Poor proxy for real skills

The success of a college needs to be measured in broader terms than success rates alone, says Daniel Khan

When I was a principal of a large college of FE and HE, my managers, governors and I looked at the chief inspector’s annual report  to give us a qualitative position of the sector and one more source of information that we could benchmark our own performance against.

This year’s annual report indicates that nearly two thirds of colleges are good or outstanding.

This is a robust and sound result when the inspection framework is changing and more challenging, and  colleges are needing  to diversify and maximise their funding streams and re-examine, revisit and restate their missions.

The annual report no longer provides a view of the quality and health of provision in the sector since it is now driven by a risk-based approach; outcomes therefore are skewed towards the more challenged end of the spectrum, where work continues to be done.

The inspections also do not any longer reflect the whole of a college’s provision, which means that much positive and vibrant work may be missed.

The new Common Inspection Framework places a high priority on the quality of teaching and learning and the role that leadership and management has in raising standards.

No one can argue with this sentiment but there is little discussion and information on the methodology used to arrive at the inspectors’ judgments – and we all recognise that teaching and learning is, in part, an art and not a science!

Therefore I support and endorse the view that the success of a college needs to be measured in broader terms than by success rates on qualifications alone.

The report highlights the variability in the schools sector and some examples of strong improvement are highlighted, but some areas are still struggling.

Colleges need the flexibility to respond to what learners both need and want”

Many colleges are working with their school partners to share experiences and practices to ensure that students are ready for the new and modern economy. We understand to move forward we have to be true to ourselves.

Education Secretary Michael Gove continues to ignore FE; Labour, at its annual conference, called for a gold standard qualification for young people to aim for, the Technical Baccalaureate.

That means every young person studying English and maths until 18 alongside more rigorous vocational courses, higher apprenticeships and a quality work experience placement.

What about the deal for adult learners? Are there enough adults getting the quality provision that they deserve?

Colleges need the flexibility to respond to what learners both need and want; and the government must ensure that the right incentives and funding systems are in place to support good and outstanding learning.

NIACE agrees that judging providers on their success rates alone is poor proxy for the attainment of real skills that are valued by employers.

There is also an agreement that sustained employment is a key outcome – hopefully, recent announcements on the links between the employment and skills systems will support this.

Adult learning is important for communities, it improves health and civic engagement and job opportunities.

A mature sector recognises that all is not perfect and seeks partnerships to drive up standards.  But let us not forget that change continues at a staggering pace and we should not lose the significant gains made. The journey to excellence is endless…

Professor Daniel Khan is chief executive
of the Open College Network

Local Enterprise Partnerships: the future or not? Part 2

Partnerships are the right groups to bind together local employers and FE, says David Frost

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement makes it clear that local enterprise partnerships are being positioned as the body to drive forward local economic growth.

There is a growing understanding at the heart of government that while it has a responsibility to set a strategy for national economic growth, it should be left to local business and civic leaders to determine the obstacles that inhibit growth at a local level, and then work with local partners to remove those barriers.

LEPs understand the strengths and weaknesses of their economies and their local communities, which means that key policy decisions can be made locally.

The skills issue, particularly employability skills, is at the heart of their agenda and they will have a new and clear role in setting strategies for their area. Chartered status for FE colleges and providers will be dependent on having taken account of the skills priorities of LEPs.

In addition, the government will encourage LEPs to have a seat on colleges’ governing bodies, with colleges represented on LEP boards.

LEPs will also be able to determine how the EU Common Strategic Framework funds, including the European Social Fund, are used locally and, where appropriate, they will be able to bring bidders together to access the expanded £340m Employer Ownership Pilot.

The current structures are not delivering the skills that employers need”

Many LEPs are already working closely with their FE sector and local employment and skills boards, and work closely with providers and colleges to form strategies. This will ensure that local people have the skills they need to access local jobs . . . and local business have the local labour force to meet their future needs.

Many boards are currently undertaking a skills audit as any decisions must be based on evidence. It will also be important for them to be able to work in a way which has the most impact locally.

