College confirms cyber attack brought down IT systems

CityLit has confirmed that a ransomware attack was responsible for a month-long IT outage, causing major disruption to online classes and enrolment.  

In a message sent to students on Wednesday, seen by FE Week, the college apologised for ongoing disruption but it couldn’t yet confirm whether any student data has been compromised.  

Regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, have been informed.  

FE Week reported in early December that online lessons had been cancelled for the rest of the year and enrolment had to be paused due to “IT disruption”. The college couldn’t confirm the cause of the disruption with FE Week at the time as investigations were still ongoing. 

However the 800 word explanation sent to students this week doesn’t offer answers for students concerned about their data, as this is still being investigated.  

“Last year we became aware of some suspicious activity on part of our network which impacted a range of our IT systems. As soon as this was identified, we started to investigate alongside external specialists. 

“We have since confirmed this was a ransomware incident where an unauthorised third-party gained access to our systems and copied some information from our network. We successfully contained the incident by shutting down the network and began the process of getting our system back up and running.” 

Ransomware attacks have been a common tactic by cyber criminals targeting colleges and other institutions. Typically, attackers gain access to an institution’s systems and delete or encrypt files and data. A ransom note is then issued demanding payment in return for release of the stolen data.  

Further education colleges are particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.  

Survey evidence from the National Cyber Security Centre, an arm of GCHQ, last year showed that 88 per cent of further education colleges had identified a breach or attack in the preceeding 12 months.  

This compares to 92 per cent of higher education institutions, but 70 per cent of secondary schools, 41 per cent of primary schools and 39 per cent of all UK businesses. 

It is believed that weak defences and the quantity of data stored makes colleges attractive to cyber-criminals. 

The attack on CityLit brought online classes and enrolment to halt, as well as bringing down the college’s website and phone systems. In-person classes however were able to continue.  

Students affected by class cancellations have been contacted about claiming refunds.  

CityLit believes they have identified the group responsible for the attack through a post online which “names us [the college] and purports to contain files copied from our system.” 

The college confirmed to students that “paying a ransom to these criminals would not align with our values as an ethical organisation and would simply further fund criminal activity.” 

“There is no reason to believe anyone’s information was specifically targeted by this incident” the statement adds.  

However the college cannot yet say whether any students’ data was compromised in the attack.  

“These investigations are time-consuming, and it is important that we do them properly so that we can accurately inform you if there is any impact on your data. 

“Once our investigation is complete, we will be in touch directly with anyone who needs to take any particular action with more details and some guidance about the steps they should take.” 

A City Lit spokesperson said: “Last year we identified some suspicious activity on part of our network which we have since confirmed was a ransomware incident. Our team are working hard to resolve any disruption while in parallel our investigation is ongoing into the affected information.  

“We have updated our staff and students as well as reporting the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office, law enforcement and other relevant regulators.” 

Ofsted admits complaints policy ‘isn’t working’

Ofsted’s senior leaders have admitted their complaints policy “is not working” and is under review.   

Officials have been told to make the process more human and less bureaucratic, FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week understands, following backlash from the sector.   

During an invite-only briefing to academy trust leaders this week, the watchdog also revealed that its inspectors have been sent on “seeing the big picture” training after complaints about inconsistent grades.   

Trust and training provider bosses have complained that some officials reached “over-zealous” judgements based on students’ remarks during inspections.   

The rare admission from Ofsted has been praised in private by some education leaders, who feel it shows the watchdog is listening and taking action.   

The percentage of complaints about inspections that were at least partially upheld fell to its lowest level in eight years last year.

Just 17 per cent of 718 complaints closed in the 2021/22 academic year had aspects upheld. This followed a record high of 26 per cent out of 320 complaints closed in the previous year, but this was heavily impacted by Covid.   

The comments were made during a meeting with members of the Confederation of School Trusts. Large trust leaders heard from Ofsted officials Chris Jones and Lee Owston on Tuesday before the pair spoke again to about 400 CST members at meeting on Wednesday.   

Trust leaders were told that the complaints process “is not working”, both for education providers and the inspectorate itself.   

