only a general or limited understanding of the role of the board. Similarly, boards – no matter how much governors ‘take part in the life of the college’ – can only have a certain perspective on the organisation’s culture.

This is one of the ways you find yourself really enjoying the job

This means that governors must rely on insight and inputs from staff and the executive team in areas such as EDI and measures of staff morale to take an active part in helping shape and then monitor organisational culture.

It is also true that organisational culture will always substantially be shaped by the chief executive’s leadership. Therefore, how the board appraises and rewards the chief executive through its remuneration committee can also greatly influence the culture of your college.

And of course there is no point pretending that achieving or maintaining a great college culture is easy. Strategy alone can be hugely challenging, and as the famous saying goes, culture eats strategy for breakfast!

This is where setting the tone comes in. Relative to culture, tone is easy. Tone is entirely down to you. It’s individual, it can be authentic if you wish it to be. It can convey rigour as well as humour, and it’s a simple way to communicate standards and professionalism.

In fact, setting the tone should be one of the ways you find yourself really enjoying the job!

It can be sa apparently trivial as putting a bowl of fruit (or strictly one colour smarties) on the table for a board meeting. Or it can be as conspicuously important as defending your college and principal in the middle of a public challenge from an angry local authority chief executive.

Whatever the circumstance, the tone you set as chair in your college is a window that people look through to confirm their impression of the organisation’s culture.

All these notes – little and large – are what adds up to that symphony in the end. It’s important not to sound the wrong ones!

‘Herculean team effort’ lands top Ofsted marks for Suffolk college

A college in Suffolk that has a “strong vision to promote social mobility” has been judged ‘outstanding’ across the board.

Ofsted gave top marks to West Suffolk College in a report published today, praising leaders for “actively seek[ing] to work with the most disadvantaged individuals and groups to ensure nobody is left behind”.

The Bury St Edmunds-based college, which serves over 8,000 students, was praised for “transforming” the lives of “very many adults”. Inspectors said: “Not only do most of them achieve their qualifications, but they also develop their personal and social skills rapidly and securely.”

Students with high needs also “lead their lives with far greater independence and gain valuable new skills which support them into employment or further education and training”.

Nikos Savvas, CEO of Eastern Education Group, which West Suffolk College is part of, said: “I am so glad that Ofsted has recognised what I see every day. An amazing, talented, hardworking, selfless, and dedicated group of professionals, who transform our students’ lives for the better, day in day out.  

“Ofsted commented that in every conversation, every classroom, and every interaction they had, they saw leaders ambitious for their students, their college, and their community.”

Today’s report is an upgrade from the ‘good’ judgment the college last achieved in 2016.

Inspectors found the college makes a “strong” contribution to meeting skills needs, with leaders “carefully aligning” their priorities with those of the areas local skills improvement plan (LSIP).

Many students and apprentices join the college with “low aspirations, negative experiences of education and often highly challenging personal backgrounds”. Ofsted said they make “exceptional progress” in developing resilience, positive behaviours and confidence. 

As a result of their time at college, they become “highly ambitious and positive about their next steps and aspire to be the best they can be”.

The report further praised the college, which has several sites across East Anglia, for providing “state-of-the-art, industry-standard resources”, enabling students to “develop the skills they need to be highly confident and successful in the professional setting”.

SEND students feel “valued and respected” and achieve “even better than their peers”, according to report, with performing arts students with high needs, for example, receiving unconditional offers to study at highly prestigious drama institutions.

Governors were also commended for having a “broad and relevant skill set” that they use to support leaders “very effectively”. 

Savvas said the feat marks a unique treble achievement the Eastern Education Group, which operates two other ‘outstanding’ colleges in the region: One Sixth Form College and Abbeygate Sixth Form College.

“We believe that we are the only college group in the country to have undergone three inspections across three different locations in just under three years — and achieved three outstanding results.  It is a credit to everyone who works for Eastern Education Group,” he said.

Chair of governors, Elton D’Souza, said: “This fantastic result is the culmination of a herculean team effort by students, staff, and our partners working together.”

Why 16-19 education is a critical piece of the curriculum and assessment review puzzle 

When Professor Becky Francis presents her findings from the curriculum and assessment review next year, the media and commentators are likely to focus on their implications for school-aged children taking GCSEs and A levels.

However, it is crucial that the needs of 16- to 19-year-olds taking vocational and technical qualifications are not lost. Overlooking this critical phase risks neglecting a key part of the puzzle. 

The choices students make about their post-16 steps are shaped by their earlier experiences. A school curriculum that is overly narrow or focused solely on academic options risks closing off minds, as well as opportunity.  

