Newcastle College Group ‘merge’ with Rathbone

One of the largest educational providers in the country is on the verge of adding another arm to its portfolio.

Subject to Skills Funding Agency approval, Rathbone, a UK-wide voluntary youth sector charity, will merge with NCG, formerly Newcastle College Group, which currently comprises Newcastle College, West Lancashire College and the Intraining Group.

Rathbone will work as part of NCG to create a “sustainable organisation which retains charitable status and builds on its outstanding work with disadvantaged young people and help to generate further growth” for the charity.

Through its 70 offices UK-wide, Rathbone supports 14 -24 year olds previously not in education, employment and training (NEETS) whose needs may not have been met by experience in education or who need extra support.

NCG already delivers education and training to 70,000 individuals and 7,000 businesses from more than 45 locations across the UK.

NCG say the merger will help both organisations to benefit from each of their experiences in the sector and compliment their expertise.

Tom Newbould, group director of marketing and communication at NCG, said: “Rathbone and NCG have identified an opportunity to work together to increase the benefits to the young people they engage and train.

“Rathbone complements NCG’s existing divisions and brings new skills and expertise in the areas of foundation learning, social cohesion and engaging with some of the country’s most hard to reach young people. Many are in areas where NCG have no significant activity.

“NCG operates from over 35 locations across England and Scotland and includes opportunities for young people in sectors that Rathbone cannot currently offer.

“Discussion took place between both organisations, the starting point of which was a shared vision of learning and its importance.”

Mr Newbould also confirmed that there are “no current plans” to change the structure of Rathbone following the merger.

He added: “The Rathbone name will remain following the merger and our mission – to help young people to achieve – will also remain.

“Rathbone will continue to operate as a Registered Charity and part of the third sector.

“It will be ‘business as usual’ and there are no current plans to change the organisational structure.

“We believe this merger will move all of us closer to Elfrida Rathbone’s vision of helping young people to succeed through learning by allowing Rathbone and NCG to engage and help more young people than ever before.”

But while one door is opening for NCG, another one appears to be only ajar – as its merger with Northumberland College has been “deferred” by John Hayes, minister for further education, skills and lifelong learning.

However, NCG insist the merger is “following normal process” and has denied the merger has been delayed. Instead, they are urging the government to move forward with the plans.

Mr Newbould said Jamie Martin, chair of governors at Newcastle College, and Linda Ions, who holds the same position at Northumberland College, have written to Mr Hayes saying all issues between the two colleges have been resolved. The governing bodies of NCG and Northumberland College have also written to Mr Hayes reaffirming the commitment to the merger.

Mr Newbould added: “The merger has not been delayed or halted and both governing bodies are encouraging the minister to expedite the merger. We can reassure everyone in the North East and particularly learners in Northumberland that we could not be any more committed.

“We are planning to invest £77 million over the next four years in educational facilities in the North East. This is an indication of our total commitment to the North East economy at a time when investments of this scale are rare.

“Once the merger is approved we look forward to sharing our exciting plans with the county of Northumberland, which include ambitious plans for refurbishment of facilities for learners in the county.”

A BIS Spokesperson said: “Due to a number of unresolved issues the Further Education Minister John Hayes has deferred taking a decision on this matter.”

Sector leaders gather for the AoC conference

It is the biggest event in the FE calendar – the a chance for colleges managers and leaders to discuss policy and swap innovative ideas.

But when the Association of College’s (AoC) Annual Conference rolls into Birmingham tomorrow, what will be the key message?

Although a quick scan of the programme shows a wealth of topics, such as future funding changes and policy updates, Martin Doel, the chief executive of the AoC, believes the main talking point of discussion could be college deregulation.

As revealed by FE Week in September, the Education Bill contains measures to give colleges greater freedom from government control – which could see more power handed to governing bodies and more freedom over instruments and articles.

Once the finer details are debated in the House of Commons today, Mr Doel is keen to discuss its potential impact with his 352 member colleges.

There will be some fun and opportunities to socialise. We want people leave energised, rather than feeling like they need to put their boot straps on.”

