Unions representing sixth form college teachers have agreed a series of talks with civil servants in a bid to avoid industrial action at the end of next month.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which has threatened to strike on March 26 in response to government policy changes, met with officials from the Department for Education (DfE) and other unions on Tuesday (February 25).

So far, only the NUT has threatened strike action next month, for schools as well, and the union said it remained opposed to new policies including performance-related pay.

An NUT spokesperson said: “There was agreement that there would be a weekly series of meetings from now until Easter and continuing after Easter to look at various issues of implementation of government policy.

“We made it clear that we want to discuss more than implementation and that the direction of government policy is wrong. However, the civil servants were clear that their remit from [Education Secretary] Michael Gove is that the discussions must only be about implementation.

“It was agreed that the first item for discussion, at the next meeting on Wednesday, March 5, would be implementation of the performance related pay policy. We made it clear that we are opposed to this policy and also explained that there were many things going wrong in schools relating to this policy, which were leading to problems with equalities, workload and accountability driving teaching, amongst others.

“We also asked in the meeting for the publication of the teacher workload survey. We explained that this was essential if there was to be any meaningful discussion even on the questions of implementation. We were told that this publication would come soon. We have now learned that the survey will be published on Tuesday, March 4.”

The talks have been welcomed by other unions and professional bodies across the sector.

Sixth Form Colleges Association HR director Graham Baird said: “We are aware that the NUT have been involved in talks with DfE civil servants.

“In terms of any impact on sixth form colleges – if the talks are constructive, and depending on the outcomes, then this should provide the NUT with the opportunity to call off their proposed national strike action and thus avoid any potential disruption to the work of sixth form colleges.”

Other unions involved in the talks included the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL, said: “We are pleased the government agreed to a detailed series of discussions about the issues teachers are most concerned about in terms of pay, working conditions and school organisation. We look forward to making quick progress on some of these matters, and believe this will improve children’s achievement and enable schools to operate in a 21st century education environment.”

The NASUWT and ASCL declined to comment.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We met with union representatives to discuss the agenda for upcoming talks.”

A Warwickshire-based provider has been ordered to stop running qualifications from a leading awarding organisation after it investigated allegations of malpractice.

NCFE has notified us of the outcome of its investigation. This is a matter for NCFE and Bright.”

Bright Assessing, which has boasted a pass rate of between 95 and 100 per cent, has been told it will “no longer have any involvement in the administration, delivery, assessment, moderation, invigilation and certification” of any NCFE (formerly the Northern Council for Further Education) programmes.

The findings of the NCFE investigation have not been made public, but a spokesperson for subcontractor Bright said it “vigorously disputes both the findings and the sanction” and that it would appeal. He declined to comment on how the decision would affect learners enrolled on NCFE courses.

A spokesperson for the awarding organisation said it could not reveal its findings until a ruling had been made on any appeal, which had to be in by the middle of this month. Meanwhile, Ofqual has already said NCFE’s action was “appropriate”.

The Skills Funding Agency said it would not be intervening, despite guidance last year saying it could stop prime contractors working with subcontractors if, among other things, there were “significant irregularities” in the awarding of qualifications.

A spokesperson said: “NCFE has notified us of the outcome of its investigation. This is a matter for NCFE and Bright.”

In November NCFE told FE Week it had launched an investigation into Bright, which provides qualifications for unemployed people who want to re-enter the workplace, following complaints from learners.

The awarding organisation spokesperson said: “Following a rigorous investigation into the quality standards of Bright, we have taken the decision to permanently withdraw centre approval.

“This means that Bright will no longer have any involvement in the administration, delivery, assessment, moderation, invigilation and certification of any NCFE programmes.

“Learners are at the heart of all we do and our stringent quality assurance processes are in place to ensure that the interests of our registered learners are protected.

“We take our duty of care to them extremely seriously and will do our utmost to support them, following the removal of Bright’s centre approval.”

But a spokesperson for Bright, originally called Bright Assessing but with the registered trading name of Bright International Training, hit back.

He said: “We vigorously dispute both the findings and the sanction imposed by NCFE, and have begun a process of appeal.

“We are also seeking the opinion and intervention of the regulator, Ofqual, and will be supplying information in support of our defence.

“We have subsequently been faced with critical challenges to our business, many of which could have been avoided had NCFE met its obligation to conduct appropriate external quality assurance processes and to provide adequate advice as per their contract with Bright and as stated within their own regulations.”

An Ofqual spokesperson said: “NCFE kept us informed throughout its investigations into allegations of malpractice at Bright. We consider the action it has taken to be appropriate to protect the integrity of its qualifications and the interests of those taking them.”

He added: “The investigation and resulting action by NCFE in this case show that malpractice will not be tolerated.”

It comes just a month after Bright chief executive Krissy Charles-Jones was pulled up by Ofsted over a misleading tweet and posting on her company website that wrongly appeared to imply the education watchdog had visited and given it a good grading.

An academy backed by grade one-rated Walsall College has been warned by the government about “unacceptably low” standards.

Schools Minister Lord Nash has written to Walsall College Academies Trust chair Jatinder Sharma, who is also the college principal, with a “pre-warning notice” over standards at the Mirus Academy.

He warned that the sponsor college, which just under a year ago became the first outstanding college under Ofsted’s current FE and skills inspection framework, had “neither the expertise or capacity to resolve the issues needed to bring about sustained improvement “.

Mr Sharma said he was “fully aware of the challenge”, but confident he could replicate the level of success achieved by the college at the academy.

The academy, for ages three to 18, was graded as inadequate by Ofsted following an inspection in December and put in special measures, and in his letter Lord Nash highlighted problems with achievement at GCSE level.

