January exams at centre of row with watchdog

Plans to scrap staggered A-level exams and limit resit opportunities have been branded “overzealous changes” that could “thwart” learning.

The Institute for Learning (IfL) hit out after exam watchdog Ofqual announced that from September next year students in England would no longer be able to sit papers in January, and from 2014 candidates would get just one resit per paper.

Toni Fazaeli, IfL chief executive, said it expressed “deep concern” the changes would have “equality implications”, when they were consulted by the exam regulator.

“Learners who miss periods of education through illness, disability, caring for a family member or other unfortunate events should not have their life chances diminished,” she said.

“We believe that teaching practitioners should have the professional freedom to make judgements about the appropriate times for their students — including the most able and those who need extra support — to be assessed.”

Ofqual made the announcements after publishing the results of a consultation on the subject.

The government said it believed there were “serious problems” with current exams, that they did not prepare pupils properly for university and that the fact they were taken “in chunks” over two years, with resits, had led to “grade inflation”.

It favoured instead exams being taken at the end of two years of study and wanted more input from universities. There were also concerns that an emphasis on frequent exams meant students could not study a subject in enough depth.

But Mrs Fazaeli said that for those taking A-levels as a route to employment or higher-level apprenticeships, for example in accountancy, the heavy emphasis on progression to full-time higher education was “not the whole picture”.

“We expressed our deep concern about the equality implications of these proposals not having been assessed properly, and that they could have a disproportionate negative impact on learners,” she said.

“Teachers and trainers in FE…should not be thwarted by overzealous changes to exam rules.”

January exams at centre of row with watchdog

Plans to scrap staggered A-level exams and limit resit opportunities have been branded “overzealous changes” that could “thwart” learning.

The Institute for Learning (IfL) hit out after exam watchdog Ofqual announced that from September next year students in England would no longer be able to sit papers in January, and from 2014 candidates would get just one resit per paper.

Toni Fazaeli, IfL chief executive, said it expressed “deep concern” the changes would have “equality implications”, when they were consulted by the exam regulator.

“Learners who miss periods of education through illness, disability, caring for a family member or other unfortunate events should not have their life chances diminished,” she said.

“We believe that teaching practitioners should have the professional freedom to make judgements about the appropriate times for their students — including the most able and those who need extra support — to be assessed.”

Ofqual made the announcements after publishing the results of a consultation on the subject.

The government said it believed there were “serious problems” with current exams, that they did not prepare pupils properly for university and that the fact they were taken “in chunks” over two years, with resits, had led to “grade inflation”.

It favoured instead exams being taken at the end of two years of study and wanted more input from universities. There were also concerns that an emphasis on frequent exams meant students could not study a subject in enough depth.

But Mrs Fazaeli said that for those taking A-levels as a route to employment or higher-level apprenticeships, for example in accountancy, the heavy emphasis on progression to full-time higher education was “not the whole picture”.

“We expressed our deep concern about the equality implications of these proposals not having been assessed properly, and that they could have a disproportionate negative impact on learners,” she said.

“Teachers and trainers in FE…should not be thwarted by overzealous changes to exam rules.”

Bosses to get place at heart of Richard Review

Employers are set to figure at the heart of a much-awaited review of apprenticeships, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

Former Dragons’ Den star Doug Richard (pictured right), whose independent review is expected to be published by the end of the month, said he wanted to see “much more employer involvement” on apprenticeships.

“I’ve been doing everything I can, using as many different devices and activities to encourage, incentivise, drive and hope for, much more employer involvement because apprenticeships more than anything else are partly a job, which by definition means you need an employer in the mix,” he told FE Week at the launch of the Entrepreneurs and Education Programme at Lewisham College incorporating Southwark College on Monday, November 12.

“This is what’s unique about apprenticeships, therefore employer involvement on many levels is simply more important than in other things we do. I’ve put a lot of effort into increasing the type, the calibre and the depth of employer involvement and that’s a clear message of the review.”

Mr Richard was joined at Lewisham College’s Waterloo Campus for the programme launch by Michael Fallon MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise.

The Entrepreneurs and Education Programme is being funded by £1.1m of cash from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills over three years to provide support and advice to students, teachers and researchers across 100 colleges and universities.

