Employers will be offered cash incentives of up to £750 per student on a T-level industry placement from September, the government announced today as part of a “new package of support”.

The funding, which will be paid to individual providers to then pass on to businesses, is planned to run just for the 2020/21 academic year currently.

Senior leaders in FE have long expressed concern that young people, especially in rural areas, will be unable to pass the T-level owing to a lack of local and lengthy placement opportunities, which need to be at least 315 hours, or approximately 45 days each.

Guidance published by the Department for Education this morning admits that “experience to date has shown that employers are in many instances unwilling to undertake industry placements because of the additional costs of organising them and training their staff to train the learners that would be taking on”.

As a result, providers “are eligible for the additional funding if they have an agreement with the department for the provision of 16 to 19 education and training and are receiving Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF) in the funding year 2020/21 under that agreement”.

The funding, up to a maximum of £750 per industry placement and a maximum of ten learners per employer, must be used “only to provide such funding as can be reasonably deemed necessary to compensate employers who have cited eligible costs as a barrier to offering industry placements”.

“Eligible costs” can include administration, such as setting up management information systems; training, such as that for line managers in mentoring and working with learners; and operating costs directly relating to the industry placement such as, equipment, materials and supplies.

If providers are “satisfied” that the employer’s financial situation is such that it requires “immediate” support in order to initiate an industry placement scheme and if so requested, providers may provide the employer with an advance payment of up to 50 per cent of the estimated total at the start of the placement but “may not pay over the balance until after completion”.

Skills minister Gillian Keegan said: “With this new package we are supporting businesses and providers so they are able to give students access to the best possible experiences and ensure all placements are high-quality from the start, so we can set up the next generation for success.”

Other elements of the “new package” include “additional delivery models” for employers and providers for the way industry placements can be delivered to “reflect modern practices”, and allowing CDF placements to be delivered over two academic years, with a “reduced delivery target of 25 per cent for the 2020/21 academic year, to reflect the impact of the coronavirus on employers”. 

New guidance “setting out the key roles and responsibilities for providers and employers”, and a “ new guide for students to help them prepare for their placement, with hands on support and advice so everyone can get the best experience possible” have also been published.

The government said it will also procure an organisation with the “appropriate expertise to support 2020, 2021 and 2022 providers to help them deliver high-quality placements in line with the delivery guidance”.

Previous flexibilities announced by the government include allowing industry placements to be taken with more than one employer.

The new package follows an industry placement pilot programme, which included grants to employers, which was run in 2019/20. An evaluation report of the pilot can be found here.

The first three T-levels in construction, digital and education and childcare will be taught from September 2020 with more rolled out gradually between 2021 and 2023.

The new post-16 qualifications have been designed to be the technical equivalent and on a par with A-levels.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has set out the measures it will take to “significantly” reduce subcontracting in further education over the next three years.

Headline actions to tackle “poor oversight and fraud” include a cap on the volume of subcontracted provision, a new national “standard” all providers will have to meet, “acting on the use” of brokers to “sell on” provision, and requiring prior approval for distance subcontracting.

The agency made the announcements on Tuesday as part of their response to their subcontracting consultation that was run earlier this year and which received more than 400 responses.

Here are the key things you need to know about the 10 proposals from the consultation, how they were received and what the ESFA is planning for each of them.

1. Providers to publish a reason for subcontracting

The ESFA said an educational “rationale” for subcontracting should be signed off by the provider’s governors or board and published on the provider’s website, alongside their management fee structure and a list of subcontracting partners.

Eighty-two per cent of respondents to this proposal either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with this, and the proposal has now been adopted. The ESFA has given providers until October 31, 2020 to publish their rationale.

2. Introduce stronger criteria, including prior approval, for  distance subcontracting

The ESFA proposed that providers submit a case for subcontracting at a distance – any delivery that is an hour or more away from the main provider’s campus.

More than a quarter of respondents, 27 per cent, “strongly disagreed” with this, saying it would “negatively impact” remote learners and that IT and online learning make it “irrelevant”.

The agency admitted distance arrangements are integral for certain delivery models, but expressed concern about how appropriate oversight can be maintained.

