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TEC Partnership leader appointed new Hull principal

Hull College has appointed a leader at a grade one college group as its new permanent principal and CEO.

Debra Gray, currently principal of the grade one Grimsby Institute and deputy chief executive of the TEC Partnership, will start on 4 April 2022.

She will be the sixth leader at Hull in two years, after Chris Malish handed in his notice in August having only served since April, owing to difficulty working away from his family.

College ‘delighted’ Gray will be taking over as principal

College chair Lesley Davies said she was “delighted that Debra will be taking over the leadership of the college at such an exciting time.

“Debra’s experience not only as a leader of an outstanding college, but in curriculum quality and innovation will be a perfect complement to the ambitious strategic plan we are setting ourselves.”

Gray was made an MBE for services to education in the Queen’s 2020 birthday honours.

Appointment comes after bailouts, campus closures, and investigations

Hull College has been through the wringer, having faced multiple financial and management problems, which first became public when it received a £42 million bailout from the government in 2018 as part of a Fresh Start process.

Michelle Swithenbank resigned as principal in December 2019, after an investigation into nepotism and financial wrongdoing at the college found “no impropriety” on her part.

Around that time, the then FE Commissioner Richard Atkins launched his own investigation into the college and a report leaked to FE Week last year revealed how the close family of senior postholders had been handed jobs at the college while staff did not speak out for “fear of being exited at short notice”.

Since Swithenbank left, the college has been led by the college’s then-vice principal for finance Darryn Hedges; followed by Hull’s former deputy principal turned Hopwood Hall leader Derek O’Toole; followed by then Newcastle College principal Tony Lewin; before former Dudley College boss Lowell Williams stepped in as interim before and after Malish.

In April 2019, the college announced it would offload its Harrogate campus to Leeds City College as part of restructuring plans following the Fresh Start bailout.

During Williams’ time at the helm, Hull announced it would close its campus in Goole, which he said they had “no need for”.

College intervention – six things we learned in the FE Commissioner’s annual report

The Further Education Commissioner (FEC), Shelagh Legrave, has published her first annual report. The report covers the intervention work of the commissioner and her team from August 2020 to the end of July 2021.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Number of colleges entering intervention sharply falls, but might go up again

Four colleges entered formal intervention last academic year (July 2020-August 2021), down from 13 in the previous year. Three of those were due to tripping financial triggers and one was due to quality concerns. The colleges are not identified in the report.

The most recent intervention reports listed include Northern College, Nottingham College, City of Wolverhampton College and Shrewsbury Colleges Group.

One college had a “refreshed intervention assessment” this year due to the “extended” period of time which it has been subject to intervention measures.

However, income and cost pressures in 2022/23 are a risk on the new commissioner’s radar.

Speaking to FE Week ahead of the launch of the annual report, Shelagh Legrave said that she has heard anecdotally that colleges have under-recruited 16-19 year olds this year “because they’ve stayed on at school.”

“I think the challenge is going to come in 2022/23, when income will be down” Legrave said, adding “there are huge cost pressures on colleges this year. You’ve also got the national insurance increase and you’ve got inflation running significantly higher with no increase in funding rates. It’s going to be tough.”

2. More colleges exited intervention

Ten colleges had their intervention status lifted, up from five in the previous reporting year.

Of the ten, six exited due to improvements in performance.

FE Week investigated the improvement journeys of West Nottinghamshire College, Lancaster and Morecombe College and Warrington and Vale College earlier this year.

Two colleges exited due to structural change and two because of education administration.

As of the end of July 2021, there were 22 colleges in formal intervention in total.

3. FEC-backed mergers continued

The year also saw the completion of five FEC-backed structural reviews, detailed in the annual report. These include college mergers such as East Riding College joining TEC Partnership in August 2020, Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College merging with Trafford College in May 2021, and Highbury College merging with Portsmouth College, forming City of Portsmouth College, in July 2021.

4. Diagnostics double

During the 2020/21 year, 25 diagnostic assessments took place which is more than double the number that took place last year (11).

These assessments, usually conducted over two-days by a team of deputy FE commissioners and FE advisers, involve discussions with senior executive staff, governors, staff, students and stakeholders and are designed to give an objective view about a college’s financial and/or quality plans.

Plans can either be endorsed by the commissioner, or there will be recommendations for changes and follow-up visits. Only two college plans received immediate endorsement.

In “exceptional circumstances”, a diagnostic visit can lead to formal intervention if the commissioner’s team finds “significant risk”.

