The winners of this year’s Association of Colleges’ Student of the Year Awards have been revealed.
Five learners from across the country have been recognised for their “fantastic work at their respective colleges and local communities” at the association’s virtual CollegesLive event, which has been held today.
AoC president Sally Dicketts said the level of applications to the awards is “extremely high” each year, which “goes to show the fantastic work students are doing in colleges, as well as the lengths colleges go to support their students”.
“It is particularly amazing to see the achievements in such a turbulent year and everyone has done amazingly well and should be extremely proud.”
The full list of winners:
Esha Mumtaz
Young Student of the Year
Winner: Esha Mumtaz, Trafford College Group
Runners-up: Halle Parker, Loughborough College and Grace Prestwood, Oldham College
Matthew Moir
Apprentice of the Year
Winner: Matthew Moir, Loughborough College
Runners-up: Pippa Culverwell, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
Sam Beckett
Adult Student of the Year
Winners: Sam Beckett, Middlesbrough College and Scott Yarrington, Walsall College
Runners-up: Imogen Gibbons, The Cornwall College Group
Higher Education Student of the Year
Winner: Jonathan Morris, Walsall College
Runners-up: Daniel Jennings, Loughborough College and Courtney Pitt, Newcastle & Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG)
A new tool that pre-warns providers and employers when apprenticeship standards are being revised has been launched today by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
Set to be updated every eight weeks, the first “revisions status report” shows there are 84 standards currently being modified.
The institute said it decided to create the tool after listening to feedback from the sector, with employers and providers complaining about not getting enough notice of when revised standards were upcoming or when they would go live.
Training providers and end-point assessment organisations can now “prepare for the new version, and work with employers and apprentices to ensure all parties are aware of how a new version being issued may impact their choices,” guidance about the reports explained.
“Going forwards, it will improve sector awareness where employers’ or professional bodies’ feedback has led to the creation of multiple versions of a standard.”
The report will also allow the institute to consult the sector on the “appropriate notice period” – the period between all elements of a new version being approved and available to see online, and the date from which it replaces the old version for new starts – for each version change.
Feedback can be provided either via consultation surveys or by emailing the “relevant IfATE relationships manager”, links to which will be provided via the revisions status report, the institute said.
Through the tool, notifications will be added to the individual standard webpages on the IfATE website to flag when a standard is subject to revision and the stage it is at.
The four stages of apprenticeship standard revision
The report breaks standards down into the following four different stages of revision:
Stage 1: Apprenticeship standards that are being revised by the relevant trailblazer
Stage 2: Revised standards with new draft versions submitted for approval to the institute
Stage 3: Revised standards with new versions having been approved by the institute subject to certain conditions that are currently being addressed
Stage 4: Revised standards with the new versions replacing the current versions for new starts on the dates indicated.
The report does not include standards that are currently subject to an IfATE route reviews, as the “process of revising such standards only begins once the route review has been completed”.
Schools and colleges were originally told they would have to conduct the four tests in the first two weeks after they reopen more widely. But despite leaders being given “discretion” on how students are tested in the first week back, some had raised concerns about the logistics of testing large numbers of pupils in a short period.
The DfE has now confirmed in a bulletin to leaders that schools and colleges may start testing pupils before March 8 “if they would like to do so”.
This means students and pupils “may go to school or college specifically for a test before Monday March 8 if their school or college offers to test them”.
Participation will be voluntary and “at the discretion of each school or college”, and schools and colleges will still be expected to follow operational guidance, the DfE said.
Students being tested before March 8 “must maintain social distance and must go home after their test result”. After schools and colleges reopen officially, learners will be able to start attending for lessons after their first negative result.
Secondary schools and colleges are still expected to do three on-site tests between three and five days apart. Learners will then be asked to conduct their fourth test at home, and then test themselves twice weekly in the weeks thereafter.
The DfE has said that testing at home “should not start” until the week commending March 15.
Schools and colleges will also “need to consider the transport implications of testing before Monday March 8”, the DfE said.
The Department for Education has today launched the registration process to deliver its flagship T Level qualifications from 2023, and has confirmed its Ofsted grade and financial health criteria will be relaxed.
Here are the key things you need to know before applying.
Different deadlines to register for planning support and funding
Providers have until midnight on 30 July 2021 to register if they want to received “implementation planning support” for T Level delivery from 2023.
Click to expand
But the DfE is allowing until midnight on 29 July 2022 as the final deadline for providers to register to receive up-front T Level funding from 2023.
In October 2022, the ESFA will collect planned student numbers from providers which registered prior to the deadline, so funding can be provided for 2023/24 academic year.
