Less generous adult education clawback threshold offered in most devolved areas

The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s threshold for funding adult education courses that are not delivered is more generous than most mayoral combined authorities this year, FE Week has found.   

Whitehall now controls less than half of the country’s AEB, with the rest administered by nine mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority.   

Latest funding rules for each area show that most will claw back funds where grant-funded contracts handed to colleges and adult and community learning providers have not been spent in full.   

Here are the reconciliation thresholds for each area, according to their latest published funding rules: 

  

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 

For grant-funded providers, the combined authority will apply a performance threshold of 100 per cent for 2021/22 and all unspent AEB funds will be recovered through profiled payments in January to March 2023.   

Over-performance of up to 105 per cent will be paid, however, “subject to the availability of budget”.   

Procured providers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be paid on actual delivery and reconciled against proposed delivery plans on a monthly basis. Any over-delivery will not be funded. 

  

Greater Manchester 

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority conducts monitoring checks on grant and procured providers’ performance at four points throughout the year. At these monitoring points, where providers have identified actual or potential underspend within their current allocation, they will be given the opportunity to voluntarily reduce their allocation. Any underspend will be returned to the central pot to be redistributed within Greater Manchester.   

Should a provider continue to record an underspend year on year, the combined authority “reserve the right to review future allocations”, according to the funding rules.   

The GMCA said it will support all providers who over-deliver in 2021/22 by up to three per cent above their current core devolved AEB allocation. 

  

Greater London 

At the end of 2021/22 the Greater London Authority will apply a three per cent reconciliation tolerance for under-delivery. Where delivery of the overall AEB is less than 97 per cent of a provider’s block grant funding allocation, the authority will claw back funds.   

An over-delivery payment to all AEB grant providers who perform up to 103 per cent above their AEB allocations will be applied for the first time in London in 2021/22.   

Procured AEB contracts have separate contractual agreements that allow for reward of over-delivery, a GLA spokesperson said. Procured AEB providers may request an increase of up to ten per cent of their original lifetime contract value “subject to meeting a number of contractual criteria”. 

  

Liverpool City Region 

Liverpool will apply a 97 per cent tolerance to under-delivery for grant-funded providers.   

Procured providers will have their contract reduced at performance management points throughout the year if they are showing signs of potential underspend.   

No over-delivery will be paid for either grant or procured providers. 

  

Tees Valley 

There will be no tolerance for underspend for all Tees Valley providers. “TVCA reserve the right to recover any underspend below the full TVCA AEB 2021/22 allocation,” the combined authority said.   

Any over-delivery will also not be funded. 

  

West of England 

The West of England said it has a 97 per cent tolerance for under-delivery but it is unlikely to recover funds “as we would generally try to take this into consideration when calculating future allocations”.

A spokesperson said the combined authority also has a mitigation process that allows providers to submit a business case “regarding any underspend and potentially be awarded payment protection if they have made all efforts to deliver adult education in line with our strategy”.  

There will, however, be no payment for over-delivery. 

  

West Midlands 

The West Midlands Combined Authority’s latest funding rules does not show a tolerance for underspend in 2021/22. However, FE Week understands that a 97 per cent threshold is in place. 

But the rules do state that any over-delivery from grant and procured providers will not be funded, unless agreed in writing in-year with the WMCA. 

  

North of Tyne 

The North of Tyne Combined Authority said it reserves the right to recover any underspend, in full, below the provider’s 2021/22 AEB allocation. 

  

Sheffield City Region 

The threshold set by Sheffield City Region for 2021/22 will be that all providers must earn 100 per cent of their allocation, or hand back their unspent funds. 

  

West Yorkshire 

West Yorkshire will apply a three per cent reconciliation tolerance in 2021/22. 

Colleges fork out for taxis and b&bs to get students to exams during rail strikes

Bed and breakfast bookings, student sleepovers, extra minibuses and parents taking the day off work are among the measures families and colleges have taken to get learners to exams on time as a result of rail strikes this week.  

FE leaders have outlined the efforts students have made as thousands of services have been cancelled as part of national rail strikes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week. 

Colleges have also had to foot the bill for any extra measures they have put on, such as minibuses or taxis, from their own budgets.  

The strikes, organised by the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) over pay and conditions, landed during exam season, leaving students who use the rail network having to get to college by other means. 

