Ofsted launches provider review tool for employers

Employers will be able to anonymously rate, review and compare providers using an online tool launched by Ofsted today (Monday, April 28).

Employer View will allow staff to share their thoughts on providers they have worked with, and find out what other employers think about any provider which trains their employees, apprentices and work placement or work experience staff.

The site is open to the public, but employers’ details will be kept confidential.

Ofsted national director for FE and skills Lorna Fitzjohn said: “The tool will inform inspectors’ understanding of the effectiveness of provision, increase employers’ engagement in education and training, and help them and employees to choose the provider that is right for them.”

A questionnaire on the site asks employers to rate their provider partners on the quality of their communication, monitoring of employee progress, training provision, and feedback and support.

“Employers in the past have often not been sufficiently included in the education and training of learners, including apprentices, and we recognised that this needed to change,” said Ms Fitzjohn.

“Engagement with employers was highlighted as a major theme for improvement in Ofsted’s Annual Report and we hope Employer View will facilitate a dialogue between employers and providers that will improve the provision of further education and training.

“Employer View underpins Ofsted’s aim to raise standards in education and training.

“I therefore urge all employers using a provider inspected by Ofsted to visit the Employer View page on our website and contribute to improving the standard of training across the further education sector.”

A statement by Ofsted said safeguards would be in place to prevent the site from abuse.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) chief executive Stewart Segal said: “We are pleased Ofsted is giving more recognition to the views of employers.

“We have always said that the more focus we put on outcomes and views of the ultimate customers the better.”

However, he said there was already a “crowded marketplace” for information on providers.

“Employers now have a number of sources of information and support including National Apprenticeship Service website, FE Choices, Ofsted main site, Ofsted Employer Choices, Apprenticeship Makers, National Careers Services which will confuse many smaller employers,” he said.

“We are now looking at how access to these services and support can be made more effective through one single information source.”

He added: “Ofsted need to use the informal information generated by Employer Choices carefully and ensure that this is balanced with the more formal survey information already generated by training providers.

“Responses to the system will be anonymous and may not be statistically significant so there has to be a process where the information is reviewed with the provider as the responses may not be a balanced sample.”

The tool will use the same model as Learner View, a tool launched in September 2012 to allow learners to rate their providers.

FE Week understands that Ofsted will also be launching a data dashboard for colleges in May, which will display information on learner destination and attainment, as well as Local Enterprise Partnership priorities.

The Employer View tool can be accessed at www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk.

Inadequate college leaders stay despite commissioner questions

The principal and governors’ chair at a grade four London college that Ofsted said was failing to improve are clinging to their posts — despite FE Commissioner Dr David Collins having identified leadership as a weakness, FE Week can reveal.

LeSoCo was rated inadequate in January and came in for renewed criticism from the education watchdog this month when inspectors said there was insufficient monitoring of sub-standard teaching at the 17,600-learner college.

But principal Maxine Room (pictured) and governors’ chair John Landeryou remain in post and it has now emerged that Skills Minister Matthew Hancock’s FE Commissioner, Dr David Collins, questioned those at the top of LeSoCo.

Dr Collins’ two-week assessment of the college took place from January 27 having been triggered by the inadequate inspection result. A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said Dr Collins “identified some weaknesses in the governance and leadership of the college”.

She said: “The chair is required to produce an action plan for how they will address the weaknesses and ensure improvements are made. The commissioner will monitor progress regularly and provide advice to the minister on the college’s progress.”

But a LeSoCo spokesperson confirmed none of its leadership team was standing down.

She said: “The FE Commissioner has made a number of recommendations which the college is acting upon.

“We are working towards improvements in curriculum delivery, quality control and financial management, and assessing options for developing the breadth of skills and experience on the senior leadership team and board of governors as suggested by the commissioner.

“Any changes to the senior leadership team and board of governors will be focused on recruiting additional expertise in line with the commissioner’s findings.

“We remain committed to the journey of transformation that was necessitated by the merger that created LeSoCo, and look forward to working further with the FE Commissioner and Ofsted to raise standards.”

The college was formed after a merger in 2012 between Lewisham College — rated outstanding in 2006, before dropping to satisfactory (a grade three and now termed ‘requires improvement’) in 2012 — and Southwark College, which was graded inadequate in December 2011.

LeSoCo, which has a current Skills Funding Agency allocation of £25.5m, resigned from the 157 Group after January’s grade four rating. Ofsted’s report criticised overall teaching standards and said improvements were needed to tutorials.

Inspectors on an initial follow-up inspection painted a picture of a college struggling to improve and a second monitoring visit inspection found there was still insufficient monitoring of sub-standard teaching and “too many tutorial sessions have low attendance”.

However, “reasonable improvement” had been made in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in foundation English and maths.

 

Warning for providers as SFA named in fraudster ‘spear fishing’ campaign

Email fraudsters are targeting FE and skills providers by posing as the Skills Funding Agency.

The sector has been warned about ‘phishing’ attempts to get bank details. Deceptive emails have been reported, asking for details that would allow the sender to take money from the provider’s bank account — a practice known as phishing.

