Revealed: 74 qualifications survive 2025 level 3 course cull

Over 70 qualifications have passed the first cycle of a new “rigorous” approvals process and will survive the government’s controversial cull of level 3 courses.

Skills minister Luke Hall announced 74 qualifications will be funded for young people and adults alongside A-levels and T Levels in the latest milestone of the government’s post-16 reforms.

Awarding organisations had to make a special case for these qualifications to retain funding from August 2025. A key plank of the government’s strategy for school leavers is to steer students towards A-levels or T Levels.

The approved courses can be taken alongside A-levels or T Levels under a new system which ministers believe will “simplify” and “streamline” qualification choices. 

Today’s announcement reveals newly approved qualifications in the construction, digital, education and early years, engineering and manufacturing, and health and science sectors.

Approvals for other subject areas will be carried out in the coming years.

Of the 42 submissions DfE received for new alternative academic qualifications (AAQs), five were withdrawn by awarding organisations and 30 were approved. 

For technical qualifications, which had to be approved against the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s occupational standards, 50 were approved by IfATE with 44 of those then winning DfE approval for funding.

The DfE also published a full list of 318 qualifications in those sectors it will no longer fund from July 31, 2025. 

Keeping it ‘simple’

Alongside A-levels and T Levels, this “simplified” landscape will include a selection of alternative academic qualifications (AAQs), occupational entry qualifications and additional specialist qualifications. 

A 3,500 word “frequently asked questions” document was also published to explain the government’s level 3 landscape to colleges and schools.

Small AAQs, such as BTEC national extended certificate in health and social care, have been approved for students to take alongside A-levels from August 2025. 

Other popular applied general qualifications (AGQs) that will become approved AAQs are the BTEC extended certificated in applied science, IT and engineering and the Cambridge Technical in health and social care.

Approved AAQs range from 180 to 360 guided learning hours so can be taken alongside A-levels. 

However, popular existing larger courses, like the BTEC level 3 national extended diplomas in applied science and health and social care, will be defunded. 

Analysis by the Sixth Form Colleges Association suggests that 17 of the possible 55 AGQs have been re-approved as AAQs.

Technical occupational entry qualifications have also been approved, but most of them will only be funded for adults. The few that will be available to young people were personal trainer and pharmacy technician qualifications – subjects not covered by T Levels.

These qualifications had to pass strict “occupational relevance and employer demand” tests set by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. For the AAQs, awarding organisations had to prove demand and progression to higher education. 

Pressure for Labour

In a written statement to parliament, skills minister Luke Hall, said: “By ensuring that approved qualifications meet new, more rigorous criteria for public funding, young people can be confident that they will be able to progress to university and higher technical education, and directly into apprenticeships and skilled employment.”

Education campaigners, through the Protect Choice Campaign, have condemned the defunding of applied general qualifications (AGQ) and put pressure on the Labour Party to pause defunding if it wins the general election. 

Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, announced in 2023 that Labour would “pause and review” the defunding of qualifications but has offered no further information since.  

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association and convenor of the campaign, said: “Ministers made a commitment in Parliament that only a ‘small proportion’ of applied general qualifications like BTECs would be defunded through the level 3 reform process.

“Not content with scrapping popular BTECs, the government has also introduced a new suite of bureaucratic regulations that will remove the freedom of colleges and schools to combine different qualifications in students’ study programmes.”

He added: “But as we head towards a general election, many of these developments appear increasingly irrelevant.

“The Labour party’s commitment to adopt the Protect Student Choice campaign’s recommendation to ‘pause and review’ the scrapping of BTECs means that the government’s plan is increasingly unlikely to be implemented.” 

Spilling the T Levels

Hall’s statement poured praise on T Levels: “Students have gone on from T Levels to outstanding destinations, including moving directly into employment, undertaking higher apprenticeships, or progressing into higher education.”

However, the minister’s statement didn’t mention the government’s review of each T Level in the wake of low student recruitment and high number of dropouts, as reported by FE Week last month.

Catherine Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges, said T Levels “are not suited to every student who wants to take a vocational qualification at level 3 and the 45-day placement is stretching employer capacity. 

“The modest total of 23,500 student enrolments on T Levels needs to be put into the context of 250,000 young people on current vocational technical qualifications. Even with rapid growth, we expect the total number of T Level enrolments to be less than 100,000.”

We need more than ‘pause and review’ from Labour – and we need it now

The government’s reform of level 3 qualifications has been steadily marching in the wrong direction since it began in 2019. Characterised by a minister-knows-best approach and aversion to evidence, the process continues to disappoint.

