The need for a careers-led education system is staring us in the face

Last month’s Times Education Commission presented a model for education very similar to UTCs, writes Simon Connell


As we come to the end of another academic year, the UTC programme was very proud that UTC South Durham contributed to the Times Education Commission’s final report, published last month.


The 14-19 school was part of a rich cast list of witnesses for the commission: everyone from John Major to the producer of the Bond films, Barbara Broccoli.


That a UTC could feed into the commission’s work is especially gratifying as now seems the prime time to reform our education system, post-Covid and with new ministers in post.


As we celebrate ten years of the UTC programme this year, we can see how the commissioners’ proposals reflect what has worked best for UTC pupils.


This is especially so given the report’s calls to reform exams at 16 and 18, introduce new career academies, and get away from our zero-sum approach to academic and technical options.


British Baccalaureate


UTC pupils have reaped the benefits of combining academic subjects with technical courses, with 70 per cent of UTC leavers choosing STEM courses at university compared to 42 per cent nationally.


The umbrella approach proposed by the commission, where students could study a ‘British Baccalaureate’ is supported by parents as well. The report cites how parent focus groups enthused about a single qualification bringing together academic and technical learning.


As for the assessment reforms the report puts forward, the decline of GCSEs is clear to see. Even our founder and chairman Lord Baker, who introduced GCSEs while he was education secretary, has called for them to be discarded.


The government now ought to move towards replacing GCSEs in earnest, with a smaller series of exams in line with the commission’s proposals.


More interestingly and more subtly than their recommendation for GCSEs and A levels, the commission has also pushed for BTECs to run alongside T Levels, instead of the latter replacing the former.


We support T Levels but they cannot be expected to replace all technical qualifications. Without many of the existing qualifications, UTC leavers would never have been able to go onto universities or apprenticeships in the numbers they have.


The needs and wants of young people must determine what qualifications are available if they are to become active participants in education instead of passive recipients.


Academic v technical divide


The commissioners’ and witnesses have a clear antipathy for how we make young people choose to be scholars or technicians.


For too long the education system has pushed young people into choosing between the academic and technical routes, ignoring the fact we ought to be preparing them for careers where resilience and communication will be more important than fronted adverbials.


One of the commissioners, education select committee chair and parliamentary UTC group member Robert Halfon, has rightly said the “fundamental purpose” of education must be to prepare pupils for work.


UTC pupils spend significant amounts of time learning about their career options and spending time with employers. They also benefit from learning on the equipment they are likely to use in a future career, whether that be lathes, 3D printers, or science labs.


It’s not enough to teach young people about careers, they need to be prepared to start them as well. If the government wants elite sixth forms then young people ought to have the choice to enrol in technically focused career academies as well.


Schools and colleges ought to have much more support to share resources and knowledge with universities, as well as capital funding to keep up with industry settings.


Employer engagement


A career-focused approach to education need not be cynical or soulless, though. The commission’s report notes how UTC South Durham employs a full-time business

engagement manager to coordinate work experience and apprenticeship opportunities.
Similarly hard-working staff at UTCs around the country help inject fun and learning into a wealth of encounters between students and employers.


Pupils at Doncaster UTC recently spent six weeks reinventing the wing of a Vulcan bomber with a local charity.

As well as the valuable engineering experience, having to present their work at the end of the project helped teach valuable communication and organisational soft skills, which the commission notes employers are in dire need of.


Projects like this show the best employer-led engagement gives students tangible tasks and results which reinforce what their teachers are already drilling into them.

Adult funding rates set to rise in London

Funding for courses at level 2 and below will be increased for London residents from next year, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced.

The adult education funding uplift, set to cost £10 million, was announced by Sadiq Khan alongside measures to widen eligibility by removing the three-year residency requirement to access funded courses. 

A wave of adult education and skills announcements this morning coincides with a visit to Ingeus in Hackney, where Khan will join an employability session for Afghan refugees taking part in the Work and Health Programme.

The mayor’s boost to AEB funding rates at level 2 and below equates to a 3.5 per cent increase. The Greater London Authority has said the extra funding will help address increasing costs faced by the FE workforce, as well as meeting the needs of lower skilled Londoners. 

“Many Londoners are struggling as the cost of living continues to rise,” Khan said. 

