How our pick n’ mix approach to adult learning is delivering for Calderdale

Few of a certain age can forget Woolworths’ irresistible pick n’ mix counter. It was the high street store’s unique selling point, providing customers the flexibility to choose from an array of sweets to create a bag that truly catered to their tastes. That concept is the inspiration behind Calderdale College‘s approach to adult learning.

Adult learners have varied backgrounds, ambitions and challenges that traditional education models can sometimes struggle to address. So with pick n’ mix in mind, we set out to provide our learners with the ability to select and combine elements of learning to suit their unique tastes – in this case, their interests and career needs.

To shape our programme, we leaned on a ‘triplex’ model, drawing insight from three core pillars: the college, the learners, and the labour market.

We started with foundational employability skills, but quickly recognised the potential for a more dynamic approach to learning using the Diploma in Progression. With this, we could cater to individual learners’ needs and ambitions while aligning their education to current and future market demands.

We initiated conversations with important employers in our area like the NHS and Bluebird Care to fully understand the dynamic nature of the labour market.

Changes in government policies like the extension of free childcare hours from September 2024 and 2025 will open up more opportunities in the childcare sector. This means demand for trained professionals will rise. Our curriculum is designed to prepare our learners for these and other opportunities.

These policies will also release fresh people into the workforce; many who previously had childcare responsibilities will be freed up to pursue their own career ambitions.

By partnering with Gateway Qualifications, we’ve created a blueprint for a flexible program that evolves with market needs and supports individual learner journeys.

In the Calderdale area, this is particularly important for sectors such as health and social care, childcare, digital, fashion, textiles and creative industries, where Brexit and Covid have left significant skills gaps.

It started with 15 students in 2021 and has engaged 900 learners since

This pick n’ mix approach has proven to be an enormous success. It started as a pilot with 15 students in 2021 and has grown to engage over 900 learners in two years.

Most importantly, we earned an ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted for adult education. Inspectors didn’t just take our word for it; they went into the community and heard from our learners themselves, who are our strongest advocates.

As we look to the future, we remain committed to fine-tuning and expanding this model. There is significant potential to take the concept further, at higher levels, and make adult education more accessible, engaging, and rewarding for learners from all walks of life.

Adapting to our learners’ needs and engaging with local businesses has helped Calderdale College create an inclusive, flexible, and industry-aligned program. It’s a testament to the power of innovation in education, proving that when we think creatively, we can open new pathways that meet learners where they are and help them get where they want to go.

We’ve learned a few things along the way, so if you’re keen to explore the pick n’ mix model in your college, here are my top tips:

Understand your learners

A strong grasp of their backgrounds, aspirations, and challenges is crucial to design a programme that meets their unique needs and aids their personal and professional growth.

Engage with local employers

Understanding employers’ current and future needs is essential to ensure your curriculum aligns with market demands.

Build in optionality

Flexibility in course selection allows learners to personalise their education pathway according to their career goals and interests.

Don’t go it alone

Collaborating with supportive organisations like Gateway Qualifications can be instrumental in designing and delivering a robust, flexible and industry-aligned curriculum.

Iterate and evolve

The world changes and so should your curriculum. Regularly review and update your course offerings to stay relevant.

Engage with your community

Not only are they an excellent source of advocates who can provide insights into local needs and opportunities, they are fundamental to building a supportive environment for your learners.

With these in mind, you could be well on your way to the kind of offer that will be fondly remembered for decades to come.

Our apprenticeships system needs to adapt to become sustainable

Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for people to start their career or move their career up a gear. Reforms since trailblazer process started in 2013 have contributed to improvements in quality and opened apprenticeships to a wider range of people, but these gains are at risk.

Degree apprenticeships in particular have seen considerable growth in the past ten years, spurred on by the apprenticeship levy introduced in 2017. However, much has changed since IfATE was set up and the levy came in.

Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have hit apprenticeships hard as they have many spheres of life. This raises the question of whether apprenticeships as currently operated are sustainable or whether we need a change of direction.

