Half of apprenticeships in scope for ‘exceptional’ funding review opt-out

Only half of the 20 apprenticeships in the government’s “exceptional” funding uplift review will go through the accelerated process.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), revealed today that employer-led trailblazer groups for 10 of those in scope have opted out.

The decision has left some training providers, who were not consulted, “hugely disappointed” as they struggle to offer the programmes because of high costs.

Those that have declined the offer include trailblazer groups for apprenticeships in painting and decorating, carpentry and joinery and engineering technician (see table for full list).

Coupland also couldn’t commit to meeting the May 1 deadline for introducing the new funding bands for those standards that are going through the process. She expressed her own “disappointment” that more apprenticeships wouldn’t benefit from the policy.

In November the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced plans to quickly increase funding bands in the hardest hit sectors to recognise the impact of soaring inflation on training delivery, with an ambition to unveil details of the process at the end of that month.

The IfATE announced in January that this “exceptional funding band review” would only apply to 20 “high-volume apprenticeships in skills shortage occupations and priority sectors”.

The chosen standards represent about 20 per cent of all apprenticeships starts. Evidence for an uplift was needed by early March and the new funding bands had planned to be implemented by May 1.

IfATE said the exceptional review will not include the full apprenticeship content or end-point assessment review that the ordinary revisions process includes, to help speed up the process.

But Coupland told today’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference that she could not “sit here and say that it will be May 1 when they will go through”.

She said the institute received “different responses” from the 20 trailblazer groups that were identified for the review, where “one didn’t want to go for it and another clutch said they would prefer to go through the usual funding band process, because they actually wanted us to review their end-point assessment, the content of the apprenticeship as well as the funding”.

Coupland added: “We were disappointed that we couldn’t extend the exceptional funding band process.

“We’ve had to prioritise because that’s the thing you do when you’ve got an affordability question.”

Brenda McLeish, chief executive of The Learning Curve Group, was angered by the announcement.

“If we can only get half of the 20 reviewed there is clearly an issue with the process and infrastructure around how the reviews happen,” she said.

“In the meantime, providers are opting out of delivering a lot of these standards which are high priority from an employer skills perspective because they just cannot afford to deliver them. IfATE needs to stand up and take responsibility for that.”

Sector leaders previously complained that the exceptional funding band review would only apply to new starters and would not address the challenges of training current apprentices.

Challenged on this by FE Week after her speech, Coupland said: “It has always been the case that if a funding band changes, it applies to new starters only. That is the situation that we have got for any of these exceptional funding band cases. We need to have it in line with policy and also because of affordability considerations.”

McLeish said that the institute should backdate the new funding rates for the 10 going through the exceptional process to the beginning of the academic year. “It would be a small little victory in the midst of all this mess,” she added.

AAC Apprenticeship Awards winners 2023 revealed

Twenty winners have been awarded gongs in the 2023 Annual Apprenticeship Conference Awards in Birmingham this evening.

The special black tie event at the end of the ninth annual AAC saw individuals, training providers, employers, universities and colleges recognised for their efforts in the apprenticeship world.

The sixth awards ceremony, delivered in partnership with City and Guilds, attracted a record 375 nominations across the 19 categories, with 20 winners being announced and five organisations recognised as highly commended.

Among the winners of the prestigious trophies were Paragon Skills, which was named apprenticeship provider of the year, and the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, which fought off stiff competition to reap the apprentice employer of the year award.

Elsewhere, providers in sectors such as digital, construction, agriculture and hospitality were handed gongs for their exceptional efforts in developing apprentices.

The evening culminated with the special recognition award for sector stalwart John Hyde, founder and executive director of HIT Training who has recently retired from 20 years of involvement with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers having joined its board when it was first established as the Association of Learning Providers in 2002.

Shane Mann, managing director of FE Week’s publisher Lsect and AAC awards co-host, said: “As chair of the judging panel, I can confirm we were once again overwhelmed by the number and quality of the nominations we received.

“Great apprenticeships don’t happen by accident. Our winners demonstrate that excellence happens when dedicated professionals in employers and training providers work in tandem with the apprentice experience at the heart of everything they do.

“Tonight we’re proud to show off the very best the apprenticeships sector has to offer. Congratulations to all the winners and thank our team of amazing judges, sponsors and partners. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The winners in full are listed below.