Official data for June 2022 A-level entries indicated nearly 90,000 students were sitting maths exams, one of which was held on Tuesday, with nearly 55,000 chemistry A-level entries on Thursday.  

Many hopped on to buses, or stayed with friends who live closer to their college. But others had to go to longer lengths. 

Phil Tranter, vice-principal at Hereford Sixth Form College, said: “Some are having to stay in B&Bs in Hereford. 

“It’s not just one night they have to spend, for some it is two nights,” he said, depending on how their exams fell or when the last trains home were running. 

“Lots of others are staying with friends,” he continued. “And if they cannot get in, we have had to put on taxis for some students. 

“Some parents are having to take the day off. I have had quite a few students getting in at 7am saying it’s the only way mum or dad could get them here in time.” 

The college moved to virtual teaching for some students who couldn’t make it in this week. 

“We have almost had to go back to Covid for students who couldn’t get to us,” Tranter said. 

He said for some students this week may be the first time they have sat an exam, meaning travel disruption has added additional pressure or stress at a time of already-heightened anxiety. 

John Laramy, Exeter College principal, said: “Since the announcement about the train strikes, our personal tutors and wellbeing team have worked with students to ensure that any students that would be impacted were able to access the college on the day of their exam.   

“This worked so well that, so far, Exeter College is not aware of any students at all who have missed an exam due to the rail strikes.  

“Clearly the timing of the strikes has given students who have not previously sat formal exams additional challenges to navigate, therefore our exams team are fully aware of the different special considerations that are available to reassure students.” 

Guy Francis, assistant principal at Brockenhurst College in Hampshire, said: “Students with lessons were advised to use our extensive bus network instead of the train. As a failsafe alternative, they could access quality learning online thanks to our blended learning contingency strategy. In exceptional cases, taxis and minibuses were arranged for students sitting exams.” 

Many colleges and sixth forms had used the time between the strikes being announced earlier in June and Tuesday’s first day of action to signpost students to bus routes or encourage car sharing. 

In many instances, students who thought they may struggle this week were asked to flag concerns early so arrangements could be made.   

In Oxfordshire, The Henley College recommended that students sitting exams leave at least two hours to get in, and moved some of its courses to online study for the week to minimise disruption. 

In a blog last week, the DfE said it “did not expect exams to be rescheduled because of the strike,” because “this would not be fair on students”. 

It added that it expected providers to “draw on existing contingency arrangements” – which included providers’ own budgets – where alternative arrangements needed to be made for students. 

The Joint Council for Qualifications in its guidance for this summer’s exams outlined some flexibility, which included the ability for centres to vary start times by 30 minutes and other measures around start times and invigilators.  

How the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on FE students

“We are struggling to make ends meet and even a coffee is a novelty. Students already are having it hard and now the future is very bleak.”   

That’s the assessment of one college student in the north-east of England, but one that students across the country recognise as the cost of living crisis continues. 

FE leaders spoke to FE Week about how they are having to go to further and further lengths beyond that of simply providing education, such as clothing students out of their own pockets, while the National Union of Students warns that students are being pushed to the brink, with some being forced to drop out of education.  

The combination of cost increases for food, petrol, energy and council tax precepts, among other things, means household budgets are being stretched considerably. 

The NUS is currently running a survey asking students to share their experiences. Responses from some of the FE learners already submitted have demonstrated it is having a big impact beyond just bank balances.   

“Cost of living is a definite strain in my family, social and academic life. I’m unable to buy books and resources, our family doesn’t really go out for food or travelling too much any more,” one student from the West Midlands, who wished to not be named, said. 

Another student, from Scotland, said: “It’s a crisis of food or fuel. Food is winning the now but come winter, I’m not so sure of how to cut back on food cost and increase fuel money when it’s cold.”   

In London, one student reported: “The price of food in my college has gone up, and the prices of food in shops around my college area have also gone up. It’s become difficult to buy food and to travel during the last few weeks.” 

This provides just a snapshot of the struggles students are facing, with many more flying under the radar.   

Salsabil Elmegri, NUS vice-president for further education, said the union would like to see a student cost of living payment created by the government. “We’re hearing from students who can’t even afford to go for a cup of coffee with their mates, let alone transport and study materials.   

