Ofsted has announced a consultation which will propose replacing the ‘satisfactory’ grade with ‘requires improvement’ for all further education (FE) colleges.

The inspection shake-up follows similar suggestions put forward by the new chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, in a bid to tackle “coasting schools”.

Matthew Coffey, national director of learning and skills at Ofsted (pictured right), said the new rating could be put into effect from September 2012.

Mr Coffey said: “Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, announced on 17 January 2012 his intention to scrap the ‘satisfactory’ grade for school inspections and to replace it with ‘requires improvement’.

“The same arguments for doing so apply to the learning and skills sector as for schools.

“Ofsted will therefore further consult with the sector on making the same change in respect of the grade criteria used for the Common Inspection Framework from September 2012.”

Ofsted say they will publish the new inspection arrangements in May, alongside the results of the previous consultation, ‘Common Inspection Framework 2012’, which ended in November 2011.

The Institute for Learning (IfL) says changing the ‘satisfactory’ grade will not by itself force colleges to improve.

Toni Fazaeli, IfL’s chief executive, said: “Everyone involved in teaching and learning understands that all learners deserve high-quality provision.

“They need to learn in conditions where their teachers and trainers are given proper opportunities and support to continually develop and improve their practice.

“Changing the satisfactory grade alone will not achieve this.”

Ms Fazaeli said adding an additional rating, such as the proposed ‘requires improvement’, would not be enough to improve the performance of FE colleges.

“We do not believe an additional grade would benefit the sector but, nor would a simple rebrand,” she said.

“Ofsted needs to look at how seriously institutions take the development needs and conditions of their teachers and trainers.”

She added: “Our members frequently tell us that administrative burdens are a significant barrier to reflecting on and developing their practice as professionals thus inhibiting their ability to update and to try new approaches, fully utilise technology and ultimately improve their practice.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) say they welcome the consultation and want ‘satisfactory and improving’ to be considered by Ofsted as a new rating.

“We are pleased that Ofsted intends to consult the sector on the proposal to change the grade name from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement’,” Joy Mercer, director of education policy at the AoC said.

“AoC and partners will respond in full to that consultation; our response will be clear about the number of colleges (including those who have recently merged) on an improvement trajectory.”

She added: “As such, there is an argument that ‘satisfactory and improving’ could be a useful additional judgement (distinct from ‘requires improvement’).”

The 157 Group say the satisfactory rating “implies a negative concept”, while the other Ofsted ratings are “somewhat subjective”.

“We believe a rebranding of the satisfactory grade may  be better as there has to be a middle way between outstanding and inadequate,” a 157 Group spokesperson said.

“Good would be fine and we  can appreciate that we should all should be above satisfactory. ”

The spokesperson added: “The use of the term now does implies a negative concept and it was not meant to do that in the framework.

“The grades however are somewhat subjective and we believe that the below average scale does not necessarily mean poor.”

Mr Coffey justified Ofsted’s proposals and explained the findings of the last annual report at the EMFEC Centenary Conference, held in Daventry two weeks ago.

Mr Coffey said: “The annual report this year for Ofsted was actually quite hard hitting, and quite hard hitting on the FE and skills sector.

“What we did find, and that may have been lost in translation, is that there is outstanding teaching and learning in colleges, there’s outstanding teaching and learning across the board of all that we inspect in learning and skills.

“But of course, without sufficient consistency, that didn’t lead to overall outstanding grades for the quality of teaching.”

Mr Coffey said previous proposals to scrap the ‘satisfactory’ grade for schools didn’t reference colleges because Sir Michael Wilshaw had “a greater level of comfort” in that area of education.

“Stuck at satisfactory was again a theme which came out of this year’s annual report,” Mr Coffey said.

“So Michael has chosen to focus in on this in his early days of chief inspector and naturally his schools background have led him to have a greater level of comfort at this moment in time to speak eloquently on those particular subjects.”

Forty five colleges, 75 independent learning providers and 11 providers of adult and community learning were judged to be either ‘satisfactory’ or ‘inadequate’ in the last annual report published by Ofsted.

