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Why I’m leaving the social mobility commission

In November 2021, I was appointed chair of the social mobility commission, an advisory body of the Cabinet Office that conducts research and monitors the country’s progress in improving social mobility. Today, I am stepping down from that role.

It has been a successful and enjoyable year. We published our state of the nation report showcasing our new social mobility index. We set out an ambitious research programme focusing on themes such as education and families. Our most recent report highlights how missing data limits our understanding and holds us back. We launched our ‘Quarterly Commentary’ and a podcast series. And for my part, I am most proud of appointing our amazing director, John Craven, a man who has my utmost respect.

So why am I stepping down?

The simple answer is that I come with too much baggage. Over this past year, I have become increasingly aware that my propensity to voice opinions that are considered controversial puts the commission in jeopardy.

When I gave my inaugural speech in June last year, I spoke about how we often have too narrow a view of social mobility: we often imagine the feel-good rags-to-riches trope of Hollywood movies when there are so many other mobilities we could and should celebrate. Of course, that doesn’t mean that those who achieve the ambition of going to Oxbridge shouldn’t be admired too – only that not everyone has to go to Oxbridge to be admired.

We had hoped that this new narrative might be received with interest. Instead, the press insisted that I personally believe ‘working class people should stay in their lane’. Other interesting points were then lost amid the outrage. A tiny apology was published days later, but the damage had already been done. I am still to this day attacked for my apparently abhorrent views on social mobility.

Over time, it affected how the team and I would approach interviews. I would have to carefully craft my utterances to leave no room for misinterpreting me and misrepresenting the commission. At the end of a recent interview, I realised that my idea of a successful discussion was now one where I manage to avoid giving opinions that might bring attention to the commission. Instead of going out there to bat for the team and celebrate our achievements, I am becoming a politician. And I can’t bear the idea of ever being a politician. It just isn’t who I am or a skillset I wish to develop.

On balance, I am doing the social mobility commission more harm than good

As headmistress at Michaela, my governors can decide whether or not they wish to employ me despite my outspoken nature. So I feel free to comment on society. But as chair of the commission, people feel I need to be impartial and it irks many that for many years I have been anything but. So in some people’s minds, I am not right for the job.

Sadly, I have come to agree. The commission team have been nothing but supportive, but I worry that all of our excellent work will be ignored by virtue of my presence. When I tweeted how excited I was to see the commission’s analysis of what works in helping disadvantaged kids achieve at school, some responded that if our work were to find evidence to back what we do at Michaela, they would be suspicious. These weren’t even our detractors, but they could not imagine that I might have the integrity to publish unbiased research, whatever conclusions it came to. They insisted that our work could not be taken seriously.

Others suggested the commission should outsource its work on schools to avoid its analysis being tainted by me. But research is the team’s job, and while some of it can be outsourced, to outsource all of it would be a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money.

So my hands are tied. My being chair means no commission analysis of what works in schools will be valued or respected as it should, and education is crucial to social mobility. By contrast, with my deputy, Alun Francis as chair, people will listen to the same evidence and believe in its integrity. All that excellent work will be productive, useful and successful in ways that I could only hope to do.

On balance then, I am doing the social mobility commission more harm than good. Over the past couple of months, it has become clear to me that Alun Francis ought to be chair. My being in the post for a year has allowed the Oldham College principal to find his feet, but he is now in a stronger position than I am to take the commission to the next step. He is utterly brilliant – a social mobility superhero with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject and without doubt the best person for the job.

The commissioners are ready to take his lead, our director is firmly in post and the secretariat team is in the perfect position for Alun to take over the reins. Leaving before key research takes place on schools also allows that work to happen without my perceived influence.

Bids for at least 6 ‘elite’ sixth forms formally submitted

Applications for at least six new “elite” sixth forms have been lodged in the latest wave of free school bids – in areas where ministers want to boost standards.

More details have also emerged of two bids for new university technical colleges in England. A third UTC is also in the pipeline.

