‘Alarming’ SFA £91m overpayment

Providers were overpaid £91m in the past academic year, the Skills Funding Agency has revealed.

Kim Thorneywork, the agency’s chief executive, announced the figure in an official letter saying that “the total amount of learning delivered in the academic year 2011/12 was … £2,874m. The agency funded £2,965m.” Click here for the full list.

She added that the overpayment meant some providers’ allocations for 2012/13 would be reduced, and the agency expected “to deliver a balanced budget for the 2012/13 financial year.”

This overpayment of nearly £100m of adult skills funding is particularly alarming”

A relaxation of reconciliation rules allowed providers to keep a greater proportion of the funding allocated for learning that was not delivered.

The overpayment has alarmed Gordon Marsden, the Shadow FE Minister.

“This overpayment of nearly £100m of adult skills funding is particularly alarming, not least given the current pressures that exist on funding across the FE sector,” he said.

Learndirect, Newcastle College and South Thames College top the list of overpaid providers.

Learndirect delivered £117,132,144 of education, but was paid a further £5,333,722.

Adrian Beddow, Learndirect spokesperson, said: “This money [overpayment] will be reinvested in the organisation as part of our long-term commitment to further improve the quality of adult skills provision and outcomes for our learners.”

Newcastle College received £38,197,511 of agency cash, £4,731,682 more than the value of the education it delivered.

A college spokesperson said: “This is a national issue and most FE providers did not fully meet their contracts, mainly due to a late change in the rules by the agency about who was eligible for fully-funded courses.

“We had the largest contract of any FE provider nationally, so naturally we also had one of the largest surpluses. However, when looked at as a proportion of our contract, the overpayment is 14 per cent, which puts us 44th in the table [based on percentage overpaid].

“Funding rules go both ways, of course, and traditionally we have often ended up subsidising those who don’t qualify for free learning at our expense. In the past few years year we have been underpaid more than £7m, providing places even when funding had been exhausted. Just on our 16 to 18 teaching this year, that will cost us around £700,000.

“As a non-profit organisation, any over-provision is invested in new services, support or facilities for our learners, such as the £42m we spent last year on a new campus for West Lancashire College and the new £24m sixth-form college we are opening this year in Newcastle. This enables us to offer the best facilities for our learners.”

South Thames College was paid £19,297,14, £2,447,968 more than the value of education it delivered.

A spokesperson said: “Despite the college delivering 98 per cent of the adult standard learner numbers in 2011/12, it achieved some £2.4m less funding for the same volume of work compared with 2010/11.

“The reduced funding resulted from changes introduced by the agency for 2011/12, in particular the changes regarding benefits categories.”

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Editorial: The £91m lesson

Providers were always going to under-deliver in the 2011/12 academic year.

For example, as rightly described by South Thames College, significant changes to fee eligibility policy made achieving funding allocations impossible.

What we now know, and what wasn’t inevitable, is that the SFA has authorised £91m in overpayments

By design or not, this will help the SFA in its aim to balance its budget for the 2012/13 financial year.

No one, perhaps other than those who have received them, should be happy about these overpayments.

How can it be right, for example, that a provider allocation is increased by more than £1m during the year, then they fail to deliver courses to earn the extra funding, and yet it still keeps nearly all of it?

You’ve got to feel for providers who turned down allocation increases for fear of being unable to earn and therefore keep it.

I’m not blaming providers who under-delivered given this was a consequence of poor and under-researched policy-making on the part of government.

If there is anything to be learned from this, it’s not that under-delivery pays, it’s that the government needs to listen to the sector when it warns about how policies will play out.

Nick Linford, editor

 

Hundreds of jobs at risk as Pearson announces closure of adult education business

More than 550 staff are facing an uncertain future after Pearson announced it was dropping its UK adult education business with a loss of £120m.

The firm revealed the plans for Pearson in Practice, which has around 5,000 learners, this morning with news of a consultation, set to last 90 days, on the future of its workers.

Pearson chief executive John Fallon said: “We very much regret the decision to plan for closure, but we believe we have explored and exhausted all alternatives.

“Our focus in the coming months will be on working with our partners in the further education sector and industry to ensure minimum disruption to learners who are currently enrolled in one of our programmes.”

Pearson in Practice has around 560 staff and all will be part of the consultation.

A company spokesperson said: “The consultation will begin soon, following the appointment of employee representatives.

