Desperate learners at Lambeth College have called on union leaders and college bosses to get back around the negotiating table amid fears an increasingly bitter strike is putting university futures at risk.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) started their indefinite industrial action on Tuesday, June 3, over contracts which offer less annual leave and longer working hours.

Principal Mark Silverman said the terms of the new contract, which was introduced from April 1 this year, were “in line with sector norms”.

But the UCU claimed they would leave staff with “bigger workloads, but less sick pay and fewer holidays”.

The college said it was “business as usual” at the college, but learners told FE Week many classes had been cancelled or replaced with “unhelpful” study sessions — and now they fear their futures are being put at risk.

A 17-year-old childcare student, who did not wish to be named, said: “The plan was to go to university next year but at this stage I don’t think it’s going to happen. The college and the union need to sort this out.”

Level three business student Tatiana Cunha, 18, said: “It’s been terrible — the study sessions are really unhelpful because you can’t ask anyone if you’re stuck.”

She added: “They should meet and sort this out — it’s the only reasonable thing to do.”

Level two applied science student Fatlyn Kamara, aged 24, said: “We need our teachers back, we’ve had assignments and we’ve had no feedback from it and the course ends in two weeks — by the time they come back it will be over.

“I want to do an access course, but I need a proper exam result to get onto it and now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

A Lambeth College spokesperson said: “The majority of classes are running, exams and assessments are going extremely well and learners are all attending these as planned.

“There are three areas of the college that are affected most — LLDD, ESOL and some parts of science.

“However, we will continue to ensure there is a high level of supervised study.”

The new contracts offer 50 days a year annual leave — 10 days less than that given to existing staff.

Mr Silverman said the contract change was part of the college’s recovery plan following financial deficits of £4.1m in 2012/13 and £3.5m this year.

UCU regional official Una O’Brien said: “We have being trying to resolve this issue for months and we understand students’ concerns.” She added: “We want to get this resolved as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, staff at Brighton City College walked out on Tuesday (June 10) in a one-day strike over proposals to cut 55 full-time equivalent jobs. Michael Moran, Brighton’s UCU regional official, said: “The college needs to avoid knee-jerk reactions to cuts.”

Principal Lyn Thackway said: “The consultation process is ongoing and its final outcome is yet to be confirmed.”

 

Editorial

On the right side

There are always at least two sides to any industrial dispute.

Workers and their unions see things one way while managers and directors see them another.

But a third side to the dispute at Lambeth College is one which must now be put above all others.

This side is that of the learners. Their futures are being called into question — this is their own view of the effect the strike is having.

Their concerns and their hopes must be foremost in the minds of those who have the power to end this ugly row.

Yes, there may be genuinely held grievances. And yes, finances need to be squared.

But it seems staff and leaders are growing increasingly entrenched in their positions — and all the while learners are getting more and more worried about their education and could well end up resenting their time in FE.

So UCU members and principal Mark Silverman need to follow the advice of these learners and talk — please don’t let these young people think the sector has let them down.

Chris Henwood, editor

The mental and physical stamina of high-achieving apprentices was tested to the limit in the finals of the Brathay Challenge.

Eight teams from across the country descended on the Lake District to complete a series of tests of their problem solving and physical abilities over June 10 and 11.

The final was the culmination of six months’ hard work in which the teams raised funds, completed community projects and visited schools, colleges and universities to promote vocational learning.

More than 110 teams and 1,000 apprentices entered the competition, now in its third year, which is organised by the Brathay Trust charity and supported by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

The finalists were timed completing problem-solving challenges, including an event which involved working as a team to identify a series of shapes while blindfolded.

Physical tests included orienteering around 10km up Loughrigg Mountain, canoeing, and balancing on metal chords suspended 20ft above the ground.

The final gruelling event involved teams rowing 16km across Lake Windermere in whaler boats.