The challenges facing apprenticeships are both operational and a matter of financial viability.

Operationally, the present system creates a major peak for assessment in the period between Easter and the summer holiday period. This is because many apprentices are recruited at the beginning of the academic year and therefore finish at the end of the ‘school’ year. This results in major bottle necks in assessing, which is frustrating for everyone and adds to the cost of delivery.

EPA assessors cannot be pulled out of thin air just for a few months of the year. We need to break this cycle and spread the peak. This could be done through recruiting apprentices throughout the year and being more flexible about the end date and ESFA reporting.

But the biggest challenge of all is around funding.

For most standards, funding has not increased to account for major inflationary pressures –  some of which are up to 20 per cent. These general inflationary rises are made worse by IfATE and their route panels changing standards, which increases delivery costs while funding rates remain unchanged.

The combination of spiraling costs and capped funding is making standards financially unviable. Hence, we are already seeing organisations pull out of provision – of both training and assessment – as apprenticeships become progressively financially unsustainable.

We all need to get realistic. That includes IfATE and the route panels

Is the funding regime going to improve, other than marginally? The answer is surely no. I know prediction in these volatile times is extremely hard, but most people would consider it very unlikely that any significant improvement in the funding position will happen for two to three years at best. So we all need to start to get realistic, and that includes IfATE and the route panels.

The first thing to do is to immediately stop changing standards where these changes add to the cost of delivery. Second, more radically, is to modify the delivery model to maintain quality, but in a more cost-effective and efficient way for all.

In terms of training delivery, ESFA, Ofqual and IfATE need to appreciate the fact that we must move to much greater utilisation of online learning and technology. With this, we need to recognise that we cannot be held to the previous norms of guided learning hours, total qualification times and the percentage of off-site training needed to support someone becoming fully competent.

The other area for improved efficiency without a decline in quality is in assessment. The present model is conceptualised on an academic model of everyone going into an ‘exam centre’ and collectively sitting exams. This is costly in all cases. For end-point assessments, which are one-to-one or one-to-few with a significant practical element needing a lot of materials, equipment and a ‘test bay’, the costs are extremely high.

It’s time for a rethink. Technology gives us the opportunity to capture verifiable evidence throughout the period of an apprenticeship. This, with a better and more transparent gateway process, would allow us to design end-point assessments which are more focused and less expensive to run.

If we can bring down the cost of delivering apprenticeships, we can avoid them becoming increasingly unsustainable and the policy progressively failing to achieve the improvements the economy needs.

Our model is not very old, but the world has changed substantially in a short time. We must face up to the new challenges and look at all the options rather than plough on in hope a miracle.

How long can FE avoid the predictable results of unpredictable funding?

Amid the extensive attention given to the RAAC crisis gripping parliament and causing havoc for some schools’ start of term, one short sentence stood out for me. It came from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IfS) in one of their characteristically objective and insightful analyses. Next to a graph on the DfE’s capital investment in education, a simple line that reads: “Before 2020, almost all of the spending will have been focused on schools”.

It is surely a testament to the ingenuity, doggedness and determination of college estates teams and leaders up and down the country that no college is currently fully or partially shut because of RAAC.  To have maintained and improved the FE estate against a backdrop of public sector austerity and the complete absence of any recurring capital funding for well over a decade is a remarkable achievement.

I’m long enough in the tooth to remember the days of recurring FE capital grants. These were utilised to deliver carefully planned and scheduled maintenance programmes to improve our campuses and address emerging issues.  We knew that next year (and the year after that) we would get a similar investment.

This predictability allowed medium- and even longer-term planning (remember that?), keeping the vital infrastructure of our buildings and estates operating safely and providing the high-quality learning environments to meet our communities’ skills needs.  Flat roofs were replaced before they sprang leaks. Lifts were upgraded before they persistently broke down. Windows were double-glazed to improve energy efficiency and the quality of our learning environments. 

