Strikes on the cards at 11 colleges

University and College Union members at 11 colleges across England are voting on industrial action from today.

Ten of the ballots follow college bosses’ “refusal to make a decent pay off to staff”, while a separate one has opened at a group that is planning to make 30 staff redundant while investing in a controversial “teacherless” tech venture, as revealed by FE Week on Friday.

If the UCU members vote to strike, the action will be planned for the autumn term. The ballots close on July 14.

The union says bosses at the 10 colleges voting over pay have refused to provide a good salary increase despite the government announcing a £400 million increase in FE funding in late 2019.

They warn that the pay gap between college and school teachers currently stands at £9,000 as staff working in further education have suffered real terms pay cuts of over 30 per cent in the past decade.

UCU is demanding a pay increase of greater than 5 per cent at the 10 colleges.

In December, the Association of Colleges recommended colleges give their staff a 1 per cent pay rise because of the unforeseen and “severe financial pressure” colleges are now facing owing to the Covid-19 pandemic that has “forced many into deficit”.

Commenting on the strike ballots, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Employers have millions more in the bank after government investment, so staff should not have to threaten to strike to be paid fairly. Colleges across England need to urgently offer staff a decent pay increase to avoid disruption.

“We are supporting members to vote ‘YES’ in a ballot to take strike action in the autumn. Strong, properly funded further education is central to creating a fairer society, and is more important than ever as we come out of the recent pandemic.”

The separate ballot is being held at Capital City College Group over pay, working conditions, and compulsory redundancies.

As this newspaper revealed last week, the college is planning to make over 30 staff redundant while investing millions into a new coding school which involves a “sink or swim” admissions model and no teachers.

Two governors resigned at the group as a result of the venture.

The ten colleges being balloted over pay are:

City College Plymouth 

City of Bristol College 

City of Liverpool College 

Croydon College 

Lambeth College 

Sheffield College 

South Thames Colleges Group

Swindon New College  

Truro & Penwith College 

Weymouth College 

Number 10 seeks education and skills deputy director for new delivery unit

Number 10 is seeking a “deputy director for education, jobs and skills” to work in a new unit set up to drive policy implementation.

According to a job advert, the new £71,000 to £117,800-a-year role will be based in the Number 10 Delivery Unit, a new team within the Cabinet Office that “should grow to around 40 staff” over time.

The vacancy is likely to exacerbate concerns that education policy is increasingly run not from the Department for Education, but from the prime minister’s office itself. Although it is normal for Downing Street to have advisers on education policy, the new role is for a senior civil servant.

education Number 10

Sir Michael Barber

The delivery unit, set up based on the recommendations of former Tony Blair adviser Sir Michael Barber, will “support capacity building in government departments”, and take “a clear leadership role in how we can collectively achieve successful delivery of the government’s ambitious agenda for the people of this country”.

The unit will also act as “guardian of the centre’s delivery priorities and the associated tools and techniques for getting things done”.

 

New official to ‘focus departments’ on delivery

The new deputy director, who will be appointed on a two-year contract, will lead an education, jobs and skills team and “focus departments and delivery partners on the successful delivery of critical outcomes in that area”.

The new role will involve using the prime minister’s “backing” to “intervene effectively where delivery is slowing to get projects back on track”.

The appointed official will also work with the head of the delivery unit to “communicate their team’s mission and purpose across government”, and build “robust networks at the most senior levels in departments to both monitor and support delivery, as well as strengthening the focus on delivery at the centre of government”.

It will also be their responsibility to work with data experts “both in departments and in Number 10”, to develop a “world-class system for collecting information on, and visualising progress in the delivery of the education, jobs and skills mission”.

 

Deputy director will ‘track progress’ on departmental outcomes

This will involve linking the work of the delivery unit to “wider systems and processes (in Cabinet Office and HM Treasury) for tracking progress on the government’s priorities and departmental outcomes”.

They will also work “closely” with the director of the levelling up mission to “oversee the contribution of education, jobs and skills to the delivery of levelling up”.

According to the advert, the delivery unit is looking for someone with “the personal presence, effectiveness and credibility to operate at a very senior level across government and beyond”, with a “proven track record” of working with “senior stakeholders” such as ministers and chief executives.