He wrote: “The percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs including English and maths in 2013 is below the national floor standard of 40 per cent with only 25 per cent of pupils achieving this standard.

“The academy’s 2013 GCSE results show that too few pupils make or exceed expected levels of progress with only 24 per cent of pupils making expected levels of progress in English and only 33 per cent of pupils making expected levels of progress in maths.

“This compares to the 2013 national median of 73 per cent in each subject.”

Lord Nash said that if standards didn’t improve he could appoint new trust directors. Ultimately, Walsall College could be replaced as the academy sponsor.

And Lord Nash warned he expected academy performance to fall short of the 40 per cent target this year too.

“It is my view based on the evidence from the Education Adviser visit, that the academy and the sponsor do not, at present, have the expertise or capacity to resolve the issues needed to bring about sustained improvement and in particular those associated with assessment and raising achievement in the core subjects,” he wrote.

“More experience of secondary school improvement within the governing body and effective external quality assurance could have resolved the issues sooner. The needs of the primary phase have not yet been properly met.

“There are still barriers between the primary and secondary phases, and much still needs to be done to ensure the seamless progression of pupils and synchronisation of the senior leadership teams between the two phases.

“The Secretary of State and I are therefore satisfied that the standards of performance at Mirus Academy, Walsall, are unacceptably low.”

At the end of his letter, Lord Nash demanded a response from the trust, within 15 working days, outlining a plan of action for improvement at the academy.

Around 40 academies have had pre-warning notices  since September 2011. The letters warn academies to improve or face action — which could ultimately lead to a new sponsor.

Mr Sharma said: “We were invited to set up the academy by bringing together the failing primary (at the time of conversion in special measures) and failing secondary (at the time of conversion only just, and arguably unsustainably, having come out of special measures) schools into the region’s first all-through academy.

“With no more than a term to set the new academy up, it is probably fair to say that we did not get everything right in the time we had.

“However, taking on The Mirus Academy was a courageous thing to do. We picked up a legacy of under-investment and neglect and are determined to spread our outstanding DNA. We have now put considerable resources and expertise into the task and it is beginning to show.

“On February 4, 2014, the first post-inspection Ofsted monitoring inspection took place at The Mirus Academy. Following the visit, the inspector agreed that the Statement of Action implemented by the interim principal, (partially) new senior leadership team and the sponsors/governors, was fit for purpose.

“The inspector also commented on a number of actions which already show improvements whilst giving us constructive ideas for improvement which are currently being made.

“We owe it to these children that significant and sustainable improvements are made and with pace. Everything we are putting in place now is contributing to the overall goal of improving standards right across the academy and we have the support of Ofsted, the local authority and many other partnership organisations.

“From the outset, our aim has been to raise student achievement and aspirations and we remain steadfast in this commitment. Our own journey to Ofsted outstanding took more than nine years and we encountered many obstacles along the way. We are fully aware of the scale of the challenge we have taken on and if anyone can transform The Mirus Academy for the long-term benefit of students, we can.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is today expected to announce a raft of measures to help young people get into work, including allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to get advice from Jobcentre Plus centres.

In a speech at Southfields Academy in London, Mr Clegg is also due to promise to “ramp up” the requirement on schools to provide careers advice.

Further, he will say young jobseekers would be provided with work experience, and those without level two maths and English would be required to train as soon as they sign on for Jobseekers Allowance.

The speech comes with the release later today of the latest government statistics on young people not in education, employment or training (Neet). The last release, showing figures for July to September last year, put the number of 16 to 24-year-old Neets at 1.066 million, up from 1.038 million in the same period the previous year.

Mr Clegg is expected to say: “Too many young people aren’t getting what they need. In a recent survey, Ofsted found only one-in-five schools were giving all their students detailed careers support.

“And, for a lot of the young people I meet, careers guidance currently feels like a tick box exercise squeezed into lunchtime break with a busy teacher, who no doubt already has a lot on their plate.

“So, we are issuing new guidance for schools in the next few weeks that will set out just what good careers advice should look like — and not take-it-or-leave-it guidance.”

He is also due to say that Ofsted will “look more closely” at the quality of careers advice offered by schools during inspections.

“Right now, if you’re 16 or 17, and looking for work, you can’t go to your local Job Centre for advice about how to find a job,” the Lib Dem leader is expected to add.

“The rules say that you can only go to Jobcentre Plus at 18 or above. That just seems wrong.”

He will say that the government should be “getting in there early” to provide support.

“So I’m pleased to announce that government will now be testing a new approach in selected Job Centres across Britain,” Mr Clegg is to say, announcing a pilot of the scheme in Lewisham.

“This, for the first time, will give 16 and 17-year-olds access to personalised jobs advice and support through Jobcentre Plus.”

He will also announce a series of pilots, starting in the autumn in Kent, Mercia, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, for 18 to 21-year-olds, who will be required to prove they have level two maths and English qualifications.

“If they don’t, their adviser will get them on that training immediately to ensure that if you’re not earning, you’re still learning,” he will say.

“If you don’t do this training, you won’t get your Jobseekers Allowance.

“And critically, if you find a job, this training won’t just stop. You’ll be able to carry on with it, until you get the skills you need.”

He will also explain measures, from this autumn and piloted in Kent, for 18 to 21-year-olds who have been out of work for six months.

“After six months out of work, your adviser will also help you get a work placement,” Mr Clegg will say.

“This is so you can get first-hand experience of being in a workplace, as well as help build your confidence and develop more of the skills prospective employers want.

“If these pilots are successful, I want to see them rolled out across the country: putting earn or learn at the heart of the support we give you.”

He will conclude: “We want every young person to be able to follow their chosen path. This is my commitment to you — to do whatever we can to ensure you get an equal shot at the life you want.”