Helping providers recover from the impact of Coronavirus

The AELP Business Recovery Conference on 9-10 September 2020 is the flagship skills event of the year.  Presented online via Zoom, keynote speakers include:

  • Apprenticeships and skills minister Gillian Keegan
  • Shadow skills minister Toby Perkins
  • West Midlands mayor Andy Street
  • ESFA apprenticeships director Peter Mucklow
  • CBI UK policy director Matthew Fell
  • AELP chairman Martin Dunford.

The event could not be better timed as Britain starts to emerge from the lockdown showing signs of recovery but it nevertheless now finds itself officially in its worst ever recession.  While training providers and colleges are trying to ramp up their provision to try and tackle the rise in unemployment, they are still faced with the prospect of more people losing their jobs, including many apprentices, as the furlough scheme ends.  At the same time independent training providers as businesses are dealing with their own challenges as their income has been severely hit by over 60% falls in apprenticeship starts and vacancies.

Despite this, providers have performed miracles in switching apprentices and other learners from a traditional work-based delivery model to remote learning online.  Trainers and assessors from their own homes have constantly kept in touch with their learners via video calls and emails to ensure that they progress through their programmes.  Examples of this will be shown during the ‘coffee breaks’ at our virtual conference.

In July, the government stepped up to the plate with its Plan for Jobs.  We saw the big boost for traineeships and the introduction of financial incentives for employers to take on young apprentices.  Initial feedback from AELP members is that smaller employers in particular appear to be interested in taking advantage of these incentives.  It will be good to hear at the conference from skills minister Gillian Keegan how the government is taking forward the measures announced by the chancellor and equally from the shadow skills minister Toby Perkins on whether the government should be doing more.

IfATE, Ofsted and leading thinktanks will be represented at a senior level while the employer and provider viewpoint on post-pandemic priorities will be equally visible.  The new AELP leadership will set out its policy wishlist for the autumn in the efforts to boost skills and support unemployed apprentices and adults back into work.  Beamed live from California, we will also have an international perspective on how a state government is getting its apprenticeship programme back on track.

The content of the conference has been structured to appeal to provider leaders and be invaluable to operational managers.  So if listening to politicians and regulators on post-pandemic recovery plans doesn’t rock your boat, then you will find a vast array of choices instead on how providers can work best with employers and learners to support the recovery at a local level.  Looking at the frontline delivery experts presenting them, this is unquestionably the best set of workshops offered at any AELP event. 

The terrific agenda for the conference, sponsored by Learning Curve Group and Cognassist, is near completion and here is a reminder of some of the sessions you can watch:

  • Re-engaging employers and learners, especially getting young people out of the house
  • Blended models of learning delivery for different skills programmes
  • Being employer focused in these challenging times
  • Growing an effective Traineeship programme
  • Opening a training centre safely after lockdown
  • Provider risk management including HR and legal obligations
  • Ensuring that a provider is financially resilient
  • The role of leadership and management in ensuring post-lockdown regulatory compliance
  • Promoting mental well-being
  • Moving from being a good provider to a great one
  • Using data effectively for better programme delivery
  • National response needed to support the economic recovery.

AELP member organisations can purchase a ticket for £100 to enable 10 employees per organisation to watch the Business Recovery Conference.  A very reasonable multi-delegate rate is available to non-members. And delegates can dip in and out during the two days, knowing that they can catch up on a recording of any session or workshop which they missed.  This flexibility and undoubtedly the fantastic content mean that it is absolutely worthwhile for you to visit the conference website and book your place today.

Jane Hickie is managing director of Association of Employment and Learning Providers

Ofqual to face grilling by MPs over exams fiasco

Leaders from exams regulator Ofqual will appear in front of MPs next week to answer questions about this year’s exam results fiasco – but outgoing boss Sally Collier will not be with them.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, will also “likely” face questions about the government’s handling of the crisis when he appears in front of the education committee later in September.

Collier, who is stepping down as chief regulator, had been due to appear at next Wednesday’s hearing alongside Ofqual chair Roger Taylor.

