Multi-million-pound donation to fund apprentice wages in ‘radical approach’ to heritage skills

A near-£29 million donation will fund training and apprentice wage costs in a bid to rescue dying heritage craft skills in the UK.

The donation, made by philanthropist Hamish Ogston, will provide a “sustainable, future-facing ecosystem of heritage conservation” to the sector, he said. It will fund training for up to 2,700 people across the UK and Commonwealth, and will “ensure the survival of some of the greatest historic buildings around the world”.

That will come as a welcome boost to a sector struggling to recruit apprentices in England due to low demand and high training costs. 

Ogston’s donation comes as FE Week revealed earlier this year that only a quarter of heritage crafts in England, some of which have a history of apprenticeships going back centuries, have government-approved apprenticeship standards today. Many of those, despite being approved, are not being delivered due to a lack of demand and high-cost training facilities.  

Difficulties finding training providers and end-point assessors have also hit heritage crafts in England, which has left many of them “endangered”. Waning demand leads to training providers pulling out of heritage crafts as running them becomes unviable.

For instance, apprenticeships in sectors including clockmaker, assistant puppetmaker, bookbinder and blacksmith have all failed to recruit any apprentices through the government’s apprenticeship system in England.

A break with tradition: the crafts fighting for survival

The donation is the largest single financial gift to the sector, according to the Hamish Ogston Foundation, and will fund training costs, and apprentice and teacher wages through projects run by several heritage organisations: English Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, Commonwealth Heritage Forum and the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship. 

English Heritage received £11.2 million which will fund more than 50 seven-year courses in flint and stone masonry, and heritage brickwork. 

It will also fund a new heritage skills training centre in East Anglia and will “safeguard” 34 castles and abbeys in the East of England. They include Canterbury Cathedral and Bury St Edmunds Abbey.

Gerard Lemos, chair of English Heritage, said that though the East of England had been “historically defined” by the flint trade, “that’s no longer happening, and both the buildings and the people have been the poorer for it.”

“Our new skills apprenticeships will provide a radical new approach to address the decline,” he added.

English Heritage will also boost outreach across East Anglia’s schools and post-16 sector too, which will include training sessions for 450 FE construction students.

In total, 19 countries across the Commonwealth will benefit from the fund, including India, Fiji, Bermuda and Ghana.

The fund will help maintain historic buildings including the Herbarium at the Botanic Gardens in Kolkata, India, and New Zealand’s Christchurch Cathedral, which was damaged by an earthquake back in 2011.

Hands-on training at 20 sites outside of the UK will also be funded – with £12.3 million going to other parts of the Commonwealth.

Historic Environment Scotland will have access to £5.2 million of funding, which will fund 100 training places north of the border.

Ogston, the philanthropist, said the donation would “establish a coherent and accessible training infrastructure for those looking to learn skills in heritage conservation.”

Free meals funding ‘another real-terms cut to bear’

Free meals funding for disadvantaged students will increase this August for the first time since the policy was introduced nine years ago. 

The Department for Education announced today that the rate per student per meal will increase by 5 per cent from £2.41 to £2.53. 

But with food inflation currently standing at 17.4 per cent, college leaders have warned this the new rate will still require cross-subsidy from other budgets. 

If the per-student per-meal rate had increased in line with the consumer price index, the measure of inflation for everyday goods and services, it would stand at £3.17. 

Colleges and providers face a “real terms cut” in free meal provision despite government plans to increase funding, a principal has warned.

Darren Hankey, principal of Hartlepool College of Further Education, said he “appreciated” an increase to the funding rate for free meals but warned the 5 per cent rise is “substantially below [food] inflation”, which according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stood at 17.4 per cent in June.

“In essence, it’s another real-terms cut which colleges will have to bear,” Hankey said.

Colleges, independent learning providers (ITPs) and sixth-form colleges can fund free meals for disadvantaged students between 16 and 18. Funding is also available for disadvantaged 19-year-olds who started their studies before they turned 19.

The policy was extended to the further education sector in 2014-15 after it was available to school children for decades. Disadvantaged students are those who, or whose parents receive at least one benefit from the government.

