A college in Cheshire that recruits most of its students from areas of “high social and economic deprivation” is celebrating after being rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Riverside College, which had its report published today following an 11-day inspection in February, was lauded by the education watchdog for applying a “culture of relentless self-improvement” which “permeates” across campus.

The college was formed in 2006 following the merger of Halton College and Widnes and Runcorn Sixth Form College. It currently teaches 3,200 young people, 1,400 adults, 603 apprentices and 136 learners with high needs.

It becomes the third general FE college to be rated ‘outstanding’ under Ofsted’s new inspection framework launched in September, following Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group and Chichester College Group.

Riverside College principal Mary Murphy said they are “absolutely thrilled that this glowing report recognises the tremendous efforts of our dedicated teaching and support staff who over a number of years have worked incredibly hard to consistently deliver high quality education and training”.

Inspectors found that learners and apprentices at Riverside “enjoy a wide range of courses that meet local and regional needs exceptionally well” and helps to ensure that most of them “progress to higher levels of study or work”.

“Their behaviour is exemplary and in keeping with the senior leaders’ and staff members’ high expectations and values,” today’s report said.

They “flourish” in a “calm, orderly, aspirational and safe learning environment”, while learners who have high needs develop the skills “they need to equip themselves for independent living, such as cooking simple meals and cleaning living areas”.

Ofsted praised the college’s attitude to community and fundraising events, with “many” learners doing voluntary work or taking part in competitions which “allow them to demonstrate that they are responsible and caring citizens”.

Engineering apprentices, for example, designed and built equipment for the Invictus Games so that athletes with physical disabilities could take part in throwing events.

Riverside College is located in the 13th most deprived borough nationally and the third most deprived in the Liverpool City Region.

Inspectors reported that leaders, managers and teachers have developed a “high-quality curriculum that widens learners’ and apprentices’ experiences and life skills” and “ensures” that disadvantaged learners develop their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Leaders also have “exceptional links” with local employers and regional business groups, including the local enterprise partnership and regional mayoral authorities, which have been utilised to create their “challenging curriculum” designed to help students “achieve their ambitious career goals”.

The curriculum has been reviewed in recent years to “ensure that there are clear progression routes for learners and apprentices”. For example, a pre-apprenticeship course prepares learners “well” by developing the employability skills and confidence they need to apply for a job with apprenticeship training.

The college’s “very strong and highly effective relationships” with its four subcontractors were also praised, who deliver a curriculum that “meets local needs exceptionally well”.

Ofsted concluded that leadership and management are “outstanding”.

Murphy said she was “delighted” that the inspectors “acknowledged the motivation and exemplary behaviour of our wonderful students, who we cannot wait to welcome back to the College as the lockdown eases”.

“However, this achievement is also attributed to all the people of Halton including Halton Borough Council, Halton Head Teachers, partners, employers, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the young people and their parents/carers who have supported the college on our journey to outstanding over the last decade,” she added.

“We have never wavered from the belief that we could be outstanding and together we have made this happen.”

 

An influential cross-party group of MPs have raised concerns over the value for money offered by the membership body for university technical colleges, after its cost to the taxpayer reached £3 million.

The public accounts committee (PAC) has today published a report following a National Audit Office (NAO) inquiry last year which laid bare the extent of financial failure among UTCs.

In its report, the committee criticises the “unusual setup” of the Baker Dearing Trust (BDT) – the owner of the UTC brand – and its relationship with the Department for Education.

FE Week analysis of BDT accounts found that since the programme launched in 2010, the trust has charged and received almost £2 million in “licence fees” from the technical colleges whilst also receiving £1 million in grants from the DfE.

Meg Hillier (pictured), chair of the PAC, told FE Week the costs “smack of a far too close, special relationship with too little scrutiny from government and too much entitlement from the BDT”.

She said it was “very curious” how the BDT, which in her opinion has “not offered” value for money considering the poor performance of most UTCs, has “managed to brand a type of school and milk the taxpayer and schools just for their brand to be used”.

As revealed by FE Week in August, the annual licence fee UTCs have to pay to the BDT increased from £5,500 to £10,000 this year, despite the majority of the technical colleges struggling to survive due to dwindling student numbers. Eleven of the institutions close or announce closure to date.