Of the 45 colleges, 22 had received the ‘satisfactory’ grade for two consecutive inspections, with a further 16 receiving the grade for three inspections running.

Mr Coffey said: “There is overwhelming support for us to look down the lens at satisfactory.

“So I am going to come back out to the sector and talk to you about where we see the differences.”

Worrying trends have been revealed in the recruitment of Level 1 and Entry Level students.

In their latest survey on 16-18 recruitment, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has found Level 1 learner numbers declined by 6.6 per cent and Entry Level figures by around 6.4 per cent on last year.

The data was collected from a total of 231 institutions enrolling more than 530,000 young people aged 16-18.

It shows that overall 16-18 year old learner numbers in the sample declined by 1.78 per cent between 2010/11 and 2011/12.

However, the recruitment pattern was varied, with more than 41 per cent of colleges reporting an increase in enrolment numbers and around 59 per cent a decline.

AoC chief executive Martin Doel said the survey “gives us the most detailed picture yet of recruitment among colleges from September 2011 onwards and allows us to make some valuable conclusions”.

Mr Doel also said autumn term recruitment drive of colleges “appears to have had a positive impact on enrolment” and that the decline of less than two per cent is consistent with earlier studies.

However, he added: “Worryingly, however, the trends related to Level 1 and Entry Level Students that were identified in earlier versions of this survey, echoed in the latest statistics about young people not in education or training, continue.

“The drop in the number of students leaving school with low levels of qualifications starting at college this year has been the most dramatic, even if it has improved since the previous study.

“In addition, the decline is steeper in the most deprived areas of the country.”

“If these young people are not studying at college then they are most likely to drop out of education altogether because most schools do not provide the types of courses they need, and work-based learning routes like apprenticeships are closed to them.”

The task now, Mr Doel said, is identifying the reasons behind the figures.

Mr Doel added: “Although the recruitment picture is clearer it is, sadly, less obvious as to what is driving this decline in enrolments among those students leaving school with the least qualifications.

“Our members tell us that the loss of the Connexions service and the erosion of independent advice and guidance is likely to have had a significant impact, as have, say members, local authority transport cuts and the disappearance of the Education Maintenance Allowance.

“Students’ worries about employment prospects and higher education costs may also be a stumbling block to aspiration.”

In the meantime, Mr Doel wants the government to continue to work with the AoC and its partners to understand “cause and effect” in the behaviours of the age group.

He said: “In tandem, we believe that there is a need for a more co-ordinated policy programme across Government departments, predicated on robust research.

“Underpinning policy development should be the consistent guiding principle that government and its agencies should eradicate the various barriers that, as indicated by our research, too many young people face when seeking to enrol on quality courses that lead to employment for themselves, and provide wider socio-economic benefits to their communities.”

A new online system for certification of apprenticeships will be launched today (Wednesday).

Apprenticeship Certificates England (ACE) has been brought in to improve the quality and consistency of apprenticeship certificates in England.

It replaces the paper-based system previously provided by the 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSC) and Sector Skills Bodies (SSB). It is a web-based system that will rid the system of paper and reduce bureaucracy.

The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils, the organisation responsible for representing  Sector Skills Councils, Sector Skills Organisations and their employers across the UK skills system, will launch the system in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Service.

Apprentices will receive a new certificate approved by John Hayes, the minister of state for further education, skills and lifelong learning, which includes either bronze, silver or gold foil seals:

• Bronze this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed an Intermediate Apprenticeship.
• Silver this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed an Advanced Apprenticeship.
• Gold this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed a Higher Apprenticeship.

The new centralised ACE system will save Apprenticeship training providers and issuing authorities valuable time, resource and investment and will allow them to track the progress of Apprenticeship candidates.

Mr Hayes, who will launch the system at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, in London, this afternoon, said: “The government is restoring practical learning to its rightful place as a hallmark of personal attainment and national pride.

“Apprenticeships are a gold standard qualification, and it’s right that the hard work of people who undertake them should be marked and celebrated.

“In this Olympic year, I am delighted to launch the new national gold, silver and bronze certificates to recognise the success of apprentices.

