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FE colleges need to seek advice from environmental sustainability experts

Teaching sustainability will increase student employment prospects – but we’re still not doing it properly, writes Dora Martínez Carbonell

Sustainability has certainly become the buzzword of the 21st century. From reusable coffee cups claiming to make our coffee break ethical and green, to fashion brands making T-shirts from recycled plastics, to airlines offsetting flights so we can have “eco-holidays” – everyone is using it.

At the same time, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are gaining visibility and public attention. They highlight the interconnectedness of the critical issues affecting our planet.

We even have the 2030 SDGs official card game now, which explores how we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through different “real world” scenarios!

Today, companies and consumers recognise that sustainability is important. But are we doing enough in FE?

‘Values are established in classrooms’

Philippe Joubert, chief executive at Earth on Board, uses a very bold statement when advising his corporate clients: “Business as usual is dead”.

Millions of pounds spent in downstream corrective measures is not the answer. Instead, a different system is.

And while it may be in the boardroom where big decisions are made, it is in the classroom where a society establishes and transmits its values. And yet sustainability is insufficiently discussed in our FE centres.

How future leaders understand and envision the system determines the shape and form our societies take.

The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2020 found that young people (the next generation of customers, employees and CEOs) are highly concerned about environmental sustainability and social justice. They see beyond the immediate demands of the Covid pandemic.

They envision a better place, with fairer systems and a healthier environment. So we must give them the skills to bring that world into reality.

Sustainability is not a subject in and of itself. Rather, it is a discipline that feeds from many others and cuts across sectors, departments and industries.

The Guide for Sustainability in Further Education produced by the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education makes clear why we need to embed it in FE. It is “to provide learners with the knowledge, skills and values that are needed to mitigate the effects of climate change.

“Students with the skills and competences gained through education in sustainability will have increased employment prospects and greater potential for career progression.”

It adds that colleges have an important role to play in supporting local businesses and the wider community in their “journey towards a more sustainable way of living”.

‘Bring expert voices onboard’

The need is real. The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment has found that only 13 per cent of companies are confident that they can compete in a sustainable economy. Over half report that it is difficult to recruit candidates with sufficient expertise.

So to achieve the prime minister’s post-Covid-19 recovery plan for a ‘green industrial revolution’ and our legal commitment to zero greenhouse gas emissions in less than 30 years, significant reskilling and training is needed. For that, we must develop strategies that bring all stakeholders together.

In FE, we must bring sustainability expert voices onboard to advise course directors on how best to embed sustainability into their programmes.

This starts with ensuring our college leaders and course tutors understand the issues at play, and it’s important that they’re given recognised training that’s backed up by science and data.

This is why West Suffolk College teaches courses from the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. Only then can we share credible stories and case studies with our students.

Involving local businesses is also enormously helpful. There are some excellent advances being made in technology, processes and business strategy around sustainability that colleges can explore.

For the first time in history, we understand the drivers of the climate crisis and are beginning to suffer the effects of that crisis. But we also now have the knowledge, technology and means to start doing things differently.

It is a matter of transforming our systems, by resetting our mindsets.

As educators, we have the key in our hands to transform the wider system.

Here are 3 lessons Covid taught us about learners with autism

Transition from school to college in particular needs to be improved for students with autism, writes Jeannie Christina

Many of our learners have struggled during the pandemic, and for those with autism, this has been a particularly challenging time.

Since Covid struck many of my autistic learners have experienced increased anxieties, stresses and worry about social interaction, travelling and communicating.

Learners with autism focus on routines and rituals, and when that’s disrupted, their sense of support is obliterated too. Lockdown has presented many difficulties that has impacted on their independence and confidence.

So, there’s been an increase in mental health difficulties for many students, but for those with autism it’s been that much more prevalent.

‘Usual worries exacerbated’

Not having advance notice of the many changes that have come in has affected them, so that the world at the moment has become like an alien environment.

“Simple” things like joining a class remotely, which most learners won’t ever have done before, mean they have to adapt and that can be very difficult.

Some learners with autism chose to keep coming into college, because we have always stayed open for vulnerable students.