The PAC grilled the DfE’s permanent secretary, Jonathan Slater, during a hearing in March on the licence fee but said in today’s report that MPs were “concerned” at an “apparent lack of interest in what UTCs are getting from paying out taxpayer’s money to the trust in this way…on top of the already generous funding that the department gave to the trust”.

The fee increase came at the same time that BDT saw a massive reduction in donations, which have been its biggest source of income since its inception. The trust’s 2017/18 accounts show it received £1.7 million in donations, but just £388,000 in 2018/19.

Hillier said it was “very suspicious” that the licence fee doubled this year, and she doesn’t know whether “they were trying to fill another hole in the budget somewhere”.

A spokesperson for the BDT defended the trust’s licence fee and claimed the increase in cost was suggested by UTCs themselves.

They said the payment goes towards BDT’s work in delivering “hands-on educational, financial, student recruitment, and multi-academy trust rebrokerage support for all UTCs, as well as fulfilling the central role of government liaison and raising the programme’s profile”.

FE Week analysis of the BDT’s accounts also show the trust has spent and declared £60,000 on a personal secretary for their chair, former education secretary and UTC architect Lord Baker since 2011.

The BDT spokesperson also defended the payments made to Baker’s diary manager, insisting the cost since represents “very good value for money”.

He explained that Baker devotes a few days per week unpaid to help UTCs and needs help to arrange his diary but also with drafting letters and speeches.

The personal secretary is still on BDT’s books, but they have been furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The £1 million grants paid by the DfE to BDT were for the trust to support the opening and running of UTCs. The grants stopped last year.

The UTC model, originally for students aged 14 to 19, has been fraught with setbacks since its inception.

The PAC’s report cited many of the findings from the NAO’s inquiry, which found £792 million was spent on the programme between 2010/11 and 2018/19.

The majority of this was capital funding but the DfE has also propped up financially struggling UTCs with £36.8 million in extra cash between 2015-16 and 2018-19, most of which will not be paid back.

The report also found that the 48 UTCs open as of January 2019 were operating on average at just 45 per cent of capacity, and in terms of quality, over half of UTCs were rated as less than ‘good’ by Ofsted in October 2019.

Despite the DfE launching a three-year programme to improve the financial and educational performance of UTCs in 2017, the PAC said ministers still do not have a clear vision for UTCs in the future, and is a “long way from achieving its aim of improving the financial performance of UTCs by summer 2020”.

Hillier concluded that the taxpayer is paying over the odds for the UTC programme where good results are “alarmingly thin on the ground”.

Her committee has called on the government to set “clear” three-year financial targets for each UTC and close those that do not meet them.

They also want the DfE work with UTCs to “obtain the information necessary to gain assurance about the value schools are getting from the licence fee they pay to the BDT”, and write to the committee with its findings within three months.

A DfE spokesperson said: “This government is committed to improving technical education and strong UTCs have a key role to play this, helping to build the invaluable skills our country needs now and in the future, as well as supporting the recovery of our economy in light of the pandemic.

“UTCs are still relatively new and we have always sought to make improvements and address challenges that individual UTCs may face.”

They added that ministers will be considering the committee’s recommendations in respect of the value for money that UTCs are getting from their payments to BDT.

The government should set aside an extra £8.6 billion for a one-off skills package to “reboot” the economy post-Covid-19, according to the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

AELP says a large chunk – £3.6 billion – of the “costed” proposal should be spent on subsidising wages for half a million young apprentices to protect them from redundancy, while most of the rest should go towards tripling the existing annual adult education budget to £4.5 billion.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the membership organisation, said the country “can’t wait” for government to take six months to come up with entirely new employment and skills programmes and must instead “mostly scale up existing programmes using trusted delivery partners”.

He added that the prime minister’s proposed “apprenticeship guarantee” shouldn’t be dismissed as “unworkable”, but employer sign-up is “essential and this requires a realistic level of wage subsidy during the recovery period”.

Boris Johnson told the nation during a coronavirus briefing last week that young people “should be guaranteed an apprenticeship” after warning of “many, many job losses” expected from the fallout of Covid-19.

The unexpected announcement divided opinion in the FE sector, with some lauding the proposal while others were sceptical about its viability. Labour’s shadow apprenticeships minister Toby Perkins branded it a “deception”.

AELP’s proposals, submitted in advance of the expected July statements from the prime minister and the chancellor on post-pandemic recovery, says the only way to achieve an apprenticeship guarantee would be through a wage subsidy at a level “high enough to persuade the employer to make apprenticeships opportunities available”.

