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Further education still needs more effective governance

We have developed a ‘governance maturity matrix’ to strengthen college boards, writes Fiona Chalk

Fraud, insolvency, and poor outcomes for students are some of the major risks of “non-mature governance”. Because of these, concerns have been raised by stakeholders, funders and regulators about the need to strengthen mature governance.

This includes FE Commissioner reports that have also expressed concerns about complex, non-transparent and ineffective governance.

Meanwhile the fourth chapter of the Skills for Jobs white paper says the government will work with the sector to “level up standards of governance”.

This includes “setting out clearer expectations, requirements and support to empower weaker colleges to address problems earlier”.

Similar to the concept of good governance, governance maturity possesses fundamental requirements. These include accountability, legal compliance, ethical compliance and effectiveness and efficiency of operations.

Previous research undertaken through the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) on the topic of governance maturity in further education makes for interesting reading.

It notes that despite inspection – or perhaps because of it – high-profile failures of FE governance appear to stem from docile rear-view governance.

High-profile failures stem from docile, rear-view governance

This form of governance is overly concerned with a ritualistic preoccupation around performative regulatory mechanisms.

So it was perhaps unsurprising that the ensuing FETL report supported the view that effective, mature governance is crucial.

Extensive stakeholder conversations have revealed a consensus that any governance maturity matrix needs to address current issues such as sustainability, inclusion and digital.

The matrix should focus on behavioural governance as well as procedural governance, and should have due regard for the fundamental principles in governance codes.

So the Education and Training Foundation has developed a “governance maturity matrix” with support from Nottingham Trent University, The Good Governance Institute, The Skills and Education Group and stakeholders within the further education sector.

The matrix is based on nine themes across three levels that represent the main building blocks of effective institutional governance.

Each statement allows an assessment to be made against it and the matrix is progressive in terms of maturity from “fundamental” – the compliant board – to “advancing” – the skilled board.

This matrix is a practical tool for reflection on current organisational performance against a range of indicators of good governance. It demonstrates how boards can develop governance to a level of maturity that makes it both impactful and sustainable.

Boards can apply the matrix in various scenarios, including but not limited to:

As an internal assessment tool on the effectiveness of governance
As a tool for recruitment of governors
As part of a skills audit
To help shape a training and development plan for governance
To inform management’s understanding of the role of governance in positively impacting on organisational performance
Planning of the annual cycle of board work
As part of an external review of governance

The matrix allows progress to be assessed in a nuanced, consistent and effective way over time.

A current assessment can be built on by setting a governance maturity target, which is the level of maturity the college would want to achieve within an agreed period.

The board can then put in place a developmental programme to facilitate a strengthening of institutional governance and leadership over a longer period of time.

The matrix is available on ETF’s governance support page. Over the next year, the usage and impact of the matrix at a number of colleges (varying in size, location and complexity) will be monitored.

A review will then be undertaken to ensure its impact is maximised and that it remains current in a constantly changing policy landscape.

The government says in the Skills for Jobs white paper that “excellent college governors and leaders are pivotal to delivering high-quality provision and enabling their workforce and learners to succeed”.

There is an increasing need in FE to quickly assimilate an effective governance model.

FE can show HE how to support disadvantaged adult learners

A trusted adviser makes a huge difference to re-engaging adult learners with education, writes Abi Angus

New research recently showed us that disadvantaged adults are almost twice as likely not to have engaged in learning than their more advantaged peers.

The findings from the Learning and Work Institute found 37 per cent of adults in the two least advantaged socio-economic groups have not taken part in any learning since leaving full-time education, compared with only 18 per cent of wealthier peers.

One of the big barriers for disadvantaged adults is accessing higher education.

At the Centre for Education and Youth, we have turned our attention to the experiences of adult learners in a recent project for the “Aspire To HE” partnership in the Black Country, based at the University of Wolverhampton.

Aspire To HE found there was a gap in support for adults to re-engage in education. So we worked with these adults to carry out research and develop a ‘knowledge curriculum’ with corresponding resources, to help them re-engage.

We undertook interviews and workshops with current and potential adult learners in HE and expert practitioners, alongside a review of existing research.