As a result of respondent concerns, providers will need prior approval just for distant 16-to-18 study programme provision from 2021-22, where delivery is outside their normal recruitment area.

3. Volume controls on provision

The agency’s consultation proposed decreasing the volume of provision a provider could subcontract over three years: from 25 per cent of a provider’s ESFA post-16 income in 2021-22, to ten per cent by 2023-24.

But 37 per cent of respondents said they “strongly disagree” with this, saying subcontractors “will be put out of business”.

As a result, the ESFA said it will “take forward work” this academic year to establish the “right threshold for that cap and timescales for a staged reduction”.

The agency will, however, require all providers to produce a plan during the 2020 autumn term setting out how they will achieve a reduction in subcontracted provision, and the ESFA will undertake a “random sampling exercise” of plans early in the 2021 calendar year.

4. Prior approval for some whole programme subcontracting

The ESFA’s consultation had proposed that from 2021-22 “we would introduce stricter controls on the circumstances in which the whole of a learner’s programme could be subcontracted, and providers will be required to obtain agreement from the ESFA before doing so”.

But 52 per cent of respondents either “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with it, according to the consultation outcome.

As a result, the ESFA said it will “introduce the requirement for prior agreement” only for all 16-to-18 and adult education budget programmes, not apprenticeships, that “exceed a specified guided learning hours duration, effective from 2021-22”.

5. Ofsted to monitor big subcontractors

The ESFA proposed to monitor the volume/value of provision held by a single subcontractor and where that is above £3 million, they said they would refer the provider to Ofsted for inspection.

Seventy-two per cent of respondents supported this.

The agency said it will now “take steps to ensure that large subcontractors are monitored and managed more effectively than at present” and they will “share this information with Ofsted” who “also believe that large subcontractors should be subject to more inspection”.

6. Require a direct contractual relationship between a lead provider and a third-party provider giving specialist input

This refers to sports clubs involved in subcontracting, where the agency wants there to be no financial transactions between the subcontractor and the club.

While this only affects certain respondents, most of those that put a definite answer did agree with this measure and the ESFA said this requirement will come in from 2021-22.

7. Introduce one set of funding rules for subcontracting

Nearly three-quarters of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this, with most saying the current multiple sets of rules make compliance difficult.

By 2021-22, the ESFA will publish a single subcontracting reference guide containing the rules for all provision types.

8. Providers and ESFA to publish top slice retained for subcontracted provision

The ESFA said it will extend the requirement to publish information about managements fees retained in subcontracts to include 16-to-19 provision by 2021-22.

They will also “reserve the right to challenge and potentially act” with providers where “we learn of cases where the funding retained exceeds 20 per cent and offers “little value”.

9. Introduce an externally assessed standard for subcontracting management

This externally assessed standard for subcontracting would, the ESFA proposes, effectively act as a licence to practise.

A majority of respondents supported this proposal, but opponents see it as an additional burden and a potential duplication of Ofsted’s role.

The ESFA said it will develop a standard for all funding streams for the 2021-22 academic year, and it will obtain assurance in areas such as planning and governance and managing contractual and supplier risk.

10. Implement changes from 2020-21 where possible

Thirty-seven per cent “strongly disagreed” with this, so the ESFA, in light of the Covid-19 outbreak, has decided to roll out reforms at a more “cautious” pace. The ESFA will still implement some changes from the next academic year but phase them in until 2022-23.

The cost of managing and administering the adult education budget for the Greater London Authority has shot up to almost £5 million – including £300,000 for a new learner survey.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was criticised by college principals last year after he took control of the £311 million AEB for the capital but announced plans to top-slice £3 million of it annually to hire and pay the wages of 50 new bureaucrats to dish out the fund. 

New agenda papers for an AEB mayoral board meeting that was set to take place on July 1 have now revealed that expenditure “of up to £4.93 million to cover management and administration of the AEB for the 2020-21 financial year” has been requested.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London told FE Week that the same cost for the 2019-20 financial year, which covered staffing, legal services and provider engagement, came to just £1.8 million – but this only covered the period August 2019 to March 2020. 

The £4.93 million for this full financial year will include £3 million for 53 administrative staff who form a skills and employment unit, with the rest being spent on contract management systems, research and evaluation, provider audits, legal services, provider engagement, and board and governance support. 