Then it’s about being aware of how they might be feeling. The way I describe it to colleagues is: imagine they are arriving in college with a big backpack on their back.

In the backpack are lots of worries, like “will my class be running on time?”, “will I be okay today?”, “will I get the virus?”.

It’s about understanding their usual worries may all be exacerbated, and what we can do to alleviate some of those concerns and anxieties.

I’m really proud of what our college has done to support our learners with autism. There’s also a lot we can learn from this period.

‘Communicating at the right time’

Personal contact with our learners with autism and their families has become more important than ever.

Our welfare and student services team ask what’s going well and what the learner would find most helpful.

We say “tell us what works for you”, rather than expecting them to do things around us.

We’ve shown learners step-by-step how to join classes online, and helped them develop essential IT skills, so they are comfortable with this before it happens.

It’s taught us that if there was a fourth lockdown or another pandemic in the future, super close communication with learners and their families is absolutely key.

You need to know exactly when the communication is needed and how it’s needed.

That includes even before learners with additional needs come to college.

‘Smoother transition needed’

We need a bigger focus on better communication from schools about the students’ needs, their Education Health and Care plan, and what support has worked for them previously.

Better communication around transition is the biggest lesson from lockdown.

It’s about having those early conversations with the school or previous provider. Have they passed over everything you need to ensure their learner journey gets off to a successful start?

It’s about having those early conversations with the school or previous provider

That’s massively important for any student but especially those with autism. They should be able to do trips to the campus so they know what to expect before they arrive.

Sometimes they arrive and we don’t even know they’ve got an autism diagnosis until they tell us, because the school has not provided that information. That means it could be six to eight weeks before they get right support.

‘Resources too tight’

We also need better funding. We know that college funding hasn’t been increased for many years, which has a huge knock-on impact on our ability to provide what learners need. It must be increased.

There are more than 8,000 people in Birmingham with autism or an autism spectrum disorder. Across the UK, one in 100 people have an autism diagnosis.

On our college campus alone, there are about 350 learners with an additional need, of which about 115 have an autism diagnosis.

What we want is for them not to be faced with further difficulties, but for this part of them to be their superpower.

If we focus on transition, communication, and better funding, they have a strong chance of believing they have the potential to succeed.

The DfE should follow up some recommendations in the Commission on Race

The Commission on Race has many shortcomings but there are interesting suggestions in the section on education and training, write Jeff Greenidge and David Hughes

The recent report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities prompted strong backlash from many people and organisations.

The report is selective in its use of evidence, overlooking many important facts that illustrate how racism leads to gross inequalities and outcomes, and has little to say about further education.

Disappointingly, there is also no reflection in the report of the good work that colleges are doing now to address issues of race and exclusion. On their own, the recommendations are unlikely to address the underlying issues that cause unequal outcomes.

Perhaps even more worryingly, it seems in places to blame individuals and families without any recognition of the situation, culture and racism they experience and how that all leads to wider socio-economic disadvantages.

Despite these frustrations, the report’s publication gives us an opportunity to engage in a challenging conversation about race in this country, and in particular in our sector.

We will focus on the education and training section, and how to address the issues, rather than getting embroiled in the report’s shortcomings elsewhere.

Proposals that don’t go far enough

That section pays attention to schools, universities and apprenticeships, but doesn’t look at the whole education and training system and the place of FE.

Different outcomes in terms of employment, wages and life chances are also overlooked. This is a missed opportunity, which we are determined won’t deter us from addressing racism in FE.

However, the proposal for a ‘highly-targeted apprenticeships campaign’ is welcome – but does not go far enough.

The proposal for a ‘highly-targeted apprenticeships campaign’ is welcome – but does not go far enough

We want to see integrated college-level career and advice services supporting young people who currently face discrimination and cannot access the full range of career pathways.

Like many others, Bolton College is doing fantastic work in this area. Staff are raising the aspirations of learners to go on to higher education, apprenticeships or set up their own businesses.

Initiatives like this need to be recognised and built on at a national level.

Panel and review are interesting ideas

Meanwhile, the report’s call for government to work with a panel of academics and practitioners to “develop resources and evidence-based approaches of what does work to advance fairness in the workplace” is interesting. So is the “support for families” review.