Mr Doel said: “It’s inevitable there will be discussions on funding, but what I would like to talk about responsibility and how we will use it. We need to think where we will be in three to five years and what will the world be looking like.”

But away from the weighty discussions and number crunching, Mr Doel insists there is more to the AoC’s premier event.

He said: “There will be some fun and opportunities to socialise. We want people leave energised, rather than feeling like they need to put their boot straps on.”

To do this, the programme for this year has been substantially refreshed, with clear objectives for each of the breakout sessions.

While some of the more than five hours worth of sessions will tackle the latest issues in the sector, others will celebrate achievement.

If that’s not all, there will be more than 80 exhibitors in the vast conference hall and more than 15 key opinion formers in the plenary sessions.

Talks will be held by important FE figures including John Hayes, minister for FE, skills and lifelong learning, and Geoff Russell, the chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency, as well as Mr Doel himself and Fiona McMillan, president of the AoC.

The new shadow secretary for education Stephen Twigg will also be in the hotseat at the conference in place of Andy Burnham MP.

And this week’s three-day event will see the culmination of a year’s work to ensure the conference is ready and focusing on the right – and timely – issues.

Mr Doel said: “The evaluation process goes on straight away after the conference finishes. We do a big debrief when things are fresh in our minds.

“We then won’t set the main themes until later in the year. We want the conference to be able to focus on the things people are talking about.”

He added: “The breakout sessions are good. We do limit it to 13 per session to ensure that they get a good audience.

“Obviously, there will always be things you have to move around. But it’s a big sector and there’s a lot to talk about.”

With the aim of helping colleges “thrive, not just survive” the AoC has set itself a high target – but Mr Doel is confident it can be achieved.

He said: “It’s always a mixture of trepidation and being excited to be doing the conference again. But I’m looking forward to it. We go the whole year speaking to our 352 member colleges and this is the one time we see them all in one place.”

However, despite his delight at an overall increase in visitors, Mr Doel is disappointed at a reduction in the number of people attending from government agencies, such as the Skills Funding Agency or the Young People’s Learning Agency.

Over the last few years, Mr Doel said he has seen the number of people from such departments fall from around 150, to roughly 30.

“Fundamentally, Mr Doel says, the conference is a chance “to get together and talk about challenges and positives” within the sector.

It is for this reason he is trying to find a way to win them over.

He said: “The numbers are up overall, but the number over the last two years has fallen substantially in terms of government bodies and agencies.

“I understand pressure on government funding but we need to think about how to get them back to the conference, but not commercially.”

Institute for Learning question £6k ITT qualifcation

Questions have been raised over the further education (FE) sector’s ability to attract experts into teaching in the face of proposed government reforms.

The Institute for Learning (IfL) has expressed concerns about proposed teacher training reforms and the implications of funding changes for initial teacher training (ITT).

In responses to two government consultations – Attracting, training and retaining the best teachers and New challenges, new chances: next steps in implementing the further education reform programme – the IfL highlighted several policy areas for closer examination and review.

It was concerned about the sector’s ability to attract experts from industry into the teaching workforce, when ITT tuition fees rise significantly from 2012, and the lack of parity between teacher training opportunities in the education sector.

The new fees regime could undo progress towards professionalisation and parity of esteem with schools”

IfL’s chief executive, Toni Fazaeli, said: “Our data shows that the average age of new teachers and trainers coming into our sector is around 37, by which time individuals are likely to have a family, mortgage, and other financial commitments

“The prospect of taking on additional debt of at least £6,000 for ITT qualifications could deter them from moving into teaching as a second profession, where their pay is likely to be lower.

“It cannot be right that while teacher training in schools attracts generous bursaries of up to £20,000 for priority subjects, there is no such support for those wishing to teach or train in FE and skills, even if their professional expertise lies in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.”

The IfL also believes the Troops to Teachers programme should be funded in FE, while the facility for young people aged over 14 to benefit from being taught by vocationally trained experts should be “at the heart” of the education system.