Again, I have been encouraged by innovation in FE. The new freedoms to recruit at 14 and to sponsor academies, studio schools and UTCs, have enabled the more forward thinking to position themselves at the heart of  local education. The Gazelle group is driving forward the entrepreneurship agenda.

In difficult economic times, we must ensure that we spend every pound wisely. That means that as much as possible hits the ground and is not soaked up in a bureaucracy that could all too easily swamp skills delivery.

This country has had a dysfunctional skills system for too long. Despite the billions that have been spent over the past decade, too many employers say that the current structures are not delivering the skills that they need.

And too many say that, even in a time of high unemployment, they have jobs that they cannot fill.

The recent announcements are a start in building a system that binds together local employers and wider FE for the benefit of local communities.

Importantly, there is a real urgency and desire to sort out the problem of skills, once and for all.

David Frost CBE is chair
of the LEP Network

To read Steve Sawbridge’s view on LEPs click here

Peter Davies, project leader, FE Guild consultation

The project leader for the FE Guild consultation talks to FE Week 

Peter Davies got his land legs back eight years ago after 35 years in the Royal Navy. He also learned sign language, moved into FE to steer adult education college City Lit to an outstanding Ofsted grade — and now is at the helm of the FE Guild consultation.

The 62-year-old was born in Eccles, Lancashire, but moved to Montreal, Canada, for five years when he was 7. The eldest of three, he crossed the Atlantic with his mother Winifred and engineer dad Roland. Family reasons brought them back to the UK.

“It was fantastic. When I think back to those five years I can only remember good bits,” Davies says.

His fascination with the sea began on those childhood trips back and forth to Canada. “It was so exciting being out on the open water — I became a sea cadet as soon as I could, at 16, when we were back in England,” says the father of two.

“That’s when I began to sail — on a reservoir in Lancashire — and learned about the Navy, from tying knots to traditions and flags. Every weekend that I didn’t have to study for school I would be out on the water.”

As a teenager he also loved tinkering with racing cars, which made engineering a clear choice for  university. He went to King’s College London, with his final two years sponsored by the Navy.

Davies was the first in his family  – he has a brother, Alan and sister, Deborah ­­– to go on to higher education. “My parents were enormously proud; my mother’s still got pictures up of me becoming an officer at Dartmouth.

There was danger of colleges like mine slowly withering”

“They were ambitious for me to break out of their background. All the way through my life they were supportive. They encouraged me to broaden my horizons, without over pushing me. I wouldn’t have achieved what I have without their support.”

He went straight into the Navy when he graduated and had 13 different jobs in the service, from running research at the Ministry of Defence to looking after a group of submarines. It was when he came ashore with a promotion to Commodore on HMS Collingwood, the Navy’s land-based maritime warfare school, that he became interested in education and training.

“It was fantastic. My background in the Navy had been big project management and engineering, but I found I got more personal satisfaction helping people to progress.

“When students finished the course we’d make a fuss, inviting their parents down to an awards ceremony. Seeing the sense of pride and achievement on those youngsters’ faces, some of whom had been on the streets 14 weeks ago, talking to the parents and realising how much they’d changed in that period, and we’d had an impact on that, it was really quite enlightening.”

After three years at Collingwood he became director general of training and education for the whole of the Royal Navy where part of his job was to set policy. During his leadership the Navy introduced foundation degrees.

“There was increasing recognition that we needed to give something that has value in outside world,” he says.

In November 2004 Davies, by now a Rear-Admiral, hit the headlines when he left the Navy to become principal of City Lit.

“There wasn’t an obvious next job for me in terms of what I wanted to do in the Navy. I’d had a brilliant career, I’d thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was time to move on to something different,” he says.

The move came at a time of challenging funding cuts. “There was danger of colleges like mine slowly withering,” he says. “I’m very proud that we bucked the trend. We expanded, we got in more fee income, but we also protected our work with the homeless, people with learning difficulties and deaf education. All those areas grew. When I left [in 2011] only half our income came from the Skills Funding Agency.”

He also went back into the classroom during his time at City Lit, taking courses ranging  from sign language and sculpture to French and travel journalism.

“It was a really good way of seeing the college from the students’ point of view,” he says.