The Department for Education published a list of more than 60 applications shortly before Christmas for wave 15 of the free school programme. Just 15 of these are expected to be approved.

Among the bids for new elite sixth forms are three “unashamedly academic” Eton and Star Academies colleges proposed in Dudley, Oldham and Teesside.

The government has committed to opening “a number” of “high-quality, academic focused” 16 to 19 free schools in education investment areas. EIAs are regions with the lowest student outcomes that have been promised extra support.

The move has proven controversial with fears it will lead to “selection for a lucky few”. A study last year found elite sixth forms taught few poorer pupils and recruited heavily from neighbouring areas.

But Eton (main image) and Star have pledged to focus on young people from the most deprived communities. The organisations told FE Week that each college’s curriculum could “evolve to meet contemporary demands of business in the local areas”.

For instance, pathways to degree-level programmes in biomedical science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects in Teesside could be introduced to support the chemical engineering industry there. The sixth forms will have capacity for 480 students.

There are also plans for an all-girls elite sixth form in Bradford specialising in STEM subjects, to be known as iExcel Elite STEM 6th Form College and sponsored by the Feversham Education Trust.

Cornwall School of Mathematics and Science (CSMS) has lodged a bid for an elite academic sixth form, while The Mercian Trust has applied for one to serve Sandwell and Walsall, to be known as Mercian Sixth – The Queen Mary’s Partnership.

CSMS principal Emma Haase said the 450-capacity Cornwall Academy of Excellence would offer a “full suite of A-level qualifications” and aims to help Cornish teenagers into university.

The Mercian Trust hopes its sixth form will be open for up to 600 students by September 2025.

The trust said it would offer a mix of A-levels and T Levels and include a focus on STEM subjects, hoping to progress students onto university and apprenticeship places in the technology, engineering and digital sectors.

Elsewhere, a BRIT School for 14 to 19-year olds is planned in Bradford as an expansion of the Croydon school which boasts Adele, Amy Winehouse and Rizzle Kicks among its alumni.

A spokesperson from the British Phonographic Industry, which funds the BRIT School, said its school in the north would make the industry “more inclusive and accessible for all, regardless of background”.

Bids for new UTCs confirmed

Two university technical college (UTCs) bids have been submitted alongside those for schools and sixth forms.

UTC Portsmouth is behind plans for a UTC in Southampton for young people aged 14 to 19. It said its Portsmouth offering has been “heavily oversubscribed for a number of years”.

James Doherty, UTC Portsmouth principal, said “many students currently make the journey from Southampton to UTC Portsmouth”.

He added: “In response to requests from new and existing industry partners, and from prospective students for more of what we do, we felt it would be an excellent opportunity for the young people of Southampton to found a second institution here.”

Doncaster UTC has also lodged plans for a health sciences and green technologies school, The college did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication, but its application has confirmed it would serve those aged 11 to 19.

The Baker Dearing Trust said in November that it hoped to submit bids for three UTCs, but work on the third bid in Suffolk is understood to be ongoing and likely to be submitted in a subsequent round.

Simon Connell, chief executive of the Baker Dearing Trust, said: “Both these bids are based on a need and demand for technical education and skilled workers in their areas.

“Doncaster UTC and UTC Portsmouth are oversubscribed and employers in their areas are crying out for high-quality, widespread technical education provision.”

Struggling college faces apprenticeships ban

A college that has battled through perilous financial challenges is set to be banned from delivering apprenticeships after Ofsted judged the provision ‘inadequate’, FE Week understands.

Coventry College will receive its third consecutive overall grade three report in the coming weeks but is expected to see its grade for apprenticeships drop to a four.

The college was unable to comment on the report itself ahead of publication, but a spokesperson suggested their focus in recent years has had to be on finances after almost going insolvent while being aware of the “challenges faced across some areas of our provision”.

Under Education and Skills Funding Agency rules, colleges and training providers which receive an ‘inadequate’ grade are removed from the register of apprenticeship training providers, meaning they can no longer offer the provision.

Coventry College’s recently published accounts for 2022 show that it enrolled 5,729 learners in total, 377 of whom were apprentices.