One such escalation took place this year.

Northern College received a diagnostic assessment in February 2021 due to financial health concerns and received an intervention visit a month later. A structure and prospects appraisal of the college was ordered and, as FE Week reported in August, the college retained its independence having fought off a potentially terminal ESFA clawback.

The findings and outcomes of diagnostic assessments are not published.

5. National leaders are keeping busy

Teams of serving college leaders and governance experts, the ‘national leaders of further education’ and ‘national leaders of governance’, supported 40 colleges this year, according to the annual report. This is down from 50 in the previous year.

The national leaders’ programme, as well as the wider FEC team of deputy commissioners and advisers, have been criticised for not having any non-white members within their ranks.

In an exclusive interview with FE Week earlier this year, Shelagh Legrave said this was “reflective of the small number of BAME leaders in the sector” adding “I will certainly work with everybody to try and ensure that there is a greater diversity.”

Applications are currently open for new national leaders of further education and national leaders of governance. Applications close on 31 December 2021.

6. ‘More resources’ might be needed in the future

Since assuming office this October, Legrave has talked about reshaping the further education commissioner role in to one that more actively supports colleges. This already includes a number of new ‘active support’ measures including allowing any college to request a diagnostic assessment, a new ‘curriculum efficiency and financial sustainability’ programme and publishing best practice management accounts.

According to the annual report, this could go further in the near future, with the commissioner gaining additional responsibilities through funding and accountability reforms.

It will be the FEC’s responsibility to support colleges that are found to not be delivering local skills needs and that underperforming on the new ‘skills measure’ which is currently under consultation.

Asked whether these new responsibilities will trigger a change in the expertise required within the FEC team, Legrave told FE Week that “as we extend active support to more people, we will need more resource” but added “we haven’t been given a budget yet for 22/23.”

Employers keep asking for unnecessary maths and English grades from apprentices

The issue facing aspiring apprentices will be even more pressing if BTECs are defunded, writes Henry Faulkner-Ellis

Imagine a school leaver has just completed their GCSEs and wants to get on to an apprenticeship scheme. They search through the vacancies online but find that almost every advert asks for qualifications they don’t have.

This is currently the case for a significant number of young people.

To address this issue, the government needs to re-assess how minimum English and maths requirements are incorporated into apprenticeship training.

The government must consider how they can better support employers in taking on apprentices who do not meet them.

In 2014/15 the government made it mandatory for all apprentices to continue studying towards a level 2 qualification in English and maths (e.g. achieving a minimum GCSE grade of 4), where an apprentice did not already meet this requirement.

While this was intended to ensure apprenticeships were preparing individuals for the labour market, the extra requirements created disincentives for employers and providers to take on apprentices who did not already meet minimum requirements.

Both providers and employers have reported filtering out candidates without minimum English and maths requirements, as these candidates are seen to be less likely to pass the end-point assessment.

Only half of all young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (as measured by eligibility for free school meals) achieved a grade 9-4 in English and maths at key stage 4 in the last academic year.

Because of this low rate, the requirement to continue studying towards level 2 qualifications in English and maths may have contributed to the particular decline in apprenticeship starts among disadvantaged young people, as highlighted in our recent NFER research report.

But until now it has not been possible to assess how widespread minimum English and maths requirements are.

For the first time, the DfE has published detailed vacancy information from its Find An Apprenticeship (FAA) service, where employers can advertise apprenticeship vacancies.

While the platform only includes a subset of all apprenticeship opportunities, it still provides the most comprehensive picture yet of apprenticeship entry requirements.

Our analysis finds that almost 80 per cent of all apprenticeship vacancies advertised on the FAA website between August 2018 and October 2021 mention English or maths as qualifications required to fill the vacancy.

While this percentage increases with the level associated with the apprenticeship, we still find that 71 per cent of intermediate apprenticeships (level 2) mention English or maths in their qualification requirements.

Considering only half of disadvantaged young people achieve these qualifications at KS4, these requirements are a significant obstacle to having more disadvantaged young people doing apprenticeships.

While some apprenticeships require high levels of English and maths skills, there are apprenticeships where only some aspects of these skills might be required. For example, a social care apprentice is unlikely to require the same levels of numerical skills as an engineering apprentice.

Despite this, we find that the majority of vacancies across all sectors mention English or maths requirements – even in the sectors where an apprentice might not necessarily need to meet minimum requirements at the start of their apprenticeship.

This suggests that employers are imposing minimum requirements because of how the system is designed, and not because they are a prerequisite for the actual apprenticeship.