He also became a volunteer on skills for life courses. “One afternoon a week I would go into one of the maths classes and help the tutor. It was an eye-opener for me, I was in a level 1 group, and to see students who had really struggled, often coming from quite challenging backgrounds, move on and do GCSEs was great. It was very rewarding.”

In his final week he was given the perfect send-off — an outstanding grade from Ofsted. “We were the first big adult community college to get a grade one. To achieve that really was a crowning moment.”

It wasn’t long before he was back on the open water. “Since I was a boy I’d wanted to go off sailing for months on end, so I said right, I’m going to take some time out and go away before my body stops me. My wife Dianne and I went sailing for six months over the summer down to Southern Brittany. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

In November he took a break from retirement to lead the consultation for the Association of Colleges on the proposed FE Guild.

“We’re being very open, because the consultation is asking big questions. What’s the purpose of the guild? What does being sector owned-mean? It’s about hearing from as many people as possible,” he says.

After publishing his findings in January, and potentially an implementation plan in March, Davies, whose house overlooks Portsmouth Harbour, says that a summer sailing with Diane beckons.

“I want to sail all over the world, it’s such an adventure,” he says. “When I’m out at sea I’m just focused on the boat, it’s all-embracing. It’s probably the only place that I’m totally relaxed.

“You are completely away from everything. Sometimes you’re in the middle of the channel and you can’t see anything — it’s just you and the sea.”

 It’s a personal thing

What’s your favourite book? 

Into the Blue by Tony Horwitz

What did you want to be when you were younger?

A doctor

What do you do to switch off from work?

Sailing my yacht — or tinkering with it in the winter

If you could invite anyone to a dinner party, living or dead, who would it be?

Eric Morecambe, one of the funniest comedians ever, and Ellen MacArthur, an incredible courageous sailor

What would your super power be? 

Control wind speed and direction so I could always have a pleasant sail

Local Enterprise Partnerships: the future or not? Part 1

The Autumn Statement proposals for skills policies and strategies may turn out to be less benign than they appear, says Steve Sawbridge

Colleges must adapt to a new landscape following the Chancellor’s implicit support for local employer partnerships (LEPs).

The Independent Commission on Colleges in their Communities noted with concern that the pace of development in LEPs was slow with remits unclear, a finding borne out by AoC’s own survey published earlier this year.  Their record on skills has been variable.

From 2015 LEPs will benefit from a single pot of growth-related funding to support the delivery of a strategic plan for local growth.  And, yes, this includes funding for skills.  But please note: not all funding.

There’s some encouragement for college representation on LEP boards. Provided, of course, that whoever sits on the board speaks for the whole local FE community and is mandated by it. But the Autumn Statement proposals for skills policies and strategies may turn out to be less benign.

The development of a strategic plan for skills makes good sense.  If you don’t have one, how do you know where you’re going or who’s behind the wheel?  But for colleges, if this is the basis on which a devolved skills budget is allocated, there’s clearly a danger of a return to external plan-led control; an anathema in the context of freedoms and flexibilities.

How to respond?  Where skills plans are concerned it’s best to be in the driving seat.  And what’s going to carry most weight is a coherent collective response from colleges within the LEP area.

The notion of self-organised groups of colleges first emerged in the Foster report of 2005. Articulated more explicitly in Skills for Sustainable Growth (2010), self-organised networks are seen as the mechanism for engagement with LEPs and the means to ensure alignment between economic development priorities and the skills provision available locally. It clearly is an idea whose time has come.

There’s clearly a danger of a return to external plan-led control”

But what will make these networks something more than a local provider “consultative forum”? And why should colleges put aside years of institutional self-interest and preservation for the benefit of the wider FE network?

Two reasons: a growing and genuine recognition that collaboration can achieve more for all; and a more immediate and practical response to increased competition from schools and the 57 other post-16 varieties of provider currently available.

There are already many good examples of self-organised networks working effectively with LEPs and other local partners – the network of colleges in Bristol, for example.  But it’s been interesting to see a collaborative grouping of colleges come together in Greater Birmingham and Solihull, something those who know FE in Birmingham might at one time have considered impossible.

