Members of parliament fighting to save a land-based college have escalated the issue to prime minister Boris Johnson, after the FE Commissioner rejected multiple rescue bids.

Six Conservative MPs – including former Scottish secretary David Mundell – and former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron have called for the prime minister to support their efforts to save Newton Rigg College in Penrith, Cumbria.

The college has been edging towards closure after FE Commissioner Richard Atkins was asked to review its provision by Newton Rigg’s parent college, Askham Bryan, which has run the site since 2011.

The review concluded in May 2020 the site was no longer financially viable, and it was announced Newton Rigg would shut this coming July, with the potential loss of 117 jobs.

This triggered action by the MPs, who have now written to Johnson: “We must secure a viable future for this educational institution,” they said in a letter, seen by FE Week.

“We would kindly ask you support us in ensuring Askham Bryan facilitate a smooth transition to a new provider and are not allowed to close the doors of Newton Rigg and leave Cumbria without an agricultural college.”

According to the letter, Newton Rigg has operated from its current site for 124 years and runs a dairy farm and a hill farm.

Students educated at Newton Rigg, the letter reads, “will be the farmers and land managers of the future”.

“This pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the importance of food security and a college such as this will be pivotal in supporting that moving forward.”

Following the commissioner’s review, the government announced in June there would be a strategic review of proposals to take over the site, again led by the FE Commissioner.

However, Atkins found neither of the bids put forward – by an organisation called the Hadrian Group and a company formed by the college’s supporters, Newton Rigg Ltd – were compliant with the criteria for the review. Askham Bryan was told to proceed with closing the site.

Newton Rigg Ltd said at the time the decision made them “deeply disappointed and frustrated the review team have rejected our proposals for the future of the college”.

Speaking after the letter to the prime minister was sent, co-author and MP for Penrith and the Border Neil Hudson said he too was “deeply saddened” by the outcome of the strategic review.

Yet the letter reveals bidders have been given a short window has been given to bidders to make their bids compliant before resubmitting them.

Hudson told FE Week this window will only last for a “matter of weeks,” and the two bidders are looking at possibly collaborating.

Newton Rigg is certainly not short of support to continue its education provision: Kendal College has said it will give advice and guidance to the parties looking to keep Newton Rigg open.

But it will not play any more part in a formal rescue package, as it has had to focus on its core provision due to local circumstances, including the impact of Covid-19.

The letter to the prime minister has been signed by Hudson, Mundell, MP for Barrow and Furness Simon Fell, MP for Westmoreland and Lonsdale Tim Farron, MP for Carlisle John Stevenson, MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson, and MP for Bishop Auckland Dehenna Davison.

They are part of a string of MPs who have criticised, and in some cases organised against, the closure of FE colleges in their constituencies.

After Cornwall College Group announced plans to close its Saltash campus, its local Conservative MP Sheryll Murray wrote to education secretary Gavin Williamson in January last year, calling for an investigation “to see if anything can be done to keep this facility available for further education provision”.

The Conservative MP for Rother Valley Alexander Stafford met with FE Commissioner Richard Atkins in February 2020 to discuss the “incredibly disappointing” decision by RNN Group to close its Dinnington campus. The college group later confirmed it would push ahead with the plans.

“Shocked” was how Conservative MP for West Worcestershire, Harriet Baldwin, described her reaction in November to the news Warwickshire College Group will shut Malvern Hills College by August of this year.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Colleges are independent to government. Any decision on Newton Rigg is for the college governing body to make.

“The Further Education Commissioner and Education and Skills Funding Agency continue to work closely with the local authorities, and other stakeholders to try and find a solution for retaining some education provision at Newton Rigg.”

A Downing Street spokesperson said they have received the letter and will be responding in due course.

Pictured: Neil Hudson MP at Newton Rigg College

The government has extended its free digital devices scheme to independent training providers, just days after the skills minister said they would not be included.

A Department for Education spokesperson confirmed today that private providers would soon be able to benefit from ‘Get Help with Technology’ for students aged 16 to 19 on study programmes, including traineeships, and in receipt of free meals.

Those aged 19 or over with education, health and care plans, who also receive free meals, will also be eligible.

The department is looking to invite “the majority” of eligible FE providers to order devices by before the end of January; but can only commit to inviting all eligible providers by the end of February.

Allocations will be based on the estimated number of free meals at a provider and estimates of the number of devices providers already own.

It marks an apparent reversal of policy: minister Gillian Keegan controversially told an FE Week webcast on Monday independent providers would not be included in the scheme, partly owing to how many of their students are on part-time, rather than full-time courses.

Apprentices will not be included in this expansion, it has been confirmed today, after Keegan said: “Their employers are responsible for their technology.”

The ‘Get Help with Technology’ programme includes a £400 million government investment in delivering laptops and tablets to disadvantaged young people who are learning remotely.

The DfE announced in December that 16 to 19 students at schools and colleges would soon be included in the distribution of devices.