Then came austerity. Combined with the transfer of any remaining FE capital funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships, the past 12 years or so have been characterised by colleges competing with each other for small investment pots. And these pots weren’t for unglamorous things like flat roofs or lifts; they were earmarked for landmark buildings and skills centres that could be opened with a fanfare. 

We’ve managed to secure a number of these developments and they have made a significant difference to many students and apprentices. But having shiny new buildings while struggling to maintain existing ones has been a major headache.

Our campuses are assets that need regular investment

Others have written recently on one way the sector has coped, by utilising the appropriate accounting practices of depreciation to provide us with some of our own cash to reinvest. But that could never provide enough to keep up with the growing backlog of maintenance and improvements. 

A further reminder of the differential treatment of the FE sector comes from our annual allocations from HEFCE/OfS for our Higher Education provision. This includes recurring capital funding for this group of students.  

And of course, the DfE hasn’t been completely against funding capital maintenance in the post-16 sector. Local sixth forms have been getting small but regular capital investments every year while colleges have been wrapped in bidding rounds, costly capital bids, bureaucracy and, too often, disappointment.

The IfS report rightly notes the government’s recent (and very welcome) investment, primarily through the FE capital transformation fund. However, if colleges are going to ensure our estates can deal with emerging issues and remain safe and suitable learning environments, ministers need to address two key elements.

First, dropping investment on us with little or no warning and with very short delivery timescales means projects are chosen because they are possible rather than necessary. Capital investment needs careful planning and sufficient time to properly address the difficult and tricky issues present in all our estates.

Second, we can only properly manage the critical community assets which our colleges are with some level of predictability. Returning to annually funded capital investment would allow us to develop the medium- and maybe even long-term maintenance and improvement schedules that are required. Predictability would also provide us with a fighting chance of investing in the sustainability of our campuses – a critical agenda for our sector as well as government.

My thoughts are with education leaders wrestling with the awfully-timed RAAC crisis and mitigating its impact on their students, staff and communities. For the sake of all our learners, government must now recognise that our campuses are assets that need regular investment. Without it, history will only repeat itself.

EuroSkills 2023: Team UK competitors productive and positive after day 1

Competitors representing the UK in this year’s EuroSkills event in Poland have had a “smooth” first day of the competition.

The city of Gdansk is hosting the three-day intensive competition, which has drawn in nearly 600 young skilled people from across the continent specialising in 42 different skills, ranging from CNC milling to patisserie.

Following the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening, Wednesday marked the first official day of the competition. Members of the public came in swathes to the Amber Expo Hall and outside tents to cheer on competitors from their respective countries.

Digital construction manager Michael McGuire told FE Week that competitor Isabelle Barron was “doing spectacularly well” on her task for day one, which entailed digitally constructing a building similar to her training.

The day has been so smooth, he says, that McGuire has not had much to do as chief expert.

“As chief expert, it’s my role to firefight after any issues and I’ve had nothing to do. I’ve been able to stand and just watch all the competitors actually enjoy the competition and test their skills.”

He added: “The tasks of today have been very smooth, very straightforward.”

Isabelle Barron, competitor in Digital Construction. Day 1 of EuroSkills 2023.
Credit: WorldSkillsUK

“We’ve trained for this,” McGuire added.

Prior to the event, Barron had undergone an international pressure test set by a former Chinese champion, to test her limits and manage expectations for EuroSkills.

Barron works at architecture firm Chapman Taylor and her training is provided by Sheffield Hallam University. McGuire is a lecturer in the department of construction and surveying at Glasgow Caledonian University.

‘I’m very happy with myself’

Meanwhile, competitor in electrical installations Daniel Knox told FE Week after his first day of tasks that he was “very happy” with what he achieved.

“Today went really well,” he said.

Knox, 21, works at GP Electrical and Security, and his apprenticeship training is provided by South West College in Northern Ireland. His training manager is Geoff Shaw from Cardiff & Vale College.

“I’ve done more than I thought I was going to do so very happy with myself.”

Over the three-day competition, Knox has to install a whole mini workshop which he anticipates will be finished by Friday morning.