The Department for Education could follow this up by bringing together practitioners and stakeholders in FE to do the same.

Practical resources and evidence-based approaches could be developed that advance inclusivity in the curriculum, workplace and community.

It could also give strength to the push for a richer history in the national curriculum. We should share initiatives like the one at West Suffolk College, where black history is being taught throughout the year with a curriculum co-designed with the students.

There is also something to be said for the themes in the report’s recommendations: Build Trust; Promote Fairness, Create Agency; Achieve Inclusivity. They are good ambitions, and it is always useful to ‘test’ your own plans against other reports.

Discussion around report is useful

AoC’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity steering group has a set of actions aimed at increasing the numbers of black and minority ethnic leaders and governors, which are vital if we are to have a truly inclusive and trusted culture in FE.

Meanwhile, our work on improving data and research will help us better understand how different minority ethnic students achieve in FE.

We are also working with partners on an inclusive curriculum as well as training programmes for governing bodies, leaders and emerging ethnic minority leaders.

While the report itself may be a missed opportunity, the conversation and awareness generated around it is no bad thing.

Colleges, the AoC, Education and Training Foundation and the rest of the sector should seize this moment.

We must turn that awareness and attention into change. We can do without more reports, as long as we get more concerted action.

FE Colleges Win with Out-of-the-Box Digital Skills

Newcastle College upped its digital skills capabilities by partnering with an edtech specialist, Code Institute, on the creation and delivery of a Level 5 Diploma in Web Application Development – meeting a critical skills need for employers and learners.

Ironically, this story began pre-pandemic in October 2020. Like many FE colleges Newcastle were in a bind: they recognised the demand for a qualification to skill or re-skill people for employment in tech roles — and do so within a relatively short space of time — but lacked the resources to create and support the delivery of such a course.

Newcastle College saw a path through this following an introduction to Code Institute and Gateway Qualifications. Together they had developed an out-of-the-box solution for FE Colleges with supported online or blended delivery. The qualification, a Level 5 Diploma in Web Application Development, satisfied Newcastle’s requirements. The extensive support package, online content, 24/7 on-demand tutor support, instructor onboarding and career services ticked all the boxes and facilitated an immediate launch.

Now enrolling its third cohort of learners, the College along with Code Institute and Gateway Qualifications co-authored a White Paper to provide a roadmap for other colleges who are considering this delivery model. Other FE Colleges to have joined Newcastle’s ranks include Harlow, Halesowen, City of Bristol and University Centre Newbury and several others are preparing to launch their first cohorts this September.

Agile Delivery

The non-negotiables for Newcastle College were that the course be delivered flexibly to fit in with the complex real lives in its local communities, that it offered learners an opportunity to turn their lives around quickly, within a year, and that funding was readily accessible.

Code Institute has a consistent employment track record of 90% and is widely recognised by business and the IT industry; both are instrumental in shaping the course content, keeping it relevant to the demands of employers.

For Andrew Nicholson, Head of Digital Technologies at Newcastle College working with an online delivery expert, Code Institute and Gateway Qualifications gave Newcastle College the agility to launch quickly, “The ability to get it off the ground now far outweighs the potential advantages of creating a qualification like this under our own steam, as the resources needed and the time frame involved in developing the platform would be very considerable.

Employment Outcomes

“We had an agenda to broaden opportunity before Covid-19, but Covid-19 has made this more urgent, the pandemic squarely presented to people who were either unsure about their chosen career path or students weighing the options for their future that the digital economy offered them by far the best opportunities. What’s more, the new qualification makes those opportunities accessible to them within a year — and that is all a piece with our objective to unlock the full potential of our local communities.”

The North East is one of the UK’s most dynamic digital hubs, with companies such as Amazon Web Services, DXN (formerly known as Hewlett Packard), Accenture and IT consultants Waterstons in active dialogue with institutions such as Newcastle College about the talent pool they wish to see created in the region — and actively recruiting from that pool.

