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Coaching apprentices is about more than knowledge transfer

The Prince’s Trust Class of Covid research found that more than 60 per cent of 16- to 25-year-olds said that they were scared about their generation’s future, having lived through a pandemic only to face a cost-of-living crisis. The research found that the pandemic had ushered in a new era of uncertainty and a lack of self-confidence.

Increased confidence is a core part of what an apprenticeship can achieve for young people. That goes far beyond the transfer of knowledge and competency. For coaches, there are many pastoral care skills to develop too. These are the magic ingredients that make for excellent coaching and are essential when working with hard-to-reach young people in areas of deprivation.

First and foremost, the key part in building success in any environment is creating a positive relationship. I like to have open and honest conversations with each learner about what they enjoy doing, what they want to work towards and what journey they want to go on over the next 16 to 18 months. This can uncover mutual interests while allowing me to see how I can work best with that individual.

All this takes place before even talking about the apprenticeship or what is needed to complete it. After all, ensuring I’ve done some background research and checked that the learner is on the right apprenticeship is one of the most important steps in securing their achievement.

Having regular check-ins with the learner means I can praise them individually on anything they have done that has impressed. On the other hand, it allows me to have a conversation as to why they might not be up to standard in any areas and seek avenues to support them. It could be extra meetings or sitting down with their managers to discuss anything work-related. My job is to support and guide; this puts me in a great place to keep the learner engaged on the programme.

Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care

It also lets me work with the learner on developing social skills. I always listen first and show it by making eye contact and responding appropriately to what the learner says. Learners from areas of deprivation might not have had as many chances in life to do things that seem normal to other people, such as going to work or on holiday, or even simply experiencing structure in their lives. It is even more important to build trust with them before I ask them to do something for me.

I had a similar upbringing to many of my learners. I’ve lived in a deprived area, and learned so much that allows me to relate to their problems and have them relate to me. But shared experience isn’t necessary. There’s a saying I stand by: nobody cares what you know until they know that you care. By carrying myself in this way, I am helping to transfer these skills on to others.

But it’s important to realise it’s not only the learners’ outcomes at play in these interactions. There are always opportunities to become a better coach. continuing professional development should be woven into life as a learning coach. This involves keeping up to date on what’s happening in the sectors we work in, and having the latest training on learning delivery, including managing challenging and antisocial behaviours.

Our role is to foster development and progression, and that can’t be from a career perspective alone. Personal development is vital to our impact. Learners’ outcomes shouldn’t be the only achievement of an apprenticeship, it’s also about the ability to interact with people, and helping them apply themselves and become community role models.

By putting these aims at the heart of our practice, we make it more likely they will succeed economically. But, more than that, we ensure they are equipped to play their part in inspiring future generations to do the same.

Ofsted finds apprentices on wrong programme for 4 years

A long-running apprenticeship provider is facing contract termination after Ofsted discovered that some apprentices were on the wrong programme for four years.

The Stockport Engineering Training Association (SETA), which was set up in 1966 and specialises in engineering apprenticeships in Greater Manchester, was handed an ‘inadequate’ report today.

One of the key reasons for the grade was because inspectors found apprentices were enrolled onto the level 3 engineering technician apprenticeship instead of the level 3 maintenance operations and engineering technician apprenticeship.

The report said leaders only recently identified this error when arranging apprentices’ final assessments at the end of their programme – four years after they started.

The apprentices are now enrolled on the correct programmes but a few employers were not made aware of this, Ofsted added.

Inspectors also found that apprentices nearing their final assessments had significant gaps in learning and their progress and achievement have been “severely impeded as a result of this lack of oversight”.

Other apprentices were still on their apprenticeship two years beyond their planned end date.

But there was some praise throughout Ofsted’s report, which said apprentices display positive attitudes to their learning, most enjoy their courses, develop new skills and confidence, and value the support they receive from their employer engagement managers, trainers and workplace managers.

Private training providers that receive a grade four from Ofsted typically have their skills funding contracts and ability to deliver apprenticeships terminated by the government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency.