Ofsted officials are now reviewing their policy to see how they can improve it. One of the changes includes a new “enhanced oversight” process, Schools Week understands, which should lead to “problematic” inspections being picked up in real time, before issues arise with contentious judgments.   

FE Week understands any changes to the complaints process would be implemented across all sectors, including schools and further education.   

Caroline Derbyshire, chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable, welcomed a  review but said this should be shared with “everyone else in the profession”.   

She said many heads believe that issues picked up during inspections can often be “dealt with”, but issues occurring post-inspection and requiring the complaints process to resolve “rarely result in a different outcome”.   

The meeting followed CST sharing concerns about inspections raised by its members to the inspectorate last year.   

One prevailing concern was about inspectors jumping to snap judgments based on what students say. Until recently, Ofsted inspectors have not had external results data to inform their judgment.   

Trust leaders said a resulting over-focus on comments made during the student voice part of inspections – particularly relating to behaviour and derogatory language issues – were being given too much weight in final judgments.   

The watchdog admitted to leaders there had been inconsistency in judgments across these areas.   

Colleges and training providers have echoed these concerns experienced in schools to FE Week in recent years.   

Academy trust leaders were told new inspector training started last week called “seeing the big picture”.   

This is to ensure inspectors know the framework should not be taken verbatim, leaders were told, and that inspectors must not leap to snap judgments that any such issues are endemic in the school or provider.   

A spokesperson for Ofsted said: “The landscape in which inspectors and leaders work is always evolving, which is why we run a continuous training programme for all our inspectors. We also make every effort to engage with people from the sectors we inspect and act on their feedback where we can.”   

They added any “formal proposals for changes to our processes, such as complaints, will always be subject to wider consultation”. 

‘Inadequate’ private provider escapes ESFA contract termination

An independent training provider will keep its government apprenticeship contract despite an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted because of “unique” circumstances, FE Week understands. 

Officials at the Education and Skills Funding Agency have taken the unheard-of decision to retain the funding agreement for Medipro’s emergency care training and there will be no suspension on new starts.   

After the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s apprenticeship contract was terminated in late 2021 amid safeguarding concerns, the ESFA and Health Education England asked Medipro to take on 537 apprentices, in addition to its own 700 apprentices.    

In recognition of the “calamity” facing the sector and learners who would have been unable to complete their programme, Medipro agreed and spent £500,000 to open a new training school to house the apprentices.  

However the provider received the education watchdog’s lowest possible grade in a report published on Wednesday.   

Despite the report being full of praise for the training delivery, inspectors judged Medipro to be ‘inadequate’ overall because leaders had allegedly failed to act “quickly or effectively enough” to ensure a smooth transition for apprentices who the company was forced to step in and save.   

The majority of the transferred apprentices, many of whom were already past their planned end date and carried over very little allocated funding, have now completed their programme. At the time of Ofsted’s visit to Medipro in November, however, 230 of the apprentices were still on programme.   

The inspectorate said “too many” of the transferred apprentices are “demotivated” and “frustrated” by the “lack of guidance and clarity they receive about their progress”.   

Ofsted also claimed that the apprentices had experienced “long delays in the return of marked work and, in too many cases, have been without a tutor for a long period of time”.   

Medipro leaders “have not put in place the infrastructure and resources needed to support the significant growth in provision following the transfer,” the report said.   

“Leaders have not ensured that transferred apprentices have had a good learning experience. Consequently, too many of these apprentices are not making rapid enough progress.”   

The ESFA’s rules state that it will terminate an apprenticeship provider’s funding agreement if the company receives an ‘inadequate’ from Ofsted. The agency can however decide to not terminate in exceptional circumstances.   

The case highlights the risks for providers that agree to step in to complete the training for large cohorts of apprentices who unexpectedly find themselves without provision.   

Medipro told FE Week the agency has contacted them to confirm it will not cancel the apprenticeship contract but will monitor their provision.   

Brian English, managing director of Medipro, said: “Medipro is grateful to ESFA for taking the context of the report and our unique circumstances into account by deciding not to cancel our contract. This allows us to continue to support students in a much-needed sector. We will continue to engage with them whilst we are making the required improvements.”   

