Barclays sticks by Elmfield Training

The Skills Funding Agency has been “working closely” with Barclays Bank over its apprenticeship plans with Elmfield Training after the provider was banned from taking on new learners, FE Week can reveal.

The multinational bank said last month it wanted to double its apprentice intake to 2,000, despite contracted provider Elmfield having been banned from taking on new learners.

The bank said it wanted to achieve its aim — targeting young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training — within two years.

The announcement came after the agency’s ban for Elmfield, under a notice of serious breach, over its Ofsted grade four inspection result in July.

The agency is committed to working with Barclays to ensure the continuation of this successful programme.”

A Barclays spokesperson said: “Our commitment is unchanged to apprenticeships. We are working closely with the agency and Elmfield to ensure we meet that commitment.”

Elmfield declined to comment, but an agency spokesperson said: “We have worked closely with Barclays to ensure they are aware of the conditions attached to Elmfield’s notice.Future starts at Barclays will be dependent on the agency’s assurance that Elmfield has made satisfactory progress against their post inspection action plan.”

She added: “The agency is committed to working with Barclays to ensure the continuation of this successful programme.”

Ofsted found outcomes for Elmfield learners were inadequate and the majority of its apprentices did not complete their framework within the planned time.

The inspection report came just months after FE Week reported how Elmfield’s success rates showed just 47.5 per cent of its 13,420 leavers in the retail and wholesale sector, aged 25+, walked away with an apprenticeship certificate in 2011/12.

Although Ofsted acknowledged the provider’s success rates were good in newer areas of provision, accounting for around 20 per cent of its delivery and including banking, some elements nevertheless required improvement.

Elmfield said it accepted the education watchdog’s recommendations for improvement and would, “focus on tackling the success factors identified initially in our self-assessment report”.

Barclays said at the time it would stand by the provider.

The agency’s spokesperson said: “The notice of serious breach issued to Elmfield following its inadequate inspection outcome will remain in place until a full Ofsted re-inspection has taken place.

A condition of the notice is that Elmfield cannot start any new learners with either new or existing employers or apply for growth.

“This condition will only be lifted once the agency is assured that Elmfield is making satisfactory progress against their post-inspection action plan.”

Meanwhile, the agency’s requirements of Elmfield under the notice were disclosed to FE Week following a Freedom of Information Act request.

The agency issued its notice to Elmfield chief executive Simon Shaw on July 15.

He replaced former chief executive Ged Syddall after his resignation in light of the Ofsted blow, although it is understood he remains the provider’s majority shareholder.
The notice said a grade three result was needed from Elmfield’s next Ofsted inspection. 

It also set out seven key areas of concern to be monitored at monthly case conferences arranged and chaired by the agency.

Qualifications cull comes under FAB fire

A cull of more than 1,800 adult qualifications that had little or no uptake has come under fire from Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) chief executive Jill Lanning.
The Skills Funding Agency has axed funding for a host of awards, from entry level to level four, as part of its New Streamlined Funding System for Adult Skills from the start of last month

Among the 1,884 qualifications hit for no uptake were City & Guilds’ level one award in creative techniques in jewellery — personalised key fob and the Royal Society for Public Health’s level two award in health promotion.

Many cases of funding are being withdrawn from only one or two of the awarding bodies offering each of the qualifications under scrutiny.

However, a further 197 qualifications that had faced the chop were saved.

They included the Mineral Products Qualifications Council’s level four diploma in supervision of underground coal, shale or fireclay mining operations and City & Guilds’ level three diploma for professional dog stylists.

Nevertheless, Mrs Lanning remained critical of the cull.

“We recognise the agency may need to focus and prioritise the limited public funding available for adult learning, but we do not believe that the approach used to remove funding from individual qualifications with low and no enrolments is an effective way to do this,” she said.

“Many cases of funding are being withdrawn from only one or two of the awarding bodies offering each of the qualifications under scrutiny.

“We are naturally concerned about the impact of this approach on our members, including where funding was removed from one of a suite of linked qualifications offered by an awarding organisation.”

In February FE Week reported how more than 2,400 qualifications could disappear, but in July Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said that 1,884 qualifications would be scrapped following a “thorough” review.

An agency spokesperson told FE Week: “We asked awarding organisations, colleges and training providers to submit evidence for any qualifications they believed should be retained.

