College leaders to benefit from free wellbeing sessions

A free wellbeing support service is being opened to college principals and their deputies amid low take-up among school headteachers.

Education Support was contracted in November 2021 to support 2,000 school headteachers by March this year through six one-hour, free peer support sessions, or one to-one support or counselling.

The £760,000 programme has been extended by a year after only reaching about half of its target in schools.

From April, college principals, their deputies and senior leaders reporting to the principal will also become eligible.

Faye McGuinness, the programme’s director, said a pilot of its professional support service with college leaders showed it was “making a difference”, adding: “We are really happy that it’s been introduced to college leaders.”

A 2021 Further Education Trust for Leadership study found that a “high proportion” of principals experienced stress on a “frequent basis”, with 45 per cent surveyed experiencing distress three to five times per week. A further 10 per cent said this was over five times a week.

Jen Hope, the Association of College’s mental health lead, said she was “delighted”
to hear of Education Support’s contract extension.

“Further education staff already benefit from accessing Education Support’s services
for direct emotional support via their helpline and financial assistance via their grants service. The they will now also be able to benefit from professional supervision
which is very welcome,” she said.

Hope added that the AoC is currently delivering a mental health and wellbeing programme with Education Support and other partners on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation, to “provide leaders and practitioners space to reflect on their own mental health and consider how their approach to developing self-awareness and prioritising self-care impacts others”.

A “deep dive” by Education Support into the low school take-up found many heads
felt they “simply don’t have the time and capacity to do it”, Faye McGuinness, the
programme’s director, said.

But many might also believe that their mental health and wellbeing “doesn’t matter as much as everybody else’s… if we want people to take action we really need to change their beliefs”.

“Some of the stuff that has come up through our peer support work is almost
a feeling of guilt of spending the time looking after themselves.”

When the scheme was launched it was aimed at those in deputy head levels and
above with no access to an employee assistance programme.

That was scrapped in June and the scheme was opened up to assistant heads in
September.

However, the peer support route will be dropped from April.

McGuinness said this was “very popular” at the height of the pandemic when heads “wanted to get into the room and say to each other what on earth is going on, how do we deal with this?

“We are now seeing leaders are in a space to reflect and think about the impact of the past two or three years on them personally, and how that plays out professionally.”

An evaluation of the programme is being conducted by York Consulting.

The Department for Education was approached for comment.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 412

Najot Johal

Head of Region – Midlands, WEA


Start date: January 2023


Previous Job: Head of Operations, Challenge-trg Skills

Interesting fact: When Navjot worked in alternative provision in 2010, he and his learners were coached by the British Olympic diving team towards diving from the 10m platform

Alan Pease

Start date: January 2023


Previous Job: Deputy Principal, Suffolk
New College


Interesting fact: Alan represented Norwich City Football Club at youth team level and now (since 2018) he works in Ipswich, the home of Norwich’s great footballing rivals

Embattled adult education college under ESFA supervision

The FE Commissioner has warned that “uncertainty remains” over the future of the much-loved adult residential Northern College after it was moved to “supervised status”.

Northern College in Barnsley, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, was placed in formal intervention by the commissioner following visits in February and March 2021, with question marks over its financial viability.

At the time the commissioner warned of a “perfect storm” amid a legal dispute with the government over clawback of wrongly awarded funds, concerns over future adult residential funding, and a shortfall in enrolments.

A series of conditions were imposed over the college’s operations in a subsequent financial notice to improve.

In an update this month, the college was placed under “supervised status” because of ongoing uncertainty over its finances.

College oversight guidance issued by the FE Commissioner states that a college in intervention can be placed under supervised status because of a failure to meet significant milestones, where risk levels escalate, or where recovery is considered to be too slow.

The college was told to appoint an interim finance director, develop a fully costed curriculum plan, develop contingency plans on solvency pressures and complete a structure and prospects appraisal and local provision needs analysis.

Those conditions were satisfied but the latest notice imposes further conditions and the college must now keep the Department for Education informed of changes to senior leadership, financial commitments above £30,000, and ownership of property assets or structural changes.

