Latest news from FE Week

We are at a critical juncture on lifelong learning

The lifelong education commission is calling for changes – including a rule that needs abolishing, writes David Latchman

You may not have thought it applies to you, in the relatively stable, professionalised career of teaching, but “lifelong learning” is something we will soon all have to think about.

The fourth industrial revolution, characterised by extraordinary and rapid technology advances, is fundamentally changing the ways we live, work, and interact with each other.

Covid-19 has also transformed normal ways of working for millions of people, opening up opportunities for some, while closing off vital sources of income for many others.

For those least adaptable to the gale force winds of economic change, such developments in the job market may spell disaster.

And if the UK is to remain globally competitive, it will need to redress this skills gap.

In the future, it is likely that workers will have to upskill and re-skill to remain employable.

A report published by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and management consultants McKinsey in 2020 estimated that five million workers (one in six) are likely to go through a radical career change that requires new training.

Meanwhile 25.5 million will have to upskill as their role evolves and becomes more complex, said the report.

If the education system isn’t able to meet these demands, the UK could face a persistent and intractable wave of unemployment that will be difficult to halt.

Given the UK’s historic problem with adult participation in learning, ensuring it is achieved at scale will be no mean feat.

The statistics are bleak: the proportion of adults in learning has declined since 2015, with participation rates currently at their lowest levels.

Part-time study in higher education has fallen by 54 per cent over the last decade, with changes to student fees instigated in 2012 only speeding this decline.

In addition, only ten per cent of UK adults aged 18 to 65 hold a level 4 to 5 technical qualification (equivalent to the first year of university), compared to 20 per cent in Germany and 34 per cent in Canada.

This skills shortfall is starting to become more widely recognised in policy circles.

Spending on adult skills will increase by £3.8 billion by 2024-25, the chancellor announced last week.

This is in addition to proposed schemes such as the lifelong loan entitlement (LLE) – which, if passed, would provide every adult with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 study.

The government wants to make the LLE a universal entitlement, enabling everyone to access the student loan system at any age, rather than acting as an addition to the existing system for mature learners.

We welcome support from the sector on this.

But policymakers will have to go much further in their efforts to future-proof the UK skills system.

Policymakers will have to go much further in their efforts

To do this, they will need fresh ideas accompanied by a clear and definitive roadmap to reform.

Luckily, the lifelong education commission – which includes member universities like Birkbeck, University of London – is leading the charge.

Its first report, The Pathway to Lifelong Education, calls for a flexible skills system that would allow individuals to build up educational credits.

This would mean learners could transfer credit between institutions, enabling them to complete their qualifications across a variety of learning pathways.

It also calls for the equivalent or lower qualification rule to be abolished. By denying people access to funding for qualifications that are at or lower than their existing qualification, this rule inhibits reskilling.

The report also highlights the role universities can play in facilitating the retraining and upskilling of the working population.

We have reached a critical juncture. The ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the reality of rapid technological change mean that skills and education reform has never been more vital.

We can either continue to just talk about lifelong education, or we can take the urgent action needed to tackle the fourth industrial revolution.

A tertiary future for Wales

Further, higher and adult education in Wales is set to be funded and regulated by a new statutory body with responsibility for all post-16 education and training, reigniting calls for a coherent tertiary system England.

The Commission for Tertiary Education and Research is a key plank of the Welsh government’s Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill, which was introduced in the Senedd last Wednesday. It’ll be the first such combined further and higher education government agency in the UK that will include maintained school sixth forms.

Further education in Wales is currently funded directly by the Welsh government, with higher education funding being routed through the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), which will be abolished.

Commission is ‘really good news’

The new commission will have wide-ranging powers, statutory duties and functions, ranging from instituting a register of tertiary education providers, establishing quality assurance frameworks as well as funding, either directly or through intermediaries like local authorities, post-16 education and training.

Yana Williams, chief executive of Coleg Cambria, told FE Week that the Welsh government’s plans for the new commission was “really good news” and would create “a much clearer system that would help learners make good choices and decisions”.

Colleges and universities in Scotland already share a funder, the Scottish Funding Council. However, that body does not fund post-16 provision in schools.

The English report of the Commission on the College of Future, which reported a year ago this month, recommended a “more networked college system” within a tertiary education structure to “develop a much more holistic and better coordinated approach”.