Yesterday saw the publication of the list of qualifications that will be defunded in July 2025, alongside guidance on the combinations of qualifications that colleges and schools can offer.

But as we head towards a general election, these milestones in the inexorable level 3 review process appear increasingly irrelevant. A change of government would result in a very different approach to these reforms and avoid the dire consequences that would be triggered by the hasty removal of BTECs.

The Labour Party’s commitment to adopt the Protect Student Choice campaign’s recommendation to ‘pause and review’ the scrapping of BTECs is both extremely welcome and a potential game changer. The campaign coalition has worked very effectively over the past few years, but securing the support of Labour and the Liberal Democrats may turn out to be what has the biggest impact.

But of course, the challenge of planning for September 2025 remains.

If the current government is re-elected, students will have to choose from the greatly reduced menu of options published yesterday, and colleges and schools will be required to assemble study programmes within the boundaries set by the latest suite of bureaucratic regulations. Replacing local decision-making and flexibility with top-down diktats is unlikely to benefit students.

Things would be different under Labour, but how different? What will ‘pause and review’ mean in practice? Guiding the implementation of ‘pause and review’ is as important to us as securing the commitment.

Things would be different under Labour, but how different?

The key features of our position are set out below. We have shared a more detailed version with the opposition parties and will continue to help refine their plans as the general election draws closer.

  • Within one month of a general election, formally pause the defunding of level 3 qualifications. Confirm a single defunding date (1st August 2027) to ensure that students can enrol on all 134 existing applied general qualifications (AGQs) up to and including 2026/27
  • Agree a revised set of principles to guide a streamlined and refocused review of level 3 qualifications within the current three-route framework
  • Formally discard plans to a) present students with a choice of A Levels, T Levels and a small number of ‘alternative’ qualifications approved by exception and b) limit the ability of colleges and schools to combine qualifications
  • Oversee a review of T Levels involving students, employers, colleges, schools and a broad range of other stakeholders to identify the key adaptations and flexibilities needed to ensure they can play a more meaningful role in the future qualifications landscape

Confirming the duration of the pause would ideally happen before the general election. In reality it is likely to be made shortly after.

Crucially, because of the 12-month delay to defunding secured earlier in the campaign, all 134 applied general qualifications (including the 36 condemned yesterday) will still be in play when a potential Labour government takes office. A pause would therefore be straightforward to implement.

The level 3 reforms could then be focused on approving updated versions of applied general and technical qualifications, or new qualifications where there is evidence of demand.

Awarding organisations can build on their recent work developing alternative academic qualifications (AAQs) in their submissions, but it is updated AGQs we want to see, not AAQs designed to plug gaps in a two-route model of A-levels and T Levels.

Recalibrating the reform process in this way would provide a firm foundation for the Labour Party’s proposed curriculum and assessment review that will look far beyond the range of level 3 qualifications that are available to young people.

The government’s level 3 reform process lost credibility a long time ago. But with a general election on the horizon and clear blue water between the political parties on this issue, uncertainty and frustration are now tempered by hope.

The Protect Student Choice campaign will continue to work with the opposition parties on the implementation of pause and review to ensure that no young person is left without a high-quality pathway to higher education or skilled employment. 

New off-the-job apprenticeship flexibility set for 2024/25

The government is set to relax off-the-job training requirements in apprenticeships, new rules published today have revealed.

From July 31, 2024, “active learning” can take place every three months, up from the current every calendar month rule, for apprenticeships that have front-loaded or block-release delivery models.

Last year, changes were made to allow active learning to take place every calendar month rather than every 28 days to allow training to be planned around busy periods for certain employers, such as over Christmas for hospitality and retail businesses.

The Department for Education revealed it was reviewing the “minimum requirement” for active learning, which refers to off-the-job and English and maths training, in draft rules for 2024/25 published in March.

Version one of those funding rules was published today and said: “To support more flexible approaches to the delivery of training, we have changed the active learning requirement for programmes that have a front-loaded or a block release delivery model. For these two models, active learning must be delivered at least every three calendar months.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) claimed that learners, employers and providers have “supported these moves to allow for much more flexible delivery and to reduce the number of arbitrary breaks in learning taking place”.

Chief executive Ben Rowland said: “Relaxing the period in which off-the-job-training can be planned and then delivered means there’s more flexibility and will benefit learners and employers, as well as providers.