For the past six months, Knox has worked tirelessly to train for EuroSkills and that has required some sacrifices, mainly spending less time with friends and watching less TV.

“There’s been a few nights where friends ask you to meet you up or something, you have to say no sometimes because this is an absolute priority.”

Elsewhere, despite a minor injury hiccup, Sean Owens, training manager for Samantha Watkins told FE Week that the competitor in the cooking competition had a good first day.

Owens, who is also chief expert in the skill, said that Watkins had a minor interruption when she sliced her finger during the day, but was unfazed and continued with her tasks after being patched up.

Watkins is a commis chef at the Gordon Ramsay 1890 Restaurant at the Savoy Hotel in London. Her training is provided by Loughborough College. Sean Owens is culinary training officer at Ulster University, Belfast campus.

Follow the FE Week twitter feed (@FEWeek) for live coverage of the competition and closing ceremony this Saturday and send good luck messages to the team using the hashtag #TeamUK.

FE Week is the official media partner for Team UK and WorldSkills UK.

RAAC: 1 college named as DfE finally publishes list of affected schools

One further education college is among the list of over 100 education settings forced to close buildings because of the RAAC crumbly concrete crisis.

Petroc, based in Devon, has partially shut its site in Barnstaple which includes classrooms as well as a library, a hall and offices.

But all of its near-10,000 students remain in face-to-face education and have not had the start to their term delayed. The college has set aside £300,000 to make its site safe.

The government today finally published a list of 147 education settings currently affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) as of August 30.

Of those, 20 are educating pupils with a mixture of face-to-face and remote lessons, while 19 had to delay the start of term and four switched fully to remote learning.

The government had previously said 156 schools were affected, but nine unnamed schools are now listed as “RAAC not present”.

Petroc is the only further education college listed. FE Week is however aware of at least one other college, Trafford College Group, which has identified RAAC and restricted access to one of its colleges.

The DfE has said it will update the list in the next two weeks.

The DfE’s full list of affected schools and colleges (as of August 30)