The competition was narrowly won by a team of level two to five apprentices, based
at offices and factories across the midlands and north of England, from food and soft drinks firm PepsiCo. They were Danny Stenberg, aged 19, Sam Kelly, 18, Toby Dunford, 16, Leigh Bell, 21, Kira Iaquinta, 23, James Weedon, 17, Kaifer Williams, 23, Jonathan Baxendell, 21, and Liam Walling, 19.

Matt Freeland, human resources director at PepsiCo, said: “Apprenticeships are a vital part of our organisation and to see them being crowned apprentice team of the year makes us all very proud.”

A team from Wiltshire-based defence, and security firm QinetiQ came second, with British Airways and Chelmsford-based e2v Technologies finishing joint-third.

Teams from Cumbria-based electronic components firm Oxley Developments, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, South Worcestershire College and Virgin Media also competed.

Level three aeronautical mechanical engineering apprentice Robert Langley, aged 20, from the QinetiQ team, said: “The challenge was really tough and pushed us to our limits. We’re so proud of how far we have come and the experiences we have gained, not just at the finals but throughout the whole six months, have been invaluable.”

The teams raised more than £30,000 between them for charities including Haven Hospices, Cancer Research UK, Ulverston Inshore Rescue, Flying Start which supports underprivileged children, and brain
tumour research charity Help Harry Help Others.

They convinced more than 50 new companies to take on apprenticeships, through business breakfasts and one-to-one meetings with employers.

Their community projects included renovating a scout hut, cricket club, community centre and a primary school’s garden and they visited 50 schools, colleges, universities and careers fairs.

Nick Wilson, deputy director of employer and provider services for the North East and Yorkshire for the Skills Funding Agency which oversees NAS, said: “My congratulations go to the apprentices from PepsiCo.”

 

Main pic: from left: Virgin Media team members Jamie Hay and Niall Joseph, aged 20, balance on the high ropes

 

 

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has told the government that employers should be able to ignore apprenticeship reforms by “grandfathering” through existing funding arrangements, FE Week can reveal.

Its response to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) technical consultation on reforms recommended that employers be allowed to continue with effective practices.

It said that “in principle, we favour direct funding,” but it said it also wanted to see “grandfathering for existing approaches that work well”.

The CBI in effect wants providers to be able to keep receiving government funding directly, rather than switching to the new system, where cash would be routed through employers to buy training for their apprentices.

Neil Carberry (pictured front page), CBI director for employment and skills, told FE Week: “During the reform period, firms and training providers should be allowed to retain their existing relationships where apprenticeships are working well. This will allow the new apprenticeship system to be introduced gradually.”

He added: “Where firms have a direct contract with the Skills Funding Agency this should be allowed to continue, where the companies choose to do so.”

Reforming the apprenticeship funding system to give employers more control of the programme was put forward by entrepreneur Doug Richard in his review of apprenticeships, published in 2012.

A government consultation, which ran from July until October last year found that just 29 out of 366 respondents from businesses, providers and other stakeholders supported PAYE funding — but this was the main funding method put forward in the technical consultation which ran from March until May 1 this year.

The CBI’s response stressed the importance of piloting any new funding methods, and called for further details of how the system would actually work to be published.

“Business needs reassurance from the government that sufficient time and resources will be committed to ensure that the system has been thoroughly thought-out and piloted, with decisions made on funding mechanism and funding policy together, not separately,” it said.

It added: “Only with this experience will the details of the mechanisms be able to be properly scrutinised and assessed.”

The position of the CBI echoes that of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP).

Stewart Segal, AELP chief executive, said: “Our view is that giving employers the choice of direct funding or funding through a training provider of their choice is the solution that will drive more employer engagement.
“We will continue to discuss these solutions with the CBI and other employer representative bodies because it is what employers want.”

A BIS spokesperson declined to comment on the CBI response. However, she said: “The technical consultation closed on May 1 and received more than 1,300 responses from a wide range of respondents.

“These responses are in the process of being analysed and, as set out in the consultation document, the results and next steps will be announced in the autumn.”

Ofsted is to ditch graded lesson observations in an FE and skills in a pilot following a University College Union (UCU) report that raised “serious questions about the fitness for purpose” of the practice.