Commenting on the expansion to ITPs, Association of Employment and Learning Providers managing director Jane Hickie called it a “very welcome development after the minister’s comments on Monday”.

Hickie had criticised Keegan’s remarks as “passing the buck to the employer,” but she said today that inviting independent providers would be especially welcomed by those disadvantaged students.

“The government’s response should be geared to meeting the needs of all disadvantaged young learners and definitely not according to the type of provider who is offering the learning or the type of learning,” she added.

Written BTEC and other vocational exams planned for February and March should not go ahead, the education secretary has said.

But students taking competency-based assessment including apprenticeships can continue with “protective measures put in place”.

Gavin Williamson outlined the plans in a letter to Ofqual’s interim chief regulator Simon Lebus this morning before justifying the action during a hearing with the education select committee.

It follows a chaotic start to the spring term which saw the closure of schools and colleges to most students, the government insisting that all January vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) exams should still go ahead before backtracking and placing the decision in the hands of college leaders.

Williamson’s letter explained that given the disruption, it is “no longer viable” for written VTQ exams scheduled in February and March to go ahead.

However, where these assessments enable a student to “demonstrate the proficiency required to enter directly into employment, are needed  to  complete  an  apprenticeship, or assessments are available ‘on-demand’ such as functional skills or English as a Second Language (ESOL)”, they should “continue to proceed with protective measures put in place to ensure they are conducted in line with PHE measures”.

“This is to ensure these students can continue to progress fairly with their studies or into employment  and  employers  are assured that students have reached the necessary level of occupational skill,” the letter added.

MPs on the education select committee this morning questioned why the DfE allowed all VTQ exams to go ahead in January but not in February and March.

Williamson did not give a clear answer regarding written exams, but said: “With a lot of technical and vocational qualifications there is almost a license to practice that many youngsters have to have. If they are not able to gain and demonstrate that competency level in the area they are working in it can often create a barrier for them to enter the place of work.

“We took the decision that it would be best to have a permissive approach where we were able to let colleges make those decisions that they know their students best.”

He added that “about a third of colleges” chose to continue with VTQ exams in January.

The Department for Education’s permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood then stepped in to explain the reason for allowing written exams to go ahead in January but not over the next two months.

“The reason for that was because got quite strong views, not all pointing in the same direction, from the sector themselves,” she said.

“Some were saying the children are ready to sit the exams and we want to enable them to do that and others saying they should be cancelled.

“The permissive approach allowed those who wanted to sit them to go ahead and others not to.

“I think it is different when you look forward to February and March where you have got the ability to plan and you do not have the same situation of children literally being on the point of taking a qualification as the decision was taken.”

Ofqual’s upcoming consultation on summer exam replacements is expected to put forward proposals for awarding grades to VTQ learners unable to sit their assessments.

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: “The decision to cancel written exams in February and March is a good one, but so is the priority given to ensuring that assessments can go ahead when safe for students taking competency-based assessment including apprenticeships.

“The letters helpfully highlight the challenge of completing college-based programmes in areas key to economic recovery such as construction and where students need to to practise their skills before taking assessment.

“Those students will need to return to college at the earliest opportunity, once it is safe to do so, to complete their training and be ready for the assessment which unlocks job opportunities.”

Toby Perkins, Labour’s shadow apprenticeships and lifelong learning minister, said: “Labour has called for BTEC and other vocational exams to be cancelled, so it’s welcome that the government finally has bowed to the inevitable and cancelled February and March assessments.

“Sadly, Gavin Williamson’s U-turn has come too late for thousands of worried learners, alongside school and college staff who were placed in an incredibly difficult situation over whether to go ahead with January exams.

“The government’s indecision has now created a divide between those students who did January exams and others, creating further confusion for students and colleges. Gavin Williamson must urgently set out how these qualifications will be awarded and stop treating BTEC and vocational students as an afterthought.”

Trade unions and sector representative bodies have combined forces to call on the government to prioritise education staff in the second phase of Covid-19 vaccinations.

The organisations, including the Association of Colleges, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, Sixth Form Colleges Association and the University and College Union, have today co-signed a letter to health secretary Matt Hancock, education secretary Gavin Williamson and vaccinations minister Nadhim Zahawi.

It comes after FE Week reported a growing opinion among college leaders that further education staff ought to be prioritised for the jab in order to fully reopen safely.

The letter asks ministers to “urgently consider raising the priority level for all staff in early years, school, college, adult education, and independent training provider settings to receive the Covid-19 vaccination”.

It goes on to outline the case for prioritising education staff in the second phase of vaccinations, which will start once care home residents, frontline health and social care workers, extremely clinically vulnerable people, and all those aged over 70 are vaccinated by around the spring.

“Fully reopening education settings is a national priority, the moment it is safe to do so,” the letter highlights, adding that learning often takes place indoors, in close contact, with large numbers of students in multiple groups, which puts staff “at high risk of both catching and transmitting the virus”.

Prioritising them for vaccination, combined with mass testing, “would be a sure way to reduce transmissions, remove any further disruption to the education of our young people and to support the resumption of economic activity by reducing the burden of home schooling on working parents”.