This gave us a clear picture of the barriers to HE facing these adults, and good practice to improve access for mature students.

‘Key role for FE staff’

Our research focused on identifying knowledge that adult learners need to be able to make informed decisions. The ‘knowledge curriculum’ sets this out, taking learners from considering courses that suit their interests, circumstances and career aspirations, through to application stage.

For many adults considering HE, just knowing how to find information presented a major barrier. Many of the people we spoke to highlighted the key role that staff in FE colleges, widening participation departments and adult education services play.

Some of our interviewees described the difference it made to be supported by a trusted adviser. One interviewee was about to begin a nursing degree:

“It was [my advisor] who first explained [the process] to me, from the certificate that I need [for the course]… [what to do] if I don’t have maths and English, what I need to have, and this and that… She put me through, from stage one to the end [of the application process].”

Others spoke about how difficult they had found applying without someone to talk to. One of our interviewees was just about to begin a degree, but had been delayed after enrolling on a course to gain qualifications for HE access that they already held.

They believed that accessing tailored advice during the application process would have made it easier:

“I wanted to go [to HE] because I always wanted to further my education. But because I was new in the [English education] system, everything was new. I didn’t know who to turn to or where to go.”

Understanding HE processes can feel a daunting task. But FE colleges could ensure that at least one member of staff can provide the specialist advice that adult learners often need.

Our research also identified a need for advice on finance, such as childcare costs, benefits, or grant and bursary opportunities, for example. Unless this information is provided, adult learners might see the cost of HE as a deterrent, as one current student explained:

“I was concerned about the financial side of [HE] ̶ paying for it. I think the access course was about £3,000. I just assumed, when I was told that, that I would have to pay for it and I thought, ‘Well, how am I going to pay for that?’”

Access is not the end of the journey though, and our research also highlighted the importance of support within universities. While FE colleges often do well supporting adult learners, higher education institutions can assume that learners are all beginning from similar starting points ̶ failing to recognise social, financial and learning needs specific to mature students.

So FE colleges are well placed to share best practice for supporting these learners with local HEIs.

Policymakers should refocus energies on enabling adult learners to access HE. These learners deserve a far better deal.

The FE Week Podcast: Adult training reforms, degree apprenticeships and the new shadow education secretary

In this episode, Shane is joined by Mary Curnock Cook, chair of Pearson and former chief executive at UCAS, Eddie Playfair at the Association of Colleges and Asfa Sohail, principal at Lewisham College.

Are adult training reforms happening fast enough?

Are universities struggling to deliver degree apprenticeships?

And with a new shadow education secretary, what next for Labour’s skills policy?

Listen to episode 9 below, and hit subscribe to follow the podcast!

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 372

Sam Parrett, Trustee, Education and Training Foundation

Start date: November 2021

Concurrent jobs: Principal and chief executive, London and South East Education Group

Interesting fact: She is a family season ticket holder at West Ham United Football Club

Asfa Sohail, College principal and chief learning officer, London South East Colleges

Start date: Early 2022

Previous job: College principal, Lewisham College

Interesting fact: She has a pet cockatoo called Toby. He joined Asfa’s family six months ago and “behaves like one of my children: Always seeking to grab my attention – he is just obsessed with me and loves to talk”.

Debbie Filgate, Senior learning coach, WELL Training

Start date: November 2021

Previous role: Business and management specialist, Veolia UK & Ireland

Interesting fact: She became an educator after having previously worked as a barrister.

Top civil servant offers reassurance to T Level students unable to find placements

Students will be offered special treatment if they cannot undertake T Level industry placements owing to Covid-19, a senior Department for Education official has said.

This could mean students receiving a certificate for the qualification without having
spent any time on an industry placement.

The department’s deputy director for T Level delivery Stella Pearson told a Westminster Education Forum this week that there were a “small number of learners” from the first wave of T Level learners who are yet to find a placement.

But she said that there are not many providers with more than perhaps two or three gaps in placements and added that this was changing day-by-day. “We are obviously having a think about what we will do if there are some students who haven’t been able to get a placement because of the situation created by the pandemic.”

