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Charity single will honour talented music student’s memory
Talented music student Charlie Derrick died in a car accident 10 years ago. His former lecturers, fellow students and musician friends are uniting for a fundraising Christmas song in his honour, writes Paul Offord.
A charity Christmas single is being produced by Weston College music department to honour the life of a gifted young guitarist.
Charlie Derrick, aged 20, was killed in a car accident in 2003 while studying for a BTec level three music practice diploma, at the Somerset college.
His mother, Jules Derrick, set up the Charlie Derrick Music Foundation to provide financial support for musicians under the age of 25 in North Somerset.
Many of Charlie’s former musician friends, lecturers and students from the college are collaborating on a Christmas single, to be called Hope, to mark the decade since his death.
Jules said: “The foundation started because at least 800 people came to Charlie’s funeral. My husband Stephen and I didn’t want them all to buy flowers, but we said they could make donations instead.
“Charlie’s life was so consumed by music that we thought it would be nice to set up a foundation helping musicians with the proceeds.
“I have heard a demo of the charity single already and it is absolutely beautiful. The words express exactly what we are trying to do, which is give young people hope that they can pursue their dreams in music.”
Paul Raymond, curriculum music and media manager at Weston College, said: “Charlie loved jazz and blues, but he was also a great rock guitarist.
“He would have been a talented session musician and I had actually offered him a job here as a guitar teacher, just before he died.”
The lyrics to the charity song were penned by professional songwriter and former music student Ryan Inglis.
It was composed by former lecturer and session keyboard player Steve Williams, who will soon be going on tour with Boyzone.
“Steve played with Charlie in several bands and they were great friends.” said Mr Raymond.
“We all performed together on the Jazz World Stage at Glastonbury in 2002.
“When he died, because playing at the festival was such a pivotal moment for Charlie, Michael Eavis allowed his ashes to be scattered in the field where we performed.”
The single’s backing track is currently being recorded at the college’s studios, by music production lecturer Tony Hobden.
It was due out before Christmas.
Visit www.cdmusicfoundation.org.uk to donate to the foundation.
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FE Week and Me finalists 2013
A judging panel made up of representatives from FE Week, NCFE and the Royal Photographic Society had the unenviable task of selecting 16 finalists from more than 340 entries this year.
FE Week and Me, a competition organised by FE Week in partnership with NCFE, challenged learners in the further education and skills sector to submit a photo which represented college life.
The judging panel was so impressed by the entries that its members decided to award four highly commended awards. These will be announced following the public vote.
The Royal Photographic Society is supporting the competition and will provide the winner with membership.
It is now down to the public to choose this year’s winner — check out the stunning images above and choose your favorite.
You can also download our guide to this year’s finalists and read about the creative ideas behind their image.
Once you have decided on your favorite click here to vote.
‘Bite-size’ qualifications can bridge gap to full GCSEs
Post-16 learners need stepping stone qualifications to build up their confidence and skills before they re-take maths and English GCSEs, claims Carol Snape.
There has been a lot of debate generated by the latest OECD report on numeracy and literacy skills.
But in the rush to blame and shame, are we in danger of missing the key point in this issue — how to meet the learner’s needs?
Issue has been taken with the government’s apparent ignorance of functional skills.
There has also been acknowledgement that, if employers require GCSEs to judge job and, increasingly, apprenticeship applicants’ numeracy and literacy skills, something has to be done.
While that debate may be required, we also need to address the needs of those for whom achieving either of these feels a long way off.
As highlighted by National Institute of Adult Continuing Education chief executive David Hughes, if a learner has already had a bad experience with GCSEs, simply making them retake them is unlikely to see improvement in most cases.
This is why a different approach is required to boost learners’ confidence and address specific areas of weakness.
A key benefit of enabling learners to achieve in small bite-sized chunks is that it can quickly boost their self-esteem and sense of achievement
Indeed this has already been recognised by the Skills Funding Agency, which, in February last year, announced it would fund a new set of English and maths qualifications within the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) to support learners’ progression towards GCSE English and maths A* to C or a level two functional skills qualification.
Such qualifications are now available and should form the basis of adult numeracy and literacy teaching, as they provide the necessary flexibility and responsiveness required by adult learners in particular.
The new QCF English and maths qualifications are bite-sized units of assessment covering the adult core curriculum.
They are designed to allow for targeting of specific needs of learners.
A key benefit of enabling learners to achieve in small bite-sized chunks is that it can quickly boost their self-esteem and sense of achievement.
Experiencing early success through the achievement of a small award in a skill area they had previously struggled with can inspire individuals to continue with the challenge of acquiring more skills.