While academic qualifications like A Levels, vocational qualifications like BTECs and technical qualifications like T Levels differ in content and structure, they share a common goal: to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and experiences to succeed in further education and the workforce.

And yet these routes are not currently valued or understood equally. The review must address this disparity, ensuring every pathway is seen as a viable, high-quality option, not just for students heading to university but also for those pursuing higher vocational or technical education, apprenticeships or direct employment. 

It is welcome that one of the review’s core aims is ensuring our young people are ready for a changing workplace. For this to truly succeed, the review must be part of a joined-up approach to policy development across Whitehall.  

Sir Keir Starmer’s mission-led approach to government aims to challenge siloed government departments – and the skills agenda is a central component here. The recent industrial strategy green paper underscored the critical importance of equipping people with skills for emerging sectors like digital, green technology and advanced manufacturing.

However, these ambitions risk stalling unless we provide the whole further education system – encompassing colleges, sixth forms and training providers – with the support and resources they need to thrive.

This will define young people’s futures and the strength of our economy

As an example, accelerating engineering as part of the UK economy will require 41,000 skilled engineers. This needs to be reflected in the curriculum, prioritising and supporting the pathways that will make this a reality. For example, 14,000 Level 3 BTEC National students take an engineering qualification each year and nearly 8,000 study a Higher National Certificate or Diploma.  

Too often, qualifications are reformed or defunded without sufficient consultation or consideration of the impact on learners and the wider skills system, or sufficient understanding of the role that 16-19 education plays in engaging our young people to positive paths through life in this crucial phase of their journey into adulthood.

That is why this review should prioritise not only clarity and consistency of purpose in 16-19 pathways but also ensure there is a strongly progressive, comprehensive suite of options for learners which will take them from wherever they are at age 16 to somewhere richer, higher and more successful.  

I was inspired by the incredible passion and commitment of the educators recognised at the recent Pearson national teaching awards. It’s clear to me that none of these changes will be possible without supporting and empowerting the dedicated teachers responsible for bringing the curriculum to life in both FE colleges and schools.

The curriculum and assessment review must prioritise the essential role of professional development, ensuring teachers are equipped to deliver high-quality, future-focused education. This requires not only access to training but also the removal of policy barriers that limit innovation and flexibility in the classroom. 

How we prioritise 16-19 education today will define young people’s futures and the strength of our economy. Whether their path is academic, vocational or technical, all young people deserve an education that equips them for a fast-changing world.

It’s time for policymakers to invest in bold, forward-thinking solutions that ensure every young person is prepared to thrive in the economy of tomorrow. 

Devolution white paper: Skills funding pots to be un-ringfenced

Devolution of adult skills funding is set to “go further” with plans to “un-ringfence” funding pots for skills bootcamps and the free courses for jobs offer.

The government’s English Devolution white paper, published today, also confirms that mayors will be given “joint ownership” of local skills improvement plans alongside employer representative bodies.

Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Angela Rayner, said the plans announced through the white paper will “rewire England” and devolved powers from central government to “those with skin in the game”.

Here’re the key bits about skills you need to know.

Strategic authorities

Further devolution will be underpinned by a “consistent” framework that creates a new legal definition: the ‘strategic authority’.

Under the plans, England will eventually be covered by strategic authorities – preferably run by directly elected mayors – who are responsible several “areas of competence” including ‘skills and employment support’.

The idea is that directly elected mayors “cannot be blocked” by a single council in their area, ensuring they can take “tough decisions”.

Authorities with devolution deals but no mayoral system, such as Cornwall, will be kept at the lower ‘foundation strategic authority’ level, with less flexible funding rules.

All of England’s existing mayoral authorities, mayoral combined county authorities and the Greater London Authority (GLA) will be classed as ‘mayoral strategic authorities’.

These will have the right to “unlock further devolution” by becoming ‘established strategic authorities’ which have greater spending flexibility known as ‘integrated settlements’.

Adult skills spending

The government will “remove ringfences” for adult skills funding to give “much more flexibility” over spending on education from 2026.

England has ten devolved authorities – the Greater London Authority and nine mayoral combined authorities – with devolved control of their adult education and skills spending for people aged 19 or over. Four more authorities are due to take control from August next year.

However, the funding is split into three main pots including the adult skills fund, free courses for jobs and skills bootcamps.

The government said today that for mayoral strategic authorities, it will combine and un-ringfence funding for the three funds from 2026/27 onwards.

For Established mayoral strategic authorities, this will form part of their “integrated settlements” (see below) from 2025/26 onwards.

Foundation authorities will however continue to receive devolved adult skills fund alongside ringfenced funding for free courses for jobs and skills bootcamps.

Integrated settlements

From March next year the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and West Midlands Combined Authority will be handed a single funding pot that for all of their services including skills.

