Twelve months after our first look at diversity and visibility within our newspaper pages, FE Week editor Shane Chowen looks at how we’re doing.
When we published our first diversity audit last year, we said that as the sector’s only dedicated newspaper, we take seriously our responsibility to reflect and represent the diversity of the FE and skills community. That commitment is as true now as it was then and we know we have more to do.
Representation in FE Week in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21
Figures for our 2021/22 publication cycle show that we have made good progress in the visibility of people from ethnic minority backgrounds. We had a more diverse mix of opinion writers last year with 18 per cent coming from an ethnic minority, up four percentage points from the year before.
On our front pages, 31 per cent of the people pictured throughout the year were from ethnic minorities, almost double the proportion from the previous year.
Before the pandemic struck, diversity and inclusion was the sector’s top priority. It’s vital that leaders revisit the commitments they made and bring it back to the top of the agenda.
Because even though we’ve made some progress in our pages, it remains the case that people from ethnic minorities are still woefully underrepresented at the top of the sector. We know that 26 per cent of students and 16 per cent of the FE workforce are from ethnic minorities, yet the latest estimates from the Association of Colleges is that only nine per cent of college principals and chief executives are.
When we introduced The Staffroom last year – a weekly column reserved for writers from the frontline of the sector – we were able to extend our reach beyond the top tier of provider leaders and therefore reach a more diverse pool of writers, perspectives and, hopefully, readers.
Through our special inclusion supplement – FE: For Everyone, published at the AoC Conference in November – we were able to provide a platform for the disruptors and up and-coming leaders from a range of backgrounds in our sector who are not just hungry for change, they are delivering it.
Our other focus has been on making sure that the contribution of women in FE is fairly reflected. Women make up 55 per cent of the student population, 61 per cent of the college workforce and, according to the AoC, now 49 per cent of college principals and chief executives.
However, those numbers have not been so high in the upper echelons of government departments, sector bodies and thinktanks we draw from.
While our audit shows that we have increased the proportion of ethnic minorities in our profile interviews and opinion column writers over 2021/22, those figures dropped from 59 to 57 per cent and 47 to 44 per cent respectively when counting women over the year in FE Week.
Ethnic minority representation in FE Week compared to population data
I recognise that we have more to do on who we commission and write about in our newspaper. We will listen to women and others, such as people with disabilities, who we know are underrepresented in our pages.
But over the last year we’ve made sure we hold the sector, as well as ourselves, to account on the equality agenda.
In addition to our supplement last November, our reporters have covered the achingly slow progress towards closing the gender pay gap in colleges, as well as the responses of ethnic minority leaders to the government’s “bizarre” strategy to increase diversity in apprenticeships. We challenged the DfE’s latest round of appointments for national leaders of further education (NLFEs) for continuing to not promote any non-white principals.
It remains farcical that non-binary students are still forced to choose “male” or “female” in order to get funding for their course – unlike most other places now in the public sector – and that the quality of data on the FE workforce and leaders in parts of the sector is so scarce.
We should not just focus on ethnicity and binary gender. We do not currently track who among our roster of writers identify as LGBTQ+, nor their socio-economic backgrounds. I’d like to hear from our readers on how to make this happen.
So, with your support, FE Week will continue to do its bit in bringing the voices of those you need to hear from, empowering the leaders of tomorrow to disrupt the system, and to hold to account those with the power to change things.
More devolution deals are set to be signed off by the end of the year as the government ploughs ahead with plans to give every area of the country control of its adult education budget (AEB). FE Week takes stock of what progress has been made to date and what to expect in the coming weeks and months.
In February, the government published the Levelling Up white paper, which outlined a number of fresh devolution proposals.
It included “trailblazer” deals for further devolution at two existing mayoral combined authorities, a new deal for York and North Yorkshire, an expanded deal in the north east, and nine “county deal” devolution arrangements.
Most, if not all, are likely to include devolution of the AEB, involvement in local skills improvement plans, and for the two trailblazer areas greater powers over skills provision.
Trailblazers chosen for greater skills devolution
Ten areas of England, including Greater London, have mayoral combined authorities (MCAs), which have control over their AEB.
Of the current MCA areas with devolved AEB, Greater Manchester and West Midlands have been selected by the government to be the trailblazers for further devolution.
Negotiations for those are ongoing and have not been made public, but a few details have been hinted at around which powers authorities would like to take on.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, told a Royal Society for Arts (RSA) event on local and regional economies over the summer that skills and technical education is “the biggest missing piece and the single most important ask we will make as part of this trailblazer process”.
The authority said it wants a “clearer” role in the wider skills system, with “full devolution of some components and co-commissioning of others”.