“It will include discussion of the staff’s and staff representatives’ ideas regarding the business, as well as individual consultations.

“The value of the business being written off the balance sheet will be £120m and includes the estimated cost of closing the business until the end of the orderly wind-down period.”

He added: “There are no redundancy notices during this consultation, though the consultation will clearly outline the situation to staff regarding any redundancies that may follow this period.

“During this 90-day period and beyond, we will be talking to the Skills Funding Agency, and to FE colleges, other training providers and employers as part of our commitment to all learners to complete their programmes, either through Pearson in Practice during an orderly wind-down period or by transferring to other providers.”

Pearson in Practice was renamed last year having previously been called Zenos. The renaming followed criticism of the apprenticeship scheme delivered by Zenos in the Panorama programme The Great Apprentice Scandal, broadcast on BBC One.

The ICT apprenticeships delivered by Zenos were said to be entirely classroom-based and could not guarantee learners a job at the end.

Zenos had been acquired by Pearson in 2010 when it paid £99.3m for vocational training company Melorio.

A joint statement on today’s Pearson in Practice announcement was issued by the Skills Funding Agency and National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

It said: “The agency and NAS are aware that Pearson has announced the intended closure of the Pearson in Practice arm of the company.

“Pearson in Practice has been in close dialogue with the agency and NAS to provide reassurance on the planned closure, which will take place pending an orderly wind-down period.

“The agency, NAS and Pearson in Practice’s priority is to ensure that learners and apprentices are supported and transferred to other skills and workplace training providers, and Pearson’s other work-based learning programmes, to ensure that they can complete their learning/apprenticeship with minimum disruption.

“Learners and apprentices will be kept fully informed as these discussions progress.”

It added: “Any affected parents, guardians, learners, apprentices or employers can contact Pearson in Practice directly.”

See the next print edition of FE Week for more

Jolly Dollies try their hand at DIY

A group of savvy widows have mastered power drilling and car mechanics at college after realising they couldn’t use their husbands’ toolkits.

Social group The Jolly Dollies, founded by Yvonne Vann, has been trying out DIY  — plaster boarding and putting up shelves — during taster courses at Weston College’s Construction and Engineering Centre of Excellence (CECE) in Somerset.

Former legal secretary Janet McArdle decided she and her friends needed a helping hand on the DIY front.

The 67-year-old from Weston, said: “Most of us are widows and we’ve all got these tools but don’t know how to use them properly. I used to help my husband but more in terms of holding up a shelf while he drilled — I wish I’d taken a bit more notice now.

“I tried putting up a bird box at home but got confused which size of screw to use.”

Lecturer Matt Postins, who is also the regional chairman of the Guild of Bricklayers, said: “It’s been great to teach them the delights of cordless drilling.

“It’s not about complicated DIY but having a go at basic tasks. Hopefully, after trying these skills the ladies can save the money they may have had to pay to a builder.”

CECE construction service leader, Steve Caldwell, said the taster days meant people could have a go at a practical session and if they enjoyed the activity then they could look at other courses at Weston College.

“Janet’s request was unique so we listened to what the ladies hoped to gain from the session and ran a tailor-made afternoon”, he said.

Since their initial session the women have also taken on car mechanics.

Yvonne started the Jolly Dollies after losing her husband Victor to Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare neurological disease.

“Two years after he died I met up with a woman called June Owens who was in a very similar situation to me,” said the 65-year-old.

“We started to go out occasionally and one night we realised there must be so many women out there in the same social situation as us.”

That was the start of the Jolly Dollies and two years later there are 15 who meet up for dinners, lunches, quizzes as well as going to the theatre and dancing.

“I can’t tell you how difficult it is for women to pick up their social lives after the loss of their partner in life,” said Yvonne.

“What the Jolly Dollies have is a unique understanding of how each other feels and what we have all gone through.

“The one–day courses at Weston College have been good fun. For some widows these courses will be really useful because a lot of husbands did all the house DIY and simple jobs on the car, now we can do it for ourselves.”

She now wants to expand the Jolly Dollies concept nationally and even internationally.

Taking a closer look at paracetamol

Young chemists in Crewe spent a day testing the purity of paracetamol, using an infra-red spectrometer and thin layer chromatography techniques.