They will have flexibility to move some of this funding between service areas and between years that their budget has been confirmed for.

16-19

Hopes from some mayors that more power over education funding for 16- to- 19-year-olds have not come to fruition.

Despite criticisms of a political system that “hoards power” in Westminster, the government says it will continue to “ensure that there is a national and consistent” approach to education and training for that age group.

However, mayors will be given “regular, structured opportunities” to participate in annual Department for Education conversations with colleges.

They can also use their “convening powers and influence” to secure work placements for young people.

Local skills improvement plans

Strategic authorities will be handed “joint ownership” of local skills improvement plans (LSIP), which until now have been produced and monitored by employer representative bodies, usually local chambers of commerce.

The white paper confirms that strategic authorities will establish “skills priorities” that will inform development of the plans.

LSIPs will be joined by a number of other national and regional plans already announced by the government.

These include local growth plans, focusing on economic development, and Get Britain Working plans, trialling different approaches to reducing economic inactivity.

National plans include the industrial strategy and post-16 skills strategy, which are both expected next year.

Today’s white paper does not mention whether LSIPs will be handed any further funding or how often they will need to be refreshed.

Employment and jobs

The white paper says the government will devolve funding for employment support to established strategic authorities, so they can “tackle inactivity”.

Mayoral strategic authorities will have a role in “co-designing” any future employment support that is outside of Jobcentre Plus.

The government will also “work in close partnership” with them in designing and developing the National Jobs and Careers Service, which is a planned merger of Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service.

Several areas have already been designated trailblazers to test different youth guarantee approaches and Get Britain Working plans.

Watchdogs call for EHCPs to include preparation for adulthood plans

Education, health and care (EHC) plans should include preparation for adulthood arrangements, two watchdogs have said after finding a “cliff edge” in support still exists for young people with SEND.

A new Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint thematic review has confirmed that “systemic” barriers persist for people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with many falling out of work, employment or training after they leave the school system.

The report recommends that the Department for Education (DfE) should include preparation for adulthood section in national EHC plan templates to ensure earlier planning is considered across the country.

The department should also issue national guidance to ensure there is a “transitional” period of support to reduce the number of “abrupt” cut offs for some young people.

It comes as the new government searches for solutions to the crisis in SEND support, which includes widespread local authority deficits in high needs budgets reaching an estimated £3.6 billion this year, delays in approving EHC plans, and a lack of “clear actionable plan” under the last government.

But local partnerships and national government have long been aware of “serious weakness[es]” in services for young people with SEND who are transitioning to adulthood.

‘Cliff edge’ continues

In 2021, FE Week highlighted similar concerns about “confusion” at transition points, when support often abruptly ends, in a series of area SEND inspection reports by Ofsted and the CQC.

Today’s report reiterated that “too many young people face a ‘cliff edge’ in health support” once they turn 18, and called for more joined-up working across local area partnerships.

Ofsted and CQC looked closely at the effectiveness of six anonymised local area partnerships, which are groups including local authorities, schools, colleges and NHS bodies that are responsible for planning, commissioning and providing services.

The watchdogs also considered over 2,400 survey responses from children, young people, parents and practitioners.

Overall, areas with stronger local partnerships started preparation for adulthood early, took an “all age” approach to SEND support, and worked collaboratively between organisations.

Weaker partnerships failed to jointly commission or coordinate services, didn’t effectively communicate with parents about local services, and were “slow to initiate transition” from children’s to adult health services.

The report’s key findings were that support was worse for young people in mainstream education who did not have an EHC plan.

Some children reported how school leaders had chased DfE accountability measures such as the EBacc, which encourages take up of key academic subjects such as English, maths and science. This meant “limited vocational study options” were available.

Expand supported internships

The report also calls for expanded supported internships, which usually include a work placement and a job coach’s support for up to a year, because they offer “positive experiences” of work for a group who are less likely to sustain employment after key stage 4.

But take up of internships on offer was “hampered” because the EHC plan would “end” once they entered employment, the report found.

Practitioners and parents were also “frustrated” because young people with SEND but no EHC plan were unable to get an internship at all.

Historic data shows the DfE has gradually increased the number of internships on offer from about 200 per year in 2013-14, to 2,500 in 2020-21.

While some see them as a positive experience for young people with SEND, the data suggested that only about a quarter of participants entered employment in the year after completion.

Alongside its plans to increase annual internship figures to 4,500 per year this year, DfE has also commissioned an external evaluation which is ongoing.

Interim findings suggest that almost half of 49 interns in the first cohort had a job in the six months after the end of their internship’s academic year. One third of the second cohort of 85 interns had a job at the end of their internship.