Collaboration between further and higher education providers in England has to date been delivered largely through government-led projects, such as Institutes of Technology and higher technical education reform. At the last reshuffle, the prime minister appointed two joint ministers for further and higher education in Alex Burghart and Michelle Donelan, leading to speculation of possible further convergence between FE and HE.

Ministers hope commission will grant ‘coherent system-wide view’

Establishing a “coherent” tertiary education authority in Wales was the cornerstone recommendation of an independent review of the oversight of post-compulsory education in Wales, led by Professor Ellen Hazelkorn in 2016.

Speaking to FE Week, Hazelkorn said she was “very excited to see that this had been taken on. The Welsh are seen as leaders in this space.”

Another key steer from the 2016 Hazelkorn Review was to introduce a “limited number of high-level strategic goals to guide the system which are sustainable over the longer term”.

Five years on, this recommendation also appears to have been adopted by Welsh ministers.

The new commission will have nine ‘broadly framed’ strategic duties, established in law, which, ministers say, will guide its work. These are:

Promoting lifelong learning
Promoting equality of opportunity
Encouraging participation in tertiary education
Promoting continuous improvement in tertiary education and research
Promoting collaboration and coherence in tertiary education and research
Contributing to a sustainable and innovative economy
Promoting tertiary education through the medium of Welsh
Promoting a civic mission
Promoting a global outlook

These objectives “reflect the government’s long-term vision for the sector”, according to the Welsh government.

Jeremy Miles, the Welsh government’s minister for education and Welsh language, told FE Week that the Commission “will enable us to take a coherent system-wide view for the first time.

“We’re going to be bringing together the funding, the oversight and the regulation of further education, higher education, apprenticeships, community learning, research and innovation, as well as schools’ sixth forms through local authorities,” Miles told us.

‘May be those who want to protect their patch’

The commission will be led by a board with ministers making appointments of the chair, deputy chair and chief executive. Additional members will then be appointed by the commission, including non-voting learner representatives. The board will use the nine statutory duties to inform its strategic plan and report on progress to Welsh ministers and the Senedd annually.

One of those strategic duties, to “promote collaboration and coherence in tertiary education”, will require a culture shift, college leaders have said.

Simon Pirotte, principal and chief executive of Bridgend College and deputy chair of ColegauCymru, welcomed the introduction of the commission because it “puts the needs of learners before the needs of institutions”.

But, he said, “There may be those who are concerned about their own turf and may want to protect their patch.”

Hazelkorn shares similar concerns.

“For a long time, colleges and universities have been in competition, and I don’t think that’s particularly healthy.” When asked about how those at the top of the new commission worked together in the spirit of the new legislation, Hazelkorn suggests that the board should be chosen based on their expertise, rather than the constituency within the tertiary sector they work in.

“The model has often been that boards are made up of representatives of particular sectors or particular agencies. But in this case, you should be looking for people with certain competencies based on their experience, not who they represent. I think that’s an important change. The people on the board, as well as those working for the commission, should embrace and be committed to a tertiary perspective.” Hazelkorn told FE Week.

Wales inspection body Estyn will remain

Policy documents on the new commission reveal that despite falling under one authority, further and higher education providers would still operate under separate quality assurance approaches. Estyn will still be responsible for the inspection of further education; and an appointed quality body, like the Quality Assurance Agency, would monitor standards for higher education.

“I’m comfortable with that,” Jeremy Miles told FE Week. “This is not about creating a homogenous sector – quite the opposite,” he said. “We want to recognise and reflect the diversity that already exists but to make it easier for the different providers to work together in the interests of learners.”

On how he would personally judge the success of the new tertiary commission, the minister told us he would “want to see that our various institutions in the post-16 space are able to collaborate seamlessly with a flexible funding mechanism, and see that learners seamlessly navigate their way between school and the FE and HE provision.”

“There’s an awful lot of work to do,” the minister concludes.

SEND college censured for safety concerns and ‘inappropriate’ teaching

A residential college for vulnerable young adults has been reprimanded by Ofsted for not protecting learners and staff from “harm” and teaching “not age appropriate” activities, such as The Three Little Pigs.

Cambian Dilston College dropped from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ in a report published this week by the watchdog.