A 2020 FE Commissioner intervention report detailed how a lack of “clear post-merger strategy” – following the college’s formation from a merger between Henley College Coventry and City College Coventry in 2017 – and “robust scrutiny” led to a “substantial deterioration of financial stability”, which led to it almost going bust.

The college then recruited Carol Thomas as principal and she appears to have improved its finances.

Its 2022 accounts show an overall surplus of £1 million compared to a deficit of £4.7 million in 2021, cash balances of £5.8 million, and an ESFA financial health rating of ‘good’. It’s financial notice to improve was closed last year.

The turnaround includes the closure and future sale of the college’s Henley campus.

Thomas’ salary increased from £145,000 in 2021 to £156,000 in 2022, according to the college’s accounts. But the college’s quality of education has failed to improve according to Ofsted.

The forthcoming report will be its second ‘requires improvement’ grade since merger. Henley College and City College Coventry were both also a grade three before the merger and the latter had previously been judged ‘inadequate’ on two occasions.

A Coventry College spokesperson said: “We can stress that, since the last Ofsted inspection in September 2019, Coventry College has been on a major transformation to safeguard its future as a standalone institution. The need to secure its future financially was imperative and this required a campus consolidation strategy to be executed effectively.”

The spokesperson told FE Week that the FE Commissioner’s team had described the college’s improvements as “one of the best turnarounds in the sector”.

But they added: “We had been through a robust self-assessment process and were aware of the strengths and weaknesses at Coventry College, particularly the challenges faced across some areas of our provision.

“We are fully committed to continuing to invest in the resources and strategies required to secure improvements in all areas at the next Ofsted inspection.”

[UPDATE: After this article was published the college told FE Week the principal’s salary stated in its accounts includes an additional contribution for relocation benefits, which are approved annually and not guaranteed. The principal’s basic salary is actually £141,000 and has not changed in the past two years.]

Training giant with 5,000 learners pulls out of apprenticeship market

A large training provider with nearly 5,000 learners on its books will cease its UK apprenticeship provision after a damning Ofsted inspection found that “demotivated and disengaged” apprentices were walking away from their courses.

The firm has claimed that the education watchdog’s scathing report has accelerated a decision to withdraw from the market after acknowledging that the quality of its apprenticeship training was not up to scratch.

Nearly 100 members of staff are now facing redundancy while thousands of learners will need to be accommodated elsewhere as a result.

Ofsted published an ‘inadequate’ report just before Christmas for GP Strategies Training Ltd, following a visit by inspectors in August.

Parent company Learning Technologies Group (LTG), which bought the business around a year ago, issued a London Stock Exchange update two days before Ofsted’s report was published saying that it intended to close its UK apprenticeship business in early 2023.

An LTG spokesperson said the decision over the operation, which was anticipated to generate around £9 million in revenue in 2022 from its Education and Skills Funding Agency-funded apprenticeships, was because “the nature of the customer relationships and quality of the offering in the business do not match the high standards elsewhere in GP Strategies and the group, especially following a negative Ofsted report in late 2022”.

It leaves around 4,700 apprentices on programmes who need to be transferred, while GP Strategies also confirmed that 95 jobs are at risk of redundancy.

GP Strategies Training Ltd has been delivering training since 1997 with centres in Stockport, Blackpool, Halifax, London and Bodmin. In 2017 it was selected by the Crown Commercial Service to provide apprenticeship training for the civil service.

At the time of its inspection, it had around 2,700 apprentices in adult care, 1,300 on childcare and education apprenticeships, 700 business and management apprentices and 166 adults on short online courses in healthcare and business.

Inspectors said that almost half of the apprentices had not completed their course within the planned timeframe, with some having missed opportunities for promotion or further employment as a result. Others had been unable to complete mandatory regulations they need for work.

The report said that “leaders maintain that the impact of Covid-19 was to blame for delays” but “leaders’ ineffective plans to enable apprentices to catch up have impeded these apprentices’ career opportunities”.

