Storm Ciarán causes college closures

Gusts of more than 80 mile an hour winds have forced eight colleges to close their campuses today, as storm Ciarán hit England.

At least six further education colleges shut their doors to ensure students and staff are safe, with another reminding students to “only travel if safe to do so”. Two sixth form colleges closed their doors as well.

Storm Ciarán hit the south, south east and south west of England on Thursday morning, with gusts of up to 85 miles an hour and high rainfall affecting coastal areas especially. The Met Office issued amber and yellow severe weather warnings for areas across the south of England. An amber warning means there is a “potential risk to life and property”. Colleges soon started closing their doors for the day.

Multiple campuses of Chichester College Group, which teaches around 25,000 students, were shut on Thursday, with them all moving their lessons online.

The group closed its colleges in Chichester, Brinsbury, Northbrook, Crawley, and in Haywards Heath, while Brighton Metropolitan College also shut its doors. The college said it would be “open for staff who are able to come in” but that they could also work from home if travel is not possible.

“The safety of our students and our staff is our priority, and while this decision has not been an easy one, we feel it is the right one,” the statement added.

Cornwall College, which has nine campuses and more than 15,000 learners on its books, also closed all campuses apart from those in St Mellion and Lindfield. It also said staff should only travel “when safe to do so”.

Isle of Wight College, which has around 4,000 learners, meanwhile closed its two campuses in Newport and in East Cowes.

Sparsholt College Group, too, shut its doors on Thursday at both its Andover and Sparsholt campuses, and switched its 5,000 leaners to online courses. Julie Milburn, the college’s chief executive, said she is “mindful” that many students and staff travel “significant distances” to the college. 

“[We] want to both keep everyone safe and ensure learning is not disrupted by partial attendance,” she added. The college also cancelled all arranged transport for the day.

The newly formed South Hampshire College Group (SHCG), which has more than 14,000 learners, closed two colleges – City of Southampton College, and Eastleigh College. In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, City of Southampton College said it was closing “in full”, and that all learning “will be set online for students and apprentices to work on at home”. It advised its students to check their emails for more information. The same applied to Eastleigh College. 

Brockenhurst College, which has more than 8,000 learners, also closed its campus and moved all learning online. In a statement on its website, it said it expects to be open as usual on Friday 3 November.

Though it stayed open, Truro and Penwith College told its 8,000 students in a statement on X to “only travel if safe to do so”. 

Sixth form colleges, including Peter Symonds College, and Itchen College, also closed.

Starts stopped on 18 apprenticeships with no assessment organisation

The government has paused starts on 18 of the 78 apprenticeships that have no approved end-point assessment organisation.

Banners have been placed on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s web page for each standard the new rule applies to, which are mostly unused apprenticeships including assistant puppet maker, historic environment advisor, and storyboard artist.

The apprenticeships quango claimed there are “no apprentices currently on programme” for those that are subject to the pause. 

However, Department for Education data shows there were 10 starts on the 18-month specialist rescue operative standard in the first three quarters of 2022/23, and some on the 24-month knitted product manufacturing technician apprenticeship.

IfATE did not respond to requests for comment about what happened to those apprentices at the time of going to press.

It is also not clear why the institute has not paused starts on all apprenticeships that do not have an EPAO in place yet.

FE Week analysis of DfE data shows there are 78 standards approved for delivery with no organisation in place to do their end-point assessment, several of which have apprentices on programme (see table below). Twenty eight of those 78 do, however, have an EPAO in place “in principle”.

‘Special dispensations’ for affected apprenticeships

A previous FE Week investigation warned that scores apprenticeships were launched without an EPAO signed up to deliver their end-point assessment when standards – the replacement to old-style frameworks – got off the ground in 2014.

We exposed cases where apprentices had to wait more than a year for an organisation to test them and others who missed out on a pay rise because there was no EPA ready for them.

It led to the government announcing in 2019 that it would only fund starts on apprenticeship standards that do not have an approved EPAO if the training provider has an “in principle” commitment from one applying for approval.

The IfATE’s “quality strategy”, also published in 2019, states that employers should have access to at least one EPAO before apprentices start their programme.

IfATE told FE Week today that if there was ever such a situation now where an apprentice got to the end of their programme without an EPAO in place, it would work “at pace” to put alternative arrangements, such as the “special dispensations” offered during the Covid pandemic, in place.