The college is situated on a nine-acre site in rural Northumberland and was teaching 18 young people at the time of inspection.

Inspectors found serious safeguarding concerns, including unsecure access points to the main building, and firewalls that do not protect learners from “inappropriate material relating to radicalisation or extremism”.

Too many staff are also “regularly injured as a result of learners’ behaviour”.

And staff working in practical learning environments do not securely store hazardous material, such as cleaning fluids.

Meanwhile, learning environments are “not routinely calm and orderly”, with learners often leaving their lessons for extended periods of time, distracting others.

Learners also do not receive a “rich or inclusive” curriculum that meets their individual needs and prepares them for adulthood.

For example, learners with the most complex needs do not participate in the same learning that their more able peers receive.

Ofsted also pulled the college up for teaching learners to read The Three Little Pigs during ‘story time’ and sang Nellie the Elephant and Old MacDonald in music therapy sessions. “The use of children’s nursery rhymes is not helpful in developing the character of young adults,” inspectors said.

“Resources also include picture cards that are not suitable for adult learners. These resources use cartoon imagery rather than depicting real-life situations that would be more beneficial to older learners.”

However, most learners “say that they enjoy attending the college” and staff “deal with any issues that learners raise quickly and appropriately”.

A Cambian Dilston College spokesperson said: “We are very disappointed by the outcome of this inspection. We have already addressed a number of the identified concerns raised by Ofsted and will continue to work very closely with then to address those that remain.

“We are pleased that Ofsted recognised the positive ethos that has always existed at the college and the leadership of the new head teacher, who has prioritised safeguarding since taking up post in June this year.

“Work has been in progress since September to raise expectations for all students to reach higher levels of attainment in all areas of their learning and development. The safeguarding matters raised in the report have all been addressed.”

Cambian is the second specialist college that Ofsted has raised serious safeguarding concerns within the past month.

New FE Commissioner: ‘I want to change perception from one of fear to one of support’

In her first interview since becoming FE Commissioner, Shelagh Legrave insists that support, not intimidation, will be the keynote of her tenure, and discusses the impact of Covid and the need for greater diversity in college leadership. Billy Camden reports

The new FE Commissioner is on a mission to change the college sector’s perception of the role from one of fear to one of support.

But Shelagh Legrave has also warned she will not be scared to have those “harsh” conversations when colleges run into trouble – asserting there will continue to be dismissals in rare cases where leadership loses its credibility.

“Some leaders do some really silly things, so there will always be consequences,” she said.

Legrave was speaking to FE Week in her first interview in post as the new permanent FE Commissioner.

She took the reins on October 1 from Frances Wadsworth, who has held the role in the interim period following Richard Atkins’ departure in March.

Legrave comes into the role from being chief executive of one of England’s large college groups – Chichester College Group. She is also a former accountant.

Her appointment was announced eight months ago and received a warm yet cautious welcome from colleagues. “I hope I never see you in my college”, is how some reacted, she says. “So there is undoubtedly a perception that we are there for intervention only and that’s something we’re very keen to change. It shouldn’t be a fearful conversation.”

Atkins’ four-year tenure was seen as adversarial by many. His visits were sometimes followed by the departure of principals and chairs, with his no-nonsense approach dividing the sector’s opinion.

Legrave is aiming to leave a different legacy. “The FE Commissioner is there to support the sector. Yes, it has an intervention role, but support is my focus.

“Inevitably if you’re a college in intervention and have needed a cash injection, there are consequences that come with that, and I can’t change that. But I am keen that people see me as somebody who has run a large college group, who’s got significant years’ experience of doing that, who knows the challenges they are facing.”

Her message to those needing help is: “Come and work with me and my team. We offer support to the sector, not just to colleges who are in intervention.”

The goal is in line with Dame Mary Ney’s landmark review of college financial oversight which said the Department for Education and FE Commissioner needed to shift to “nurturing and supporting” all colleges on an individual basis to spot early signs of weakness.

And this is exactly the commissioner’s goal: to switch from reactive to proactive intervention.

Legrave is starting at an unusual time – in the aftermath of a pandemic that has reportedly exacerbated the college sector’s financial fragility.

But you would be forgiven for challenging this rhetoric, considering there has only been one FE Commissioner intervention report published in 2021.