Mr Fallon said: “Entrepreneurship is coming back into colleges. We’ve had enterprise societies across universities colleges and the further education sector. It can be taught by example. By getting entrepreneurs to come in to colleges, getting businesses into colleges and businesspeople to talk about how rewarding it can be to set up a business and start employing other people.”

The programme, supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, aims to create a new generation of educational entrepreneurs by equipping colleges and universities across the country with the tools to survive a competitive marketplace.

There were seminars throughout the day, from 9am, with students and staff listening to Mr Richard’s views and advice on business.

“Entrepreneurship can be taught,” he said. “And it’s not so much that’s it’s lacking in FE, it’s just that we don’t have the structures and the systems to promote it to flourish to the degree we want.

“This is broadly in the context of FE colleges, specifically in the context of vocational education and very much in the case of apprenticeships, which I intend to change.”
Read FE Week online for more from Mr Richard.

Future of LSIS in doubt as FE Guild role emerges

The future of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) is in doubt with plans for its role to be taken up by the FE Guild, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

A spokesperson for LSIS said the “transition” should be completed by the end of July next year. It is understood the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) wants the guild up and running the following month.

Last month, FE Minister Matthew Hancock announced that the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) had won government approval to “take forward” proposals for the guild – a single body to set professional standards and codes of behaviour, as well as develop qualifications.

BIS is providing the AoC, as the lead body for the guild proposals, with £360,000 of funding until March.

In a letter seen by FE Week, Susan Pember, director of FE and skills investment at BIS, told LSIS chair Dame Ruth Silver: “The new guild organisation will assume responsibility for many of the broad areas of activity currently undertaken by LSIS, albeit probably in a different form.

“This clearly calls into question the future of LSIS as a separate entity and has major implications for its current staff.”

The LSIS spokesperson said: “Funding has now been agreed for the partnership to develop its plans and clarify how the guild will work and the scope of its activities.

“It is anticipated there will be consultation about the guild with the sector in the new year, which will clarify the implications for LSIS, with the aim of implementation of the transition by August 2013.”

LSIS was formed in October 2008 after a merger between the Centre for Excellence in Leadership and the Quality Improvement Agency.

A spokesperson for AELP and AoC said: “We have been charged with working with partners to establish an FE Guild. That process will begin with a comprehensive consultation of the sector to define the role of the guild. The results of that consultation will inform implications for other sector bodies.”

It would then be up to the sector to decide on the “best” employer-led contribution the guild could make to the “continued improvement of teaching, learning and governance”.

Ms Pember’s letter is the latest in a series of blows for LSIS staff. It was tasked with supporting and improving achievement in the FE and skills sector in England but has faced year-on-year government cuts.

In 2009, Dame Ruth announced that due to “severe funding pressures” it should be led by someone from the sector “steeped in current professional practice”. The then chief executive, Roger McClure, immediately stepped down.

Two years ago its budget was slashed from £145m to £65m. More cuts followed in June last year when it was announced that 30 per cent of the organisation’s core staff would lose their jobs.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, was this month appointed as chair of a steering group for the new guild.

New ofsted regime returns good news

The first general FE college inspection carried out under a new common inspection framework (CIF) has returned a good grading, while positives also emerged from the first re-inspection.

Ofsted inspectors armed with the new CIF gave City College Plymouth two days’ notice for an inspection between October 1 and 5.

They judged the 17,000-learner college to have improved from the satisfactory grade it got in September 2008.

Principal Phil Davies said it was “fantastic” news for the college and for Plymouth. “The college provides education and training for a large proportion of the local population, and we work closely with local businesses to ensure that local people have the skills they need. We have publicly stated our intention to significantly contribute to the social and economic regeneration of Plymouth,” he said.

He believed the college was bucking national trends. “In the last year the majority of inspected colleges saw their grades fall,” he said.

“Despite minimal notice and a new inspection framework, City College Plymouth has moved from satisfactory to good, with outstanding features. We have come a long way in a short space of time.”

But he said that it would not rest on its laurels. “Ofsted has given us food for thought. We know we have a very good and solid foundation on which to build as we continue on our journey to outstanding,” said Mr. Davies.