These qualifications can be used creatively to address the specific needs of learners in different contexts.
This could for example be achieved by embedding them into vocational or academic courses of any length and over any period, or studying them as stand-alone awards.
They could also be used to support family learning, by providing formal recognition of the skills gained by parents learning numeracy or literacy skills to support their children.
Otherwise, they could be used as short, sharp boosters to provide bite-sized focus on weaker areas for students who just missed out on GCSE grade C, helping them to improve those areas while also providing an important confidence boost.
It is this flexibility that will allow learners to take highly personalised progression routes through the framework, moving vertically and/or laterally as they progress.
Giving learners the chance to take these new QCF qualifications can only benefit them and the future economy of the entire country.
Without this change in approach, we risk condemning these learners to repeating the same failures they experienced at school and turning them off learning for life.
Carol Snape, chief executive of
OCN Eastern Region
Hawk swoops for a grade one
The 14-month wait for an outstanding independent learning provider (ILP) under Ofsted’s current common inspection framework is over.
The education watchdog visited Twickenham-based Hawk Training (pictured below) late in September and on November 1 issued it with a glowing, grade one inspection result.
It was the first ILP to achieve the feat under Ofsted’s latest inspection regime after 134 visits.
Hawk, a 1,300-apprenticeship provider, was rated as good in 2008, but this time won outstanding ratings overall and also for its leadership and management, and — key to its overall grade one result — teaching, learning and assessment. It was also rated as good for its learner outcomes.
“Highly-skilled and enthusiastic staff serve as outstanding role models for learners,” it said in the report, which added: “Leadership and management are outstanding, leading to significant improvements in the quality of provision.”
Its managing director, Terry Barnett, said: “We’ve worked very, very hard other the last two years to get up the teaching and learning and assessment. We work very hard for all our people to get a certificate in teaching and learning and assessment.”
He added: “At the end of the day, it’s all about hard graft. It’s about getting your head down, making sure your organisation is a quality organisation, working with quality people.
“I think one of the good things that always stood me in good stead, is always try and do business with nice people. You can’t always do it, but if you can it helps a lot.
“I think we’re fiercely proud of what we’ve done and what we’ve developed.”
Hawk, established in 1988, delivers training in early years and playwork, business and administration, and team leading and management to a range of employers, including the government and Xerox.
Among its areas of praise from Ofsted were “considerable investment…in improvements to accommodation, information technology and resources for learning”.
The report continued: “Tutors use their modern ICT equipment, a broad range of software and additional learning resources well to enhance the learning experience for apprentices in the workplace.”
Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, visited the firm on the day its Ofsted report was released. He said: “Meeting the Hawk team, it is easy to see why the provision has been graded as outstanding.
“The facilities, the attitude and commitment of the staff are second to none and it is good to see that this has been recognised by Ofsted.
“Hawk Training is a real example of how work-based learning can deliver high quality, flexible programmes across a wide range of employers.
“We are delighted that Hawk Training has agreed to share some of their experiences at an AELP conference on December 10, when we will hear the feedback from the Chief Inspector’s annual report.”
Of Ofsted’s 135 ILP inspections under its current inspection regime, in which providers must achieve outstanding for teaching and learning to stand a chance of getting the same grade overall, a dozen inadequate ratings have been dished out.
There have also been 55 grade three, or requires improvement, judgments along with 67 at grade two, or good, plus Hawk’s grade one.
“We hope that more providers will achieve outstanding and good ratings from Ofsted, but the new inspection framework is only a year old and we will continue to work with Ofsted to ensure that the key elements of work-based delivery are fully recognised within the framework,” said Mr Segal.
“Examples like Hawk Training can only help improve the understanding of what a work-based learning provider can deliver for employers and learners.”
From the control room to swivel chairs, FE Week on tour
With the ink on Hawk’s outstanding inspection report barely dry, FE Week editor Nick Linford and deputy editor Chris Henwood paid the Twickenham provider a visit.
Set on the fourth floor of a grey, 10-floor office block next to Twickenham train station, one thing that Hawk Training seems to do well — apart from delivering work-based learning, of course — is understatement.
The relatively non-descript home of this very special outfit is bookended by a Travelodge at one end and a sports bar at the other.
There’s no suggestion to the passer-by that within these walls is the first independent learning provider to have been graded outstanding in more than a year.
And, having enjoyed a one-hour tour of the firm’s premises, where I got to sample first-hand the warm hospitality of Terry Barnett’s close-knit team of directors and managers, I am the first to broach the ‘grade one’ issue.