“Students aren’t cash cows. We are at breaking point, and we’re desperate for something radically different,” Elmegri added.   

While colleges have been keen to ensure students can continue their studies and improve their future chances, some students say they have no choice but to find work instead.   

Katy Urwin, assistant principal at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: “Anecdotally we have had more students leaving us part-way through the year.  Because of financial pressure, they weren’t able to complete their course.”   

Around 11 per cent of students who have withdrawn from their course in-year have done so because of financial problems, she said.   

Alison Purver, head of student engagement at Leeds City College, said: “We have to be creative with our timetables. They might have three longer days, to give them time to work [on the other two] because they need money.   

“It used to be students were working late at night and they were tired. If you allow more time for them to get part-time jobs, they are earning and learning.”   

How have providers responded?   

Common threads to emerge from college leaders have been an uptick in breakfast club demand and handing out clothes to some of the poorest students.   

Hartlepool College’s welfare officer Ronnie Bage said: “I have clothed somebody this week. Every week I clothe somebody. Sometimes I pay out of my own pocket. Staff bring in clothing from their teenagers that they don’t wear any more. It’s like a community thing – we are all in it, we are all supportive.”   

Cornwall College, meanwhile, has provided free smart-wear clothes specifically to help students when it comes to interviews.   

Rebecca Barrington, director of student experience at Cornwall College, said: “Students can be quite good at hiding it, and actually if a student has got the right clothes for an interview that’s going to help them get a job and help them with a future.”   

Breakfast clubs have become increasingly important. They provide a guaranteed means of ensuring students have had a meal. Urwin said the increase in demand for breakfast clubs at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (demand now stands at more than one in ten learners) meant it has had to seek support from supermarkets to obtain food.   

“Sometimes we do collections twice a week,” she said. “We are making those relationships with supermarkets so we can be those additional services, but it is difficult because we are educators and spending time on other things.”   

She added: “We might joke about being hangry but we really recognise that term. If they haven’t had their breakfast or their lunch they are not able to regulate their behaviour. Knowing they have had food means they are much more ready to learn.”   

Another side-effect to the crisis reported by sector leaders has been demand for bursaries.   

Purver said around 7,000 students at Leeds City College receive bursary support, with a year-on-year increase of seven per cent. Around 30 per cent of learners at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire get help through bursaries.   

Meanwhile at Hartlepool College, principal Darren Hankey said around 650 of the 1,200 students were receiving bursary support. Pre-pandemic it was around 40 per cent of the student body who were eligible; now it is pushing 60 per cent, he said.   

This has raised fears that some teenagers – particularly those who may be more vulnerable – may be drawn to county lines drug gangs. “It can be quite alluring, if someone is potentially lavishing you with a new phone or trainers, and some of the mechanisms they [the gangs] use are quite well established,” Hankey said.   

Mental health linked to poverty 

Bage said he greets students at Hartlepool at the front door every day to build up a rapport, to make sure they are OK and to spot any changes in mannerisms or behaviours. Poverty is now the biggest contributor to mental health concerns, he said.   

The NUS said that if students were not able to socialise because they couldn’t afford a coffee, there were inevitable mental health impacts from that too.   

Three dedicated hubs for wellbeing have been established at the three North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire campuses to ensure all students can access support. Colleges across the board have cited increasing demand on welfare or student support staff.   

Elsewhere, the lack of free school meals support during the holidays has been cited as a concern.   

Purver said that its programme to feed students during the six-week summer break is set to cost around £150,000 of the college’s own funds, but she said it was “the right thing to do”.   

For Cornwall College, which facilitates students from two education authority areas, the situation is more complex. Cornwall Council has not continued its free school meals provision in holidays, instead offering families the chance to apply for support, but Devon County Council has. This left the college finding additional sources of funding to ensure students in the Cornwall local authority area were not disadvantaged.   

Among the support college leaders have said they would like to see are free school meals provision being extended into the holidays, and ensuring families have suitable devices to prevent digital poverty, such as laptops, notepads and wifi connections.   

Independent training provider Nacro has campaigned for more support for the most disadvantaged students, including calls for a specific pot of funding given directly to providers to be used as a pupil premium plus.   