Asked to defend the costs, which are siphoned from frontline learning, the mayor of London’s spokesperson said: “We constantly monitor AEB funding to ensure it is allocated as effectively as possible. 

“The mayor has committed that any savings from the administration budget will be reallocated directly to learning provision.”  

A chunk of the £4.93 million – around £300,000 – has been earmarked for the development and pilots of the GLA’s “largescale” AEB learner survey. 

FE Week reported in January that the authority was planning to become the first devolved area to launch a regional survey to measure the impact of AEB provision across the capital.

A feasibility study has since been run and the GLA plans to pilot the survey in 2020-21, with “full-scale” delivery scheduled for autumn 2021.

It would likely be in addition to the three separate surveys already undertaken annually by colleges, contractors on behalf of the Department for Education and by Ofsted during inspection.

While the GLA told FE Week around £300,000 would be used this year to develop the survey, it is not clear whether this will be the total cost of the survey. 

The GLA was one of seven mayoral combined authorities with deals to handle AEB spending in their regions from 2019-20.

The six other areas were the West Midlands, Liverpool City region, Greater Manchester, the West of England, Tees Valley, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. 

A further combined authority will take control of their AEB from 2020-21: North of Tyne.

The Department for Education has revealed it is considering allowing adult learners to return to college before September ahead of the full re-opening of FE providers.

It comes after the Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said “it cannot be right adults can go to the pub with their mates” from July 4, but they “cannot undertake an assessment to complete their construction course”.

After FE Week put his complaints to the DfE, a spokesperson said each step to full college opening until September “needs to be taken carefully in line with the scientific advice, and we are continuing to look at whether some adults can return earlier”.

The government announced earlier today it was their intention for providers to welcome back all 16 to 19 and adult learners in the autumn.

But earlier guidance from the DfE outlining plans for a wider opening of colleges for year 12 and equivalent students from June 15 said 16 to 19-year-olds should be prioritised. The guidance was later updated to “clarify that we would not normally expect adults to be included in the cohort returning to on-site delivery from 15 June”.

2020-21 will be an exceptional and difficult year

Hughes protested the Department for Education “must look urgently into how they safely bring adults back into education and training”.

The AoC also today called on the Education and Skills Funding Agency to “clarify funding rules that will allow colleges to deliver all that is being asked” for their full opening.

Explaining this further, a spokesperson for the membership organisation told FE Week: “Our main concern is that ESFA needs to confirm that changes to planned teaching hours and work experience will not automatically result in a cut to 2021-22 or 2022-23 allocations via the normal operation of the funding formula.”

It may not be possible for colleges to deliver on their adult education budget allocations, the association also warned, as exemptions introduced in April, where the ESFA would not clawback unspent funds from their AEB-funded providers for 2019/20, will cease at the end of this month.

There are also concerns around the implications of any future lockdowns on attendance at some colleges, and around how current rules do not fully facilitate a blend of classroom and online learning.

“2020-21 will be an exceptional and difficult year,” the association spokesperson said. “If the ESFA does not fine-tune its funding or intervention approach then some colleges will need to accelerate redundancy plans in autumn when the real need will be for them to step up activity to support the recovery.”

Bradford College last week announced 107 jobs would be axed after their application for supplier relief support was turned down by the ESFA – a decision principal Chris Webb called “short-sighted”.

The Department for Education has this morning published guidance on what FE colleges and providers will “need to do” to fully reopen from September.

It confirms that the intention is to welcome back all learners, including adults as well as 16 to 19 year olds.

Critically, the DfE said there will be “no set requirement” to make cohorts “smaller than a normal class size”.

They added that remote education “may need to be an essential component of delivery” for some students, alongside classroom teaching.

Routine Ofsted visits will also not resume until 2021 under plans for the full reopening of schools and colleges set out by education secretary Gavin Williamson, who will lead a press conference at Downing Street later today.

It comes just two days after skills minister Gillian Keegan told Parliament that in order to limit the risk of increasing the rate of transmission, scientific advice “indicates that we need to take a phased approach that limits both the number of young people in attendance and how much they mix with other learners and staff”.