Inspectors reported that apprentices became “demotivated and disengaged” due to the high turnover of skills coaches, adding that “leaders do not know how many apprentices remain in learning”, and “too many apprentices contacted during the inspection stated that they have left the apprenticeship, are no longer in the sector or are on apprenticeships at other training providers”.

Elsewhere, those on adult learning programmes “lose interest early in the course” because of limited online materials and find the online learning platform “too difficult to navigate”.

Ofsted said that, while the programmes met the needs of national and local employers, leaders had “failed to provide a high-quality curriculum” that met the needs of all apprentices and adult learners.

Furthermore, inspectors said that “in many cases, apprenticeships do not attend taught sessions or have frequent enough contact with their skills coaches” and found that “leaders do not plan the functional skills English and mathematics curriculum effectively”.

In April 2021, the firm was criticised by Ofsted for serious safeguarding failures after concerns were raised by whistleblowers.

That was focused on its early years apprenticeships and found that leaders did not know if apprentices who worked with young children had completed their DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or in how many places they were employed.

A follow-up monitoring report in July that year said the firm was making reasonable progress to address safeguarding requirements and in its latest inspection Ofsted said that safeguarding arrangements were now effective.

The provider had not had a full inspection for more than a decade, with the last in July 2012, but received a ‘good’ rating during a 2016 short inspection and had been subject to the two monitoring visits in 2021.

CPD drives students’ skills and aspirations in college and at work

The worlds of education and business are evolving. Educators must keep up if young people are to find rewarding careers, so that employers can recruit the talent needed to drive performance and improve competitiveness. It is this ‘skills edge’ that will help the future economy to thrive, attracting inward investment so that the UK can compete better globally. WorldSkills UK is working as part of the WorldSkills international movement of over 80 countries driving up standards worldwide and promoting future workforces that will serve young people, employers and communities, improving social and financial mobility around the world.

WorldSkills UK has developed a suite of CPD sessions called, ‘Developing excellence in teaching and training’, developed in partnership with ETF and applicable across a wide range of curriculum disciplines, based on our experience at the cutting edge of professional development. Held on 1 and 2 February, this event will draw on WorldSkills UK’s insights from international competitions, best practice exchanges and standard-setting for curricula.

Using knowledge from national and international experts across a wide range of skills and streamed via an interactive online platform, the sessions will support you and your colleagues in developing your knowledge, understanding and skills as well as those of your students and apprentices.

By taking part, you’ll help move your learners from competence to excellence, learn more about the latest advances in learning technology, and examine how to support learners from underrepresented groups.

I want to do more CPD but how can I fit it into my busy schedule?

You can opt into just one session or as many as you like. Opting into a minimum of two during the live stream you will receive a digital credential to share with your networks and incorporate into your portfolio. All content will be downloadable after the event, so you can revisit or share the link with colleagues.

What’s available?

February 1

Tackling underrepresentation in technical and vocational education:

Gain a greater understanding of how to overcome social constructs that create barriers to inclusion.

Engaging learners through participation:

Appreciate with reference to specific technological solutions, how to engage learners in a range of scenarios typical in technical education.

Extending learning through artificial intelligence:

Understand with reference to specific technological solutions, how to promote and support greater accessibility and inclusion in vocational learning.

Enhancing learning through real simulators and virtual reality:

Understand the learning and business value of developing simulator training solutions.

February 2

Practical applications for achieving excellence with learners:

Understand WorldSkills UK’s seven step pedagogy cycle and related activities for use in a classroom or workshop environment.

Using world-class standards to enrich curriculum planning and enhance learner achievement:

Understand what WorldSkills occupational standards are and what their purpose is.

Competition activity as a method of raising learner aspirations and outcomes:

Experience the benefits of engaging in skills competition activity to individual learners, institutions and businesses.

Coaching techniques for supporting learners in developing effective behaviours and attitudes:

Learn coaching methodologies for supporting learners to achieve excellence.

Effective curriculum delivery to support meeting the needs of industry and net zero:

Gain insight into international best practice at reducing waste and increasing sustainability across vocational skill areas.