A spokesperson said: “This can be used by the provider to give additional help to the most at need students in the best way they see fit. It could be in an educational sense, such as extra tutoring or tools. But it could also be used to provide holistic support, such as providing transport, food, clothing and helping support learners with expenses.” 

FE badly needs empowered students to make its case to government

The NUS no longer has the resources to keep flogging the dead horse of FE student advocacy, writes Jim Dickinson

Following a spurious story about “woke” builders in the Daily Mail, how refreshing it was that trade union GMB spoke out about how ridiculous and patronising its story on mental health and skilled manual work was.

But when was the last time we saw that kind of student advocacy for colleges?

When I worked in students’ union development, I would regularly have to attend FE dinners and conferences where students from the local college would be invited to perform.

But the pride shown after four glasses of Chablis and a chicken dinner was rarely matched the following morning. Invariably, rather than indulging in backslapping saviour syndrome, I’d be arguing with principals and chairs about whether it was “possible” or “practical” for FE students to have some power over their curriculum or even their college.

I was reminded of this when I came across an academic paper on the role of the student governor and how the role is understood in colleges. A standout quote was:

“I’m not a major fan of student reps, if I were very, very honest. The whole concept of them, I’m not sure whether they add a lot of value… I think there’s a tendency for the student members especially to be strictly lip service, and I think that there should be far better ways of getting the learner voice to the board than through the student rep.”

Imagine being a college principal and having such little faith and confidence in your own college’s ability to develop students that you can’t ever imagine them being effective on your board.

And imagine thinking that “consultation” or “surveys” are a meaningful match for representation and agency.

In my time working at NUS, I met hundreds of student governors. I can count on one hand the number that weren’t able to do it.

Thousands more were never supported and enabled properly by the “great and good”, on the grounds that kind of thing “wouldn’t work in FE”.

When we really threw resource at it, that view was proved wrong.

With a Robin Hood-style redistribution of resources through the sale of NUS cards and affiliation fees from university students’ unions into the college sector, we were able to train student governors and support students’ union committees. We could also find the really talented ones to take part in national policy conversations.

Now and again, they’d get the cost of catering on campus down, intervene on public transport, change disciplinary policies and make the odd minister squirm.

Let’s have a national summit driven by FE students

In truth, proportionally too many of those we supported were doing A Levels and the level of effort and resource required to keep those plates spinning was often unsustainable.

And ironically, we were applying our own kind of benevolent paternalism ̶ imagining that just because some students in the UK get a students’ union whose origins are in ancient Oxbridge clubs, we should aspire for students in FE to have them too.

And it was always the case the most important thing that students in HE get from their students’ union (professional advocacy in the event of a complaint or appeal about the college or students/staff) was missing. It still is now, which is deeply worrying.

The truth is that NUS is successful in making student representation work in colleges in Scotland partly because there is both legislation and funding that supports it, and partly because a more “tertiary” sector involves colleges delivering more higher education.

It is unlikely to be a coincidence that NUS UK’s incoming vice president for FE, Bernie Savage, is from Scotland and recently completed an HND in business.

It is regrettable that she was elected by so few FE delegates to the NUS conference that it has refused to issue a ballot count sheet.

It is even more regrettable that NUS no longer has the resource to enable what amounts to an English dead horse to be further flogged.

There are models that might work. When the National Society of Apprentices was created (endorsed by a group of politicians who would struggle to engage with NUS now) democratic structures and funding arrangements were shaped by the apprentices in the room, not the romantic ambitions of those who’d been at university.

A national summit, driven by FE students and supported by those of us who believe in the agency and contribution of FE learners, ought to be enabled to answer the questions we never dared ask in the past.

With no disrespect to the Association of Colleges, the sector would probably be more persuasive if some of its own students were making the case to government for investment and change.

Just £9m of adult education and non-levy apprenticeship relief funding released

Training providers were handed less than £9 million as part of a relief scheme to support adult education courses and non-levy apprenticeships during the pandemic – a fraction of the £144 million first projected to be needed.   

Two rounds of supplier relief schemes were launched by the Department for Education in 2020 to retain provider capacity within the apprenticeships and adult education sector as Covid-19 and associated lockdowns put jobs and their financial viability in jeopardy.   