“This new funding and these changes to the adult education programme will help to ensure that we are building a better London for everyone – a safer, fairer and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”

The mayor’s existing AEB rules will also change to remove the requirement for learners to proove they are in receipt of state benefits. This, alongside removing the three-year residency requirement, will allow an extra 400,000 learners to access courses. 

News of increased funding rates for London’s FE and skills providers has been welcomed by the Association of Colleges. 

“The £10 million increase in funding for courses at level 2 and below will ease some of the financial pressures providers are facing due to rising inflation and help them to continue to support Londoners,” said Mary Vine-Morris, the AoC’s area director for London. 

This comes as 33 colleges are in disputes with the University and College Union over pay and workload, including five colleges in the capital. Strike ballots close today. 

There’s been further industrial unrest at London’s New City College and Richmond upon Thames College over alleged “fire and rehire” practices to push through changes to contracts. 

Londoners will also have access to funded non-prescribed vocational and technical qualifications at level 4, as well as funding to cover the costs of certain license to practice accreditations in the hospitality and construction industries. 

The mayor has announced that learners seeking the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (Labourer) and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) license, which accredits security guards, will have their training costs covered.

Unemployed learners and those in low-paid employment will also have access to fully funded British Sign Language courses. 

“These latest reforms will help more people, including some of the most disadvantaged in society, access fully funded skills provision and get the training they need to get on in life, thrive in the world of work and boost their skills,” Vine-Morris said. 

Just over £2 million will be made available for a new programme called ‘No Wrong Door’ which will fund ‘integration hubs’ across the capital to target employment and skills support at those most in need, such as refugees, women, disabled people and over 50s. 

“It was brilliant to meet some of the Afghan refugees at Ingeus today and I’m glad we can offer such a wide range of fully funded courses and training to people in various stages of their adult education journey” Khan said.

Roundtable Discussion | Learner needs should be equal to employer needs to truly level up

Yesterday afternoon leaders from the FE sector and business, came together to discuss the importance of learner and local community needs.

The latest FE Week roundtable, in partnership with NCFE, featured contributors such as the CBI and WorldSkills UK.

During the hour-long discussion, contributors outlined their perspectives on getting the balance right between learner and local community needs, and employer needs, in terms of both delivering the levelling-up agenda and creating a world-class skills system.

Topics debated included:

  • What levelling up means in practice and how world-class technical and vocational education can drive this
  • The crucial role that employers play in the development of qualifications and training programmes (apprenticeships, T Levels) and how this could be improved / where the gaps lie
  • What learner efficacy means and how we can make ‘learner need’ more central to the education ecosystem
  • The balance of transferable essential skills (such as mental fitness and resilience) in addition to sector-specific skills that meet current and future economic needs
  • What role the community plays in the system and how we can do more to maximise learners’ societal impact through the beneficiaries of their skills

The session was chaired by FE Week editor, Shane Chowen and contributors included:

  • David Gallagher, CEO, NCFE
  • Neil Bentley, CEO, WorldSkills UK
  • Robert West, Head of Education & Skills, CBI
  • Dimond Ofori, Academic Mentor for KS5 at George Green’s School
  • Jennifer Coupland, CEO, Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education
  • Simon Ashworth, Policy Director, AELP
  • Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation
  • Stephan Evans, CEO, Learning and Work Institute

Watch the Roundtable discussion

Ofsted job cut inspection warning, plus 7 more annual account findings

Ofsted has published its corporate annual report and accounts, providing an update on its work after two years of disruption from Covid.

The document focuses on the inspectorate’s performance, and is not the same as the official annual report to Parliament each year, which focuses on inspection activity.

Among findings were the inspectorate’s concerns over inspector turnover and the impact cuts to the size of the civil service will have on its efforts to ramp up inspection efforts.

Here’s what we learned.

1. Covid-19 results in budget underspend

Accounts data indicated that Ofsted underspent on its core funding by just over £10 million.

It said that was “mainly because we did not return to a full programme of routine school and further education and skills inspections until September 2021,” as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Providers feel the inspection will help improve provision

Further education providers were a little more upbeat than schools about Ofsted inspections helping to improve provision.

Survey data for inspections between April 2021 and the end of March 2022 reported that 77 per cent of further education and skills providers strongly agreed their inspection would help improve provision, compared to 59 per cent in state funded schools.