Two groups of A level chemistry students, including Heidi Falvey, 18, (pictured), took part in ‘spectroscopy in a suitcase’ workshops at South Cheshire College.

The sessions were delivered by postgraduate students from the University of Manchester’s chemistry department through the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr Katayune Presland, the north west regional co-ordinator for the Royal Society of Chemistry, who helped to deliver the workshops, said: “The infra-red spectroscopy equipment is very expensive and is used by students at the University of Manchester.

“All the students responded well and we look forward to working with the college again in the future.”

Andrew Knott, a chemistry tutor at South Cheshire, said: “Visits like these give students the chance to use equipment they don’t have access to at college. We are grateful to the society – the students have benefited greatly from these sessions.”

Olympian wheels into her former college

Olympic cyclist Lucy Martin went back to her roots when she dropped in on a Cheshire college.

Lucy talked to sport students at Cronton Sixth-Form College, where she studied A levels four years ago, about the commitment and training required to compete at the highest level.

“It was great to go back and see all the fantastic new facilities and new practices the sports department has to offer students, “she said.

“It was lovely to talk to the students and answer all of their questions. I hope I have managed to inspire and to encourage them to follow their sporting dreams.”

She said when she was a student at Cronton, she adapted her timetable to fit in with her training. “All that hard work and support paid off,” she added.

Hollie Bousfield, a national taekwondo champion who is studying a diploma in sport development and fitness at the college, said: “It was brilliant to be able to speak to Lucy and find out exactly what it takes to get to the top of your sport. I’ll be taking all of the advice on board and hope that it will help me follow in Lucy’s footsteps.”

Gruelling three-day trek ends in success

Outdoor activity students in Wales took their first steps towards becoming walk leaders after a gruelling training expedition.

Second–year students at Coleg Gwent’s Usk campus, training for a sports leader L3 BELA award, covered a 45km route in the Black Mountains from Monmouth to Hay–on Wye.

The group spent two weeks planning the trek and carried food, clothes and camping equipment for their three-day expedition. They braved chilly temperatures camping out overnight and were tested to the max, showing their leadership skills to navigate the safest routes through bad weather conditions.

“The ground was wet, the winds were high and the nights were cold. Students showed skill, judgment and fantastic team morale,” said David Windebank, an outdoor activity lecturer.

“Each person showed what is needed from an instructor who plans to work in the outdoor industry, and I look forward to finishing the training course with them.”

The BTec extended diploma sport (outdoor activity) students are now working towards their final assessed three-day expedition to complete the training for the sports leader award.

Bright spark takes top apprentice award

A London student has scooped the top prize at an awards ceremony for JTL electrical apprentices.

Giannini Chambers, 21, was named the capital’s best apprentice at the training charity’s London Regional Awards for electrical installation. The ceremony was held on HMS Belfast.

As well as being handed a trophy by Denis Hird, JTL’s chief executive, the College of North West London student was also presented with £700.

“You get out of an apprenticeship only what you put in … and the harder you work the more you receive,” said Giannini.

“I am incredibly pleased with my award and am proud of what I’ve achieved so far, but am mindful that where I am is not the end but the beginning.  I am very grateful to those that have helped along the way.”

Giannini has studied electronics, welding environmental technology and, currently, a BTec level four HNC diploma in building services engineering at North West London. He has been at the college for four years.

Pat Leavey, technology head of faculty, said:  “Giannini has high aspirations and is extremely conscientious. He’ll go far.”

Empty shop full of inspiration for art students

Young designers in Durham took over a city centre shop to display sculpture, ceramics, textiles and jewellery.

Applied arts for enterprise students at Cleveland College of Art & Design (CCAD) staged a mini-exhibition at the former Durham City visitor centre as part of a project to make creative use of vacant premises.

They spent two months creating their ‘Artist’s Book’ exhibits, making visual interpretations of their final dissertations.

Mature student Lou Gilmore-George, 34, of Richmond (pictured), exhibited copper sculpture inspired by camping. She said: “It’s been a really sharp learning curve creating an exhibition from scratch, but much more of a real life experience.

“Not only did we have to design and create the exhibits, we were also responsible for planning the space, lighting and marketing using social networking channels.

“The idea behind Empty Shop is so creative and having my work exhibited in the centre of Durham is incredible.”

The scheme was co-ordinated by arts group Empty Shop and Durham County Council to give artists a platform in prime locations.