MPs’ report critical of scrapping EMAs and the NUS will continue to demand reinstatement

The education select committee’s report on participation in 16-19 education is heavily critical of both Michael Gove’s education policy (particularly the decision to scrap EMA) and the way in which his policies have been executed. And for good reason. Gove has continued to force his way through the Further Education sector like a battering ram, with little thought for those who will have their access to education damaged or even destroyed by his actions.

This report says in black and white what we all already knew. The only person in favour of scrapping EMA was Michael Gove. Both student and teaching Unions said it was the wrong thing to do (but that is hardly surprising). What is more concerning, is that both the IFS and OECD warned Mr Gove that this was entirely the wrong decision to make, even suggesting to him in April 2011 that he reinstate EMA to avoid damage to the UK economy. And if that wasn’t enough, even the author of the now infamous “deadweight” research has distanced himself from the decision, telling the select committee that the research was not intended to be used for this purpose and had been misinterpreted by the government. On top of this, the report has uncovered that less than half of respondents to the survey were even in receipt of EMA, and that the sample came mainly from school sixth forms in leafy suburbia, hardly the typical face of Further Education in the UK. It appears that Gove is on a one man crusade on this one.

This report says in black and white what we all already knew. The only person in favour of scrapping EMA was Michael Gove. “

And then we move on to the way in which the abolition has been handled. The select committee are very concerned about the way in which Gove has glossed over all most all the advice he has been provided with to implement his own (economically destructive) ideological policy. In fact they say they “would have welcomed a more measured and public analysis by the Government before it took the decision to abolish the EMA”. There were opportunities coming from every angle to improve the Education Maintenance Allowance system. To pick up your ball and run away with it is no way to conduct public policy Mr Gove.

But the report goes further. It suggests that young people should be entitled to free transport, particularly when the training and participation age goes up. And despite Michael Gove’s insistence that refectories in Further Education Colleges are mythical, it proposes that any free school meals eligibility in school sixth forms should be translated to FEIs too!

Overall, the report is a solid endorsement of the policies of NUS and opinions of students up and down the country. Of course it would be naïve to expect a full U-turn on EMA – the Department for Education is likely to be dizzy by now. But NUS will continue to demand the immediate reinstatement of the Education Maintenance Allowance, a call that has only been amplified by the findings of the Education Select Committee.

We know that Michael Gove is used to very public slip ups, but I think he comes out of this the most red-faced of all.

Toni Pearce is Vice President of Further Education at the NUS

FE principal appointed to UKCES Board

The chief executive of Eastleigh College, Mr Tony Lau-Walker, is one of nine new members appointed to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills this week.

“The diverse backgrounds and viewpoints represented by the nine new Commissioners will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to deliver skills for growth across all sectors, helping boost national productivity and competitiveness,” explained Business Secretary Vince Cable who, together with  Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, appointed the nine new commissioners.

They join an existing team of 16 Commissioners, led by Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.  The commission works with government to raise skill levels, helping drive enterprise, create more and better jobs and promote economic growth. 

Mr Lau-Walker who has worked in Further Education for over 30 years, has been at Eastleigh College for 13 years and sits as Chair of The Windsor Group of Colleges, which focuses on collaborative work with employers to meet the training needs of large organisations. Eastleigh college describes itself as  a General Further Education (GFE) college supporting over 22,000 learners annually.

Is there an apprentice in the House?

Lord Sugar has one annually and now MP Robert Halfon is ready to do the same.

Andy Huckle (20) was the first MPs Apprentice, and his time in ‘office’ is coming quickly to an end, now Mr Halfon, who is a keen supporter of apprenticeships and was the first MP to employ an apprentice has started a new search for Andy’s replacement.

Andy will complete his Level three placement at the end of July. He said: “I have learnt so much during my year with Robert and been involved in so many projects which have certainly taught me a lot and helped me immensely with my studies at Harlow College.

“I would certainly encourage anyone with an interest in politics and current affairs, and who wants to find out more about the workings of Parliament, to seriously consider applying for the position.”

Mr Halfon said: “People will know that I am a firm believer in apprentices and apprenticeships and I continue to campaign to ensure that they are understood and get the national status that they deserve.

“Andrew has had a brilliant year, meeting the Prime Minister only earlier this month, running events in Harlow and helping with research in Parliament.”

The new MPs apprentice will work with Mr Halfon and study at Harlow College.

YPLA expresses ‘major concerns’ over government funding consultations

On the 13th April 2011 the Department for Education (DfE)  published two funding consultations presenting high level principles for reforming the current schools funding system. The deadline for responding was the 25th May. This meant the consultations were published during the school holiday period and with half usual full 12 week consultation period.

The same day the consulations were launched the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) Board, the government’s 16-18 funding quango, “expressed major concerns over the timing of the launch and length of the consultation period”.