“The focus should be about delivering high-quality training and learning rather than having to stop and replan or instigate an unnecessary break in learning.”

Other notable changes from the draft funding rules include increasing the new subcontracting “de minimis” threshold from £30,000 to £100,000.

It means that from August, a provider will be allowed to use a subcontractor that is not on the published apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) but who will deliver less than £100,000 of apprenticeship training and on-programme assessment “under contract across all main providers and employer-providers between 1 April and 31 March each year”.

The DfE said this will make it “easier for providers to bring in industry specialists to deliver training by introducing greater flexibility in subcontracting arrangements”.

Elsewhere, there has been a change to rules around scrapping the 5 per cent co-investment for non-levy paying employers taking on apprentices aged 16 to 21 – which was announced by prime minister Rishi Sunak in March and has applied to starts since April.

The removal of co-investment has now been extended to include apprentices aged between 22 and 24 years-old with an education, health and care plan and/or have been in the care of their local authority.

Large south west college group announces new principal

Cornwall College Group has appointed Rob Bosworth as its next principal and chief executive.

He will take the reins on July 1 from current boss John Evans who is due to retire later that month.

Bosworth (pictured) will join from Exeter College where he has worked at for almost 24 years, currently as deputy chief executive.

Patrick Newberry, chair of Cornwall College Group, said Bosworth has an “outstanding track record in further education” and has played an “integral role in the success of his current college”. The board is “assured he will build on the excellent work John Evans has done and ensure we remain an excellent college for learners and our community”.

As well as playing a key leadership role at Exeter College, which has been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted twice in the last decade, Bosworth has also served as chair of Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, a director of the South West Institute of Technology, and is currently vice chair of Exeter Chamber of Commerce.

Ahead of his move to Cornwall College Group, Bosworth said: “In my experience, place-making, partnerships and people are at the heart of outstanding education and training.

“We will look to grow current partnerships and establish new ones, so the Cornwall and Devon economies can thrive with the necessary skills to deliver their ambitions. I know with the great team we have here at the Cornwall College Group, we can continue to be a college the region can be proud of.”

A job advert for Evans’ successor closed 12 weeks ago and final selection took place on March 20th. There was a delay in announcing Bosworth’s appointment due to the new requirement for colleges to gain government sign-off on salaries of over £150,000. Bosworth’s salary has not been revealed, but Evans earns £195,000 a year.

Other colleges yet to announce permanent new bosses due to delays in the sign-off process include Sandwell College, which closed its applications process in September, and Warwickshire College Group, which saw applications close in February. WCG’s previous chief executive, Angela Joyce, was announced as Capital City College Group in June 2023.

Retiring CEO ‘inspired an amazing energy and drive’

Evans joined the Cornwall College Group in 2019 during a turbulent period that required a £30 million government bailout and a “fresh start” business plan.

Then-FE Commissioner Richard Atkins had suggested the college should merge with Truro and Penwith College, but it was later decided that both colleges should remain standalone.

Since 2019, when Cornwall College was judged ‘requires improvement’, the group has recovered to ‘good’.

Newberry said Evans has “inspired an amazing energy and drive to ensure every learner gets the best education and learner experience possible, and I know Rob is excited to build on this excellent foundation”. 

He added: “We cannot thank John enough and he deserves full recognition for the brilliant college that he is handing over.”

The Cornwall College Group consists of campuses in St Austell and Camborne, Duchy College Rosewarne and Stoke Climsland, Falmouth Marine School, Bicton College, Plymouth Engineering Skills Centre, as well as University Centres in Newquay and at the Eden Project.

Lack of skilled workers risks major infrastructure projects going over budget, PAC warns

Major government infrastructure projects risk going over budget due to a shortage of trained project managers and skilled workers, MPs have warned.

The government estimates that it needs to train about 16,000 civil servants at its major project leadership academy to deal with hundreds of publicly funded projects with an “unprecedented” total cost of about £800 billion.

However, a report published by the public accounts committee (PAC) has warned that the academy, which was set up 12 years ago, has only accredited about 1,000 government staff.

There is also a shortage in skilled professionals such as welders, electricians and bricklayers – all high-priority occupations that are eligible for the “skilled worker visa”.

Committee chair Meg Hillier said major infrastructure projects are at risk of being “poorly managed and delivered late and over budget” due to shortages in workers with essential skills.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) estimates the total whole life cost of the UK’s 244 major projects to be £805 billion, an increase of about £476 billion in the last four years.

