What’s next in the post-16 reforms?

David Rowley

Whether you’re working in an industry or training the future workforce, the one thing most people are looking for is certainty – certainty of jobs, talent, learners and qualifications.

The last thing we want to see as an awarding organisation is learners feeling cut adrift and out of options when it comes to achieving the qualifications they need to progress into their chosen careers.

We also need to ensure that any existing worker or skills shortages are being addressed, not deepened – something I know is of real concern for many employers.

As the post-16 reforms continue to progress, there are many in the FE sector who won’t be feeling very certain right now. In key sectors, such as social care, there are still many unknowns when it comes to the future qualification landscape.

Served by an aging and transient workforce, a steady pipeline of talent moving to social care is crucial to maintaining a pool of skilled staff. It’s therefore essential that we preserve quality training pathways into the sector.

As well as social care, the reforms mean that industries such as travel and tourism, aviation, uniformed public services, and sport, sectors essential to British prosperity, culture and identity, will be struggling with unknowns.

Information is still being released, as we saw earlier this month when the technical guidance for Cycle 2 became available – which covers Level 2 and 3 qualifications in sectors that don’t align with T Levels. The sectors mentioned above all fall into this cycle, and NCFE is making it a priority to design fantastic provision in these areas.

What will be of interest to those working in FE is that new funding rules will now allow combined study programmes of academic and technical qualifications. In previously published guidance, a learner had to pick a distinct pathway. This change is very welcome as it reflects providers’ need to create flexible programmes for young people that give them the choice of going into the workforce or progressing to higher education.

This development mirrors the proposed structure of the new Advanced British Standard, announced by Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party Conference in October, which seeks to combine academic and technical education into one ubiquitous programme, allowing vocational subjects to have parity of esteem with their academic counterparts.

For NCFE, this means we can now look at those key sectors, work with educators and employers, analyse the need for academic, technical or combined qualifications, and develop everything that’s needed to secure the future workforce in each.

Over the last few months, I’ve visited and listened to the concerns of representatives from across FE and industry. While there’s been a real spotlight on which qualifications are being ‘defunded’, there’s been very little information about new qualifications and the opportunity to create an improved system.

I’ve also spoken with learners, who are the reason why we need to get this right – like Megan Dutton, a 17-year-old at The Aviation Academy, part of Craven College, about to begin her studies, who blew me away with her focus and determination.

Interview with Megan Dutton

She told me: “My plan is to study the NCFE Level 3 Travel and Tourism with Aviation qualification and then, after that, I’ll look to do my Level 4, 5 and 6 – which is a degree course based at The Aviation Academy. I’d then like to start off my career as being a duty support officer, before becoming an airport duty manager and then finally, an air traffic controller – that’s my main goal.”

At a time when it may feel like everything is still up in the air and we’re not sure what the future holds, the one piece of certainty I can offer is that NCFE is absolutely committed to all of these important sectors. We are working through the details, we have a plan, and we’re standing by the FE sector.

With that in mind, we’ve created a dedicated area with all the latest information on the post-16 reforms and what they mean, including a new free guide to download. Find out more by visiting post-16 reforms

Ofsted: College results improve again while ITPs drop to EIF low

The quality of education at general FE colleges has hit another record high, but the proportion of independent training providers achieving top Ofsted inspection grades has shrunk again.

FE Week analysis of latest official Ofsted data shows that the proportion of general FE colleges that hold a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding judgment sat at 91 per cent as of August 31, 2023.

This is a three percentage point rise compared to the same point last year and 14 percentage points higher than in 2021.

Sixth form colleges have also kept their proportion with the top two grades at 100 per cent for the second year in a row.

Independent training providers, however, saw the proportion of those holding a grade one or two fall to 71 per cent – the lowest since Ofsted’s education inspection framework was introduced in 2019.

This is four percentage points lower than the 75 per cent recorded at this point last year and nine percentage points lower than in 2021.

Overall, the quality of the whole FE sector declined slightly if judged by Ofsted results. As of August 31, 2023, 79 per cent of all FE providers held a grade one or two, down from 81 per cent at the same point last year.

There were 37 full inspections this year of previously ‘outstanding’ providers. Of those, 15 retained the grade, 18 dropped to ‘good’, and four fell to ‘requires improvement’.