What you need to register
Through a registration form, providers applying to deliver will need to submit their Ofsted rating, any structural changes they have had or whether they have converted to an academy, the T Levels and occupational specialisms they want to deliver, and whether they wish to deliver the T Level Transition Programme.
Providers will also need to give an indication of planned student numbers for the T Levels they wish to deliver.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency warns in the guidance the T Level Transition Programme is in the early development phase, and plans for the next phase of work has not yet been agreed with providers.
It will contact those interested in delivering the programme to share information and confirm a provider’s next steps.
In order to deliver the programme, providers must be planning to deliver a T Level in the same route.
The new T Level routes for 2023
The four new routes, encompassing 20 different occupational specialisms between them, are: agricultural, environment and animal care; catering and hospitality; creative and design; and hair and beauty.
This will be the fourth year of the T Level rollout, which started last year with three T Levels in digital, construction, and education and health.
The final year of the rollout will be 2023, and the ESFA says: “This is the point at which we are broadening access to T Levels so that it becomes part of the mainstream offer for all students aged 16, 17 and 18.”
Ofsted criteria relaxed for T Level providers
As announced last June, registration to deliver all of the T Levels available from 2023 is open to providers rated as ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted.
Those rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ can register to deliver for the first time, from 2023, but only for T Level routes which were introduced in 2020 and 2021: digital; construction; education and health; science.
But they can expand their delivery in 2024 to other routes, from which time any provider delivering 16 to 19 study programmes will be able to run T Levels.
For providers which have restructured or merged, and have not received a full inspection, the ESFA will use the lead provider’s last full inspection grade to determine which T Levels they can run. If there is no lead provider, they will combine the ratings of all providers instead.
And for providers which have converted to an academy and not received a full inspection since, the DfE will use the last grade of the former school or sixth form college.
Although providers should put in their Ofsted grade from the time they register, if that grade changes after then, the ESFA has said it will look at each case individually and “discuss how this might impact on the provider’s delivery planning”.
If it drops to grade three or four, “much will depend on the point this happens in the planning process and the improvement work which is necessary,” the guidance reads.
If a grade improves and the provider wishes to extend their delivery, there is a cut-off date of 29 July 2022 for taking that new result into account.
“After this, providers will have less than one year to prepare for T Levels delivery, so we would consider this to be too late to change their delivery plans,” the ESFA says.
Financial health rules removed
As reported by FE Week in June, providers will also no longer have to submit evidence of prior experience of delivering similar subjects or financial health to deliver T Levels from 2023.
“All providers currently funded to deliver 16 to 19 study programmes will be eligible to deliver some of the available T Levels” from then, the DfE has promised.
Any questions?
Anyone with a query has been asked to submit an ESFA enquiry form, with the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option selected, and with ‘T Levels 2023’ in the query box, alongside the provider’s name and UKPRN.
The government has set aside an additional £102 million to extend the 16 to 19 tuition fund for an extra year.
Prime minister Boris Johnson and education secretary Gavin Williamson have today laid out their plan to help young people in England catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic.
They have pledged a new £700 million package, the majority of which will go towards primary and secondary school aged children (see below). The funding is in addition to the £1 billion catch-up fund announced last year.
FE colleges and providers that teach 16 to 19-year-olds are currently making use of a £96 million grant to provide small group tutoring activity for disadvantaged students whose studies have been disrupted.
This will now be extended into next year, using £102 million of the £700 million. The Department for Education said this fund will “support more students in English, maths and other vocational and academic subjects”.
FE Week has asked the DfE to clarify whether the same funding rules for the current tuition fund will apply in next year’s extension.
The funding package comes days after Johnson announced that schools and FE providers will open to all students from March 8.
Frustration that the package has been ‘salami-sliced’
As announced earlier this month, former Education Endowment Foundation chief executive Kevan Collins is the government’s new education recovery commissioner, with a brief to advise on interventions to catch up the education of students aged up to 19.
Gavin Williamson
Williamson said: “Our package of measures will deliver vital support to the children and young people who need it most, making sure everyone has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential no matter their background.
“I know that longer-term support over the length of this parliament will be vital to ensure children make up for lost learning. Our Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, will be engaging with teachers, school and college leaders and families over the coming weeks and months to develop our longer-term plans.”
But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was “frustrating” that the £700 million package has been “salami-sliced to such an extent that it may reduce its effectiveness”.
He added that the total sum of the money should go directly to schools, colleges, and early years providers, rather than being diverted into other pots or ring-fenced.
“By allocating a large sum of money to the National Tutoring Programme and apparently earmarking another large sum of money specifically for summer schools, there is less available to schools and colleges to use for catch-up support in general,” Barton said.