A spokesperson from SETA said the provider was “extremely disappointed” with the final Ofsted report and explained the situation which led to apprentices being on the wrong programme was not as straightforward as Ofsted’s report suggests.

“Apprentices were not enrolled onto the wrong standard at the start of their apprenticeship, learners were enrolled on the correct apprenticeship, but their employer later changed their job role in the workplace, this then required a change in the apprenticeship standard. The learners were still learning but we accept that the paperwork was not processed timely,” the spokesperson said.

“This had been discussed with the employers at the time but the delayed paperwork resulted in the employer not realising the change had been completed. This was one of the factual inaccuracies that we requested Ofsted to change the wording of, but this was refused.”

SETA added that Covid-19 was a major factor in apprentices going beyond their planned end date, but claimed Ofsted did not consider the pandemic when making their judgements – as several other providers have complained in recent months.

The spokesperson said the provider is now “awaiting confirmation from the ESFA with regard to the action they are going to take regarding our contract”.

SETA was last visited by Ofsted in 2016, at which time the provider was judged to be ‘good’. The education watchdog’s latest report said the quality of training that apprentices receive has “significantly declined since the previous inspection”.

They put this down to leaders not successfully managing the transition from delivering frameworks to teaching the new-style apprenticeship standards introduced in 2017.

Leaders continue to focus on qualification and unit completion rather than the development of the knowledge, skills and behaviours that the apprenticeship standards require, according to the report.

Ofsted said that in some instances, leaders meet employers’ needs at the expense of apprentices’ needs. Inspectors found that, at the request of a few employers, leaders have prioritised the achievement of qualifications over the completion of apprentices’ final assessments.

Consequently, these apprentices have not completed their apprenticeships on time and are unable to move on to their next stage in their learning and careers.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan raised concern last year, when she was skills minister, about apprentices completing qualifications that are part of their apprenticeship early in their programme and then not progressing on to their end-point assessment – a key feature of the new-style standards. She ordered a review into this as part of a wider investigation into the reasons why half of apprentices currently drop out before completing nationally.

Ofsted also criticised SETA for taking a “haphazard approach” to teaching the curriculum, after finding that on “too many occasions” leaders and trainers reorder teaching to suit the availability of teaching staff or to maximise the number of apprentices in classes.

SETA said it has have delivered engineering apprenticeships in the Northwest and surrounding areas for over 50 years, “successfully training over 12,000 engineering apprentices in various disciplines”.

“If our provision is not available it will leave a massive void,” the provider’s spokesperson added.

The college breakfast programme tackling hunger and poverty

Every day, I see learners arriving at the college I lead unable to afford breakfast or basic equipment. For some time now, people have warned of a cost-of-living crisis. It is here now. It looms large in classrooms and on campuses across the country.

Hunger is a huge distraction from effective learning. It’s why we host a community college kitchen on site, supported by Kellogg’s. Through it, students benefit from access to food and vouchers they need to set them up for the day.

But there’s only so much we can do. We are part of a bigger picture.

When times are hard, benefits become even more crucial as a financial safety net for struggling families. That’s why the current public debate about whether and how to uprate benefits is understandable and important.

However, while the level benefits are paid at is undoubtedly of the utmost importance, before getting to that question we ought to be addressing the vital issue of whether families are receiving – and aware of – all that they are entitled to.

At Trafford College, a pilot scheme is highlighting the extent to which that is not happening – and the difference it can make to lives if people are helped to claim all they can.

Kellogg’s recently partnered with Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) and they came to me with a proposal. GMPA had identified that millions of pounds in benefits were remaining unclaimed across the city. Given our previous work with Kellogg’s, I was happy to support a pilot scheme centred on the community college kitchen to see if this was correct.

Colleges are often best placed to offer this kind of assistance

So it proved. Families were indeed going without benefits they were entitled to. Ours was one of four schools and colleges across our city taking part in the pilot, which has been running since the beginning of the current school term in September. The pilot has already helped dozens of families: on average each family has received an extra £1,000 to which they were entitled but were previously unaware they could access.

