Firstly I would like to thank FE Week for the opportunity to contribute to this regular column. I’m going to start off with than the recent announcement by Sir Michael Wilshaw, HMCI, about replacing the ‘satisfactory’ judgement with ‘requires improvement’ and our proposals to introduce ‘no-notice’ inspections for the FE and Skills sector.

The main driver of these proposals is a firm belief that everyone has a right to a good education or learning experience whatever their age. I am confident, from talking to many of you over the past few weeks, that we are ‘pushing at an open door’ in this respect.

Nearly three quarters of respondents to our first consultation agreed or strongly agreed that Ofsted should focus its resources more sharply on providers who were satisfactory or inadequate.

By way of context, it is important to remember around 70% of providers in the FE and skills sector are good or outstanding.

As noted in last year’s annual report, this is a slightly improved picture overall. However, around 1.2 million learners are being trained, educated and supported by providers who are not yet good. Ofsted is determined to raise standards, and through our revised re-inspection arrangements, we aim to significantly reduce the 1.2 million figure.

Some of the detailed comments I have received to date about replacing ‘satisfactory’ with ‘requires improvement’ have been about distinguishing between providers who may be on an upward trajectory and those who may be ‘stuck’. I agree this difference is really important and equally for the inspection report to be clear on this matter.

The proposal to re-inspect provision judged to require improvement more quickly would also enable those who are on the upward trajectory to demonstrate improvement sooner than is currently the case. We want these changes to support good leadership and management.

Around 1.2 million learners are being trained, educated and supported by providers who are not yet good”

I have every confidence that the sector will respond positively to this challenge. I will continue to share good practice where we see it and ensure that our survey reports have an even greater impact. We will continue to support as many sector conferences as we can and will ensure that we release inspection related data more frequently.

You may have spotted that we have just this week published our quarterly statistics for learning and skills. Please do take a look on our website.

There are very few places I go at the moment where the topic of no-notice inspection doesn’t come up.

Ofsted is very familiar with the concept of no-notice inspections. Indeed, in the learning and skills directorate we currently have a programme of unannounced inspections for prisons and for our welfare and duty of care inspections of the MoD.

The challenge to the FE and skills sector, from my perspective, is about the logistics of ensuring inspectors are able to base their judgements on evidence gathered from a representative sample of the whole provision.

We want everyone to be 100 per cent confident that our inspectors are seeing things as they really are, and we don’t want providers wasting time preparing for inspections.

For that reason we are currently testing out the logistical challenges and reviewing the benefits of no-notice inspections through a series of pilot inspections.

The first such inspection commenced this week. I can assure you we certainly didn’t make a call beforehand to check that it was a ‘convenient time to call!’ I await the results of the pilots with an open mind, but again, I urge you to make your views known through the consultation – please head over to www.ofsted.gov.uk.

Matthew Coffey, National Director
of Learning and Skills for Ofsted.

Next year it will be compulsory for 16-year-olds to stay in education or to undertake part-time training while in work. Parliament passed a law in 2008 to raise the participation age.

This will finally take effect in 2013; two years later, in 2015, the law will apply to 17-year-olds.

Whatever you think of this reform, it is a landmark. The first plan to raise the participation age was drafted in 1918 at the end of the First World War and envisaged a system in which every young person would do some form of part-time education or training until they were 18.

Government spending cuts wrecked these plans and also delayed later proposals in the 1960s to Raise the School Leaving Age (ROSLA).

When this eventually took place in the mid 1970s, lack of planning, poor communications and the absence of a proper curriculum prompted soul-searching among politicians.

Combined with other factors, you can draw a line from the botched implementation of ROSLA to James Callaghan’s 1976 Ruskin College speech and the education reforms and National Curriculum of the 1980s.

Ministers encourage schools to teach more history; learning from history is equally important.

So what will happen this time?

The important thing to understand about the policy to raise the participation age is that it is quite likely to be a damp squib. Even before the decision to postpone the use of enforcement powers, this law was going to be difficult.

The lack of jobs and the lack of public money will all make full participation difficult to achieve”

School attendance laws place duties on parents to ensure their children attend. Compulsory participation, by contrast, is a law which forces students to take responsibility for themselves, which makes it inherently challenging alongside everything else needed to make the policy work.

Back in 2008, the Association of Colleges (AoC) listed five tests which needed to be passed to ensure the policy’s success.

These included an appropriate curriculum, financial support for those facing high costs, proper advice, transport and systems to track participation.

The Government of the day responded to our concerns and provided reassurance that things would be sorted out in the years that followed.

Time has passed and the job looks harder than it did four years ago. Unemployment, public spending cuts and the increasingly competitive education environment will all get in the way.

As we explained last summer in an AoC publication called ‘Sticks and Carrots’, the lack of jobs and the lack of public money will all make full participation difficult to achieve.

For the first time in almost 20 years, the number of 16 to 18-year-olds in education is falling.

The reduction in the number of young people partly explains the downturn but won’t help secure 100% participation.

The fact that something is difficult does not mean it should be ignored.

Rising youth unemployment and continuing economic change make it more important than ever that young people get the best start in life and do not simply drop out of the education system without follow-up.

The good news here is that many colleges are ready for the challenge. There continues to be a ferment of good ideas for re-engaging young people.