Today’s guidance states that a full return in September is now “possible” because “we are continuing to make significant progress in tackling the virus” and the “balance of risk is now overwhelmingly in favour of young people and adults being able to take part in a full education, including attending on site”.

The guidance for FE providers sets out six “prevention” steps that providers “must take”.

It includes advice on “minimising” contact with individuals who are unwell, ensuring that learners and staff clean their hands regularly, promoting the “catch it, bin it, kill it” approach, and creating separate “bubbles” to reduce the number of “contacts” between learners and staff.

Providers must also consider how to “limit use of public transport” for students, by “encouraging” walking, cycling and “other forms of active exercise where appropriate”.

Staggered start and finish times to should also be implemented.

By the autumn term, FE providers will be provided with a “small number” of home testing kits that they can give directly to staff or learners who have developed symptoms on-site.

The DfE is sticking with its advice that the “majority” of staff in education settings will not require personal protective equipment (PPE) beyond what they would normally need for their work.

PPE may only be needed in a “very small number of cases”, including hairdressing courses and where an individual becomes ill with coronavirus symptoms while on site, and only then if a distance of two metres cannot be maintained.

The guidance goes on to say that while “most” staff will have to come onto campus to teach from September, leaders should identify those who can work from home, such as in administrative roles, and allow them to do so if “feasible”.

In terms of education delivery, the DfE “expects” colleges and providers to “provide a full programme of study and training offer for learners of all ages from your normal term start date in September 2020, including those with special educational needs and disabilities”.

Leaders must also decide the “appropriate mix” of face to face and remote delivery, adding that post-16 learners are “more likely to undertake self-directed study but may still need additional support, you should make sure that planned hours meet the relevant funding guidance”.

They should also “assess” the gaps in learners’ knowledge and skills they may have missed as a result of lockdown early in the autumn term, focusing on the “most important content and prioritise this to help learners to catch up”.

Remote education may “need to be an essential component of delivery for some pupils, alongside classroom teaching, or in the case of a local lockdown,” the DfE continued.

“You are therefore expected to plan to ensure anyone who needs to stay at home for some of the time is given the support they need to make good progress.”

If young learners are unable to access remote digital education, such as if they do not own a laptop, the DfE urged colleges to make use of the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund that provides “financial support to help learners overcome the specific financial barriers to participation they face so they can remain in education”.

Risk and health and safety assessments must be reviewed and updated over the summer.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, welcomed the “flexibilities” in the guidance and said he was “pleased to see that colleges can continue to deliver a blend of online and face to face learning if that is what is best for students”.

“Some colleges will want all students to return in the autumn, but transport remains a major barrier to that.”

He added that the guidance on forming groups is “likely to be a lot harder to implement in colleges than schools, given there are often thousands of students in individual year groups, but again the flexibility in the guidance is welcome”.

Leading post-16 providers that teach students with special educational needs and disabilities have been recognised for excellence in the sector at the inaugural awards of specialist further education organisation Natspec.

There were over 50 entries to the six categories, which included partnership working and innovative use of technology – the winners of which were announced at a virtual ceremony held over Zoom this morning.

Natspec chair Bernie White said the organisation had seen throughout the Covid-19 crisis that staff have been adapting practice, refining expertise and learning new skills to support students.

“I’m sure all the work we’re celebrating today will continue to be relevant as more students return to college.”

Chair of the judging panel, former Her Majesty’s inspector for FE and skills Nigel Evans, said it was a “privilege” to judge the awards, as the standard of the submissions was “very high and demonstrates the innovation, expertise and creativity within the specialist further education sector”.

The innovative use of technology award was given to Derwen College in Shropshire for its ‘support work apps’, a series of unique apps for tablets and mobile phones which support students with special educational needs and disabilities into work.

Evans, who judged this category, said Derwen’s work “showed a strong use of partnerships resulting in products that are easy to use, professional in appearance and will be easy to transfer to other employment settings”.

The pathways to employment award went to Yorkshire provider Camphill Wakefield, for having an “aspirational” pathway into employment embedded into the curriculum, which included vocational profiling, job-matching, in-work support and careers guidance.