“Where we have removed public funding for qualifications with no or low enrolments, we have ensured no gaps in provision for employers and learners.”
She added that the agency would review funding decisions if there was evidence of demand.

And, thanks to a Freedom of Information request to the agency, FE week can reveal that 70 per cent of the qualifications cut were axed because they had no uptake in the 22 months from August 2011, while the remainder were culled for little demand.

Meanwhile, City & Guilds won amnesty for 74 of its qualifications, but lost 345. Its director of policy, research and regulation, Judith Norrington, said: “It’s understandable that the government is keen to focus funding on the qualifications that people are taking.

“Clearly, there is a need to simplify the complex framework system wherever possible — in fact the Qualifications and Credit Framework [QCF] system itself led to awarding bodies producing so many qualifications.

“Our main concern is whether the needs of employers and learners have driven the changes to funding. It’s particularly vital that employers are involved to ensure the funding is directed to the right areas and meets their needs.”

Meanwhile, OCR saw two of its qualifications saved, including its level two certificate in preparing to work in creative media. It lost 192.

A spokesperson for the awarding body said: “The fact that there are so many unused qualifications is a hangover from an old regime and illustrates perfectly the need to get rid of the QCF.

“What is really important is that we all develop new qualifications for new and emerging needs. It is not about the actual number of qualifications, but the right kind of qualifications.”

Careers plan after wrath of Wilshaw

The government has announced an action plan to tackle poor careers advice after Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw attacked schools saying “too few are doing enough” on the service.

He hit out with the education watchdog’s much-awaited report — Going in the right direction? Careers guidance in schools from September 2012 — offering a damning commentary on careers guidance in schools.

The report showed that 75 per cent of the 60 schools visited were not implementing their duty to provide impartial careers advice.

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said schools, which have been responsible for providing their 14 to 16-year-olds with careers guidance since 2012, would in future be issued with clearer advice on their responsibilities.

He said he also wanted more employers involved in response to the Ofsted report and also a report this year by the National Careers Council which called for a “culture change” in careers guidance.

“I want all schools to do as the best do — inspiring young people, providing work experience and putting them in touch with employers,” said Mr Hancock.
The National Careers Service is also set to “be improved to give young people a greater understanding of the full range of options available to them”.

The Ofsted report came out on September 10 — the day after Sir Michael praised schools for “radical advances” in inspections.

He said: “Our findings show that too few schools are doing enough to ensure all their students receive comprehensive advice about the breadth of career opportunities available.”
The criticism comes nine months after the Education Select Committee warned of a “deterioration” in schools’ careers guidance.

Committee chair said Graham Stuart said: “This [Ofsted] report makes an irresistible case for change and I very much hope ministers are listening.”

Tristram Hunt, Labour’s Junior Shadow Education Minister, said: “The government’s reforms have brutally undermined careers services for 14 to 16-year-olds.

“This is a matter of social justice and economic competitiveness — young people need the support to make the right choices and the youth unemployment rates are a sad testament to that.”

Association of Colleges president Michele Sutton said: “We are letting young people down if we don’t provide them with absolute clarity on the full range of providers, including sixth form colleges and colleges, and to the widest range of options open to them, which includes further and higher education, traineeships and apprenticeships.”

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “The Ofsted report should lead to schools and colleges being more transparent in terms of the careers advice offered and more welcoming to input from training providers and employers.”

David Igoe, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, said his members “rely on local schools providing information and guidance on all the opportunities available and … too often we felt that this statutory duty was neglected or just blatantly ignored.”

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, wanted “high-quality, face-to-face guidance provided by qualified professionals is available in all parts of the country”.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, said employers should have a role in schools’ careers guidance.

“Including employers … will go some way to inspiring those wanting to take a more vocational route,” he said.

Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, suggested colleges step in to help schools, because they “offer excellent advice and guidance services”.

Meanwhile, Karen O’Donoghue, president of the Career Development Institute, called for guidance to be delivered by Qualifications and Credit Framework level six-registered professionals.

College defends Muslim veil ban

A Midland college has defended its security policy that effectively bans Muslim students wearing face veils, but refused to say if it would be reviewed in light of mounting criticism and media coverage.

Birmingham Metropolitan College hit the headlines this week when a prospective Muslim student was told of the policy preventing learners from wearing a niqab.

The girl, who did not want to be named, branded the policy “disgusting” and said she was being “discriminated against”.

Protestors angry at the policy are set to visit the college on Friday according to a Facebook group and the NUS has also hit out at the ban.