It also wants a new role in influencing technical and professional education for 16- to 19-year-olds so that it meets local labour market needs.
Greater Manchester is making three asks as part of the negotiations: local control of post-19 skills and work-based learning, a partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in order to have more influence in how job centres operate, and a tie-up with the Department for Education on 16 to 19 education to co-commission courses such as T Levels.
Further details on those asks have not been disclosed.
“At the moment we are dealing too much in work-arounds and retrofits such as our matchmaking service for the apprenticeship levy,” Burnham told the RSA event. “With more control over post-16 technical education, we could build a more responsive local skills system which would be a significant boost to investment and growth.”
West Midlands has provided fewer details, but the authority said it wants more integration between skills training and employment.
“This would include greater influence over post-16 technical and vocational education and over careers, as well as joint working with DWP in shaping employment support,” a spokesperson said.
A timeline for trailblazer announcements has not been laid out but further details are expected in the coming months.
County deals get off the mark
Elsewhere, the government has confirmed the north east would be invited to expand its existing deal, while York and North Yorkshire’s deal for a mayoral combined authority would be finalised. In addition, nine areas of England were invited to begin negotiations for “county deals”.
Those county deals are based on three levels of devolution. Level one has the lowest level of powers, with local authorities working together in a committee. Level two has a county council without a directly elected mayor but more powers than level one, while level three includes a directly elected mayor with the most powers available.
Government guidance indicates that level two and three deals include a devolved AEB, as well as input into local skills improvement plans (LSIPs).
Negotiations are taking place behind closed doors so the details for each potential deal have not been made public, but political leaders appear to be largely pursuing level two or three options.
It will form the first mayoral combined county authority (MCCA), with the aim of holding a mayoral election in May 2024.
The East Midlands deal involves an estimated £1.14 billion over the next three decades and a fully devolved AEB in time for 2025/26.
The ongoing north east negotiations are expected to centre around expanding the North of Tyne Combined Authority area to include areas south of the river; South Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland, as well as Durham which is among the county deal areas.
The county deal areas currently being negotiated are Cornwall; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Durham; Hull and East Yorkshire; Leicestershire; Norfolk; and Suffolk.
The government said it wanted to have the county deals wrapped up this autumn, but it looks like that will now be achieved by the end of the year. It is expected that negotiations will then begin for other areas of the country.
What devolution means for adult education
The upshot is that the AEB will increasingly be farmed out to local devolved areas, with the goal of eventually having a “devolved system across all of England”.
In addition, the government expects all areas with devolved AEBs to be involved in the employer-led LSIPs – key documents which outline priorities and changes in that area to make post-16 education more responsive to the needs of the local labour market over the following three years.
It pledged that “by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified, long-term funding settlement”.
The annual AEB pot stands at about £1.5billion, with the government first starting to devolve the AEB in August 2019.
Roughly 60 per cent of the AEB – about £786 million – is devolved to the existing MCAs, but the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) estimates that will reach about 80 per cent, or up to £1.2 billion, with the new and likely devolution deals outlined in the Levelling Up white paper.
Jane Hickie, the chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said the organisation supports devolution of the AEB as long as the commissioning by each area is fair, open and transparent, but stressed that programmes such as apprenticeships and traineeships should continue to be commissioned nationally by central government.
“As devolution is rolled out across the country, this presents both opportunities and risks to providers,” Hickie said.
“On one hand there are now many more commissioning opportunities to engage with. However, a diverse approach to commissioning results in significantly more work and bureaucracy for providers. There needs to be a balanced approach which takes these issues into account and focuses on getting funding to the front-line adult learners.”
Holex, the professional body for adult and community learning, said most providers were happy that combined authorities were doing the right thing for learners but cautioned that they must not forget about lower-level qualifications.
Sue Pember, the director of policy and external relations at Holex added: “We would like to see that the ‘deal’ makes it clear that from day one CAs are there to serve all the residents of the area, and not just those ready for level 3 and above. There needs to be a social inclusion dimension to the work and wider benefits of learning need to be recognised.”
Mayoral combined authorities have criticised the government’s drive to simplify adult education funding, claiming that the plans do not go far enough.
The Department for Education is consulting on measures to reform adult education funding through its Skills for Jobs paper. It proposes to simplify the process by bringing the adult education budget (AEB) and free courses for jobs funding into a single “skills fund” from 2023/24.
The combined authorities, which have the responsibility to administer the AEB in their area as part of their devolved powers, said the new skills fund should also incorporate the funding streams for skills bootcamps – flexible courses of up to 16 weeks to address specific skills shortages – as well as 16 to 24 traineeships.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said: “Creating a single skills fund including all elements of post-19 funding and extending local flexibilities would be welcomed in our area. This would greatly help to support the delivery of our employment and skills strategy to upskill and/or reskill our citizens.”