These are not prerequisites for the actual apprenticeship

While there is no doubt that numeracy and literacy are important for young people to succeed in the labour market, it is clear that the current minimum requirements act as a barrier to young people accessing apprenticeships. This is particularly important as these young people will be even more restricted in their options if plans to de-fund some BTECs go ahead in 2024.

To ensure that all young people are able to access a suitable route at post-16, the government needs to re-assess how English and maths requirements are incorporated into apprenticeships.

They should also consider how they can better support and incentivise employers to take on apprentices who do not meet minimum requirements before starting their apprenticeships.

The new white paper is far too vague about prison education

The strategy is making the right noises, but key details – including any new funding for prison education – are worryingly absent, writes Jon Collins

The focus on getting people leaving prison into jobs in the government’s new prisons strategy white paper is welcome.

But education is the key building block that enables prison-leavers to secure employment. This must be a priority if the goals of the white paper are to be achieved.

It is clear that reform of prison education is needed. On the same day that the white paper was published, Ofsted published its annual report, which identified prisons as being the worst of all the areas that they inspect.

About 60 per cent of prisons are rated as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’. The equivalent figure in other parts of the FE sector is just 20 per cent.

Good education is key to helping prison-leavers find work, so it is unsurprising that only 14 per cent of prison-leavers are in employment after six months.

More than 40 per cent of adults leaving prison reoffend within a year.

But while there is much that is welcome in this white paper towards changing that, it is short on detail.

For instance, it only commits to introducing in-cell technology in 11 more prisons by summer 2022. Plans for roll-out need to go further and faster. In-cell technology must also complement – not replace – face-to-face teaching.

Employers often want transferable skills, and team building, problem solving and communications skills are best developed during group work in the classroom. And prison learners cannot access these classrooms if there are not enough officers to bring them from their cells.

So a commitment in the white paper to increase the number of prison officers is welcome, but may be difficult to deliver unless low retention rates can be addressed.

More training for staff to build a prison culture that values learning is also a positive step, as is the proposal for more specialist support on education for prison governors.

There is, however, still a way to go. There is nothing, for instance, on how to better support prison teachers.

There is nothing on how to better support prison teachers

The white paper also promises a new “prisoner education service”, a manifesto commitment from 2019, but two years on, it is still unclear how that will differ from what is already in place.

Prison education departments already provide the basic literacy, numeracy and vocational skills promised in the white paper, while assessments already take place when people arrive in prison.

Meanwhile, the promise of better integration between classroom-based learning and the broader prison regime on literacy and numeracy (for example, by embedding work on functional skills into workshops) is also welcome. But again, little is said about how it will be achieved.

At the same time, the focus on basic and vocational skills is too narrow. Prison learners, particularly those serving long sentences, need to have the chance to progress and to pursue a range of educational opportunities.

Learning has a broader value than solely as a route into work, and higher levels of education can also lead to better jobs.

It is also unclear what further funding for prison education specifically, if any, will be forthcoming.

At the same time, there are other elements of the white paper that are positive. The overarching focus on resettlement and on getting prison-leavers into work is the right approach.

There is explicit recognition that prison education is currently “not good enough” and a commitment to “drive year-on-year improvements to Ofsted grades”.

This includes the intention that in a decade, the majority of prisons will have provision of comparable quality to further education in the community.

It also good to see the white paper reiterate the existing commitment to expand the use of secure laptops and develop new digital content.

If the government wants to succeed in significantly boosting the employment opportunities of prison-leavers, they must first get prison education right.

But without significant additional investment and much clearer detail, this will be impossible to achieve.

The vice principal role is now increasingly complex

The vice principal is expected to have multiple competencies but rarely gets enough development, writes Rhys Davies

The role of vice principal often covers responsibility for curriculum and quality. It has always been complex, requiring leaders to spin numerous plates at once.

Now, the nature of these challenges has evolved. Vice principals may have had time to reflect on the landscape and think what it may mean for them over the next two to three years.

They will need to help the nation rise to the challenges that lie ahead, and preparing young people and adults for a transformed skills and labour market will be high on their priority lists.

At the same time, they will also need to consider other prevailing and emerging issues that will impact on curriculum.

This includes the drive towards an environmentally sustainable future, addressing the consequences of increasing urbanisation and technological and demographic change, and the constant need to maintain high quality standards.

An inclusive, decolonised and diverse curriculum is also an important feature for leaders to get properly to grips with.

