Sector leaders gave a mixed welcome to new requirements for providers to collect data on what happens to learners after they finish courses.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has published a second version of its guide to data collection requirements for individual learner records (ILR) for 2014/15.

It includes a new requirement to complete five new learner outcome fields — including the outcome start date (for example, when learners get a job after completing a course).

The other fields are outcome type (for example, whether the former learner is in paid employment or back in education) , outcome code (more detail on the type of learner outcome being recorded), outcome end date (the date that the former student finished a learner outcome such as a new job, if applicable), and outcome collection date (when the outcome data was collected from the learner).

The ILR specification says these new fields will be mandatory (unlike the current destination field) but only for certain learners — for example those taking traineeships, students funded by the adult skills budget and learners who were unemployed prior to enrolment.

It will be the first time information about a learner’s enrolment can be recorded in a future year’s ILR file.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, was in favour of tracking learner outcomes.

He said: “It will prove what providers have been doing has worked, with different courses leading to jobs. It will also help providers maintain better links with both learners and providers.”

The recently-released Skills Funding Statement (SFS) made several references to linking learner outcomes to funding.

It said the government had been working on three “core” measures that could determine funding — destination (into further learning or “into/within” employment), progression (through learning) and earnings changes (following completion of learning).

Stephen Hewitt, Morley College’s strategic funding, enrolments and examinations manager, said: “I definitely don’t think learner outcomes will be taken into account for provider funding for 2014/15, as we have already been given the funding rules for that period.

“It’s more likely they will have to take a look at the figures over a couple of years to see how learner outcomes could affect funding. If they changed the rules without taking this into account, some providers could be left with huge cuts in funding without being able to plan for this.”

Joy Mercer, director of policy for the Association of Colleges, said: “To hold learning providers responsible for job outcomes is unfair when some colleges are operating in very difficult areas with high unemployment.

“However, to collect a broader set of statistics on what happens to students after a course of study is of enormous interest both to the government and the colleges themselves.”

Lynne Sedgmore, chief executive of the 157 Group, said: “It is a step towards developing a more mature approach to accountability. How the data is used will be a question for the future, once we are sure it is complete, accurate and robust.”

Paul Warner, director of employment and skills for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “In principle AELP has always been supportive about the introduction of destination data collection.

“However, providers, particularly ones without large resources, will need time to get up to speed on tracking all learners.”

The only funding linked to learner destination at the moment is the Skills Funding Agency’s job outcome payment, offering a compensation payment that can only be paid to providers when learners either fail their qualifications or walk away early — providing they’ve won employment.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in February it planned to launch a consultation on “outcome-based measures of performance for all post-19 FE and skills”.

But this has not yet been launched and a BIS spokesman said there will be “an update in the summer” on when it will happen.

BIS declined to comment on how learner outcome data collected from individual learner records could be used in future funding calculations.

Control over WorldSkills UK and the Skills Show has been pulled together under a single organisation.

Find a Future, which will be funded by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), the European Social Fund, and commercial sponsorship, was launched today (April 1).

The not-for-profit organisation has taken control of WorldSkills UK from the SFA and the annual Skills Show from UK Skills.

It will also take over the Skills Show Experience — an extension of the national Skills Show which stages local competitions across the country — from UK Skills.

Ross Maloney, chief executive of Find a Future, said: “Find a Future is the perfect opportunity for us to integrate three highly successful products and enhance their offering to our end users — young people — while adding real value to individuals’ lives and the future economic prosperity of our nation.”

WorldSkills UK selects the national team to compete in the prestigious international skills competition — which was last held in London in 2011 and will take in Sao Paulo, Brazil, next year.

It was run by not-for-profit organisation UK Skills, in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), until the SFA took complete control in 2010.

UK Skills was instead given responsibility for the Skills Show, which attracts more than 75,000 visitors a year to the NEC Birmingham and was launched in 2012, and the Skills Show Experience.

UK Skills has effectively now been transformed into Find a Future and assumed control over all three.

Mr Maloney added: “The [three] products have many synergies and shared ambitions, and by bringing them together, we are confident that we can achieve greater impact and reinforce the importance of valuing and celebrating further education, skills and apprenticeships.

“By combining our resources, Find a Future will ensure that employers have direct access to the diversity of talent which they need, to enable their businesses to flourish and our nation to prosper.”

The SFA confirmed its executive director for funding and programmes Keith Smith will continue as the UK’s official delegate for WorldSkills.

Visit www.findafuture.org.uk to find out more about the new organisation.

NB – this article was originally published as an April Fools story.

Plans to spend £100m installing satellite-linked thermostats in every college classroom in England to improve learning conditions have been labelled a “waste of money” and symptomatic of a “nanny state”.

Skills minister Matthew Hancock announced yesterday that the Department for Education would be able to monitor the temperature in every college classroom by 2017. He said classrooms were often too hot or too cold, and that the varying temperatures were disrupting learners.

It comes after Stockport College was told by Ofsted that classroom temperatures “vary too much across the college” and that some rooms were “too hot to be conducive to learning”. It also comes after research by the American Healthy Schools initiative showed test scores rose in classrooms which were not too cold or too warm.

But the investment – half of which will cover the cost of the equipment itself and the other half will be spent on the infrastructure – has been criticised by some sector leaders.

Lynne Sedgmore, chief executive of the 157 Group, said: “This new initiative runs contrary to consistent claims by the government that FE colleges have full autonomy and are being encouraged to be more mature and independent.