Just 2 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed in skills and FE settings, compared to 8% for state-funded schools.

3. Two exit packages of £100k+ approved

Accounts reveal Ofsted paid out £473,000 in “exit costs” in 2021-22, covering things like redundancy and “other departure costs” like early retirement for non-health grounds.

This was for 11 exits, and represents an increase from the £179,000 spent on five exits in 2020-21.

Accounts do not show who received these payouts, but they do reveal that two payouts were in the £100,000 to £150,000 bracket.

4. Budget 25% lower than 2010 in real-terms

Ofsted was recently handed more money from the Treasury to accelerate inspection operations.

But the watchdog warned today that by the end of the current spending review period, its funding would be at the same level as 2010-11 in cash terms, but “at least 25 per cent lower in real terms”.

The extra funding allocated at the spending review was “specifically to fund new activities”, though Ofsted said its income would also increase “because we will be carrying out additional commissioned inspection and research activity on behalf of the DfE”.

5. Staff cuts could have ‘implications’ for new work

The government has said it wants to reduce the civil service to 2016 levels over the next three years, and Ofsted is no exception.

In its report, the watchdog revealed it had been “asked to draw up proposals for headcount reductions”. This is despite Ofsted having been asked recently by government to ramp up inspections so all schools are visited by 2025 and ambitions to visit all colleges in the next four years.

“We are working through this exercise, which could have implications for the new work agreed at the spending review.”

6. Narrow miss for FE and skills inspection targets

Ofsted sets its own internal targets for the number of inspections and visits to be carried out.

For further education and skills settings, the watchdog hit 95% of its target, inspecting 719 of the 758 in the plan.

However, Ofsted said its ability to meet these targets “was affected by Covid-19”.

“Inspector capacity has been reduced by sickness and periods of isolation,” the report said.

7. Inspector recruitment drive as turnover rises

Ofsted said it had been asked to accelerate inspections and take on new work, but warned that it was “seeing turnover in some areas of our workforce return to, or go beyond, pre-pandemic levels”.

Ofsted said staff turnover rose this year to 14 per cent, up from 9 per cent in 2020-21, adding this “may be the result of staff delaying job moves and retirement during the pandemic”.

The watchdog said it had launched “several inspector recruitment campaigns, aiming to attract higher numbers of applicants while not reducing our high standards for those we appoint”.

Recruitment webinars have been run, prompting “record numbers” to apply for inspector roles.

8. Jobbing inspectors return to work

Ofsted has around 800 Her Majesty’s Inspectors, who are directly-employed by the watchdog, and 1,650 contracted inspectors, around 1,000 of whom are serving practitioners.

Earlier in the pandemic, “many” of these jobbing inspectors did not work for Ofsted, “so that they could focus on their own provision”. The inspectorate stopped using them entirely in January 2022 “so that they could concentrate on their jobs in early years settings, schools and colleges”.

But many of these inspectors have now started working for Ofsted again, and “many more people have applied to become contracted inspectors”.

Third of first T Level students apply for university courses

More than a third of the first cohort of T Level students have applied for university, new UCAS data shows.

Around 1,300 students signed up to the first T Level courses launched in September 2020, with those learners graduating this summer and due to find out their results on August 18.

Data published by the universities admissions body today revealed that 490 T Level students have applied for higher education courses – 38 per cent.

Today’s data also reveals that record numbers of students from disadvantaged areas of the UK have applied for university courses.

UCAS said the application rate for 18-year-olds in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods is 29 per cent, compared to 27 per cent last year and 10 percentage points higher than 2013, meaning more than 38,000 students from disadvantaged areas have applied this year.

New minister for skills, further education and higher education Andrea Jenkyns said: “It is fantastic to see a record number of 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged areas applying for university – this is real levelling up in action and a catalyst for genuine social mobility.

“This year also marks a key milestone for T Levels and it is encouraging that so many students have applied for higher education.”

T Level students will find out if they are accepted for their higher education places on or after results day.

The first T Level graduates will be across three courses launched in 2020 – education and childcare, digital, and construction.

One of the questions T Levels has raised is how many universities will accept the qualification. An FE Week investigation in January found that less than half of UK universities had committed to accepting the new qualifications just two weeks before UCAS’ deadline.