Mrs Fazaeli added: “The education select committee should recommend an urgent review of the likely implications and potential remedies to mitigate the impact of tuition fee increases, such as writing off student debt for trainee teachers, providing tax relief or offering generous bursaries on a par with those for school teacher trainees.”

IfL’s concerns are shared by the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET).

Their executive director, James Noble-Rogers, said: “The new fees regime could undo progress towards professionalisation and parity of esteem with schools, have an adverse impact on widening participation and damage the quality of students’ education.

“The problem could  easily be solved through bursaries or a continuation of direct funding for training courses.”

NCFE in partnership with Reed

An innovative collaboration between an employment and skills provider and a national awarding body will be unveiled this week.

NCFE and Reed in Partnership say that the partnership will have a profound impact on how colleges support students from learning into the workplace.

It is due to be officially revealed at this week’s Association of Colleges (AoC) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham.

The model the two organisations have developed provides learners with the REED NCFE Level 1, 2 and 3 Awards in Job Search and Interview Skills.

This can be further reinforced by a tailored programme of student and employer engagement, employment consultation, job brokerage, careers advice and work experience.

David Grailey, chief executive of NCFE, and James Reed, chairman of Reed, will speak at a seminar to launch the initiative on Wednesday.

They will be joined by Lawrence Vincent, principal and chief executive of Bournemouth and Poole College, the first college to work with The REED NCFE Partnership to create greater opportunities for their students and track their success.

There is clear evidence that if learners have the correct mindset they are far more likely to be attractive to employers.”

Opening the seminar “Can your college do more to equip students for the labour market?” Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), will be presenting on funding plans for Employment Outcomes and Progression in Work.

Mr Reed said: “We believe the collaboration between NCFE and ourselves will equip students to succeed when taking the step from learning into work.

“It is essential learners have the right skills and mindset to appeal to potential employers as well as realistic expectations for their first job.

“There is clear evidence that if learners have the correct mindset they are far more likely to be attractive to employers.”

In a recent global survey of 1,264 employers conducted by REED, 97 per cent put mindset ahead of skill set when recruiting.

In a further study of 30,000 CVs, comparing successful CVs against unsuccessful CVs, REED found demonstrating your mindset in action on your CV tripled the chances of getting and keeping the best job.

Mr Graile  said: “Crucially, it’s also very much in line with the government’s strong focus on evidencing positive employment outcomes for students, which will affect funding for education institutions in the near future.

“The REED NCFE Partnership offers colleges an efficient destination tracking service delivering valuable careers information about students.

“This is a package tailored to the needs of learners and employers in a local area.

“It will positively enhance employment outcomes by brokering, managing and offering learners a wide variety of suitable job opportunities, which will include apprenticeships in the hidden labour market, enabling colleges to draw down significant additional funding.”

Will ‘change’ be the buzz word at AoC conference?

November is always a busy month for the FE world, not least because the sector’s AoC Annual Conference thrusts FE policy into the spotlight.

This year looks like being no different with the Chancellor’s Autumn Financial Statement, details on the education and skills component of the Growth Plan, an updated Skills Investment Strategy, a participation strategy for 16-24 year olds, a new form of Employer Investment Funding and a new Strategy around Innovation, along with some follow-up activity to the series of consultation papers issued over the summer, all likely to follow in quick succession over the next few weeks.

Not all of course will be announced at the sector’s annual gathering, the Chancellor’s Statement and accompanying Growth Plan have for instance been earmarked for the end of the month, but it’s a sign of how much activity is building up around the sector. Broadly this change can be seen in five areas.

First, changes to the skills system itself with a review of some agencies such as the SFA, a change in remit for others such as HEFCE and the UK Commission and a change in name and status for others such as the YPLA. Part of the drive here is to free up providers so that they can be more responsive to their customers rather than to Government Bodies.

FE is being primed for a key role in skilling the country for growth”

A similar approach is happening at sub-regional level with the development of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs,) Enterprise Zones, Business Coaching for Growth and, in some areas, the introduction of local mayors, all in varying degrees tasked with leading local development and regeneration where possible.