“Not only is this a waste of money when other significant financial cuts are being made, it also reflects a growing lack of trust. It is symptomatic of an ever expanding nanny state interfering more and more on the frontline.

“The satellite link smacks of the advent of Big Brother in our classrooms. The 157 Group is totally opposed to this initiative and can see nothing to welcome.”

Under the plans, the £800 wireless ambiance sensory testing equipment units, developed by Prafilloso Ltd, will be installed in every college classroom, and will link via the government’s non-essential services satellite directly to the Department for Education’s maintaining educational excellence action team, based at the Department for Education’s new headquarters at at the Old Admiralty Building

 

Mr Hancock said: “As someone who studied at an FE college, I know how important it is to get working conditions in classrooms just right, and the right temperature is an essential part of that. Recent research shows us that learners perform better if their classroom is the ideal temperature.

“During visits to several colleges over the winter, I found myself having to put on a v-neck jumper because classrooms, especially those in older college buildings, were not heated to an acceptable level.

“That is why I am delighted to announce today a £100m investment in technology to ensure that we know when colleges aren’t doing their bit to make sure their learners are as comfortable as possible.

“Information collected through this state-of-the-art equipment, installed in every college classroom in England, will be used by the government to monitor colleges to ensure our students are learning in a suitably healthy environment.”

According to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, rooms where a normal level of physical activity is expected, such as classrooms or libraries, should be heated to 18C, while areas like gyms and drama workshops should be around 15C. Other rooms where there is a lower-than-normal level of activity like sick rooms are required to be heated to 21C.

Staff at Lambeth College will go on strike tomorrow (Tuesday) over proposed changes to pay and conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced.

It comes after 95 per cent of staff who voted in a ballot backed industrial action following a dispute over plans to change contracts, and in particular, clauses about working hours, sick pay and holidays. The UCU has claimed the changes could leave some Lambeth staff working longer hours than all but three of London’s 38 FE colleges.

UCU regional official Una O’Brien said: “There is deep anger over these proposed changes which will mean workloads will increase but sick pay and holidays will be cut. Different staff will have different contracts, hours and benefits and that will do little to enhance morale.

“The management of the college needs to work with us to ensure the college is fit for purpose. Downgrading staff terms and conditions is not the way to do that.”

Principal Mark Silverman said: “The reforms we are proposing to employment contracts for new staff are vital if we are to survive the many challenges facing the sector – challenges that left unchecked at other colleges have resulted in dwindling learner numbers and eventual college closures.

“We are disappointed with the result of the recent ballot and will continue our dialogue with the unions and our staff to try to avoid a strike which risks damaging the education of our students and job security of all those employed at the college.

“If a strike is unavoidable, we will make the necessary arrangements to minimise disruption to the education of our students during this period.

“Existing staff should understand that the proposals will only affect new staff and there are no plans to change current contracts for existing staff. The changes are part of the college’s strategic plan, which has been underway for two years.

“We will continue to strive towards long-term success and sustainability of the college which will help protect all of our jobs and ensure the college has a secure future.”

Troubled provider Bright Assessing has allegedly put several members of its staff on “gardening leave”.

FE Week has seen a letter which it is understood the Warwickshire-based provider’s chief executive Krissy Charles-Jones (pictured) handed to up to 20 members of staff on March 26.

It said the short term outlook for the firm “looks challenging” and invited them to go on “gardening leave” — which usually refers to employees staying away from their workplace throughout their notice period on full pay.

In the letter, she added: “Please note that you are not being dismissed, being made redundant or being sacked and the company are not in administration or liquidation.

“The company will be unable to pay staff on the due pay day and we are currently in the process of raising funds to pay staff. We will notify you of pay in due course.

“In the event of the company going into liquidation, staff will be able to seek full pay, notice and all holiday entitlements from the National Insurance fund; obviously we hope that this won’t be necessary.”

It is believed staff are still waiting for confirmation and receipt of their due salary payment.

It comes after Bright lost the first stage of its appeal against the findings of an investigation into allegations of malpractice.

Awarding organisation NCFE (formerly the Northern Council for Further Education) told FE Week in February it had stopped certificating the provider’s courses following its investigation, which has not yet been published.

Bright, which had boasted a pass rate of between 95 and 100 per cent, was told it would “no longer have any involvement in the administration, delivery, assessment, moderation, invigilation and certification” of any NCFE programmes.

A Bright spokesperson said at the time it “vigorously disputes both the findings and the sanction” and the company lodged an appeal.

A panel made up of two senior NCFE managers and an independent expert has now rejected Bright’s appeal.

But Bright has opted to proceed to stage two of the appeals process — which will involve consideration of the case by a second panel made up of an external contractor, a different senior manager from NCFE and an independent expert.

There is a possible third appeals stage, which would involve an independent expert taking a final look at the evidence.

The whole process could take another 40 working days.

A spokesperson for NCFE said: “We have completed the stage one review panel of the NCFE appeals process and have informed Bright of the outcome.

“Bright have confirmed that they now wish to go to the stage two review panel of the NCFE appeals process.

“We can’t disclose any further information as this remains confidential whilst the appeals process is being followed.”

Bright, originally called Bright Assessing but with the registered trading name of Bright International Training, declined to comment on the letter to staff about “gardening leave”, whether staff had been paid, and the NCFE appeals process.

The Skills Funding Agency also declined to comment on NCFE’s investigation into Bright and the appeals process.