The successful candidate will also have expertise “relating to the education, jobs and skills mission”, for example, in “education or skills policy or education bodies”. Experience working in a devolved setting, like a local authority or mayoral office, is “desirable but not essential”.

Candidates will be assessed on their ability to see “the big picture”, to change and improve, their leadership, communication and influencing capabilities and their ability to deliver “at pace”.

The closing date for applications is June 27.

 

PM complained of ‘sluggish’ response to Covid

education Number 10

Boris Johnson

The new delivery unit, which will be run by England’s vaccine deployment lead Dr Emily Lawson, will replace the Downing Street implementation unit set up by David Cameron. It will be similar to a unit run by Barber during the Blair years.

Boris Johnson warned in a speech last year of a need to fix problems “brutally illuminated” by Covid, including the “parts of government that seemed to respond so sluggishly so that sometimes it seemed like that recurring bad dream when you are telling your feet to run and your feet won’t move”.

According to Civil Service World, Johnson’s official spokesperson said earlier this year that the unit would not affect policymaking at department level, but was “about making sure that the prime minister’s priorities are being delivered”.

But i News reported that Johnson risked accusations of trying to “override” the civil service.

The Skills Bill could set the scene for Ofqual’s demise

The government is effectively nationalising technical education through the Institute for Apprenticeships, writes Tom Bewick

 Leviathan was a mythical sea monster in the Book of Job. In the modern context, it refers to an enormous superstructure that sucks the life out of innovation, investment and entrepreneurial endeavour.

Monopolies – like those in the state or private sectors – are examples of how good intentions easily end up short-changing the public. Just think of the ongoing battle over the railways.

Enter, then, the post-16 Skills Bill. Don’t get me wrong: there’s a lot to welcome in the draft legislation. The individual lifelong learning entitlement is genuinely a step forward in eventually cementing a statutory right to adult education and retraining.

From a social policy point of view, it’s up there with the 1946 NHS Act, which established the idea of universal healthcare free at the point of need.

Notwithstanding the complex funding and qualifications rules governing the lifetime skills guarantee, it doesn’t take a genius to see how this concept can be built on in future.

But one major difference is that this is no longer the 1940s. People are sceptical of paternalistic institutions that are bossy and want to tell them what to do.

In many ways, that is the biggest flaw in the proposed legislation. Without offering any real evidence of how outcomes will be better, a Conservative government has set upon a course to nationalise technical education.

A Conservative government has set upon a course to nationalise technical education

The 18th-century philosopher Edmund Burke made the point that societies were best served by an approach to human affairs that “puts its trust in experience and in the gradual improvement of tried and tested arrangements”. Where, in this bill, is the trust in FE?

The draft legislation does not attempt to build on tried and tested qualifications.

Instead, it assumes the right of the secretary of state to effectively nationalise the technical education system via the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

The current regulator, Ofqual, has been sidelined in the process. One long-term reading of the legislation is that it sets the scene for Ofqual to be eventually abolished. After all, some might argue, what is the point of a statutory regulator if it has oversight over a diminishing part of the qualifications landscape?

As we’ve already seen with the development of T Levels, the government has assumed intellectual ownership and control of these qualifications. The legislation gives the Institute the right to run a state monopoly in qualifications, alongside its accreditation role of other quals that it doesn’t own.

Awarding organisations work under licence (commercial contracts) to deliver the content and curriculum expertise. This Bill paves the way for the Institute to extend this operating model to other forms of technical qualifications in future.

When combined with the rationalisation agenda of the below level 3 vocational qualifications review, it is apparent for all to see just how significant a re-making of the VTQ landscape this could turn out to be.

The Institute will have the power to put in place moratoriums to prevent the development of new qualifications, as well as the power to lift them.

It will also be able to designate technical courses that are not necessarily qualifications regulated by Ofqual or developed by awarding organisations.

In practice, this could mean a local college or FE provider could apply to the Institute to have its courses accredited, therefore bypassing the need to use qualifications offered by regulated awarding bodies.

The other significant powers the Institute will be assuming is the ability to charge fees for regulation. There will need to be safeguards built in during the passage of the Bill. We’ve already seen how EQA charges have added an “invoice chasing” culture to the apprenticeship programme.