How do I book my free place?

Simply register with our quick-to-complete form and you’re ready to go.

Will I get an accreditation for taking part?

WorldSkills UK will award a digital credential to all those who attend two or more sessions, but we’re sure you’ll want to stay longer.

This verified digital credential demonstrates your commitment to professional development and embedding world-class practice into your teaching and can be shared across your professional networks including LinkedIn, bios, and CVs.

Who’s behind the programme?

To produce the programme, WorldSkills UK has partnered with the Education & Training Foundation (ETF), the workforce development body for the Further Education and Training sector. ETF works in partnership with others to deliver professional learning and development for teachers, trainers and leaders to improve education and training for learners aged 14 and over. The Society for Education and Training (SET) is ETF’s membership body, dedicated to professionals working across further education, vocational teaching and training.

We are also grateful to our session partners, the Skills and Education Group, Autodesk and Electude.

What other opportunities are there to enhance my teaching practice?

Competition-based training programmes: Each year, over 3,500 students and apprentices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland hone their technical skills in our competition-based programmes, as well as the personal skills that employers look for when recruiting young people, such as communication, planning, teamwork, self-reliance and resilience. 97% of competitors in our National Finals say that taking part has improved their technical skills, and 93% felt their self-confidence had grown. We can help you embed competitions in your teaching to encourage your students to take more responsibility for their own development and to be more aspirational in developing their skills. Applications for the 2023 competition are accepted from 27 February until 24 March 2023 and it’s free to enter and take part.

Those competitors making it to the National Finals have the chance to win medals as an endorsement of their skill level. They also have the opportunity to be selected for Squad UK, from which Team UK is drawn to compete on the global stage. In the WorldSkills Special Editions in 2022, the UK scored gold medals in aircraft maintenance and cabinet making, plus bronzes in Industry 4.0, jewellery making, and car painting. Half of Team UK also achieved medallions for excellence, indicating they had reached WorldSkills’ international standards of excellence. The UK achieved a top ten place overall, up two places from the last international competition in Kazan, Russia, and ahead of countries including Spain, Singapore, Australia and Canada.

While winning medals is important for the participants and their colleges and employers, the benefits of the training programme for them and other members of Squad and Team UK can’t be overestimated as they return to the workforce with improved technical and employability skills, becoming valuable role models for their peers by passing on the skills they have learned, so that the benefits of training are cascaded through the workforce.

Learning Lab: WorldSkills UK’s Learning Lab is a new online space and resource centre which provides free access to world-class skills development tools and resources for all.

Content is built on WorldSkills UK’s insights into international best practice, supporting educators to supercharge both their professional development and teaching skills and equipping them to boost student learning and develop world-class skills.

Easy to navigate, the Learning Lab offers a wide range of teaching tools and resources, from advice on careers education to mindset masterclasses, based on world-class practice from the world of elite sports training and development. Fresh resources will be continually added over time.

Careers Advice Toolkit

Mapped against the Careers Development Institute, Skills Builder and Gatsby Benchmark Frameworks, the Careers Advice Toolkit empowers young people to explore excellence within technical and apprenticeship career pathways. With inspiring bitesize content, the Toolkit can be used flexibly to support independent online learning, as well as any careers curriculum, delivered in the classroom or virtually.

Spotlight Talks

Designed to fit within lesson timetables, the Spotlight Talks video series brings together leading businesses and services to demonstrate young professionals sharing their own career journeys and what it takes to succeed in their sector. The next Spotlight Talks are in spring 2023 and we encourage viewers to pose questions directly to the presenters. All Spotlight Talks are available for download afterwards, so your students and apprentices don’t miss these inspiring and informative sessions. Check out existing downloads here.

Future programmes

We’re committed to continuing to provide educators with high-quality, free to access CPD opportunities. If you would like to be kept informed of new live and digital opportunities that can fit in with your timetable, email us at: getintouch@worldskillsuk.org

Finalists for AAC Apprenticeship Awards 2023 revealed

The finalists in the running for the AAC Apprenticeship Awards 2023 have been revealed.