They said this should be offered to apprentices aged 16 to 24, and in “some ways” would be an extension of the principles of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

“For this to be a guarantee with teeth we think that this subsidy would need to be at least 50 per cent of the apprenticeship salary which might include National Insurance relief,” the AELP said.

“Employers should receive a start payment, a midpoint payment and an achievement payment. We also think this will be most critical for roles at level 2 and level 3.”

To support half a million young apprentices, the subsidy cost would be around £3.6 billion, according to the association. Unless wage subsidy is offered to employers, AELP believes large numbers of apprentices will be made redundant over the next 12 months.

On top of this, the organisation said an additional £1.5 billion needs to be committed for non-levy apprenticeships.

For adult workers, AELP believes that the government should “park” plans for its £3 billion National Skills Fund and £100 million National Retraining Scheme and instead channel the funding mostly into “well-established adult skills programmes”.

The annual adult education budget (AEB) of £1.5 billion “needs increasing to £4.5 billion to help tackle mass unemployment and support vital reskilling for those who have remained in work”.

Training providers have struggled to spend their adult education budget allocations in recent years, but the AELP believes mass unemployment means that there will be a big spike in demand.

The AELP has also today called for an additional £450 million to be invested for 16 to 18 year old programmes, including traineeships.

The organisation wants traineeships to be introduced for adults aged over 25, as well as the development of a new “pre-apprenticeship” programme for young people and adults which “involves a job commitment being offered by an employer from day one”.

Free travel “should also be considered” for 16 to 24 year olds nationally “in respect of apprenticeships and other skills and employment programmes”.

AELP said the £8.6 billion package should be launched as soon as possible, with a review taking place of its effectiveness 12 months later.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education fully backed the ministerial decision to stick with the switch-off date for starts on frameworks, even in sectors where there is no viable replacement standard ready.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the apprenticeship quango, told an FE Week webcast today that ruling out an extension to the July 31 date was the “right decision” and insisted there “isn’t really any excuse for being surprised by the fact that this is going to be kept”.

Conversations between the education secretary Gavin Williamson, the skills minister Gillian Keegan and the IfATE about a possible delay had been taking place in light of sector-wide concerns about the cut-off date.

Numerous training providers and college leaders warned they would have to pause recruitment of apprentices in some areas, such as stonemasonry, if there was no extension as there is no new apprenticeship standard that would be ready for delivery in August. Covid-19 has also disrupted the switchover.

But the Department for Education confirmed last month that no extension would be granted.

Quizzed on the decision today, Coupland said: “This [switching off frameworks] has been seven years in the making. This is not something we have done overnight.

“There is always going to be a couple of things bringing up the rear but we are working really closely with employers in areas, like the stonemasonry standard, where they are not going to be ready for July 31 but they will be ready later this year. We are working closely with those employer groups to make sure we get the standards approved for delivery as quickly as possible.”

The IfATE boss said the institute supplied the DfE with “lots of information” about how many standards have been approved, as well as their level of coverage across all parts of the economy to aid the education secretary’s formal decision-making.

“In terms of our advice of the switch-off decision, I think we’ve got really good coverage now of the economy with standards so the 550 standards covers 90 per cent or more of existing frameworks and so on that basis I think that he’s made the right decision to proceed with the timetable that was previously set,” she added.

“We had a long run-up to this though, there isn’t really any excuse for being surprised by the fact that this July 31 date is going to be kept.”

Pressed on whether it would have been fairer to extend the switch-off date, Coupland added: “Well I think the secretary of state looked at all angles of the problem including how much pressure was being brought to bear on the sector and weighing up all of those considerations.

“I think we’ve all established that standards are more rigorous and better quality, that they are employer led. They’re going to give apprentices the knowledge, the skills, the behaviours that employers want so if you delay moving to that system wholesale you are delaying that opportunity for all of those apprentices who would otherwise benefit.

“The fact that we’ve got this better system coming into play is a big consideration here. I think the other thing is as we’ve mentioned before – moving to a more virtual way of working has proved that actually you can still do things. It isn’t necessary to park all the plans you previously had because we’re operating in a slightly different way.”

A college in Tameside is delaying its wider reopening after being “strongly advised” to do so by its local authority in light of new Covid-19 infection rate data.