A spokesperson said: “Where a temporary dispensation is required, our policy is to stay as close to the original EPA as possible, acknowledging that some changes may be necessary to support apprentices to complete. Arrangements would be discussed and agreed with employers to make sure the EPA still holds their confidence as a measure of occupational competence.”

IfATE suggested the trouble with attracting EPAOs to the apprenticeships in question reflects the situation with starts – there is no appetite for them.

A statement about today’s announcement on the institute’s website said: “IfATE and DfE are moving to a position where apprentices should only start on an apprenticeship where an EPAO is confirmed.

“It follows our commitment to improving the quality of end-point assessments and securing the best experiences and outcomes for apprentices.

“This will require starts to be paused on a limited number of apprenticeships with no EPAO in place, and no apprentices currently on the programmes.

“It means apprentices will not be able to begin on them until an EPAO is found.”

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Apprenticeship assessment arm of GP Strategies to close

The apprenticeship assessment arm of GP Strategies will close its doors at the end of January, it has been announced.

It comes after the company, which is part of Learning Technologies Group (LTG) plc, pulled out of apprenticeship training delivery earlier this year following a damning ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report which found “demotivated and disengaged” apprentices walking away from their courses.

The firm has now also decided the shut its end-point assessment (EPA) division. Exams regulator Ofqual published a conditions notice today that said GP Strategies would “surrender recognition in respect of all its regulated qualifications” by January 31, 2024.

The assessment arm, which trades as GP Strategies Assessment Services Limited (GPSAS), completed 720 EPAs between March 2022 and February 2023, Ofqual data shows. It had offered EPAs in adult care, business administration and project management, from levels two to five.

The decision means GPSAS will not be able to complete any EPAs from the end of January, and will not be able to register any more learners for its EPAs, as of October 31.

In a statement on its website, the firm said it was closing its EPA provider “with mixed emotions”.

“Rest assured, we will work closely with our clients to continue to provide support and assessments for registered learners,” the statement added. “We understand that this may also cause some disruption and uncertainty for apprentices, who should contact their training provider for further information.”

GPSAS vowed to ensure “a seamless transition and minimis[e] any disruption” for its apprentices and clients.

Ofqual’s notice said GPSAS is now required to “take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of apprentices in relation to its qualifications” and comply with a “written withdrawal plan, which must specify how the interests of apprentices will be protected”.

The organisation must also provide “clear and accurate information about the withdrawal to apprentices, training providers, and purchasers of qualifications who are likely to be affected by the withdrawal”.

GPS Strategies’ apprenticeship training provider was teaching almost 5,000 apprentices at the time of its decision to exit the market. Around 95 jobs were lost when it closed.

It is not clear how many jobs are at risk amid the closure of GPSAS. The company has been approached for comment.

LTG bought GP Strategies in October 2021. At the time it said the acquisition would help the business generate a revenue of around £500 million.

Tory donors leave Education Policy Institute board as election looms

Two prominent Tory donors will step down from the board of the Education Policy Institute, the think tank has announced.

Hedge fund boss Sir Paul Marshall, EPI’s co-founder and chair, and Lord Nash, a former academies minister, will step down as trustees on December 31.

David Laws, the former Lib Dem schools minister, will also step down as executive chair of the think tank, but will move into Marshall’s chair of trustees role from January 2024.

The changes come ahead of an anticipated Labour win at the next general election, which must be held by January 2025 at the very latest, but is likely to be either in the spring or the autumn next year.

David Laws
David Laws

The EPI was formed in 2016 when CentreForum, a Liberal Democrat-aligned think tank, was repurposed to focus on education policy.

It started with Laws as executive chair and Natalie Perera, a former senior government adviser, as its executive director. Perera remains the charity’s chief executive.

In a statement, the think tank said it was “delighted that David will continue to have a pivotal role in the oversight and governance of EPI”.

They said they were also “truly grateful for the support, generosity and commitment that Paul [Marshall] has shown to EPI since its inception”.

“Lord Nash will also be stepping down as a trustee from December 31 and we are very grateful to him too for his time and generosity over the years. We will be making further appointments to the board in the new year.”