To most people, £1,000 is a colossal sum – the annual UK average for raising a child is, in fact, well over £1,000. With inflation skyrocketing, this additional cashflow is nothing short of lifechanging to parents, guardians and children.

That families had been missing out on funds they were entitled to speaks to poor communication, complicated bureaucratic processes and, most of all, families needlessly going without.

What’s more, missing out on welfare is more than just a numbers game. Financial insecurity and poverty are huge contributors to poor mental health – the consequences of which are all too frequently devastating on students, their future livelihoods cruelly stunted as a result.

That’s why it was so important to me that Trafford College took part in the pilot scheme. We’re a community-focused college – helping parents and guardians hit by the cost-of-living crisis to access more support came naturally to us.

In my experience, I’ve found that schools and colleges are often best placed to offer this kind of assistance. We know our families well, so we can offer them targeted advice.

I am confident our community college kitchen, like those at the other pilot sites across the city, will undoubtedly continue to make lives better for students and their families.

Aside from the success we’re already witnessing in Greater Manchester, the scheme has a strong track record. Last year, a similar pilot took place in Glasgow. Across four schools in the city, it helped families access £700,000 in unclaimed benefits. There is clear evidence to show that we can replicate that here in Greater Manchester.

For dozens of Mancunian families’ children, a platform like our community college kitchen is a strong start and adding benefits advice into that makes it stronger still. In the current economic climate, I would encourage all colleges to look to liaise with their local councils and supportive agencies such as Citizens Advice to offer this valuable service to their communities.

We are already working beyond the pilot to expand it across our group. Every college can do the same.

Competence and competition. But which will define the new DfE line-up?

Gavin Williamson’s resignation aside, this year’s political omnishambles has momentarily paused. Once again, we have a whole new Department for Education team.

The third prime minister of 2022, Rishi Sunak has already described skills as his “silver bullet”. Unfortunately for those looking for quick progress or a radical reform agenda, the skills and FE sector might find itself a long way behind a frankly terrifying raft of national and international crises on number 10’s to-do list.

With Downing Street distracted, it might come as reassurance to some that the new ministerial team brings some much-welcome experience and, hopefully, competence. Most of the new line-up have worked in the DfE before, or have a background in education. They’ll certainly need this sector knowledge to deal with what could prove a massively challenging few months ahead. The team must navigate industrial action on pay, big budget cuts, the much-promised, but not yet confirmed, apprenticeship levy review, the ongoing T level roll-out, and the lifelong learning entitlement.

Gillian Keegan’s appointment, as a former apprentice and apprenticeships minister, means that in particular there’s likely to be a big departmental focus on FE and skills. Given her business background, there might well also be a renewed focus on workplace training and upskilling, which have taken a backseat in recent years in favour of schools and higher education reforms.

She’s appointed as ministers of state two political heavyweights who, on paper, come from quite different sides of the education debate.

Nick Gibb returns to Sanctuary Buildings to retake his position as schools minister. A proud traditionalist, he’ll return with a strong drive behind high standards, including pushing for more focus on studying core academic subjects.

What remains to be seen is how long this collaboration lasts

Robert Halfon, formerly skills minister under Theresa May (remember her?) has spent the past five years holding Gibb and his other new colleagues to account as education select committee chair. His new brief is enormous, covering skills, apprenticeships and higher education. His two favourite words – degree apprenticeships – align particularly well with Keegan’s interests.

But Halfon’s education worldview very much rejects the primacy of knowledge over skills – rather seeing both as crucially important. While Gibb would be happy for knowledge and academic subjects to dominate up to the age of 16, Halfon is a much stronger champion of skills-based technical education right through the education system and curriculum, with a particularly strong focus on education being suited to future work.

It’s therefore no surprise that Gibb and Halfon have had their fair share of heated exchanges in select committee hearings over the years on whether or not the curriculum should be focused on preparing pupils for work (including a particularly bizarre argument about the taxonomy of a fish).

Their competing views on education could come to a head on plans for a new British Baccalaureate. On the one hand, this might see a knowledge-rich focus on English and maths to 18 for all students. On the other, it could be a radical overhaul of academic and vocational routes that sees a boost to technical and vocational education, and an end to the political obsession with A levels. I’ll leave readers to work out which version might suit which minister best.