But as previously reported by FE Week, strict eligibility criteria and the onerous nature of what could be applied for put thousands off submitting bids, while other cash-strapped providers, such as Bradford College, which nearly went into administration in 2019, had their applications rejected. Apprenticeships funded by levy-payers were also excluded, which wiped out any potential bids from more than 1,000 providers.   

A National Audit Office “cost-tracker” for the pandemic showed the DfE had first projected a cost of £144 million for the adult education and non-levy apprenticeship relief scheme – but this dropped to £27 million by August 13, 2020.   

Final funding allocations for providers in 2019/20 and 2020/21 were published this week and revealed, for the first time, how much relief funding was distributed.   

FE Week analysis of the data shows that 94 providers received a combined total of £5.7 million in 2019/20. Allocations ranged from £362,789 for CT Skills Ltd to £138 for Bridgwater and Taunton College.   

The 10 highest overall relief allocations in 2019/20

And in 2020/21 there was 62 providers that shared £3.2 million from the relief scheme. CT Skills Ltd again received the most – £373,595 – while Maritime and Engineering College North West received the lowest – £223.   

The 10 highest overall relief allocations in 2020/21

Under the terms of the relief scheme, providers needed to demonstrate that they had a real “need” for the funding requested, including by evidencing low reserves, “in order to maintain capacity within their organisations to support learners and respond to the economic recovery”.   

Providers also had to be prepared to provide “all evidence of spend for future reconciliation and provide ‘open book’ access to accounting records”.   

Karen Woodward, the ESFA’s deputy director for employer relations, told a previous FE Week webinar that many providers failed in their bids because they struggled to “prove need” for the financial support and not many eligible providers applied because they did not feel “comfortable” in sharing the financial information that was being requested by the agency.   

But those that were successful in receiving a slice of the funding have spoken about how “incredibly helpful” the support was in retaining staff and continuing delivery of training.   

Dudley College of Technology was the college that received the most from the scheme – £248,661 in 2019/20 and £239,142 in 2020/21. Principal Neil Thomas told FE Week: “The funding allowed us to retain skilled specialist staff, who we may otherwise have had to make redundant, at a time when millions of apprentices across the country were placed on furlough, and businesses’ attention was focused on economic survival.”   

He added: “The funding was incredibly helpful. The college’s income fell dramatically during the pandemic period due to a drop-off in apprenticeship starts, commercial work, international and adult education – none of which was protected for us. The college had to undergo a round of efficiencies and reduce staff and provision in the areas most affected.   

“Support funding allowed us to protect some of the most critical apprenticeship provision in engineering and construction. Without it we would have had to make further efficiencies and reduce provision further. The funding allowed us to protect provision, so we could quickly gear back up when apprentices returned to the workplace and employers had the confidence to invest in training once again.”   

And a spokesperson for Total People, which received £224,202 in 2019/20 and £165,166 in 2020/21, said: “At a time when apprenticeships were disrupted during the height of the pandemic, the relief fund enabled us to continue delivery, providing additional specific support to learners with a focus on wellbeing and welfare, especially for learners who were furloughed for long periods of time.   

“It also meant that, as lockdown eased, Total People had the capacity to restart its provision as quickly as it could, enabling people to develop the skills they needed and supporting companies in upskilling their staff.” 

Provider and DfE agree terms and avoid High Court battle over terminated contract

A training provider has dropped a High Court challenge against the Department for Education after an undisclosed settlement was agreed.   

Abis Resources Limited launched legal action against the department in 2019 after the firm’s FE loans and apprenticeship contracts were “unconscionably” terminated.   

Documents obtained by FE Week showed that the provider was seeking damages worth £600,000.   

But the DfE was contesting the case and even counter alleged that Abis Resources owed the government more than £100,000 in overclaimed funding.  

If the case had gone ahead it would have been the first time a training provider has taken the DfE all the way to court over terminated skills funding contracts, FE Week understands.  

But new documents obtained by this publication show that both parties have come to a settlement agreement.   

A consent order from the court said: “By consent it is ordered that all further proceedings in this action be stayed upon the terms set out in the settlement agreement between the parties dated 9 March 2022.   

“Each party shall have permission to apply to the court to enforce those terms without the need to bring a new claim.   

“There shall be no order as to costs.”   

However, the DfE, Abis Resources and its solicitor DWF have all refused to comment or share any details about the settlement.   