With post-pandemic public expenditure under severe pressure, the Bill could be used as a funding ratchet, enabling the DfE to push even more of the costs of regulation onto the FE sector.

That’s why accepting Leviathan is never a good idea.

A big lesson from the pandemic is the role local government plays

Councils have had to respond to the collapse of some of their region’s biggest employers, writes Richard Leese

As the vaccine is rolled out and the economy opens up, local government is turning its attention to planning and supporting recovery.

With the powers to work in partnership with national government and others, councils can help well-intended but often disconnected national schemes keep people in work and businesses recruiting.

This is why, working with the Learning and Work Institute and grant management services company Rocket Science, we have produced a dedicated Local Skills and Employment Recovery Hub.

It includes a number of resources to help councils understand and develop their thinking around employment and skills programmes as we emerge from the pandemic.

The hub also pulls together best practice as well as helpful jobs and skills recovery guides for those, including colleges, looking to tackle skills and employment issues in their local communities.

Although each council approached their response in different ways, some common themes emerged about their experiences and situations. One common thread was local leadership and partnership.

Whether they were focused on shifting their service to online, working directly with businesses to mitigate impact, or developing a coherent council-wide response, there have been some big shifts in their employment and skills offer.

The hub pulls together best practice and jobs and skills recovery guides

For example in Devon, the county council had to respond rapidly to the collapse of one of the region’s biggest employers, Flybe. They set up a redundancy support team, aimed at being the “joining glue” for local support.

This included linking recently redundant workers to training support, through both the adult education budget and a £750,000 fund to provide training focused on transition-to-growth sectors.

In other examples, Halton Borough Council in the north-west of England, and the London Borough of Hounslow found a significant increase in vacancies in the healthcare sector.

They have formed strong partnerships to help move people from other forms of local employment, notably in manufacturing and at Heathrow Airport, into temporary work in these sectors.

Meanwhile in Shropshire, the council faced issues common to many rural authorities, where sectors have been impacted by the effects of Brexit on the agricultural sector. By working with local employers, they have encouraged more businesses to relocate to the area as they move out of bigger cities.

This close working with local businesses on the ground is mirrored in many councils, including in Essex, where the council supported local businesses to adapt as they reopened again after periods of lockdown.

A key first step is to map existing support. The complexity of employment and skills policy means there will often be disjoints or areas where better join-up would deliver better results.

Given all delivery is ultimately local, this can only be done locally, and here councils play a key role.

There will always be issues where the evidence on what works is more limited, or where there are gaps in support. So, another step is identifying these gaps in evidence and support, and thinking about how best to fill them.

Perhaps the biggest message from these case studies is the role local government can play in making sure local growth, development and regeneration delivers good job and skills opportunities.

Of course, this is more important than ever as we seek to recover from the pandemic. With the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, there could be an increase in the number of people in our communities facing unemployment or seeking to retrain.

Those predominantly affected will be between 16 and 25 years old, as well as older people who have fared less well when trying to re-enter the labour market after previous recessions.

Councils are uniquely placed in their communities to convene with local and national partners, including colleges, to address these challenges.

Young people aren’t digital natives in the way employers need

Being a digital native for employers is very different to how young people use  their devices daily, writes Bev Jones

Generation Z is regarded as digitally enabled. They are the generation that has grown up with technology being an inherent part of their lives – in the way they communicate, socialise and access entertainment.   

So why then are so many employers struggling to find young people who are equipped with adequate levels of digital literacy? 

Through our partnership work with employers, we know that young people leaving school and college are not the digital natives we assume them to be. Yes, they have their phone attached to them all day, and many are gaming experts – but this is quite different from having the digital skills needed for employment. 

These “skills” encompass a wide range of competencies, many of which are assumed to be innate. But they are not. 

For example, communicating online is more complex than young people may think. Using the right tone and language is a skill that may not come naturally and has to be adapted to specific situations. 

Sending formal emails is a key business skill, which students need to be taught as it is such a different form of communication when compared to everyday interactions with friends.  

And the same is true when it comes to taking part in business video conferences ̶ these are dramatically different from FaceTime calls with peers. Colleges must start with these basics, as they are crucial building blocks to sound digital capability.  