The new CIF was introduced from September following the inspection body’s Good Education For All consultation that ended in May.

It includes a reduced inspection notice period from three weeks to two days, with a re-inspection of providers ‘requiring improvement’ usually following within 12 to 18 months. Providers awarded the grade twice in a row can be judged inadequate on their third inspection if they haven’t improved.

Lambeth College, which got an inadequate grading when it was inspected under the old CIF in February, was said to be enjoying reasonable progress in the five areas that it was re-inspected on.

The 13,500-learner college had also seen significant progress in a sixth and final area reviewed by inspectors early last month.

Principal and chief executive Mark Silverman said: “We found the new CIF to be good — it is easier and very straightforward, the emphasis is where it should be, on teaching and learning.

“We were prepared as we have been working with the new CIF since June so knew what to expect. The two days’ notice was not an issue as all the relevant evidence was readily available through our own monitoring and quality systems.

“We were very pleased to receive a positive Ofsted monitoring report. We were able to demonstrate that the focus on change and improvement over the past few months is having a rapid impact.

“This is the first step to ensuring an outstanding Lambeth College.”

City College Plymouth’s deputy principal, Nicola Cove, gives an account of inspection under the new CIF on page 6.

Get set, it’s time for The Skills Show

The LG Arena in Birmingham will host a glittering ceremony on Wednesday night to mark the start of the first Skills Show.

Hundreds of the UK’s most talented young people will have spent the weekend cramming in a vital last bit of practice before their skills are put to the test in their bid to be crowned the best in the UK. They can now expect to be put through a series of gruelling tests that will stretch their capabilities over three days.

The show’s expected 100,000 visitors to the NEC will be exposed to hundreds of interac- tive stands. These zones are part of The Skills Show’s £1m “Have-a-Go” local programmes in which 20 FE colleges, training providers, local authorities and other education bodies have developed an array of interactive activities aimed at engaging more people in vocational education. The experiences offered will be closely linked to training, learning and job opportunities in current and future employ- ment markets.

The show will inspire a new generation to get the most from further education, skills and apprenticeships”

More than 50 “Have-a-Go” experiences will be dotted around the centre’s 100,000sqm site – from aircraft engineering to visual merchan- dising to web design to welding. Here are a few examples of the hands-on activities you’ll have a chance to try.

Burton and South Derbyshire College will host a range of activities and demonstrations including a solar car challenge organised by engineering students.

NEW College will showcase its links with Harley-Davidson with a new motorcycle on display. Visitors to the college’s stand will also be able to find out about the inner work- ings of cars and motorcycles by taking part in activity sessions with interactive engine displays.

Dudley College will allow visitors to have a go at car body painting – on Thursday a car will be painted from head to toe in Skills Show branding. Meanwhile, the college’s sports department will mirror the sporting challenges of the popular ITV programme, The Cube.

Up-to-the-minute careers advice will be available from organisations such as City & Guilds, the premier sponsors of the show, and the many other providers who will be there.

And showcase sessions will include demon- strations on theatrical make-up, circus skills, hair sculpture and food presentations – and a yo-yo expert and national competitor, 11-year-old David Braden Holmes.

An artist’s impression of the Skills Show’s “I am in the spotlight” exhibition zone 

Many high profile visitors are also expected. Last year Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson dropped in to the WorldSkills London competition.

Last week the Skills Show announced Theo Paphitis, star of BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den and one of the UK’s most high profile shopkeepers, as its first patron. His appoint- ment followed his visit to WorldSkills London last year.

He said: “Skills are of vital importance to economic growth in the UK. The show will inspire a new generation to get the most from further education, skills and apprenticeships. The event is free and open to students of all ages, and is a must for anyone thinking about their future career.” Mr Paphitis will be at the show’s opening ceremony and competition.

Other famous faces expected to attend in- clude British hockey Olympic bronze medal- list, Sally Walton; Nick Holzherr, star of BBC

TV’s The Apprentice, and founder of food website, Whisk; and Alan Bird, former execu- tive chef of London’s famous Ivy restaurant. All will give real-life practical insights and advice into the world of work and skills.