Second, changes to the provider system evident in the creation of new players such as UTCs, Technical Academies and sector-based Work Academies for younger learners and National Skills Academies and Skills Centres and a network of Technology and Innovation Centres for the adult and business market. The drive here seems to be to strengthen some of the delivery infrastructure around key industries, renewable energy and cell technology for instance under Technology and Innovation Centres, while providing competitive options for learners within mainstream provision.

Third, some changes to the funding system, taking place of course against a difficult set of financial constraints. Obvious issues here have been the reductions in capital budgets, the ending of the EMA system, the piloting of outcome incentive payments and the trialling of direct apprenticeship funding for some large employers.

Simplification of the funding system is now set for 2013/14 with equalisation of the 16-19 funding playing field due to follow the year after, but a pressing issue for many is the shift towards a fee loan system for higher level provision from 2013. The drive here appears to be sharper targeting of core funding, a focus on outputs and an increasing shift in the burden of funding from the state to the consumer for higher level provision.

Fourth, some changes to learning programmes with new design principles being introduced for all 16-19 learning programmes, continuing emphasis elsewhere on basic skills and Level 2 provision, a big push on qualifications that align with labour market needs and growing demand for employability and training programmes. Policy debate continues about the case for a Tech Bacc, about the nature of apprenticeship provision and about ways of enhancing employer provision but the big drive here, as with much of the education world is the quality of what’s on offer and the emphasis on teaching standards.

Fifth, some changes to performance management with a reduction in blanket measures such as uniform annual self-assessments and other audit reporting and a shift towards institutionally derived measures with external referencing in areas like progression and destination analysis along with ‘customer’ responsiveness.

At the same time, Ofsted is conducting its own consultation on inspection arrangements for the FE sector while an independent review looks into professional membership arrangements. The drive here therefore is a reduction in centralised performance measurement and reporting in favour of a system that is more targeted and increasingly institutionally driven.

In summary, FE is being primed for a key role in skilling the country for growth; more Dick Whittington than Cinderella.

 

By Steve Besley

Provider owner also set-up awarding body

The owner of one of the UK’s largest and “fastest growing” vocational training providers has also created his own awarding body.

Gerard Syddall is a company director and 95 per cent shareholder of Elmfield Training Ltd.

As reported by FE Week in June and more recently in the TES magazine, Elmfield Training took more than £12 million in pre-tax profits in the financial year ending September 2010, on a turnover of £33.8 million, resulting in a profit margin of roughly 36 per cent.

The company then used the profits to pay a £3 million dividend to its shareholders, of which Mr Syddall was the main recipient.

For this academic year, Elmfield Training has been allocated £37 million from the Skills Funding Agency to deliver apprenticeships to employers including Morrisons, Vodafone and British Home Stores.

However, FE Week can also reveal that in May 2009, Mr Syddall set-up his own awarding body, Skills First Awards Ltd, to certificate the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) qualifications and apprenticeship frameworks of his other company, Elmfield Training.

Myra Wall, managing director of Skills First Awards, said: “Thanks to our unique positioning, structure and in-depth sector understanding, we are able to work with training providers and employers to deliver relevant, fit-for-purpose work-based qualifications.

“Although setting up as an awarding body was very demanding due to the rigour of the recognition process in place, we are extremely proud of the growth we have achieved to date and our customer base and qualifications portfolio is rapidly building.”

Despite referring  to multiple “training providers” and “employers”, a spokesperson from Skills First Awards was unable to confirm they work with anyone other than Elmfield Training.

When asked about clientele, FE Week was referred to a testimonials page which displays a number of employers handled by Elmfield Training.

Elmfield Training refused to comment on Mr Syddall’s relationship with the awarding body at the time of going to print.

The governing body of Skills First Awards – like all awarding bodies – has until May 18 to confirm they are working in compliance with the General Conditions of Recognition developed by Ofqual.

When asked about the relationship between Elmfield Training and Skills First Awards,  a spokesperson for Ofqual said: “The conditions set out the requirements for managing any potential conflicts of interest in the delivery of regulated qualifications. Any breaches of the conditions of recognition could lead to regulatory action taken against the awarding organisation.”