“The idea that graduates from the North East had to come to London to find work is a hangover from the 1980s or 1990s,” says Nicholson. “There are jobs here, especially in the digital economy. How we best deliver the talent to step into those jobs is another matter.”

Funding Model

Nicholson’s inclusivity agenda meant that the course, any course, however effective, had to be eligible for funding. “Once the Gateway qualification was approved that then opened the doors to attach funding to it which is where our interest really came in.”

Students aged 19 or over can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan of up to £5,421 for the Gateway Qualifications Level 5 Diploma for Web Application Development. Repayment of the loan is phased in once graduates are earning in excess of £26,000.

Although Code Institute provides the content, LMS and Learner support, it is “branded and delivered” by Newcastle College, and Advanced Learner Loan funds are paid directly to the college which also puts its own stamp on the learning through regular tutorial encounters.

“Students can set their own pace,” Nicholson says, “but we’ve said that for the full 35 weeks of the course, we enhance it with some learning development. We’ll give you a weekly workshop where you can speak to a teacher from Newcastle College either face to face or remotely depending on where we find ourselves.”

Sustainable Partnership

Ensuring that the partnership was sustainable and successful was central to all the participants. Newcastle College needs a reliable partner with appropriate expertise in handling learners and a qualification that delivers employment outcomes. From Gateway Qualifications’ and Code Institute’s perspectives working with an education partner who is proactive, has a vision and appetite for change is the key to success.

“The working relationship has been reassuringly straightforward and collaborative, according to Lee Lindsay, Transformation Consultant with Code Institute. “We were able to address and overcome any obstacles very quickly and the integration has been seamless. The fact that we’re all working towards a common goal, each bringing distinct components, makes the collaboration satisfying and rewarding.”

Visit https://codeinstitute.net/rqf/ for more information.

Download the White Paper How Further Education Meets Industry Demand for Software Skills

Arrange a call with Code Institute lee@codeinstitute.net

The Future of Learning; Knowledge is Power

The main priority within education continues to focus on delivering the best learner experience possible and truly understanding each individual’s learning requirements is integral for success. This is one of the biggest challenges training providers face and can often be the reason some training providers fail.

Over the last year, many lives have changed dramatically. The impact of the pandemic has been particularly felt by those within the education sector, with both educators and learners having to quickly adopt new ways of teaching remotely and training online.

Despite the easing of social distancing and life slowly returning to some form of normality, the adoption of online learning is showing no signs of slowing, and with increased access to sophisticated technology, data and artificial intelligence, online learning providers are in the position to truly provide learners and educators with the best digital learning and teaching experiences.

The role of technology

Whilst online learning has been accelerated by the pandemic, it’s important to understand that as an established online-learning provider, technology-based learning has always been at the heart of what we do. With the resources we have at The Skills Network, we can provide learning any time, anywhere – removing barriers such as location, time of learning, and even speed of training.

The digital resources which we’ve taken years to create and invest in are now made available to all providers – from schools, to colleges and universities – who can use them as they wish to support learning.

As true believers of “flipped learning”, and with the help of technology, we’ve developed tools that support this framework, allowing providers to know their learners before, during and after their learning journeys. Compared to older methods, with technology it’s possible to gather this information in a cost-effective and quick way, enabling teachers to monitor and adapt as and when needed.

However, many still say that that there is little to no interaction with online learning – this couldn’t be further away from the truth. Teaching is so much more than a Zoom call, or uploading countless documents to a platform. Teachers still need to respond to questions, give feedback and support students – this is where the blended approaches come in. It’s important to consider that the new generation also expects online learning in some form – for many individuals, the world has been digital since they were born.

Additionally, the ability to access specialist tutors whenever and wherever you’re located is also a possibility. Teachers and lecturers use this flexibility to support their own students, providing them with additional support at any time. It’s all about taking the learner through a journey and helping them get through their personal challenges.

Knowledge really is power

One of the reasons why education providers find our learning experiences so beneficial, is because they can measure learning journeys before they even get started.

With the help of technology, knowing your learner before teaching them is now possible through a range of initial assessments focused on knowledge and skills. Additionally, by receiving key information on the cognitive development and mental toughness of individuals, providers can easily shape learning processes. With this data, providers can shape the learning, tailor programmes, and easily provide access to extra support, tackling the abilities and concerns of each learner.