A observer from the DfE’s territorial team will also attend all board meetings. Northern College, which has been open for almost half a century, provides intensive residential courses in areas like digital skills and healthcare, as well as access to higher education qualifications and other programmes.

The original intervention was made after the Education and Skills Funding Agency demanded repayment of £2.4 million in residential uplift support it said the college owed for learners who were not resident.

The college also fell short of enrolment targets for adult learners, which the college blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving it at risk of further clawbacks.

In August 2021, FE Week reported that the college had negotiated the £2.4 million clawback down to £1 million, secured three years of funding for residential provision from the South and West Yorkshire mayoral combined authorities and agreed for the college to remain standalone.

The college declined to comment on the latest intervention notice.

Dozens of providers allowed to skirt cap on subcontracting

More than 50 training providers have been granted special permission from the government to exceed a new cap on subcontracting, FE Week can reveal.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency introduced a rule in 2022/23 that bans providers from contracting out 25 per cent or more of training in any funding stream.

It is part of the agency’s reforms that aim to significantly reduce the amount of subcontracting in FE, in a crackdown prompted by concerns about poor oversight and fraud.

However colleges and providers can secure written permission to exceed the cap if they can show that the subcontracting brings niche or expert provision, better access to training facilities, makes training easier to get to for learners, or offers an entry point for disadvantaged groups.

Following a freedom of information request the agency told FE Week that 53 training providers have been granted exemption from the 25 per cent limit for this academic year.

Among those are 15 colleges, one university and one school. The others are independent training providers, employer providers and charities.

The ESFA did not share figures for the total amount of subcontracted provision for each provider but for those that spoke to FE Week it ranged from 27 per cent to whole programme subcontracting.

Waltham Forest Chamber of Commerce Training Trust Limited, for example, subcontracts 40 per cent of its apprenticeship provision.

The provider’s chief executive Mark Durham said his company has been using this delivery model for over 25 years, which has enabled it to build strong links with employers mostly in the construction sector who highly value the provision.

He told FE Week that it is difficult for employers to find suitable apprenticeship training within the construction sector – a gap that his long-running “expert” provider helps to fill.

Durham said the Training Trust has been reducing the number of subcontractors it works with in recent years – from six in 2016 to just two currently: Building Crafts College and Choice Training.

Subcontracting out a high proportion of apprenticeships was justified because both subcontractors have “excellent” training facilities and “expert delivery” to suit the location of the Training Trust’s learners and employers. Working with these subcontractors allows the provider to offer a more diverse range of construction courses that Durham says boosts employment prospects in local communities.

The Training Trust was graded ‘good’ by Ofsted in January 2022 with inspectors highlighting that regular reviews of apprentices’ progress with subcontractors helped improve achievement rates.

The ESFA has become increasingly concerned that subcontracting is used for financial gain and by colleges and providers to spend their funding allocations before the end of the academic year – something which can lead to poor oversight and student experience.

Excessive management fees of more than 20 per cent have also caused concern, with FE Week reporting cases of individual providers top slicing almost 40 per cent and taking millions of pounds away from frontline training.

FE Commissioner Shelagh Legrave named subcontracting as one of her biggest concerns for colleges in her 2021/22 annual report.

While fears over poor subcontracting have grown the ESFA has made clear it is not “prohibiting or banning” all subcontracting. The agency’s former chief executive, Eileen Milner, told providers in 2021 that “where it is done well, for the right reasons, and properly overseen, it can enhance the learner experience and add value”.

The ESFA’s latest list of declared subcontractors shows £350 million of national skills funding was being subcontracted as of October 2022 – a drop of more than a third of the £560 million subcontracted in 2017.

Subcontracting to reach under-privileged groups

Social justice charity Nacro has been given permission to subcontract 27 per cent of its 16 to 19 study programmes this year.

A spokesperson said the charity works with six long term partners who work in cities and towns “we don’t have a presence in, delivering provision for the same under-represented, under-privileged groups as we reach in our 12 other centres across England for learners studying at level 2 and below”.

“Education census data shows that almost one in five people aged 16-plus have no qualifications. Nacro specialises in helping young people achieve the essential qualifications and vocational skills that they need to progress to their intended next steps. By working closely with trusted organisations in these areas, we can support more learners who need us,” the spokesperson added.