Legrave says this is simply because no colleges have entered formal intervention this year. There were 35 colleges in formal intervention as of July 2020 – the commissioner couldn’t say what the current number was, but did say it was “lower”.

When challenged on how this could be the case considering the financial strain of Covid, particularly on colleges with large volumes of adult education and commercial activity, she explains: “Covid has been a disrupter from that perspective. I suspect that for a lot of colleges, they managed to save on their non-pay expenditure. And of course, we know Ofsted inspections, one of the main triggers for formal intervention, were paused.

“I also think that the financial information being collected on colleges has shifted to focus more on cash and enables us to know a bit more quickly if there’s a problem and to try and support at an early stage.”

In March 2020 Atkins did tell the sector that formal intervention would not be triggered if colleges seek assistance from the FE Commissioner because of financial troubles relating solely to the pandemic.

Asked whether she had seen any evidence of colleges hiding behind Covid as an excuse for their financial difficulty, Legrave said, “I absolutely haven’t seen any evidence of that.”

She adds that is “impossible to say” whether the return of Ofsted inspections this term will result in a spike in formal intervention cases.

Legrave also insists transparency around intervention reports is not being watered down and they will publish the reports as and when they’re needed.

But she does, as an accountant, “find it very difficult to understand” how colleges “just run out of cash”, which has happened in several cases in the past.

“Surely you know you’re about to run out of cash,” she adds, before conceding there could be a raft of complex reasons for it.

“Some have spent money on capital projects without realising their capital project wasn’t necessarily affordable. Sometimes something changes in their locality, schools open different sixth forms, or the competition becomes more difficult etc. Some are also possibly too small to be able to afford the overheads that they’re having to suffer.”

Ney’s report warned that while there has been a downward trend in the total number of colleges in intervention in recent years, the overall profile of fragility of financial standing of colleges “remains alarming”.

Legrave says the sector “continues to be fragile” and warns this will remain until there is a funding increase to the 16-to-19 base rate. The rate currently sits at £4,188 per student and has only been increased once since 2010.

Atkins oversaw the first college – Hadlow – to go through the education administration process in 2019, a moment he said was his worst as FE Commissioner.

Legrave said she “couldn’t comment” on whether any others are currently close to going insolvent, pressing that “lessons have been learned” from the first case, which is estimated to cost over £60 million.

But asked whether government officials were now hesitant to use the tool, she said: “I haven’t picked that up. I think that education administration is there and will be used again if it becomes necessary. I just hope we don’t have to do it very often.”

Another key issue Legrave wants to tackle is the diversity of the FE Commissioner’s team. There are no black, Asian or minority ethnic representatives in the national leaders of FE or governance roster.

It is something that concerns the commissioner, but she regretfully insists it is “reflective of the small number of BAME leaders in the sector”.

“I fully believe in diversity. I think it is really sad that we haven’t got as diverse in our leadership in FE as we should have. And I will certainly work with everybody to try and ensure that there is a greater diversity.”

Revealed: Winners of FAB Awards 2021

A WorldSkills UK teacher training project and a leading T Level awarding organisation are among the winners of this year’s Federation of Awarding Bodies awards.

Awarding organisation of the year is NEBOSH, otherwise known as the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health. It offers a series of qualifications in health and safety, as well as environmental management.

End-point assessment organisation (EPAO) of the year was given to City & Guilds, which has won contracts to develop qualifications for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 waves of the government’s new flagship qualifications, T Levels.

Other awards presented tonight included the collaboration of the year award, given to WorldSkills UK’s and NCFE’s Centre of Excellence programme, which seeks to train college and independent provider teachers in the methods used to train the UK’s competitors for the international WorldSkills tournaments.

‘Immensely proud of the industry,’ says FAB chief

Federation chief executive Tom Bewick praised the “abundance of excellent nominations” they received, which were “of a very high standard”.

“I am immensely proud of how our industry has risen to the challenges of the last two years and I have heard and seen so many examples of excellence demonstrated by individuals and teams pulling together to support one another as well as centres, employers and of course learners,” Bewick continued.

He co-hosted the awards with Jackie Weaver, the parish council clerk who hit the headlines in February for her handling of a rowdy meeting.

The awards were judged by former skills minister Anne Milton, Black FE Leadership Group executive member and former Highbury College principal Stella Mbubaegbu, and National Union of Students president Larissa Kennedy.