The spokesperson added: “We have met with the governing body to discuss the transition to the new regulatory arrangements.”

Skills First Awards was allowed to offer regulated qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in July 2009.

They were later recognised for the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) in December 2009 and Key Skills in February 2011, under the Statutory Regulations 2004 and QCF Regulatory Arrangements 2008.

Peter Lauener, CEO, Young People’s Learning Agency

Numbers have always been Peter Lauener’s thing. His first job, at the age of 13, was checking calculations on pension funds for his father, who was an actuary.

“We (Lauener and his brother) were paid two and six an hour which was big money in those days, so we’d happily spend three hours in an afternoon checking these calculations and we were very pleased when we discovered one or two things wrong during the checking.”

Educated at George Watson’s College, a fee-paying school in Edinburgh, Lauener, who is now chief executive of the Young People’s Learning Agency, was, by his own admission, “a bit of a nerd.” Learning just seemed to come easily to him.

And when he was wasn’t doing financial consultancy for his father, the young Lauener was collecting stamps and poring over football books on the Hearts of Midlothian and Scottish football teams, which he followed obsessively. It was a happy childhood, and one, he jokes, that could only been improved by being good at rugby (he was so bad he didn’t even make it into the eighteenth – and bottom – team at school).

At 18, Lauener went off to study Economics at Durham University, where he met his now wife Angie and spent his student grant doing up his beloved Minivan. Although he enjoyed his subject, there was never any grand career plan to become an economist; after securing a place in the civil service after university, it just seemed like a “natural progression” for him, he says.

While he went on to do a variety of roles, what really fascinated Lauener was labour market economics, so when he got the opportunity to work for the Manpower Services Commission (MSC), whose remit was to co-ordinate employment and training services in the UK, he jumped at the chance.

Lauener is reserved and quietly-spoken, but he is visibly passionate – evangelical almost – about the work of the MSC; so much so, he keeps returning to the topic, throughout our interview.

it’s all about making sure everyone in society gets the opportunities to realise their potential, whatever route that takes them”

Having joined at a “fairly junior level,” he got involved in developing youth training programmes and started to get noticed (namely for being able to cope with complicated funding calculations) and, in the space of a few years, rose from middle management level to running an office of 150 people and an annual budget of £50m.

What really inspired him about the job was the chance to make a difference. While highly politicised at the time (they were initially criticised for providing unemployment relief), some of the youth opportunities programmes were a real force for good, he says.”It was a terrifically exciting place to work. This idea of trying to take something that had started as an unemployment measure and build quality training was really exciting.

For the first time a whole raft of young people who had not had the opportunities at school were getting structured work-based training…it was fun and there was this feeling that anything was possible and you could change society and make a difference and make things happen.”

When the MSC was wound up in 1990, Lauener stayed with the civil service, doing similar work, that mostly centred around designing funding schemes, managing budgets and programme delivery. The decade that followed saw significant structural changes, the biggest being the merger of the education and employment departments in 1995.

When he got wind of the chief executive role of Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) which along with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) replaced the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) when it was abolished last spring, Lauener thought it would be right up his street. “I knew the job was going to be advertised and I was watching out for it.

“I’d applied for other things which I’d missed out on, but when this one came along I thought ‘well, this is the one I really ought to go for and so I went for the interview and was lucky enough to get the job,” he says, modestly.

But by the time he had accepted the job, the Conservatives (then in opposition) were already plotting their ‘bonfire of the quangos’ and the Liberal Democrats were “not at all keen” on the role of the YPLA, which looked after 16-19 funding. “I did think to myself: ‘oo-er,’ is this a wise move…and I did wonder if it would be a long lasting job,” he recalls.

The YPLA did survive the quango bonfire, but after months of planning for funding responsibility to pass from central government (via the LSC) back to local authorities (a legislative change made under the previous Labour government), four months later, the YPLA had to switch back to direct funding.

Added to that, the new government had wasted no time rolling out its academies expansion programme. “When we started we were funding just 203 academies and now there are over 1,400, so just keeping pace with that and the pre-16 funding, which is much more complicated…it’s much more difficult to get it right and systematic,” says Lauener.

