Principal ‘on leave’ after drama head’s rant

The principal of a large London college has taken a leave of absence following the suspension of an apparently homophobic and racist department head.

Denise Brown-Sackey (pictured centre), at Newham College, and her board of governors took the decision after a recording emerged of dance and drama head Dr Mark Walcott (pictured right) seeming to make vile claims during a staff meeting early last year.

A 50-minute recording was posted on YouTube on November 17.

Newham College’s focus remains unwaveringly on its learners.

However, FE Week understands that an eight-month internal investigation into Dr Walcott had already taken place with no action having been taken — until the clip went online.

Denise-Brown-Sackey-ofsted

A Newham College spokesperson said: “In light of recent events concerning an online recording expressing views which do not reflect the values of Newham College, and in the best interests of the college, the board of governors has agreed with the principal, Denise Brown-Sackey, that she will take a leave of absence, pending an independent investigation into recent allegations.

“Newham College’s focus remains unwaveringly on its learners.

“We are proud of our reputation as a leading college and a fair employer, not least as the only FE College in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index top 100, and will continue to make this the focus of our work.”

Mrs Brown-Sackey will be replaced while on leave by her predecessor as principal, Martin Tolhurst CBE.

She has been principal of Newham College since 2010, moving up from deputy principal when Mr Tolhurst resigned.

She has served at the college for almost 25 years, starting as a lecturer in 1988 and working her way up to principal, with a brief stint as deputy principal at Havering College between 1999 and 2002.

The college spokesperson added: “We will not be commenting on these matters as they are now the subject of an inquiry, and do not envisage it being appropriate to comment further during the course of the inquiry.”

During Dr Walcott’s recorded rant, he seemed to say that gay people were ineffective and unsuitable teachers who would try to “indoctrinate” students into homosexuality, comparing them to the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

A spokesperson for the college described Dr Walcott as a “contractor”, but declined to give further details on any contractual relationship.

Dr Walcott is listed on what appears to be his LinkedIn profile as chief executive of the east London-based London Music and Dance Academy.

Dr Walcott, who has been suspended pending the independent investigation, could not be contacted by FE Week.

Apprenticeship loans still showing no sign of take-off

Just over a quarter of applications for FE loans had not been successfully processed by the end of October, new figures have revealed.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) confirmed 52,468 applications had been lodged, seven months after 24+ advanced learning loans were first introduced.

But most recent figures show 13,425 applications were not ready for payment, which works out at 26 per cent.

A further 1,212 applications had been processed, but deemed “ineligible” by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

The Association of Colleges (AoC) confirmed it had raised concern with the SLC that the application system was not working as efficiently for FE learner as for higher education students.

Julian Gravatt (pictured), AoC assistant chief executive, said: “The SLC’s processes are fast for those who supply all the information at the right time, but slower for those who have a missing piece of information.

Julian Gravatt

“This works well for full-time higher education students who apply months in advance, but is more problematic for walk-in enrolments at colleges.

“The priority for colleges at the moment is to ensure that loan applications continue to be converted into loan confirmations.

“There are some areas of the system which need improvement which AoC has taken up with the SLC.”

An SLC spokesperson confirmed the company was prepared to review how it processes FE loans.

He said: “We continue to review and develop the guidance we offer about information needed when applying for a loan, as we seek to continuously improve the service available to all applicants.”

The figures showed a continuing trend of low take-up for apprenticeship loans, as just 404 applications had been lodged.

Apprentices did not have to pay anything towards their training costs before the system was introduced in April for courses starting from August.

Sector leaders expressed concern that fear of paying off loans, that could run to several thousand pounds, was putting young people off apprenticeships.

Stewart Segal, chief executive for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, and David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, claimed the system was failing and called on the government to take “radical action”.

The take-up is well below government forecasts of 25,000 applications for apprenticeship loans this academic year (by July 31, 2014).

A BIS spokesperson conceded there was an issue with apprentice loans.

He said: “The introduction of loans to FE has been very successful. However, application numbers indicate that employers and learners are not engaging with loans in apprenticeships.

“We are keeping a close watch on the data and the implications for the apprenticeship programme.”

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Two rounds of college funding unleash £232m in government cash

The government is to release £232.7m of funding to revamp more than 50 colleges who will match-fund with £250m of their own cash.

An extra £330m will be made available for skills capital investment through the Local Growth Fund in 2016-17.

Business Secretary Vince Cable, speaking at the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference, said: “Boosting the quality and availability of training is fundamental to building a stronger economy, with skilled jobs spread across all regions of the UK.

“Our commitment to support modern, well-equipped colleges and training centres to train the next generation sits alongside the government’s industrial strategy giving business the confidence to invest in the long-term.

“For Britain to compete, and for everyone to reach their potential, we need the very best training centres, staffed with the very best trainers. This is why I can confirm that a further £330m will also be available for skills capital investment through the Local Growth Fund in 2016-17 in order to support local priorities.

“This investment, along with these 50 or so new college capital projects takes total government capital investment in FE colleges since May 2010 to more than £1.5bn.”

Projects being funded include Dudley College’s new engineering and advanced manufacturing workshops, Leeds City College centre for mechanical engineering and Runshaw College’s industry standard engineering and science facilities.