Pearson added: “We are clear that there will be no students who lose out on their T Level because of this situation that we’re in. It’s out of their control.”

Since her comments, a DfE spokesperson insisted data they have gathered shows “all” T Level students who started in 2020 “will complete the majority of their placement hours by the end of the academic year”.

They added that they expect the short-term measures introduced this year will ensure that all 2020 students undertake an industry placement.

Government needs to ‘rocket boost’ T Levels, Halfon says

Government guidance on T Levels states providers have the discretion to allow students two years after their T Level to complete any component of the qualification that is unfinished, namely the mandatory 315-hour placement.

Pearson’s comments have had a mixed reaction from the sector, with the Association of Colleges senior policy manager Cath Sezen calling DfE flexibilities, which also include allowing students to complete part of their placement virtually, “a welcome recognition of the current challenges”.

However, she called for flexibilities to be extended in sectors such as digital “where there will be more remote working in the future”.

Chair of the Commons education select committee Robert Halfon called it “disappointing to hear some of the first cohort of T Level students may not be able to fully complete the industry experience the qualification promises, especially if this has resulted from the disruption caused by the pandemic”.

This, he said, “highlights the need to factor in potential Covid-related contingencies when designing the practical elements of these qualifications”.

Halfon called on the DfE to “fulfil its ambition to rocket-boost the skills agenda by ensuring T Levels can work for every learner,” with a nation-wide team liaising with businesses to ensure employers in every region can support industry placements.

Pandemic has ‘exacerbated challenges’ of securing T Level placements

Exeter College principal John Laramy, whose college began delivering T Levels last year, told FE Week he “welcomes any additional strategic support as T Level numbers grow.

“Clearly the pandemic has exacerbated the challenge of securing sufficient high-quality industrial placements, made even more difficult in health, due to the additional requirements related to vaccinations.”

The fluctuating Covid-19 situation has impacted on the supply and running of industry placements and forced providers of the early years educator T Level to postpone placements for their students at the start of this year.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education introduced a flexibility around that time, reducing the minimum number of placement hours for the early years qualification from 750, already longer than the 315 required for other T Levels, to 415.

Suzanne Straw, education to employed lead for research organisation NFER, wrote for FE Week in July last year, that the pandemic had “intensified pre-existing challenges in securing industry placements,” exacerbating anxieties in the sector about accommodating them.

Higher technical education belongs in colleges – let’s prove why

A research project will build the case for colleges delivering higher technical education, writes Ian Pretty

Early this year, the government set out its intention to improve the level of technical education across the UK by publishing the Skills for Jobs white paper (often dubbed theFE white paper).

Within this paper, the government specifically points to improving the relationship between FE providers and employers.

This is so that skills delivered by these courses more closely match the deficiencies currently affecting the UK’s labour force and contribute to government ambitions of a high-skilled, high-wage economy.

‘White paper fails to pinpoint providers’

The UK severely lags behind comparable economies in the availability of vocational and technical skills.

As a result there are fears that England’s place within the OECD’s rankings could suffer, if current trends continue as projected.

Nevertheless, this white paper did little to address which providers are best placed to deliver the education necessary to bridge this gap.

Increasing the provision of higher technical education at levels 4 to 5 is seen as a key means to address it.

‘Graduates going back to study level 4’

Generally, courses at this level are more vocational in nature than those offered at level 6 (degree level) and often work in conjunction with employers to provide students with experience suited to specific industries.

For example, while an engineering degree involves copious academic study, a level 4 course marketed at someone wanting to be an engineer may be specialised in a specific kind of engineering, such as robotics or electrical.

However, it would also teach the skills necessary for them to begin work in this area right away.

There are increasingly reported instances whereby graduates of technical subjects go back to study at level 4 or 5 after finishing their degrees so that they can begin working.

If students are forced to take up lower levels of education in order to become employed in these industries, it really does bring into question how necessary it is for them to complete a degree in the first place.

There is also evidence that students who undertake these courses often command higher salaries than those who have completed undergraduate degrees.

But systemic biases across our education and employment systems still make degrees the go-to path for those wishing to continue education past level 3 (A/T levels).