And there are more big changes afoot. In April, the YPLA will become the Education Funding Agency. Under its new name, it will be responsible for the funding of all 16-19 education, free schools and academies and those schools that have not yet become academies, meaning its annual budget will swell from £12 billion to £50 billion.

But after building the YPLA from scratch, Lauener says staff can rise to the challenge. The toughest part will be making budgets stretch.”The government is, quite rightly, wanting significant improvement in value for money…but everywhere there are budget challenges and we just need to take things as simply as possible so that schools and colleges and providers at the front line get a fair deal through the funding and make the most of that to deliver the best service.”

So will he be working around the clock to build this new organisation? It isn’t a 40- hour a week job, concedes Lauener who says he usually works most evenings during the week. But he is not a slave to his Blackberry and does try to keep his weekends free for family (he has three grown up children) and leisure.

In his spare time he enjoys walking, drinking – and collecting – nice wine and reading. He also likes working with his hands and is proud of the fact he installed the central heating in his house (“although that wouldn’t be allowed now,” he adds) and did some rewiring.

He also harbours an ambition to “learn how to plaster properly” (cue another hasty interjection, this time to point out that at 57, he is not planning to retire any time soon) and do more woodwork, something he still feels frustrated about not being allowed to do at school.

When he does finally leave education, what he would most like to be remembered for is helping to improve the lives of young people in a way that really excites them. He explains: “We need to get away from this notion that there’s higher education over here and continuing education and training over here…when I worked at the MSC, I saw many young people who didn’t take to the traditional education in the way that I did; they didn’t happily enjoy doing sums like I did so their potential was not realised…it’s all about making sure everyone in society gets the opportunities to realise their potential, whatever route that takes them.”

FE charity in administration ~ FE Week investigates

Learning and Skills Network (LSN) placed in administration after turnover dips by £29 million in two years and pension liability leaves an £8 million hole – but it is ‘business as usual’ for staff as buyers are sought.

Struggling for income and with a crippling multi-million pension liability, a charity with more than 25 years of experience in education has been forced into administration amid claims of diminished funding due to government spending cuts.

Ian Oakley-Smith, David Hurst and Karen Dukes of global financial experts PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were last week appointed as the joint administrators of Learning and Skills Network (LSN), which provides educational expertise for businesses and agencies the public and private sector in the UK and abroad.

PwC say the charity, which was due to publish its annual report and financial statement this month, had a turnover of around £13 million for the 2010/11 financial year – a small figure compared to £27.5 million over the previous tax year and £42.6 million in 2008/09.

However, administrators have also revealed that although LSN has “no debt”, the charity does have a “contingent pension liability” of £8 million.

In other words, if every member of staff retired and drew their pension LSN would left with a multi-million pound deficit.

It is for those reasons that PwC say the board of trustees at LSN came to the difficult realisation that they could not carry on any further.

Mr Hurst, joint administrator and a director at PwC, said: “The charity operates a number of businesses and has suffered a dramatic decline in contract income since 2009, with its funded programmes diminished due primarily to the cuts in government spending.”

He also added: “As a result of the decline in income and significant pension liabilities within the charity, the trustees concluded that they were unable to continue and have placed the charity into administration.”

However, enquiries by FE Week have revealed the move may have taken up to nine months to make, with the Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, aware of LSN’s financial troubles back in February.

A spokesperson for the regulator confirmed that they have been made aware of LSN’s current position but said their involvement would be limited.

The charity first contacted us in February regarding its financial position and has been providing us with regular updates on its situation”

The regulator also denied that they had been reviewing or investigating the charity prior to the news.

She said: “We have been informed by the LSN that the charity has been placed into administration.

“The Charity Commission cannot intervene in the internal administration of a charity; therefore our role in these circumstances is limited.”

However, she added: “The charity first contacted us in February regarding its financial position and has been providing us with regular updates on its situation.

“Although we have been in regular contact with LSN, we are satisfied there is currently no regulatory role for the Commission.

“We have not ‘reviewed’ or investigated the charity.”