It’s symptomatic of a genuinely new way of working.  A recognition that external partners will listen more attentively to a collective voice; that colleges can shape, influence and deliver skills provision, particularly where LEPs are struggling to articulate skills’ needs.

The opportunities for gap filling in provision can be more easily achieved where colleges collaborate on the basis of their strengths.  A strong unity will be a significant asset in attracting inward investment and can only enhance the strong individual brands of colleges.

There’s still a lot to do – not least on the sharing and use of data and the development of a collective approach to quality across the network but a new collaborative culture is very definitely emerging.

Brenda Sheils, principal at Solihull College, put it succinctly recently when she said it’s not just about being on-side with the LEP but inside, working equally with officers in the LEP secretariat as well as contributing at board level.

Ultimately this will be the real test of the maturity of the partnership; recognition that it is just that – one in which the collective strengths of all partners, including colleges, are utilised and mutually respected.

Steve Sawbridge is the
West Midlands regional director for AoC

To read what David Frost, CBE, chair of the LEP Network has to say on LEPs click here

Camping courier apprenticeships get short shrift

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has been continuing to advertise adult apprenticeships of less than a year, months after the government announced plans to clamp down on short programmes.

In early December FE Week found the official NAS Twitter account tweeting a link (see end of article) on its vacancy matching website to 70 campsite courier apprenticeship vacancies. The jobs, based in France, were described as fixed-term contracts of nine months.

We will tighten our processes for working with providers to post vacancies, as well as those we select to promote through other channels,”

The government has since removed the adverts and told Greenbank Services, both the training provider and employer, to stop recruiting as the vacancies “did not meet its quality standard”.

Its move followed questions from FE Week about the length of the Greenbank scheme, and why NAS was advertising it.

In April the government announced adult apprenticeships needed to be a year or more “unless it involves the recognition or accreditation of prior learning and an appropriate funding reduction”. The rules came into force for new apprenticeship starts from August 1.

Elaine Bader, recruitment and training manager at Greenbank, told FE Week: “It is not due to quality as we offer a high quality programme, it is due to the advertised length of the apprenticeship.”

She added that the company had not signed up any apprentices since March, before the rule had come into place.

The company has a direct contract for 2012/13, with an adult skills budget of £118,726, with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to deliver qualifications, including the travel services apprenticeship framework.

Putting up tents, cleaning accommodation, running an efficient reception service and advising holidaymakers on places to visit were some of the responsibilities listed for the courier jobs.

It said successful candidates would be trained to deal with administration duties, such as accommodation charts, stock checks, and basic accounts.

A day-in-the-life of an apprenticeship campsite courier, which appears on the website holidaybreakjobs.com begins: “About 8:30am, I walk down to reception. . . I have to open up and start cleaning the windows and setting out the white furniture, watering the plants and updating the weatherboard (sunny today).”

Ms Bader said Greenbank recruited up to 1,500 seasonal staff every year; between 70 to 100 of these could be apprentices.

A joint statement from the SFA and NAS said: “We have reviewed the vacancies posted by Greenbank and highlighted to them that they currently do not meet our quality standard. Therefore NAS has asked Greenbank to close the posting on apprenticeship vacancies and suspend recruitment with immediate effect.”

The funding agency said it would work closely with Greenbank to ensure it met quality requirements and funding guidelines.

NAS said it had identified how the Greenbank role had been posted on its vacancy website and promoted through Twitter.

“We will tighten our processes for working with providers to post vacancies, as well as those we select to promote through other channels,” a spokesperson said.

Year-end ILR data deadline shifts

The deadline for Individual Learner Records (ILR) returns could be brought forward by three weeks in 2013 to the third week of October, the Information Authority (IA) has announced.

The authority board met after a consultation that considered the merits of bringing forward the final 2012/13 ILR deadline by seven weeks, to September 27. ILR data is used to make sure that public money is spent in line with government targets.

The IA said the survey, with 612 responses, attracted the “most ever” for an ILR change.”

The board was presented with the results of an online survey it commissioned. Analysis of the responses found 28% of providers input 90% or more of their outcome data by the end of September but just 12 providers (as little as 2 per cent) supported the idea of bringing the deadline forward. This follows similar findings in a FE Week survey that found just 4 per cent supported the proposal.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has called for “timely full-year data” to make its case for funding, the
authority said.