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The single skills fund must go further, bringing together all post-16 skills and employment budgets, including careers advice, apprenticeships, traineeships and further education capital funding, as well as the programmes that have been developed since the publication of the Department for Education’s Skills for Jobs white paper.
“This must be done with flexibility to respond to the needs of our local communities and economies.”
West Midlands, North of Tyne, Tees Valley, South Yorkshire and West of England combined authorities agreed that having more funding pots in a single fund would provide greater flexibility for local needs.
The consultation had originally been due to close on September 21, but the DfE on Friday confirmed that had been extended to October 12 to “give some stakeholders more time to engage with proposals”.
The department said its proposals for putting the AEB and free courses for jobs into a new skills fund would help its levelling up mission by having 200,000 more people a year completing skills training, including 80,000 more in the lowest skills areas by 2030.
In its consultation document it said it “should help providers plan provision; as well as making it easier for the public to understand what funded courses are available to them”.
Last month, FE Week disclosed that West Midlands and West Yorkshire combined authorities had already begun simplifying the administration of the existing AEB and free courses for jobs funds – for which the authorities receive separate allocations from central government – to effectively have them appear as a single pot for the purposes of commissioning for providers.
The free courses for jobs pot can only be used to fund eligible learners under criteria for that scheme – those aged 18 and above without a level 3 qualification who are able to access a fully-funded level 3 qualification, or a second qualification if they are unemployed or earn below the real living wage.
The government recognised in its first-stage consultation that some respondents wanted to see skills bootcamps and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as part of the simplified AEB pot, but the Department for Education said that skills bootcamps were a national priority and would “remain funded through the DfE either by direct grant to local areas, or through national procurement”.
For traineeships, the DfE said it wants to progress 16- to 24-year-olds into apprenticeships, employment or further learning and confirmed it plans to “undertake further work to ensure that this is done in the most effective way possible”. It said it will return with an update.
This year, £60 million of the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund was set aside for skills bootcamps, while £126 million was invested in traineeship starts in 2021/22.
Consultation responses will be collated after October 12 and assessed by Whitehall chiefs before the next steps are announced.
Director of Strategy and Development, GBS Apprenticeships
Start date: September 2022
Previous job: Head of Business Engagement, Skillsfirst Awards
Interesting fact: Faye caught the travel bug after taking a trip to the Canary Islands at just 18 for a six month work placement, and was still there six years later. Now she believes you should travel as much as you can, as far as you can, and as often as you can!
Ben Robinson
Deputy Principal and Deputy CEO, Middlesbrough College
Start date: August 2022
Previous job: Principal, Bede Sixth Form College
Interesting fact: Ben spent much of his youth in Middlesbrough, and even worked for the college 17 years ago as head of A-level PE. Returning to raise the aspirations of young people in the area is, he says, a proud moment in his career.
Funding and contracting rules are too bloated and bureaucratic for a start, writes Jane Hickie
The new Truss government has promised a “fiscal event” before the end of September. This will essentially be a mini budget, setting out the new administration’s economic priorities.
Truss has been clear in her view that she can boost economic growth by cutting taxes and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.
We can expect much more detail on this over the coming weeks, including the new energy announcement for households and businesses.
However, the government must realise that sustained economic growth will simply not be feasible without a sustainable skills sector. With any fiscal event, we will always call for increased funding. We know this is essential if we are to build a world-class skills system.
But there are actually a number of things the government could do without committing any significant new funding at all.
These interventions could make a big difference at a time when purse strings are understandably tight.
Cut red tape
Aside from rising costs and staffing, by far the biggest issue for providers is navigating the bureaucracy involved with delivering skills programmes.
This bureaucracy is also a huge barrier for employers – particularly small and medium-sized businesses – even though demand for in-work training is high.
The government could make a real impact on getting more employers engaged in skills without committing significant new money, just by making the existing system much more accessible.
The Department for Education clearly recognises the scale of the problem and has committed to undertaking a simplification project, which is welcome.
Moving to an employer-led system for apprenticeships was absolutely the right call.
However, the apprenticeship service remains a significant barrier. Providers have had to employ extra staff just to administer the system and support employers.
The fact that so few non-levy employers are set up on the system frankly speaks for itself.
The new system for advertising apprenticeship vacancies is causing delays, when employers need apprentices now.
Implementing an auto-enrolment system for employers who could then activate their account would be a significant improvement, along with stripping out duplication and layers of administration.
This would save time and money and should be at the heart of the DfE’s plans.
The apprenticeship funding rules need addressing too. Now at more than 140 pages, they have become bloated and overly bureaucratic.