Meanwhile, the government’s Skills for Jobs white paper, published in January 2021, provides vice principals and other leaders with a framework for how this pans out.

It is clear that relationships with industry and other partners will be fundamental – whether they are focused on collaboration and curriculum co-creation, networking, or ensuring that the curriculum is future-proofed by close liaison with companies leading technological advances.

So, curriculum and quality leaders will be vital to UK’s Covid recovery, but are they ready to meet the evolving challenge?

Professor David Greatbatch at York University and independent consultant Sue Tate summarised the situation well in their joint government document, “Teaching, Leadership and Governance in Further Education in 2018”.

It reveals that senior leaders are expected to have a sound understanding of pedagogy, knowledge of how best to secure high-quality outcomes, be astute in managing budgets and sources of income and possess considerable awareness of the driving forces behind curriculum design.

Little wonder, then, in a publication this year entitled “Teachers and Leaders in Vocational Education and Training”, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development points to the need for high-quality and ongoing professional development for leaders of curriculum and quality.

It reads: “While leaders in VET require multiple competences to carry out their diverse responsibilities, many of them are not well prepared before taking up their role, and might not receive the support they need throughout their career in terms of mentoring and professional development.”

That need for ongoing professional development is echoed by college leaders in England. They recognise that today’s senior leaders must be able to access bespoke, high-quality CPD and mentoring.

They point to the increased complexity of decision-making in recent years and warn that, without support, there is an intrinsic danger of siloed and prescriptive solutions that fail to achieve the needed outcomes.

There is a danger of prescriptive solutions

Responding to this need and the views of senior figures across the sector, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is creating a new programme of support it believes will offer crucial support to senior leaders. It is called Strategic Innovation for Skills.

The first cohort will be delivered via residential stays, a conference and online workshops between January 7 and March 31. The cost is met by the participant’s institution.

It will help participants learn from effective practice both within the UK and overseas, showcasing innovative pedagogy and thinking around quality improvement.

It will also develop leaders’ networking and collaborative skills, which are vital for building close relationships with employers and other stakeholders.

Feedback from senior leaders while the programme has been developed has been positive.

Moreover, it is designed specifically for those senior colleagues, such as vice principals, who are often reluctant to prioritise their own needs in the face of the many urgent, competing demands they must deal with.

Its creation is an investment both in those individuals and the wider sector at a time when there are so many expectations being placed

The FE Week Podcast: Christmas review of 2020-21

In this episode, Shane is joined by deputy news editor Billy, commissioning editor Jess, and senior reporter Fraser to discuss their top story picks from the last year.

We wish you a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

IfATE grants extensions to more apprenticeship assessment flexibilities

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has extended three more flexibilities for apprenticeship assessments into the new year in response to the Omicron variant.

Instead of being switched off at the end of this month, the trio of discretions which apply to all apprenticeships will now run until midnight on 28 February 2022.

The three flexibilities allow:

Changes to be made to who sits on the end point assessment interview/discussion panel (when someone in addition to the independent assessor is specified)
Suitable evidence of achievements to be used in place of functional skills qualifications at gateway. IfATE say other mandated qualifications are covered under temporary discretions
Extension to the length of the end-point assessment period where specified

Delivery director for the institute Rob Nitsch said: “Our priority remains the safety of employers, apprentices and off-the-job training and assessment providers, whilst allowing apprentices to carry on and complete their apprenticeships with minimum disruption whilst maintaining quality.

“We hope that the extension of the flexibilities for two months will play a significant role in doing just this and we will monitor the situation and make any further adjustments as necessary.”

This comes after seven other flexibilities, also introduced to help the sector through the Covid-19 pandemic, were extended for use until next March.

Education officials have scrambled together a response to the Omicron variant after prime minister Boris Johnson announced the imposition of new restrictions this week.

Ofsted suspended inspections set for next week, except where there are concerns about safeguarding, so providers can prepare contingency measures for next term.

The Department for Education also published an “urgent” update on Thursday, telling provider leaders what to do about January exams and plans to introduce daily contact testing for students under 18.

IfATE has updated guidance about using more than 60 temporary discretions for specific apprenticeships, some of which have been given a six-month extension following requests from their sectors. Others will be available until midnight 28 February.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 373

Suzanne Slater, Director of operations – apprenticeships, NCFE

Start date: October 2021

Previous job: Assistant principal, Gateshead College

Interesting fact: She took up sailing this year and achieved her Royal Yachting Association certificates, although after the recent cold and windy weather, she has decided “I’m definitely a ‘fair weather’ sailor!”