Other than the rate rise, there were no other policy changes announced today.

However, providers will receive payments from the Department for Education in three batches next year, rather than two.

The announcement follows a year of skyrocketing inflation, particularly of food prices. In March, food price inflation reached its highest rate in more than 45 years, coming in at 19.2 per cent.

Cost-of-living crisis driving up domestic abuse and criminal exploitation of college students

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) said sixth form colleges “already tend to spend more per meal than is allocated by government” for free school meals and said this “will likely continue to be the case with the increased rate”. 

But he said sixth forms will “continue to pay whatever it costs to ensure a nutritious meal for young people, topping up government funding as necessary”.

“However, in the circumstances in which colleges operate, with funding allocations continuing to fall behind inflation, and with greater cost pressures stretching their already limited budgets, any increase, however small, will be a welcome step in the right direction.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said increased the free meals funding rate because it “recognises” the impact inflation is having on students and colleges.

“We are separately helping disadvantaged students by increasing the 16-19 bursary fund to over £152 million this academic year to support with the costs of books, equipment, and trips where needed,” they added.

“This is on top of the biggest increase in 16-19 funding in a decade – with an extra £1.6billion in 2024-25, compared to 21-22.”

The cost-of-living crisis has had a sharp impact on the further education sector as it struggled to deal with mounting costs across the board. Last month the all-party parliamentary group for students warned more students were falling victim to domestic abuse and criminal exploitation due to the cost of living crisis.

The APPG also warned more students were using transport bursaries to support their families and called for more students to be eligible for free meals funding.

All childcare apprentices dropped out at ‘inadequate’ training provider

A North London training provider where every one of its childcare apprentices left early has been slammed by Ofsted.

The UK College of Business (UKCB), based in North Finchley, got hit with an ‘inadequate’ overall effectiveness rating in its first full Ofsted report which was published today, after a damning inspection in April. It received ‘inadequate’ ratings for education quality, leadership and management, and apprenticeships, with ‘requires improvement’ ratings in behaviour and attitudes, and personal development.

Ofsted said all 42 of the provider’s childcare apprentices left early, while some learners were left without supervisors at work and some learners were not in “appropriate employment” when they started their apprenticeships.

Inspectors flagged that because apprentices have no access to English training, many are unable to complete tasks independently.

Apprenticeship training on offer at UKCB ranges from levels three to seven in standards including content creation, dentistry, digital and childcare. On top of the 42 childcare level four and five apprentices who had left their studies early, a further 10 apprentices also left early from courses in content creation, fundraising and senior leadership. At the time of the inspection, 46 apprentices on level three courses in content creation, fundraising and senior leadership were waiting to take their end-point assessments.

Just two level four dental practice manager apprentices, one level four digital community manager apprentice and four level seven senior leader apprentices were in learning at the time of the Ofsted inspection.

The provider is currently suspended from taking on new apprentices according to the apprenticeship providers and assessment register (APAR).

Back to basics

Ofsted found that apprentices do not receive “planned regular support” to prepare for their assessments, and were missing basic individual training plans. That left apprentices “unclear” on what they need to do to make progress in their studies.

Inspectors said “too few apprentices” complete their programmes. According to government data, just 27.8 per cent of the learners achieved their apprenticeships in 2021-22, half the national average.

Though the leaders “recognise that they have made numerous errors and have tried to correct some of these,” their “poor management” had a “negative effect on too many apprentices”. Among many of the criticisms aimed at leaders was that they “do not ensure” their staff have the expertise to plan and teach apprenticeships.

However, apprentices on the level 3 fundraiser apprenticeship said they feel “well supported” by their tutors and enjoy their programmes, while on others they learn behaviours that are valued in the workplace.

‘Not aware’ of the potential risks

Safeguarding at the UKCB was deemed ‘effective’ yet inspectors found the leaders do not routinely carry out risk assessments of the employers their learners work for, meaning “they are not aware of the potential risks their apprentices face when they are at work”.