Trustee’s journey from Lib Dem to Tory Brexiter

The departure of Marshall – once a prominent Liberal Democrat supporter – follows a switch in his allegiance to the Conservatives following the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Marshall gave more than £170,000 in cash and non-cash donations to the Liberal Democrat party and politicians including David Laws, Sir Menzies Campbell and Nick Clegg between 2003 and 2015.

He also gave £90,000 to the unsuccessful campaign in favour of an alternative voting system in 2011.

Unlike the Lib Dems, Marshall went on to back Brexit, giving £200,000 to Vote Leave Limited.

He then donated £3,250 to former education secretary Michael Gove’s Conservative leadership bid in 2016, and also gave him £10,000 in 2019. That year, he also donated £500,000 to the Conservative Party.

Marshall is also a major shareholder in GB News and served briefly as its interim chair. He also owns the news website UnHerd and has been touted as a potential future owner of the Telegraph newspapers.

He is a trustee of the Ark academies trust and was previously lead non-executive director at the Department for Education.

Nash, who was academies minister between 2013 and 2017 and founded Future Academies, donated £38,000 to Conservative politicians, also including Gove, and the party itself between 2006 and 2016.

He gave £40,000 to the no campaign in the 2011 alternative vote referendum. His wife Caroline has also donated £216,250 to the Conservatives.

Sir Ian Bauckham appointed interim Ofqual chief

Sir Ian Bauckham will become interim chief regulator of Ofqual from January, the organisation has announced.

The academy trust boss, who currently chairs the regulator, will take over for a 12 month period after Dr Jo Saxton leaves to become head of the University and College Admissions Service.

Bauckham will stand down both as Ofqual chair and chief executive of Tenax Schools Academy Trust, which he has led since 2015, to take up the new role. It is not clear if he will also leave his role as chair of the Oak National Academy.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan announced last month that the next boss of Ofqual would serve in an interim capacity for a year because of “the challenge of recruiting an experienced suitable candidate to such a high profile and a challenging role on a short-term basis”.

The public appointments process for a substantive chief regulator “will commence shortly”. 

Saxton announced in September she was standing down after just over two years in the job, leaving limited time for a full recruitment process.

‘A career devoted to advancing education’

Bauckham said his “entire career to date has been devoted to advancing education”.

“It is an honour, therefore, to be invited to serve as chief regulator of qualifications by the secretary of state at such an important time. 

“Qualifications, supported by regulation, open doors and transform life chances for students. I will be pleased to build on the existing working relationships I have with colleagues both within Ofqual and across the sector in this new capacity.”

He added he looked “forward to continuing Jo’s good work, and am fully committed to using Ofqual’s powers to regulate on behalf of students and apprentices”.

Bauckham will be Ofsted’s fifth chief regulator in four years.

Sally Collier resigned in 2020 over that year’s grading fiasco, and was replaced on an interim basis by Dame Glenys Stacey, who was also her predecessor.

Simon Lebus replaced Stacey, again on an interim basis, in January 2021, and then Saxton took over in September of that year.

Keegan said Bauckham’s experience “will be invaluable as Ofqual continues to ensure our current qualifications work effectively, alongside playing a vital role in the development of our new Advanced British Standard”.

“I’d like to thank Jo for guiding Ofqual through the challenges that followed the pandemic and ultimately overseeing a smooth return to exams and normal grading.”

Ofsted publishes first FE curriculum review

Ofsted has published its first curriculum research review for further education, focusing on business.

The watchdog has published research reviews for the school curriculum since April 2021 and has now started the same work in post-16. More are expected in the coming months.

Ofsted made clear the reviews are not inspection “instruments” and inspectors do not grade subjects.

Rather, they review the quality of curriculum design, teaching and impact in a range of subjects and provision types. This enables them to “identify and evaluate systemic curricular strengths and areas for improvement in a provider”.

Today’s review says business education is “one of the largest subject areas”.

The government does not provide data just for business courses, but more than 450,000 people signed up for courses in FE in the business, administration and law sector subject area in 2022/23. 

Qualifications in the sector are available from levels two to seven. 

Here’s FE Week’s speed read of Ofsted’s review.

1. Maths knowledge crucial to ‘rapid progress’ in business

Ofsted stressed that solidifying maths knowledge is a crucial part of business teaching.

The regulator said “cross-cutting” concepts, which involve building core knowledge in maths before going onto business education, are required to drive “rapid progress” in the business sector. 