Abbey Lane Primary SchoolSheffieldAll pupils in face-to-face education
All Saints C of E Primary SchoolManchesterAll pupils in face-to-face education
Altrincham CollegeTraffordAll pupils in face-to-face education
Anglo European SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Ark Boulton AcademyBirminghamStart of Term Delayed
Arthur Bugler Primary SchoolThurrockStart of Term Delayed
Aston Manor AcademyBirminghamMix of face-to-face and remote arrangements
Barnes Farm Junior SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Batley Girls High SchoolKirkleesAll pupils in face-to-face education
Baynards Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Beehive Lane Community Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Bentfield Primary School and NurseryEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Birchington Church of England Primary SchoolKentAll pupils in face-to-face education
Bishop Douglass School FinchleyBarnetAll pupils in face-to-face education
Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary SchoolBlackpoolAll pupils in face-to-face education
Brandhall Primary SchoolSandwellAll pupils in face-to-face education
Broomfield Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Buckhurst Hill Community Primary SchoolEssexStart of Term Delayed
Canon Slade SchoolBoltonAll pupils in face-to-face education
Carmel CollegeDarlingtonAll pupils in face-to-face education
Cherry Tree AcademyEssexStart of Term Delayed
Chipping Ongar Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Clacton County High SchoolEssexMix of face-to-face and remote arrangements
Claydon High SchoolSuffolkStart of Term Delayed
Cleeve Park SchoolBexleyAll pupils in face-to-face education
Cockermouth SchoolCumberlandAll pupils in face-to-face education
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary SchoolLambethAll pupils in face-to-face education
CranbourneHampshireAll pupils in face-to-face education
Danetree Primary SchoolSurreyAll pupils in face-to-face education
Denbigh SchoolMilton KeynesAll pupils in face-to-face education
Donnington Wood Infant School and Nursery CentreTelford and WrekinAll pupils in face-to-face education
East Bergholt High SchoolSuffolkStart of Term Delayed
East Tilbury Primary SchoolThurrockAll pupils in face-to-face education
Elmstead Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Eversley Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Ferryhill SchoolCounty DurhamStart of Term Delayed
Godinton Primary SchoolKentAll pupils in face-to-face education
Great Leighs Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Harlowbury Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Harwich and Dovercourt High SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Hatfield Heath Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Hatfield Peverel St Andrew’s Junior SchoolEssexStart of Term Delayed
Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Hillhouse CofE Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Hockley Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Holcombe Grammar SchoolMedwayAll pupils in face-to-face education
Holy Trinity Catholic Voluntary AcademyNottinghamshireAll pupils in face-to-face education
Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Eight Ash Green and AldhamEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Hornsey School for GirlsHaringeyStart of Term Delayed
Hounsdown SchoolHampshireAll pupils in face-to-face education
Jerounds Primary AcademyEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Joyce Frankland Academy, NewportEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Katherine Semar Infant SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Katherine Semar Junior SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Katherines Primary Academy and NurseryEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
King Ethelbert SchoolKentAll pupils in face-to-face education
Kingsdown SchoolSouthend-on-SeaStart of Term Delayed
Lambourne Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Langney Primary AcademyEast SussexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Lubbins Park Primary AcademyEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Markyate Village School and NurseryHertfordshireAll pupils in face-to-face education
Mayflower Primary SchoolLeicesterAll pupils in face-to-face education
Mersea Island SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Mistley Norman Church of England Primary SchoolEssexAll pupils in face-to-face education
Myatt Garden Primary SchoolLewishamAll pupils in face-to-face education
Northampton International AcademyWest NorthamptonshireAll pupils in face-to-face education
Our Lady’s Catholic High SchoolLancashireStart of Term Delayed
Outwoods Primary SchoolWarwickshireStart of Term Delayed
Palmarsh Primary SchoolKentAll pupils in face-to-face education
Park View SchoolHaringeyAll pupils in face-to-face education
Parks Primary SchoolLeicesterAll pupils in face-to-face education
PetrocDevonAll pupils in face-to-face education
Pippins SchoolSloughAll pupils in face-to-face education
All pupils in face-to-face educationBirminghamAll pupils in face-to-face education

Keir Starmer appoints new shadow skills minister

Seema Malhotra has replaced Toby Perkins as the shadow minister for skills.

Malhotra joins the shadow education team under the shadow secretary of state for education, Bridget Phillipson, who kept her job in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle yesterday.

Perkins has been moved to Labour’s shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) team.

“I’m honoured to have been appointed @UKLabour’s new shadow minister for skills. I can’t wait to get to work with [Bridget Phillipson] and the rest of the shadow education team to deliver on our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage,” Malhotra posted on X.

Nine shadow front bench appointments were announced this evening, including Catherine McKinnell who returns to the shadow education team as shadow schools minister.

Malhotra has been the Labour and Co-op MP for Feltham and Heston in West London for 12 years and was previously the shadow minister for business and consumers.

Labour pledges to widen the apprenticeship levy

Before entering parliament, Malhotra was a child safety adviser in the video game and film industries. Her official biography also points to strategy and IT roles at Accenture and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The shadow skills brief is Malhotra’s sixth shadow front bench role, with previous jobs shadowing the Home Office, as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and shadow employment minister.

Malhotra also chairs the all-party parliamentary groups for Entrepreneurship, mortgage prisoners and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Outside of parliament she is president of the Fabian Women’s Network and is a former chair of the Fabian Society.

She replaces Toby Perkins who has shadowed the skills brief since April 2020. The MP for Chesterfield has fronted Labour’s skills policies, like replacing the apprenticeship levy and introducing Skills England, and committed a future Labour government to ringfence spending on SME apprenticeships.

EuroSkills 2023: WorldSkills UK alumni leads opening ceremony rousing speeches

A WorldSkills UK alumni told this year’s EuroSkills competitors that their skills “keep the world moving” at a lavish opening ceremony earlier this evening.

Dan McCabe, who was part of Team UK at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 in 3D Digital Game Art, told the 600 European competitors in the audience that making it to EuroSkills Gdansk in Poland was the “real privilege”.