Systemic biases still make degrees the go-to path

Consequently, most uptake of level 4 or 5 courses is among older learners, with 30 being the average age of students currently on these courses.

‘We need an evidence base’

We agree with government that there needs to be a greater focus on higher technical education to support the needs of key parts of the UK economy.

In our view, achieving this ambition is only possible if the college sector, particularly the larger college groups, play a core role in the development and delivery of higher technical education.

As a result, Collab Group has embarked on a substantial research project to build an evidence base to support this claim.

This research will focus on pedagogical excellence, value for money, and how we can ensure effective destinations for those who complete these courses.

To build this evidence, we will be undertaking a substantial level of fieldwork within our colleges over the coming months.

We are confident that the findings of this project will demonstrate the capabilities of the college sector.

The specialisms of larger colleges will be at the forefront of the elevation of higher technical education in the coming years.

Furthermore, we believe these results will provide useful insight to policy-makers, employers and others as to where their focus should lie.

Employer-led skills bodies must be open to scrutiny

As we reported last week, the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill is now in the hands of the bill committee – a group of 17 MPs selected along party lines. That means, unlike in the Lords, the government has a majority.

Bill committees have an important job, but you won’t see clips of them on the news or even video broadcast on the parliament website. That’s because it’s the committee’s job to get in amongst the detail of the bill, so debates tend to be more technical. Great for FE wonks, not so great for broadcast news coverage.

The main players this week were skills minister Alex Burghart, and the shadow skills minister, Toby Perkins. You only usually see these two cross swords briefly at the despatch box in the chamber of the House of Commons during education questions, but they had nine hours scheduled to spend together this week.

ERBs will be held to account, says skills minister

The government, as expected, used their majority on the committee to reverse the changes made to the bill in the House of Lords. But they also had to respond to “probing amendments”. These are amendments made by the opposition not necessarily to appear in the bill, but to force the government to give more detail, clarity or explanation on something.

A big part of the bill is giving powers to designated employer representative bodies (ERBs) to develop local skills improvement plans (LSIPs). Labour had multiple attack lines; that ERBs lack duties to work in partnership with providers and local authorities (particularly in non devolved areas) and that they lack requirements concerning transparency that should come with such an important role.

Their amendments, albeit unsuccessful, did require the minister to make a number of commitments on what will follow by way of statutory guidance. In other words, the government didn’t want to accept a change to the legislation, but they will in effect use other means to tell ERBs who they should engage with when putting LSIPs together.

Statutory measures around transparency, proposed by Labour, were also defeated.

The opposition highlighted that chambers of commerce are exempt from freedom of information requests as they are private entities, and that there is currently no requirement for them to publish declarations of interests written in to the bill.

Again – the government wasn’t budging, although Burghart, maintaining his view that ERBs aren’t always going to be chambers of commerce (despite all eight trailblazers being so), did say that every ERB will be held to account against the terms of their designation, which the secretary of state can enforce and amend.

If that was the case – surely the trailblazer process was a perfect opportunity to test the effectiveness of those alternative ERB models?

And surely Labour has a point on transparency. The skills bill will give ERBs enormous responsibility and influence over public education funding in their area. Ministers must guarantee that agreements between DfE and every ERB are published in full and that they require ERBs to operate transparently and in line with public service principles.

Little sign of ministers listening during the debates

MPs also covered apprenticeships and level 3 qualifications this week. Labour raised concerns about the decline of younger and lower level apprenticeships, so wanted
a review of the levy in the bill. The opposition also made the case that the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is conflicted by being the body responsible for promoting T Levels at the same time as approving withdrawal of other level 3 qualifications.

Again, the government had their way and the bill wasn’t changed.

The sector was lifted recently by the new education secretary’s “I am listening” mantra. But there has been little sign of that in the skills bill debates so far. Concerns about ERB effectiveness and transparency were written off as “unnecessary”. Requirements for LSIPs to contribute to inclusive local economies and to work to close the disability employment gap were talked down by the government and relegated from legislation to statutory guidance.

