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Laying firm foundations for women bricklayers

The first female student from MidKent College to pass a level two bricklaying course hopes she is laying foundations for more women to enter the trade.

Caitlin Newton, aged 17, completed the course two weeks ago and was given the college’s bricklaying student of the year award in January.

Caitlin, whose 58-year-old father Steve Newton is a bricklayer, was also the first female student to complete a level one bricklaying course in June last year.

She said: “I was originally planning to do A-levels after my GCSEs, but decided I wanted something different. My female friends didn’t believe me when I told them I’d signed up for bricklaying, but they’re proud of me now.

“I can’t see any reason why more women shouldn’t do it.”

Kaitlin hopes the bricklaying qualifications will help her follow other career paths.

She said: “I did two weeks work experience with architecture firm Kent Drawing.

“They showed me how they design houses and bungalows on the computer and I’m really interested in that.

“I would also consider going into landscape gardening. I could build some interesting walls for the gardens.”

Cap: Bricklaying first Caitlin Newton

Record-breaking mountaineer opens sports centre

Record-breaking mountaineer Bonita Norris scaled a 8.5-meter high climbing wall to cut a ribbon that officially opened Sparsholt College’s new sports centre.

Ms Norris, aged 26, was guest of honour at the opening ceremony for the £2.7m sports centre, which contains a climbing wall, sports hall, gym and sprung-floor dance studio.

Ms Norris rose to fame when she became the youngest British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest aged 22 in May 2010.

After cutting the ribbon, she said: “This is the best climbing wall I have ever seen in an educational establishment.”

In an inspirational speech to students, she added: “Keep an open mind, say yes to things that scare you and don’t be afraid to fail. Hard work is the secret to everything — pure talent is never enough.”

Principal Tim Jackson said he was proud of the sports centre and in particular the “truly spectacular climbing facility that is the envy of most FE colleges.”

Cap: Studens watch record-breaking mountaineer Bonita Norris scale the climbing wall

Clegg promises to protect education spending ‘from cradle to college’

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pledged to ringfence 16 to 19 education funding if the Liberal Democrats win the 2015 general election.

Mr Clegg said there would be protection for education spending from the age of two to 19 — “from cradle to college”.

He made the announcement in his monthly press conference this morning, saying he would extend the protection currently given to funding for educating those aged five to 16.

He said the manifesto pledge meant an extra £10bn of education spending would be protected based on this financial year, rising with inflation.

He said: “Any parent knows that a child starts learning from the moment they are born and carries on learning all the way into adulthood.

“My vision is of an education system that starts early and keeps children engaged all the way through.

“That’s why I believe we need to go further than the current protections for our schools.

“I can announce today that in the next parliament, Liberal Democrats will protect the full education budget, covering children from the age of two to the age of 19 — from cradle to college”.

He added: “Money invested in our children is the best investment of all because education really can transform lives.

“We believe education should be properly funded because education is the very core of a liberal society.”

For more, see edition 107 of FE Week (dated Monday, June 23).

Bethany recognised for work with youth centre

Level two electrical engineering student Bethany Tavener was awarded for dedicating almost 150 hours to voluntary work.

City of Bath College principal Matt Atkinson handed out awards to 711 students who carried out voluntary work over the last year.

Among them were 18 students who spent 75 or more hours supporting good causes, with 18-year-old Bethany receiving special recognition for notching-up more time than anyone else.

She spent much of her 147 hours at Riverside Youth Centre, in Bath, helping to organise activities ranging from sport to cooking.

She said: “Volunteering is very rewarding.

“It also looks great on your CV as it shows you don’t just do what you are told to do, you do that little bit extra.”

Cap: Student Bethany Tavener is presented with a certificate by City of Bath College principal Matt Atkinson

All courses to have online content to secure SFA funding, announces Skills Minister Matthew Hancock

All courses from September next year will need to have an online component in order to attract Skills Funding Agency (SFA) cash, Skills Minister Matthew Hancock announced today.

The announcement forms part of the government’s response to recommendations from the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag), in March. It called for a minimum of 10 per cent of all courses to be delivered online, among other things.

