The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, which announced £270m of new capital money for FE, has been celebrated as a “big win” for ministers and FE.

The pledge of extra capital funding, when added to existing resources in 2014-15, will deliver a total of £550m for college buildings over the next two years, according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The figures, especially in times of austerity, are “a clear demonstration of the clout that both the Secretary of State, Vince Cable, and Minister for Skills, Matthew Hancock, have across Whitehall”, according to sources close to the government.

The source added: “The news was a big win for BIS and for FE.”

The future of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) also appeared secure, despite earlier suggestions the government would transfer its budget to the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), as recommended in Lord Heseltine’s Plan for Growth.

While the agency will maintain management for the majority of the skills budget, it was confirmed that LEPs will take a leading role in managing the Employer Ownership Pilot and priorities for European Social Funding.

On releasing the Skills Funding Statement 2012 – 2015, the Skills Minister told FE Week: “The SFA will continue — as it says in the document.”

And he said of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), which was not mentioned in the funding statement: “They will continue to have a very important role.”
The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomed George Osborne’s speech as a “clear note of confidence in colleges”.

Chief executive Martin Doel, said: “The Autumn Statement recognises the importance of the sector to the economy, the local communities each college serves and, most importantly, to the students educated each year.

“This investment will allow colleges to continue to update their estates, helping them to deliver continuing high standards to their students, communities and industry partners.”

Responding to the Skills Funding Strategy, David Hughes, chief executive of NIACE, said: “The news that, overall, the revenue funding has not been cut further than planned is welcome. The new injection of capital into FE colleges will have a quick and direct benefit to learners across the country, as will the funding of modern equipment.”

Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, welcomed the increased influence of LEPs. Commenting on the recommendation that colleges should be represented on LEP boards, she said: “Many of our colleges are already closely involved with LEPs and, if anything, it would have been good to see the relationship firmed up as more than a recommendation.”

Our key points and plans from the Skills Funding Statement 2012-2015 

• Total teaching and learning budget £3.236bn in 2012-13, £3.155 bn in 2013-14 and an indicative £3.202 bn in 2014-15
• Extra £270m capital funding (new money), making £550m for college projects operational by September 2015
• Local Enterprise Partnerships  will be able to bring employers together to bid for Employer Ownership Pilot  funding and  with SFA set priorities for ESF funding
• Consult on the introduction of Chartered Status for providers   proposal is that colleges would need to demonstrate that they have reflect LEP/S priorities in their plans
• Work with the DWP on measuring job outcomes, with a view to future  incentive funding schemes
• Lead a review of the post 19 Qualification and Credit Framework
• Employer Ownership Pilot now £340m extended to 2015/16, following £90m redirected from elsewhere
• FE course outcomes to be available through the Key Information Sets (like universities)
• Publish course /vocational/sector  data based on how much learners might earn when they qualify
• Work with UKCES on a review of the National Occupational Standards
• Subject to the pilot outcome, introduce skills gain (distance travelled)  for English and Maths  funding in 2014/15
• Plans to publish proposals for a Traineeship model of pre-employment training ‘shortly’

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

A relatively good day

The Autumn Statement could have gone either way.

FE’s new minister was formerly an adviser to the Chancellor so would he help swing the axe or use his relationship to soften the blow?

When the Treasury announced £270m of new money, and an overall 2.8 per cent increase in total Government spending on further education and skills, we had our answer.

This capital investment is a vote of confidence in our colleges, and for that the new minister should be commended.

I know FE and Skills is still having to swallow the deficit reduction pill, with a top line real term reduction in funding of 25.1 per cent by 2014-15.

Ok sure, the extra £270m does not anywhere near meet past capital budget plans for FE.

And the new strategic role of Local Enterprise Partnerships will present challenges (although it’s better than Heseltine’s proposal to just hand them the funding and systems).

But all-in-all, in the current climate, it was a relatively good day for FE and skills.  Nick Linford, editor 

 

 

 

A review of apprenticeships that called for workplace tax breaks has been angrily rejected by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP).

It said that Doug Richard’s review of apprenticeships “created a hugely damaging picture” from its front cover illustrated with various tools to its “lack of understanding”. It also said that “some of the big things are wrong” and that Richard’s assertion that the report be accepted on an “all-or-nothing” basis was like a “diktat”.