The bill committee will conclude next week. It’s expected that popular lines added in the Lords to flex universal credit conditionality, and to boost the Baker clause, will also be removed.

Organisations that have submitted written evidence to the bill committee are:

• Central YMCA

• The WEA

• London Institutes for Adult Learning

• Association of Colleges

• The Open University

• Engineering UK

Local Government Association

• Birkbeck, University of London

• Right to Learn

• University of Salford

• Universities UK

• Pearson UK

• Right to Learn

• Course Hero

NHS called on to aid T Level placements crisis

The NHS and local councils are being called on by government to aid the T Level placements crisis as colleges rush to find enough for every student starting classes this year.

Health Education England (HEE), which oversees training for the NHS, is commissioning research to gauge the viability of health service trusts to host industry placements of at least 45 days.

This is not just in the health and science routes, but for the digital T Level route too, for which colleges have told FE Week finding placements has been a “big problem”.

The country’s 150-odd local councils are also being pushed to offer at least one placement each in the next 12 months while the Department for Education has dispatched other sector bodies to drum up support from the private sector.

A specification document for the HEE tender reports that “T level providers have not been able to source all industry placements locally” for over 8,000 students expected to enrol on the flagship qualifications this year.

The document reveals the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s employer engagement and apprenticeships performance division is looking to support 30 per cent of those placements at a national level.

HEE will now undertake a “maturity modelling exercise of NHS Trusts that could support wave two industry placements”, which will provide a “clear picture of the ‘hot’ and cold’ spots of placement readiness and capacity”.

Students on the flagship level 3 qualifications, which launched last year, are expected to complete a minimum of 315 hours on a placement.

The DfE has already relented to introducing radical flexibilities for placements, in what is fast becoming a headache for officials.

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi told the Association of Colleges conference last month he had seen evidence that there would be sufficient numbers of employers and placements available when T Levels are at full scale.

Yet FE Week has already heard from principals of T Level colleges that they currently have students who cannot find industry placements.

To help providers source placements, the government has made millions of pounds available in capacity and delivery funding to support them to organise placements in the build-up to their rollout.

Securing digital T Level placements ‘difficult before Covid and continues to be’

Colleges have given a lukewarm welcome to extra NHS support and want more employers to invest in T Levels and greater flexibility from the government.

Leeds City College’s head of careers, work experience and progression Gina Yates said working in partnership with the local NHS, other education providers and local authorities means they have enough placements for the over 40 students on the health T Level they started this year.

But, she says, the digital route they also rolled out in September is a “completely different story”: they need 22 placements but have only confirmed six so far.

The NHS’s digital teams have proven quite “difficult to pin down – we seem to have lots of conversations with them, but those don’t result in placements”.

Securing digital placements in Leeds with commercial companies is also “quite difficult,” Yates says: “It was difficult before the pandemic, and it continues to be difficult because of the changing working patterns.”

One of the flexibilities the DfE introduced last month for industry placements means students can spend a maximum of 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely, but this must take place at either the provider’s site, a training centre or simulated working environment run by the employer.

Yates says this was the worst of both worlds as digital employers are now largely working from home, so students cannot get experience in the workplace and cannot build the skills to work from home.

Colleges could also face “huge competition” for NHS placements with higher education institutions, she says, though this has not affected T Levels yet.

Greater support from the NHS would “definitely help,” but other large organisations need to be “investing” in T Levels as well, she believes.

‘If remote working is the norm, the placement should map that’

Much like Leeds, Truro and Penwith College curriculum development director Adele Bull has told FE Week their local NHS and healthcare community believes it can place the provider’s 26 health T Level students and she welcomed the extra HEE support.

Placing just five students on the digital T Level has proven “really challenging,” as employers are working remotely from their homes or sheds, which creates safeguarding problems.

Despite the virtual placement flexibility, a “significant amount of placement needs to be in the workplace,” so Bull argues: “If an industry as a norm is remote working, it makes sense that the placement maps that.”

The college also rolled out the science T Level this year with 16 students, but it has proved “challenging” to find employers owing to the “rurality of our location”.