The challenge they face will be securing necessary funding and support from partners.

Meanwhile, every time the unemployment figures rise, there is a call to action. The Youth Contract is the latest example of a policy designed to tackle participation but it is unlikely to be the last.

Government will continue to come up with policies to tackle unemployment and, although it is not currently planning to use the law to enforce full participation, this does not mean it is not the expectation.

By Julian Gravatt

City College Norwich is a college of Higher and Further Education with over 14,000 students and 1,000 staff based in Norfolk. About four years ago, one of the biggest HR issues for the college was managing sickness absence both long-term and short-term intermittent absences.

Long-term sickness cases remained unresolved for lengthy periods of time and there was a high level of short-term intermittent absence, which had the larger impact on disrupting service delivery to students.

In order to tackle this, the college adopted a ‘triangular’ approach to sickness absence management.

Namely, the introduction of a new Management of Sickness Absence Procedure using the Bradford Factor for monitoring and measuring sickness; using an independent absence reporting call centre operated by clinicians for the notifying of sickness absence and offering staff corporate membership of Simply Health.

Whilst the first two measures represented a more robust way of managing sickness absence than methods previously used, membership of Simply Health is seen as a benefit to both staff and the organisation, enabling staff to claim cashback for dental and optical expenses and helping staff to access consultant and therapy appointments faster and thus return to work sooner.

Sickness absence is monitored weekly by the principalship, allowing for prompt action to be taken by managers and HR services to work together to address absence issues. Long-term sickness absence has reduced by close working with managers to intervene promptly to support the member of staff in returning to work wherever possible.

Since the introduction of the approach detailed above, the college’s absence has reduced by 24 per cent”

The Bradford Factor places a higher weighting on the number of occasions of sickness and has been instrumental in reducing short-term intermittent absence.

However, it is difficult to say that one of the three methods in the ‘triangle’ is any more effective than the other.

Since the introduction of the approach detailed above, the college’s absence has reduced by 24 per cent. In addition to this, the college places a particular emphasis on staff wellbeing and is continually expanding the wellbeing offer to its staff, frequently responding to suggestions from staff.

Amongst the initiatives on offer are an on-site Occupational Health service, on-site health checks for staff and their partners funded through Simply Health, free flu vaccinations for all staff, on site gym membership and discounts at local gyms and health clubs and clubs and classes held on site.

The range of initiatives on offer is reviewed regularly depending on demand. Staff now approach us with ideas for wellbeing – the latest being the creation of a hula hooping group!

In 2011, the college was recognised for its wellbeing offer by being awarded the Business in the Community Regional Wellbeing Award.

The challenge for us now is in maintaining staff engagement and a reduced level of absence during periods of significant change and potential reduction in staffing numbers.

Hilary Bright, Head of HR Services,
City College Norwich.

Social media is the broad term given to describe the latest evolution of internet and web based communication platforms that enable users to rapidly connect and interact in a variety of different formats.

As employers, FE Colleges are not immune to the ramifications of employees using social media. Quite apart from social media now being used increasingly in recruitment of staff, colleges are also having to contend with dealing with those employees who use (or misuse) social media.

The advantages of social media are plentiful. It is a useful way for colleges to attract learners and demonstrate the college’s key strengths. It can also be used internally so that information and knowledge can be shared quickly.

However, the disadvantages should not be underestimated. Colleges could be held vicariously liable for discrimination and bullying where inappropriate comments are posted by employees or indeed learners. Crucially from a college’s perspective, their reputation could be seriously damaged internally as well as in the community they serve.

The headlines are all too commonplace as regards employees who are dismissed for making derogatory comments on Facebook or Twitter.

Colleges should be making it clear to all employees that social media, whilst beneficial, cannot be abused”

It is also noteworthy that tribunal bundles containing relevant documentation to a case will invariably have print outs from social networking sites and/or other communications as part of evidence to support a particular party’s case.

These cases highlight the growing use and issues associated with social media, so much so that ACAS has recently produced guidance on social networking for employers encouraging them to introduce policies on the use of social media at work.

If they have not already done so, colleges should be looking at implementing a social media policy that sets out clear parameters about permitted use during working hours. Colleges should be making it clear to all employees that social media, whilst beneficial, cannot be abused.

Employees should be restricted in referring to the college’s name on social media profiles and, where the college’s name is appropriate (for example, if a member of staff is on LinkedIn), employees should be given a clear reminder that there should be no derogatory comments about the college, its staff or learners.

Critically, employees should be reminded at all times that out of hours activities on social media websites could still link employees’ comments to those of their employer. To that end, colleges must take seriously anything that could bring the college into disrepute, regardless of the time when the communication is made.

If it all goes wrong and a member of staff breaches the college’s social media policy, colleges should implement their disciplinary procedures. This will include investigating the issue, informing the employee in writing and holding a hearing, if necessary.

Appropriate sanctions may include written warnings up to and including dismissal without notice or payment in lieu of notice.

Colleges should always offer a right of appeal against any disciplinary sanction given. Whilst abuse of social media may result in disciplinary action being taken, it should also be recognised that comments made by employees (or indeed learners in colleges) could be used to form the basis of a grievance. Colleges should therefore ensure that their grievance procedures are robust to deal with such complaints.

Matthew Kelly, partner at
Thomas Eggar LLP