Good business teachers “identify and teach the mathematical knowledge a learner needs” and then teach its use in business. Ofsted gives the example of teaching percentage change before using that to teach elasticity demand.

Less effective providers however say mathematical knowledge is “embedded” in their courses but not taught explicitly.

2. Learners need to be on the right course

The review shows that “most providers” in England enrol their learners on the right courses. But it does identify “a few cases” where providers put learners on level three team leader programmes because they can not offer level two business apprenticeships.

Learners may then study curriculums which are “too hard” or they “may not be in roles that give them the necessary learning opportunities”. That would risk holding back learners from completing their courses.

3. Linear progress ‘key’

Providers of business apprenticeships should “coherently plan” their curriculums so that learners can move forward to more advanced levels without having to repeat or miss any learning.

At some “weaker providers”, that does not happen though – meaning the topics covered do not always contain “more challenging theory or breadth as the levels increase”.

For instance, some level seven providers might assume that all apprentices are ready for lots of independent learning.

The regulator does acknowledge that most curriculums “ensure a smooth transition as learners progress to higher levels”. As it progresses to higher levels that would mean a “broader and more strategic focus” with an “expansion of responsibility”.

4. Courses should cover ‘business or strategic context’

Ofsted warned that courses are less effective if the “wider business or strategic context” is not applied to learning. 

Good accounting courses should include a considerable variety of content covering bookkeeping, accounting, budgeting and cashflow management, for instance. As well as that, any “ambitious curriculum” should include explanations of how different management financial tools are linked.

“These providers know that it is the strategic/holistic view that helps learners to develop expertise in business education.”

5. Work and study need integration

Teaching should be married with the time spent at a workplace, Ofsted said.

Teachers who are effective “give learners plenty of opportunities to practise and build their skills” over time, to help learners at work. Using case studies, life briefs and simulations are crucial when it comes to developing learners’ skills so they can “select the right knowledge to apply in different contexts”.

By using role plays at college, teachers can develop learners’ knowledge and skills, before they are exposed to live business decision making.

The report warns that in some “weaker providers”, there are “weak links” between the on-the job and off-the job training. “In the weakest provision, the apprenticeship curriculum is viewed as a separate piece of training or study that is parallel to work but not integrated sufficiently.”

Inaugural Good for Me Good for FE award winners revealed

College students, staff and community partners that pioneer social action and volunteering opportunities have been celebrated at the inaugural Good for Me Good for FE awards. 

The awards, sponsored by NCFE were launched in September to recognise colleges and individuals who have gone above and beyond to support their communities.

Seventeen winners and highly commended finalists were revealed at an online awards ceremony this afternoon with nearly 200 attendees.

Three finalists for the special recognition award were also announced. The winner of that award will be revealed at a special awards reception at the House of Lords in December where all of the winners will receive their awards.

Opening the awards ceremony, Sam Parrett, group principal and chief executive of London South East Colleges, said: “Today’s award winners make such a positive difference to their colleges and their communities. The stories we have heard today are truly inspiring and we are absolutely delighted to be celebrating such wonderful achievements from all corners of the UK.

“Volunteering is so valuable. As well as helping people in need, it supports young people to develop crucial life and employment skills, such as communication and teamwork, which are vital for successful progression and job outcomes.”

A tutor and her cohort of hair and beauty students took were announced as the winners of the social impact award.

Deborah Ball and her Nottingham College students raised over £1500 by organising a pamper day; using their skills to fundraise for life-saving equipment placed around the city centre for victims of knife crime. This followed the death of Byron Griffin, a local 22-year-old who was killed by a single stab wound in July 2021.

Award judges said the students demonstrated “fantastic leadership, community engagement and responsive citizenship”.

The student volunteer of the year award went to Harry Disney from Loughborough College. The T Level student and aspiring paramedic volunteers with the NHS as a community first responder and uses his skills to support tutors and classmates with in-class demonstrations. 

Judges said: “The positive impact that this individual has on the wider college community is immense. He dedicates so much of his spare time to volunteering, and then shares his knowledge and expertise with others.”

And the staff volunteer of the year award went to Penny Taylor from Lincoln College Group. 

Taylor worked with local supermarkets and businesses and fundraised for resources to create a non-means tested foodbank at each of the college’s sites. The service also provides students in need with pre-prepared meal bags to take home and was expanded to provide free breakfasts to staff when the cost of living crisis hit. 