It’s worth pointing out that Halfon and Gibb appear, at least initially, to be more likely to work in the spirit of collaboration. In a joint op-ed supporting Sunak for The Times during the campaign, they both backed the new PM’s ambition to build on the education reforms the Conservatives have led since 2010. What remains to be seen is how long this lasts and, crucially, how the new secretary of state will manage her opinionated and experienced junior colleagues.

At best, we’ll see a strong team effort from the DfE with a shared vision for skills reform and the experience to make some progress, even if a skills revolution feels a long way off. At worst, we’ll see blue-on-blue ideological in-fighting that paralyses internal decision-making and distracts from the mission of future education reform.

Given recent months, I’ve given up making bets on what the future holds.

Ofsted to carry out review of careers guidance

Ofsted has launched a year-long review of careers guidance in schools and further education to help “improve practice”.

Government has asked the watchdog to carry out the thematic review in mainstream and specialist schools, as well as in further education and skills providers.

Ofsted will make “recommendations to improve practice” by identifying strengths and weaknesses in provision. Its report will be published next autumn.

The review will help to identify “potential developments” in inspector training and guidance, and help “share good practice and thinking across the inspectorate”.

In the review, inspectors will ask how education leaders fulfill their statutory duties to provide independent careers guidance and make sure it is high quality.

They will also look at how schools, colleges and providers engage with employers and careers networks, and how they ensure careers education contributes to local and national skills needs.

Ofsted will also probe how the curriculum helps students make “informed choices” about their future education, employment and training.

Inspectors will visit sample of providers

To do this, the watchdog will review existing inspection evidence and carry out research visits to a sample of schools, colleges and providers in spring and summer next year. It will also hold focus groups with employers and inspectors.

Ten years ago, Ofsted did a similar review which found provision in schools and colleges “was not sufficiently well coordinated or reviewed” to ensure each student received appropriate guidance.

The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) was established in 2014 to boost careers guidance in schools.

FE Week revealed in 2019 that the quango would continue to be reliant on government handouts after an ambition the company would become self-sustaining was dropped due to its “expanding role”.

At the time, the organisation had received around £92 million from the public purse. Since then, it has received an additional £50 million and is due up to £30.7 million this year, which would take the total public investment to over £172 million.

The Parliamentary education select committee is also holding an inquiry on the effectiveness of careers advice given to students.

Oli de Botton, CEC’s chief executive, will give evidence to MPs next week, alongside Roger Cotes, director of careers at the Department for Education.

Ofsted to inspect skills bootcamps after sounding quality alarm

Ofsted will be handed powers to inspect skills bootcamps next year, after a review of the flagship short course scheme found inconsistent quality of training and poor oversight.

The Department for Education has agreed for the watchdog to incorporate visits to providers of the 12-to-16-week courses into its regular inspection of further education and skills providers, beginning in April 2023.

The news follows the publication of a report by Ofsted this morning, which assessed wave two of the skills bootcamp programme which ran from July 2021 to March this year.

The report, commissioned by the DfE to understand how well bootcamps were delivering the skills training intended, said that most providers “organised the curriculum appropriately and used learning resources and materials of a high quality”.

However, Ofsted identified that “the quality of teaching was not consistently high and assessment practise was often weak”.

“Too many providers did not carry out rigorous initial assessments,” it added.

Worryingly, Ofsted also found that “too often” leaders were not ensuring learners had their guaranteed job interview – one of the biggest selling points of the course – because “they have not developed good enough relationships with employers”.

Elsewhere, programmes designed to be delivered wholly online with limited support from teachers resulted in a “poor experience” for many learners.

Skills bootcamps are flexible courses designed for adults to train in careers in areas of national skills shortage, such as construction, manufacturing and digital. The bootcamps, based around levels 3 to 5, also guarantee an interview with an employer.

They were first announced in September 2020 as a key pillar of the government’s national skills fund.

There were 36 providers of the second wave of bootcamps, 14 of which were sampled for Ofsted’s report.