One attempt is known of and it proved unsuccessful, but the agency has asked providers to report any suspicious emails they receive. The Association of Employment and Learning Providers has also alerted its members to the issue in its weekly Countdown newsletter.

An agency spokesperson told FE Week: “We have been made aware of a phishing attempt, where a person/body has used the agency name as a cover to attempt to obtain the bank details of a provider.

“We ask providers to be aware and remain vigilant. If you receive any phishing emails, please inform your relationship manager so we can provide intelligence to the police about this attempted fraud.”

Tony Neate (pictured), chief executive of government internet advisory body Get Safe Online, said it was common for fraudsters to pose as government agencies.

“Phishing has been happening for years but recently it’s become very sophisticated, using targeted phishing or ‘spear phishing’, which targets an individual with the sort of email they would expect to receive,” he said.

“This happens with all the major banks, retailers, government departments — we’ve even seen phishing emails with the Get Safe Online logo on them.

“Students have been sent emails supposedly from the Student Loans Company — it’s to do with money so you’re going to take it seriously and many students did hand over their details.”

He urged providers to be on their guard about emails asking for any company or personal details.

“It’s unlikely banks or government agencies will ever ask for your details by email, so check it comes from an email address and a URL you recognise — for example if the website is usually a .com address, be careful if an email has come from a .tv address,” he said.

“Check any landline numbers and street addresses given match those on an organisation’s website and check it comes from the person you’d usually deal with — if not, contact them and ask if they know anything about it.

“Above all, be cautious, be suspicious.”

Have you been targeted? Send any ‘phishing’ emails you have received, purporting to be from the Skills Funding Agency, to news@feweek.co.uk

 

Colleges ‘tackling’ apprentice farrier bullying but ‘need’ modernisation

Ofsted monitoring inspections of three colleges that took over apprenticeship provision following accusations of bullying found safeguarding had improved, but warned the programme was still in need of modernisation.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) demanded “immediate action to safeguard the welfare of all trainees” in June last year after physical and verbal bullying, harassment and exploitation were uncovered when inspectors visited the National Farrier Training Agency (NFTA), in Peterborough, and later downgraded it from good to inadequate.

Myerscough College, Warwickshire College and Herefordshire and Ludlow College took responsibility for farriery (horse shoeing) apprenticeship provision in November and all were judged to have made “reasonable” or “significant” progress in preventing employers abusing farriery apprentices.

The transition has been managed by Farriery Apprenticeship Steering Group (FASG), a body made up of the colleges, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and industry organisations.

A spokesperson for Warwickshire College said it was “really pleased” with the progress it had made in “a very short timeframe”.

Although Ofsted said Myerscough College had not been “sufficiently robust” in dealing with poor-performing employers a college spokesperson said: “We are very pleased.

“The inspectors… noted the obvious commitment of the college’s teaching and support staff and the way Myerscough has worked closely with the professional bodies.”

Herefordshire and Ludlow principal Ian Peake said he was “delighted”.

He added: “We have worked very hard to rectify a range of issues and are now very well positioned to take a leading role in providing education and training to this important industry.”

All the reports said “insufficient progress” had been made in evaluating and modernising the programme.

However, Ofsted blamed this on other organisations in the FASG, saying the Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF) had not “responded with sufficient energy”, leading the FASG to suspend modernisation activity until 2015.

WCF deputy registrar Ginny Ifould rejected Ofsted’s findings, saying the WCF had “not at any stage obstructed debate or action, and we are not aware of any decision to suspend activity until 2015.”

She added the WCF looked forward to working on the issue with the FASG.

An SFA spokesperson said: “The agency is aware of the recent Ofsted inspection reports into the three colleges which identified two areas of insufficient progress.

“We remain in close contact with the FASG as they continue to work on improving these areas.”

 

Taxman looks to reissue restaurant bill

A Hampshire college that went to court in its bid to win a training restaurant tax rebate could be facing a new legal battle from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), FE Week can reveal.

The taxman has been granted leave to appeal a decision made in February which found the supplies used by Brockenhurst College for its on-site training restaurant, MJ’s, were integral to educating students and so should have been exempt from VAT.

The college was awarded a £55,000 refund of four years’ worth of tax paid to HMRC on supplies to the 50-seater training restaurant, which is staffed by students and open to the public.

The win had prompted the hopes of a potential multi-million pound tax windfall for the wider college sector, and even the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has been looking at whether its members might be due a similar payout.

However, a spokesperson for the HMRC told FE Week: “We have been granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

“We think meals provided by student restaurants to visiting members of the public who pay for them should be subject to VAT so they receive the same VAT treatment as meals provided by local restaurants.”

The original ruling was welcomed by the sector, as more than 160 colleges in England operate similar facilities, plus other training enterprises such as hair salons, spas and theatres, meaning if other colleges were to pursue claims, it could net the college sector tens of millions of pounds.

Assistant chief executive of the Association of Colleges Julian Gravatt described news of the possible appeal as “disappointing”.

He said: “VAT law is exceptionally complex and this case revolved around the way in which VAT exemptions apply in cases where students are providing services as part of their education, for example in a training restaurant on campus.