College principal Dame Christine Braddock has so far refused to back down on the policy, which a college spokesperson said had been in place for eight years.

But the principal declined to comment on whether it would be reviewed in light of objections to the policy and local and national media coverage.

She told FE Week: “Birmingham Metropolitan College actively engages with our stakeholders and users of our buildings to review our policies on a regular basis.”

The rule preventing use of niqabs — a veil which leaves a thin slot for the eyes — also means hoodies, hats and caps are banned.

The policy at the college, which had more than 26,000 students just over two years ago before merging with the 12,500-student Stourbridge College this summer – is that individuals should be “easily identifiable at all times”.

However, Colum McGuire, NUS vice president for welfare, said: “While it is important to ensure safety on campuses, it should not mean that students lose the right to express their religious beliefs and practises.

“It is unacceptable for a college to enact a policy that, perhaps unintentionally, has a disproportionate impact on a specific group of students due to their faith or belief.

“No group of students from any community should feel specifically targeted due to an institutional policy.

“NUS believes in progressive learning environments and recognises the importance of safe, cohesive campus relations which are open to all.”

But other students at the college — which achieved a good grading from Ofsted in March 2011 — said the ban made them feel safer.

Chante Young, 17, a business student, said: “You don’t know who is underneath it. You can’t see any of their face — only their eyes.”

Dame Christine said: “We have a very robust equality, diversity and inclusion policy at Birmingham Metropolitan College, but we are committed to ensuring that students are provided with a safe and welcoming learning environment while studying with us.

“To ensure that safeguarding is a priority, we have developed our policy alongside student views to ensure we keep them safe.

“This needs individuals to be easily identifiable at all times when they are on college premises and this includes the removal of hoodies, hats, caps and veils so that faces are visible.”

She added: “All prospective and progressing students, as well as staff, have been advised of the policy, which will mean everyone allowed on the premises can understand and know each other in a safe environment.”

Youth unemployment rises

The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds has risen slightly to 21 per cent, according to official figures released today.

For May to July, it rose 0.5 percentage points (9,000) from February to April, said the Office for National Statistics, hitting the 960,000 mark.

Excluding people in full-time education (FTE), there were 668,000 unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds for May to July, up 9,000 from February to April.

There were 3.60 million 16 to 24-year-olds in employment for May to July, down 77,000 from February to April.

There were also 2.66 million economically inactive 16 to 24-year-olds (75 per cent of whom were in full-time education), up 53,000 from February to April.

Ofsted boss Sir Michael hits out at schools over careers guidance

Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw has attacked schools over their record on providing careers guidance saying “too few are doing enough”.

He hit out today with publication of the education watchdog’s much-awaited report — Going in the right direction? Careers guidance in schools from September 2012 .

It gives a damning commentary on careers guidance in schools and comes a year after they were made responsible for delivering the service.

The report shows that 75 per cent of the schools visited were not implementing their duty to provide impartial careers advice effectively.

“Many students in the schools with weaker provision had had little information or guidance about how to start taking responsibility for the careers that lay ahead of them,” it says.

“Inspectors found that about three quarters of the schools visited had not identified a comprehensive strategy or purpose for careers guidance.

“A strategic overview and coordination were lacking; provision often comprised activities that had been in place for some time and had not been evaluated or reviewed.”

It also says the National Careers Service was not promoted well enough and there was a lack of employer engagement in schools.

Sir Michael said: “It is vitally important that young people have access to information on the full range of career pathways available so they can make informed choices about their next steps.

“Our findings show that too few schools are doing enough to ensure all their students receive comprehensive advice about the breadth of career opportunities available to them.

“It is worrying that the new arrangements are failing to provide good guidance or to promote vocational training options and apprenticeships.”

The report, which comes a day after Sir Michael praised schools for “genuine and radical advances” on inspections, examines careers advice in schools since September 2012 — when they were given the legal responsibility for service for 14 to 16-year-olds.

It was commissioned by the Department for Education and looks at the extent to which young people in the age range were getting impartial careers advice.

Few of the 60 schools visited for the survey had bought in adequate service from external sources, it says in the report.

It further criticises schools for not working well enough with employers to provide students with direct experience of the world of work.

Vocational training and apprenticeships were rarely promoted effectively, especially in schools with sixth forms, the report says.

Instead, the A-level route remained the ‘gold-standard’ for young people, their parents and teachers.