But the committee has announced today that Taylor will now be joined by Dr Michelle Meadows, Ofqual’s executive director for strategy, risk and research and Julie Swan, the regulator’s executive director for general qualifications.

Robert Halfon, the committee’s chair, said he “had hoped to have” Collier at the hearing, “as she had agreed [to appear] a few days before her resignation”.

“But I understand due to personal reasons she is unable to attend,” he told FE Week.

It comes after the government was forced to U-turn last week and award pupils their centre-assessment grades for GCSEs and A-levels after a furious backlash over the way calculated grades were standardised by exam boards.

Now senior officials will face a grilling by the education committee in a hearing that will focus on “errors made in the process of awarding this summer’s exam grades and how students who have been adversely impacted are now being supported”.

MPs are also likely to ask “what steps are being taken to support students, schools and colleges who have lost out because of the standardisation model and subsequent U-turn, and about lessons learnt to ensure a fair system should exams be cancelled in the future”, a committee spokesperson said.

Williamson is due to appear in front of the committee on September 16.

Ofqual announced earlier this week that Collier would be departing following the exams fiasco. She will be replaced on an interim basis by Dame Glenys Stacey, her predecessor.

Colleges and schools cry foul over missing vocational results

Colleges and schools across England are still awaiting the results of some vocational qualifications, despite a promise from government that all grades would be issued by today.

Some learners have been told they may have to wait until next week to receive grades for BTECs and other vocational qualifications.

The Department for Education has refused to say how many grades are delayed, with Pearson, which is the custodian of BTECs, insisting only a “tiny percentage” of the qualifications are affected.

Skills minister Gillian Keegan acknowledged last night there was a chance some students would not receive their results today as planned, after following an eleventh-hour decision to regrade the qualifications last week.

Colleges, schools and their students demanded answers on Twitter today after some results did not arrive, with one college telling students some results will arrive as late as next week.

Pearson told FE Week that “as in every year, a tiny percentage of grades are ineligible”, but would now say exactly how many grades were affected.

“BTECs are a modular qualification, and without all relevant grades for individual modules, we are unable to award an overall qualification grade. Where we believe there are areas of clarification, we are working closely with schools and colleges and as soon as we have the necessary data, will award grades as quickly as we can.”

Derby College is one of the institutions reporting a delay to results. In a post on its website, the college said: “MOST results will be released today Friday 28th August, however, we have been informed that some results may be delayed until early next week.”

Wildern School in Southampton told pupils earlier today that it was “still waiting for the BTEC results to be sent” by Pearson.

“We will be in contact with year 11 students as soon as we can with them. It is out of our hands we are afraid.”

And Outwood Academy Ripon, in North Yorkshire, also posted this morning: “To all students still awaiting their BTEC results this morning we empathise your frustration in the delay we are working with Pearson to ensure that all results are sent out as soon as possible. We will be available for calls once you have your results.”

All three institutions were approached for comment.

Pearson has said on Twitter that “all eligible results will be released by the end of the day”, but has not set a deadline for when the remaining results will arrive.

Cindy Rampersaud, the exam board’s senior vice-president in charge of BTECs and apprenticeships, said: “We have now reviewed and regraded eligible BTEC grades for around 450,000 learners and I’d like to congratulate all those students who have worked so hard to achieve these results.”

Keegan had previously promised students their results would be “reissued by next Friday so you can move on to college, uni or a job as planned”.

And the Department for Education then promised on Tuesday that remaining results would be “reissued by this Friday”.

But Keegan last night urged providers whose students do not receive their results on Friday to “get in touch with the relevant awarding organisation to understand if they need any more information from you”, suggesting that some would not arrive on time.

A Department for Education spokesperson said there was a “small proportion” of students who would have to wait to receive their grades, but refused to say how many.

Minister hints at potential further delay to vocational results

Exam boards are set to work “through the weekend and into next week” to process vocational qualification results, a minister has said, suggesting not all will be issued by tomorrow’s deadline.

In a message to providers sent out tonight, skills minister Gillian Keegan acknowledged there was a chance some students would not receive their results tomorrow as planned.