Leeds Trinity University said it has been allowed to go over the 25 per cent threshold for its delivery of the police constable degree apprenticeship.

Claire Newhouse, dean of external engagement and impact at the university, said this is the university’s biggest apprenticeship programme which requires the expertise of West Yorkshire Police.

“As an ‘employer-provider’, West Yorkshire Police supports the delivery of the Degree Apprenticeship, providing specialist input which is professionally relevant,” she told FE Week.

However some of the subcontractors with special permission to exceed the cap this year are scaling back with the aim of going below the threshold next year.

Engineering Trust Training Ltd (ETT), which delivers apprenticeships in engineering, manufacturing and maintenance, said nearly all of its provision will be direct delivery in 2023/24 after opening up a new training academy.

The provider currently subcontracts with local colleges who deliver diploma courses on ETT’s behalf via day release.

A spokesperson told FE Week: “In this case, we do deliver the majority of the apprenticeship directly ourselves and subcontract the minority or the funding we receive. We were given permission to continue as it would have been damaging to the apprentices to change their college provider part way through their diploma course. Moving forward, we have now opened our own training venue, The Engineering Skills Academy in Bicester, to deliver all elements of the apprenticeship ourselves. This will reduce the percentage of our learners subcontracted to colleges with the intention of dropping below the 25 per cent rule.”

DfE claws back £6.2m from ETF after T Level contract dispute

The Education and Training Foundation has agreed to repay £6.2 million to the government following a dispute over a T Levels contract.

The charity benefitted from a huge, unexpected surplus on its T Level Professional Development (TLPD) programme between 2019 and 2022 because costs were much lower during the pandemic, when most of the scheme was delivered online.

Department for Education officials argued that the ETF should return up to £7.5 million but could not challenge this legally because the contract requirements had been delivered.  

The ETF sought legal advice and pushed back claiming it should only repay £1.5 million.

Recently published ETF accounts for 2021/22 reveal that both parties have agreed a £6.2 million settlement – four times the amount the foundation offered.

The clawback meant the foundation went from a surplus of £5.6 million in 2020/21 to a deficit of £1.7 million in 2021/22.

Both parties told FE Week the £6.2 million repayment is “fair”.

ETF interim chief executive Jenny Jarvis said: “Over the last year, we worked together to reflect on the structure and mechanism of delivery over the full course of the TLPD contract.

“We mutually agreed a delivery model that provided value for money to the public purse as well as to ensure the most effective support to teachers and institutions delivering the new T Levels. As the project evolved, we mutually agreed with DfE a return of £6.227 million over the course of the whole programme as a fair reflection of the cost of delivery.  

“Our relationship with DfE remains extremely strong, open and collegiate and we continue to work with them to deliver a wide number of programmes, alongside TLPD.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “The repayment figure was informed by independent audit activity and is fair.”

Just under £76 million was awarded to the ETF by the DfE to deliver the TLPD up to 2024. 

The programme is designed to promote understanding of the government’s new flagship T Level qualifications. From May 2019 to July 2022, almost 15,000 individuals participated in the TLPD.

The ETF said it has supported more than 28,000 activities as part of TLPD, including live online and face-to-face workshops, e-learning resources, mentoring, networking, and industry collaboration.

According to the foundation, 95 per cent of participants in 2021/22 said the TLPD “would have a positive impact on their professional practice” while 90 per cent said it had “increased their confidence to deliver T Levels”.  

The contract runs until 2024.

The ETF has significantly increased its headcount in recent years to account for the TLPD contract and other grant-funded programmes: staff numbers shot up from 75 in 2019/20 to 141 in 2020/21 to 185 in 2021/22.

Staff costs increased from £7.577 million in 2020/21 to £9.853 million 2021/22.

But in March 2022 the ETF announced the DfE was slashing its grant funding.

Jarvis said the headcount changes are linked to three aspects.

She told FE Week: “The first is the increase in direct delivery [away from subcontracting] associated with the move from grant to contract. The second is the fact that we have set up new teams at ETF who are directly involved in enabling the delivery of contract activity.