“During 2014 to 2015 we will work with a small number of awarding organisations, employers and providers to take forward ‘online-only trailblazers’, focused initially on vocational qualifications,” said Mr Hancock at the Spectator Skills Forum, at the Institute of Directors, in London.

“This will allow us to road-test the funding and audit implications of online delivery, and crucially, to understand how we move from a skills funding system based solely on ‘contract and contact’ to one which responds to progress, without compromising on quality.

“Alongside the online-only funding rate, from 2015 to 2016 the SFA will also introduce a business rule for the approval of funding: setting out a minimum online threshold for the delivery of course content. We will be announcing both the rate and threshold in the autumn.”

The Twitter hashtag #CareersLab is in use for event coverage. See edition 107 of FE Week (dated Monday, June 23) for more on the government’s response to Feltag.

Pictured, from left, is Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, National Grid chief executive Steve Holliday and event chair Andrew Neil.

Pic: Twitter account of Tony Moloney (@MoloneyEdu), head of education & Skills at National Grid, non-exec director National Skills Academy for Power, Engineering UK Business & Industry

LCBANNER

Edition 106: Ioan Morgan and Maxine Room

Lesoco has brought in the former chair of the 157 Group to take over as interim consultant principal following the departure of Maxine Room.

Ioan Morgan, who will officially be employed by the Association of Colleges’ (AoC) recruitment arm AoC Create, will take up the role at the college on Monday (June 9).

Mr Morgan was principal of Warwickshire College until 2010 and the first chair of the 157 Group when it was formed in 2006.

He will face the task of turning around Lesoco’s fortunes after it was slapped with an inadequate Ofsted grading in January, which prompted a visit from FE Commissioner Dr David Collins who then questioned college leadership.

Mr Morgan said: “I am proud to be joining the Lesoco team as it faces the challenge of recovering its historic pre-eminent position among FE colleges.

“We must ensure that leadership at all levels in the college focuses on high-quality teaching and learning. This is our core business.

“The college’s learners and its local communities deserve an excellent college to ensure economic prosperity.”

He also contributed to the Foster Report into the future of FE colleges, which recommended setting up the 157 Group and advised the last Labour government on FE policy.

The 17,600-learner college was formed in 2012 following a merger between Lewisham and Southwark colleges.

Ms Room announced last month that she would be standing down having overseen the merger.

“It is with sadness that I announce my retirement from Lesoco this summer,” she said, adding: “Over the last five years I have had the privilege of working with an absolutely fantastic team.

“The passion, commitment and dedication of the staff at Lesoco is unrivalled, and the students are simply inspirational.

“Both students and tutors are united in their ambition, resilience and inclusivity.”

A college spokesperson said he was “not aware” of any moves to rename or rebrand Lesoco, although he added Mr Morgan would be looking at “every aspect of the college”.

Mr Morgan caused controversy in 2009 when he was offered the post of chief executive of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, only to back out after the announcement had been made, but before contracts had been signed.

John Landeryou, chair of governors at the college, said: “We are delighted that Ioan will be joining us. His track record
at the highest level in FE is second to none.

“After the successful completion of the merger, Lesoco is now focused firmly on quality.

“We are grateful to Maxine for the transition to the merged college and are looking forward to making rapid progress under Ioan’s leadership.”

WorldSkills duo Ashley Terron and George Callow figure in Queens 2014 Birthday honours list with former SFA chief Kim Thorneywork

WorldSkills 2013 gold medal-winning duo Ashley Terron and George Callow have been recognised in the Queen’s 2014 Birthday honours list along with former Skills Funding Agency interim chief executive Kim Thorneywork.

Former apprentice bricklayer Ashley (above left) and cabinetmaker George (above right) were honoured with British Empire Medals for their services to skills while Ms Thorneywork (right) received a CBE for services to education, learning and skills.

Ashley, aged 21, told FE Week: “I was made up when I found out, although it’s all really rather surreal. WorldSkills was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but to be recognised by the Queen has got to be the ultimate, and at my young age — it’s amazing.”