The IA said the survey, with 612 responses, attracted the “most ever” for an ILR change.

Of these 106 providers added comments pointing out that bringing the date forward  “clashed with the main enrolment period in colleges”.

The proposal paper submitted to the IA board also highlighted that 56 respondents, made up of colleges, local authority providers and independent providers, said a September deadline would “put extra pressure on staff”.

A further  49 respondents left a comment pointing out that the final return would be “less rigorous . . .  leading to less robust data”.

The IA said that Geoff Hall, its chair, would now develop a proposal to bring the final return to the end of the third week of October, similar to the schools census deadline.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “It was recognised that there was a strong case from BIS that earlier data would help the FE and Skills sector in public spending negotiations, but an equally strong counter argument that an earlier return would result in less accurate data — particularly if the change is done hastily.

“An earlier close allows the Skills Funding Agency  to redistribute funds earlier in the academic year from under-performing providers to those providers demonstrating demand in line with published priorities.

It also allows the agency to produce reconciliation statements earlier to colleges to assist in them in submitting their accounts.”

The date for ILR returns has been creeping forward for a number of years. Until 2006/07 providers were asked to send data by the last Monday in March in the following funding year. Even after this date a provider could
send revised data if some was inaccurate
or incomplete.

In years since the date has been in the third or fourth week of November — and  no returns are accepted after this date.

The Association of Colleges’ assistant chief executive, Julian Gravatt, said: “While earlier return dates will help colleges collectively, such a change after the year has already begun may create undue pressures and incur extra costs. A phased introduction toward 2015 was the better option.”

Any proposals agreed with BIS will now go back out to the sector in the New Year for further consultation, the IA said. The final decision for will be made by the end of January.

Job losses as LSIS faces closure

As many as 162 people face losing their jobs after the government’s confirmation that the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) will no longer receive funding.

LSIS announced it had “no alternative” but to begin a managed exit from its delivery of improvement services for FE and the skills sector.

Chief executive Rob Wye told FE Week the body would “support” its 125 permanent staff and 37 contracted workers.

I’ve been writing to all the chief executives of local authorities, universities, colleges and police saying we have a remarkable pool of talent. But we cannot create jobs if the jobs aren’t there.”

“We shall be supporting them with what options they have, making sure they have every opportunity possible. We’ll be talking to the emerging FE Guild to see if they can go there.”

The reins of LSIS will most likely be taken up by the guild, which has begun plans to consult on the creation of a single body to set professional standards and codes of behaviour, as well as to develop qualifications.

Dame Ruth Silver, former principal of Lewisham College and chair of LSIS since it was formed through the transfer of assets from both the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) and the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) in 2008, said it was “the potential waste of talent that was most distressing”.

“I’ve been writing to all the chief executives of local authorities, universities, colleges and police saying we have a remarkable pool of talent. But we cannot create jobs if the jobs aren’t there.”

Mr Wye added: “I’d like to express my thanks to all the staff . . . it’s been a sad day for LSIS.”

LSIS will now cease delivering courses, training conferences and other support, including the provision of grants direct to providers.

Mr Wye told FE Week: “It is our aim to provide the planned high quality support and services we have already committed to at least until the end of this financial year, and in some cases through to the end of the academic year.

“We will also be exploring alternative destinations for our programmes and activities, so that the sector may continue to have expertly trained leaders and governors, continued support for teaching and learning, and assistance with its own improvement.”

Dame Ruth said: “LSIS is an Aladdin’s cave of riches. It will disappear as an organisation but its purpose will remain and the functions are on the shelf to be handed over. One thing that will preoccupy me over the next month will be a legacy strategy.”

Both agreed that LSIS’s greatest achievements were supporting colleges and providers who consequently went on to improve by at least one grade in their Ofsted inspections.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) said: “We are working closely with LSIS to analyse the key functions that need to be continued beyond August 2013 and to then decide on the best options for taking these forward.

“This will need to take account of the consultation to be held in January by the new FE guild partnership on its potential scope and activities.