Richard, a former Dragons’ Den investor, bit back on Twitter, dismissing the group’s reaction as “self-interest”.

Graham Hoyle, AELP’s chief executive, said one of Richard’s key recommendations — that “testing and validation process of apprenticeships should be independent and genuinely respected by industry” — particularly upset members.

Angry at me are you. A number of @aelp assertions sound suspiciously like self-interest not rational discourse to me.”

“They feel disappointed, and think the review is naïve and suggests nothing radical or new.”

At the heart of the Richard review was the direction for employers to pay providers directly for apprenticeship training. Tax credits, or other forms of government incentives, should then be dished out to employers.

Mr Hoyle said AELP members were especially concerned this would put off small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We were amazed Doug Richard suggested getting money from the taxman after the training was completed. That would be a direct cash hit on businesses and would reduce SME uptakes of apprenticeships,” he said.

When the review was published, Mr Richard told FE Week his proposals were not “a laundry list” from which the government could pick the elements that it wanted.

But Mr Hoyle said: “We have always said that options should be available to employers, but not a sole, no-choice diktat.

“Our rejection, however, is not based solely on this ultimatum,” he said.

“It starts with the cover, which displays a stereotypical view of traditional basic craft occupations as the depiction of apprenticeships. This is a hugely damaging picture that both ignores the current reality regarding apprenticeships and dangerously misinforms everyone about the future breadth and use of apprenticeships.”

He said the review’s other proposals built upon existing AELP policy such as the group’s belief that apprenticeships must be available for “all-age” employees and that they should not be restricted to level 3 and above.

Doug Richard tweeted in response: “Angry at me are you. A number of @aelp assertions sound suspiciously like self-interest not rational discourse to me.”

The chair of the FE Guild steering group has revealed to FE Week why he would make it an “important priority” to support teachers to become more “technologically literate”.

David Hughes said there hadn’t been enough investment and focus in FE on technology such as video lectures and the use of apps in the classroom – and discouraging the use of smartphones in the classroom was “archaic”.

Mr Hughes, the chief executive of NIACE and the chair of the FE Guild steering group, a new, single body being created to set professional standards and codes of behaviour in FE, was speaking from a NIACE and BBC Innovating Learning conference in Salford.

“We think there is an untouched potential around use of technology and learning in FE, which, if used more creatively and innovatively, will help improve the learning experience,” he said.

“It’s about making it more exciting, more interesting and embedding the use of technology in a way that people will get used to so when they go out into society and the working world they’ll be better prepared.”

We think there is an untouched potential around use of technology and learning in FE”

He said he wasn’t talking about aids such as electronic whiteboards but video lecturing and apps that allowed students to access information in and out of the classroom. He cited Massive Open Online Classes (MOOCs) as a successful example – in the US, 100,000 people tuned in to hear a MOOC about artificial intelligence, he said.

“If by doing video lectures rather than physical lectures we can get to 100 people rather than 20 at the same time, that is a fantastic result,” he said.

“As resources are reduced per learner it’s important that the resources available are targeted in enhancing the learning experience.

“The savings mean practitioners could spend more time with learners who need extra support.”

The big issue was how to persuade FE leaders that investing in the use of technology would improve the learning experience. “The guild should play an important part in this,” he said.

“The benefit is about learners being empowered, about being able to direct their own learning. That is why it’s so exciting — learners can learn in their own time and in their own ways and not be reliant on teachers. And technology could enable more peer support for students created by online networks.”

He said he believed qualifications such as Mozilla Open Badges, obtained free through online learning, might mean something to employers in the future and that the sector should welcome them.

He added: “This isn’t about cutting jobs — it’s about getting teachers involved with technology so they can feel more empowered themselves to get better learning happening.”

A search for the top maths apps and app developers was launched at the conference.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Stephen Twigg, has accused Skills Minister Matthew Hancock of “stealing the idea for a Technical Baccalaureate”.

During a parliamentary exchange Mr Hancock responded saying: “I am absolutely delighted by the positive tone coming from the Opposition . . . the Tech Bac, as suggested by Lord Adonis, a man for whom the Government has huge respect, is one of the things that we will do to ensure higher quality occupational and vocational qualifications and more respect for them. I look forward to consulting widely and will set out more details in due course.”