If on Friday a student who should have received their results did not, please do get in touch with the relevant awarding organisation

Following an initial delay to results last week after exam boards decided to re-grade the qualifications, Keegan promised students their results would be “reissued by next Friday so you can move on to college, uni or a job as planned”.

The Department for Education subsequently promised on Tuesday that remaining results would be “reissued by this Friday”.

But Keegan tonight urged providers whose students do not receive their results on Friday to “get in touch with the relevant awarding organisation to understand if they need any more information from you”, suggesting that some would not arrive on time.

“I know you have been working flat-out over recent weeks to provide awarding organisations with the data they need to process results but it is possible there may be some outstanding information required,” she said.

“Awarding organisations will be working through the weekend and into next week to support you, process results and make sure every student gets the results they have been waiting for.”

Here is what the DfE said on Tuesday:

In response to questions on Twitter tonight from shadow skills minister Toby Perkins, Keegan insisted the message was issued in “extreme caution to pick up any queries”.

The original delay to vocational results came after an eleventh-hour grading U-turn. Pearson, the custodian of BTECs, announced last week that the qualifications would be regraded to “apply consistency across teacher assessed internal grades”.

Although CAGs for internal units, such as coursework, are generally accepted, Pearson had this year subsequently calculated the grades for the examined units using historical performance data to “maintain overall outcomes over time”.

It followed a decision by the government to let centre-assessment grades stand for GCSEs and A-levels.

Students started receiving their vocational results on Tuesday, with all outstanding results due to be handed out by Friday.

In her message to the sector, Keegan admitted that “none of us wanted this delay”.

But she continued that it was “right that results have been reviewed and reissued where appropriate to ensure all students are treated equally.

“Critically, Ofqual has confirmed that no student will see their result downgraded as a result of this process. Where a grade has not been reissued, the original awarded grade will stand.”

The Department for Education was approached for comment.

Coronavirus: Colleges to receive just 10 home testing kits each

Colleges will receive just 10 coronavirus home testing kits each, and should only use them in “exceptional circumstances”, the government has said.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, announced in July that educational settings would receive a “small number” of kits to send home with learners or staff who develop coronavirus symptoms, but would otherwise struggle to get a test.

Today Nick Gibb, the schools minister, has confirmed settings will soon begin to receive the kits – along with some free personal protective equipment – ahead of the autumn term.

The PPE includes clinical face masks, aprons, gloves, visors and hand sanitiser that is being provided free of charge by the Department of Health and Social Care in a one-off distribution.

“I have seen first hand the protective measures schools have put in place ahead of pupils returning, and the lengths they have gone to so that their pupils and staff are as safe as possible,” said Gibb.

“This week schools and colleges will begin to receive their first home testing kits as well as personal protective equipment to use in the very rare situations in which it may be required.”

Colleges will only receive 10 testing kits each, although the Department for Education said they would be able to order more if required.

The DfE said home testing kits should only be offered to individuals in the “exceptional circumstance” that colleges believe an individual may not be able to access a test elsewhere.

In the DfE’s schools reopening guidance, it states that schools can give the home testing kits out directly to parents collecting a child who has developed symptoms at school, or staff with symptoms at school, where “they think providing one will significantly increase the likelihood of them getting tested”.

The guidance adds that PPE is only needed in a “very small number of cases” such as where a child becomes ill with coronavirus symptoms while at school and only if a two metre distance cannot be maintained. The other example is where a child or young person already has routine intimate care needs that involve the use of PPE.

Gibb added: “I hope this acts as additional reassurance to parents that schools are ready to welcome children back to school, adding to the growing parental confidence shown in recent opinion polls.”

The DfE confirmed last night pupils and staff in secondary schools and colleges in high-transmission areas will be required to wear face coverings following a U-turn by the government.

DfE top boss Jonathan Slater to leave

The Department for Education’s permanent secretary Jonathan Slater is to be replaced, the government has announced.

The Financial Times reported earlier today that Slater, the top civil servant at the department will leave the post amid the fallout over exams and rules over masks in schools.

Now the DfE and Cabinet Office have confirmed he will leave on September 1.