FE Week’s analysis comes ahead of tomorrow’s launch of Ofsted’s annual report for 2023.

General FE college quality rises

While the overall proportion of grade one and two general FE colleges has risen to 91 per cent, the in-year data for 2022/23 shows a slightly different picture.

There were 52 GFE inspections between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023. Of those, 40, or 77 per cent, received the top two grades.

The reason for the overall rise in general FE colleges with ‘good’ or better can be due to multiple factors, including Ofsted grades being wiped out following mergers, which often involve weaker performing colleges.

‘Reasonable’ results in first year of new college skills measure

Enhanced inspections for colleges launched in September 2022 and includes an assessment of how well the college is contributing to addressing skills gaps in the local, regional and national economy.

The outcome of this assessment is not subject to a separate report, but included as a part of the overall inspection. Inspectors dish out one of three ratings for the skills contribution section – limited, reasonable or strong.

Out of the 51 colleges inspected, three were making a ‘limited’ contribution to meeting skills needs. These were New College Swindon, Coventry College and Strode College.

A further 30 were found making a ‘reasonable’ contribution, while 18 were making a ‘strong’ contribution.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told last week’s Association of Colleges conference that the “early results of our new judgement of skills needs are encouraging”.

She added: “Almost all the colleges inspected so far are making strong or reasonable contributions. And by the way, reasonable is a positive judgement, not a bad one. And the positive response from the sector to this work has been welcome.”

New providers slump ITP performance

The fall in the overall proportion of independent training providers (ITPs) that hold the top two Ofsted grades can be attributed, in part, to the number of new providers entering the market and receiving their first full inspection.

There were 594 ITPs that recorded their first Ofsted rating at of 31 August, 68 per cent of which received a grade one or two.

In 2022/23, 132 out of 209 independent providers – or 63 per cent – that weren’t previously inspected, were awarded the top two grades, the same proportion as data from 2021/22.

Overall, 71 per cent of all ITPs were rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ as of August 31.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers has previously said Ofsted inspections of ITPs were heavily weighted towards new providers and “drags” down and “dilutes” the figure for all ITPs.

This year, 143 of the 160 new provider monitoring visits scored ‘reasonable’ or ‘significant progress’ across all three themes – the highest proportion since NPMVs were introduced.

Ofsted said it carried out 15 follow-up safeguarding visits to providers that were judged to be making insufficient progress in safeguarding at their initial NPMV.

Meanwhile, 76 per cent of 1,256 providers with apprenticeship judgements were either good or reasonable progress.

Slight improvement in SEND colleges

The proportion of independent specialist colleges receiving grade one or two ratings from Ofsted improved by two percentage points to 77 per cent as of August 2023.

These SEND colleges provide post-16 education and training to young people and adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

In 2021/22, seven were graded ‘inadequate’ compared to just four between 2017 and 2021.

In 2022/23, just one independent specialist college was awarded the bottom grade.

Prison education judgments still poor

The education of prisons or young offender institutions (YOIs) is still suffering.

This year, 91 per cent of the 43 prisons or young offender institutions were judged ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ for overall effectiveness of education skills, and work provision.

In-year data shows no prison education institutions improved to ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

Instead, 12 prisons or YOIs declined from requires improvement to inadequate, three declined from good to inadequate and four institutions that were previously inadequate were judged inadequate again.

It means 31 per cent of institutions are now inadequate, up from 19 per cent last year.

Autumn statement: £50m pilot for ‘growth sector’ apprenticeships

The chancellor has announced a £50 million pilot to “stimulate” apprenticeship training in engineering and other growth sectors.

Jeremy Hunt revealed plans for a two-year ‘apprenticeship growth sector pilot’ in his autumn statement today, but no policy details have yet been released.

He told the House of Commons: “We want to increase the numbers of apprenticeships. Following engagement with Make UK and others, I’m announcing a further £50 million of funding over the next two years to pilot ways to increase the number of apprentices in engineering and other key growth areas where there are shortages.”

Treasury documents published after his speech failed to shed any more light on how the pilot will run, or when it will officially launch.

“The government continues to work closely with businesses to improve the apprenticeship system to meet the needs of learners, employers and training providers”, the documents said.

“The government is supporting plans to catalyse the growth sectors by committing £50 million to deliver a two-year apprenticeships pilot to explore ways to stimulate training in these sectors and address barriers to entry in high-value standards.”