Ofsted chief on provider complaints: ‘We can’t soft-pedal on inspections’

Ofsted’s chief inspector has insisted the watchdog cannot “soft-pedal” on inspections, amid growing criticism that the impact of Covid-19 is not being considered by inspectors.

Amanda Spielman also told FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference that overuse of online learning and self-study can be a “toxic combination”, an issue that has grown since the pandemic.

FE Week has reported in recent months on a growing number of provider complaints that Ofsted is ignoring the impact of Covid-19 and associated lockdowns when it comes to training, particularly in the health, care and hospitality sectors. Some have tried and failed to challenge ‘inadequate’ grades and subsequent contract termination legally.

Spielman said that alleging that inspectors forget the context of the pandemic, disrupted employment market and economic uncertainty is “an easy one for people to reach for” when poor quality judgements are dealt.

Amanda Spielman and Shane Mann at AAC.
HMCI taking questions from conference chair Shane Mann at AAC.

She told AAC delegates today: “We do have concerns about some parts of the sector. We know the current environment is tough but it is our role to report on the quality of provision as we find it.

“We will always acknowledge the context, but we can’t soft-pedal on inspection. That wouldn’t be fair to you or to the apprentices you train.”

She added that by reporting “accurately”, Ofsted can “then make a case for systemic change when it is needed”.

During an interview with FE Week after her speech, Spielman said that Ofsted does “always take into account and tries to understand and give some weight, to context”, but added: “At the end of the day, we have to say what is there for the young people, is it good enough, and report honestly if it isn’t.

“We do understand why, given the consequences that are hung on inspection, [context] is something that people reach for, but we put a huge amount of effort into trying to get the balance right.”

‘It’s hard to start feeling like an adult from skanky bedrooms’

Spielman also expressed concerns about the educational experiences for apprentices post-Covid.

She said online learning and self-study can be part of an apprenticeship, but warned this can be a “toxic combination when overused or used too soon”.

“I know many of you balance these factors well but failing to do so can damage apprentices’ motivation and enthusiasm,” she told conference. “If an apprentice spends most of their first three months studying at home on their own, we can hardly be surprised if they drop out.

“It can be appropriate when it improves the apprentices’ experiences or prepares them for work in their chosen sector. But it shouldn’t be for your convenience or to save money.”

Spielman told FE Week the issue had become more prevalent since the pandemic when the switch to online learning was made, adding that the watchdog has found providers to be “reluctant” to move away from this method due to convenience.

“I’ve spoken about the socialisation of apprenticeships. Part of what you’re getting is that experience with your peers. It operates and acts more profoundly when you go through it with your peers, really shifting from childhood to adulthood in a work sense.

“I’ve talked about skanky teenagers and skanky back bedrooms before. It’s very hard to start feeling like an adult from a back bedroom.”

UCAS points for apprenticeships planned by the end of 2023

The chief of the UK’s university admissions body says it is “doable” for apprenticeships to secure UCAS points by the end of 2023.

UCAS chief executive Clare Marchant told today’s ninth annual apprenticeship conference in Birmingham that a team is currently working on enabling apprenticeships to qualify for UCAS points, with hopes of an announcement at the end of the calendar year.

It follows the organisation’s announcement last month that it will expand its apprenticeship offering on the website from the summer, to enable prospective learners to see different routes into careers side-by-side, with students able to apply for apprenticeships on the site from autumn 2024.

Speaking to AAC delegates on Monday morning, Marchant said it was “doable” to get tariff points against apprenticeships by the end of the year.

She added: “We’ve got a team working at the moment to do exactly that. We want to do it right, so we’re expecting by the end of this year some progress to be announced.

“In fact we just met with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education just last week to talk about how to do this together.”

Marchant said it requires close working with government, regulators and IfATE, and explained that skills minister Robert Halfon had already written to UCAS expressing his support for the work.

UCAS points are ascribed to post-16 level 3 qualifications to help determine entry criteria for university courses.

Level 3 courses such as A-levels, T Levels, BTECs and Cambridge Technicals all carry UCAS points, but to date apprenticeships have not.

The plans represent another step on UCAS’ bid to give parity between apprenticeships and other post-16 study routes, however it is not yet clear how many points apprenticeships may be eligible for, or whether they will secure as many as other level 3 routes.