The letter further suggests a sub-group of education staff – those working in early years, specialist settings and those whose role involves elements of health care and very close contact – should be the first of their number to be vaccinated.

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: “The strength of feeling from all voices within the education sector on vaccinating teachers and education staff could not be clearer.

“Today’s letter is a sign that prioritising vaccinations for teachers and staff who work in education is the best way to support the national effort to reopen all education settings as soon as it is safe to do so.”

University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said: “The government was right to belatedly move teaching online at colleges last week as part of the new lockdown.

“But college staff and students have too often been treated as an afterthought during the Covid pandemic.

“Any safe return to in-person teaching in colleges must include a commitment to prioritise offering the vaccine to college staff.”

The letter has been signed by the AoC, ASCL, AELP, HOLEX, Landex, Natspec, SFCA, Early Years Alliance and GMB UCU, Unison, Unite and NEU.

Almost 50 colleges set to deliver T Levels from 2021 will share £48.5 million to refurbish their buildings.

Successful projects include a new civil engineering centre at the Lakes College in Cumbria, and a brand new teaching block at Burnley College that will include classrooms, an elite athlete gym and a sports therapy space.

The £48.5 million being dished out today comes from the £95 million capital pot set aside for wave two T Level providers. The remaining funding has been held back to allocate to providers so they can upgrade specialist equipment. The government expect to confirm amounts for equipment for each provider in February.

The government has also today launched a new £135 million capital fund for providers offering T Levels from 2023 (click here for full story).

The first three T Levels – the technical equivalent to A-levels – in construction, digital and education and childcare were launched in September 2020.

A further seven will be available from 2021 in subjects including health, science and onsite construction and subjects including finance, media and legal will be introduced from 2022 and 2023.

A total of 49 colleges have been awarded a slice of the capital funding announced today, which between them bid for 56 projects.

The DfE has not released the values of each allocation.

The successful colleges:

Projects approved in principle:

Warning over results ‘looking different’ to previous years

When exams were going ahead, Ofqual had pledged that results would be as generous as those issued last year. However the new plan seems to have changed that.

Lebus warned it was “important that the consultation makes clear to all, especially those who rely on the results to make selection decisions, that overall outcomes this year will likely look different from 2020 and previous years”.

He said told Williamson this will be “important for your work with the post-16 and higher education sectors to secure orderly progression and to protect the interests of disadvantaged students”.

Colleges and training providers in the third wave of the T Level rollout are being invited to bid for a slice of £135 million to help upgrade their facilities.

The capital fund, launched today, is being made available to those that will offer the new technical qualifications from 2022. It follows previous funds that totalled £38 million for wave one, and £95 million for wave two.

Winning bidders can use the cash to upgrade classrooms and buildings, as well as to pay for specialist kit that meet industry standards.

The first three T Levels – the technical equivalent to A-levels – in construction, digital and education and childcare were launched in September 2020.

A further seven will be available from 2021 in subjects including health, science and onsite construction and subjects including finance, media and legal will be introduced from 2022 and 2023.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The successful launch of T Levels earlier this year represents the start of a transformation in our technical education system – giving young people the vital skills they need to get ahead and giving employers the talented workforce they need to thrive as we build back better from the pandemic.

“To deliver world class qualifications providers need to have world class facilities and cutting-edge equipment, this funding will help to make sure students have the skills and knowledge to succeed when they finish their T Levels.”

As previously revealed by FE Week, colleges and training providers will have to keep on running T Levels for at least 20 years if they want to avoid handing back the millions they will receive in capital funding.

Forty four providers are in wave one of T Levels delivery. A further 64 will begin offering the qualifications in 2021, and a further 88 have been chosen for wave three beginning in 2022.

All providers delivering 16 to 19 study programmes will be able to deliver T Levels from 2024.

The deadline for bids to the wave three capital fund is 26 March 2021.

Ofsted’s planned monitoring visits will take place remotely until after the February half term, the watchdog has announced.

The inspectorate had been due to begin in-person “supportive” inspections of schools from next week, but had yet to say whether its plans for restarting FE provider monitoring visits would go ahead during the national lockdown.

However, Ofsted said tonight that in “light of a change in emphasis from the government and clear advice to ‘act as if you have the virus’ over the next few weeks, we have decided that all planned inspection activity will be undertaken remotely until after the February half term”.

This applies to schools, early years and further education.

“We have sought regular advice from Public Health England and we remain satisfied that our planned on-site activity would be safe and appropriate under current restrictions. However, the new government messages and the practical challenges of deploying inspectors across England have prompted this change,” a statement said.

Remote inspections of schools and FE providers will begin from the 25 January.

Ofsted announced in December that monitoring visits, including to those with grade three and four ratings and new apprenticeship providers, would resume in January.

Inspectors were also planning ‘support and assurance’ visits to colleges, which would result in a report, but no grade, similar to the interim visits which took place last term.