“The best way of ensuring that catch-up work is well-resourced is surely to maximise the amount of money available to providers to spend on the approaches that work best for their pupils.”
The new £700 million recovery package includes:
A new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the Pupil Premium. The average primary school will receive around £6,000 extra, and the average secondary school around £22,000 extra. The DfE said this will help schools to bolster summer provision for their students, for example laying on additional clubs and activities.
£200 million will fund:
An £83 million expansion of the National Tutoring Programme for primary and secondary schools.
A £102 million extension of the 16-19 Tuition Fund for a further year to support more students in English, maths and other vocational and academic subjects
£18m funding to support language development in the early years
£200 million will be available to secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools.
All students in colleges and other further education providers can “safely return” for face-to-face teaching from March 8, the prime minister has announced.
Boris Johnson has this afternoon laid out his “roadmap” for easing lockdown restrictions and said the reopening of schools and FE providers will be supported with twice weekly testing (click here for full testing details).
Addressing the House of Commons, he said: “Two weeks from today students in all schools and further education settings can safely return for face-to-face teaching, supported by twice weekly testing of secondary school and college pupils.”
Following Johnson’s speech, the Department for Education said that secondary schools and colleges will have “discretion on how to test students” over the first week back “to enable their return to the classroom”.
Schools, colleges and FE providers have been closed to all but the most vulnerable students and children of key workers since January 5.
‘Irresponsible reopening’
Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: “Colleges typically have thousands of students across varying ages, and they face a complex task now to prioritise who starts back first and how that will best meet the needs of students.
“We look forward to seeing the scientific evidence which sits behind the announcement. That will be important in reassuring staff and students of the low risks involved, with the right controls in place.”
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “The key to a successful return from this date is flexibility. Opening to all students at the same time presents a range of very significant logistical challenges, not least the requirement to test all students and staff.”
He added that he was “pleased” that the updated operational guidance published shortly after the prime minister’s speech (see here in full) retains the flexibility for colleges to “decide the right balance of face to face and remote education as long as the majority of planned hours are on site”.
Jo Grady
University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said the prime minister’s plan for all students to return at the same time was “irresponsible”.
“Pushing students and staff back onsite increases the risk of more Covid outbreaks and threatens to undo the country’s hard work to get infection rates down,” she said.
The Department for Education said the return for all students is being prioritised due to the “significant and proven impact” caused by being out of school and college to the health and wellbeing of young people.
Staff and students in FE providers have been advised by the Department for Education to wear face coverings in the classroom upon their return on March 8 for a “limited time”.
Colleges and FE providers are now set to reopen to all learners in two weeks’ time under the plans.
Today’s guidance explained that from March 8, officials “expect that every 16 to 19 student (or 19 to 25 with an EHCP) will attend their FE provider in person, and will undertake the majority of their planned hours on site”.
Adult learners “may also return on site”, the guidance says, adding: “As was the case prior to coronavirus (COVID-19), you should continue to judge the right balance between on-site and remote delivery for adult students in order to provide high quality education and training.”
Clinically extremely vulnerable students and staff are however advised to not attend their FE provision, until 31 March at the earliest, because the risk of exposure to the virus “may remain high”.
The DfE is now also recommending for all students and staff who do attend to wear face coverings in the classroom until at least the Easter break. Previous guidelines said face coverings should only be worn in communal areas.
Today’s updated DfE guidance for FE providers said: “We recommend that face coverings should be worn by adults and students when moving around the premises, in corridors and communal areas and in classrooms or workshops where social distancing cannot easily be maintained, except where exemptions apply.
“Face coverings do not need to be worn by students when outdoors on the premises.”
‘Continue to be sensitive to additional needs of students’
The guidance goes on to state that this does not apply in situations where wearing a face covering would impact on the ability to take part in exercise or strenuous activity, for example during sports lessons and physical activity.
The DfE said teachers should “continue to be sensitive to the additional needs of their students, such as deafness, in deciding whether it is appropriate to wear a face covering”.
The guidance added: “Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn.
“Those who rely on visual signals for communication, or communicate with or provide support to such individuals, are currently exempt from any requirement to wear face coverings at the setting or in public places.”
Today’s updated guidance also outlines the new plans for coronavirus testing of students, which you can read more about here.
College students will have four rapid Covid tests in the first two weeks of returning to the classroom from March 8, the government has said.
Three of the asymptomatic tests, which produce results in around 30 minutes, will be conducted on site while another will be conducted at home.
Colleges will then introduce twice weekly home testing thereafter for students as well as staff.
It is understood that colleges will be able to welcome back their students in a phased approach over the course of the week beginning March 8 to allow for testing of their students. If a learner tests negative then they can attend, if they test positive, they must return home to self-isolate.