Few schools were promoting the National Careers Service, the body responsible for providing independent and impartial careers advice to young people from the age of 13.

Its telephone service and website were also rarely promoted and therefore significantly underused.

Nearly all of the students interviewed who were aware of the website told inspectors that it offered nothing different from other similar sites and the large majority felt it was mostly aimed towards older students and adults.

The report goes on to make a number of recommendations to the government, schools, local authorities, National Careers Service as well as for Ofsted itself.

“Given the high levels of youth unemployment, even among graduates, it is important the government, schools, local authorities and other agencies all work to improve the quality of careers advice in schools,” said Sir Michael.

The report calls on the government to provide more explicit guidance to schools on careers advice and to monitor students’ progress and achievement when they leave school through accurate collection of destination data.

The National Careers Service is also told to market its services more effectively to all young people aged 13 to 18 and do more to disseminate information on national skills shortages so that young people gain a greater understanding of where there are likely to be greater employment opportunities.

Ofsted also recommends that its own inspectors take greater account of careers guidance and students’ destinations when conducting future school inspections.

Schools were visited for the report over the course of five months from December.

For government and FE sector reaction to the Ofsted report into careers guidance see our next edition 

FE Week policy summit details

FE Week will be holding a policy summit, chaired by Dame Ruth Silver, Friday next week (September 20), 3-4:30pm, on 10th floor of 80 Strand, central London.

You may have seen our front page this week (Apprentice hopefuls face GCSE barrier) and subsequent BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview (see link below, which now includes the recording of the interview) http://feweek.co.uk/2013/09/06/apprentice-hopefuls-face-gcse-barrier/

At the policy summit next Friday I will briefly outline our findings, and propose a solution. I am then very keen to hear attendee thoughts in terms of whether they believe the practice of setting GCSE entry criteria is acceptable (by provider and/or employer), and if not what might be done to change the practice. Ultimately, I’m keen to see if a consensus can be found, which means 40%+ of young people are no longer excluded from applying for the most basic apprenticeships because of their GCSE grades.

We will be reporting on this policy summit in FE Week.

Details: Discussion about apprentice hopefuls facing GCSE barriers
Location: 10th floor 80 Strand, WC2R 0RL (Pearson/Penguin offices)
Time: 3-4:30pm (including refreshments)
RSVP via email to me asap please.

For information, organisations invited include AoC, AELP, NUS, UCU, 157 Group, Unison, UKCES, NIACE, CBI, FSB, minister and shadow minister, the government’s apprenticeship ambassadors, some SSCs, some AOs and a small number of MDs from providers and principals from colleges.

 

Making maths add up in FE and skills

Picking up the pieces of school-leavers’ maths GCSE failings is a heavy burden for the FE and skills sector. It is also one in which Alex Falconer thinks improvements are needed.

This year more than 550,00 year 11 pupils in England will complete their GCSEs. Most (86 per cent) will go on to training or FE of one sort or another.

Recent figures show that of these, roughly a third will stay on to their school sixth form, one in ten (68,000) will study at a sixth form college and another third (185,000) will transfer to general FE colleges for (mostly) vocational education.

Around 5 per cent will take apprenticeships, some will get employment and the rest will join the ranks of those not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

For those aspiring to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers, a GCSE C grade or better in maths is essential.

The national A* to C grade GCSE maths pass rate in schools is currently around 70 per cent.

However, the fact that 172,000 pupils fail to achieve a grade C by the age of 16 has been a concern for some time.

In fact this year, around 64,000 school leavers will achieve a D grade in GCSE maths.

Of those who repeat GCSE maths in post-16 settings — school sixth forms, sixth form colleges, FE colleges and work-based learning providers — fewer than half achieve a C grade or better each year.

Certainly, the recent emphasis on teaching maths for understanding in our schools has had a positive effect on pupils and their attainment levels.

However, there are still too few pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving five A* to C grade GCSE passes.

These young people are far more likely to miss out on well-paid jobs because they have not achieved their potential at GCSE.

This is precisely why, following the recommendations in the Wolf report, there is now a clear expectation from government that all post-16 learners will continue to study maths and will either prepare for, or take GCSE maths.

This is a huge challenge for all FE and skills providers. Ensuring all learners get their entitlement to maths provision that leads to a level two qualification or GCSE is currently taxing their minds and resources.