As artificial intelligence and virtual reality start to come into play, we can predict – even before a learner enrolls – how they will do based on their initial assessments. This gives education providers powerful insights, highlighting concerns and solutions, and ultimately making teachers and lecturers’ lives easier.

Teachers and lecturers have a limited time to teach, so this is a real opportunity to supplement providers, and gives teachers (who already are extremely stretched) the freedom to do what they do best – teach.

Working together

With the full support of learning providers, teachers will be able to access support that will benefit not just their teaching online but give them qualities that will progress their teaching overall.

The Skills Network has already successfully provided 300 schools, colleges and universities with online e-resources. We also offer courses in personal development, employability, business, finance, health and social care, early years, digital skills, wellbeing and mental health.

For more information on The Skills Network visit www.theskillsnetwork.com.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 350

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

Katie Easey, Director of education, community learning, The WEA

Start date:June 2021

Previous job: Chief executive, Community Learning in Partnership

Interesting fact: She was a crew member on a 43-foot catamaran travelling from Cairns in Queensland to Christmas Island.

Sam Windett, Deputy director, Learning and Work Institute

Start date: July 2021

Previous job: Director of policy, Impetus

Interesting fact: She once worked on two General Elections within just six months of each other in Canada and the UK.

Chris Morgan, Director of education, employability and skills, The WEA

Start date: April 2021

Previous job: Head of contracts, funding and partnerships, Nacro

Interesting fact: He spent part of a year in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia as a humanitarian relief volunteer working with Bosnian and Serbian communities.

Cheryl Swales, Acting operations director, Association of Employment and Learning Providers

Start date: April 2021

Previous job: National operations manager, Association of Employment and Learning Providers

Interesting fact: She once tandem skydived from 13,000ft.

MPs and Lords back Hinds’ move for an all-party group to champion T Levels

T Levels will get a boost this month with the creation of a cross-party group of MPs and peers to champion them.

Damian Hinds, who oversaw the qualification’s development while education secretary from January 2018 to July 2019, is behind the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) and has put himself forward as chair.

It is funded by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), The Gatsby Foundation, and engineering multinational AECOM.

MPs and members of the House of Lords are set to meet next Tuesday to elect a chair. Skills minister Gillian Keegan cannot be a member, but is set to attend the inaugural meeting.

Group focused on ‘bringing MPs to hear more about T Levels’

Speaking to FE Week, Hinds said parliamentarians had a “big interest” in how T Levels would be “increasing in geographical footprint around the country in the next few years, as well as getting into more subjects”.

On how the group came together, he cited his “very strong personal interest” in T Levels as an “important initiative” so he personally wanted us to have an all-party group for a while”.

Prominent parliamentarians who have signed up to join include former Labour education secretaries David Blunkett and Estelle Morris, and education select committee members Ian Mearns, Jonathan Gullis and Christian Wakeford.

The prospective group members have agreed to focus on: “Matching to the technical skills UK businesses need now and in future; the role T Levels can play in improving social mobility and workplace diversity; and the link-up with wider technical/vocational routes and career paths”.

Hinds said the group would particularly focus on events and “bringing parliamentarians together to hear more about T Levels”.

It also wanted to hear from T Level students and “critically we want to hear from industry”.

Hinds would not wish timing of T Levels ‘on anybody’

APPGs are informal groups that focus on specific countries or policy issues. External organisations typically fund a secretariat for an APPG.

They have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, with the Committee on Standards launching an inquiry last October into the “transparency and appropriateness of funding of APPG activities and secretarial support”.

Hinds said the funding organisations were “three very strong partners to have for this group and come at it from slightly different perspectives”.

Quizzed on the rollout of T Levels, he defended the government’s decision not to set fixed targets for student numbers.

FE Week previously reported the DfE had only set estimates, which its latest T Level action plan from January showed it had not met.

The lack of fixed targets was criticised by former skills minister John Hayes at a Westminster Education Forum webcast last month. He said targets were vital to “gauge success”. He had “never bought the argument” there could not be an equal focus on quality and quantity when rolling schemes out.