We need the right measures in place to ensure accountability, but providers should be able to get on with delivering high quality training for learners and employers, without getting wrapped up in red tape.
Reducing bureaucracy around the funding rules and contracting would save providers time and money at a time when many are struggling to stay afloat.
Recycle underspend effectively
We know various skills programme budgets are currently underspent – including apprenticeships, traineeships and the adult education budget.
The reasons are complex, from the ongoing impact of the pandemic on learner numbers to trends in the wider labour market.
Treasury should not use this as an excuse to claw back funding. A strong economy relies on a well-trained workforce.
Without committing any new money, the government could use programme underspend to implement a range of learner and employer incentives to boost participation in skills.
This could include reintroducing the new hire £3,000 employer incentive, which we know had a really positive impact on boosting apprenticeship starts, particularly at level 2 and 3 and for those under 24 years old.
We also know that employer demand for traineeships remains high, yet providers struggle to get learners on to a programme.
Implementing a training allowance would incentivise participation in traineeships – a programme that has proven positive outcomes, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A final call – I hope the new government recognises the significant role our sector plays in delivering economic growth.
You can’t upskill the nation on the cheap – there is clear evidence of return on investment in high quality skills training.
But at a time of economic uncertainty, and with a political agenda of reducing public spending, it makes sense to consider how we can be most efficient with what we already have.
Bernie Savage, the new vice president for FE at the NUS, was blown away by her time in a strong and well-funded students’ union. She relays her message for unconvinced college principals to Jess Staufenberg
The vice president for FE at the National Union of Students has a proud history of postholders very happy to rock the boat: Shakira Martin, Emily Chapman – and even FE Week’s own editor, Shane Chowen.
But never before has it been held by an adult learner who spent time in women’s refuges and foster care, and cut their teeth at a well-funded students’ union in Scotland.
That is until Bernadette Savage, or Bernie. She appears to know exactly what an effective SU looks like, and I’m betting will accept no excuses for anything less in England.
The former BTEC student rose from being class representative at City of Glasgow College, to president of its students’ union, before taking over the FE role at the NUS from Salsabil Elmegri last month.
She is a blaze of energy and vitality, and when I begin with her childhood, replies with a wide grin that doesn’t prepare me for the tale: “Oooh, the life story is a riot!”
It started that way – Savage’s mum gave birth to her on a street waiting for an ambulance to arrive – and was left deeply unimpressed when it eventually turned up, apparently “dirty” she cackles.
Savage was one of six children and, in a bid to make herself heard, was a tearaway in her Newcastle primary school. Her punishment was to “go and read to the headmistress”, at which her mum told staff: “Well that’s stupid, she really likes reading!’”
So the school decided instead to reward her with reading if she behaved. “That worked better,” Savage chuckles.
Her wicked grin and cheery demeanour breeze through what sounds like some very tough situations for a child.
There was domestic violence at home, and her dad even took her away for several days when she was six, only returning her to her worried mum because she was hungry.
Her stepdad, an ex-Marine, turned out to be similarly bad news. So she and her mum “stuck a pin in a map, and mine landed in Devon”. It was a women’s refuge, miles from the north-east.
“That was a riot too because no one understood my accent down there,” Savage continues. She has lived twice in women’s shelters, once aged five and once again aged 11, and estimates she has moved home about 25 times.
She jokes, but with a serious edge, that three of her streets have featured in Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire (in which a wealthy person lives in an impoverished community).
At a housing rally
During this upheaval, Savage’s mum died of breast cancer. Savage reflects on how she responded to such a great loss aged only 14.
She became a “bit shut off”, she says – and even today finds it hard to be around someone’s naked emotions. “I’m a bit ‘there, there’ because I find it hard to know what to say. I want to know what I can do to help!”
Her other reaction was to suddenly begin behaving at school, because it was a safe space. “I went from being someone who was biting everyone to constantly being there. No one picked up on the change.”
At this point Savage, her sister and younger brother moved in with her mum’s sister, but it didn’t work out. She eventually got taken into foster care, living with an “amazing” Trinidadian woman called Sarah, whom she remains close to today.
It was just in the nick of time – Savage got six GCSEs, and headed to Newcastle College to study a BTEC in beauty therapy services.
As a result the new vice president has the benefit of experiencing students’ unions in both English and Scottish FE institutions. The one in England didn’t leave an impression on her, she warns.
“I just don’t recall it having a students’ union. At City [of Glasgow College], it’s all over the social media, people talk about it.”
Savage on her birthday
So the SU passed her by, and Savage realised she wasn’t destined for a career in beauty therapy. Instead she and Sarah drove to Northumbria University and managed to find her a place studying health and social care.