In its recommendations, the committee has asked the Treasury and IPA to write an analysis of the risks the lack of skills poses to the government’s portfolio of infrastructure projects.

PAC’s report was based partly on concerns raised during a hearing earlier this year with Nick Smallwood the chief executive of the IPA.

Several major government projects related to FE have been assessed by the IPA, including the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, FE capital transformation, Skills Bootcamps and Free Courses for Jobs, and the T Level programme.

After five years of assessing the T Level programme, the IPA rated it ‘red’ in 2022/23, meaning that delivery of the project to time, cost and quality targets appeared “unachievable”. Government has already spent close to £1.8 billion on T Levels, which have been taken by only 30,000 students so far.

Smallwood said a lack of trained project managers in government creates a costly “overreliance” on consultants in the private sector.

In one example, he said competition with “massive investment” in infrastructure by Saudi Arabia resulted in “several hundred” designers leaving the UK market.

PAC and the National Audit Office (NAO) have both raised concerns about “acute” shortages in skilled workers in the UK.

In 2022, they highlighted the dramatic decline in the number of adults participating in government-funded education and skills training, which fell by half to 1.6 million in the ten years up to 2020/21.

In March, PAC published a list of essential government spending that should not be put off called ‘The Big Nasties’.

One of these spending areas is a “severe shortages of skills” in government, which cost an estimated £980 million in 2018 through the use of management consultancies.

PAC said: “Many projects and programmes across government are afflicted by delays, inefficiencies and budgetary overruns, often due to a lack of specialist skills amongst officials.

“The lack of skills must be addressed otherwise there will be huge risks to delivery of major capital projects.”

A government spokesperson said: “This government delivers some of the most challenging, ambitious and innovative projects the UK has ever seen.

“Speeding up delivery, while ensuring projects are effectively managed and deliver value for money, is a priority.

“Upskilling staff is a key part of this and we recently published a new framework to enable civil servants working on public projects to utilise AI to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their delivery.

“We are on target to meet our long term ambition to accredit 16,000 civil servants as government project delivery professionals.”

Essex sixth form college celebrates Ofsted upgrade to ‘outstanding’

A sixth form college in Essex is celebrating top marks from Ofsted – in a report that its principal describes as a “ringing endorsement” of “high quality work”.

The Sixth Form College Colchester was today awarded ‘outstanding’ grades across the board following an inspection in March.

More than 3,100 young people aged 16 to 19 study at the college and benefit from “high-quality teaching by subject specialists” in “calm and highly focused learning environments that support and enable students to learn very effectively”, according to Ofsted.

Inspectors found that nearly all students pass their qualifications, often with A* grades.

This is achieved in part by college bosses who “identify good teaching practices and share them successfully”, ensuring that “teachers are confident to try different approaches making teaching relevant and interesting”.

Inspectors also found that staff have “high aspirations for what students will achieve and where they will move on to when they leave college”, ensuring that “students are very effectively equipped to make successful decisions to identify appropriate career choices and pathways”.

Students also “consider the views and beliefs of others and treat each other with dignity and respect”, the report found, adding that their behaviour is “exemplary” and “quickly become empowered to take ownership of their futures and their place in society as active citizens”.

The Sixth Form College Colchester’s most recent previous Ofsted result was a ‘good’, achieved in 2018.

Since then, leaders have been “successful in further raising the quality of education”, the latest report said, adding: “They have diligently focused on all aspects of provision to rectify any weaknesses identified through their effective quality assurance processes.”

Principal Ian MacNaughton said: “This ‘outstanding’ judgement is a ringing endorsement to the ongoing high quality of the work here at The Sixth Form College.  

“We have all worked hard to sustain a very positive and inclusive ethos for many years and this has enormously contributed to the impressive success of our students.

“I must, of course, take the opportunity to thank our fantastic team of staff: we have, for many years, benefitted so much from a team of committed professionals, very skilled at working with students this age.”

The feat makes Colchester the 17th sixth form college, out of 43, to currently hold a grade one Ofsted result.

UCU’s own staff vote to strike

Staff at the University and College Union have today voted in favour of strike action over their employer’s allegedly “shameful” handling of workplace racism and breach of collective agreements.

Nearly three-quarters of UCU’s 182-strong members of the Unite union said they are prepared to strike against their trade union employer, as a ballot over a long-running dispute concluded.

The ballot result also found 78 per cent were prepared to take industrial action consisting of action short of a strike. Turnout was 79 per cent.

Staff are prepared to strike for one day on May 30, the second day of the union’s annual congress on May 29 to 31 in Bournemouth, FE Week understands.