The government’s published list now indicates that 127 universities will accept at least one T Level, although that list does not make clear which courses each accepts.

Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are watching the number of T Level students who end up in university with real interest. If T Level students are going to end up in university in large numbers, and not in further technical training, then it brings into question why BTECs are being defunded.

“After all, the government’s main argument for scrapping BTECs in order to introduce T Levels, is that too many BTEC students end up in university rather than technical training. The government can’t have it both ways.”

Earlier this month the government closed an appeals process for awarding bodies to challenge the defunding of specific BTEC and level 3 courses which are under threat because they clash with the new T Levels.

Gilmartin added that he was pleased there were record number of disadvantaged student applications to HE, which was a reflection of support by schools and colleges, and hoped it would translate into offers and acceptances.

Provider rated ‘inadequate’ after Ofsted finds apprentices training other apprentices

Apprentices at a digital training provider in Cheshire have been roped in to helping teach other apprentices and in turn suffered disruption to their own learning, an Ofsted inspection has found.

Code Nation Ltd, which had 79 apprentices in either level 4 software developer or cyber security apprenticeships, was given an ‘inadequate’ rating by the education watchdog following an inspection in March.

The report said: “Software developer apprentices, employed during the Covid-19 pandemic by the provider as ‘innovation developers’, have their learning disrupted. This is due to them being required to support instructors on the delivery of the same apprenticeship that they are studying.

“They frequently spend almost half of their working week assisting with training of other apprentices. This significantly impedes their learning.”

It added that there were “inconsistencies in the quality and timeliness of feedback,” by tutors, which had prompted new feedback measures to be put in place, and found that students did not understand what else they needed to do to improve their work.

Ofsted found that software developer apprentices relied on their own research to prepare for exams in specialist developer qualifications, and many did not complete their courses on time or required multiple attempts at passing.

The report also said that leaders and managers do not recruit all apprentices with integrity.

“A small minority of software developer apprentices are recruited following the completion of a self-funded digital bootcamp, which costs them many thousands of pounds. They are then expected to attend the same training, which is funded through the apprenticeship levy, from which they do not learn any further substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours.”

Code Nation received £569,214 in levy funding and £379,432 in non-levy funding in 2020/21.

The findings leave the firm at risk of being removed from the register of apprenticeship training providers, in line with government rules.

A spokesperson from Code Nation said it had been in business four years, with three of those disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Apprenticeships are a part of our array of provision to tackle the skills gap, so we are desperately disappointed to have received an inadequate rating from Ofsted for this apprenticeship provision, which related mainly to the period leading up to, and including, lockdown,” the spokesperson said.

“Due to the challenges brought by the pandemic, many of our employers had to change their business models and move their staff to remote working, which resulted in increased staff turnover, high levels of sickness and absence, and the need to pause or terminate apprenticeships.”

Code Nation said it had a detailed improvement plan against the recommendations already in place and added that it was “working with Ofsted and the DfE on the areas highlighted in the report to safeguard the training of apprentices in learning with their employers”.

The company refused to be drawn on whether it had appealed against the rating.

Ofsted slams ‘inconsistent quality’ of apprenticeships at another university

A university has been criticised by Ofsted for “inconsistent” apprenticeship training quality caused by various faculties working in isolation.

The University of Chester has been told its apprenticeships ‘require improvement’ after the education watchdog visited May. At the time of the inspection there where 561 apprentices enrolled, mostly on level 6 programmes.

Police constable, chartered manager and social worker apprenticeships were among the most popular level 6 courses, as well as level 5 nursing and healthcare and level 7 senior leader apprenticeships.

Ofsted’s report said that many weaknesses identified at the previous monitoring visit in June 2019 remain, explaining that “the quality of education that apprentices receive is inconsistent across the university, with faculties working in isolation”.

Governors also do not receive the information needed to properly scrutinise the quality of education across the university. 

Ofsted said that “most of the senior leader apprentices have not completed their apprenticeship within the planned time,” although it did recognise action was being taken on that front.

The inspectorate added that all apprentices follow the same programme regardless of previous knowledge and experience on police and management courses, whereas nursing apprentices were found to have a more tailored programme.