Try new skills and receive the latest careers advice”

The Skills Show will also have a series of fundraising activities for BBC’s Children in Need, and special visits from the charity’s mascot, Pudsey Bear. Mr Paphitis is also ambassador for this year’s Pounds for Pudsey campaign, which encourages students to use entrepreneurial skills to raise money for the appeal. Every penny raised by Skills Show students will go straight to the charity.

Ross Maloney, chief executive of The Skills Show, said: “We want thousands of young people, parents, guardians, educators and employers to visit the show and be inspired by the highly skilled apprentices and young people in action, as well as try new skills for themselves and receive the latest careers advice that will help them to make informed choices about the future.”

The Skills Show is free and will bring to life the best of the UK’s colleges, apprenticeship and training providers with live performanc- es, interactive demonstrations and exhibi- tions by groups of students. Register now at: www.theskillsshow.com

FE Week will be reporting all of the action from the show. Look out for exclusive cover- age from our Twitter account (@feweek), the FE week website, the next edition of FE Week and our souvenir supplement with all the results, sponsored by City and Guilds.

Students from Bourneville College testing out the College’s iPhone application have-a-go that will be at The Skills Show. 

Q&A with Ross Maloney, Skills Show chief

We are only a few days away from the larg- est UK Skills Show. How are things shaping up and what can we expect to see?
The past year seems to have flown by, it only seems like yesterday that we were finalising plans for the WorldSkills London competition. I am so impressed by what we have achieved in such a little time. We had more than four years to organise WorldSkills London 2011; we’ve had less than a year to organise the Skills Show. It’s been tough and there have been many challenges, but the show is going to be spectacular.

In the end it has all come together rather nicely. The support we have received from the sector has been overwhelming and I want to thank everyone involved for their support.

In terms of what we can hope to see, well, where do I begin. Obviously there is the op- portunity to watch the competitions in which hundreds of the most skilled and talented students will vie to be named best in the UK. The atmosphere will be tense, but it’s great to have the opportunity to see these young people showcase their skills. The breadth of the curriculum covered is huge.

A key aim for us is to ensure the show is an experience for everyone who attends. We have made it a rule that anyone exhibiting must have an interactive stand. So you won’t be seeing lots of stands with bits of paper arranged neatly. They will allow you to have a go at a particular skill.

Who’ll be there over the three days?

For college principals and managers, it will provide an opportunity to meet employers and discuss opportunities for learners. For students it’s an opportunity to see showcased the many vocational oppor- tunities that are out there – and hopefully provide lots of inspiration. Employers will have the chance to meet thousands of poten- tial recruits and to meet providers. We also anticipate thousands of family and friends, particularly on the Saturday.

The show is a massive undertaking. What can we expect over the coming years?

We are only in Year 1, so you can expect to see even more next year. We’ll conduct a postmortem to fix any problems and improve things. So the show can, and will, get bigger and better. We are committed to running the Skills Show for the next three years. Ultimately it is intended that it will become sector owned and led – something that I believe is very important.

 

Apprentice star advises aspiring tycoons

Television star and businesswoman Karren Brady,centreabove, hasbackedan entrepreneurship programme run by an East Midlands college.

Lord Sugar’s aide on the BBC television series The Apprentice, who is also vice-chairman of West Ham Football Club, visited West Nottinghamshire College to launch a scheme in which experts coach aspiring tycoons to help them to get their business ideas off the ground. Ms Brady talked about her experiences and joined a panel, which included Shalini Khemka, co-founder of the London Entrepreneurial Exchange, a support network for entrepreneurs, to be quizzed by 150 students.

Chelsea Salmon, 16, recently set up an anti-bullying website that she wants to roll- out to schools. “Karren made me realise that you can succeed in life regardless of your background,” she said.

Principal Asha Khemka said: “Karren Brady is the epitome of what can be achieved with an entrepreneurial spirit and a determination to succeed.”

SFA takes tougher line on charges

The Skills Funding Agency has “hardened it’s position” on fees charged to fully-fund- ed learners over 19.

Kirsty Evans, director of funding policy at the agency, told delegates at Lsect’s autumn finance conference held at Morley College on November 6, that it now tried to avoid “might” in its documents, using “must” and “have to” instead.

“We’ve done that for clarification, so colleges know exactly what is and isn’t within their remit to charge,” said Ms Evans.