But with little pastoral support and a dislike for asking for help, Savage struggled in the degree and managed a 2:2. Soon she was back home, working in hospitality and surviving off the tips.
Two moves then followed which show there is a bravery and strength to Savage that I imagine is why her fellow students have trusted her to represent them.
First, she clocked she was in a minimum-wage “vicious cycle” and in danger of doing nothing with her life. She took the extraordinary step of moving to Australia to join her sister living there, quickly building up skills selling a newspaper on commission out there.
But on returning home after a year, most of her friends were “still on the dole or in hospitality” on low wages.
“I don’t know if I realised it would be Groundhog Day [a day that repeats itself for the rest of your life], but I booked a flight to Thailand,” she tells me. “I’m normally someone who hates change – I’ve no idea what went through my brain that day.”
Savage had landed a placement on a TEFL course, teaching English as a foreign language to kindergarten children in a rural Thai town.
In Ha Long Bay in Thailand
Working with small children was a revelation for her, and after her NUS stint she wishes to become a primary school teacher.
“You can be having the worst day, and they come in really excited about this ridiculous thing, or they’re upset because someone called them a pineapple,” she grins at me.
“FE students are great – but they’re still not quite as amusing as a five-year-old.”
After four years, Thailand’s laws banned her from teaching further without a degree, so Savage returned to the UK and headed to City of Glasgow College to take a higher national diploma in business.
First she was elected class representative and, with the arrival of the pandemic, found herself busily communicating between students and college leadership. Soon she was the paid, part-time vice president for teaching and learning – and is filled with praise for the support she received.
“I really liked it! We have student engagement officers that mentored us, we got to sit on college boards and worked with senior management.”
By contrast, FE Week reported in June that many colleges in England have slashed their student support teams due to a combination of budget cuts. Meanwhile, NUS itself also has fewer resources since a big financial restructure in 2018.
I can say to colleges in England: look what you can do with some funding
“The student association wasn’t tokenistic at City like I’ve seen at other student associations,” nods Savage, the affection for her Scottish college evident in her voice. “I can take that to colleges in England and say: ‘Look what you can do with some funding’.”
It’s a powerful message. As Graeme Kirkpatrick, a former NUS vice president for Scotland, has previously warned FE Week, it is FE students who particularly suffer from cuts to SU funding as those from less privileged backgrounds may be intimidated by the formalities of the role.
Doing TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teaching
Savage knows this first-hand from her time in Glasgow. “The college were really good at breaking down the jargon so I understood it. The student engagement officers understood how my brain worked better than I do.”
Elected as NUS vice president in March this year, Savage has a direct message for colleges without proper SU teams here.
“The only reason not to have this is if you’re not interested. You’re just not listening to your biggest asset here. FE students and apprentices are so often overlooked and it needs to end.”
The only reason not to have an SU is if you’re not interested
She leans forward, talking directly to those at the top.
“I imagine for a lot of principals, it’s years since they were a student. Their student experience isn’t what’s happening now, and by the time it’s gone from the student rep through other people, it’s not the truth anymore. They need to break down those barriers and go and talk to the students and students’ union.”
Aside from better support for SUs, Savage has two other issues in her sights for her two-year term: apprentice pay and adult learners in FE.
After our chat she has a meeting with Ben Kinross, the deeply committed founder of the National Society of Apprentices, which launched within NUS to support apprentice representation in 2010.
“The apprentice pay rate is slave labour,” Savage says bluntly. “I would challenge the new PM to live on it. It’s disgusting.”
Receiving a college award
She also wants the voice of adult learners to be properly heard. The funding cliff-edge at age 19 or 25 for many courses and subsidised transport prevents people like her from re-training, she warns.
“People assume FE is 16-19, but it’s not. Are they carers, parents, part-time or evening? These students don’t get surveyed a lot and I feel like no one asked them what they want.”
But Savage is also aware of the contextual challenges ahead – including that many of today’s students may be more enthusiastic about global online hashtag campaigns than college policies and students’ union membership.
“I think that’s definitely a thing, because people are constantly online,” she agrees. “But that’s where the unions need to change their comms strategy. Go to where the students are, not where you think they are. Get online.”
This needs people on the ground making a racket
On the other issue facing SUs – the lack of funding in FE – Savage is utterly straight in her response. “Stop taking the cuts quietly. This is a thing that can’t be an email. This needs people on the ground making a racket.”
College leaders should be involving their students directly, Savage adds. “Colleges need to get students backing them up, and acting as case studies.”
There’s no doubt about it: Savage is a powerhouse. And with that big grin, too, she could be the very visible postholder the role so badly needs.
“Don’t make students’ unions tokenistic,” she concludes to colleges. “Students are paying for your jobs.”