Milton said the judges were “incredibly impressed at how well awarding organisations have “overcome the significant challenges they faced during the pandemic,” which was only possible “due to the hard work and dedication of so many staff”.

“What shone through all the entries is the commitment to learners and to the sector as a whole,” she said, calling it a “privilege and inspiration for us to be asked to judge”.

“Although not everyone is a winner, they are all worthy of special mention,” she said.

The awards form part of this year’s Federation of Awarding Bodies annual conference, FAB 2021, which is running between 11 and 12 November in Leicester.

The full list of FAB award winners

Awarding Organisation of the Year – Sponsored by Creatio

NEBOSH

EPAO of the year – Sponsored by RM

City and Guilds

Qualification of the year – Sponsored by Coelrind

Open College Network West Midlands with Level 5 Diploma in Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management

Collaboration of the Year – Sponsored by Civica

NCFE and WorldSkills UK : WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence

Learner of the Year – Sponsored by Eintech

Deepak Ranindran nominated by CMI

Individual of the Year – Sponsored by Gordon Associates

Joint winners: Kelle McQuade and Andrew Walker from Training Qualifications UK

Innovation of the year – Sponsored by Advanced Secure Technologies

CMI with Interview360 and CV360

Exporter of the Year – Sponsored by TestReach

Active IQ

Exams 2022: Ofqual confirms ‘plan B’ details

Students must not be over-tested as schools and colleges gather evidence for the potential return of teacher-assessed grades in 2022, Ofqual has warned, as it confirmed contingency plans for next summer’s exams.

The government has said it plans to hold GCSE and A-level exams next summer. But Ofqual consulted on a plan B in case they need to be cancelled for the third year in a row.

If exams are cancelled, teacher-assessed grades would be used again next year. Schools and colleges have been asked to test pupils throughout the year and collect evidence in case the contingency plans are activated.

Today, Ofqual published its consultation response, along with guidance for schools and colleges on how to collect evidence.

Here’s what you need to know…

1. ‘Guard’ against over-assessment

Ofqual said the total assessment time “should not normally exceed” the total time students would spend taking exams for a relevant qualification, “plus any time spent on non-exam assessment”.

Teachers should “guard against over-assessment”, the regulator said. Schools and colleges should also think about scheduling tests which would “provide evidence from broadly the same proportion of the specification as would normally be covered in exams”.

As set out in the original consultation, Ofqual said students should be assessed under exam-like conditions “wherever possible”.

2. Test students once a term

exams — Ofqual chief regulator, Jo Saxton

Ofqual said teachers should consider the balance of exam and non-exam assessments when deciding how many times students should be tested.

A “sensible approach” would be to test students once a term. Ofqual believes that for many schools and colleges, these tests will likely already be planned.

Assessing pupils early would mean that if the pandemic disrupts education later in the academic year, there will be “some evidence” that TAGs can be based on.

3. Assess on ‘wide range of content’

Students should be assessed on a “wide range of content”, similar to what they would expect in their summer exams, Ofqual said.

But in deciding how to phase the tests throughout the year, teachers should “bear in mind” that if TAGs are used, “they will be based only on content that students have been taught”.

If a student was absent when a particular topic was taught, and that topic is covered by an assessment, schools and colleges don’t need to change the test to accommodate them.

4. Tests should be ‘similar’ to past papers

Ofqual said that in order to make the tests “as useful as possible” for students, they should be “similar” to the exam papers they are preparing to take next summer.

Past papers could be used, in full or part, where appropriate.

The same reasonable adjustments that would be made for a disabled student taking summer exams should also be applied to the assessments “where possible”.

5. Inform students of TAG tests

Where tests are planned following the publication of this guidance, students “must be told” before each assessment whether the results will be used as part of TAGs evidence.

Students should be told “sufficiently far in advance” to allow them to revise and prepare.

They should be told which parts of the subject content will be covered in the test. But they should not be told the questions in advance, or “be able to predict the questions from the information given to them”.

Students should be provided with feedback, which could include marks or comments.

6. Students should not re-sit assessments

Students should not be given the opportunity to repeat a test, for example, to “improve their mark in response to feedback”.

But Ofqual accepted that performance in later assessments “might, of course, reflect feedback on their performance in earlier assessments”.