McCabe, who is now a European representative of the WorldSkills Champions Trust, also told competitors that participating in EuroSkills was not just about winning, but about promoting excellence in skills that “keep the world moving”.

“If you only focus on winning, I’m afraid you’ve missed the whole point of this event,” he said.

“We are promoting excellence, your excellence. Showing the skills keep our world moving and that you are the people with the skills that can do that.”

He wished competitors to relish the experience as it will be something “your fellow competitors will only truly understand and it’s a bond that you will form a family over.”

McCabe won gold medals at the 2015 WorldSkills UK National Finals and EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016. But his participation in Abu Dhabi “jump-started” his career as a game developer and led to working with Formula One.

Dan McCabe giving an encouraging speech to competitors

Well wishes for Team UK have already poured out from skills sector leaders and including from skills minister Robert Halfon, who was not in attendance for the ceremony.

Representatives from 32 European countries attended the opening ceremony of the eighth EuroSkills competition finals.

Nearly 600 competitors joined technical experts, delegates, and supporters at the Polsat Plus Arena in the city of Gdańsk to observe the spectacle.

Officially opening the competition was Teija Ripattila, chair of the board of WorldSkills Europe, and Prof. Paweł Poszytek, WorldSkills Poland official delegate and general director of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE).

“Helping young people to develop their skills with the goal of achieving the world-class standard of professional excellence underpins everything we do at WorldSkills Europe – all because we believe that skills change worlds,” said Ripattila.

‘We are promoting your excellence’

The opening ceremony marks the start of a three-day intensive competition in 42 different skills, ranging from robot systems integration to fashion, which will see competitors tested to new heights.

Before the speeches, spectators enjoyed entertainment including live artistic sand painting by Tetiana Galitsyna, artistic light painting by Tony Dream and a live DJ set with music producer DJ Gromee.

A parade of nations took place shortly after followed by competitor and expert oaths.

Team UK entering the Polsat Plus arena

Competitions will officially commence tomorrow morning at the arena and the Amber Expo Hall in Gdańsk and conclude on Friday evening.

The closing ceremony will take place on Saturday evening where the results will be announced, and medals presented to the winning competitors.

Follow the FE Week twitter feed (@FEWeek) for live coverage of the ceremony and competition and send good luck messages to the team using the hashtag #TeamUK.

FE Week is the official media partner for Team UK and WorldSkills UK.

Sir Martyn Oliver sets out his priorities for the Ofsted top job

Sir Martyn Oliver has pledged to undertake a “big listen” and wants to let senior inspectors work in schools and other education providers if he becomes Ofsted chief inspector.

But the Outwood Grange Academies Trust boss has warned that “the last thing the system needs right now … is a revolution”.

Oliver was confirmed as the government’s preferred candidate for the job back in July. If approved, he will begin his initial five-year term on January 1.

It comes against a backdrop of widespread calls for reform of the watchdog, following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

During a pre-appointment hearing led by parliament’s education committee this morning, Oliver summarised his three main ambitions for the role.

“First up is to go through a big listen,” he told MPs, adding in the past Ofsted had faced accusations of being “combative or cold”.

“We need to be empathetic to the challenges that the system is facing. We need to listen to all of the services that Ofsted inspects.”

‘I’ve walked the walk’

He added that his prior experience gave him the empathy needed for the role.

“I think my skillset is that I’ve worked in the most difficult schools, the worst attaining schools, the worst progress schools, some of the worst buildings, some of the greatest challenges in pupil number … schools that no-one wants,” he said.

“So people will know that I’ve got the experience, I’ve walked the walk…There is a series of expertise and experience that I can bring to the system and say, ‘I know what it’s like to do this. I can talk to you with empathy’.”

His second priority is to ensure Ofsted inspections are conducted “by the system”.

“So that’s getting more leaders … I want to make a direct plea to all of the professional bodies, to the trade unions, to the headteachers and leaders in all of the services … and say, how can we involve you in far greater aspect as the Ofsted inspectors and His Majesty’s Inspectors in the future?” he said.