The UKCB is too small to publish full accounts, but had fixed assets worth £104,000 in the year to 31 July 2022, according to its micro business accounts for that year. It also reported debts of £100,000.

Its website boasts “We have the necessary physical and human resources to provide adequate support to students.”

Its owner and chief executive, Abdul Matin Khan, is also principal and owner of the Commonwealth College of Excellence, based at the same premises as UKCB. The Commonwealth College has not been inspected by Ofsted but is on the Office for Students register.

UKCB did not respond to requests for comment.

Care leadership training provider hit with ‘inadequate’ rating

A West Midlands independent training provider specialising in the care sector leadership apprenticeships has been branded ‘inadequate’ after Ofsted identified “systemic weaknesses” in its training delivery.

In its first full Ofsted inspection, Stourbridge-based Phemagrace Ltd was handed the lowest rating in a report published today, following an inspection in June. It received ‘inadequate’ judgements for quality of education, leadership and management, personal development and apprenticeships, but scored ‘good’ for behaviour and attitudes.

The firm provided training to 55 apprentices at the time of the inspection, mainly in the care sector, but has no employees other than a single director, Morenikeji Babatunde Dawud, according to its latest annual report for the year to 31 December 2021.

Phemagrace’s apprentices are all on level three and level five courses, in adult care leadership, business administration, and team leader standards.

Inspectors said the provider had not acted on comments they had made in its previous monitoring visit report from last November when they found poor teaching quality, gaps in the provider’s systems so that its courses could not be improved, and problems with its careers advice.

Phemagrace is currently suspended from taking on new apprentices according to the apprenticeship providers and assessment register (APAR). Under the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s funding rules, an ‘inadequate’ judgement from Ofsted usually results in a suspension from the apprenticeship providers and assessment register (APAR) and contract termination.

Neither Dawud, nor a representative from Phemagrace was contactable at the time of publication.

‘Systemic weaknesses’

Inspectors highlighted a lack of quality assurance procedures meaning the provider was unable to identify or fix “the systemic weaknesses in their apprenticeships.”

“As a result, the quality of education has not improved,” the report added. 

Curriculums at the provider are also “not sufficiently well planned to ensure that [learners] build substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours over time”. Inspectors identified a failure to “routinely” develop English and mathematics skills during apprenticeships, meaning apprentices are not “well prepared” for their next steps. 

There is also not enough emphasis on learner feedback at the provider so apprentices do not know how to improve their work as they move through their studies. Apprentices are also often not prepared for their end-point assessments.

‘Too few’ completions

That all means “too few apprentices” successfully complete their apprenticeships – with many “significantly behind” the planned end date of their apprenticeships. 

Back in 2020-21 the provider recorded 40 new apprenticeship starts, mostly on the level 3 team leader or supervisor standard, with an additional three on the level 5 children, young people and families manager apprenticeship.

In 2021-22, the business flipped to deliver largely higher level apprenticeships, with the better funded level 5 leader in adult care standard making up the bulk of its starts that year.

In the first three quarters of this year, it has started 29 apprentices on the level 5 leader in adult care standard.

In each year the number of apprentices achieving their apprenticeship has been too low to record an achievement rate.

Ofsted did praise the provider on its “effective” safeguarding arrangements, and noted that apprentices speak “positively of what they have learned”. But inspectors found “too few apprentices” could say what exactly they had learned on their apprenticeship, or how what they had learned would help them in the workplace.

The quality of teaching also suffers as the provider does not have a strategy to improve the skills of assessors. Despite commissioning an external organisation to address those concerns, the provider has not acted on its recommendations. Inspectors said that resulted in a “poor” standard of teaching and assessment.

Ofsted’s report also detailed a lack of “useful, impartial careers advice”, and a lack of direction on where apprentices could progress to following their studies.

Phemagrace is too small to publish full business accounts, and has not yet published micro-business accounts for 2022. But in its accounts for 2021, it reported debts of nearly £50,000, in comparison to just £723 the year prior. Their sole director, Dawud, also is a director at Phemacare, a charity providing personal in-home care.

It is not registered on Ofsted, but got a ‘requires improvement’ rating from the Care Quality Commission in its latest report from July 2021.