It is therefore unclear whether the provider received any damages, or whether the DfE reclaimed any of the alleged overclaimed funding.   

The Department for Education ended Abis Resources Limited’s funding agreements in 2018 after discovering that an awarding body had imposed the most serious sanction possible and withdrawn its approval of the provider two years earlier.   

Officials claimed that Abis was in breach of its contracts because it failed to immediately and formally notify the DfE of the sanction when it was first enforced in June 2016. The alleged deceit also led to the provider being “mistakenly” accepted on to the government’s apprenticeship provider register.   

But Abis claimed there was “no proper basis” for the termination because it had in fact notified the department of the awarding body dispute at the time.   

ABIS Resources, based in London, was set up in 2006 to offer a range of commercial and publicly funded courses. It is owned by Muhammad Shiraz Uddin.   

The firm initially delivered Train to Gain courses until the controversial scheme was scrapped in 2010.   

Abis moved into the advanced learner loans market in 2015, holding direct contracts with the then Skills Funding Agency totalling almost £650,000 until 2018.   

The provider’s only Ofsted inspection was conducted in 2010 and resulted in a ‘good’ rating. 

Top levy-funded apprenticeship providers for past 2 years reavealed

Lifetime Training has continued its dominance of the apprenticeship levy market for the past two years – but the gap between its competitors is closing, FE Week analysis of new government data shows.   

The Education and Skills Funding Agency this week published the final funding allocations for training providers in 2019/20 and 2020/21, which included the values for how much each provider was paid by apprenticeship levy funded employers.   

The agency published levy allocations for the first time in 2018/19. At the time, Lifetime Training topped the list after it was paid £51.5 million – almost double the next closest provider, QA Limited, on £26 million.   

Since then, Lifetime has retained its top spot, earning £50.6 million and £43.3 million in 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively.   

Kaplan took second place in 2019/20 with £34.2 million, while the British Army took the position in 2020/21 with £38.4 million.   

The college with the largest amount of levy-funding in 2019/20 was The Sheffield College, which earned £5.3 million – placing it in 33rd place overall. Bridgwater and Taunton College took the top college spot in 2020/21 with £5.5 million – 40th place overall.   

The total amount of levy funding handed out in 2019/20 was £942.4 million, shared between 1,272 apprenticeship providers.   

This increased to £1.3 billion shared between 1,355 providers in 2020/21. 

Union threatens results days as staff mull strike action

Students across the country could face delays in receiving their exam results this summer, a union has claimed, as staff at England’s largest exam board are balloted to strike over a pay dispute. 

Unison and Unite unions are rejecting a three per cent pay increase, plus a £500 payment, for staff at AQA – claiming the charity is “failing its staff and students by holding down pay”. 

Workers now have just days to accept the offer, or could face a “fire and rehire” scenario, Unison claims. New data this week showed inflation at 9.1 per cent, a 40-year high. 

Unison said more than 160 AQA staff are now being balloted to strike at the height of the exam marking period this summer.

Lizanne Devonport, Unison north-west regional organiser, said AQA is “letting down not just its staff but students too, by holding down pay. 

“No one wants to cause disruption to students and teachers in the first summer back in exam halls since the pandemic, but the employees feel like they’ve been left with no choice.”

But AQA said “threats of disruption are nonsense” and “designed to needlessly frighten students and teachers”. The board has plans in place to ensure industrial action wouldn’t impact results day, a spokesperson said.

Many of the 160 staff are not involved in setting and marking exam papers, they added.

The threat of disruption follows two education unions – with a joint membership of over 750,000 – vowing this week to consult on strike action in autumn unless the government gives teachers inflation-busting pay rises.

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said a strike would be “unforgivable and unfair”.

AQA said its pay offer comes on top of additional incremental increases for staff not at the top of their pay grade, meaning the average rise is 5.6 per cent – their biggest pay increase for two decades.

But AQA staff say they have had below inflation pay rises of between one and two per cent in recent years.

Staff were told those who do not opt into the changes, which also include a new pay framework, by June will face consultation meetings in July.

AQA told staff this month there could then be “two extremes” – allowing staff to remain on the current pay framework with a 1.67 per cent rise, or “dismiss and re-engage”.

The unions claim this is a “fire and rehire” process. AQA said it has not made any decisions about what to do with staff who choose not to opt into the new framework.