Further consultations on pre-16 and 16-18 funding methodologies are expected this month.

Click here for the full YPLA board minutes published this week

Click here for DfE April 13th press release

EMA replacement decisions slammed by the Education Select Committee

The government’s new student support funding for 16-18 year olds has come far too late to allow 2011/12 students to make informed decisions, says Education Select Committee.

The Committee’s findings accepts that changes to student support needed to be made, but says that the delay in deciding on allocations and the guiding principles for distribution should not have been allowed to happen. The report states that the government should have done more to acknowledge the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) combined impact on participation, attainment and retention, before it decided how to restructure financial support.

Graham Stuart MP, Chairman of the Committee said: “Decisions on how much will be available for distribution by each school or college have been taken far too late, and it is 16 year olds who have suffered uncertainty as a result. That should not have been allowed to happen.”

According to the Committee, the bursary scheme which is to replace the EMA will inevitably lead to inconsistencies which could distort young people’s choices of where to study. It is not persuaded that bursaries administered by schools and colleges will necessarily be fairer or more discriminating than a slimmed-down, more targeted entitlement such as the EMA.

Mr Stuart added: “Young people taking life defining decisions at 16 need clear information on the support they may receive and deserve better than rushed and ill thought through reforms. We accept that changes and savings need to be made but the organisation of the change has been far from smooth.”

The report also highlights the difficulty of transferring data between schools and colleges and encourages the Department for Education to do more to ensure that information about pupils’ needs can move easily between educational institutions. It was also critical of the 74% rate cut to entitlement funding for tutorials and enrichment activities, and said “The Department’s forthcoming review of the funding formula for 16–19 learning should, in assessing the value of every aspect of provision (including qualifications), consider the case for restoring a higher level of entitlement funding.”

 The Committee has said that it supports the government’s focus on apprenticeships but urges it to protect quality at the same time as increasing numbers participating.

Click here to download the full report

ESOL impact assessment fails to impress

The government has today agreed a partial u-turn on ESOL cuts after an impact assessment ordered by FE and Skills Minister John Hayes revealed that at least 58,000 women would lose all entitlement to fee remission under the new system.

But initiatives being drawn up jointly by the departments for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Communities and Local Government (CLG) fall well short of what colleges and campaigners were demanding and will have no impact on learner recruitment this autumn or on the numbers of lecturers facing redundancy.

Funding to pay for extra classes will come entirely from the CLG following a deal struck last week between the departmental secretaries Vince Cable and Eric Pickles. The size of the pot is unlikely to be announced before late August or September but it is understood that a condition of the initiative will be that money is targeted at local community groups rather than colleges.

will have no impact on learner recruitment this autumn or on the numbers of lecturers facing redundancy.”

The impact assessment confirms what organisations including Lsect and the Association of Colleges reported, that the planned cuts will have the biggest impact on women with families who are unable to work full time and are on inactive benefits. Surveys through the spring estimated that the number of learners to lose out was closer to 100,000.

John Hayes’ pronouncement this week following the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) will be seen as a double whammy for many colleges and providers already facing swingeing cuts. He says that in addition to retaining the new criteria and giving full fee exemption only to those on active benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), he will be imposing new “tough performance measures” for providers of ESOL in consultation with Ofsted.

it is understood that a condition of the initiative will be that money is targeted at local community groups rather than colleges.”

This point is further emphasised in the BIS EIA report, which says while providers should be responsible for delivering high quality, they must be “pro-actively” improving their offer. “Poor providers must make rapid improvements, or lose funding.”   Mr Hayes added: “By targeting public funding on those in greatest need, and setting higher standards for providers, our reforms will make ESOL provision work better for learners, employers, and taxpayers.”

Responding to accusations that BIS had failed to do a proper EIA when it should have last autumn, a BIS spokesman said an assessment was done but this covered the whole skills strategy, not just ESOL. Hayes had called for a more focused analysis following angry responses to the cuts. In addition to the BIS-CLG initiative, Hayes had asked the AoC to explore more effective methods for targeting funds where they were most needed in “settled communities” and to involve Lord Boswell and Baroness Sharp – who are leading inquiries on Adult Literacy and Colleges in Communities – in the work.

But the reforms – announced a day before Parliament went into recess – have failed to impress most providers. Alastair Thomson, Principal Policy Office for Niace, told FE Week: “We welcome the fact that the government has listened to the concerns that we have expressed and the fact that there will be a joined-up government approach. But – and it’s a big but – there is no doubt ESOL provision will be considerably worse from September. Our concern is that the most vulnerable adults will still be unduly hit.”

His comments were echoed in many similar statements to FE Week from organisations including the UCU, Action for ESOL campaign and the Refugee Council. The response from colleges was summed up by one North London principal who said: “These measures don’t go anywhere near meeting the needs of our learners.”