“Thirdly, investing in the sector requires investing in capacity to respond to future opportunities and secure a sustainable future for ETF. Investing in our workforce has ensured that we are able to offer a high quality and effective programme across a wide range of workforce development areas, and we are also supporting our capacity to respond to future opportunities.”

AELP returns as co-owners

The ETF was launched in 2013 and was initially funded entirely by the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills but “owned” by the Association of Colleges, Association of Employment and Learning Providers and adult education provider network HOLEX.   

AELP ditched its “ownership” of the ETF in 2018, claiming it is “no longer an organisation run by the FE sector for the sector”. 

But AELP reapplied to return as a co-owner last year. The association’s chief executive Jane Hickie said at the time that this is a “critical time for the FE sector and our workforces” in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and inflation pressures, so “we need a collaborative approach to tackle the challenges with an ETF that represents the interests of the sector as a whole”.

Jarvis told FE Week that AELP’s application has now been accepted.

She said: “The ETF’s members [which now also include the Trades Union Congress and Natspec] considered the application and agreed that AELP should be re-appointed. We are delighted to welcome them back.  Members have a meaningful role in the stewardship of the ETF.”

Sixth form college rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted

A sixth form college in Eastleigh that teaches almost 5,000 students has been judged ‘outstanding’ for the first time by Ofsted.

Barton Peveril College achieved the top grade in a report published today that said students “rightly recognise the sensible steps that leaders have taken to create a calm and purposeful environment that is strongly focused on learning”.

The education watchdog found that learners and staff are “very respectful, and there is a high level of trust” which enables learners including those with high needs to feel “able to develop their own identity”.

Learners at the college, which has been judged ‘good’ consistently by Ofsted over the past 20 years, also “benefit from consistently high-quality teaching” and benefit from an “extensive range of high quality extra-curricular opportunities” such as photography, counselling, yoga, and gardening.

Barton Peveril College principal Rob Temple said the judgment is a “wonderful endorsement of the extraordinary efforts and skill of our teachers and support staff, and of how the students have responded to the high expectations we have of them”.

“The inspectors were unanimous in praising our studious young people – they found them to be exceptionally well behaved, thoroughly enjoyed their interactions with them and said they were a credit to the college,” he added.

At the time of the inspection, there were around 4,600 learners studying full-time education programmes, such as A-levels and vocational qualifications, for young people at the college. Ofsted said learners come from a wide area, including Southampton.

According to the report, leaders have “high aspirations for learners to achieve and move on to university”. The college has implemented an “ambitious curriculum” that “closely reflects the needs of learners and other stakeholders”.

Teachers were praised, with inspectors calling them “highly qualified subject specialists who plan interesting and engaging lessons”.

Ofsted said the college also makes a “reasonable” contribution to meeting skills needs.

Halfon orders universities to publish T Levels admissions statements

Skills and universities minister Robert Halfon has told vice chancellors to publicly clarify whether or not they will accept T Levels as valid entry qualifications for their universities.

In a letter sent to vice chancellors today, Halfon said there were “too many instances” where T Level students are unsure whether they can apply for university courses because of unclear entry criteria. 

He said: “We know that many Higher Education institutions have already assimilated T Levels into their admissions process, and provided a public statement on their entry requirements. However, there remain many instances where students are unsure if they can apply to a course at a university they are interested in, because the entry requirements for T Levels are unclear.

“This places such students in a difficult and uncertain position, as their UCAS choices naturally hold long-term implications for their future.”

Halfon goes on to say that vice chancellors should publish a statement on their institution’s website which “sets out your approach to entry requirements for students with T Levels for 2022 and beyond”. 

The letter comes just one week before the UCAS application deadline for 2023 undergraduate courses.

“This should include details of the entry requirements for relevant courses, so students can easily access correct and transparent admissions information for this UCAS cycle” he wrote.

The DfE launched a list of higher education providers accepting T Levels last December. At that time just 66 of the country’s 140 universities were listed. 

As of January 12, there were 133 higher education providers listed. Of those, 104 were universities, 26 were FE colleges offering HE and three were institutes of technology.