A government spokesperson said it will engage with the skills sector in the New Year before confirming final details.

Levy restriction talks ongoing

FE Week reported last week that the Treasury and Number 10 had drawn up plans to restrict the use of levy funding for degree-level apprenticeships.

Lobby groups have been appealing to the chancellor to drop the proposal, and the Department for Education is understood to also be resisting.

Hunt made no mention the apprenticeship levy in today’s autumn statement, but FE Week understand discussions about potential restrictions are ongoing.

Apprentice minimum wage rise

The Treasury confirmed today that the minimum hourly wage for apprentices will see a 21 per cent increase from April 2024.

It means apprentices will see their minimum hourly pay rise from £5.28 to £6.40.

Business training firm jumps two grades to ‘outstanding’

A Birmingham-based independent training provider has been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted after a “rapid” two-year turnaround. 

Inspectors have heaped praise on leaders of The NVQ Training Centre Ltd, trading as The Apprentice Centre, which had 161 apprentices on the books at the time of an inspection last month, for their “significant and rapid progress” in turning around the quality of training.

The report, published today, awarded top ‘outstanding’ grades for overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management and apprenticeships. 

Each of those inspection judgements improved from ‘requires improvement’ when the provider was last inspected two years ago.

Leaders at the training company told FE Week their success was down to “solid relationships” and an “open and honest” approach to self-assessment.

Mark Webber, director of The NVQ Training Centre Ltd, said: “We have an open and honest approach to self-assessment, focusing on quality and monitoring to get to where we want to be. We build solid relationships with our clients and apprentices, and their feedback matters more than anything.”

Apprentices passing their planned end dates have “significantly reduced”, according to Ofsted’s report. This is down to a new “highly effective” quality review process which uses observations and other information to track apprentice performance. 

Ofsted also praised the The NVQ Training Centre leaders for providing their staff with healthcare insurance and an external confidential advice service. 

“As a result, staff feel well-supported by management and can readily approach them to raise concerns or seek assistance,” the report said.

Webber added: “Whilst it has been a difficult time for apprenticeships, our drive and focus on putting our apprentices and clients first has been at the forefront of our delivery. Our high staff retention and positive attitude has been vital for us to ensure our continuous improvement remains effective.”

At the time of the inspection, most apprentices were on the level 3 business administrator standard. The provider also offers the level 3 team leader or supervisor apprenticeship, the level 5 operations or departmental manager and the level 2 recruitment resource apprenticeships, among others in the business and logistics sector.

Inspectors found “highly motivated” apprentices and tutors promoting community activities, like charity fundraising, which “deepen the learning experience”.

Another part of the quality turnaround was improvements to employer relationships. The provider now “works closely with mentors to ensure that there are strong links between the on and off-the-job training and that the standard of teaching is of a consistently high quality”.

Tutors were “swift to recognise” apprentices who fall behind with their learning and put in extra sessions so apprentices “catch up quickly and achieve”.

Webber said: “There aren’t enough words to say how grateful and proud I am of everyone within the The NVQ Training Centre Ltd t/a The Apprenticeship Centre. 

“We are a fantastic team and the ‘outstanding’ grade recognises that.”

Autumn statement: Apprentice minimum wage boosted to £6.40 an hour

The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice will see a 21 per cent increase to £6.40 an hour from next April, the Treasury has announced ahead of tomorrow’s autumn statement.

Apprentices will see their minimum hourly pay rise from £5.28 to £6.40.

However, a large gap remains between the apprentice minimum wage and the national living wage and national minimum wage rates for 18 to 20-year-olds, which also saw a boost from the chancellor.

Employers must pay at least the apprentice minimum wage for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. After their first year, apprentices aged over 19 should receive at least the national minimum wage, or the national living wage, depending on their age.

The national living wage will increase by over a pound an hour – or 10 per cent – from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour. It will also apply to 21-year-olds for the first time, who will see a 2.4 per cent increase, from £10.18 this year to £11.44 next year.

Hunt said the National Living Wage pay rise equates to over £1,800 a year.

National Minimum wage rates for 18 to 20-year-olds will bump up by £1.11 to £8.60 per hour.

Last year, the apprentice national minimum wage rose by 9.7 per cent to £5.28.