Almost £50 million has already been spent on the scheme and the DfE has set a target of 16,000 people to start and complete the courses in 2021/22.

Over half a billion pounds has been committed for skills bootcamps from 2022 to 2025. Wave three commenced in September 2022.

The bootcamps can be delivered by various organisations, including FE colleges, private companies, independent learning providers, local enterprise partnerships, higher education establishments and local authorities.

They are also able to subcontract delivery of the programmes if they wish – a point raised by Ofsted which said that “too often the prime contractors do not maintain sufficient oversight of subcontractors’ and supply partners’ activity”.

That included checking the design of courses, how curriculum content was determined and liaison with employers.

In addition, it noted that while retention of learners was high, and some courses had proved popular, others – such as construction and engineering – had not hit recruitment targets.

Data for those recruitment targets was not provided, but the DfE’s aim is for 75 per cent of learners to secure a new job.

The DfE originally ruled that Ofsted was not needed to inspect skills bootcamp provision because the department monitors performance throughout the contract duration, and the providers have to provide evidence that training will be high quality for their bid to be successful.

Previous early research reports for skills bootcamps have flagged poor outcomes and data collection issues.

Chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: “These courses provide good opportunities for adults to learn new skills in sectors vital to our economy, but it is important that all courses are of high quality and that they lead to jobs.

“I welcome the DfE’s agreement for Ofsted to inspect skills bootcamps as part of our regular inspections. This will support the government’s approach to tackling skills shortages in England by ensuring that learners and employers benefit from well-planned and effective programmes.”

Skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister Robert Halfon said: “We welcome the findings of this report, which highlight the significant progress made to deliver high quality skills bootcamp courses, extending the ladder of opportunity to adults across the country.

“These free, flexible courses have supported thousands of people to gain in-demand skills and boost their earning potential, which is why we are now including them in Ofsted’s inspection remit to ensure the programme continues to deliver top notch training.”

As part of its recommendations, Ofsted has tasked the DfE with setting out expectations on addressing areas of concern, and how providers can develop relationships with employers, although it is not clear what those expectations may be.

It also asks the DfE to take “appropriate measures” to ensure providers guarantee good quality provision from subcontractors.

Ofsted has confirmed that the inspections coming in from April next year will be for all providers of skills bootcamps – even if they are currently outside of Ofsted inspections currently because they do not deliver any other government-funded education.

A spokesperson said those would be new providers.

A DfE spokesperson refused to say whether it would terminate contracts or suspend starts for providers rated ‘inadequate’ in a full inspection or ‘insufficient progress’ in a monitoring report.

But the department said its contracts with providers “set out the actions we will take, and the contracts include provision for performance improvement plans where appropriate”.

Paul Joyce, deputy director for FE and skills at Ofsted, said there could be some “logistical challenges” to inspecting bootcamps because of the short nature of those courses.

He said: “There is nothing better than inspecting when the course is running and we will endeavour to do that wherever we can. But the nature of those short courses may mean that some of the inspection activity is not first-hand observing these bootcamps.”

Bootcamp providers not registered with Ofsted that FE Week spoke to were not concerned about the prospect of inspectors visiting, saying they would help with transparency and accountability, as well as ensuring people know the training is of the highest standard.

Kate Burnett, general manager at DMA Talent from the Data & Marketing Association, which has been delivering digital marketing strategy bootcamps since September, said: “We do respect the decision to introduce Ofsted to this. They are publicly funded courses and I think it is really important that the standards are held at the highest level, otherwise faith
disappears in the concept of a bootcamp at all.”

Burnett added it was important for Ofsted to work with bootcamps providers ahead of inspections, such as providing inspection information at the contract tender stage.

A spokesperson from The Developer Academy, another digital bootcamp provider yet to be registered with Ofsted, said: “It’s not something we are concerned about. We have highly qualified and experienced ex-teachers and heads of education departments as instructors who train all of our instructors how to teach.”

Nicky Morgan joins Careers and Enterprise Company as chair

Former education secretary Nicky Morgan will chair the Careers and Enterprise Company, an organisation she set up while in government, it has emerged.