Clearly proud of their achievement, they were equally humbled by it and, in all honesty, seemed a little unprepared for the resultant attention it was always going to bring.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — this is a provider, education and training is their business and that’s what they’re good at. Very good, in fact.
From the moment I set foot in the slick Hawk offices and typed my details into a touchscreen pad that then took my photo, before I was presented with a name badge sticker (complete with my mugshot), it was clear that there had been serious investment here — as mentioned in the Ofsted inspection report.
Looking beyond the ultra-clean and modern facilities, it was attention to detail and investment in IT hardware that Terry was keen to show off.
One room was full of ‘Node’ classroom chairs from America (pictured above right) that swivelled relentlessly to accommodate left or right-handed learners, and also offered their own little storage space under the seat.
In another room, the latest high-definition cameras were remotely turning and zooming in and out to record a lesson, for the benefit of absent learners, from the ‘control room’ (pictured above left).
And the use of technology extended beyond the classroom, as the Skills Funding Agency has given Hawk permission to use electronic signatures, which means the few bits of paperwork on show are simply learner certificates ready to send out.
In fact, visually everything was almost too perfect. For example, it was hard not to giggle at the carefully spaced bottles of juice in the boardroom fridge — but that’s no grounds for criticism.
Ultimately, it’s not possible from my visit to comment on the quality of teaching, Ofsted (the experts) have done that, but if training providers and colleges want to see what can be achieved with a serious amount of investment in facilities and IT, then certainly head down to Twickenham.
Funding proposals put apprenticeship growth at risk
Plans to put businesses at the heart of future funding arrangements for apprenticeships risk driving away all but the most committed employers, warns Christine Doubleday.
In June 2012, Doug Richard was commissioned by Skills Minister Matthew Hancock to conduct a major review of the apprenticeship system.
The government received his report enthusiastically and, in the summer of 2013, opened a consultation on proposals for reforming apprenticeship funding.
A full apprenticeship reform implementation plan is set to be announced by the end of the year.
The 157 Group responded to the funding consultation, which closed on October 1, and in common with many other key stakeholders — including Association of Employment and Learning Providers, Association of Colleges and Edge — voiced serious concerns about the proposals on the table.
While group members are passionate about apprenticeships as a means of increasing productivity and the future skills base, they urged the government to pause and consider a wider range of proposals to avoid putting at risk the progress that has already been made. Fortunately, there were signs during consultation meetings that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills is still open to other suggestions.
To improve the current system, we need to add to the options under discussion
Like the government, we are keen for employers to take greater ownership of the skills agenda and be more proactively involved in apprenticeships.
However, the current proposal rests largely on the creation of a new funding mechanism, which gives the employer much more responsibility for accessing and using government money to deliver or buy apprenticeships.
The proposed funding model is based on a core model with three options, two of which put the employer completely centre-stage and a third which involves funding being claimed by providers from the government, only after they have been paid by the employer.
We see major risks in these proposals for the national apprenticeship programme as a whole and urge caution.
In our view, the proposals are based on unrealistic expectations.
Do the great majority of employers, especially small businesses, really have the capacity, desire or skilled people to tackle the bureaucracy and audit requirements associated with apprenticeship funding?
Aren’t many smaller college and training providers likely to abandon their involvement in apprenticeships, in favour of less problematic and more economically viable provision for young people, if they risk delays in payment or reduced fees?
Is it realistic to expect a major new IT-based system to work effectively from day one?
In relation to apprenticeships, employers can be divided into three broad categories — those that are fully committed, those that do not get involved at all and employers that are only weakly committed.
The funding proposals could well lead to the disengagement of all but the most committed group, when we all want more employers to commit.
They represent a needlessly high-risk approach.
Our colleges have long-standing experience of working with small businesses, and this tells us they are looking for simplification and single points of contact rather than more control.
We believe that so fundamental a change should start with a realistic pilot phase, which would allow both mechanisms and their impact to be tested.
Also, there is time to learn from the pilots of Employer Ownership of Skills.
We are still awaiting the full results of these, and we need to learn from this experience before changing apprenticeship funding in a similar way.
Finally, more thought needs to be given to incremental reform of the current system of funding, seeking to improve for example the policing of unscrupulous providers.
We would urge everyone to get involved in the debate about a funding structure that can give apprenticeships fresh impetus.
To improve the current system, we need to add to the options under discussion.
Only in that way we can all go forward with a more robust system, which can fully achieve the potential of apprenticeships as a foundation of economic growth.
Christine Doubleday, deputy executive director of the 157 group