“Like all of us working in FE, I am motivated by the students and the care we have for them all. We work closely as a team at Lincoln and really see the benefits of this in terms of what we can achieve – not just through delivering food but through the social aspect too,” Taylor said. 

See below for the full list of winners.  

Provider that ‘rarely’ contacts apprentices judged ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted

A Staffordshire-based apprenticeship provider has been slammed by Ofsted for “rarely” contacting apprentices and a rapid decline in the quality of education.

Yellow Tree Workforce Development Limited was hit with an ‘inadequate’ rating in its first full Ofsted report published today which said apprentices feel “unsupported in their learning” and that “most” learners leave their programme without completing it.

Some apprentices have received “very little support” over the past nine months while for others, leaders have “not ensured that the principles and requirements of an apprenticeship are being met”.

Apprentices work from home with “minimal contact” with the employer and are “not supported in developing their new knowledge and skills in the workplace”, Ofsted said.

Instead, apprentices work mostly independently and use their off-the-job training time to complete independent research to understand what they need to do to complete tasks.

Inspectors blamed “significant changes” across the provider’s senior leadership, management and teaching staff for its failure to reverse the “rapid decline in the quality of education apprentices receive” since positive early monitoring visit last summer.

Leaders have been “too slow to recruit replacement coaches to support them in completing their apprenticeship” which has forced apprentices to go “significantly beyond their planned end date, and continue to make no progress”.

At the time of this recent inspection, Yellow Tree Workforce Development Limited had 16 apprentices on its books, with nine of them on a level three team leader or supervisor course, five on a level three digital marketer apprenticeship, and two on a level three science manufacturing process operative course.

The lack of support on offer has caused some learners to “lose confidence in the ability of leaders and skills coaches to support them to achieve”, Ofsted said.

Overall, most apprentices are “disappointed with their apprenticeship experience”. They feel “unsupported in their learning and rarely receive contact from provider staff”.

The provider was also criticised for its lack of support of students studying their maths and English functional courses. Staff in charge of the functional skills course had “not received sufficient training” to assess those learners, leaving them unable to progress further with their apprenticeships.

Independent training providers are typically removed from the apprenticeships market by government following an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted judgment.

Yellow Tree Workforce Development did not respond to requests for comment.

Functional skills funding uplift brought forward to January 2024

New funding rates for functional skills English and maths will be brought forward to January 2024, the government’s director for apprenticeships has announced.

Kate Ridley-Moy told today’s Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ conference the Department for Education will fast-track the uplift after originally planning to introduce it at the start of the 2024/25 academic year.

From January, all apprentices who have not gained their level 2 English and maths qualification will have their funding lifted to match the adult education budget – moving the rate up by 54 per cent from £471 to £724.

It will, however, only apply to new starters and not those already on programme.

Ridley-Moy said: “I know this increase is something that many of you have long made the case for. So I’m pleased to confirm that we will introduce this uplift for new starts from January 2024.”

She told the conference bringing in new funding rates and policies mid-year can cause “confusion and make things difficult” but her officials felt that this was “so important that we wanted to work with the Treasury and the ESFA to make sure that we could bring that in as soon as possible”.

QAR’s looking ‘substantially higher’

Ridley-Moy, who recently replaced Peter Mucklow as the DfE’s top apprenticeships civil servant, also said the sector’s qualification achievement rates (QARs) are looking “substantially higher” in 2022/23 than in recent previous years.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan recently said that improving QARs is one of her “top priorities” as the sector continues to target a 67 per cent rate by 2025. The rate in 2020/21 was 57.7 per cent and dropped to 53.4 per cent in 2021/22.

Ridley-Moy said today: “It’s an encouraging sign that the number of apprenticeship achievements up to quarter three in 2022/23 was substantially higher than previous years. I’m grateful for the role that each and every one of you is playing to help us achieve this ambition.”

While she couldn’t give an insight into what “substantially higher” looks like in terms of figures, she added “we’re definitely seeing an impact on achievement rates from all of the work to drive quality that’s been going on”.

The apprenticeships director also revealed the DfE is exploring ways with the Cabinet Office and Treasury to use more up-to-date, in-year data to monitor providers rather than relying upon year-old QARs.