UCU will meet with Unite before the congress at an ACAS meeting on May 24.

If no resolution is found, then it will be the first time in UCU’s 18-year history that its own staff have gone on strike.

The strike ballot followed an internal dispute over UCU’s “institutional failings” into how it allegedly treats Black staff, the Unite Black member’s group claimed back in March.

The group alleged that Black staff are disproportionately targeted for punitive action under internal procedures – 45 per cent of all UCU cases handled by Unite had an element of race discrimination.

It welcomed an independent investigation into workplace racism at UCU as of March 1.

UCU said at the time that it was in the midst of “sourcing an external independent party” to conduct the review.

UCU did not specify at the time of publication whether it had appointed an independent investigator for the review yet.

A Unite spokesperson said: “Unite members have today said enough is enough. We are resolute in our demands for an anti-racist workplace, for UCU as an employer to honour its collective agreements with us and, for an independent investigation into how the organisation is run. We are determined to bring about the change that UCU staff and UCU members so desperately deserve.”

The move is a further escalation of the ongoing internal dispute at the union after Unite ramped up a pay dispute with UCU and accused bosses of “prioritising” senior management pay.

Shortly after, FE Week revealed that recently re-elected general secretary Jo Grady had accepted a near-£18,000 salary rise to help her pay damages from a libel case.

Unite also accused UCU of repeatedly breaching its agreements with the staff union, such as recognising a separate staff union by senior leaders – which Unite says breaches their recognition as the sole union for UCU workers.

The spokesperson added: “As a trade union, UCU is at the forefront of fights for equality, collective agreements and safe working environments for its members. 

“It is shameful, therefore, that as an employer UCU has overseen a culture of racism within its own workplace, imposed new working conditions on staff without agreement and continues to breach collective agreements with its staff union, Unite. This includes unilaterally de-recognising Unite as the sole union for UCU staff. UCU’s actions as an employer go against the core values of trade unionism that we and the rest of the trade union movement campaign for every single day.”

A UCU spokesperson: “UCU is proud to offer its staff some of the best pay and conditions in the movement – our staff work incredibly hard, and their work is rightly valued and rewarded highly. 

“We recognise that there are areas where we can improve and are actively working with Unite to address any issues of concern. 

“We are pleased to have secured an upcoming meeting at Acas on Friday 24 May to further facilitate this, and our absolute focus is on finding agreed solutions to this dispute as quickly as possible.”

The strike ballot results are not the first of its kind in education. In 2018, staff at the NASUWT teachers’ union went on strike over a pensions dispute and the way it was run. The turmoil led to a step down of the then-general secretary Chris Keates in 2019.

Ofsted snubs FE providers from sub-judgements website change

A major change to the way Ofsted displays its judgements will not apply to further education colleges or training providers.

The education watchdog today changed school profiles on its website to show all four inspection sub-judgements alongside the overall effectiveness grade.

Chief inspector Martyn Oliver said this will give parents a more “rounded, contextual picture” of how well a school is doing for children.

However, Ofsted has excluded post-16 providers from the move.

The watchdog told FE Week this is because updating the website to show extra sub-judgements on every education provider’s profile is a large and complex technical change.

Ofsted wants to make sure it works reliably before the change is rolled out further, a spokesperson said.

The added sub-judgements will only appear on the profiles of schools that have had a full graded inspection since September 2019, when the education inspection framework came into effect.

Other inspections and provider types will only be considered once Ofsted is sure that the new system is secure, FE Week understands.

‘These changes should apply across the board’

Tom Middlehurst, inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the single-phrase judgements are “just as damaging” for colleges as for schools.

“These changes ought to apply across the board and displaying different levels of judgements depending on the type of educational establishment only risks causing confusion,” he add.

“We would hope this new system has been comprehensively tested to ensure it works reliably and if there is any danger that this is not the case then it should not be being used for any school or college.

“Ultimately though it is single-phrase judgements themselves, not the way in which they are displayed, that are the real problem.”

‘A small but important step’

Ofsted’s move comes as the consultation stage of its ‘Big Listen’ exercise nears its end.

Oliver, who was appointed as chief inspector in October 2023, said: “I hope this change shows that we have listened to parents and teachers, and that, while Our Big Listen continues until the end of the month, we are acting where we can now.

“This change is a small but important step in helping parents get more from Ofsted’s inspection reports.”

The government has resisted calls to scrap one-word judgements following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after an Ofsted inspection in November 2022.