Karl Scott, a teacher, was horrified when he accidentally winked at the Queen during her visit to North Hertfordshire College in 2003. After his colleagues’ carefully rehearsed lines became mixed up, he was left without any to say. He managed a nervous “good afternoon your Majesty” and gave her a wink but was kindly consoled when she gave him her hand to put him at ease.
He is among thousands of staff and students remembering the Queen’s warmth on the special occasions when she visited their college during her seventy-year reign.
The Queen’s death last Thursday has been followed by 10 days of national mourning. Colleges and training organisations have conducted two-minute silences in her memory as well as encouraging students to write tributes in condolence books and holding remembrance services.
Many have taken the time to remember her visits to colleges and the close relationship she held with specific institutions.
When royal visits take place it involves the whole college, bringing together expertise and specialisms from across the organisations to make the day a special and memorable occasion.
Teachers remember the careful planning and endless running around to prepare in the months before. Their efforts were always worth it to see the students’ awe-struck faces as they showed the Queen their work and place of study.
Queen Elizabeth receiving flowers at the opening North Hertfordshire College’s Stevenage site in 2003
At North Hertfordshire College, catering students designed the menu and prepared a three-course meal for the royal visit, while public services students worked closely with the police and the college security team to assist with parking and visitors.
Sally Mitchell, a former member of staff at North Hertfordshire College said: “We were all very excited about the Queen and Prince Philip’s visit, it was a huge privilege for our catering students to be able to cook and serve a meal for them. The food was delicious, too.
“I was warned to eat as quickly as possible because as soon as the Queen finished her meal, the rest of us would need to be finished too – her equerry told me he rarely got to enjoy dessert. One minor faux pas was when a student served the chair of governors first before the Queen, which was hopefully overlooked.”
College experiences with the Queen often involved leading roles for students studying catering, hospitality, performing arts and public services subjects.
During the diamond jubilee in 2012, 300 hospitality and catering students from City College Norwich, College of West Anglia and Great Yarmouth College catered for and served approximately 4,000 guests at a garden party at Sandringham, one of the royal residences.
“I was introduced to the Queen, and she said how good the events were and how well students from the three colleges worked together,” said Emma Seaman, a hospitality student.
Specialist colleges with royal patronages
Throughout her life the Queen held hundreds of patronages with charities and organisations linked to causes that mattered to her, including specialist education.
The Queen visiting the Royal National College for the Blind in 1987
One of these was the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC), which has had a long-standing relationship with the royal family. Their first patron was Queen Victoria, followed by every king and queen up to the present day.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the college in December 1987. Phil Mayne, the site operations supervisor, who still works at the college, remembers her visit fondly.
“It was a freezing cold day in December when the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited. At the time I worked for RNC as an electrician, and it was business as usual as myself and the estates team finalised preparations for our royal visitors. The royal couple spent a lot longer than planned at the college as they were so interested in everything that was on display that day. It was a joyous occasion, and I remember everyone being really thrilled by their visit.”
The then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, took over patronage of RNC in 1997.
Ten years before the Queen’s visit, in 1979, Prince Charles arrived by helicopter to visit the college, almost a hundred years to the day after his great-great-grandfather, according to the college archives.
The archives noted that he said: “I have been enormously impressed going round and seeing the students at work and what they must do. What I always love myself is enthusiasm. I think this shows the great quality of the college; the enthusiasm and motivation on the part of all those who live and work and learn here.”
The Queen was also patron to Portland College and her first visit preceded her accession to the throne.
The Princess Elizabeth laying the foundation stone at Portland College in 1949
In 1949, the then Princess Elizabeth ceremonially laid the foundation stone of the college near Mansfield.
Portland College is a national specialist college and registered care home for people with disabilities and a centre of excellence for autism. In 1974, the Queen became patron of the college and in 1990, she visited again.
Speaking at an awards ceremony, Queen Elizabeth said: “Ever since I laid the foundation stone of this college in 1949, I have taken a special interest in your record of achievement in your field of training for disabled people. Six thousand men and women trained here over the last 40 years can testify to the way in which the college and its staff have looked after them, trained them and launched them on their chosen careers.”
‘What really stood out for me was how knowledgeable she was about vocational education’
A common theme from teachers and students is their appreciation of the Queen’s warmth, engagement and interest in the colleges she visited.
Remembering a visit to East Surrey College in 2011 to open a campus, Jayne Dickinson, the chief executive of Orbital South Colleges Group, said: “What really stood out for me was how engaged the Queen was with our students and how knowledgeable she was about vocational education.”
The Queen spent several hours touring the campus and speaking to students and teachers about their course and ambitions. Some of the students created a mock crime scene that included an outline of a body on the floor and a range of clues. A photograph ended up on the centre page of that weekend’s TheSunday Times, with the caption: ‘It was the corgis what done it, your Majesty’.