Keith Smith, director of funding and programmes at the agency, said: “I worked very closely with Kim during her career at the agency and was always impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm she showed for education, learning and skills.

“I am delighted for Kim and congratulate her on behalf of us all at the agency on receiving this honour, it truly is well deserved.”

Farnborough College of Technology principal Christine Slaymaker (left) was also honoured with a CBE for services to FE.

She said: “I didn’t believe this was going to happen when they told me and right up until it was announced I thought it wouldn’t — I was starting to think maybe they’d changed their mind and I wasn’t up to it.”

There were OBEs for services to FE for Gazelle Group of colleges chief executive Fintan Donohue; Northampton College governors’ chair and chair of the Association of Colleges governors’ council Roger Morris; and Barking and Dagenham College principal Cathy Walsh (below right).

“I am thrilled and surprised to receive this honour, and it is as much in recognition of the great achievements of our students, our staff team, our Corporation Board of Barking and Dagenham College and our external partners, as it is about me,” she said.

“It is a privilege to be the principal and of this great college, and it is only with and through everyone associated with the organisation that our success has been acknowledged in this way.”

A total of 19 honours were dished out to those from the world of FE and skills with former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) John Dunford OBE topping the bill with a knighthood for services to education.

He was a mathematics teacher in Nottingham and in the north-east of England before his time at the ASCL. He was a member of the leadership team of three secondary schools in the north-east from 1974 to 1998, including 16 years as head of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, an 11-18 school with 1500 pupils.

Sir John said: “Nobody can be awarded an honour entirely because of his or her own efforts and it has been my good fortune to have have led some exceptional teams of people at Durham Johnston School, the ASCL and the organisations I have worked with in recent years. These people deserve a big share of the credit and I pay tribute to their skill and commitment to the cause of education.

For more reaction see edition 107 of FE Week (dated Monday, June 23). From FE and skills and on the list? Email news@feweek.co.uk with the details.

The FE and skills-related list of Queen’s 2014 Birthday honours awards

Knighthood

John Dunford OBE (Leicestershire), education consultant — for services to education

CBE

Christine Slaymaker (Hampshire), principal, Farnborough College of Technology — for services to FE

Kim Thorneywork (Stourbridge, West Midlands), lately interim chief executive, Skills Funding Agency — for services to education, learning and skills

Neil McLean (Harrogate, North Yorkshire), lately chair of Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership — for services to business and skills in West Yorkshire

Valerie Malvia May Todd (Woodford Green, Essex), commissioner, UK Commission for Employment and Skills and director of talent and resources at Crossrail Ltd — for services to skills training and development of young people

OBE

Fintan Donohue (Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire), chief executive, Gazelle Group — for services to FE

Roger Morris (Towcester, Northamptonshire), governors’ chair at Northampton College and chair of Association of Colleges governors’ council — for services to FE

Cathy Walsh (London), principal, Barking and Dagenham College — for services to FE

Susan Helen Walsh (Glasgow), principal, Glasgow Clyde College — for services to FE

Heather Dunk (Troon, Ayrshire and Arran), principal, Ayrshire College — for services to FE and higher education in Ayrshire

Neil Alan Hopkins (Whitchurch, Hampshire), lately principal, Peter Symonds Sixth Form College, Winchester, Hampshire — for services to education

MBE

Jacqueline Margaret Buffton (Bath, Somerset), vice governors’ chair, City of Bath College and facilitator at Bath and North East Somerset Learning Partnership — for services to FE

Susan Elizabeth Ward (Southampton, Hampshire), head of skills for life, Highbury College, Portsmouth — for services to FE and young people with mental health conditions

Roberta Austin (Cleveleys, Lancashire), Build Up centre manager, Blackpool and The Fylde College — for services to vocational education

Brynley John Davies (Wells, Somerset), lately principal, Ystrad Mynach College, Caerphilly — for services to FE, community learning and enterprise

Jacqueline Ray Howie (Barnhill, Dundee), lately depute principal, Angus College — for services to FE in Scotland

Irene Megaw (Bangor, Down), lecturer at South Eastern Regional College — for services to FE in Northern Ireland

British Empire Medal

George Walter Mark Callow (East Wittering, West Sussex), apprentice cabinetmaker — for services to skills

Ashley Terron (Warrington, Cheshire), apprentice bricklayer — for services to skills

See edition 107 of FE Week (dated Monday, June 23) for more.