The investment in college estates forms the third and fourth rounds of the College Capital Investment Fund (CCIF).

Martin Doel, AoC chief executive, said: “This newly-announced capital investment will make a real difference to further education colleges and their students across England. It is noteworthy, as the Minister points out, that colleges have provided £250m of their own funding which will make these new buildings a reality.

“Unfortunately, the future is less certain. Ministers have announced that local enterprise partnerships will be involved in the allocation of the FE capital budget from 2015 forward but there is little detail as to how government will ensure all bids for funding are treated fairly and achieve similar value for money to the allocations announced.

“There’s also an approaching demographic bubble with the numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds predicted to soar in the latter part of this decade. Ministers need to start thinking about this now.”

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock also announced a new programme — to improve broadband infrastructure and provision in colleges.

Colleges will receive new funding — which was not specified — to install second broadband connections with help to make the most effective use of existing provision, including upgrades to bandwidth.

Mr Hancock said: “Colleges that embrace the latest technologies can revolutionise the services they offer to students and business. This new funding to improve broadband infrastructure will provide colleges with greater resilience and improved broadband speed.

“As many as eight out of 10 colleges are relying on a single connection, for both their operational and teaching needs — including cloud-based applications and online business.

“It’s easy to imagine what happens if that connection goes down, that’s why I’m allocating extra funds to allow colleges to install a second broadband connection — giving them greater ability to operate and support their students with the latest technology 24/7.”

It is thought that as many as eight in 10 colleges are relying on a single broadband connection and maybe unaware of the impact this could have if the connection fails.

Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, said: “The additional investment to support college broadband accessibility is most welcome, as is the reassurance that skills capital funding flowing through local authority partnerships is indeed ring-fenced and guaranteed for an additional year. We will of course be working with partners to establish how this can be used for colleges.”

Peter Roberts, chair of the 157 Group and chief executive of Leeds City College, said: “Last month, the 157 Group published its manifesto for FE and skills. Two key requests focused on policy and funding stability.

“Both the tone and the content of the ministerial speeches indicate that some stability may be coming. This is welcome, as is the clear recognition of the good work being done by most FE colleges.”

Careers guidance in ‘crisis’ as survey finds less than one in five given vocational qualification advice

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that careers guidance is “heading towards a cliff edge”, joining sector-wide calls to ensure young people are aware of all their options.

The comments made by CBI director for employment and skills policy Neil Carberry, come after a survey of 2000 14 to 25-year-olds showed that only 26 per cent of them were given information on apprenticeships and only 17 per cent were advised on vocational qualifications.

Mr Carberry said: “Careers guidance in England’s schools is heading towards a cliff-edge.

“Advice is scarce for young people not interested in being funnelled towards A Levels and university and exciting, potential life-changing career alternatives are being lost.”

The survey, conducted using the Barclays Youth Barometer, which measures young people’s aspirations, also found that only nine per cent received advice on starting their own business, and just over one in 10 (11.8 per cent) received no advice at all.

Mr Carberry added: “There is a worrying shortage of skills in some of our key industries and if we don’t give young people the information they need to find apprenticeships or sign up to high-quality vocational training, this will only get worse.”

The warning coincided with the publication of a report calling for action on a career advice “crisis”, published by the Skills Commission, a body administered by Policy Connect, a cross-party, non-profit think tank.

The report, ‘One System, Many Pathways’, was commissioned by co-chairs of the Commission MP Barry Sheerman and  Dame Ruth Silver, and is the result of a cross-party inquiry chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson, former chief inspector of schools, and Ian Ferguson, chairman of trustees at Metaswitch.

It said: “The Department for Education must immediately acknowledge the crisis in information, advice, and guidance, and undertake a full review of provision.

“A range of sources must be available to all learners before the age of 14, their parents, carers and guardians, alongside access to trained advisors.”

“Real choice for all learners is firstly about creating the range of options within the system to cater for the diversity of learners. However, these options are irrelevant if young people and those who guide them are not given adequate information about the options available, or not advised on what is right for each learner.”

However, the report added: “Teachers are not trained to offer employment advice, and cannot be expected to understand what all careers entail, or even recognise how a particular aptitude might translate into a perfect career option.

Since April 2012, schools, rather than local authorities have been responsible for providing information, advice, and guidance on future careers.

However, the report added:  “As the recent Ofsted report made clear, this is not yet working, and Government must intervene before more learners leave this transition phase with scant clear knowledge from their educational provider about how their skills might translate into worthwhile employment.”

The Association of Colleges has launched the Careers Advice: Guaranteed campaign  to deal with the issue, after Ofsted found that very few schools were offering effective careers advice.

The campaign calls for increased access to advice through Jobcentre Plus and local authorities, accountability through Ofsted and investment from the Department for Education and informed choice for learners.

At the association’s annual conference last month, association president Michele Sutton said:

“Wherever I go, whoever I speak to, principals across the country all agree that the quality of impartial advice and guidance is nothing less than appalling,” said Mrs Sutton.

She added: “I would say to the Prime Minister — please, get a move on.

The campaign calls for increased access to advice through Jobcentre Plus and local authorities, accountability through Ofsted and investment from the Department for Education and informed choice for learners.

Mrs Sutton said: “The longer this disgraceful situation exists, the longer term effect there is on the young.”