Baroness Morgan, now a Conservative peer, established the organisation in 2014 to boost careers guidance in schools and colleges.

It now presides over an extensive network of paid enterprise co-ordinators; trained professionals who develop career plans and make connections with businesses, and enterprise advisers; volunteers from the business world who work with individual schools and colleges.

It also oversees the government’s careers hubs, groups of between 20 and 40 secondary schools and colleges which work together to help each other meet the so-called Gatsby benchmarks of good careers education.

Morgan, who has been on the CEC’s board for two years, will replace Christine Hodgson, who had chaired the CEC since its inception, in December.

Company has received £172m of public money

It comes after FE Week revealed in 2019 that the quango would continue to be reliant on government handouts after an ambition set by Morgan that the company would become self-sustaining was dropped due to its “expanding role”.

Morgan said she was “relishing the opportunity this vital role plays in supporting young people”.

“There are strong foundations in place and I am excited to build on the partnerships CEC has established with education and business, which have been so instrumental in our collective support for young people.”

But she said there was “more to do”, adding she wanted “more employers working with schools and colleges, creating meaningful opportunities for young people and also enriching their workforce”.

‘We want careers in the mainstream of school life’

“We want careers in the mainstream of school and college life, where the curriculum helps young people understand the real-world application of their learning as well as the opportunities available beyond the school gates.

“And we want to provide teachers with opportunities to engage with employers to help them understand the sectors, careers and pathways that their subject open up for young people.”

It also follows a change in leadership last year which saw Oli de Botton, the founder and headteacher of School 21 in east London, become the CEC’s chief executive.

He took over from Claudia Harris, a former adviser to Tony Blair, who stepped down in 2020 to run Makers, a form that supports mid-career switchers to train as software engineers.

The CEC also announced today that almost two thirds of all schools and colleges are now part of careers hubs, and the “impact of the model is now clear”.

Its research found providers in hubs achieved nearly twice the number of Gatsby benchmarks (5.6) as those not engaged with a hub.

“The more benchmarks met, the more likely young people are to be in a sustained destination post-16,” the company said. “This is particularly true for young people eligible for free school meals.”

Once-critical minister now describes ‘important role’

The CEC has been criticised in the past over a perceived lack of impact despite the investment of large amounts of public money.

In May 2018, Harris and Hodgson were quizzed by MPs on the education select committee about the company’s £2 million research budget, its staffing structure and a lack of evidence that the organisation is making a difference.

The organisation was further criticised in November 2018, when the House of Commons youth select committee urged the government to commission an independent review into whether the CEC is doing a good job helping poorer students get work experience.

And later that month, the company was blasted for spending more than £200,000 on two conferences, with MPs demanding to know why private sponsorship was not sought.

Robert Halfon, the former chair of the education committee and one of the CEC’s most vocal critics, is now the minister responsible for overseeing the organisation.

He said this week it had an “important role in ensuring that young people in schools and colleges receive high quality careers support”.

“It is vital that our young people can make informed choices through good careers advice and can climb the ladder of opportunity.”

Inspire and prepare your learners to achieve more.

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BTEC courses focus on skills-based learning and are designed around themed units. Rather than testing everything at the end, BTECs are tested throughout the course using assessments based on real-life scenarios.

A BTEC qualification can open doors to university, an apprenticeship or an exciting new career; and is important for preparing young people and adults with the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for the jobs of the future.

In these times of economic fluctuation and uncertainty, BTEC qualifications give learners a balance of the skills and knowledge needed to progress into the careers they want. It is this practical approach that allows learners to develop and apply the knowledge, traits and behaviours to real-life scenarios; ensuring they are uniquely prepared with a range of entrepreneurial and employability characteristics that employers and universities are looking for.

They are also a powerful driver of social mobility that benefits employers, our economy and our communities.

In turn, those skills enable learners to flourish in our competitive world of rapid technological change and aid them in enjoying a career fuelled by passion and purpose.

After 35 years of proven success, more and more Higher Education institutions and employers are choosing BTEC-qualified candidates for their practical knowledge and employability skills.