Now in their sixth year, the awards celebrate the very best in apprenticeship delivery and recognise the people, teams and organisations that make excellent apprenticeships happen.

A record 375 entries were received from training providers, colleges, universities and employers and we can now reveal the shortlist of those who go forward to the national awards ceremony in March.

LSECT managing director Shane Mann — Shane Mann

Shane Mann, managing director of FE Week’s publisher Lsect and chair of the judging panel, said: “I know I speak for all AAC awards judges when I say how impressed we were with the standard of nominations this year.

“The quality of nominations gets stronger every year, which makes our job as judges tougher and tougher. Each of this year’s finalists has a powerful story to tell about how putting excellence and innovation at the heart of their provision, with staff at every level working hard to give apprentices the best experience possible.

“We know it has been another tough year in apprenticeships, so I can’t wait to bring the entire sector together at the AAC in March to celebrate the success of our finalists.”

The awards, this year delivered in partnership with City and Guilds, feature 19 categories. Among them is the prestigious apprenticeship provider of the year award, which will be won by either Myerscough College, Manchester Metropolitan University, Paragon Skills or Apprentify.

AELP chief executive Jane Hickie said: “AELP is delighted once again to be coming together with FE Week to host the AAC Apprenticeship Awards.

“It is incredibly heartening to see that, despite the extremely challenging conditions the sector faced in the last year, providers and employers all over the country have continued to do amazing work in supporting apprentices to fulfil their potential.

“Throughout the judging process we have seen so many impressive examples of best practice in delivery for our learners and employers. I am very much looking forward to meeting the nominees at the presentation of awards at the AAC gala dinner on March 14, and of course celebrating the achievements of the winners themselves.”

Four organisations are in the running to be named apprenticeship employer of the year: the BBC, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, RSM and Bagnalls.

There are 27 providers vying for 14 training sector awards this year including awards for the best providers in engineering, hair and beauty, care, digital and construction.

The winners will be announced at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference taking place on March 13-14, in Birmingham.

You can find out more about last year’s AAC Apprenticeship Award winners here.

AAC Apprenticeship Awards 2023 judging panel:

Shane Mann, managing director, Lsect, publisher of FE Week (chair)

Jane Hickie, chief executive, AELP (vice chair)

Charlotte Bosworth, managing director, Innovate Awarding

Patrick Craven, director of policy, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement, City and Guilds

Rob Colbourne, chief executive officer, Performance through People

Anne Milton, former MP for Guildford and minister for skills

Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd

Sharon Green, director of apprenticeships and skills, University of Lincoln

Sharron Robbie, managing director, Devon and Cornwall Training Provider Network

Sue Taylor, joint chair, Association of Learning Providers Surrey

Susanna Lawson, founder, OneFile

Jason Holt, CEO, Holts Group of Companies

Stewart Segal, board member, AELP and BIIAB

John Cope, executive director (strategy, policy and public affairs), UCAS

Jane Hadfield, national senior programme manager – apprenticeships, Health Education England

Ruth Jennings, skills development programmed manager, Sainsbury’s

Jonathan Foot, head of apprenticeships and early careers, Compass Group UK & Ireland

Ian Bamford, chief operating officer, Paragon Skills

Maths to 18 for all means rethinking maths altogether

This week, the prime minister has set out his ambition that all young people should study maths to 18. Rishi Sunak’s announcement has generally been poorly received. People have pointed out that this is going to be very hard to achieve with shortages of maths teachers across all phases.

For FE and post-16 leaders and teachers, there will likely be a sense of ‘groundhog day’ – another education policy announcement with big implications for FE without funding, a plan, or consideration of the implications, let alone meaningful consultation.

It is also another ‘policy first, evidence later’ initiative. In 2014, GCSE maths resits were effectively made compulsory. Like Sunak’s new policy, the resit idea was partly informed by comparisons with other countries about study of maths post-16. Sunak is right to point out that in many other countries studying maths to 18 is usual. But the way this happens, and the type of mathematics studied are different to our curriculum.