Independent training providers and adult community learning providers will be able to request coronavirus tests from 31 March, but they will need to apply to the Department for Education for the amount they need.
The DfE announced the plan ahead of the prime minister Boris Johnson’s House of Commons briefing on his “roadmap” for easing lockdown restrictions.
Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said mass testing will be “a logistical challenge”, but colleges have “used lockdown to prepare their sites and it will be a crucial element of keeping students and staff safe, alongside face coverings, social distancing, ventilation, phasing and rotas”.
Colleges are expected to retain a “small” testing site for those students unable to test at home.
Schools and colleges will receive additional testing kits for both on-site and home testing in the coming weeks, the DfE said.
Testing of close contacts in order to keep them in school is not expected to return at this time. The approach was paused last month after questions were raised about the effectiveness of lateral-flow devices.
This means that close contacts of confirmed cases will still be required to self-isolate.
Updated operational guidance for the return of all colleges students was published after Johnson’s speech and sets out the expectations for testing of students from March 8.
It states: “Colleges should offer students three tests at an on-site asymptomatic testing site, three to five days apart, upon their return from 8 March.
“Testing should start when students return but it can be phased to manage the number of students passing through the test site at any one time. Colleges have the flexibility to consider how best to deliver testing on a phased basis, depending on circumstances and local arrangements but suggest vulnerable students are prioritised.”
It adds that testing is “voluntary but encouraged”.
The government should think carefully before taking a cliff edge, pass-fail approach to the register of apprenticeship training providers, writes Simon Ashworth
We are still yet to see any coherent or logical argument from the ESFA about why a refresh needs to happen so soon after the last full refresh back in 2019 – and the fact that the RoATP has been closed to mainstream applications for nearly a whole year now.
The white paper describes the independent training provider landscape of approximately 1,250 organisations as “crowded” and “not always deliver[ing] high-quality provision”.
The reference to “crowded” clearly implies by default that the government has decided there are too many providers and therefore the refresh appears to have a baked-in objective of rationalising the choice of providers available to employers.
‘Unfair picture’
The claim that independent training providers (ITPs) do not always “deliver high-quality provision” also paints a rather opaque and unfair picture.
Year-on-year Ofsted’s annual report highlights that 75 to 80 per cent of ITPs deliver ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ provision which puts them on a par with other types of providers.
Bearing in mind they are numerically the largest type by far, it’s odd that ITPs are singled out on this front in the white paper.
Other provider types have been slower to adopt standards and they may experience similar growing pains as they also move through that same process.
It is well documented that one in four new providers have been judged as making insufficient progress by Ofsted. We have the legacy of the first iteration of RoATP where the entry criteria and the quality bar just were not robust or high enough.
Some new providers then had to up their game or were managed out of the system.
‘Tighter regulatory position’
Iteration two of RoATP, which was a full refresh, was positioned by the ESFA as raising the bar, involving more thorough testing of capacity and capability of providers wanting to deliver apprenticeship training.
The fact that we have another refresh and new criteria to “better determine whether providers have the capability and capacity to be able to deliver these higher-quality apprenticeships” implies the last process was far from a success.
The fact that we have another refresh implies the last process was far from a success
In the latest guidance, the ESFA has pointed towards a tighter regulatory position where at some point providers need to provide more evidence about their capacity and expertise.
The ESFA is considering how this may be required beyond the initial application process, where providers wish to “expand their delivery to new areas”.
This is a strong hint of a move towards the approach we see with the Register of End Point Assessment Organisations. It’s a move away from an open market for providers to deliver any of the 600 plus standards once on the RoATP.
If this is where the process does end up, the ESFA should avoid too much granularity.
Instead, approval to deliver within occupational sector subject areas rather than at individual standard level would form a happy medium.
‘Avoid cliff-edge outcome’
The recent update on how the agency will now measure the financial health of independent training providers sees the welcome inclusion of some pragmatic mitigations on both profitability and borrowing because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The financial health assessment has been a key facet in the RoATP process and we expect it to feature again this time around.
Last summer AELP alerted officials to concerns about the impact on short-term profitability due to the downturn in activity, and the need for many providers in the sector to utilise the government’s business loan facilities.
So the mitigations show that they have listened and taken this into account.
Before the guidance on the new criteria for RoATP approval is published, the government should avoid any cliff-edge in terms of the outcome.
The refresh itself is not a procurement exercise and therefore it needs to not just have a robust appeals process.
The ESFA needs to operate the process pragmatically to enable providers to submit future evidence to support their application.
Yes, we want a healthy and high quality training provider marketplace, but a binary and arbitrary approach to pass-fail is not what is needed here.