Dickinson added: “We were also delighted, and frankly terrified, when we heard that the visit was to include a lunch to take place in our auditorium. Seated next to the Queen for the duration, I recall a surreal conversation with her about Sussex pond pudding, its merits and recipe. This was followed by a brisk walk around more of the college – even in her eighties, the Queen was a very fast walker and keeping up with her was challenging.”
The Queen meeting students at East Surrey College in 2011
Her Majesty’s life-long passion for animals, especially dogs and horses, is well-documented, so a visit to open the animal management centre at Bishop Burton College in 2002 must have been a treat for both parties.
Ann Paling, who was head of the equine and animal management department, said: “The Queen was hugely knowledgeable and incredibly easy to talk to, but very small. I am tall, but she was tiny. We had a great chat about lion dogs and the various college horses. We laughed, as the previous week she had watched a display from 1,000 horses, whereas we only had ten.”
HM The Queen opening Bishop Burton College’s animal management centre in 2002
Students on parade
Education settings will close on Monday as part of the bank holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral, but normal attendance has been expected throughout the rest of the mourning period. Kit Malthouse, the education secretary, said the Queen’s devotion to public service “has been an inspiration” with her wisdom and strength providing “solace to her people in times of darkness, most recently during the pandemic”.
He added: “By her grace and dignity, Her Majesty touched the lives of millions, and she will live on in our hearts.”
Public services students at Northampton College and City of Wolverhampton College have played lead roles in remembrance services at their colleges this week.
More than 500 students at Northampton gathered for a parade through college grounds on Wednesday. In Wolverhampton, a two-minute silence was held yesterday by 70 public services students and attended by other students and staff.
Malcolm Cowgill, the principal of City of Wolverhampton College, said: “As future members of the country’s uniformed public services, the students recognise what an important role they will have to play in ceremonial events. They wanted to give their fellow students and college staff the opportunity to come together and pay tribute to Her Majesty to honour her memory.”
An apprenticeship provider has had a government-enforced suspension on new starts lifted by the High Court while the firm battles Ofsted to overturn an ‘inadequate’ judgment.
Quest Vocational Training Ltd (QVT), which is based in Dorset, was granted the order by judge Heather Williams this month after the Department for Education imposed a ban on recruiting apprentices from June 1, 2022, following a critical report from the inspectorate.
The department, acting through the Education and Skills Funding Agency, also threatened to terminate the firm’s apprenticeship funding contract – an action that could force the company to go bust – but has agreed to hold off on this decision until QVT’s case against Ofsted has been settled.
The provider challenged the education watchdog by claiming its inspection was “procedurally flawed” after a visit in November 2021, but Ofsted rejected the complaint and published the grade four report in March. QVT alleged that the report contained factual inaccuracies along with a “disproportionate emphasis on matters which were beyond our control through the pandemic” – such as a lack of off-the-job training in the care sector.
The training firm has begun a judicial review against the report. No date has been set for the court case.
This is understood to be the first time an apprenticeship provider has successfully overturned a suspension on new starts through legal action.
Provider sues DfE
QVT was formed in 2012 to provide apprenticeships for the health and social care sector. It initially operated as a subcontractor but became a main provider in 2017 with its own direct funding contract. The provider employs more than 50 staff and was training almost 700 apprentices at the time of Ofsted’s inspection last year.
Court documents obtained by FE Week show that QVT was seeking an interim injunction against the government’s decision to suspend it from taking on new apprentices – a sanction that has affected the provider’s “income and viability”.
QVT claimed that the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s decision to continue the suspension while it was in the process of a judicial review was unreasonable and disproportionate, claiming that the agency had also been given “sufficient evidence, independent expert evidence, and evidence from Ofsted” that demonstrated it had taken the necessary steps to address the regulator’s concerns.
The “evidence from Ofsted” referred to a follow-up monitoring visit on June 29 that found QVT to be making “reasonable progress” in all areas.
Private training providers do not typically receive follow-up visits from Ofsted after grade four reports as their funding contracts are usually swiftly terminated by the ESFA.
However, Ofsted revisited QVT after the ESFA said it would not make a decision about removing the firm from the register of apprenticeship training providers and terminating its funding until the judicial review had concluded.
On June 30, a day after Ofsted’s monitoring visit, the ESFA wrote to QVT stating it would in the meantime continue the suspension on starts.
The ESFA, in documents detailing its defence, denied that this decision was unreasonable or disproportionate and said the agency was “willing to reconsider the suspension if requested” by QVT.
The agency did not agree that the follow-up Ofsted monitoring visit showed “that the concerns had in fact been fully remedied”.