The two-week ballot for strike action closes next week. If staff vote ‘yes’, strike action would take place this summer.

Unite is also considering an industrial action ballot. The union would not say how many AQA staff were members.

One AQA worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told FE Week staff are “in tears” about what to do, as they feel “very let down” with “no option but to accept”. 

Another said: “Many of us have done our jobs for a long time and are dedicated to public service. Exam board employees work miracles silently in the background to ensure that results are issued on time year after year. But we’ve reached the point where enough is enough.”

Another accused the board of being “content to watch its loyal, long-serving employees fall further and further behind on pay to the point where some of us are struggling to survive”.

Devonport called on AQA to “come back to the negotiating table, make a serious offer and stop threatening its dedicated staff”.

The charity saw its income drop by 28.9 per cent in the last financial year. Its net income before investment gains and losses was £2.9 million, down from £20 million in 2020. It equated to an operating margin of two per cent, a “considerable reduction” on the previous year.

While AQA’s charity funds decreased overall by £7.5 million, they still hold £112 million.

“Rather than using its cash reserves to help employees cope with the spiralling cost of living, it has provoked an unprecedented strike ballot,” Devonport added.

An AQA spokesperson said the pay rise was “affordable and higher than many organisations – so it’s disappointing we haven’t been able to reach an agreement with the unions, who don’t speak for the vast majority of our staff.” 

They have “already made exceptional concessions” and “after already exhausting the dispute resolution process, arbitration would only delay things further”.

The exam board, which has 1,200 staff, provides 62 per cent of GCSEs and 45 per cent of A-levels.

DfE to rename college comparison website as performance tables return

The government will rebrand its school and college performance website to “reduce the emphasis on comparison” after a backlash from leaders at resuming league tables despite Covid’s impact.

The Department for Education said last year key stage four and post-16 performance data would return this year, defending it as an “important” measure to help parents and students choose schools and colleges. 

But it has now advised those using 16-18 data not to compare colleges without considering Covid’s impact – and should ask colleges for this context.

The site will be renamed

Leaders’ union ASCL said earlier this year members felt “thrown to the wolves” by the decision, given the level of Covid upheaval faced by students and impact on “careers and reputations”. 

The DfE has always pledged to put messages alongside data to “advise caution drawing conclusions”, but has now set out how it will do so over the “coming months”.

  • It will change the name of its “Compare School and College Performance” website to “reduce the emphasis on comparison between institutions”. It did not provide the new name.
  • It will remove coloured bandings to “discourage simplistic conclusions being drawn about a school or college”. Results are currently colour-coded through a traffic light-style scheme, with “well below average” figures in red.
  • Comparison tables for local authorities and all schools and colleges nationally will be removed. But the site will “continue to show local authority and national averages for each performance measure on the individual school or college page” – and national and local data will still be available to download.  FE Week asked the DfE for more detail.
  • Data from 2018-19 and earlier will no longer be displayed on school or college pages, but it will remain at “the usual archive with a link on the website”.

A survey of ASCL’s members earlier this year found 82.6 per cent disagreed with plans to resume KS4 performance tables. Some highlighted significant national variations in student and staff absence, as well as disadvantaged students being more negatively affected by Covid.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of leaders’ union ASCL, welcomed steps to “reduce the potentially damaging impact”, calling it a “step in the right direction”.

But publishing the information at all is “hugely disappointing”, as the varied impact of Covid makes for an “inherent flaw”.

It would still result in data being published that “affects public perceptions”. He called for a further year’s suspension to “allow some sort of return to normality before returning to the full barrage of accountability measures to which educational institutions are subjected”.

The DfE’s update on 2021-2022 16-18 accountability measures published today says it recognises the “uneven impact” of Covid. 

Its efforts will “advise caution when comparing a school’s performance” with averages, and it is “vital” parents and others talk to schools and colleges to “understand the broader context” and Covid impact.

Users are urged not to draw “firm conclusions” and advised “strongly” against direct comparisons of schools and colleges without taking context into account. 

Meanwhile Ofsted will be “sensitive in their use of this data” and it should not be used “in isolation” for staff performance management.

But the DfE said publishing data is key “for transparency and as a starting point” for choosing which schools and colleges pupils attend.