The report also said that challenging targets were not set and most learner mentors did not carry out effective reviews of apprentice’s progress for those courses, which contrasted to nursing qualifications where learners’ prior skills are identified and progress monitored.

Elsewhere, Ofsted said management apprentices and employers “are not sufficiently informed about the assessment process. As a result, too many apprentices make slow progress and do not complete their apprenticeships”.

The university was rated ‘requires improvement’ in three of the five areas.

Ofsted controversially obtained powers in 2020 to inspect all apprenticeships – including those at degree levels 6 and 7 – taking over powers for that level from the Office for Students.

Chief inspector Amanda Spielman had voiced concerns multiple times that some universities were getting away with offering level 6 and 7 apprenticeships that are simply “repackaged graduate schemes”.

This isn’t the first time a university has been criticised for inconsistent quality of apprenticeship delivery: the University of Hull received grade three judgement after Ofsted raised similar concerns in December.

Helen Galbraith, pro vice-chancellor for student experience at the university, said she was pleased to receive good ratings in personal development and behaviours and attitudes, and said Ofsted had recognised its strengths in providing a safe and supportive learning environment and apprentices being well motivated.

She added: “For the areas of improvement identified in the inspection report, Ofsted noted that the university is already working to address these. For example, the report states that actions have already been put in place by the current leadership team to improve the quality of education, but at the time of the inspection it was too early fully to assess the impact of these. Similarly, the report notes that English and Maths functional skills support for apprentices is now in place.

“We are committed to the continuing development of our apprenticeship provision to address all issues raised, working in consultation with apprentices, employers and our governing body. We want to ensure that all our apprentices are able to make the most of their time at university, to excel in their studies and to progress to higher levels within their chosen career.”

Firm that took over Learndirect goes bust

The company that bought Learndirect, previously England’s largest training provider, has suddenly ceased trading after failing to secure enough skills contracts to clear “significant liabilities”.

Multiple creditors, including government departments, are on the hook for potentially millions of pounds after Dimensions Training Solutions Ltd (DTS) filed for insolvency this week.

The DTS board told FE Week the decision to close follows an unsuccessful attempt to win new government-funded skills contracts and a failed effort to refinance the business with external investment.

It comes just six months after the firm was sold by previous owner Wayne Janse van Rensburg to The Firebird Partnership.

Janse van Rensburg secured around £35 million worth of European Social Fund (ESF) contracts through the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions after buying Learndirect in 2018. The ESF contracts expire in March 2023.

The new DTS board refused to say how many staff will lose their jobs but latest accounts for the firm show 47 employees in 2021. It is also unclear how many learners will be impacted by closure of DTS.

Insolvency practitioners from James Cowper Kreston have been engaged to assist with the liquidation process.

In a statement the DTS board said: “When the business was acquired in January of 2022 it was in a precarious financial position with significant liabilities on the balance sheet, however we believed that because of the strength of the staff team and the quality of our service we would be able to win enough new tenders to rectify the historic position.

“Despite successfully winning three new contracts this has not been enough and therefore external investment has been sought, or new owners that could provide continuity of employment and learning for staff and young people. We received an offer of investment but unfortunately due to the political uncertainty and delays in awarding new contracts this offer was withdrawn this week and we have had no choice but to pursue this course of action.”

The board would not disclose the scale of the financial problems but latest accounts for the group of companies shows net liabilities of almost £15 million.

DTS was incorporated in 1998 and delivered a range of commercial and government-funded training.

It bought Learndirect from Lloyds Development Capital in 2018 shortly after the adult training and apprenticeship was dealt a fatal grade four Ofsted report following a High Court battle. The Education and Skills Funding Agency then stepped in and cancelled Learndirect’s contracts which were worth around £100 million.

Learndirect and DTS, under the ownership Janse van Rensburg but management of chief executive Pamela Rae Welsh and chief operating officer Andrew Niedzwiecki, managed to secure around £35 million in European Social Fund contracts from the ESFA a year later despite the fiasco.

DTS also bagged an adult education budget contract with the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2020/21 worth around £800,000.

Around £2.6 million of DTS’ skills contracts were subcontracted out in 2021/22.

FE Week understands that subcontractor payments have stalled in recent months after DTS’ financial challenges began to bite.