The education watchdog will, from September, be trying out inspections in the sector with no grading of teaching in individual sessions.

The move will have been welcomed by the UCU whose report, Developing a National Framework for the Effective Use of Lesson Observation in FE, came out on Wednesday (June 11).

It said: “This report raises serious questions about the fitness for purpose of prevailing observation assessment systems in FE.”

Author Dr Matt O’Leary, principal lecturer in post-compulsory education at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Attempts to measure the professional capabilities of practitioners through the lens of graded lesson observations are a pointless exercise based on a pseudo-scientific approach to teacher assessment.

“The sooner we put an end to this pernicious practice, the better the sector will be for it.”

He added: “A root and branch reform of the way in which observation is conceptualised and engaged with as a form of educational intervention is what is required.”

Ofsted’s FE and skills director Lorna Fitzjohn  (pictured) revealed via Twitter on Monday, June 9, that its graded lesson observations in FE and Skills could be ending for good.

She tweeted: “Ofsted is to pilot FE and skills inspections without grading teaching in individual sessions.”

A spokesperson for the education watchdog later told FE Week: “Our prime concern is with assessing and improving the quality of teaching and learning that learners receive.

“Lesson observation is one of the key means by which inspectors can assess the quality of teaching and learning.

“We are always looking at ways we might improve the inspection process and we propose to pilot how Ofsted may inspect without grading individual lessons as part of a consultative pilot in the autumn term.”

But colleges also the practice themselves and Marc Whitworth, acting director of employment policy and services at the Association of Colleges, said: “Evidence from our work with members suggests that individually graded lessons can be useful in assessing the quality of teaching and learning for students.

“Receiving feedback on a number of occasions across the year is also an important part of assessment, which is required to help teachers improve their skills.

“However, uniform approaches to lesson observations, which prescribe what colleges should do to observe teaching and learning, are not appropriate nor helpful to support the ongoing commitment to students.”

A formerly outstanding college that in just four years plummeted to inadequate across the board has started moving in the right direction with an improved Ofsted rating.

The 17,000-learner City of Liverpool College was hit with grade four (inadequate) ratings across each headline field in a shock Ofsted result in February last year.

Among the education watchdog’s finding were that the college, formerly Liverpool Community College, had too many students turning up late for lessons — if at all — and leave without achieving their qualifications.
But it was re-inspected just over a month ago and the resulting report issued grade three (requires improvement) ratings across the headline fields — along with four good (grade two) judgments.

“Teaching, learning and assessment are much improved since the last inspection,” it said in the Ofsted report.

It added that attendance and punctuality had also “improved significantly”.

Principal Elaine Bowker (pictured) said: “The report reflects much of the progress we are making as a college, but we aren’t complacent.

“The move to a grade three is a sign that we are making good progress and with several of our schools marked as a grade two or close to grade one [outstanding], it’s a clear sign that the changes we’ve made are now having an impact.”

It was an improvement that by no means appeared certain with an Ofsted monitoring visit in October finding that the college was struggling to improve A-level success rates, although inspectors did see reasonable progress in vocational course success rates.

There was also reasonable progress in every other element of monitoring, including self-assessment and improvement planning.

But a visit from FE Commissioner Dr David Collins followed and he too had criticism.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills told FE Week: “The FE Commissioner’s assessment report identified weaknesses in the governance of the college. The report makes a number of recommendations that will, once implemented, address these weaknesses and help steer the college in the right direction.”

However, the latest inspection report details improvement across all teaching areas at the college but certain schools, including catering, hair and beauty and engineering, are highlighted as performing particularly well.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint any one piece of work or initiative which has had the greatest impact on the improvements noted as part of this latest Ofsted inspection,” said a college spokesperson.

“Credit must be given to the efforts of our staff and students but a combination of many different activities underpinned by a strong strategy will also be playing a part. There are a lot of positive things happening at the college at the moment and we are pleased this has been recognised.”