Details of when services will end are being discussed with BIS and partners, and decisions on specific end dates will be released in the new year.

Landmark decision on under-16s

Colleges will be able to directly recruit full-time 14 to 16-year-olds for the first time from the start of the next academic year.

Earlier this month, FE Week exclusively revealed that the Skills Minister Matthew Hancock had written to two members of the 14 to 16 College Implementation Group, confirming that from September colleges could have a contract to recruit full-time 14 to 16-year-olds.

His landmark decision was in a letter dated December 6 to Mike Hopkins, principal of Middlesbrough College, and Tony Medhurst, principal of Harrow College.

The Baker Dearing Trust has already been working with Southwark College, which is in effect bankrupt,”

Before Mr Hancock’s announcement, the former Tory Education Secretary, and Lord Baker criticised the then unconfirmed plan.

In an article in The Times he drew attention to the recent “devastating” annual report from Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector. He concluded that FE colleges should only be allowed to recruit at 14 if they provided premises to set up an independent college as an educational charity, supported by local employers and a university, on the model of university technical colleges (UTCs).

Thirty-two UTCs have been approved in the five years since Lord Baker developed the idea with the late Sir Ron Dearing.

He added that the eight “inadequate” colleges highlighted in Sir Michael’s report should immediately be told to provide premises to establish a UTC.

“The Baker Dearing Trust has already been working with Southwark College, which is in effect bankrupt,” he said.

“Over the next two years, 300 UTCs should be provided in this way from FE colleges — roughly the number of technical schools we had in 1945. When up and running they will be training 200,000 students. This would have all-party support and be a real achievement for the country.”

FE Week approached Lord Baker to expand on his views, but he declined to be interviewed owing to work pressures.

Mike Hopkins said the move for colleges to enrol 14-year-olds was a “major and historic step forward for young people and FE. It extends choice for students and is a major vote of confidence in the sector.”

Debbie Ribchester, the Association of Colleges’ 14 to 19 curriculum policy manager, said: “Many colleges have a long and successful history of educating 14 and 15-year-olds on a full and part-time basis. This very welcome is a vote of confidence in college provision.”

Mike Hopkins’ expert view, page 9

Success rate report errors continue

The government’s Data Service has today, Thursday 13 December,  published inaccurate Qualification Success Rate (QSR) reports for the second year running.

Providers use the reports to support the interpretation of their success rate results. Several colleges were quick to spot problems after the reports were made available for providers to download this morning, forcing the Data Service to issue an update on its website just hours later.

This follows similar problems last year when the QSR data had to be republished after qualification units were incorrectly included.

Our investigation into this issue has determined that there is an error and we have therefore removed the reports temporarily.”

A member of a forum for college data staff emailed members: “Ours are way out – it’s showing over 10,000 more starts! Also comparing last year’s QSR the 10-11 numbers are different by similar amounts.”

At about 4pm today the Data Service posted: “Following our earlier announcement we have identified a known issue with the sub-contractor reports in the 2011/12 Classroom Based Learning Qualification Success Rate reports published today. We are currently working on a revision to these reports and will shortly advise on arrangements for publication of this revision. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The sub-contractor reports, which have already been identified as causing the problem, are new. The guidance notes for the QSR report states: “New subcontractor reports have been added to the report set. These show the success rate of the non-subcontracted and subcontracted provision, and the success rate of the subcontractors used by the provider.”

Jerry White,  director of planning and performance at City College Norwich, told FE Week: “It appears that the classroom QSR reports published today contain inaccuracies . . . If that is confirmed to be the case, then it is very disappointing that these important national data sets will need to be withdrawn and reissued for the second year in a row.”

More recently the National Success Rate Tables (NSRT), publicly available information about provider performance also produced by the Data Service, had to be temporarily withdrawn.

In June the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), on behalf of the Data Service, told FE Week: “The NSRTs had an unusually high number of unknown notional levels in the ‘other’ qualification type category.

“Our investigation into this issue has determined that there is an error and we have therefore removed the reports temporarily.”

As FE Week went to press, a spokesperson for the Association of Colleges said: “The AoC has not, as yet, had direct complaints or concerns raised with us from any of our members.”