In fact, 300 employers & 75 professional bodies supported the development of the latest BTEC Level 3 Nationals, confirming BTEC qualifications provide learners with the specialist knowledge an capabilities that employers are seeking.

Below are a few more stats that solidify the effectiveness of BTECs:

90% of BTEC students are employed full time after graduation (Progression Pathways, 2016)
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76% of BTEC students opted for BTEC because they could learn by doing, getting practical hands-on experience while studying (Pearson BTEC Learner Survey, 2019)
72% of UK employers believe BTEC candidates have an advantage over non-BTEC candidates (Perspectus Global, 2021)

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‘Voluntary exit’ scheme launched as DfE seeks to lose 10% of staff

Ministers have launched a voluntary exit payout scheme for Department for Education staff without the “skills the department needs for the future”, as it seeks to cut around 10 per cent of its workforce.

Staff were told about the “selective voluntary exit scheme” on Monday. In a message seen by FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week, the DfE said said it aimed to get staffing numbers “closer to” 2020 levels, when it employed around 7,000 people.

The department will offer eligible staff three weeks’ salary per year of service to leave next May. Managers will “robust and fairly” assess civil servants’ applications to the scheme.

A voluntary exit scheme is not the same as voluntary redundancies, and as such can offer different terms. The DfE told staff it has no plans to make redundancies, but has also ruled out simply not replacing those who leave through “natural attrition”.

According to official figures, the DfE and its agency the Education and Skills Funding Agency employed 8,294 people as of September. In pre-pandemic February 2020, the two organisations had a joint headcount of 7,489.

If numbers are cut back to this level, this would mean a 10 per cent reduction on current levels, though the DfE today insisted it was not a target-driven scheme.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak recently axed plans to cut 91,000 civil service jobs over three years, saying he did not “believe that top-down targets” for headcount reductions are “the right way” to save money.

But he said the government would ask every department to look for “the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets, so that we can use taxpayers’ money sustainably in the long term”.

Union expresses fears over voluntary exit scheme

Helen Kenny, national officer at the FDA senior civil servants’ union, said her organisation was “concerned that there is no real waste to be cut and ministerial priorities still need to be delivered”.

“We need to see concrete proposals regarding how the department will match commitments to resources – bluntly what work is not going to be done – otherwise our members’ health and wellbeing is being placed at risk.”

In documents sent to staff, the DfE’s leadership team said the department had “grown a lot” over the last few years, but its spending review settlement meant “we need to get a bit smaller again”.

Last year’s spending review allocated £77 billion to the department for this financial year, an increase of almost £7 billion on 2021-22. However, the vast majority of the budget is distributed to schools, colleges and universities, leaving around £5 billion.

The DfE said it had ruled out losing staff only through natural attrition, where employees are not replaced when they leave, as this “would mean an extended period of slow and difficult recruitment constraints”.

The exit scheme will allow the department to “move quickly, to be more confident that those who are leaving aren’t taking our best skills with them, and, when it is done, to operate with more freedom and flexibility than a long, slow attrition”.

The department said it would have a “robust and fair selection process”. But not everyone who wants to leave can take up the scheme, as it is only “for those who don’t have the skills the department needs for the future”.

Managers could use a “range of factors” to assess the applicant, including their “core skills” and “future operating models”. DfE said it would be unlikely to support an application for someone with “hard-to-replace specialist skills” which they “continue to need”.

No staff should ‘feel pressured’ into applying

DfE insisted the scheme was “entirely voluntary” and “no one should feel pressurised into applying or taking a voluntary exit package”.

In the documents, the department said it had no plans to make voluntary or compulsory redundancies.

Staff will have two weeks to apply later this year. If they accept the package of three weeks’s salary per year of service, they will leave in May next year.

If a staff member leaves and is not replaced, the management team will “readdress priorities based on capacity and adjust workload accordingly”.

It comes as ESFA staff have been moving over to the department as part of a reorganisation.

In 2020, DfE had a total of 5,307 employees and ESFA had 2,182. In September, this had moved to 7,480 at DfE and just 814 at ESFA.

The DfE was approached for comment.