Construction and councils being pushed to support T Level students

A DfE spokesperson said: “We have been working with key intermediaries in the public sector to ensure the provision of industry placements across a broad range of public sector organisations.”

Officials are also “working with a variety of key intermediaries across all sectors,” such as construction, to “to help raise awareness of T Levels and encourage an even greater number of employers to offer placement opportunities”.

CITB (the Construction Industry Training Board) is one of these sector intermediaries and says its regional teams are speaking with colleges and construction employers to find out what they need in order to support placements.

The organisation has also been holding webinars to encourage and build understanding of T Levels among business.

The Local Government Association has been carrying out specific work with the DfE to build a supply of public sector placements for both 2020 and 2021 students and believes the qualifications are “an important way of supporting talented young people into a successful and fulfilling career in local government”.

A spokesperson said the association is “aiming to raise awareness and help establish T Levels as credible pathways for local councils so they provide quality placements for students”.

The association is acting as a broker between employers and providers, with one current campaign focusing on encouraging councils to offer at least one placement over the next year.

But the spokesperson said they are “hoping more councils will opt to maximise the opportunity,” to access the government’s £1,000 cash incentive, given to employers for each placement they host, while they are available – until July 2022.

New shadow ed sec to push Zahawi on Omicron plans

The new shadow education secretary has requested an “urgent briefing” from her opposite number Nadhim Zahawi about how government will respond to the Omicron variant’s impact on education.

Bridget Phillipson was appointed on Monday to replace Kate Green in a reshuffle by Sir Keir Starmer of his frontbench team.

In her first interview, she told FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week she would be pushing the government “to make sure they respond effectively following the emergence of the new variant, and to see whether they’ve really learned anything over these last couple of years”.

The latest government figures show there are now 29 known cases of the variant in England.

Phillipson said the country needed to avoid “any further disruption to children’s and young people’s education as far as possible”. She said ministers must avoid “last-minute decisions which cause further and unnecessary alarm and anxiety for everybody”, like the confusion over school and college closures last winter.

“Of course the government must be guided by the evidence they receive from public health experts, and to that end I’ve requested an urgent briefing with the secretary of state to understand what the current position is to make sure that all measures that are necessary are being put in place.”

Zahawi struck a conciliatory tone this week as he thanked Green for working “across the political divide”, and welcomed Phillipson to her post.

Phillipson said she would “always work constructively with the secretary of state to get the best possible outcomes”.

But she said she would “also push the government really hard on their complete failure to bring forward a decent plan for education recovery”.

The new shadow education secretary also spoke of her “passion” for her brief and her desire to create an “ambitious, forward-looking and positive vision” for Labour as it heads into the next general election.

She said her own “great” state education “transformed” her life, and she was “determined” to give all children and young people the same opportunity.

Born in Gateshead, Phillipson attended John F Kennedy primary school and St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington, before reading modern history at Oxford.

She described the “fantastic support” she received from staff. “I’m still in touch with many of them and I’ll always be tremendously grateful for the impact they had.”

Phillipson was just 26 when she became the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2010. She served as an opposition whip and on the public accounts committee. More recently she was shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, before moving to the education role this week.

Beyond Covid, Phillipson said she was concerned about inequality in the education system.

She is also focused “skills throughout life and apprenticeships”, which is a “big priority” for Labour. She is “delighted” that Toby Perkins is continuing to lead in this area as shadow FE and skills minister.

“Part of the reason that we’ve seen such weak growth in recent years and poor productivity is because we aren’t doing enough to tackle those major skills issues that we face, not just for children and young people leaving education but right throughout life,” Phillipson said.

“I’m determined to make sure that people have the opportunity to learn and gain new skills and retrain throughout their working lives and to make that as easy as possible for people to achieve.

“I’ve seen in Sunderland and across the north east the enormous transformative power of our further education colleges and skills providers and how people’s lives can be changed with the chance to gain new skills and opportunities.”

Phillipson isn’t giving much else away about her party’s policy development process, but says she’s “excited about the prospect of getting out around the country.

“I’m looking forward to working with parents, families and right across the sector in making that an ambitious, forward-looking and really positive vision for the future of education for Labour at the next election.”