The Department for Education said that offering the ability to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS from 2024 is part of a wider ambition to develop a “one-stop-shop” for education and training options that it hopes will eventually include apprenticeships, T Levels, skills bootcamps, higher technical qualifications and degree apprenticeships.

Chancellor to announce ‘returnerships’ and bootcamps expansion in ‘back to work’ budget

The government is going to introduce “returnerships” and expand skills bootcamps to help the over-50s to retrain and get back into work, the chancellor has said.

Jeremy Hunt is set to announce the measures as part of his plan to boost the economy in what he is calling a “back to work” budget on Wednesday.

He spoke in January of a desire to introduce a “slightly shorter type” of apprenticeship to encourage older people re-enter the workforce.

The Treasury said there are currently more than a million vacancies in the economy, and one fifth of the working population is economically inactive – out of work and not looking for work.

Last night, Hunt announced plans for “returnerships”, which will offer skills training that “focuses on flexibility” and “takes previous experience into account, shortening the length of time they have to be in training”.

Little else is known at this stage about how this new training programme will operate, including which government department will hold responsibility for delivery, its timeline for rollout, or how much funding is being committed.

‘Independence is always better than dependence’

Hunt also said that skills bootcamps will be expanded by 8,000 places per year in 2024-25, up from 56,000 currently, “reskilling people in important sectors such as construction and technology”.

The 12-to-16-week courses are available for those aged 19 and above, and guarantee an interview with an employer at the end of the course.

Data published in December revealed that the government had exceeded its target for skills bootcamps between April 2021 and March 2022, securing 16,120 starts against a planned 16,000 for the short courses.

Data on number of completers for that period was not released, however.

Over half a billion pounds has already been committed for skills bootcamps from 2022 to 2025.

Hunt said: “Those who can work, should work because independence is always better than dependence.

“For many people, there are barriers preventing them from moving into work – lack of skills, a disability or health condition, or having been out of the jobs market for an extended period of time. I want this back-to-work budget to break down these barriers and help people find jobs that are right for them.

“We need to plug the skills gaps and give people the qualifications, support and incentives they need to get into work. Through this plan, we can address labour shortages, bring down inflation, and put Britain back on a path to growth.”

Labour proposes ‘report card’ to replace Ofsted grades

A Labour government will consult on scrapping Ofsted’s current grading system and replacing it with a new “report card” for schools and further education if it wins the next election.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson will announce the move at the annual conference of school and college leaders’ union ASCL today, pledging to bring about a “wind of change to our education system”.

Labour would look to replace the current system, which grades providers between ‘outstanding’ and ‘inadequate’, with a report card which would offer information on performance.

But the move would be subject to consultation in both the schools and FE sectors.

Phillipson will say parents, schools and colleges “deserve better than a system that is high stakes for staff, but low information for parents”.

She will add that report cards will give a better understanding of where a provider can be better, and in which areas it is improving.

Move comes amid ongoing scrutiny of system

Labour’s plans come as a growing body of evidence, particularly looking at the schools system, challenges the usefulness of current Ofsted grades. 

Recent research from FFT Education Datalab suggested Ofsted grades were “not particularly useful” for parents choosing secondary schools because of the infrequency of inspections.

Meanwhile, polling from Public First in December found just 48 per cent of parents know their child’s school’s overall effectiveness grade.

And think-tank EDSK proposed in November that inspection of apprenticeships should be taken out of Ofsted’s hands altogether and training inspections should instead by a new specialist apprenticeship inspectorate. 

Labour also pointed to research by the University of Southampton and UCL which showed female Ofsted inspectors are more likely to hand out harsher grades for primary schools than their male counterparts.

While researchers have not examined the influence of Ofsted grades in post-16 settings, the Labour Party have confirmed to FE Week that their plans will apply and the sector will be consulted on its implementation. 

Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman attempted to address concerns over how inspectors arrive at judgments during the Birmingham conference on Friday.

Labour has already pledged to reform inspectorate

Labour has long pledged to re-assess how schools and colleges are graded by the watchdog as part of proposed reforms.

Ofsted is expected to turn its focus to school and college improvement under a Labour government, with the length and frequency of inspections also up for review.

“The next Labour government will bring a wind of change to our education system…and drive forward reform of education and of childcare as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity,” Phillipson will say.

“Because I am determined that under Labour the focus will again return, to how we deliver a better future for every child, through high and rising standards in every school.” 