“The launch of these awards reflects the sterling achievements of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils and the National Apprenticeship Service in helping forge a revitalised skills system that meets – and raises – the aspirations of learners and employers.”

John Rogers, Executive Chair of the Alliance, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the launch of ACE, a system that will enable the certification of Apprenticeships in England and will underpin this vital programme.

“Apprenticeships play an important role in the provision of a highly skilled workforce in England and it is vital that we ensure individuals have the right skills, at the right time, to ensure they are best-placed to take advantage of the opportunities that arise as the economy continues to recover.”

For more on this story, see this week’s FE Week.

The government’s Work Programme is being exposed to fraud and will help significantly less people than expected to secure a job, a new report has revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says the scheme will put just over a quarter of claimants who are on Jobseekers Allowance and aged over 25 into employment, compared to government estimates of 40 per cent.

The NAO say the Department for Work Pensions’ (DWP) “over-optimistic” assumptions, used to set the prices and performance incentives for providers, will make it difficult for providers to meet minimum performance targets.

“If these estimates are too high, prices will have been set too low and providers will find it difficult to meet minimum performance targets and struggle financially,”  the report states.

The NAO fear the lack of accountability and difficult performance targets will encourage prime contractors to focus on claimants who are easier to employ.

“If the assumptions underpinning our calculation are correct, the performance requirements the Department has set are going to be considerably more challenging for providers to meet,” the report states.

“This increases the risk that they might seek to protect profits through activities such as overlooking harder-to-help claimants.”

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, added: “The Department has set providers stretching performance targets and it needs to ensure that they do not cut corners to stay in profit, such as targeting easy to reach people, reducing service levels or treating sub-contractors unfairly.”

The Work Programme, introduced by government to try and tackle rising unemployment in June 2011, is currently operating without the IT systems needed to prevent fraud and administrative errors, the report added.

The NAO say this was a consequence of the government trying to introduce the scheme quickly.

there is an increased risk of fraud and error.”

“The pace at which the Department introduced IT for the Programme was out of step with the introduction of the rest of the Programme,” the report states.

“The Department decided not to have all of the IT in place for the Programme’s start because it considered that waiting would have negated the benefits of the Programme’s early adoption.”

The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, added: “The rush to get the programme up and running was so great that the supporting IT is still not in place, even though the programme was launched eight months ago.”

“This has led to an increased risk of fraud and error.”

The missing IT systems mean the DWP is unable to carry out the automatic checks needed to determine whether people have entered employment, stopped claiming benefits and reached a point where providers should be paid.

The NAO says the DWP will therefore make payments of roughly £60 million to prime contractors based on manual submissions.

The NAO report, titled “The introduction of the Work Programme”, says at the earliest it won’t be until March 2012, 16 months since the programme launched, before the supporting IT will be functioning properly.

The report states: “In the period from March to May 2012 there will be a full reconciliation of payments made and providers will have to pay back any claimed inappropriately.

“In the meantime there is an increased risk of fraud and error. “

The report adds that the risk of fraud will continue to increase if the DWP delays the implementation of the IT systems in March.

The NAO has also criticised DWP for making important decisions about the Work Programme before finishing the associated business case.

The final version of the business case was approved in April 2011, a week after the prime contractors had already been announced.

The case failed to consider any alternative approaches to the Work Programme, assess the costs of implementing the Universal Credit system and a contingency for replacing failed prime contractors, as well as estimating the cost of terminating the scheme.

The NAO say the DWP is also facing significant costs as it continues to terminate existing welfare to work contracts, leftover from previous schemes.

The report reveals DWP settlements totalling £63 million, with a final deal for two remaining providers still ongoing.

The Department estimates the Work Programme will cost between £3 billion and £5 billion over the next five years, helping up to 3.3 million people.

Claimants form one of nine groups based on the type of benefit(s) they are receiving from government.

Providers are then paid by the DWP for taking a claimant on to the Work Programme, for putting them into employment for a sustained period of time and meeting performance levels set by the government.

Claimants who are thought to be ‘harder-to-help’ have a higher amount of total funding available to providers.