The autumn statement is expected to be delivered by chancellor Jeremy Hunt tomorrow afternoon.

Minimum wage rates from April 1, 2024

Per hour rateAnnual increasePercentage increase
National Living Wage (21 and over)£11.44£1.029.8%
18-20 year-old rate£8.60£1.1114.8%
16-17 year-old rate£6.40£1.1221.2%
Apprentice rate£6.40£1.1221.2%
Source: Low Pay Commission

WorldSkills UK national finals 2023

Welcome to this special souvenir supplement bringing you the full results and insights from the 2023 WorldSkills UK national finals in Greater Manchester.

The finals showcase the pinnacle of technical skills among UK students and apprentices, but there’s a lot more to skills competitions than winning medals.

Find out why Greater Manchester was the perfect host city region for this year’s finals, how learning from abroad is raising technical training standards at home, and get the very latest on how WorldSkills UK’s Centre of Excellence programme is transforming teacher CPD.

WorldSkills UK: Foundation skills medalists announced

Thirty-two students have been announced as gold, silver and bronze medalists at this year’s WorldSkills UK national foundation skills finals.

Competitions in eights skills areas have been taking place in education venues across Greater Manchester this week with SEND students from all over the UK competing.

The medal winners were announced this afternoon at a ceremony hosted by The Manchester College.

It was a gold-medal haul for students from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College. Sophie Trevitt came first place in the catering competition, Keira Paterson won gold in restaurant service and the college’s team of three students, Lee Barnett, William Clark and Jade Oakley, beat the competition in the media skills competition.

Rotheram College’s Emalise Stanley came out top in the hairdressing competition, while Pembrokeshire College’s George Scully won gold in health and social care.

In the horticulture finals, the gold medal went to Rhys Rapado-Evans from Elidyr Communities Trust and in motor vehicle, South Staffordshire College’s Harvey Reid triumphed.

And gold medals for the IT software solutions for business and health and social care went to Preston College’s Jessica Mercer-Taylor and Pembrokeshire College’s George Scully respectively.

Marion Plant, the chair of WorldSkills UK and principal and chief executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: “The foundation skills competition is so important because it’s widening participation and encouraging students at all levels of learning and those who have particular challenges to benefit from participating.”

See below for the full list of this year’s foundation skills medallists (click to enlarge):

Revealed: WorldSkills UK’s 2023 national finals results

The UK’s most talented skills champions and winners of the WorldSkills UK national finals have been announced.

The nation’s best apprentices and students were celebrated in an awards ceremony at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall this evening, hosted by presenter Edith Bowman.

The national finals were split into four categories: construction and infrastructure, digital business & creative, engineering & technology, and health, hospitality and lifestyle.

Earlier today, a foundation skills medal ceremony was held to celebrate SEND student competitors in eight skills areas.

See the full winner’s list here

Southern Regional College won the most medals for the second year running, taking home 11 medals: four golds, three silvers, and four bronze.

They also topped the table on medal points with 28. Coming in second on medal points was New College Lanarkshire with 26 and City of Glasgow College came third with 18.

A gold medal is worth four points, a silver is worth three points, a bronze is worth two and a highly commended place scores one.

Greater Manchester education providers did well on their home turf too.

The highest-ranked English college on medal points was Trafford College Group, placing joint seventh with 10 medal points. They won one gold and two silvers.

Learners at Manchester Metropolitan University took home one silver and two bronze medals, and Tameside College competitors were awarded three silver medals.

Gold medal winners included Ross Graham from Southern Regional College for automation, Calam Kearney from New College Lanarkshire for digital construction and Katie King, Aime Lovel, Charlie McCarthy, and Scarlett Freyone, all from North East Surrey College of Technology for the digital media production skill.

In the beauty therapy skill, Neve Dunn from Tyne Coast College won gold, while Kaya Mujica and Erin Owens from Pembrokeshire College won the silver and bronze awards respectively.

In floristry, Kirsty Noble from The Floristry School Sheffield won gold. Edel Michael from CAFRE won silver and Emma Rochfort from Warwickshire College Group won bronze. Angela Wake from East Durham College was given a highly commended award.

This is the last floristry competition that the UK will compete in, as it is being removed from WorldSkills UK’s portfolio.

The 194 winners were announced following six months of local and regional qualifiers, culminating in two days of intense competition at the national finals.