It is not an easy task as there is a shortage of teachers qualified to teach GCSE maths.

Where possible, providers have been actively recruiting more maths teachers and making sure that relevant training for others is in place.

However, it does look as though demand will continue to outstrip supply. To provide an initial solution, the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) has developed a Mathematics Enhancement Programme to provide continued professional development.

But spare a thought for those who did not achieve a D grade or better — all 108,000 of them.

Many of these young people will train for apprenticeships, NVQs, BTecs and the like. Most of these learners will take functional skills courses in foundation English and/or maths.

From Ofsted’s perspective, teaching and learning in functional skills maths require considerable improvement. But where it is most successful, lessons are firmly rooted in vocational contexts.

That is to say, the maths operations they learn are taught within relevant, subject-based contexts.

It is therefore that maths is seen as a key underpinning subject, integral to all the 16 to 19 study programmes and not as an ‘add-on’ extra. A more numerate and mathematically confident workforce will make a positive contribution to the economy.

In addition, FE — always the leader in the ‘second chance’ market — can change the employment prospects of thousands of learners, and we might even see fewer people leaving saying, ‘I’m useless at maths, me’.

Alex Falconer HMI, Ofsted national lead on post-16 STEM, with additional research by Norma Honey, National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics

 

College framework fears prove to be unfounded

The new ‘toughened up’ Ofsted inspection regime looked likely to make 2012/13 an unhappy year for sixth form colleges, but the general result was an improvement in grades, says James Kewin.

It is fair to say that the introduction of the new common inspection framework (CIF) in September last year was greeted with a degree of trepidation by many in the sixth form college sector.

The previous academic year had been a bruising one in inspection terms.

The more risk-based approach to selecting providers for inspection had seen just one of the 13 colleges inspected receive an improved grade for overall effectiveness and 10 receive a lower grade.

These figures, combined with the increasingly bellicose rhetoric from Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector and some of the significant changes to the new CIF — particularly the move to limited notice inspections — left many sixth form colleges hoping 2012/13 would not be the year inspectors called.

But call they did, and in significant numbers. Of the 93 sixth form colleges in England, no fewer than 30 were inspected.

Interestingly, the inspection performance of the sector improved markedly under what Ofsted itself described as a tougher, more rigorous CIF.

A total of 10 sixth form colleges received an improved grade for overall effectiveness and two were judged to be outstanding, while three of the colleges previously judged as inadequate received an improved grade for overall effectiveness.

How can the improved inspection performance of the sector be explained?

Well, in some respects the approach of inspection teams and their interpretation of the new CIF were as significant as the CIF itself.

For example, the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association (SFCA) has long campaigned for inspectors to stop using a separate success rate benchmark for sixth form colleges.

This benchmark is higher than that used for other colleges and is based on a misguided assumption about the prior attainment profile of students that attend sixth form colleges.

Some of the more inexplicable inspection grades awarded during 2011/12 can be largely explained by this practice. In 2012/13 this was much less widespread and on the whole, inspection teams were more willing to take ‘all college’ and sixth form college national averages into account.

The greater emphasis on teaching and learning has seen an increase in lesson observations and learning walks under the new CIF. This has helped to change the perception that inspection judgements were entirely data-driven.

In some sixth form colleges, there was a clear sense that what was observed in the classroom, and the general ‘direction of travel’ being taken by the institution was a bigger factor in arriving at the final judgement.

Despite initial misgivings over the limited notice regime, some colleges found having less time to prepare resulted in less anxiety among staff and a more effective performance.

But concerns remain. The approach of inspection teams, and in particular their use of data, can still vary dramatically.

The inspections of outstanding sixth form colleges this year have in some cases been conducted harshly. And inspection teams have been largely uninterested in the work sixth form colleges are doing to support schools, academies or other colleges.

More attention and more credit should be given to colleges that are attempting to drive up standards and improve outcomes for learners in other institutions.

Staff and leadership teams in sixth form colleges should be applauded for their flexible and effective response to the introduction of the new CIF.

At a national level, Ofsted should also be credited for listening to, and acting on, some of the concerns expressed by the SFCA and its members. Looking ahead, we are encouraged by plans to consult on the introduction of a separate grade for school sixth forms and the roll-out of focussed improvement support for colleges with an Ofsted grade three or four inspection result.

Ofsted can help the sector to build on the progress made over the next 12 months by ensuring that their inspection judgements are fair, consistent and transparent.