Former principal of specialist provider Foxes Academy, Tracey Clare-Grey, who judged this category, awarded it to Camphill because “expectations of employment are embedded into learning” so“students are supported into employment”.

Welsh provider Coleg Elidyr won the student voice award for its student forum, which was used to influence organisational quality improvement.

Natspec’s Sarah Lazlo, who judged this category, said she was “particularly impressed” with the provider’s commitment to engaging lower-level learners in decision-making.

“All learners have been placed firmly at the heart of decision making at the college,” she said.

The wellbeing and mental health award was won by Ambitious College in London for its work in occupational therapy. This included a dedicated TV channel, bespoke curriculum, and weekly yoga sessions.

The judge for this award Helen Brooks, who helped develop the SEND Code of Practice while working at the Department for Education, called it a “really innovative idea” which had an impact across the whole college.

In the inter-disciplinary working category, which recognises joint-working between different disciplines within an organisation, the award was given to National Star College in Gloucestershire for its “Right Time, Right Place” initiative, which introduced a personalised learning co-ordinated tutor role to improve consistency across the college, which judge Pete Vickers, who has spent 30 years working in FE and specialist provision, said had meant “great progress” for learners and staff.

Wargrave House LEAP College won the partnership working award for its ‘post-16 and friends of Lyme and Wood community’ project, a collaboration between college and community groups to provide a range of work experience opportunities, including setting up a community allotment and working in a pop-up café.

Judge Yolande Burgess, who leads on young people’s education and skills for London Councils, said the college’s students are “integral to the community benefit of maintenance and development of park land”, and skills development is “built into” opportunities linked to learning goals and outcomes.

The award ceremony was closed with a medley performed by Coleg Elidyr’s virtual choir (pictured), which included songs from Bob Marley, The Jungle Book and Mary Poppins.

The full list of winners:

• Innovative Use of Technology – Derwen College
• Pathways into Employment – Camphill Wakefield
• Student Voice – Coleg Elidyr
• Wellbeing and Mental Health – Ambitious College
• Inter-disciplinary Working – National Star College
• Partnership Working – Wargrave House LEAP College

Leicester College is to close from today as part of the country’s first localised lockdown following a flare-up of Covid-19 cases in the area.

On Monday evening health secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that the seven day infection rate is 135 cases per 100,000 people in Leicester, which is three times higher than the next highest city.

He then announced the closure of non-essential retail and schools in the area from Thursday  to all but vulnerable children and children of key workers.

Leaders of Leicester College, the only general FE college in the area, met yesterday to discuss how they should proceed and have today confirmed they have closed all of their buildings.

Principal Verity Hancock said: “Leicester College has taken the difficult decision to close from July 1 due to the reimposed lockdown conditions. The situation will be reviewed in two weeks, in line with government advice.

“This is very disappointing news for staff, students and apprentices who have worked so hard to prepare for important assessments and exams, but we must play our part in keeping everyone safe and helping to beat this latest COVID-19 outbreak.”

She added the college will continue to prepare for what they “all hope” will be a full reopening in September.

All colleges closed to all but vulnerable students and children of key workers on March 23 but were allowed to begin reopening to more students from June 15 as national lockdown measures eased.

Leicester College started its wider reopening on June 24 by inviting students and apprentices “who are required to complete a practical or written assessment, under strict conditions”.

The college had carried out a deep clean of all buildings, installed screens at visitor/information desks and hand sanitisers around campuses, with one-way systems being created to allow for social distancing.

Classrooms had also been assessed and capacity in rooms was reduced to ensure appropriate social distancing measures.

Further information on the college’s website about the local lockdown states that all assessments are “now postponed” and “if you have previously been contacted to come into college you should not”.

Gateway Sixth Form College is also based in Leicester and has also decided to close following the spike in Covid-19 cases.

Principal James Bagley told FE Week: “We will continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our community and to do all we can to ensure that infection rates are brought back under control.

“It is with regret that this will probably mean the college will not now open to students prior to the start of next academic year.

“Pastoral and curriculum staff will continue to support learners remotely, as they have done since the college closed to students in March.”

Government guidance for educational and childcare settings affected by the Leicester lockdown can be found here.