Phemagrace and Phemacare were both approached for comment. 

Rip-off degrees might not be the ones people think they are

Rishi Sunak recently announced a crackdown on ‘rip-off’ degrees, aimed at studies that don’t lead graduates to gainful employment. Predictably, this seems to be targeting what have historically been lauded as ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees e.g., the social sciences and humanities. But the real ‘low-value’ degrees may in fact be in STEM.  

Non-continuation rates for computer science (9.8 per cent) and engineering and technology (7.2 per cent) suggest they are not delivering for students – this is coming at the same time as the government has been vocal about its new drive to make the UK a tech superpower, announcing huge funding in different areas of the tech sector.   

The spring budget included huge funding boosts in various parts of the industry, and there is clearly a real push from the government to enhance the technology skills of our workforce.   

But scaring people away from humanities degrees is unlikely to deliver that. What we need are viable routes into the sector – and STEM degrees may not be providing that right now.  

More people than ever are taking STEM courses now, with acceptances into computer science courses rising by almost 50 per cent. But in spite of this rise over the past decade, skilled workers aren’t entering the workforce fast enough and the UK Government lists programming, software development, IT and communications, IT business analysis and system design as the most in demand skills needed right now. 

The needs of the workforce are shifting – STEM jobs used to stringently require a relevant degree, this isn’t always the case now. Some have shifted to a degree in any subject, whereas others may not need one at all. Tech giant IBM has dropped from around 80% of their jobs advertised requiring one, to around half.

University has traditionally been the default option for school leavers, which is part of the problem. There hasn’t been enough investment or awareness of other viable options, and the key policy concern should surely be to ensure there are a diversity of suitable routes for students to go on and get skilled work. 

STEM jobs used to stringently require a relevant degree; this isn’t always the case now

The universities sector has work to do on that front, for example by increasing the number of courses with an industrial placement. But AI is a perfect example of how technology can completely transform our professional and personal lives in a few short months. With its rapid acceleration, a three or four-year degree seems increasingly unlikely to satisfy either the learners’ or businesses’ needs.

Work is already happening that reflects this change. Just recently, Microsoft partnered with Milton Keynes College and others in Buckinghamshire to design a curriculum which focused on areas where it felt there was a “large skill gap”, including courses in software development, programming, digital marketing and game development. It will also reportedly cost almost £10,000 less than a traditional degree, but with equal qualifications.

Degree-level apprenticeships and partnerships between universities, colleges and industry professionals show education is responding. Students are increasingly leaning toward earn-as-you-learn apprenticeships and boot camps as much better value for money.   

But a lot more needs to be done to deliver on the government’s ambition, and it is more involved than simply giving money to sectors in the hope that they will find and develop their own talent pipelines. We need more relevant apprenticeship standards, and more capacity to deliver them.   

Our own academy took in 65 per cent of its learners from non-STEM degree backgrounds last year, and many of our junior consultants have gone on to forge very successful careers in tech over the years, in many different types of roles within the industry.   

In the wake of this degree cap announcement, the next step we need from the government is a clear plan for upskilling and training in the UK. They need to help target these pain points where students are being failed by supporting these alternative pathways; young people and the country deserve more.  

This needs to be done with the cooperation of colleges, training providers and academies who are central to this – failing to acknowledge that would just amount to policy making for the sake of policy making.  

Government confirms end to LEP funding

Funding for local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) is set to end in April 2024, the government confirmed today.

The money earmarked for LEPs since their inception in 2010 will now be allocated to mayoral combined and some local authorities.

Moving the funding over to the authorities will boost the scope for “greater join-up, efficiencies, and clarity for the private sector” involved in the LEP programme, according to a government letter sent to all authority leaders and LEP chairs today.

LEPs were originally set up as a way to determine the local skills priorities, and are made up of local authorities and private sector businesses. Nearly £12 billion was pumped into LEPs by 2019/20, and there are currently 36 LEPs.

But government has now moved forward with a decision to cut that funding, after it first touted the idea in this year’s spring budget.