Medipro was given ‘requires improvement’ ratings in four of the five fields judged.   

Apart from those who have been transferred from another provider, inspectors found that apprentices are “fully attentive, motivated to learn and eager to participate in sessions”.   

The report said leaders and managers provide training that “meets the skills needs of the emergency and urgent care sector”, adding that leaders are qualified paramedics and understand the industry “extremely well”.   

Leaders and managers have also “designed a curriculum that contributes to meeting a significant skills gap in the sector” and recruit “qualified staff who are highly experienced in their field”.   

English said he was “disappointed” with Ofsted’s rating which he feels is “not a true reflection on the overall standard of training we provide”.   

“The report focused on the learners who were passed planned end date and many of them were in the group that transferred to Medipro from another provider,” he told FE Week.   

“Given the numbers of apprentices involved, the accelerated timeframe required for the transfer and that the learners were on paper-based portfolios, this process for the transfer was not straightforward but we supported it to ensure there was minimal disruption to this group of learners and to support the clinical workforce at a challenged time.”   

Phil Carver, regional director East of England at Health Education England, said: “Health Education England has fully supported Medipro as appropriate in relation to our apprentices. We will continue to work with the ESFA and other stakeholder partners to ensure our learners training pathway is not disrupted to ensure we protect the future NHS workforce.”   

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said it was aware that some of its apprentices who transferred to Medipro have had “some difficulties which is reflected in the Ofsted report and we are sorry for their experiences”.   

“We are committed to working with Medipro to successfully support all apprentices through their qualification,” they added.   

The ESFA declined to comment. 

Vocational training sector mourns loss of ‘inspirational’ Steve Lawrence

Tributes have been paid to EEVT cofounder Steve Lawrence, who died at the weekend aged 71 following an illness.

Lawrence, who was managing director of EEVT, set up the business development firm in 1999 with his partner, Lisa Caley. His career in training and education spanned over 30 years and he would go on to play a leading role in the drive for diversity in apprenticeships.

Caley told FE Week that Lawrence died “after a battle bravely fought”.

“Passionate about education and training, Steve was a committed advocate for the sector and believed strongly that teaching and lifelong learning could change lives for the better. He always placed learners at the heart of everything he did, supporting many, often disadvantaged, into training and employment,” she said.

For over two decades, Lawrence and EEVT worked with businesses in vocational training and employment support sectors on bid writing, strategy development and business advice.

David Morley, director of Pitman Training Essex and Suffolk, said: “I have known Steve for over 20 years and he was always there whenever I wanted any advice or ideas to help our businesses.

“He was one of the nicest people I have met and always had time for you, no matter how busy or inconvenient it was for him. His death is a massive loss to us all and will be missed greatly.”

Meetu Madaan, managing director of Skills Provider Limited, said: “Can’t express how sad I am. He has always been by my side, ready to help, listen, support. He was true and honest inside out. I have known him for more than 10 years and he was one of the pillars of where I am now. You will always be remembered.”

Lawrence ran his own business but had also held roles at Reed In Partnership, Computer Gym UK and IC Training Centre, among others, and was the first head judge of the Multicultural Apprenticeships Awards.

Saf Ali, founder of the awards and CEO of Pathway Group, said: “The skills and employability sector has suffered a great loss with the passing of Steve Lawrence. Steve was genuinely valued for his honest talk, his knowledge, his honesty and openness to support and encourage others.”

Lawrence’s commitment to inclusion and diversity in apprenticeships was praised in a tribute from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers. Chief executive Jane Hickie said: “On behalf of AELP, I’d like to send our condolences to Steve’s family and friends. He was a strong advocate for a better skills system so this is a very sad day for our sector. In addition to his work with EEVT, Steve will be remembered fondly for his role as an ambassador at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards, helping to promote inclusion and diversity within apprenticeships.”

Caley added: “Steve was highly valued for knowledge, honesty and integrity, always happy to listen, help and support where he could. A mentor, inspiration, oracle, or legend, depending on who you ask. He truly was one of a kind and is a great loss to the industry.

“I would like to say thank you for everyone’s comments about Steve. He would be moved and humbled and it has been a great comfort to read them all. He will be missed more than words can say.”