Small classes, staff budgets and governors’ skills in the spotlight as FE Commissioner issues progress review

FE Commissioner Dr David Collins has criticised small classes, big staffing spends and a skills shortage on governing boards in a letter to the sector.

Dr Collins, who has so far visited at least 10 colleges since his appointment last year, has written to governors, chief executives and colleges to update them on his progress.

It comes as the sector awaits the publication of the commissioner’s first reports, the first round of which were supposed to be in the public domain by the end of last week.

In his letter, the second he has written to the sector, he said many colleges had responded successfully to financial pressures but said most of the colleges he had inspected were not rising to the challenge.

Dr Collins said: “In most of the colleges I have visited to date, it would be true to say there hasn’t been the level of challenge and scrutiny by the governing body that might be expected in an organisation that is dealing with financial concerns.

“This is often because some governing bodies do not have sufficient financial expertise within their membership to oversee complex multi-million pound organisations. Board members have also sometimes relied too heavily on the flow of information provided by the principal and derived too much comfort from satisfactory audit reports.

“A strong board/principal relationship is critical for a successful college, and audit reports are an important source of information for governing bodies. However, if there are lessons to be learned it would be that Boards need to ensure they have the right skills mix amongst their members rather than being purely concerned with being “representative” and that they have sufficient access to other members of staff, including the finance team, to be able to triangulate the information that they receive.”

In the letter, Dr Collins also raised concerns about the proportion of college budgets being spent on staff, and said there were often too many support staff.

He said: “In those colleges experiencing financial difficulties, costs — particularly staffing costs — are frequently well in excess of what might be expected in the sector (over 70 per cent of overall income as compared to a more normal 60 per cent to 65 per cent in the case of staffing).

“These extra costs usually derive not from a shortage of contracted teaching hours (the median figure being 24 per week or 864 per year), but from an excess of support staff and, most importantly of all, from small class sizes. Too many groups in colleges with financial problems were in single figures and far from the 16 to 20 averages that would be found in the more efficient.

“On occasion, this issue is the result of a lack of appropriate expertise within the executive team where the principal or chief executive may be a specialist in improving quality but has had little significant financial experience in his/her way to the top. For new principals in particular, the assignment of an experienced principal or ex-principal with a balancing set of skills as a mentor could be a very useful development tool, particularly in the first year of appointment.

“It is also important that a member of the senior team is appropriately experienced and qualified in finance.”

He went on to say that some colleges had been “caught out” by a failure to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of new initiatives and that some were under-utilising their estates.

He added: “However, despite these issues what is encouraging is the speed at which new executive teams have got to grips with the problems they have inherited and have clearly identified potential risks to the future sustainability of their college. In some cases there is early evidence that the college is on course to deliver a financial ‘turnaround’ in a remarkably short period of time.

“This has often involved taking some difficult decisions – in one case reducing staff numbers by almost 50 per cent – but with positive results that go a long way to solving the financial problems which they face and within a twelve to eighteen month period.

“In all of this what must not be forgotten, of course, is that the colleges and institutions attracting an intervention under the terms set out in rigour and responsiveness are the ones that for whatever reason are causing concern. They are very much in the minority in what remains a very successful sector.”

Dr Collins’s interventions are triggered either by a grade four Ofsted rating, a notice of financial concern from the Skills Funding Agency or Education Funding Agency, or failure to meet national minimum standards of performance set by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or the Department for Education.

The commissioner has so far visited LeSoCo, Barnfield College, Stockport College, City of Liverpool College, K College, City of Bristol College, Weymouth College, Bicton College, City of Wolverhampton College and Stratford-upon-Avon College.