Hinds said “integrity is what this is all about”, but he was confident the numbers of students, providers, and subjects involved in T Levels would increase over time.

The East Hampshire MP “would not wish it on anybody for the timing to fall where it did”, as T Levels rolled out during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But he “100 per cent, absolutely” stuck by his decision to issue a ministerial direction in May 2018 committing the qualifications to roll out last autumn.

This was despite the DfE’s then-permanent secretary Jonathan Slater asking for a year’s delay, as a 2020 start date would be “very challenging”.

Chartered Institution for Further Education relaunches

“If you are funded by government, you can’t use your voice in the same way, you’re influenced in a certain way,” says deputy chair Dawn Ward as she describes the “importance” of the Chartered Institution for Further Education (CIFE) becoming independent.

Supported by former skills minister John Hayes in 2013 to grant chartered status to FE providers, the institution was subsidised by the Department for Education to the tune of £1.7 million before financial support ended in 2019.

At that point its first chief executive, Dan Wright, stood down and with no replacement appointed, responsibility for running the institution fell to its council.

The body has since undertaken a “strategic review”, led by former college principal and independent council member Lesley Davies, who devised a plan for the institution to be self-sustaining for an “exciting new chapter”.

Speaking exclusively to FE Week, Ward, who has played a leading role at the institution since its conception, alongside her job as principal of Burton and South Derbyshire College, says that now the Covid-19 pandemic is easing, it is ready to officially “relaunch”.

Key to its operation going forward will be funding from industry to conduct research that “enables us to use our unified voice to influence at the highest levels of government and to collaborate and share best practice”.

Its first report, which was funded by property company St Modwen Homes and focused on the “importance of securing future skills” for the construction industry, launched this week on Thursday at London South East Colleges group at an event attended by skills minister Gillian Keegan.

Chartered Institution for Further Education — CIFE construction report launch. From left: Chair Lord Lingfield, London South East Colleges chief executive Sam Parrett and skills minister Gillian Keegan

The institution has several other potential research projects in the works, including in the hospitality sector, that they hope to launch over the next year.

Awarding of associate fellowships will also be key new feature of the CIFE.

In previous years, the institution has handed out a number of honorary fellowships, with recipients including Ann Limb, Sir Geoff Hall, Sir John Hayes, David Sherlock and Chris Humphries.

Ward says associate fellows are the “norm” in higher education and their introduction to the FE sector will help “better recognise the professional status of the many FE industry specialists”.

Individuals, such as college and training provider leaders and chairs, will be able to apply for the associate fellowships but will have to demonstrate they meet the criteria of a new framework.

The framework is currently being piloted with three members and five non-members to ensure it fits “what the sector needs”.

Ward explained that the framework has a “particular focus” on “dual professionalism” and it will “recognise the industrial updating of technical and professional educators in FE”.

Ward explains: “The pilot is now looking at what is needed to be put in place to recognise associate fellows, so what evidence will we need.

“So it’s not just about saying, tick, somebody has been into industry for a week, it will be looking at what evidence will they need within a framework to evidence that there has been an impact of what they’ve done. It will include a reflective piece.”

Ward said that both these elements – industry research and associate fellowships – will be “key features of the relaunched, independent Institution and will support the charter’s mission to raise recognition and esteem of FE within the wider education sector”.

Growing membership of providers with chartered status will also be key to the institution’s sustainability.

At Thursday’s construction report launch, chair of the institution Lord Lingfield said one of his top priorities is to become known as the “Russell Group of FE – a group of the most distinguished colleges and providers in the country”.

It currently has 15 members, who pay an annual subscription fee of £5,000. The latest member to join was the TEC Partnership, in summer 2019.

Ward says the institution has a number of other FE providers “looking to apply this year”. Interested parties must pay a £3,000 non-refundable fee to have an application reviewed.

The institution’s former chief executive, Dan Wright, previously said that it would need around 80 members in order to continue without government subsidy.

But with income now expected to also come from industry, the institution isn’t setting a membership target.