Principal and social mobility tsar to move colleges

Principal and new interim chair of the social mobility commission Alun Francis is moving college.

Having led Oldham College for more than a decade Francis announced today that he is set to join Blackpool and the Fylde College as principal later this year.

He will replace Bev Robinson at Blackpool who will be retiring after a near-30-year career in further education.

Francis joined Oldham College in 2010 from Oldham Council where he served as director of transforming learning. He was made an OBE in the Queen’s New Year 2021 Honours for his services to education.

Francis said it was a “tough decision” to leave Oldham for Blackpool.

“I have huge affection for our staff and learners, and for the wider Oldham community, because we have been on amazing journey together,” he added.

Francis was named as the new deputy of the government’s Social Mobility Commission in October.

He stepped up to be chair of the commission last week, for an interim period at least, after Katharine Birbalsingh – Britain’s so-called “strictest headteacher” at Michaela Community School in London – quit.

Writing exclusively for FE Week, she said her controversial opinions “puts the commission in jeopardy” and was doing “more harm than good”.

Francis will now lead the commission until a permanent chair is appointed.

His departure date from Oldham College, which is judged as ‘good’ by Ofsted, is yet to be finalised and arrangements for the appointment of his successor will also be confirmed at a later date.

Bev Robinson

Robinson has led Blackpool and the Fylde College, also judged ‘good’ by Ofsted, since 2013 and will be retiring in the summer.

She has been a contributor to influential government reviews including serving as a member on the independent panels for both the Augar review on post-18 education and Sainsbury review on technical education.

Robinson, who was made a CBE for services to further education in the King’s new year honours list 2023, is also on the board of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education – a role she will continue in her retirement.

DfE and Ofsted staff to hold one-day strike

Staff at the Department for Education and Ofsted will go on strike for one day on February 1 as part of coordinated action across the civil service.

It is not yet known how many staff will walk out as part of the strike by the Public and Commercial Services Union in 124 government departments and agencies, which also includes the Office for Students and Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

It follows votes in favour of industrial action over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms last year.

At the DfE, 911 staff, or 88 per cent of the 1,031 employees who cast a vote in the ballot were in favour of industrial action. The 1,816 PCS members at the department equate to 24 per cent of its total workforce.

Of the 161 Ofsted employees who voted, 88 per cent were in favour. In total, 291 staff members – 16 per cent of the inspectorate’s workforce – were entitled to vote.

It comes as results of ballots of school staff by the National Education Union, NASUWT teaching union and NAHT school leaders’ union are awaited. 

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said he had “warned the government our dispute would escalate if they did not listen – and we’re as good as our word”. 

He said he was meeting ministers tomorrow, and if they put some more money on the table “there is a chance this dispute can be resolved”. 

If not, the government will see “public services from benefits to driving tests, from passports to driving licences, from ports to airports affected by industrial action on February 1”.

It comes after FE Week’s sister paper Schools Week revealed that more than 500 Department for Education staff have applied for pay-outs to quit under a “selective voluntary exit scheme” for staff “who don’t have the skills the department needs for the future”.

Degree awarding powers put colleges at the heart of future prosperity

With employer and government concern about skills shortages at higher technical levels, let’s shine a spotlight on the power of colleges to create the talented thinkers and workforce needed for the UK labour market: Degree awarding powers.

NCG occupies a unique position in college-based higher education (CBHE). We have held taught degree awarding powers (TDAP) for six years. Indeed, last year marked our tenth year as an awarding institution, with our power to award foundation degrees granted in 2012.

For the past six years we have had the autonomy and flexibility to validate provision from certificate in higher education to masters (level 7), passing foundation degrees (levels 4 and 5) and bachelor’s degrees (level 6) along the way. This means we can nurture the talent of our students from entry level, studying further education, all the way through to our post-graduate master’s provision.

In a blog at the start of the autumn term, Collab Group CEO, Ian Pretty talked about the UK’s collective bias toward universities.  Those working in CBHE have become quite used to the prompt “… and colleges” as we remind employer groups and government alike about our level 4, 5, 6 universities “… and colleges”. We are used to sharpening our elbows as we maintain space in higher education following the removal of student number control and the drift of universities into the college-based higher education space.