A consultation launched in March showed that there was “overlap between some of the functions being discharged by LEPs, local authorities and combined authorities”, the letter said, which was signed by Dehenna Davison, the minister for levelling up, and Kevin Hollinrake, the minister for enterprise, small markets and business.

The consultation also found “there is already a high level of integration of LEP functions in mayoral Combined Authority areas”. Combined authorities will take on the funding to deliver the LEP’s function, while county councils will get that funding where a combined authority has not yet been set up.

Funding earmarked for the work LEPs currently do will go to the local and mayoral authorities until 2024/2025, but government has not committed to funding after that.

“The government remains committed to our goal that by 2030, every area in England that wants a devolution deal will have one,” the letter added. 

Discrimination? Providers slam apprenticeship visa rule change

Training providers have accused the Department for Education of discriminating against people on visas following a change to apprenticeship funding rules.

For several years the rules have stated that individuals must “be able to complete the apprenticeship within the time they have available” to be funded.

Version one of the 2023/24 rules changed this section to include the examples “because their visa will expire or because they have a fixed term contract which is shorter than the duration of the apprenticeship”.

Visa extensions can be a lengthy process and are generally only extended in the six months before expiry. Experts told FE Week that before the DfE’s rule change was made, it had been understood that checking the learner had every intention of reapplying for their visa when they could was deemed to be sufficient to start the visa holder on an apprenticeship.

Providers have been lobbying the DfE since the 2023/24 rules were published in May to warn that given the average apprenticeships is around two years long now, this change is “clearly and openly discriminating against people on visas”.

A DfE spokesperson claimed its policy had not changed and the addition in this year’s rules was simply a “clarification”.

“Our policy remains that individuals with visas and eligibility to remain can undertake an apprenticeship provided the duration of the apprenticeship is not longer than their time remaining in the country,” the DfE told FE Week.

“This is because it is not fair to the individual to allow them to commence an apprenticeship which they will not be able to complete, nor is it an appropriate use of public funds.”

FE funding expert Steve Hewitt said the DfE’s response “fundamentally, willfully, misunderstands the UK’s visa system”.

“Those on the route to Indefinite Leave to Remain and even Citizenship do not have the luxury of long-dated visas and must reapply several times before they reach that stage,” he explained.

“To suggest that those who have come to build their life here and support the British economy should not be able to access apprenticeship training for unnecessary, purely bureaucratic, reasons is a travesty.”

Dan Ball, quality director at England’s largest apprenticeship provider Lifetime Training, called for further guidance on how the new requirement is to be regulated. He said as it stands he anticipates the visa rule change “will have an impact on apprenticeship uptake, and particularly affect those from diverse backgrounds”.

The DfE does not publish statistics showing how many people on visas take up apprenticeships, so the scale of the impact is unknown.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers director of policy Simon Ashworth said his membership body, alongside several providers in the professional services sectors, has raised this issue with the DfE and will be “continuing to look for greater flexibility as part of the ongoing simplification project”.

He said: “With apprenticeships becoming longer in duration we believe the department should work more closely with the Home Office to come up with a pragmatic, flexible solution to support those individuals who clearly intend to stay for their programme and beyond.”

The DfE said it will continue to keep all aspects of its rules under review and will set out any changes in version of the 2023/24 rules in October.

College set for ‘inevitable’ court battle with football club after mediation falls flat

A London college is poised for a court battle following allegations it owes a six-figure debt to a football club.

Mediation talks between Stanmore College and Barnet FC to resolve the historic dispute were held last week but a settlement was not reached.

The college is accused of failing to pay fees for sponsorship of the football club’s women’s team, as well as hire of its pitches and academy training services in 2015.

Barnet’s academy alleged earlier this year that Stanmore College breached an agreement to pay more than £110,000 for those services and sued the college for £168,180 in total. But the college refused to pay up, claiming that emails between its former principal and the football academy were not on their behalf and did not show “offer and acceptance” of the deal.

The judge suspended the trial in June in the hope that the case could be settled out of court. But mediation held on July 27 failed to reach an agreement meaning a drawn-out court case appears “inevitable”, according to the football club.