Beyond the skillset for communicating efficiently online, we also need to ensure young people can keep themselves, their data and other people’s data safe. Cybersecurity is a huge industry, catalysed by the growth in online activity. Young people moving into employment must understand the importance of cyber safety, including their own wellbeing when operating in a digital world. 

Communicating online is more complex than young people may think

Technology is playing a huge part in recruitment and career development, which students also need to understand and use to their advantage. Yet they can only do this with the right training and support ahead of their journey into employment. 

Being able to use a variety of software, apps, video-conferencing technologies, and having the confidence to undergo interview and assessment centres online, are all real-life, essential skills that must be acquired. They are for the benefit of both the employer and the young person. 

FE colleges must play a leading role in ensuring young people have these skills, across the many vocational subjects they offer. 

An example of this within the construction industry can be seen at City of Glasgow College.

Construction is changing rapidly, with digital technology moving to the forefront as modern methods of construction replace more traditional ones. 

Digital design is now a requirement of government construction procurement processes. Yet this is not sufficiently reflected in current education policy, where there is a real disconnect between the skills young people need for work and the skills actually being taught. 

So building and civil engineering company Sir Robert McAlpine took its own action, working with us to establish a Career College at the City of Glasgow College. 

As part of this initiative, an employer skills board has been launched, with representatives from major construction employers such as Balfour Beatty, Morrison Construction and Cidon. 

Board members have discussed and agreed the skills, knowledge and behaviours that employers need their young recruits to be equipped with upon leaving college. The City of Glasgow College is now using this insight to re-design study programmes and develop digital skills CPD programmes for staff. 

The CPD aspect is crucial. Many FE tutors are sector-specialists but are not always given the time or opportunity to keep up to date with fast-moving industry developments. Now they are being supported to understand how technology is impacting the construction sector. 

As a result, tutors can demonstrate to students the real-life connection between digital skills and employment, contextualising the lessons being taught.  

The Skills for Jobs white paper sets out the need for employers and educators to work more closely and the huge role that digital technology will play. We must not assume students are digital natives but roll up our sleeves and upskill them now.

FAB warns of ‘conflict of interest’ arising from Skills Bill legislation

Plans to hand the government’s apprenticeships quango new powers over technical qualifications are a “retrograde step” and introduce a conflict of interest, awarding bodies have warned.

The Federation of Awarding Bodies has sought legal advice over the Skills Bill ahead of its second reading in the House of Lords tomorrow.

A key proposal in the Bill is to give the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education the ultimate sign-off power for the approval and regulation of technical qualifications in future.

In a position statement, seen by FE Week, the FAB says that while this may look like an “obvious extension” of remit, it “actually sets the scene for a muddled and cumbersome two-tier system of qualifications regulation emerging”.

The federation is concerned the move would reverse the “gains” of independent regulation that parliament intended in 2009 when it set up Ofqual.

Unlike Ofqual, the institute is a non-departmental public body directly accountable to ministers, not parliament.

FAB explains that Ofqual was created following a period of “significant scandals and instability” in the regulation of qualifications which resulted in the then Qualifications and Curriculum Authority being abolished.

It warns that the government is in danger of repeating the “mistakes of history by handing back day-to-day political control of technical qualification regulation directly to ministers via the institute”.

“We believe this to be a retrograde step as it will not secure strong public confidence in these important qualifications in future,” the statement says.

It goes on to claim that this part of the Skills Bill, in its current form, fails to meet “five Cs”: competence, coherence, competition, complexity and cost.

One of the biggest concerns for FAB is that the legislation would introduce a “material conflict of interest”, since the institute will be both a state awarding/accreditation body for technical qualifications (e.g. T Levels) as well as a regulator deciding which technical qualifications can be granted regulatory approval for public funding purposes.

“In an unprecedented move, this turns the institute into both a market participant in qualifications (by developing, accrediting and certificating its own technical qualifications) and a market regulator of technical qualifications, deciding which qualifications that they do not own can operate in the marketplace in future,” the briefing note said.

“We don’t have a problem with the institute being either a market participant or a market regulator, but we do not believe it is in the national interest to allow it to operate with both these functions in hand.”

Writing for FE Week, FAB chief executive Tom Bewick said the new power proposed for the institute “is the biggest flaw in the proposed legislation”.