Tameside College told FE Week today it is planning to follow recommendations from Tameside Metropolitan Borough to postpone face-to-face contact with more students until at least June 22.

Pressure has been put on the college to revisit the government-recommended reopening date of June 15 after Public Health England found that the regional R (reproduction number) rate for the north west has risen above the “critical” threshold of 1 – after which the number of cases is said to increase exponentially – as well as “local information that infection rates remain higher and health services are stretched”.

After receiving this data on Friday, Tameside Council director of public health, Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, wrote to all schools and colleges in the area urging them to delay their wider reopening until at least June 22.

Tameside College is understood to be the first general FE college in the country to announce it will not begin its wider reopening on June 15 in line with government guidance, following a rise in the R rating.

Neighbouring Ashton Sixth Form College announced on its website on Friday that it will also delay reopening until at least June 22.

Jackie Moores, principal of both Tameside College and Clarendon Sixth Form College, told FE Week: “Tameside College is following all the required guidance and the senior leadership team are currently assessing the best and safest options for wider opening. 

“We will now be recommending to the college’s governing body that the safest option will be to delay wider opening until the June 22, subject to further public health advice.”

She added the college had been ready to open on June 15 as originally planned but senior leaders are “working closely” with public health colleagues in the local authority and have considered their advice.

Its board are meeting on Friday to review the latest Covid-19 data for the region and make a final decision.

A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said decisions relating to colleges in the city-region should be taken at the discretion of principals, chief executives and boards.

He added that throughout the coronavirus crisis the mayor “has repeatedly called for flexibility in the dates set for the wider re-opening of schools and colleges to reflect the shifting nature of the pandemic”.

Steve Rotheram, metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region, told FE Week his view is that the loosening of the lockdown “came too soon for the north west” and he has “asked government to consult on the reopening of schools and colleges”.

He added that the decision on whether or not to open should be taken by councils, in consultation with head teachers and college principals.

“We have asked government to publish more extensive localised information at a local authority level to inform those decisions. We are still in a very fragile position and protecting public health should always be paramount.”  

De Gruchy’s correspondence to schools and colleges in Tameside, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, said: “Members of SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies) and the Association of Directors of Public Health advised caution and concern about the too rapid easing of lockdown and the increased risk of a second pandemic wave.

“Balancing this concern, the national R number being between 0.7 to 1.0 and estimated at 0.73 in the North West and the importance of having our children back at school, I supported the limited increase in the number of children attending planned in the Borough from Monday 8 June.

“However information released at 2pm today estimates the R value is now above the critical value of 1 for the North West, at 1.01.

“Because of this change in R, and despite the excellent work undertaken, I am therefore strongly advising all schools and childcare settings to delay wider opening until at least 22 June for us to be more assured that the rate of infection is reducing and R is firmly below 1.

“All settings should continue to remain open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers as they have been since the start of the national lockdown.”

The situation will be monitored and reviewed on a weekly basis, with plans for the director of public health to write to all education settings again this Friday with a further update and advice on wider opening.

All colleges across the country are currently still being advised by the government to begin their wider reopening to 16 to 19 students on the first year of a study programme, as well as apprentices and adult learners in some cases, from June 15.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said face-to-face contact for year 12 and equivalent students could begin after this date when he announced that the government’s “five tests” for easing lockdown were all being met on May 28.

The Education and Training Foundation is handing out 100 discounts worth £500 each to boost the number of FE lecturers with Advanced Teacher Status (ATS), whilst also softening the scheme’s eligibility criteria.

It currently costs participants £750 to undertake ATS, meaning those that receive the discount will only have to pay £250.

The qualification was first launched in 2017 and recognises lecturers who can demonstrate “mastery” of the profession. It is described as the “gold standard practitioner status in the FE sector” by the ETF.

Around 100 individuals have attained it so far. Those who are awarded ATS are additionally granted with Chartered Teacher Status by the Chartered College of Teaching – the recognised professional body for teachers in England.

Martin Reid, director of the Society for Education and Training (SET), part of the ETF, said the “bursaries” have been made available to make ATS “accessible to a wider group of highly-skilled and experienced practitioners for whom financial barriers may be issues”.

Up to 100 are on offer and preference will be given to those applicants who “present a strong case for requiring a bursary”, which they will have to do by “making a statement explaining how a funded place will support both themselves and their organisation, focusing on three key areas of the ETF professional standards: values and attributes; knowledge and understanding; and skills”.