He also suggested Ofsted could find a way to manage “conflicts of interest” to allow HMIs to work in “part time” in other organisations. Currently HMIs are full-time inspectors.

Oliver said some trusts are advertising for former HMIs and “that means often we’re losing all of this talent. Is there a way in which – many institutions are having to look at flexible working – does Ofsted need to embrace that? I think all of these things can be tackled and answered”.

Switch to ‘holistic’ reporting

A third aim, which Oliver said he was “perhaps the most keen on” was to “look holistically” at how disadvantaged children were supported by all services in each local authority area.

“I was delighted that in the pandemic … One of the things which did change is that at last this seeming divide between multi-academy trusts and local authorities really broke down. The information was just flowing one to the other,” he told the committee.

“I think we’ve got to build upon that now and say we need to get all agents, all actors working for all of the children, especially the most vulnerable, so I want to report in a different way as well as give you the sectional headings against those services as they are right now.”

Oliver’s appointment, if ratified, will come at a time of heightened scrutiny for the inspectorate.

In June, months after anger and debate had been levelled at Ofsted for the way in which it conducts inspections, it announced a raft of changes.

This included a committed to review its complaints procedure following a consultation with the sector, which Oliver said he was “delighted” about.

“I’d be really interested to see the outcomes of that consultation…and [if appointed] how then I can take that forward.”

‘Interested in views about single-word judgments’

The announced changes have been criticised by the sector as not going far enough, including the decision to keep single-word judgments in place for inspections.

Oliver said he thought “parents do like the ability to describe their school simply”.

But he added that he was interested in views from parents and children about “how much faith” they “put upon the single-word judgment” as well as alternative ways of reporting outcomes.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have that one word, I’m asking what will you do [without it].”

OGAT – which runs 35 schools – is one of the country’s most successful turnaround trusts.

Oliver, who started teaching in 1996, is also a national leader of education and helped found the National Institute of Teaching.

The education committee will now decide whether to give his appointment their backing, but the government can appoint him either way.

National AEB contract allocations revealed

The contract values of the 55 training providers that came out on top in the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s latest adult education budget procurement have been revealed.

From a total pot of £75 million, 15 providers were awarded almost the maximum individual amount of £2.5 million, including Realise Learning and Employment Ltd, The Skills Network and Let Me Play Ltd.

Three of those 15 big winners – Prevista Ltd, Aspire Sporting Academy Ltd, and Pathway First Ltd – are judged ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted. A further two – The Construction Skills People Ltd and Twin Training International Limited – have only had an early monitoring visit.

The lowest value contract awarded was to Logistics Skills & Consultancy Ltd, which received £236,580.

ESFA officials were delayed in commencing the contracts due a legal challenge launched by the Learning Curve Group, which imposed an “automatic suspension” in August. Learning Curve Group, which is attempting to get the procurement re-run through the courts after missing out on a contract in the competition, has since given permission for the suspension to be lifted.

Learning Curve Group is one of several high-profile providers to have their bid for a national AEB contract rejected, alongside Babington and Skills Training UK, the latter of which has since gone bust.

The 54 winners in the tender represents a further reduction in the number of training providers with national AEB contracts.

The agency reduced the number of AEB contractors from 208 to 88 when it last procured in 2021.

Of the 2021 winners, just 20 have won contracts again this time around.

FE Week analysis shows that eight of the 54 winners are judged as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted, half of whom were inspected this year. Meanwhile, four of the contractors have not yet been inspected by the watchdog at all.

The contracts will run for an initial 12-month period covering the 2023/24 academic year, with options to extend further by up to three 12-month periods.

[UPDATE: The original version of this article listed 54 contract awards, as announced by the DfE here. But days after publication, the DfE published a separate Contracts Finder page for another contract award for TLG Business Services, taking the total number of AEB tender winners up to 55. The DfE claimed: “Publication on contracts finder takes place after signing of the contracts by both parties. The difference in timing is as a result of the automatic suspension.”]