7. Disrupted schools and colleges should still collect evidence

Where “significant” disruption to education means tests cannot be completed for all or some students, schools and colleges “should take reasonable steps to collect evidence of each student’s knowledge and understanding in ways that align as far as possible with this guidance”.

Schools and colleges will need to be “assured” that the evidence collected is “of the student’s work alone” and “covers a broad range of the subject content and assessment objectives”.

Schools and colleges should also record the “exceptional reasons” why this has happened.

However, schools and colleges are not expected to “deviate” from the guidance for “minor disruptions” to a student’s education.

8. No decision on appeals or quality assurance

In the original consultation, quality assurance and appeals processes appeared to be largely similar to the 2021 process.

But Ofqual said it was not making decisions on these “at this time”. On appeals, the watchdog said it would “wish to learn” from the appeals arrangements this year.

But if exams are cancelled they would “take decisions quickly”.

Labour warns BTECs cull could hit healthcare and retail hardest

Healthcare and retail industries could be hardest hit if the government continues its “hasty” move to cut funding for most BTECs, according to the Labour Party.

In a speech to the Federation of Awarding Bodies conference today, shadow education secretary will say it is “deeply irresponsible” to defund the level 3 qualifications as T Levels are introduced.

Analysis by Labour shows that almost one million workers hold BTECs as their highest level of qualification, including 136,000 in retail and wholesale, and 105,000 in health and social work.

Green will warn that the BTECs cull “risks holding young people back from achieving the qualifications they need”.

The DfE embarked on a two-stage level 3 and below qualifications review in March 2019 to consider the 12,000 applied general qualifications in England, including Pearson’s popular BTEC courses.

The final outcome was published in July. At the time, the DfE said the reforms would involve stripping public funding from “poor-quality” qualifications that duplicate or overlap with T Levels or A-levels. They added that courses like BTECs would become “rare” in future.

The DfE has however said that some BTECs would survive the government’s bonfire of level 3 qualifications if they can demonstrate there is a “real need” for them, or if they are in an area that T Levels do not cover, such as performing arts.

There will be multiple T Levels in healthcare, but none are planned for retail.

Last week, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi told MPs that BTECs that “are of high quality and are valued will continue”.

The DfE is yet to say how it will determine which BTECs and other level 3 qualifications meets the “high quality” bar.

Labour warned in August that cutting off public funding for BTECs could entrench inequalities in exam results, especially affecting students with free school meals or special educational needs.

Green will use her speech today to warn that “40 per cent of young people” are leaving compulsory education without level 3 qualifications, “which has remained stagnant for over half a decade”.

Labour would “maintain BTEC qualifications”, she will add, to ensure this figure does not rise.

“Labour wants every student to have a choice of education pathways and support in finding the route that’s right for them and their futures.

“Sectors such as health and retail are benefitting from the skills of workers with BTECs and we want to ensure every young person can gain a level 3 qualification whether through A-levels, T Levels, BTECs or other qualifications.

“We are already falling behind other countries in developing skills for the future and narrowing students’ future options will not drive up the numbers gaining essential qualifications. The Conservatives plans risk holding young people and our economy back.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “Our reforms will simplify the current system and ensure young people can be confident that the qualifications they study will be fit for the future, high quality and lead to good outcomes.

“We have set out the qualifications we intend to fund alongside T Levels and A levels, and will fund BTECs or similar qualifications where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that is not provided elsewhere.”

Richard Branson’s Virgin Care training arm takes off with top Ofsted marks

The training arm of Richard Branson’s Virgin Care group has landed Ofsted’s highest grade in its first inspection.

Inspectors lauded The Learning Enterprise’s (TLE) 140 apprentices for demonstrating “outstanding resilience” to work and study while the pandemic continues to place additional pressures on the health and social care sector.

They were particularly impressed with how leaders and managers “embedded equality, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding into the curriculum extremely effectively,” allowing apprentices to apply “their learning to ensure service users are treated with integrity and dignity”.

TLE is the learning and development arm of health and care specialist Virgin Care – part of the Virgin group founded by billionaire businessman Richard Branson.

It began delivering apprenticeships in 2017. Learners work towards healthcare and management apprenticeship standards from level 2 to level 5.