She said that providers must not make com- pulsory charges to fully-funded learners for the delivery of any learning activ- ity funded by the agency, including administra- tion fees, CRB checks and equipment charges.

However, there were charges that the agency believed were legitimate for providers to pass on.

“These include charges outside core learning, such as library fines, and security deposits for equipment and tools. We’ve been as explicit as we can be about those things that we believe are in scope for providers to charge, and those things that are out of scope,” she said.

Delegates raised their concerns about the money that colleges would have to find to cover costs that they previously collected from learners. One delegate estimated efficiency savings could reach six figures.

Another delegate said that current funding levels did not reflect that some courses, such as beauty therapy, needed expen- sive materials.

I think the government had always assumed that these fees were not being charged”

Ms Evans said that she understood their concerns about where they could make sav- ings. “I’m happy that look at whether this could feed into our considerations of pro- gramme weighting factors. But what I can’t do today is guarantee there will be any changes as a result of that,” she said.

Val Wilkinson, Plumpton College                                                           Kirsty Evans, Skills Funding Agency 

When another delegate highlighted the discrepancy between Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency rules on charging fees to fully-funded learners, Ms Evans responded: “I think the government had always assumed that these fees were not being charged…itcameasabitofasurprisetodis- cover that they actually were. That’s why there has been this desire to clarify our position.”

A final point raised from the floor was about “success bonds” – deposits that some providers demanded from students, to be recouped only on successful completion of their qualifica- tion. Delegates asked whether these charges were seen as legitimate by the agency.

“We’ve looked at deposits for things that can be returned, such as equipment, but I have to say that I’m sure that the department would be very uncomfortable with what is effectively a success bond,” said Ms Evans.

Initial indications are that it is not acceptable to charge a success bond to learners”

“I think we too have heard about such inci- dents, and are trying understand the extent to which they are taking place – are they very prevalent or are they exceptional? Initial indications are that it is not acceptable to charge a success bond to learners.”

Nick Linford, managing director of Lsect, updated the delegates on EFA and agency funding reforms. Ms Evans then confirmed that the agency would publish another update by the end of November which, she said “would lay out an approach to the new ap- prenticeship element. “In addition, we are also absolutely committed to publishing in full, in January, what the system will look like and how it will work in 2013/14.”

Paul Smith, head of business development at the Student Loans Company, outlined some of the considerations providers should be making ahead of the implementation of FE loans to learners over 24.

Robert Russell, Institute of Chartered Accountants    Paul Smith, Student Loans Company 

“Providers with a loan facility will need to start making preparations ahead of the launch in April 2013, he said.

“These include appointing someone to man- age the administration of loans, ensuring your IT systems are ready to manage the loan data, and publishing your methodology for award- ing the discretionary learner support element of the fund. This must be done by April 1, and the criteria must clearly reflect the principles of equality and diversity.”

Others to address the conference included Val Wilkinson, director of finance and administration at Plumpton College and Robert Rus- sell, from the Institute of Chartered Account- ants, who together analysed the effectiveness of shared services to avoid VAT; and Chris Mantel, director for college audit and advisory services at RSM Tenon, who discussed accounting concern around partnerships and subcontracting.

Celeb inventor unveils new engineering base

Celebrity engineer and inventor Dick Strawbridge was on hand to open a Yorkshire college’s new £7.5m engineering base.

Kirklees College marked the opening of its state-of-the-art learning centre with fireworks, tours and demonstrations, and a guest list of careers advisers, local business men and women, students and education partners.

Dick said: “Being an engineer is fundamental — it’s all about life and what you do with your life. You’ve got your lives ahead of you and you can make a difference because engineers make a difference.

“The world is there to be changed. What’s going to happen in your lifetime is going to be phenomenal, and you can make it happen.” Around 1,000 engineering and motor vehicle students will pass through the new building’s doors every week, including 350 apprentices with employment in industry.

The new centre’s facilities include maintenance and fabrication workshops, and mechanical workshops, demonstration areas, classrooms, a student refectory and offices for staff.

The college’s governing body chair Jeff Dakers said: “This building is for the future. All buildings make statements, and what is being built here is a statement about the future of engineering in our area.”