Ministers are considering plans to open mini-university technical colleges (UTCs) within schools.

The Baker Dearing Trust, the licensing body for the colleges created by former education secretary Lord Baker, is hoping to pilot what they call “UTC sleeves” in ten schools across England.

Discussions were held with the Department for Education this month about the plan. The trust was hopeful of a final decision within the next couple of weeks but fears this may now be pushed back following last week’s reshuffle.

Simon Connell, the trust’s chief executive, told FE Week the “sleeves” would “mirror what a UTC does” on a smaller scale.

But experts warn the scheme could create a place where only academically low-performing pupils are sent. One union boss has also labelled the idea as another “vanity project” of UTC architect Lord Baker.

UTC sleeve could be used in place of new schools

Much like the 48 UTCs, the miniature versions would focus on science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and would be open to students from age 14.

Each school’s sleeve would have two specialisms, again like a normal UTC, such as health or engineering.

This UTC pathway would run alongside a school’s academic pathway, with an employer board to shape the curriculum.

Since 2010, schools have been judged on their GCSE entries to English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects, such as English, maths, science, languages, to the detriment of technical subjects.

But the new pathway would be judged on destinations and exam results, not on EBacc.

Connell told FE Week the “sleeves” could be created instead of building full, brand new UTCs that “cost a lot of money”.

He said the Baker Dearing Trust has already passed the names of ten “willing” schools to the DfE who want to take part in the pilot. He suggested the DfE could use part of the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund to pay for the equipment, facilities and extra staff capacity needed to “embed the curriculum”.

Before Gavin Williamson left as education secretary and a new DfE ministerial team was appointed last week, the department was “working really closely” with the trust on a pilot, Connell added.

But details such as when it could run, for how many students and what resources it could need are still being ironed out.

A DfE spokesperson said officials “continue to have productive discussions with the Baker Dearing Trust on how best to strengthen technical education”.

But “no decision has been taken on piloting new approaches” so far.

Unions slam UTCs scheme as ‘vanity project’

Jonathan Simons, director of lobbyists Public First and a former government education adviser, said the trust should “stop trying to make 14 to 19 happen”.

While integrating students within existing school and having wider teaching and learning was a “good idea,” mini-UTCs suffer “from the same sheep and goats route at age 14” as UTCs, he told FE Week.

“Ultimately, we need a broad and balanced – and academic – education for all until 16, and then a choice of different and well-funded routes after that, including on technical education.”

When asked by FE Week if UTC sleeves could become a “dumping ground” for students who are struggling academically, Connell said schools “can’t really do that any more” as they are “found out by Ofsted and the DfE”. Another disincentive would be that the student would remain within the school.

National Education Union joint-general secretary Kevin Courtney said the sleeves would have to be “a genuine choice for learners rather than a place where they are sent if they are not going to get their target grades”.

The union boss also slammed the scheme as a “vanity project”, and expressed concerns it would not “solve the fundamental issues about how our curriculum is organised”.

UTCs have been fraught with recruitment and quality issues since they were launched by Lord Baker in 2010. Eleven have been forced to close their doors due to low student numbers or poor Ofsted reports.

However, the Baker Dearing Trust reported this week the number of students on roll at UTCs across the country has shot up by ten per cent on last year, increasing from 15,861 to 17,504. The numbers have risen by 42 per cent since 2017, when UTCs had 12,304 learners on roll in total.

College students and staff helping to generate £1 million in social value as part of the Good for Me, Good for FE campaign have gained a new ally – the FA.

The English Football Association will be assisting the campaign by training up volunteers for grassroots football using its BT Playmaker scheme.

The free online course, run by the FA and telecoms giant BT, offers training in responding to concussion and cardiac arrests, planning activities that help train players and making football sessions inclusive.

It is hoped the four-and-a-half-hourlong course will give volunteers from the over 100 colleges signed up to the campaign greater opportunities to volunteer locally and work towards that £1 million target.

Loughborough College principal Jo Maher, who helps organise the Good for Me, Good for FE campaign, says she is “absolutely delighted” to have the FA’s support.

The campaign recognises that football has been “hit hard” during the pandemic as it meant fewer volunteers to keep it running.

So, the FA’s course “gives people the skills to be able to go and volunteer, and increases their confidence in what’s required,” says Maher.

Aside from helping the campaign, sports fan Maher said: “Grassroots football is reliant on the success of our brilliant volunteers across the football family.”

Good for Me, Good for FE, which launched in June, is calculating social value by working out the monetary value of volunteering hours carried out by participants.

The national volunteering manager at the grassroots division of the FA, Paul Findlay, believes there is “great synergy” between BT Playmaker and Good for Me, Good for FE.

“We want to help raise awareness of the benefits of volunteering generally – as well as giving access to a free training programme for anyone interested in supporting community football.”

Colleges have been told to improve their reporting of related party transactions after the Education and Skills Funding Agency found cases where conflicts had not been properly declared.

In a letter to accounting officers today, the ESFA’s interim chief executive John Edwards warned college bosses the issue is “key” to ensuring public confidence in the sector.

He said in a “minority of cases”, it “hasn’t been clear from the disclosure itself that the process for managing potential conflicts of interest had been fully observed”.

For example, “individuals with an interest not always completely stepping aside from the awarding of contracts”.

While Edwards does not name the specific cases, he stated that in some instances the ESFA has had to run “further checks”.

Colleges must disclose any transactions with organisations and individuals they have a close association with in their financial statements every year.

One case of non-disclosure the ESFA might be referring to is Hull College, which partnered with a firm called 8-Bit Symphony to run its first ever music event in 2019. 8-Bit Symphony was co-founded by the college’s executive director for marketing and innovation, who was also the husband of the then-chief executive of the college. The contract was not declared in the college’s 2018/19 accounts.

‘Substantial number’ of OfS non-compliance cases

Edwards’ letter also warned colleges to check their compliance with Office for Students conditions of registration after finding a “substantial number” of issues in 2019/20.

He said: “Colleges that are registered with OfS are required to comply with their conditions of registration, including the requirements of the OfS accounts direction.

“This includes some requirements over and above those required by the ESFA.

“We have found that for the year 2019 to 2020 a substantial number of registered colleges had not fully complied with these requirements. I expect that colleges will fulfil all requirements of the OfS accounts direction for the year 2020 to 2021.”

You can read the letter in full here.