Annual safeguarding review planned

The party also plans to introduce a new annual review of safeguarding, with Phillipson saying the safety of children is too important to be left to infrequent inspections.

It comes after the Everyone’s Invited movement in 2021 exposed the breadth of sexual harassment in schools, colleges and universities.

A subsequent Ofsted review found over 90 per cent of girls had been subject to sexist language, sexual harassment and online sexual abuse from other students.

But speaking in an earlier discussion, Spielman said she would be “very nervous about creating a whole separate system” of safeguarding inspections.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 418

Micaela Barlow

Quality Director, HIT Training

Start date: Match 2023

Previous job: Head of Quality, HIT Training

Interesting fact: Micaela is a grade 8 saxophone player starting off in her school band and getting the opportunity at the age of 16 to play in a band at the Epcot Centre, Florida.

Joe Crossley

Interim Membership Services Director, AELP

Start date: March 2023

Previous job: Chief Executive Officer, Qube Learning

Interesting fact: Joe is a motor racing enthusiast and was recently overtaken by AELP’s Simon Ashworth at a track day.

Emma Beal

Principal and Chief Executive, Northern College

Start date: March 2023

Previous job: Assistant Principal – Curriculum, Quality and Market Development, Northern College

Interesting fact: Emma starred alongside Stephen Fry and Lulu in a straight-to-DVD movie filmed in Sheffield in 1999 and featured as the backend of a dancing dragon at Glastonbury Festival in the same year.

Dismay as AEB funding boost excludes key skills shortages – and women 

Sector leaders have criticised the government for excluding key skills shortage areas in their list of adult education (AEB) subjects in line for an in-year 20 per cent funding top-up.

Experts have also complained that the chosen subject areas are male dominated, while courses more likely to be taken up by women, such as in hospitality and health and social care, have been excluded.

It was announced last week that adult education providers will receive a 20 per cent top-up this year and next on their earnings for adult education budget (AEB) courses in six subjects: engineering, manufacturing technologies, transport operations and maintenance, building and construction, ICT for practitioners, and mathematics and statistics.

Skills minister Robert Halfon said he was aware that the FE sector was facing “financial pressures in key subjects like engineering, mathematics and construction, which is why we’re giving an additional significant boost in funding for these essential courses”.

But other skills shortages areas, like health and social care, hospitality and agriculture were excluded from the 20 per cent funding top-up.

The government is aware of a need for more training in the health and social care workforce. Two of the 20 standards selected for a funding increase by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education that came in May were for adult care. 

In January, health and social care was identified as a “priority” subject area in line for an AEB funding rate increase. But that uplift doesn’t come until 2024, which has left leaders frustrated that the sector has been excluded from funding boosts this year and next. 

Jane Hickie, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said: “Given unprecedented rates of inflation, any uplift in funding rates should be welcomed. However, it’s disappointing that some areas haven’t received additional funding.

“It is frustrating in particular that care has missed out – especially as this was a sector which was identified as having extra costs when apprenticeship uplifts were announced.”

Susan Pember, policy director of adult education body HOLEX, said that skills needs in health and social care will be local priorities through the local skills improvement plans (LSIPs), and providing extra funding now would rebalance beneficiaries between males and females.

“Although the extra funding rates are welcome it does seem that the majority of the extra will go to courses where the majority of learners (outside of IT and science) are men. 

“HOLEX would have wished health and care was prioritised as it is a government priority sector and will feature in most of the LSIP’s. 

“The health and care area is one of the key progression pathways for women and selecting it for extra funding would have helped the area increase capacity for when the LSIP’s are in place.” 

FE Week analysis of education and training enrolments indicates that twice as many male learners will benefit from the 20 per cent top-up than female learners.

The figures show 15 per cent of all education and training enrolments were in the sector subject areas holding the six chosen top-up subjects. Ten per cent were men and 5 per cent were women.

The difference was most pronounced at level 1, with figures showing that males were four times more likely than females to be in subjects that will benefit from the 20 per cent top-up.

Similar criticisms were levelled at the DfE in 2021 when it launched its skills bootcamps programme in male-dominated sectors, leading to a series of recommendations from its equalities impact assessment to bring in more female learners.

The department did not confirm that an equalities impact assessment had been carried out but told FE Week that it did consider its public sector equalities duty when deciding which courses to prioritise for extra funding. 