“The prime minister has concluded that there is a need for fresh official leadership at the Department for Education. Jonathan Slater has therefore agreed that he will stand down on September 1, in advance of the end of his tenure in Spring 2021,” a spokesperson said.

Susan Acland-Hood, the chief executive of the HM Courts & Tribunals Service who was recently seconded to the DfE as interim second permanent secretary, will take over from Slater as acting permanent secretary, and a permanent successor will be appointed “in the coming weeks”.

“The cabinet secretary would like to put on record his thanks to Jonathan for 35 years of public service, culminating in over four years as permanent secretary of the Department for Education,” said a spokesperson.

Slater has been in post since May 2016, when he replaced Chris Wormald. Before that he served as director of the prime minister’s delivery unit, chief executive of the office for criminal justice reform and in a number of director-general roles in other departments.

He is perhaps best-known in the FE sector for his attempt to delay the implementation of T-levels back in 2018. Damian Hinds, the education secretary at the time, had to issue a ministerial direction to continue with his plans.

It follows the announcement yesterday that Sally Collier, the head of exams regulator Ofqual, is to leave her post in the wake of the exams fiasco. She will be replaced on an interim basis by Dame Glenys Stacey, her predecessor in the role.

DfE confirms U-turn over masks in colleges

Learners and staff at colleges in high-transmission areas will be required to wear face coverings following a U-turn by the government.

The Department for Education has tonight confirmed that it will revise its guidance on the use of face coverings in schools to state that in areas of national government intervention, face coverings “should be worn by adults and pupils in secondary schools when moving around the school, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain”.

The revised approach “will also apply to further education colleges”, the DfE said.

In areas not highlighted as high-transmission, schools and colleges will get the “discretion” to require face coverings in communal areas “if they believe that is right in their particular circumstances”, the DfE said.

The move follows mounting pressure on ministers to review guidance on face coverings, which currently states that face coverings are not required in educational settings in England because “pupils and staff are mixing in consistent groups, and because misuse may inadvertently increase the risk of transmission”.

Ministers had insisted up until this morning that they had no plans to change the guidance.

But the decision this week by the Scottish government to make face coverings mandatory for high school pupils, and recently-updated World Health Organisation guidance stating pupils aged 12 and over should wear masks “under the same conditions as adults” prompted headteachers to call for updated advice.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, said the government had “listened to the latest medical and scientific advice”.

“We have therefore decided to follow the World Health Organisation’s new advice. In local lockdown areas children in year 7 and above should wear face coverings in communal spaces.

“Outside of local lockdown areas face coverings won’t be required in schools, though schools will have the flexibility to introduce measures if they believe it is right in their specific circumstances. I hope these steps will provide parents, pupils and teachers with further reassurance.”

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the ASCL school and college leadership union, welcomed the move, saying it had become “inevitable that the policy on face coverings would change” following guidance from the World Health Organisation.

“We recognise that the government in Westminster has responded to our call for a quick direction on this matter with the reopening of schools imminent,” he said.

“The new policy is discretionary, other than in places where coronavirus restrictions apply, and secondary school and college leaders will welcome the flexibility this affords them to decide what best suits their circumstances. We look forward to seeing the full guidance as early as possible.”

Sally Collier to be replaced by Dame Glenys Stacey as Ofqual chief regulator

The chief regulator of Ofqual Sally Collier is to leave following the exams fiasco that has engulfed England in recent weeks and be replaced by her predecessor, FE Week has learned.

Dame Glenys Stacey, who served in the role from 2011 to 2016, will take up the role again in an acting capacity until December, with support and oversight from Ofsted chief inspector and former Ofqual chair Amanda Spielman.

Collier’s departure after four years in the role follows widespread criticism of the way government and Ofqual have handled this year’s exams, which saw GCSEs and A-levels replaced with a system of centre-assessment grades standardised by exam boards.

The change is due to be announced this afternoon as part of a raft of measures aimed at addressing the exams crisis and concerns about the capacity of the regulator to deal with the fallout.