Like the current proposal, the GCSE resit policy allowed the government to make claims about commitment to improving outcomes, but was underfunded. Without adequate resources, individual colleges and organisations like the Education Training Foundation had to do their best to fill the gap in terms of teacher supply and professional development.

Resits mean students take the same exam on the same material again and again – and that’s over 135,000 students a year taking a qualification they won’t pass. A waste of their time and of colleges’ precious resources. Compulsory GCSE resits is a policy failure with barely a quarter achieving the expected standard by 18 – and not much up on the numbers before 2014. This is the result of a badly thought-through policy, made in a rush and with its eye on how it would play to supporters rather than putting young people at the centre.

It’s not a surprise that Sunak’s announcement was received with scepticism

We’re all familiar enough with policies designed this way and that go on not to flourish. Indeed, this isn’t even the only post-16 maths policy to do so. Take core maths, which offers a level 3 qualification in applications of mathematics. Sadly, core maths numbers have remained small, with research identifying the current post-16 funding arrangements as a key barrier to take-up.

So, it’s not a surprise that Sunak’s announcement was received with scepticism by providers. Some have even argued that it is not a serious proposal anyway, but a cynical political distraction from the funding crisis education is facing and our wider social and economic problems.

They might be right, but it does open up a chance to rethink post-16 level 2 maths teaching. A great starting point for discussion is the Royal Society’s work on level 2 qualifications. More broadly, a policy review we undertook as part of the Royal Society’s ‘Mathematical Futures’ programme, including looking at policy internationally, suggests the need for a more fundamental reform of our mathematics curriculum and qualifications.

So, what should the FE sector do in response to Sunak’s proposal?

First, make it clear that it must be fully funded. Doing so will require addressing the inequality in funding for studying level 2 maths between 11- to 16-year-olds and over-16s, incentivising alternative level 3 qualifications like core maths, and significant investment in teacher education and professional development.

Second, ask for a realistic time scale. This announcement looks like a short-term gimmick with the next election in mind. However, it could look different as a twenty- or thirty-year policy goal.

Third, make the case that the key to increasing participation in maths post-16 is to refresh curriculum content as Smith proposed five years ago.

Going beyond this, fourth, make the argument that the school maths curriculum also needs reform, rather than expecting post-16 settings to forever put right education policy failures.

In truth, our maths curriculum is stuck in the 19^th Century. Sunak says that currently we are letting children down because we are not equipping them with the data skills needed for work. If we want to really address that then the age of the pupils studying maths matters much less than ensuring the subject reflects the age we live in.

How esports could improve behaviour and engagement in your college

Improving engagement and behaviour is always at the forefront of lecturers’ minds. Often, our solution is to gamify our lessons with the likes of an interactive quiz. But what if there was a way to bring gamification further into our educational settings to drive engagement more broadly?

For those new to the term, esports is not the same as simply playing a video game for fun. Instead, esports is competitive video gaming on the same level as more traditional sports such as football or rugby, with built-in prioritisation of players’ mental and physical health as well as in-game skills.

At St Vincent College in Gosport, our esports journey began in late 2019 when we discovered the British Esports Federation and their student championships through our level 1 IT students. We entered a team and quickly found that giving our students the opportunity to compete against other schools and colleges from the comfort of our educational spaces gave them a platform to develop their understanding of IT terminology and hardware as well as a hobby to strive towards.

The initial uptake was huge, and our first step was to set clear expectations. In order to compete, we insisted that all their work must be handed in on time, their attendance in lessons must be high and their behaviour must be excellent. They obliged, and we saw considerable improvement for the students involved.

Lockdowns impacted, but our students’ understanding of esports and the industry had grown over the short period of time, which allowed us to continue to play in friendly matches known as scrims. We were able to stream these games, giving students and staff not directly involved the ability to watch and support the only active team at the time.

Our expectations set earlier in the year were also adhered to through lockdown, because all our students wanted to compete and represent their team nationally.