Tara Roudiani, Managing director, Training Now

Start date: December 2021

Previous job: Quality manager and deputy head of service, Lambeth Adult Learning, Lambeth Council

Interesting fact: When she came to England at the start of the Iranian Revolution, she couldn’t speak any English: “Farsi is my first language, so I learnt to speak English in school when I was 7.”

Kevin O’Hare, Interim principal, Keighley College (part of Luminate Education Group)

Start Date: December 2021

Previous job: Head of visual and digital arts department, Leeds City College

Interesting fact: He has spent the last 15 years making artworks related to the 1970s MB Connect 4 game.

Rachel Butt, Director of excellence, Learning Curve Group

Start date: December 2021

Previous Job: Director of quality and curriculum: teaching, learning and professional development, Warrington and Vale Royal College

Interesting fact: She started her career as a teacher of performing arts and still loves any opportunity to go to the theatre.

Susan James Relly, Professor of vocational education, University of Oxford department of education

Start date: November 2021

Previous job: Associate professor and director of the Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) Research Centre

Interesting fact: She has been learning traditional upholstery since 2008 and previously taught classes in an upholstery school for adult learners.

SEND review may be folded into schools white paper

The leader of the government’s long-awaited SEND review has hinted its results could be rolled into the upcoming schools white paper, as concerns mount about affordability and student attainment.

The Department for Education is set to bring forward the white paper in the new year, while also releasing the results of a review of special education needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in the first three months of 2022. A review of children’s social care for the DfE is also ongoing.

Speaking at the Association of Colleges’ annual SEND conference on Tuesday, the DfE’s SEND review team leader Helen Nix discussed wrapping reforms from a SEND green paper, set to follow the review’s publication, into the white paper.

She told delegates “close readers of Schools Week [FE Week’s sister newspaper] will have read that there will be a schools white paper at the same sort of time” as the two reviews.

“There are closer links between those three pieces of work than I’ve ever seen before,” she said.

Sector leaders have welcomed the idea of a more “seamless” and “joined-up” system linking pre-16 and post-16 provision after young people in many parts of the country have seen official support drop off a cliff edge once they reach their 16th birthday.

‘We cannot go on as we are’

The SEND Review, originally due to be released earlier this year before being repeatedly delayed, is evaluating reforms made under the Children and Families Act 2014.

These include the SEND code of practice, which sets out legal duties for education providers, local authorities and health bodies to provide for young people with special educational needs (SEN).

The act also led to the introduction of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which set out the needs of young people with SEN which authorities must meet.

A schools white paper was first mooted by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson in June as a means to widen the academies programme. It was reaffirmed in October by current education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, who said a schools white paper would be brought forward next year and “outline plans to tackle innumeracy and illiteracy”.

Nix stressed that: “I genuinely can’t predict whether or not we will want to reflect” the green paper, school reforms and the results of the social care review “in the same sort of bill”.

“The thing I can tell you is I think we’ve reached a point with SEND where there is a recognition that we cannot go on as we are.” This is due to three reasons: “The first is just the sheer unaffordability of the system as it currently stands.”

SEND experts previously told FE Week that SEND students are “phenomenally expensive” compared to their peers. All young people with SEND going for an EHCP has also put “pressure” on public finances, Nix said.

The second reason Nix listed was: “When you look at the outcomes of these children, their achievements are substantially lower than their nondisabled peers. And that can’t go on either.”

A third reason, she said, was when people are trying to access the support they need, “it is really very poor and frankly, at its worst, none of us likes it very much”.

Despite “loads of brilliant practice” generated by the sector, Nix said this is “not consistent”.

Multiple Ofsted reviews of local area SEND provision published this year have identified that provision for young people with SEND falls of a cliff-edge once they reach age 16.

Government SEND reforms ‘should complement each other,’ say experts

Natspec chief executive Clare Howard “can see there would be benefit in linking the SEND green paper with other proposals to create a joined-up system”.

But she hopes “this will not prevent us from ensuring that FE and the needs of those aged 16 to 25 do not get overlooked in the SEND review”.

The Association of Colleges’ senior policy manager for SEND, David Holloway, said: “Better alignment between post-16 SEND policy and other policy areas is helpful to ensure a more seamless transition for young people through the education system and to level up employment outcomes for people with disabilities.”

He said the two reviews, the national disability strategy published this year and the schools white paper “should be complementing each other, and college SEND students are much more likely to benefit from government policy that embeds preparation for adulthood throughout.”