The eligibility criteria for ATS have also been changed, with the requirement for applicants to already hold Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status or Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) “no longer a prerequisite”.

Instead, “advanced” teachers and trainers who have “held their initial teaching qualification at level five or above for at least five years – rather than the four required of QTLS and QTS holders – and who meet all of the other eligibility criteria relating to access to teaching and coaching, can also apply”.

All applicants must be members of the SET, which oversees ATS.

The discounts will be available to those joining the next cohort to work towards ATS, which will begin in October 2020.

The ETF said although the eligibility criteria have been updated, the ATS programme “has not been changed in any way” and participants will “carry out the same tasks and portfolios will be assessed with the same rigour they always have been”.

Reid added: “We know from listening to our members that ATS is seen as a highly-valued badge of professionalism that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of teaching and learning. It is also an important aspect of the work we are doing to drive up the professionalism of the whole sector, with those who achieve ATS telling us that its positive impacts are not just on them personally, but also on colleagues and their institutions.

“These ETF-funded bursaries, alongside changes to the eligibility criteria, will make ATS accessible to a wider group of highly-skilled and experienced practitioners for whom financial barriers or a lack of opportunity to undertake QTLS early in their careers may be issues. 

“We hope that more people in the sector will now be able to embark on their journey to ATS and achieve Chartered Teacher status.” 

The window for applications for the next cohort of the ATS programme is open until 13 September 2020.

The Department for Education is drafting in a group of new policy experts as it gears up for “revolutionary” changes in FE.

Job adverts for 16 senior advisers to “craft a wide range of policies” within the department’s “higher and further education group” are currently live with annual salaries ranging from £49,000 to £60,000.

It comes as the DfE continues its work on a new White Paper for the FE sector, to be followed by legislation.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said in May that the reforms could be “revolutionary”, and FE Week previously reported that one key option being considered is to bring colleges in England back into public ownership.

Work on the White Paper is being led by Keith Smith, who was redeployed from the Education and Skills Funding Agency in April. He reports to Paul Kett, director general for higher and further education at the DfE.

The 16 policy adviser adverts include five “heads of policy” and 11 “policy leads”.

The successful candidates will be deployed to the DfE’s higher and further education group to work in directorates including careers and further education; further education reform; career learning, analysis, skills and student choice; international; higher education, STEM and tertiary providers; transformation and digital.

Responsibilities will include “leading the delivery of innovative policy reforms”.

“In the role you will quickly familiarize yourself with detailed knowledge to enable you confidently brief ministers and manage relationships with the educational sector,” the adverts add.

The chief executive of one of England’s largest college groups has been announced as the next president of the Association of Colleges.

Sally Dicketts, who heads up Activate Learning, will take over the role from Steve Frampton on August 1 when his two-year tenure is up.

She said she was “delighted” to be appointed and pledged to “work hard to promote the FE sector and ensure our learners are given the best opportunities to succeed”.

“As we move into a post-Covid world, we will need to unite as a sector to ensure we have the funding and support we need to continue to help our communities and be the engines of social mobility that we have been for so long, and I recognise both the pitfall and benefits of the proposals set out in the government’s White Paper,” she added.

“The global pandemic has shone a light on a lot of the things we do as education providers, and I think there are lots of opportunities for us to change and adapt our approaches to meet our learners needs in the future.

“I want to create a united voice for the FE sector, where we collaborate with clear values of respect, empathy, and understanding of different communities we serve.”

Frampton said his two years in the role of AoC president have been “two of the best of my life”.

“It has been a genuine honour to represent the sector I love and I’ve had experiences and opportunities that I will never forget,” he added.

Each year a college principal is elected by AoC members to be president. Their term of office runs from 01 August to 31 July, with a maximum two-year tenure.

The AoC said the president “acts as an ambassador” for the membership organisation and the further education sector, “driving policy formation and raising the profile of colleges with ministers and external stakeholders”.

Dicketts has worked in further education since 1985. Since 2013, she has been chief executive of Activate Learning, bringing together in one group, three FE colleges, three university technical colleges, two 11 to 18 secondary schools, a studio school, an apprenticeships provider, and a specialist engineering training provider.

She is a board member of the Education and Training Foundation, Pearson’s board and deputy chair of the LEP skills board.

Dicketts was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Honours List in July 2013.