The Department for Education announced last month that it would consult on the details of a Tech bacc, and publish a list of courses that will qualify next year.

Approved courses are expected to involve a high degree of external assessment rather than tutor marking.

Far too little genuinely occupational education takes place among 16 to 18-year-olds.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has called on the government to work with the Labour party on the new qualifications, which are expected to be available from September 2014.

“It would be good if all three major political parties were able to work together to ensure commonality in their proposals,” said Martin Doel, the association’s chief executive.

“In this way we might have some prospect of a proposal that will stand the test of time, help students achieve the best that they can and not go the way of diplomas, NVQs or the other previous ‘new’ ideas in vocational education.”
He added that it was unsurprising employers, parents and students did not understand vocational education when changes were made so regularly to qualifications and systems.

Mr Twigg told FE Week that Coalition support for the idea was “good”, but its plans looked half-hearted.

“While pupils under Labour would have the chance to start a Tech Bacc from 14, and be able to switch between academic and practical courses, the government’s Tech Bacc looks like an afterthought for those who haven’t passed Michael Gove’s much derided EBacc at 16.”

In an interview with FE Week, Mr Hancock was asked about the potential for cross-party consensus.

“My approach will be very consultative. There are a number of different proposals already on the table and I’ll want to consult widely,” he said.

The proposals include plans to present A level and vocational data separately on performance tables from January 2014. Minimum standards for school sixth forms, sixth-form colleges and further education colleges would also be introduced.

“Far too little genuinely occupational education takes place among 16 to 18-year-olds. In the coming weeks we will publish a consultation on how to identify those with the highest value,” he said.

Judith Norrington, group director of policy and research at City & Guilds, told FE Week: ‘We strongly believe vocational achievements should be given prominence alongside academic qualifications – this notion is, in fact, long overdue. We created a technological baccalaureate many years ago with this in mind.

“However, if we are to encourage and engage those people who need it most, especially as the raising the participation age policy comes into force, we must ensure we have the utmost confidence in the way qualifications are considered for performance tables and that the ranking process is entirely fit for purpose.”

Training experts say adults will be put off apprenticeships after the government announcement that training providers must charge VAT on new FE loans.

Chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Graham Hoyle, pictured right, said the charges would have a “serious impact” on higher apprenticeships.

The charge, which Mr Hoyle expects will be about 20 per cent, will be introduced as part of the “24-plus advanced learning loan” scheme next year, but will not affect learners studying at general FE colleges.

“The current position is very unsatisfactory because it is bound to have a serious impact on the number of adults entering the apprenticeship programme next year,” Mr Hoyle said.

“The government’s ambitions to see more higher apprenticeships will be badly affected. The skills minister has been made aware of this and he has given AELP an assurance that further deliberations will continue in tandem with the current consultation on VAT on higher education.”

In their latest online update, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and HMRC confirmed that no changes will be made to the VAT treatment of further education for 2013/14.

The current position is very unsatisfactory because it is bound to have a serious impact on the number of adults entering the apprenticeship programme next year,”

It said: “It has not been possible to find a solution that would deal with the issues associated with the introduction of loans in isolation, without considering the VAT treatment of further education as a whole.

“The agency, BIS and HRMC are aware of issues raised by some commercial training organisations about the impact that the VAT rules would have on them. BIS and HMRC will continue working together to consider these issues.

“The 24-plus Advanced Learning Loans Policy Overview and FAQ have been updated to reflect this decision.”

FE Week first reported the imminent charge in June. At the time, Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said that colleges, universities and schools operated on different “playing fields” to private providers.

He argued that general FE colleges were different in particular because they were not-for-profit and served their local community. Mr Doel said that if independent training providers wanted to operate on a par with colleges they would need to accept accountability to their local community.

Gordon Marsden, shadow FE minister, told FE Week the problem was because of the different legal statuses held by colleges and independent training providers. However, he later admitted there was “nothing immediately that can be done”.

The 157 Group has published ‘a collection of ten learner voices’, compiled in collaboration with the National Association of Specialist Colleges (Natspec), on the experiences of students with learning difficulties and disabilities in further education. Click here to download.