A closer look at LSN’s financial statements for 2009/10 revealed that despite a decline in the income from the previous year, the charity had highs hopes for improvement in the proceeding year.

The report says a “new financial strategy in 2009” resulted in four key points which “will generate a significant increase in income” in 2010/11.

Those included the acquisition of three businesses at a cost to LSN of £8.87 million, a merger in July 2010 with National Extension College, the joint management of Reading College from August 2010 and also the establishment of a Shared Service programme for colleges.

These hopes caused LSN to aspire to reach an income of £50 million for 2010/11, which it planned to grow year-on-year, according to the report.

The same report also revealed the £8.87 million investment cost of the three businesses LSN acquired – FE Associates, Learning Resources International and Connections Oxford – also included £7.46 million in “goodwill”.

This would be the amount of money by which LSN paid above the net tangible assets of the three companies.

It appears there is a good deal of interest in a number of LSN’s activities and we are hopeful they will be able to continue under different ownership.”

LSN employs 117 staff over five locations – with 48 at its London base. A further 14 work at offices in Oxford, 16 in Olney, 26 in Cambridge and 13 in Belfast.

They work at five separate businesses: Technology for Learning, National Extension College (NEC), Education, Skills and Research, Development Services, Learning and Skills Development Agency (Northern Ireland) and Learning and Skills Network.

For the staff, PwC say it is “business as usual” as they look for buyers for the “successful businesses” within the charity’s structure.

Mr Hurst said: “Our immediate priority is to seek buyers to enable their long term survival, preserve jobs and continue supporting customers and students. We would encourage any interested parties to contact us as a matter of urgency.”

Although unusual to see a charity in this kind of financial situation, Mr Oakley-Smith, the director and head of charity advisory at PwC, said it is becoming more and more common.

He said: “There has been an increase in the number of financially distressed charities approaching us for advice and assistance in recent weeks and months as the Spending Review begins to impact the charities reliant on government support.”

However, Mr Oakley-Smith is confident of finding a buyer for LSN.

He added:  “LSN has more than 25 years of experience of high quality delivery in the education sector.

“It is an organisation which has excellent relationships across all levels within the sector, previously working to deliver large scale projects and innovative solutions for clients including UK government and its agencies, FE institutions and large private sector clients.

“It appears there is a good deal of interest in a number of LSN’s activities and we are hopeful they will be able to continue under different ownership.”

Government gives go ahead to FE college merger

The merger of two further education (FE) colleges has been given the go-ahead.

Stroud College and Filton College will, from February 1 next year, be legally known as South Gloucestershire and Stroud College after the proposed merger was agreed today by John Hayes MP, secretary of state for further education, skills and lifelong learning.

Both Principals – Kevin Hamblin from Filton College and Dr Beri Hare from Stroud College – have welcomed the decision as an endorsement of the colleges’ shared ambition to improve choices and create new opportunities for learners of all ages.

John Huggett, chair of governors at Filton College , said: ‘The Secretary of State’s decision to approve the merger gives us the green light to join together two high-performing colleges so that we can innovate and grow.

“It is a merger of equals, with each college in a strong financial position and well-matched in terms of our ambitions to increase learning – and life – opportunities for all our students.”

He added: “The merger means we will be able to expand our engineering and sports provision at Stroud and introduce other new courses. Across our campuses, we will focus on apprenticeships and the skills demanded by employers.

“We will be sharing resources to reach into the rural communities south of Stroud and north of Filton – many of which are among the most deprived in the country – to offer employability skills and improve the education choices for people living there.”

Mike Farmer, chair of governors at Stroud College, added: “The case for a merger was strong and everyone has worked hard for it – I am delighted by the decision.

“My thanks go to all the people of the Stroud area for their support which undoubtedly helped the minister make the right decision, and to college staff who have continued with their day-to-day jobs through this period of uncertainty.

“The new college will offer significantly enhanced opportunities for local communities and businesses, and I am sure that people from Stroud will play a major role in how it develops over the next few years.”

The next stage will see the creation of a new combined Board of Governors, elected from the present governing bodies of both colleges, and including staff and student representatives.