“Without offering any real evidence of how outcomes will be better, a Conservative government has set upon a course to nationalise technical education.”

In response to the concerns, a DfE spokesperson said: “Now more than ever, the role of employers in the skills system is critical to our economic recovery and growth.

“The Bill will give the institute responsibility for ensuring that employers’ views are at the heart of the system, whilst Ofqual will continue to regulate and maintain education standards. We believe that both organisations (working together with awarding organisations) have a vital role to play to ensure the quality of technical qualifications.”

The Skills Bill does admit that by extending the institute’s approval powers, the “risks of duplication and inconsistency” in the qualifications market “are increased”.

To combat this, the institute will be required to cooperate with Ofqual to create a “single approval gateway” for technical qualifications.

Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021: Who received what in FE?

The next FE commissioner and the author of the landmark post-18 education review are among those receiving gongs in this year’s Queen’s birthday honours list.

Included in the awards for almost 20 people from the FE and skills sector is a knighthood for Philip Augar and a CBE for Chichester College Group principal Shelagh Legrave.

honours
Philip Augar

Augar, a former banker, was appointed in 2018 to lead the ‘Review of Post-18 Education and Funding’ which reported in 2019 and has since had many of its recommendations taken forward such as a lifelong loan entitlement and handing Ofsted the power to inspect all apprenticeships.

Augar, the list explains, is being recognised for services to higher and further education policy and he said he had been “privileged to chair an outstanding panel” with support from “dedicated” officials.

“This honour reflects their efforts and I hope that the report we produced will remain of value to everyone involved in the sector.”

There is also a damehood for the scourge of the Department for Education, Commons Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier.

Hillier called it a “huge honour,” but: “Holding the government to account is a joint endeavour and I can’t do my job without the support of the committee.”

Chichester College Group principal Shelagh Legrave, who is due to become the new FE Commissioner in October, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

honours
Shelagh Legrave

The Ofsted grade one college leader called it an “unexpected honour” and felt especially privileged after already being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015.

“I absolutely love my job and to be recognised for doing something I love is extraordinary.

“I can’t quite put into words how it feels. I am simply thrilled.”

Also being made CBEs are outgoing Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education chair Antony Jenkins and London South East Colleges leader Sam Parrett

Parrett, who has led the group since it was created in 2016 after running Bromley College since 2010, said she was “overwhelmed” to be recognised, and it had come as a “complete surprise” for which she was “incredibly grateful”.

The gong “reflects the huge amount of work and dedication many people have put in over the past few years,” she said, after having received an OBE in 2017.

Jenkins, a former Barclays group chief executive who is leaving the role next month after starting out as IfATE’s shadow chair in 2016 before it officially launched the following year, said he is “delighted and humbled by this recognition,” and was “proud of the work we have done together”.

South and City College Birmingham principal Mike Hopkins, East Coast College principal Stuart Rimmer, and Workpays chief executive Helen Richardson have been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

honours
Stuart Rimmer

Rimmer, who became the college’s first principal in 2017 after a merger between Great Yarmouth College, Lowestoft College and Lowestoft Sixth Form, called it a “great honour,” but said: “Leading a college is a privilege and very much a team effort.

“I am fortunate to work with some amazing staff who positively impact our students every day.”

“Humbled and honoured,” was how Hopkins described his reaction, “as I have never sought any such personal recognition, I have simply done the best I can throughout my career”.

He was born and educated in the city, and took over what was then South Birmingham College in 2007, before it consumed City College and Bournville College.

He credited the MBE to his staff, but he said his college, the largest in its region, had “still a lot to do, especially with the aftermath of the pandemic”.

Richardson was honoured for services to young people, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, after her provider delivered laptops and WiFi access for its learners, while also hand delivering work to their homes.

“I was really surprised to receive the honour and clearly very excited,” she said.

“The whole team has worked even harder than usual to continue to deliver to young people during Covid.”

See the full list of honours recipients below (click to expand):

honours

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 356

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving.


Sue Kamal, People director, Realise Learning and Employment Ltd

Start date: May 2021

Previous job: Global head of organisation development, Reuters

Interesting fact: At weekends, she can often be found at the Pool Cafe in the Peak District village of Hathersage, where she helps her husband in the family-run cafe next to the open-air pool.