Chief executive of Natspec, Alison Boulton, and executive director of 157 Group, Lynne Sedgmore, write in the forward that the voices of learners are key to understanding how colleges can offer the best support.

“The traditional wisdom says that policymakers make policy and practitioners implement it. We believe that it does not have to be that way, and seek, through publications like this, to allow the real experiences of learners to influence those who make policy decisions,” they said.

One of the students featured in the report was former Ruskin Mill College student Charlie Avent, 24, who’s autistic.

Mr Avent is pictured above launching the publication at the 157 Group annual reception this evening, with Lynne Sedgmore, where he said in a speech about his experience being a learner:

I don’t have learning difficulties, I had teaching difficulties”.

With permission from the 157 Group we have included Charlie’s story below, as written by Jan Murray in the publication.

Charlie: Harmony through horsemanship

I didn’t get on well in mainstream education. Reading and writing was a struggle for me, but my teachers didn’t seem to understand my difficulties. Their constant criticism made me angry and confrontational, so it was difficult to make friends.

The kids at school didn’t seem to like me: they’d just beat me up and call me names. I felt completely isolated, as if I were in a foreign country where no one understood my language. By the age of 15, I was losing the will to live.

I did try riding as a child, but autism makes you very sensitive to the world around you and I was often panicky around the horses. Looking back, I realise I was freaked out by the violence of it all, particularly seeing horses being whipped, but I just wasn’t able to articulate those feelings at the time. I’d just freak out or have panic attacks.

I was moved to a special school at 15, and then on to Ruskin Mill College at 19. But despite having greater freedom, I still struggled to fit in at college. Then my art teacher Patricia introduced me to her horse, Oscar, and everything changed.

When I first saw Oscar, it was like meeting a long‑lost member of the family. I knew instinctively that I wanted to understand more about how horses communicate. Having noticed my enthusiasm, staff at Ruskin Mill College arranged for me to do work experience at Heartshore Horses, a centre for natural horsemanship near Minchinhampton in the Cotswolds.

Dawn, who owns the stables, introduced me to the concept of natural horsemanship, explaining how horses communicate through their movement and gestures. If you know what you’re looking for, you can tell if a horse is happy, sad, in love – or even if they like you.

In all, I had 18 months of weekly work experience and learning natural horsemanship at Heartshore. When I left Ruskin Mill College, I asked Dawn if I could stay on doing regular volunteer work at the stables, which I have been doing ever since.

I knew early on that I wanted my own horse, but had no idea how I would afford the livery. After talking it through with Dawn, she said I could keep a horse at Heartshore in exchange for helping out at the stables a few days a week.

Thanks to the help of staff at Ruskin Mill College and Dawn and my colleagues at Heartshore, I now have a much better understanding of myself.”

In natural horsemanship, your horse chooses you, not the other way round. As soon as I saw Spirit, she lowered her head and pawed the ground, which was a very clear sign that she was the horse for me. When your horses chooses you, it is a very powerful moment and I decided then that I wanted to use my interest to help raise awareness of autism.

Since then, I’ve continued to work part time at Heartshore and have started giving demonstrations in natural horsemanship to children and young people with autism. Last year, I gave a talk at the Natspec conference about autism – something I’d never have done before I started working with horses.

When you’re on the autistic spectrum, it’s like your brain is on a different operating system from other people’s; if you compare the brain to a computer, it’s like the difference between Apple and Windows 7.

Thanks to the help of staff at Ruskin Mill College and Dawn and my colleagues at Heartshore, I now have a much better understanding of myself, which means I am far more able to control my behaviour. I’ve learned that no one listens when you’re ranting and raving, which means I am far less likely to flare up like I used to.

I’m 24 now, and when I look back on my teenage years, I can see why I was angry. I felt I had no voice and no choice. I’m sure a lot of young people – and not just those on the autistic spectrum – feel like that.

Young people’s interests are their strength, and if we could develop a system that helped young people pursue their passions, instead of trying to educate everyone in the same way, I’m sure we could reduce anti‑social behaviour and underachievement.

I used to think of autism as a disorder, but my experiences have taught me that being on the autism spectrum is a disability only if you perceive it that way. Imagine an axe: in the wrong hands it can be destructive, but if used in the right way, it can create beautiful things. That’s how I see autism now. And for the first time in my life, I feel I can have my say.