But hopefully, times are changing. The recent skills and post-16 education act and all the talk of levelling up have reduced the need for the “…and college” prompt and sharp elbows. The landscape has shifted to one of higher and further education collaboration and partnership.  

But collaboration must mean mutual respect for what that looks and feels like to both parties. It must be a two-way street and balanced, with both parties valued for what they are bringing to the table. Without that, it can quickly begin to take the form of a takeover, rather than collaboration.

Without mutual respect, it could quickly begin to take the form of a takeover

This new spirit of collaboration must not become a thin veil for a way of a recruiting more students into universities, with these seeing further education as feeder material at best and easy pickings at worst. It is about supporting the wider community and working with like-minded institutions. Trust, respect, clear communication will all help to create a new context for provision that ensures a steady state for students and offers them the right outcomes to succeed in their ambitions.

Which brings us back to degree awarding powers, which we must use as a sector to create a ‘by colleges, for colleges’ solution in response to the challenges the country faces of skills shortages, low productivity and a rapidly changing workplace. Designing and developing the provision we need to meet these obstacles to prosperity now requires colleges with degree awarding powers to work in partnership with further education colleges to deliver higher education.

An Office for Students’ pilot project with the Open University launched last year, trialling an offer of level-4 and -5 technical and vocational courses in partnership with FE colleges, was a good start. It recognised colleges as important to higher education delivery. But it’s still a bit “… and colleges”. Few know the needs of those furthest from higher education better than further education colleges, and this is among the most compelling reasons to team up with a college with degree awarding powers to bring innovative, technical provision to our students.

As a sector, we know that students who study college-based higher education are discerning. They make a conscious, credible, positive choice to study higher education at college. We must reject the biased deficit position that more must be done to encourage them to attend university. Students stay and succeed at college because it is great, not because they are not ready for university.

We have the power, and we have an important role to play in filling a gap that has too long held learners and the economy back. If we believe in the unique value we bring, others will believe in it too. And that can spell the end of “… and colleges”.

Citizenship: FE must play its part in bridging political inequalities

Citizenship education plays an important role in fostering the competences and qualities that young people need in order to participate effectively in a democratic society. Extant research shows that it can promote political knowledge, skills and engagement both through the formal curriculum and through open discussions of political and social issues in class. Moreover, citizenship education also helps to reduce inequalities in political outcomes, with studies from different contexts showing that it is associated with smaller social gaps in political knowledge, political interest and voting intentions. These studies found that children from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit more from citizenship education than children from middle-class families.

Given these advantages, one would expect citizenship education to feature prominently in current discussions around the reform of vocational education and training (VET). However, it is conspicuously absent in the government’s white paper on post-16 technical and vocational education and training, which exclusively focuses on advanced technical skills.

This is a missed opportunity, all the more so as our current system of technical and vocational education does not offer any general courses such as citizenship education. As a rule, only practical, job-related subjects and training are provided.

Compared to other European countries, further education is highly specialised in England, meaning that not only students on vocational pathways but also many of those sitting A levels do not study any courses that prepare for democratic citizenship, such as citizenship education, history or social studies. By contrast, in France students in upper secondary vocational education also take ‘enseignement moral et civique’, history and geography.

This lack of citizenship education in post-16 VET may well explain why there is a marked difference in political engagement between those taking the academic pathway and those studying for a vocational qualification, as demonstrated by various recent studies. Taking family background and pre-16 levels of political engagement into account, A level students have significantly higher levels of voting and participation in demonstrations than students in VET.

A recently published report based on research funded by the Nuffield Foundation found that the branching out of post-16 education into academic and vocational pathways indeed had this inequality-fuelling effect. More specifically, it found that students doing A levels were not only more politically interested at age 16 (i.e. before this branching out) but also that their political interest rose significantly faster than that of students going for a VET qualification after the age of 16.

The report could not assess whether this was due to a lack of citizenship education in VET. But as students in VET are more often from disadvantaged backgrounds and tend to be less politically engaged to begin with, it isn’t a huge leap to suggest that the absence of citizenship from VET curriculums may well be amplifying pre-existing inequalities in political engagement.