In a statement, it said it was “disappointed that a settlement could not be found”.

“We would prefer to avoid any dispute with a local college – especially one with whom we had previously enjoyed a good relationship,” a spokesperson added.

“However, like any organisation, we have bills to pay and salaries to meet, so cannot allow our services to go without payment and for so long.”

Though it appears court proceedings “are now inevitable”, the football club said it is “always open to an amicable resolution”.

A spokesperson for Stanmore College confirmed that mediation talks took place on July 27, and said that the college is “progressing matters with parties concerned”. But it declined to comment further on the case.

College group wins High Court battle to sell closed campus

A college group has overturned a covenant that was preventing a defunct campus from being sold for non-educational purposes, following a battle with its local council and campaigners in the High Court.

Judge Simon Gleeson yesterday ordered Malvern Hills District Council to lift the legally binding restriction placed on Malvern Hills College in 2008.

In siding with owner Warwickshire College Group (WCG) which closed the site in 2021 due to a “diminishing customer base”, judge Gleeson said it was “beyond doubt” that there was not a viable option for further education in the area.

WCG had argued that it was clear there was no need for a college in the local area, and that the restrictions on who they could sell the site to significantly suppressed its sale price.

The group welcomed the verdict, with chief executive Angela Joyce saying closing a college site is “always a last resort decision”.

“Nobody who works in further education ever wants to see provision reduced,” she added, but said the college was still “open to offers” and could sell the site to the community. However, the college will be looking at other options such as leasing the site until it has agreed a sale, after “various community bids” fell apart.

‘Great sadness’

The move to sell the site to a non-educational group faced strong opposition from locals and their MP, Harriet Baldwin. In a statement released following the verdict, Baldwin expressed “great sadness” over the “asset-stripping exercise” and threw her support behind the council if it does appeal the decision.

The council meanwhile was part of a consortium that put together a £1.2 million bid to buy the site for a newly formed arts and community college.

Up until it was closed, the college mainly offered self-funded leisure courses for adults but also offered some 16 to 19 provision – which it then transferred to another part of the college following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021 the Education and Skills Funding Authority ruled that there was “no functional need” for 16 to 19 provision in the area, but was not able to judge on the self-funded adult courses.

On that basis the local council refused to issue a letter to the college which would have allowed it to sell to non-educational groups such as housing. The college then took the local council to court.

No cogent evidence

The council had argued that “poor marketing” by the college was the reason for historically low FE student numbers, and that there was demand for the courses. However, judge Gleeson found there was no “cogent evidence” backing up the implication that the college was “actively harming its own financial interests” and that there was a difference between demand for courses and a local “need” for education in the area.

The council also disputed the ESFA’s decision that there was a lack of local demand, calling it “irrational”. But the judge dismissed that as well.

“Put simply – and brutally – the users of the college had in practice determined that its services were not necessary, since they were not prepared to pay enough for their courses to cover its operating costs,” he said. After the college moved its 16 to 19 provision, he could not see “any conceivable way in which the College could have continued to operate without a very significant annual financial subsidy”.

The council said it was “disappointed” by the ruling, but that it would respect the court’s decision.

“The future of the college is in the hands of Warwickshire College Group and we continue to urge them to find a way forward that supports the long tradition of education on this site.”

Joyce said her college group is “not here to profiteer, but as a charity our governors do have a duty to achieve appropriate value for our assets”.

A WCG spokesperson added that the college group “regrets that the behaviour of a number of key individuals within the community has created unnecessary unpleasantness and considers that the court hearing may well have been prevented if individuals had behaved differently”.

A spokesperson for the Save Malvern Hills College Campaign said it was “devastated” by the decision and accused the college group of “withdrawing marketing materials, introduc[ing] a redundancy programme and ma[king] it difficult to enrol on courses” since it acquired the site.

The spokesperson added: “WCG says that any ‘profits’ from the sale will be reinvested in local education. That may be the case but it won’t be in Malvern. We hope that somehow there is still a positive way forward and remain grateful to all those involved in supporting the campaign.”