A coroner found that the “rude and intimidating” inspection, which resulted in an ‘inadequate’ grade, contributed to her death.

However, despite a recent education committee’s recommendation that a more “nuanced” alternative is found, the government said it has “no plans” to change single-phrase Ofsted judgments.

A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) said: “AELP supports the move to greater transparency when it comes to Ofsted inspection reports, and looks forward to this being rolled out to all education providers in due course.”

The Association of Colleges declined to comment.

Lecturer wins over £50k from large college group for unfair dismissal

One of the country’s largest college groups has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 in compensation to a former sports lecturer for unfairly dismissing him.

Michael Barbrook, a former tourism lecturer and then course leader for sports at Havering Sixth Form College, part of New City College, won his case after the college was found to have conducted a flawed dismissal and appeal in 2021.

According to court documents, a judge suggested New City College was “creating a case to fit the outcome it desired rather than looking at evidence and allegations completely impartially”.

The employment tribunal unanimously ruled that Michael Barbrook should be paid £53,256.95 in compensation for unfair dismissal plus £174.95 in compensation for preparing for the case while not legally represented.

The allegations

Barbrook joined Havering Sixth Form College in 1997 and had 23 years of an “unblemished” disciplinary record. The college merged with New City College in 2019.

But he was sacked without notice for “gross misconduct” in January 2021 after New City College claimed he had cancelled morning coaching sessions, falsified register marks, left work early without permission and did not provide students with their allocated teaching hours in October 2020. Barbrook contested the decision but failed at his appeal.

The court was privy to an all-staff briefing from September 2020 of the difficult conditions FE staff were working in during the pandemic ahead of the new academic year. New City College CEO Gerry McDonald told staff that the senior management team were “keen to avoid” immediately moving to online learning. 

“Subject to the need to provide cover where necessary, teachers will only need to be on campus when they are actually teaching if they choose to undertake marking and preparation at home,” McDonald said.

Group CEO Gerry McDonald told he had ‘superficial understanding’ of case

That month, Barbrook’s request to work from home “as students in the sports classes had been asked to work from home due to five positive incidents of Covid 19” was denied. The grievance officer in charge of Barbrook’s subsequent complaint admitted that the request was reasonable and “the college could have done more”.

Barbrook was suspended on full pay in November 2020 and invited to a disciplinary hearing to hear that he had “falsified register marks, specifically those relating to coaching sessions on a Friday morning”.

“It is alleged that your alleged actions fail to meet our expectations of proper conduct by a college employee and breach the trust and confidence which goes to the heart of any employment relationship,” the college added.

The court heard that the college was aware of an informal practice of teachers starting the final lesson of the day during the lunch break beforehand “in order to engineer an early finish”.

Barbrook worked at the college, located in Hornchurch, but he lived in in Caerphilly, South Wales, a three-hour drive away. He had a longstanding agreement with the college that his “offsite time” would be timetabled on a Friday afternoon so he could leave early to drive home.

‘No chance’ of dismissal of fair procedure adopted

The tribunal also heard that the then-deputy CEO, Suri Araniyasundaran, who dismissed the teacher, was “completely incurious” in his approach to Barbrook’s allegations. 

Araniyasundaran left New City College in March 2023, three months before Barbook’s case hearings began.

Araniyasundaran admitted he had not seen Barbrook’s personnel file, his disciplinary record, or the minutes of the meeting with students which confirmed when the two sports lessons ended before sacking Barbrook.

Nor had he seen minutes of the investigation meeting with Barbrook’s line manager, where she had given verbal permission to bring forward his lesson.

An appeal was overseen by McDonald, who, as well as leading New City College as group CEO, is the chair of the Association of Colleges’ employment policy group.

The judge said McDonald had a “very superficial understanding” of the allegations of misconduct and the tribunal was “surprised” to see that the appeal outcome letter was only one page and one line long.  

The tribunal concluded: “We are satisfied that the [college’s] decision to dismiss (and uphold that decision), and the standards by which those decisions were reached, fell beyond the band of responses open to a reasonable employer of a similar size and with similar administrative resources.”

It added: “If a fair procedure had been adopted and the dismissing officer [Araniyasundaran] or appeal officer [McDonald] had fairly considered the custom and practice at the college and the mitigating evidence, there was no chance that [Barbrook] would have been dismissed.  At most he may have received a warning, but he was most likely to receive training on revised practices.”

The court dismissed Barbrook’s claim of disability discrimination of anxiety and depression.

New City College declined to comment.