The same report also found a marked genderdifference in the development of political interest between ages 16 and 30: while men already had a higher level of political interest at age 16, their level increased more than that of women after age 16, resulting in a much greater gender gap at age 30.  Looking more specifically at what might explain this divergence, it found that women with vocational qualifications were the only group that experienced a decline in political interest between ages 16 and 30. This suggests that tailor-made forms of citizenship education could be particularly effective in promoting political engagement in vocational pathways among girls, such as those focusing on care, hospitality or beauty.

There are strong indications that the pronounced specialisation in the English further education system, as exemplified by the absence of citizenship education, exacerbates inequalities in political engagement. We would need an international longitudinal survey of young people devoted to civic attitudes and citizenship education to draw a more definite conclusions, but there is no reason not to act now.

Whether or not the absence is driving class and gender inequalities, some provision will doubtless have a positive impact on closing the gap. Providers and reformers alike should care deeply about doing so.  

The Staffroom: How to develop a student-centred approach

Human connection in the classroom is the golden thread to human flourishing, and this works both ways for teachers and students. I am an advocate for the idea that in order to develop knowledge, skills and behaviours need to be developed and practiced first. This approach to classroom practice is built on values, empathy, trust, ambition, integrity, kindness and belief.

The way I teach is informed by my own lived educational experiences, from a time when I never fitted in and felt I did not belong in a classroom, unnoticed, voiceless and lacking confidence. Now as a teacher, I am inspired by the work of Eduardo Briceño on the performance zone (where all our focus is on immediate results) and the learning zone (where our focus is on improving future performance). His key insight that performance can get in the way of improvement has shaped my classroom and pedagogy for many years.

But for me, the missing part of Briceño’s learning model is the values required to develop a culture where students feel they belong, not just filled with techniques such as retrieval practice, cold calling, and do-now activities. These are great techniques, but they can’t be allowed to overtake connection, community and curiosity.

So my lessons were about connectedness. Students sitting at desks and ‘just getting on with the tasks’ seemed to be to create barriers, damage autonomy and foster dependence. Instead, I set out to create a classroom culture that was student-centred – where the learning zone and values were entwined. This seemed to me like the best way to stay in tune with the world my students were inhabiting, to meet them where they were.

I had a basic classroom. My walls were not full of content or award charts. I had four banks of desks made up of three tables and chairs for six students at each bank. On the walls next to the desks, each group had their own large whiteboard. These were framed each day with a template, and students added to them as part of a retrieval task which would then lead into the lesson. It wasn’t just about what they knew or could remember, but more about identifying any gaps and adapt my lesson accordingly.

Far from isolating us, technology formed our community

An additional benefit was that it encouraged students to get out of their seats, to talk to each other, walk around and help others with their boards. As the teacher, I had time to join the groups, to help and support, and to ask questions that would prevent me from making limiting assumptions about their knowledge. There was a buzz, but more than that; Students said they felt confident when standing up and moving. There was connection and community

I would then capture all the whiteboard content at the end of the lesson with a photo I then added to their Google Classroom. The technology aspect of our classroom culture transformed how students learned as well as how I taught. Indeed, learning to use these new tools was another way that I could reach out and meet my learners where they were – comfortable in the digital world.

Technology connected me to my students beyond our face-to-face lessons – an experience every teacher will have felt deeply during lockdowns. Far from isolating us, it formed our community. It allowed me to include those who had missed lessons and to share lesson content, assignments and lesson recordings, and to review to review and feedback on their work at any time, in and out of lessons. Chat functions enabled me to connect with them and encouraged them to connect with each other. I wasn’t their only champion; They grew to champion each other. Human connection was happening at every stage, building relationships, empathy, trust, ambition, integrity, kindness and belief.

There are many techniques to foster learning and progress. But the enemy of human connection in education is not technology. It is our fixation on performance. By putting our values first, we can create a learning zone all our students want to inhabit and are welcomed into.

This article is one of a number of contributions to The Staffroom from the authors of Great FE Teaching: Sharing Good Practice, edited by Samantha Jones and available from SAGE.