In this way, esports kept our learners engaged through lockdown, with many of them completing tasks at home that helped to develop their hard and soft skills as well as evolve our team, the St Vincent Sharks into the organisation it is now.

Students used their own resources and creativity to bring the team to life, from designing the logo and T-shirts to starting social media pages and a YouTube channel.

It is a format that is genuinely equal for everyone

Alongside this, they continued to make progress in other subjects – from literacy in the form of writing to potential local sponsors to numeracy by working out win percentages and costs to create jerseys. This enrichment opportunity proved to be a huge success and, when we returned to onsite learning, we were pleased to find that it was just as effective at re-engaging learners as it had been at engaging them to begin with.

As a result, we went on to develop our curriculum to offer our students the level 2 and 3 BTECs in esports. We are also extremely proud to have made a professional connection and partnership with Dell Technologies, which has led to the creation of our own 30-seat esports arena, nicknamed The Shark Tank.

Of course, there were hurdles along the way. Ours was configuring our cyber security protocols to enable onsite access to video games and the multiplayer aspect while keeping learners safe and secure online.

But the bigger hurdle for many is likely to be negative assumptions about gaming. For our part, we can truly attest that the benefits of esports considerably outweigh any negative perceptions.

Not only can they be used as a platform for students to develop the transferable skills employers need, but it is a format that is genuinely inclusive and equal for everyone, uniting players through their in-game abilities rather than academic or physical prowess.

We know the benefits of extra-curricular engagement. We accept this with music, traditional sports and even chess clubs. We gamify our subjects all the time to bring some of that competition and fun to our lessons.

Esports are here to stay and every college can benefit from their inclusion. And besides, the Sharks need some competition.

Multiverse posts sixth consecutive financial loss

Apprenticeship training and edtech firm Multiverse has said it’s on track to grow despite reporting financial losses for the sixth consecutive year.

Accounts for the company’s 2021/22 financial year, published this week, reveal that Multiverse made a £14.2 million loss despite its turnover nearly tripling from £10 million in 2020/21 to £27.2 million in 2021/22.

This follows net losses of £10.9 million in 2020/21 and £5 million in 2019/20.

Multiverse hit the headlines in 2022 by becoming the first UK based company to gain ‘unicorn’ status, which is awarded to edtech companies valued over $1 billion, following a drive for investment in the United States which raised £176 million. The company’s valuation at the time was a staggering £1.4 billion.

It’s these investment rounds that will be sustaining the organisation while it racks up annual losses.

The company, owned by Euan Blair, son of former prime minister Tony Blair, has said it is “typical” for venture-backed companies to report losses while it invests in its infrastructure.

A spokesperson for Multiverse said: “We’re at the forefront of growing the number of apprenticeship opportunities in both the UK and the US, doubling the number of apprentices we’re training, expanding our geographic reach, and increasing our team of world-class coaches.

“Investing for growth and reporting a loss is completely typical for this stage of the journey of successful venture-backed companies.

“We have made significant investments across all teams at Multiverse to put the company in the best position to meet the need for our apprenticeships in the year ahead.”

The company’s latest accounts show that it has invested heavily in expanding its staff team, from 181 employees in 2021 to 312 in 2022. This more than doubled its staffing bill from £13.9 million to £30.1 million.

Remuneration of its highest paid director also doubled from £125,000 to £257,033.

Its US operations made up a small proportion of its turnover in 2021/22, just 5 per cent, whereas turnover for its UK operations grew to £26 million from £10 million the year before.

Department for Education statistics for 2021/22 show that Multiverse started 4,940 apprentices, up by 1,980 on the year before. It’s offer includes apprenticeships standards in data analysis, team leadership and project management at levels 3 and 4.

In September 2022, Multiverse became the first provider that only delivers apprenticeships to be awarded degree awarding powers. It currently advertises a BSc (Hons) degree apprenticeship in digital and technology solutions.

Multiverse scored a full slate of ‘outstanding’ judgments in its first full Ofsted inspection in July 2021.