Williams signed off on a settlement agreement on September 1 which ordered QVT to withdraw its application for an interim injunction – meaning the case would not be heard in court – in exchange for the ESFA revoking the suspension on new starts.
QVT was told to provide a robust quality improvement plan that includes measurable milestones for improvement; progress reporting at monthly meetings with an ESFA team and “specific focus on the service being received by the care sector apprentice cohort that was in learning” at the time of the inspection in November 2021.
The suspension on starts and termination of contract will be subject to review after the judicial review proceedings.
QVT was attempting to argue that it could only have its funding contract terminated if it received two monitoring visit reports from Ofsted that found it to be making “insufficient progress” in at least one area.The ESFA outlined that it also has the power to remove providers from the register after an “inadequate” rating in a full inspection.
Ofsted’s allegedly ‘inaccurate and unfair’ report
Ofsted’s key complaint against QVT was that “far too many” apprentices, particularly the majority who work in adult care settings, were “not making good progress at learning enough new knowledge or participating wholeheartedly in their programmes of learning”.
Leaders were also criticised for not ensuring that all apprentices received their entitlement to off-the-job training and inspectors found that in some cases apprentices were having to complete studies in their own time, in addition to working long hours.
QVT argued that these matters were out of its control during the pandemic and it was therefore an “inaccurate and unfair reflection of the services that we provide”.
Ofsted told FE Week that it would not comment on the case but “stands by our published reports”.
QVT and the ESFA declined to comment due to the legal proceedings.
FE leaders have demanded clarity over the government’s promised six-month energy guarantee as one college announced plans to move to a four-day week to save on rising costs.
Liz Truss, the new prime minister, last week announced a six-month scheme for businesses, charities and public sector organisations – including FE colleges – that will offer “equivalent support as is being provided for consumers” to “protect them from soaring energy costs”.
The Department for Education said providers in all DfE sectors will be eligible, but no further details have been forthcoming.
Support is set to be handed out in October alongside measures for households but the Financial Times has reported concerns that businesses may have to wait until after the support for homes is given, which could push relief back to November.
Coupled with the energy guarantee only lasting for six months, college chiefs have called on the government to offer assurances to the industry.
David Hughes, the chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the temporary support to help with energy bills “is a sticking plaster only”.
Darren Hankey, the principal of Hartlepool College, said the intervention was welcome, but added: “Colleges have curriculum areas which are energy intensive such as engineering, construction, catering and hairdressing, and the news that this government intervention needs new legislation – and is unlikely to be clarified until November at the earliest – breeds uncertainty.”
It is understood a financial statement will be issued by the government next week, with an energy bill to follow.
Until then, Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said sector leaders were “in limbo” without enough information to plan finances.
Jane Hickie, the chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “Many training providers are struggling with the impact of rising costs and must be allowed to operate on a level playing field.” She added that the government “won’t be able to boost economic growth without putting the skills sector on a sustainable footing”.
The government announcement came at the end of a summer of worry for many as the country waited for the leadership election to be resolved and pave the way for the new prime minister to decide what action to take on the cost-of-living crisis.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy said the six-month guarantee will “protect [businesses] from soaring energy costs and provide them with the certainty they need to plan their business”.
It said the government will provide “ongoing, focused support for vulnerable industries,” with a review in three months to consider where that targeted support will land.
It is not yet clear whether FE is considered a vulnerable industry.
The ongoing crisis has left colleges having to adopt extreme measures to ease the cost pressures.
Yesterday, South Essex College confirmed it would apply a four-day week across its campuses in Basildon, Southend and Thurrock to save cash.
The college, which was one of 189 to sign a letter from the Association of Colleges to Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, last week calling for more support, has a current energy bill of about £1.2 million, with a quoted price increase of 300 per cent.
It said that even with the energy guarantee its bills are likely to double, with the increase above what it forecast in its budget-setting process earlier this year.
Failure to receive adequate support could result in significant in-year cost-saving measures, the college said.
A spokesperson said the four-day week will have “multiple benefits”, which included giving teachers dedicated time for marking students’ work and the opportunity for independent study time for learners.
“It’s important to remember college differs from school in that independent study time has always been incorporated into all timetables with supervised learning scheduled for three or four days a week,” the spokesperson said.
“It is true that cost pressures on utilities and other elements of running the college have meant we have looked at ways to make savings that do not impact on students or staff.”
It said that no study time would be lost, with no sessions timetabled for Fridays.
Colchester Institute said last week that it was trying to avoid moving to a four-day week but had not ruled it out. Other colleges said they were taking measures such as installing heat pumps and reducing the number of buildings in use for evening and weekend classes to curb energy use.