‘The exceptional expertise of our team is what makes us unique’

Sarah Van Der Merwe, head of apprenticeships at TLE, said her providers is “thrilled” with scoring ‘outstanding’ judgements across the board.

“The exceptional expertise of our team is what makes us unique as a learning and development provider; our assessors are trained to the highest levels to support efficient and effective delivery of our programmes,” she added. “It is of the upmost importance to us that we are providing participants with valuable training, and our assessors work hard to plan programmes to support maximum outcomes.”

Inspectors visited TLE in early October and published their report yesterday.

They commended an approach which helps learners to “develop increased resilience, confidence and self-esteem”.

Ofsted noted that “apprentices take on extra responsibility at work and actively seek opportunities to progress in their learning and careers”. They also commented on how assessors planned coordinated on-and off-the-job training “exceptionally well, enabling apprentices to swiftly apply their learning in the workplace”.

They went on to highlight that “employers highly value the contribution apprentices make to their businesses”.

TLE joins 42 other independent training providers that are currently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Scrapping BTECs is bad for levelling up and for BAME students

It’s difficult to see how reducing choice at level 3 by scrapping BTECs will improve social mobility and diversity, writes Kasim Choudhry

Government plans to remove funding for qualifications such as BTECs could negatively impact progression opportunities for learners and the availability of skilled labour for employers, but for BAME learners, local communities and employers it could be a bigger blow.

The government recognised and promoted the notion of inclusion and diversity and pioneered the agenda of levelling up both education and opportunities.

So why now, after all the hard work that’s been done, would they want to potentially risk what has already been achieved?

Why would government want to potentially risk what has already been achieved?

There is a serious risk that present government plans would reverse current trends to widen diversity and broaden inclusion in education.

The Department for Education’s own impact assessment published with the level 3 reform plans estimates that learners with special educational needs, from Asian or ethnic backgrounds, males, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are all more likely to be negatively impacted by the reforms.

Less than half of all enrolments for qualifications likely to be removed come from the least deprived students.

As a stark comparison, the students who will be impacted consist of:

46 per cent for Asian students
47 per cent for SEN students
50 per cent for those receiving free school meals
47 per cent for the most deprived students

BTECs offer more than just a qualification, they are a route of continued engagement, a vital step in our aim for genuine lifelong learning and for many, a stepping stone into higher education and entering the workforce.

BTEC qualifications also support a more diverse higher education population before they enter the workforce.

The latest data (2017) shows a larger proportion of students from a BAME background progressing to HE with a BTEC only, compared to A-levels only.

This difference is particularly large for black students, of whom five per cent progress with A-levels only, and 14 per cent with a BTEC only.

Learners wanting to progress on to an apprenticeship at level 3 may also have their choices reduced because qualifications previously offered as full-time courses might no longer be available to be used as part of an apprenticeship programme at a local college or training provider.

BTEC qualifications also support a more diverse higher education population

This is especially concerning, given how low apprenticeship numbers are currently as the UK continues to recover from the pandemic.

There is a serious risk the proposals will also reverse trends to widen diversity and broaden inclusion within higher education.

The same is true of progression to higher level apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships, especially in sectors such as construction and engineering.

T levels will be a highly valuable choice for those learners who are ready to specialise at level 3, but if they are positioned as the only vocational choice at level 3, many will be left with limited or no options to access and progress.

T Levels are heavily reliant upon industry placements. In some parts of the country, it is unlikely regions will have relevant industries to supply the placements for some T Levels.

Without an alternative, students will have to travel long distances to their next closest college, or they will have to choose a course in a subject not their first choice.

Where we live might soon determine our choice of educational pathway and ultimately career.

It’s difficult to see how reducing choice at level 3 will improve social mobility, diversity and inclusion and the levelling-up agenda in areas the government wants to see thrive – I fear it is more likely to do the opposite.

These reforms, and the managed decline of educational opportunities for young people, cannot be left unchallenged.

We appeal to ministers to listen again to the voices calling for system reform and not potentially risk what is already working for disadvantaged groups of young people already impacted by a lack of diversity and inclusion.

A-levels have their place and T Levels are a welcome addition, but they will not on their own solve the UK’s skills gap.

The BAME Apprenticeship Network supports the #protectstudentchoice campaign.

Please look into this yourself and if you agree, also make your voice heard by signing the government petition now.