More than 6,000 young people registered to take part in the WorldSkills UK competitions, with over 400 making it to the finals.

It is also the first time a national final has been held in one region – this year 11 colleges, universities, and training providers in Greater Manchester hosted competitions across their campuses.

Last year saw over two hundred young people from across the UK celebrated as the nation’s best.

Skills minister Robert Halfon said: “I would like to congratulate all the competitors in the UK WorldSkills final.  They have done an amazing job showcasing their exceptional talent.

“They are all winners in my eyes for choosing a pathway that will build their skills and career potential, allowing them to climb the skills ladder of opportunity.”

Ben Blackledge, chief executive of WorldSkills UK said: “This is a life-changing moment for these young people. They are the new generation of high flyers that will give UK employers a competitive edge.

“Our finals not only celebrate the best in young talent, but also provide a vital opportunity to see how skill development in the UK stacks up both domestically and against our international neighbours.”

New borrowing rules posing cashflow problems for colleges

Colleges are grappling with cashflow challenges due to new, “restrictive” borrowing rules that leave them with considerable upfront capital costs.

FE leaders this week warned that colleges are having to wait around two months for the Department for Education to refund what they spent on funded building and facility improvements.

Colleges were reclassified as public sector organisations last November, which means they are no longer able to get bank loans to pay for capital projects without permission from the DfE.

The department launched a time-limited “college capital loan” system to use between 2023 and 2025 in response to college complaints that this overnight decision put their projects on hold.

But the loans are paid “on invoice”, so colleges need to pay for capital builds out of their own pocket in the first instance, and only receive the funding from the government once they have shown officials their invoices.

Speaking at a breakout session at this week’s Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference, Zoe Lewis, chief executive at Middlesborough College, warned this was creating a “perfect storm” for colleges seeking urgent repairs or capital improvements.

“If this is for a big college build, what college could cope with that cashflow?” she said.

“In the old world, we would have drawn down from Santander based on a profile that we felt was sensible.

“[The government] needs to get it back on profile, it needs to trust us. It’s very frustrating.”

Andrew Tyley, a deputy FE commissioner, said the issue would especially affect the “relatively small number” of colleges which need “massive [capital] investment”.

“For those colleges that need £30 [million], £40 [million] or £50 million [of capital funding], there’s no way they’re going to be able to fund that themselves,” he said.

He also warned there was a “north-south divide” over funding. “The further north you go, the less scope there is to generate money from capital receipts to fund those developments.”

Middlesborough College was pushing forward with a £50 million project to develop an engineering centre around the time of reclassification. The DfE gave the college a £6 million grant for the scheme, but the rest had to come from borrowing.

Lewis said her college had “underestimated the impact of [reclassification] in terms of its immediacy”, and had not signed off bank loans for the project before reclassification.

“If we had known [reclassification would take hold so quickly], we would have signed off on funds from the bank,” she said. After reclassification colleges could still use funds they had borrowed from banks, and were just prevented from accessing more bank loans without permission.

But the college is now waiting for funds from the DfE, which has delayed the project.

Lewis said she contacted Shelagh Legrave, the FE Commissioner, immediately to warn her about the impact this could have on colleges. “I wrote to [her] the day after [reclassification] landed, and said: ‘You need to watch this’.”

But Lewis did say that colleges pay “a cheaper rate” borrowing from the government than from banks, which she admitted was a “big benefit of this new world that we’re in”.

She added: “It’s complex and bureaucratic and it’s a bit painful but, as I said, there are some benefits as well and I think [the DfE] will learn on the job.”

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive at the AoC, warned there were “cashflow risks for colleges” under the new system because the “decision to double-check every extra invoice means that some colleges will have to wait two months after paying their construction company to get the loan in from government”.

He called on the DfE to work with colleges on “sustainable long-term capital investment arrangements to ensure we have the buildings and teaching space to run the courses to equip students with the skills they need”. 

Gravatt added: “Bank lending would be available for viable projects if it was allowed, and there are lots of viable projects colleges want to invest in which will save money, help achieve net zero estates and which will help people get the skills they need to drive inclusive economic growth. Restricting those projects is not good value for money, it is wasted potential.” 

A DfE spokesperson said the department recognised “that restrictions on commercial borrowing following reclassification have led to some colleges encountering challenges in the financing of their capital projects”.