However to get on the list, universities and HE providers only have to have a “minimum of one” course accepting T Levels as entry qualifications and, incredibly, the list doesn’t tell students what those courses are. 

As T Levels were introduced in 2020, just one cohort have so far completed the course and progressed. Just over a third (36 per cent, 370 students) of that cohort won a place at university last year. 

Do more degree apprenticeships

Halfon has also repeated his call for more universities to offer degree apprenticeships. 

Degree apprenticeships are rising in popularity, but Halfon wants more universities, particularly the “most prestigious” ones, to provide the courses.

He said: “I want to see many more degree apprenticeships, delivered by a wider range of universities. Our most prestigious universities should lead by example, building parity of esteem between high-quality technical courses and academic degrees.”

Halfon makes his case by suggesting “If your university is serious about social justice, I ask you to seriously consider offering degree apprenticeships alongside other courses.”

There is currently little evidence though to support Halfon’s claim that degree apprenticeships improve social justice. 

Social mobility charity The Sutton Trust released the latest in a long line of research reports highlighting poor uptake of degree apprenticeships from people from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The research found that people from lower income areas were actually less likely to do a degree apprenticeship than go to university for a traditional course.

FE projects win over £75m in levelling up cash

More than £75 million of government levelling up funding is to go to further education projects in England – including new campuses and expanded provision for existing colleges.

The government on Wednesday evening unveiled more than 100 projects sharing £2.1 billion for its second round of the Levelling Up Fund.

The fund aims to support local infrastructure and regeneration schemes, such as town centre revamps, bringing vacant spaces back into use, bolstering transport or highways infrastructure and cultural restoration projects.

Among the headline schemes in the FE sector is a new £40 million carbon neutral education campus for Blackpool and The Fylde College (existing campus pictured) to replace its aging town centre facilities.

According to the bid announcement, the new “multiversity” will be located in Blackpool’s Talbot Gateway business district and offer courses in automation, robotics and artificial intelligence.

A CGI image of what the new ‘multiversity’ in Blackpool could look like.

Project bosses said it will accommodate around 2,300 learners, with higher-level qualifications among those on offer, and is envisioned to be open in 2026.

Councillor Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council said: “The new learning environment would facilitate upskilling, reskilling and lifelong learning within the town. Our town revitalisation plans will also be supported by bringing many students into the heart of Blackpool.”

Elsewhere, a Somerset Training Academy for Health and Social Care is to be formed with the £19.7 million overhaul of the Grade II Listed former hospital building in Bridgwater, empty since 2014, as well as an annexe of the new academy in Minehead.

Councillor Duncan McGinty, leader of Sedgemoor District Council said: “We are absolutely delighted that the bid was accepted and look forward to work starting on this fantastic project.  We hope that work will start late Summer 2023, subject to the necessary planning and listed building processes.”

The government’s announcement said the academy will train up vital health and social care staff.

For Oldham, £20 million will be used to fund new spaces for green businesses and establish a new learning centre offering vocational courses in environmental skills.

The centre is set to be a community learning space ranging from forest school provision for pre-school age children, curriculum support for key stages 1-4, and vocational and technical courses delivered in partnership with The Oldham College.

The centre is set to expand the land management-based curriculum the college delivers in partnership with Oldham Council’s environmental team, which will include courses in arboriculture, horticulture, hospitality and ecology among others.

Cooking, beekeeping, photography and woodworking courses are also planned.

Another area to secure funding for a new campus is Dover, which will use £18.1 million to develop brownfield land that will include an education facility delivering training in the creative and digital industries, which also aims to boost job opportunities in the region.

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: “The exciting new creative and digital campus will create new jobs and skills opportunities in our area.”

And £20 million has been announced for Swale, with a portion of that funding being used to expand the course offering at Sheppey College for 14-18 year-olds.

In Telford, a share of its £20 million allocation will go towards a new skills and enterprise hub at Telford College, from which it will deliver sixth form provision.

The multi-million pound centre will be a part of the area’s Station Quarter regeneration, and feature close links to the business community, according to local leaders.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been approached for more details.

Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove said the “transformational” projects would help ensure that “no matter where you are from you can go as far as your talents will take you”.