“Any VAT savings that colleges make are reinvested for the benefit of students so it is disappointing that HMRC are making an appeal against the earlier decision.”

Brockenhurst College principal Di Roberts (pictured front page) had said she planned to plough the windfall back into the college, but he college declined to comment on the latest development.

Brian Palmer, an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) tax policy adviser, said the ruling awarding the tax refund made “perfect sense”.

“Brockenhurst College argued the restaurant supplies were exempt by virtue of being part of the education and vocational training for the hospitality students — quite rightly, in much the same way as we argue that concerts and performances given by students as part of their educational course are also exempt,” he said.

“The absence of a profit element (to the supplies) demonstrated an intention to supply education, rather than commercial catering or entertainment provision.”

“In the current economic climate where funds are tight, receiving a rebate could make all the difference to a college and the courses it offers.”

A spokesperson for the AELP confirmed it had been taking advice on whether independent learning providers could also take advantage of any potential refunds, but added that it was unclear whether the same rule would apply.

He added that it was likely HMRC would “consider any case on its own merits”.

 

Success on the South Coast

Chichester College has received an outstanding grade from Ofsted.

The 14,500-learner college, previously rated as good, achieved the top grading in all headline fields.

Inspectors praised staff for putting learners “at the heart of all college activity”.

The University of Sunderland also received a grade one result for its art and design foundation diploma provision in an Ofsted report, also published this month.

 

New Ofsted director tells of priorities

Lorna Fitzjohn has taken over as Ofsted’s new director of FE and skills. She was previously deputy director for FE and ran operations in the Midlands for the watchdog. Here, FE Week reporter Freddie Whittaker asks Matthew Coffey’s successor a few questions as she begins in her new role.

Q: What are your priorities for your new role?

Lorna FitzJohn
Lorna FitzJohn

A: Ofsted’s last annual report highlighted reasons for optimism, with clear improvements in the FE sector, but we need to go much further and build on this achievement by addressing weaknesses that were also identified in the report. For instance, it highlighted that a high proportion of education and training in prisons is not good enough. We are taking measures to address this such as by carrying out improvement visits.

One of our national priorities is combating the variable quality of apprenticeship training. There are still too many providers who do not take into account the skills and employment needs of their local area and we need to work to ensure that there is stronger dialogue between employers and education providers.

The sector doesn’t stand still and we are taking a close look at the implementation of the new 16 to 19 study programmes, both in schools and FE, as well as the quality of teaching of English and mathematics.

Q: What will you do to improve Ofsted?

A: The effectiveness of Ofsted is quite obvious on a range of counts, whether judged by the colleges found to be inadequate or the impact of successive Annual Reports which have helped to determine the direction of government policy.

It is important to remember that more learners are now attending an FE provider that has been judged either good or outstanding, so we are seeing results in the sector, partly due to the role Ofsted inspections play in helping providers identify areas for improvement. We expect our improvement activities in relation to providers judged to require improvement to bear fruit.

However, we cannot be complacent. We will be reviewing how best to inspect good and outstanding FE and skills providers in future, just as we are reviewing how to inspect good and outstanding schools. We also continue to use inspections to publish and identify good practice that can be shared across all providers in the sector.

Q: What will you do to help the FE sector to overcome its obstacles around poor career advice in schools?

A: The government very recently published its updated guidance for schools on providing young people with careers advice. Ofsted welcomed the stronger focus on ensuring schools know what to do in providing careers advice and guidance for their students as well as the greater flexibility outlined in the guidance to help meet the needs of students through the involvement of employers, careers professionals and the wider sector.

Ofsted will continue to take into account the effectiveness of careers advice when it inspects providers. We expect these measures to ensure that young people get impartial advice and give due consideration to the vocational pathway to employment and success.

Q: The Ofsted complaints process has been criticised. What will you do about it?

A: Complaints are, and will be, upheld where the evidence suggests we have not met those standards. Furthermore, if someone complains through our complaints procedure and are not satisfied they may have recourse to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO).

I would argue that complaints play an important role in informing our inspection development. Any lessons to be learned will be taken into account in our inspection process.

 

Transfer of K College provision under way

The break-up of K College is under way with governors confirming the transfer of provision to East Kent College and Hadlow College.

K College governors named East Kent College principal Graham Razey as principal-designate for the Dover and Folkestone campuses while Hadlow principal Paul Hannan will take on the West Kent and Ashford campuses. The 15,000 learner college, formed by a merger between West Kent College and South Kent College in 2010, was broken up after spiralling debts led interim principal Phil Frier to declare the merger had failed.

The governors’ announcement follows a year of uncertainty over the college’s future, which Ofsted claimed was damaging learners’ progress when it branded the college inadequate in November.

Mr Razey said: “The public perception attached to an inadequate rating is one which has to be overcome and we can only do that by demonstrating we are offering a good education.”

Mr Hannan said West Kent and Ashford campuses would be included in the Hadlow College Group, but each campus would retain an “individual brand and status”.

Mr Frier has stepped down and been replaced as chief accounting officer by Steve Hutchinson who will manage the transition to new provision, expected to be completed by July.