The six chosen tier 2 sector subject areas were chosen to mirror the 16 to 19 high value course premium, which the DfE felt was the best way to target the limited funding available.

A spokesperson said: “These subjects are where providers are likely to need the greatest support in recruitment and retention and where the new funding rates in 2024 to 2025 will give the biggest increase.”

However, this doesn’t explain the absence of extra funding this year for health and social care which in 2024 receives one of the largest increases in its funding weighting.

Sector leaders believe the reason is more likely affordability.

Where is the money coming from?

FE Week reported in last week’s edition that funding increases for this year and next will come from underspends within the existing budget.

Stephen Evans, chief executive at Learning and Work Institute, said that missing shortage sectors proved the need for a bigger overall budget for adult education.

“Adult skills funding is set to be £1 billion lower in 2025 than it was in 2010, so any increase in funding rates means fewer learners without a budget increase. That said, we can’t pretend inflation doesn’t exist, so the government is right to raise funding rates.

“It’s unfortunate they’ve only chosen the courses they have, when health, social care, retail, hospitality and other sectors are just as in need of more learning. Time for the government to increase overall funding.”

Employer and apprentice feedback ratings for providers revealed

Almost every apprenticeship provider has an average employer feedback rating of ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, FE Week can reveal.

A total of 97 per cent of the 1,609 providers in England have the top employer grades, while 96 per cent of those with an early rating from apprentice feedback have the same.

The government launched a Trip Advisor-style review tool in 2018 to let employers rate specific aspects of the service they receive from apprenticeship providers, such as communication, initial assessments, apprentice progress and facilities.

Providers are rated by each employer on a four-point scale, ranging from ‘excellent’ (four stars) to ‘very poor’ (one star).

An overall star rating is generated on the government’s apprenticeship training website.

The former skills minister Anne Milton believed that allowing employers to leave reviews of training providers would be a better indicator of quality than “tick box” inspections, which she said “often miss the point”.

Following a Freedom of Information request from the Apprenticeships Data Insights service, operated by the FE Week publisher LSECT Ltd, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has shared the full list of ratings for the first time (see end of article).

It shows that there are 1,609 providers with a rating, of which 44 have a ‘poor’ rating.

Providers receive a ‘good’ or above rating for employer feedback if they achieve an average of 2.3 stars.

The ESFA explained that agency officials average the overall score up or down at .3 rather than .5 as would be the case in a simple average. This was in response to provider concerns when the service was launched that a simple average could disadvantage them when feedback volumes were lower and a single or small number of negative reviews could have a disproportionate impact.

Some of the providers with poor ratings are no longer in business, including MiddletonMurray and 3aaa.

The feedback ratings can also be used as a quality indicator under the ESFA’s apprenticeship accountability framework.

According to the framework, those with scores of less than 2.5 stars are placed in a ‘needs improvement’ category and could become subject to enhanced monitoring, which involves management conversations with government officials, the development of improvement plans, and potential referrals to Ofsted.

Critically, the average feedback rating shown on the government’s apprenticeship training platform is cumulative. The ESFA uses the academic year average rating to determine whether a provider triggers the employer feedback threshold.

Employers give their answers through a section within the digital apprenticeship system called “feedback on training providers”. They are also sent an email invitation to complete the feedback survey every 90 days.

Jane Hickie, the head of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “Although we aren’t surprised by these results – previous employer feedback surveys have shown similar outcomes – we are really pleased that the ratings paint such a positive picture of training providers.

“This once again shows the benefit of a demand-led system where providers work closely with employers to design and deliver skills provision.”

A similar tool was launched for apprentices last autumn after years of delays. Apprentices are asked for feedback on their training provider’s communication, organisation and support, as well as for an overall rating.

The ratings will also be used as an intervention trigger in the future, but the ESFA will not set a threshold for intervention until the data has “sufficiently matured”.

FE Week has seen data that shows 387 providers have received an overall apprentice rating to date, and of those, 17, or 4 per cent, have a ‘poor’ rating.

The training provider with the highest star rating in 2021/22 was Lifetime Training. The company has received feedback from 1,464 employers and generated a ‘good’ rating of 3.2 stars. It also has 540 reviews from apprentices that generated the same score.

Kaplan Financial Limited has received the most employer feedback with 2,517 submissions, which resulted in a ‘good’ rating of 2.8 stars.

Click here to download the full spreadsheet of feedback ratings for each provider.