An email to suppliers from the DTS board said insolvency practitioners “will contact you in the coming days and provide you with further information including about how to make a claim with the company for money that may be owed to you”.

DTS was taken over by Stewart Lambert, Ian Finlay and Charlie Rigby, who are part of The Firebird Partnership, in January 2022.

DTS’ board said the firm’s directors and shareholders were “deeply saddened that they have had to take the decision to put the business into liquidation”.

“Our staff and supply chain partners have worked tirelessly in incredibly difficult circumstances over the last six months and during that time have delivered courses to thousands of participants with high success rates and satisfaction levels,” the board added.

“We are grateful for all of their efforts and are incredibly disappointed that we were not able to secure the future of the company despite our best efforts.”

After hearing that DTS had gone into liquidation, Janse van Rensburg said: “It is deeply saddening that the next chapter of the DTS business has not materialised and that the new owners and shareholders of DTS have had to make the difficult decision to put the business into liquidation. Our thoughts are with all learners, staff and suppliers.”

The DfE and DWP were approached for comment.

Revealed: Brooklands College resizing plans to ensure ‘financial security’

A college fighting for survival is selling off land and a historic mansion to make way for houses in a deal worth around £45 million, FE Week understands.

Leaders at Brooklands College, which has failed to file accounts for the past three years after being stung by a £20 million apprenticeship scandal, claim that the new venture will ensure the college’s financial security going forwards.

The college has teamed up with housebuilding company Cala Homes to undergo a “resizing” project which involves redeveloping its Weybridge campus.

The college has remained tight-lipped about exactly how much land and property will be released, but a spokesperson said most parts are ex landfill sites and surplus to requirements.

FE Week understands that the college’s three-storey, Grade II listed red brick Victorian mansion called Brooklands House, which was built in the late 1890s, is one property that will be redeveloped for housing.

The property used to house the family of Dame Ethel Locke King, who was behind the famous Brooklands racing circuit, previously dubbed the ‘Ascot of Motorsport’.

The college’s plans, put out for public consultation this week, say the mansion “has fallen into decline because it is not suitable for education use and the college cannot afford to maintain it to the standard necessary for a listed building”.

Brooklands College claimed that no staff will lose their jobs as part of the resizing project, and no course provision will be lost.

Principal Christine Ricketts said the partnership will allow the local community greater access to the college’s “beautiful woodlands”, as well as greater access to its sporting, catering and hair and beauty facilities.

She said: “We have considered our position in the community, our history of service and our commitment to education and skills training, knowing that in order to recover from past financial struggles we must refine our approach. 

“The resizing of the college is part of this process. Choosing to focus on offering our students and staff, greener, state of the art facilities means that we can continue to offer our local community the very best in vocational skills and training.”

The deal will provide funds to allow the college to revitalise its teaching spaces, including a new sports hall and “independent working hub” for the use of the college and wider public.

Brooklands College refused to say how much money it will gain from the project, but FE Week understands it will be in the region of £45 million.

As well as the deal with Cala Homes, the college also recently secured an undisclosed share of the Department for Education’s further education capital transformation fund.

Chair Andrew Baird said: “These proposals are the culmination of several years of work by the Brooklands leaders and their advisers.

“Governors were looking to reshape the College to meet the skills needs of the local community in the first half of the 21st century and we believe that this scheme achieves that aim, while recognising the College’s historic place and character in the community.”

Brooklands College was plunged into financial difficulty in late 2018 after an FE Week investigation exposed how it subcontracted out almost £20 million to a small private training provider called SCL Security Ltd in just three years.

The ESFA, FE Commissioner and Ofsted then stepped in to investigate, which led to the private provider, headed up by Andrew Merritt, being kicked out of the apprenticeships market.

Among other findings, the agency discovered that apprenticeship funding was being used to pay the wages for the 16-to-18-year-olds, which is strictly against the funding rules.

SCL Security Ltd filed for insolvency in October 2020.

The college has refused to divulge details relating to the £20 million clawback and its plan for payment to the ESFA.

The debacle led to the resignation of former principal Gail Walker and chair Terry Lazenby.

Ricketts took over as principal in May 2019 before Baird, one of the government’s paid national leaders of governance, was parachuted in to chair the college in October 2019.

The college has not filed accounts since 2018 or published board minutes since October 2021.