Margate Digital EKC Campus indicative plans. Image credit: EKC Group

The announcement follows the £1.7 billion dished out to more than 100 schemes in last year’s first round of Levelling Up Fund cash.

In FE the first-round bids included £20 million for a new college of medical sciences in Bolton that will include 900 apprentices a year, as well as a new digital technology campus in Margate, Kent, offering diplomas from levels 2 to 5, funded from a £6.3 million allocation.

Other headline schemes from round one include a £20 million city learning campus in Wolverhampton offering A-levels and higher education courses, while £9 million in Sunderland is going towards a construction skills academy.

Round one also allocated cash to plans for a skills village and the revamp of a former grammar school for training and apprenticeships in the hospitality and leisure sector, both in Rotherham, and a new sixth form college and adult education centre in the Castlegate area of Sheffield, funded from a share of that area’s £20 million bid.

Affordable ways to create enabling environments for learners with SEND

According to the latest government figures, just under 1.5 million students in England have special educational needs and disabilites (SEND). These rising statistics highlight the importance of inclusivity for every student in further education. Our experience working across mainstream and specialist colleges has shown the essential role of design in making colleges more accessible – but expensive adaptations often aren’t feasible. Is it possible to create an inclusive college within these constraints?

This year, the government revealed its green paper for educational reform for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The paper acknowledges that too often their outcomes fall behind their peers, and sets out proposals to identify students’ needs more efficiently  and meet them more consistently.

While this paper is needed to reset the SEND system, it can only be seen as a preliminary framework. They are ambitious proposals, but they’re only the first step in providing a robust and stable education system for young people with SEND – something that may take years, if not decades, to realise.

Despite the obvious challenges of meeting these needs, introducing well-considered changes can have an almost immediate effect on the way young people with SEND cope within their learning environment. These students should have access to resources that can help them develop life skills, ranging from finances to cooking and self-care, in addition to support from staff with counselling and therapy. These services can provide a setting where young people with SEND can be themselves, learning in an environment that suits their needs while allowing them to be with their peers and friends.

While providing support for SEND students is important, a well-designed college should welcome all students – with many affordable changes you can make which will benefit everyone.

Well-considered changes can have an almost immediate effect

To help students navigate a building independently, designing within a single storey is desirable but not always practical. Clear circulation routes and one-way systems can help those struggling in crowded spaces. Timetabling can help with this, by staggering students’ movements throughout the day. Simple landmarks that help students to orient themselves can play an important role in aiding independent navigation, as can simple, clear signage. Vinyl graphics can be a cost-effective way to achieve this.

Many young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulty processing sensory information, as their senses can be intensified or dampened. This can be addressed with a biophilic design approach. Research shows that people are often calmed by hints of nature, so natural colours and materials alongside indoor plants and greenery can help support struggling students.

Noise can also pose a challenge for people with ASD. Deadening reverberations can be vital. When retrofitting an older college, replacing ceiling tiles with class A acoustic tiles provides excellent value for money, as does using acoustic wall boards.

When designing an SEND school or college, we always seek to integrate natural environments into everyday learning by blurring the boundaries of inside and outside and providing inspirational external learning spaces. Spaces within existing facilities can also be adapted in order to create external classrooms, breakout areas and sensory gardens for everyday learning and activities.

Although outdoor classrooms are becoming more common in schools, and for younger children, they also carry huge benefits for young people and adults in the context of further and adult education colleges. Outdoor spaces relieve stress and anxiety, can help develop social skills and motivate learning. Green spaces help to facilitate informal discussion, providing a social space where students can safely test boundaries and develop emotional skills, while also providing quiet social areas for individuals and small groups.

Internally, places of refuge are also important, as there will be times when students with ASD will want to be alone. It is beneficial to have ‘calm’ rooms adjacent to classrooms and incorporate quiet seating areas off the corridors for reading and respite.  

While the government’s green paper is a great framework for these aspirations, we must acknowledge that these are long-term objectives – and they demand long-term thinking. It is up to everyone working with the further education system to act now, creating spaces that have a positive impact on the young people who learn in them.