“Part of our business plan is obviously about growing membership. But in the same way, if you go back to when 157 Group started years ago, it’s not about having set targets, it’s about that evolution as it goes through,” Ward said.

“What’s really important is that we grow the value that we give.”

But Ward is hopeful that “every” college and FE training provider can achieve chartered status: “You have chartered engineers and accountants, it means something to industry, so it is really, really important for FE.”

The institution’s council is currently led by chair Lord Lingfield and deputy chair Ward. It is made up of nine other council members and has undergone a bit of a refresh over the past year.

New appointments include London South East Colleges chief executive Sam Parrett, Burton and South Derbyshire College governor Rajinder Mann, Working Men’s College principal Helen Hammond and Hawk Training managing director Crawford Knott.

But while the institution is being run by the council at the moment, with the assistance of a secretariat, Ward says they are looking to appoint a new chief executive to replace Wright. “Our plan is to grow incrementally, and we will look to appoint somebody to take us forward on the next steps,” Ward said.

“That will be about growing our strategies as an independent charter that has been developed by the new council.”

The institution is not planning a physical relaunch, but says it will announce further detail on its plans going forward in July, once its next council meeting has taken place.

They will also be holding another admissions and fellowship ceremony at some point, once applications have been reviewed and Covid restrictions allow.

Fastest growing apprenticeship provider goes bust amid ESFA investigation

England’s fastest growing apprenticeship provider has gone bust amid a government investigation into the speed and scale of its recruitment.

Logistics.com (UK) Ltd filed for insolvency last month with close to £1 million debts, after the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) banned new apprenticeship starts and stopped making monthly payments in November.

The company was unable to pay its 86 staff at the end of February and stopped trading. About 1,250 apprentices now need to find a new provider.

Logistics was a small freight company that became an apprenticeship provider in March last year. It changed ownership at the same time.

As previously reported by FE Week, the company recruited more apprentices in the following eight months than any other provider. The learners mostly worked in nursing homes and would have earned Logistics an estimated £5 million.

Begbies Traynor, a company specialising in corporate restructuring, has been appointed as the administrator.

Lead liquidator Scott Kippax told FE Week: “The key reason for liquidation was that the ESFA had stopped payments. They had employees that were due their salary at the end of February and they didn’t have any money to pay it. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back and brought us in.

“They [the owners] were trying to liaise with the ESFA to get it resolved, but they weren’t having it.”

The ESFA and owners of Logistics have remained tight-lipped about the specifics of the investigation.

Kippax continued: “I want to find out from the ESFA why they are being investigated. They do not do these things lightly because that brought the company down – there must be reasons for it with substantial evidence.”

The company’s books show it is owed more than £1 million from the ESFA, going back over four months.

A statement of affairs about the liquidation on Companies House shows that Logistics owes £915,000 to 32 creditors.

Kippax said he will investigate the conduct of the owners as part of the liquidation.

The company was taken over by Dominic Davies in March 2020 shortly after the provider’s acceptance to the register of apprenticeship training providers.

His then business partner, Stephen Banks – who, like Davies, worked at the well-known but now-liquidated training provider Middleton Murray – played a key role in its operation.

The pair incorporated several businesses over last summer.

Banks also became the new owner of the single employee 5 Stars Recruitment Ltd in October last year – three months after it was added to the apprenticeship providers’ register on July 29.

However, Companies House shows than he resigned from 5 Stars in February amid the ESFA’s investigation into Logistics.

Both Davies and Banks did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Logistics rapid growth followed the owners’ purchase of sales leads and their establishment of partnerships with at least one NHS trust to offer free apprenticeship training to large and small employers, funded from levy transfers.

Government policy is that large employers, such as councils and NHS trusts, can share up to 25 per cent of their unspent levy funding each year with training providers to deliver the apprenticeships to small employers – administered via the online apprenticeship system.

The use of transferred funding was key to ESFA fully funding Logistics.com (UK) as it released employers from the usual 5 per cent co-investment fee.

The ESFA said it does not comment on investigations, but confirmed it was aware that Logistics had gone into liquidation.

“The ESFA is working to support any learners affected to ensure the continuation of their learning in line with each individual’s progress to date,” a spokesperson said.