Spielman will also be drafted in to provide oversight as chair of a new committee, although she will not take over from Roger Taylor as chair of the board. Ofsted staff may also be used to provide support.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Ofqual said the “temporary support arrangements” with Ofsted would “support the ongoing work on this summer’s GCSE, A level and vocational qualifications, including appeals and autumn exams, and preparations for next year’s exam season”.

“The chief regulator, Sally Collier, has decided that the next stage of the awarding process would be better overseen by new leadership. The Ofqual board supports Sally in this decision, and thanks her for her leadership and service over the past four years, which has included overseeing the successful introduction of an entirely new set of GCSEs and A levels, and a new grading system.

“As a result, the Ofqual Board has asked Dame Glenys Stacey to assume a temporary leadership role as acting chief regulator until December 2020, having previously served as chief regulator between 2011 and 2016. She will be supported by a new committee of the Ofqual Board, which will include one or more of the current Ofsted Board members. This new committee will be chaired by Amanda Spielman and will oversee the work of Ofqual to the end of the year. Roger Taylor remains Ofqual Chair.”

The regulator also confirmed that if required, Ofsted will also “provide additional staff to support Ofqual during the autumn, as they have been supporting other government departments through the summer”.

“Taken together these arrangements will ensure that Ofqual has the extra capacity, support and oversight it needs both to tackle the remaining issues from this year’s awarding process and to ensure that next year’s arrangements command public confidence.”

Ministers were forced to U-turn last week and issue pupils with their centre-assessment grades, amid widespread disappointment with calculated grades issued by exam boards and warnings that some groups of pupils were more likely to have been downgraded than others.

The changes at Ofqual follow reports that education secretary Gavin Williamson was trying to lay the blame for this year’s fiasco with the regulator.

The Department for Education was forced to issue a statement last week stating it had “full confidence” in Ofqual, just days after Williamson refused to say so himself.

IfATE launches second consultation for new apprenticeship funding model

A second funding rate consultation has been launched by the government’s apprenticeships quango.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is currently seeking views on a revised proposal for a new model for setting individual apprenticeship standard funding rates.

Following a review of over “200 consultation responses” IfATE have laid out revised plans for a new funding model. IfATE refers to this model as a ‘rates-based variable model.’

IfATE has also published their response to the original consultation they ran earlier this year. Even before the consultation window had closed, IfATE announced they would be launching a second consultation.

As FE Week reported at the time of the original consultation launch in February, funding rates for some apprenticeship standards could be cut by almost half under the plans.

IfATE’s, CEO, Jennifer Coupland, said: “We have listened to that feedback and explored ways in which additional variation can be achieved in our approach, without negatively impacting the transparency of the model.

“We are today, launching a second consultation on a refined model which addresses many of those points raised during the first consultation.”

According to IfATE this new “rates-based variable model”, is a hybrid of the proposal they consulted on earlier this year.

The model will mean an estimated band is generated at the start of the apprenticeship development process when an occupational proposal is approved for development.

This element of the model is referred to as the “rates based” part, as it relies mostly on rates which are derived from research into the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment, adjusted to reflect the duration and sector of the apprenticeship.

The ‘variable’ element of the model, allows IfATE to vary the levels of funding for several components of the model to reflect variation in costs between different apprenticeships.

This will allow trailblazers to provide additional evidence to inform a more bespoke level of funding, based upon the costs of teaching, consumables and mandatory qualifications.

Anna West, deputy director for apprenticeship funding and approvals, IfATE said: “Our goal is to introduce a more transparent and evidence-based system. I would like to thank everyone for taking part in the first consultation. We have taken on board your feedback to further improve our approach.

“The refined model now being consulted on would be based on independent evidence, but also offer flexibility to employers to provide further information to ensure they receive appropriate levels of funding. I would like to urge as many people as possible who care about the future of apprenticeships to take part.”

The funding band system as a whole supports employers, helping more to benefit from apprenticeship levy funding by delivering value for money in the programme. 

The consultation will run for 6 weeks, closing at midnight on 6 October 2020. A series of supportive virtual roadshow events will also take place during this period.

If you have any questions you can contact Institute-Funding.CONSULTATION@education.gov.uk or visit: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/reviews-and-consultations/consultations/funding-consultation/