Pete Joddrell, Deputy principal, Eastleigh College

Start date: May 2021

Previous job: Assistant principal, New College Swindon

Interesting fact: He has run the London Marathon five times, including the record-breaking race in 2020 when over 43,000 runners took part in a virtual event, receiving a Guinness World Record.


Chris Russell, National director, Education, Ofsted

Start date: September 2021

Previous job: South-east director, Ofsted

Interesting fact: He plays the piano, and early in his career, he spent two years teaching in Zimbabwe as a VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas).

Two more struggling UTCs join multi-academy trusts

Another two university technical colleges are being absorbed into multi-academy trusts and expanding their age ranges after facing possible financial ruin amid recruitment struggles.

A financial notice to improve issued last month to Health Futures UTC instructed it to join a “strong” MAT by September after the government became concerned about its “weak financial position and management”.

Meanwhile, Greater Peterborough UTC (GPUTC) announced this week it will join Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust in June and will extend its starting age to 11 from September.

Health Futures, which opened in 2015, has remained tight-lipped about which MAT it will join, but West Midlands-based Shireland Collegiate Multi Academy Trust confirmed it had held “exploratory talks” with the West Bromwich-based UTC without having discussed anything formally.

Another candidate is the trust run by its lead partner, the University of Wolverhampton. The university declined to comment on which MAT the UTC will join.

 

UTC owed ESFA almost half a million pounds

Both UTCs have faced problems recruiting enough students to meet capacity, with the latest government statistics showing Health Futures has 160 students against a capacity of 600, while GPUTC has 224 against 500.

The 2020 accounts for Health Futures UTC warns “low student numbers” are its principal risk, after the college, which specialises in healthcare and science for 14- to 19-yearolds, ended the financial year with a loss of £593,555.

The Ofsted grade three college also owed the Education and Skills Funding Agency £458,845 and its accounts say it is depending on the agency not asking for that cash back if it is to have enough money to meet its liabilities over the next year.

It is also receiving “additional financial support” from the agency.

Were the government to demand its money back and discontinue that support, this would cast “significant doubt” on the college’s ability to continue as a going concern, the accounts say.

Board member Michelle Shaw, director of education for the university, said Health Futures joining a MAT will “help ensure its ongoing viability”.

She said the college had complied with all the demands of the notice to improve, which included submitting certain financial information, boosting the number of board members and asking the ESFA for permission to make certain transactions.

The additional support had been provided, she explained, “to ensure that operating costs can be met during this time of low student numbers. The student number situation will be remedied once the UTC has joined the new MAT.”

GPUTC’s financial statements for 2019/20 reveal that, in addition to having generated a “significant” deficit, the ESFA was also clawing back £234,730 after the college did not recruit enough students for the 2019/20 academic year.

multi-academy trusts
David Bisley, GPUTC Principal; Missy Welch (Yr 12 student); Martin Campbell, Executive Principal CMAT; Faizaan Chaudhry (Yr 13 student)

They add that the trustees consider that the UTC will “not have sufficient resources to continue for the foreseeable future”.

Principal David Bisley said the UTC had “doubled the number of students on the roll over the past three years.

“With the support of Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust, our superb offer to students and the strong school community we have developed, we are confident we will reach our target of being fully subscribed by the 2022/23 academic year.”

 

Joining multi-academy trusts has become common for UTCs

FE Week reported in March 2020 the grade three college, which opened in 2016, had dropped its age range from 14-19 to 13, as part of a growing trend in UTCs admitting broader age ranges to improve their enrolment.

Simon Connell, chief executive of the UTC licensing body the Baker-Dearing Trust, previously told this newspaper changing entry age could be a “pragmatic solution” for colleges with low rolls which need to up their capacity “significantly”.

Joining an MAT has also become a common option for struggling UTCs in recent years. It is a move favoured by ministers and, despite initially resisting it, the Baker Dearing Trust began to encourage the process in 2019 to enable the colleges to survive.

When Health Futures’ and GPUTC’s moves go ahead, 28 of the 48 currently open UTCs (58 per cent) will be run by MATs.

Schools system minister Baroness Berridge told the Commons education select committee in April the government hoped to have a “strong sustainable group of UTCs” by the autumn, and to have “worked through any of the issues that are remaining”.