Our concern is that the most vulnerable adults will still be unduly hit.”

The Association of Colleges said it was happy to work with government but had a long shopping list of demands including measures to ensure those who would unduly lose out are reclassified as Employment Support Allowance recipients (and therefore eligible for fee remission). The Chief Executive Martin Doel said: “We would also want parents of children aged seven or under to continue to use ESOL as a means through which they play an active part in their children’s education and as a springboard to the labour market.”

Click here to download a copy of the ESOL Impact Assessment

Student does college proud, at Stroud!

A student from Stroud College, described by her tutor as “completely exceptional”, has scooped first place Gold in media make-up at the World Skills National Finals held in Cambridge last weekend.  Kate Gordon was one of 10 regional finalists competing for the title, with competitors basing their creations on ‘Life on Mars’.

Tutor Sarah Jordon, who travelled with Kate to the finals, said: “It’s a very testing competition, with internationally-renowned judges questioning the competitors, observing their application skills and looking at all aspects of health and safety – and that’s before they judge the creative result at the end!”

Kate said: “I had fantastic financial and teaching support from Stroud College to compete at World Skills. To win the finals is simply amazing, and a huge boost to my freelance career as a make-up artist.”

Cuts in FE to ‘hit women and black and ethnic minorities hardest’

Current and planned cuts in further education will hit women and  black and ethnic minorities harder than most according to the Woman’s Leadership Network (WLN) and the Network of Black Professionals (NBP).

The two organisations are so worried about the unfair effect, they have outlined their fears in a letter to the Chancellor, George Osborne. Their concerns were voiced at the organisations’  annual joint conference (as summarised in FE Week) during a debate on how further education leaders and professionals  could lessen the cuts’ effects.

“Women and black and ethnic minority learners are overrepresented in further education, which means they will be disproportionately affected by the overall cut of 25 per cent in adult provision over the next four years,” explained Sally Dicketts, chair of WLN.

The requirement for many learners over the age of 24 to pay their own fees, and for ESOL learners to co-fund their learning, would affect lower-paid women while many women and people from disadvantaged  backgrounds could be put off taking  higher programmes because they don’t like having loans, she said.

Welfare reforms  were another concern since they were more likely to affect those involved in caring who were more likely to be women who could be further restricted from taking part in FE.

For women in the FE teaching workforce, the need for greater flexibility, including more antisocial hours, was likely to make it more difficult for those with caring responsibilities.

Meanwhile Robin Landman, chief executive of NBP said that with 22 per cent of learners in FE, and a high proportion of disadvantaged learners in urban areas from black and minority ethnic backgrounds:  “We are worried that the loss of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) and cuts to 16-19 entitlement funding will lead to a reduction in student support for them.”

He continued: “The rules about unemployed people and those on jobseeker’s allowance being restricted to only eight weeks of study in most cases arelikely to affect a disproportionate number of people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, denying them access to more substantial qualifications for progression. And as far as the FE workforce is concerned, we already have serious imbalances, with those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds representing eight per cent of the workforce, and less than five per cent of college principals.”

Cuts in FE employment will reduce the scope to redress the imbalances, he added.

MP calls for bankers’ bonuses to provide Apprenticeships for jobless youngsters

A Labour MP is urging the government to provide apprenticeships for jobless youngsters with small businesses – by using bankers’ bonuses.

Introducing a bill under the ten minute rule,  the MP for Selly Oak, Steve McCabe, wants training and employment schemes for young people, better careers guidance and help for companies offering on-the-job experience.

He wants:” A mechanism through which banks and other providers of financial services are required to allocate part of their bonus payment budget to support these measures,” he said.

The MP told the House of Commons: “How can we be optimistic about the future if we are prepared to subject our young people to a life of worklessness?”

With youth unemployment hovering around the 1 million mark, his bill would bring a “fresh initiative” to tackle the problem.

“I want us to create a training and employment programme for those aged 16 to 25, because I believe that that is the only realistic way to tackle a problem of that size. That kind of unemployment can have long-term damaging effects.”

The MP added: “We owe it to our young people to do everything we can to prevent the scar of unemployment.”

Youth unemployment costs more than £23 million in benefits every week. What was needed, he said, was an employment programme “that offers hope and opportunity, and we need training designed to address the structural gaps in our system.”

Read the debate by clicking here

Mr McCabe told his fellow MPs the public were ahead of them on this matter. “Because they know that we should fund such a programme from a levy on the money set aside for unearned bonuses for wealthy bankers, who are continuing to pay themselves money that they have not earned while the rest of the country suffers as a result.”

Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell opposed the plan because it failed to address unsafe working conditions for apprentices.

But MPs voted 241 to 35 to allow Mr McCabe to bring in his Bill. It will be read a second time on November 25.