Latest news from FE Week

Sector leaders warn of ‘barmy’ delays to 16-18 traineeship expansion

Providers are being blocked from offering traineeships to 16- to 18-year-olds as the government drags its feet on a “market entry exercise” that was promised last October.

Sector leaders are warning that the issue, described as “barmy”, will put the nail in the coffin of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s target to triple the number of starts this year.

While recruitment of 19-to-24 traineeship learners is reportedly seeing a boost following an albeit delayed tender, the growth of 16 to 18s is faltering as no such exercise for this age group has been forthcoming.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is understood to be relying mainly on colleges with 16-to-19 study programme contracts to ramp up delivery but is now conceding they will need to expand the independent training provider market to achieve significant growth.

A 16-to-18 “market entry exercise” was promised last year but it is still yet to get off the ground. The ESFA continues to tell FE Week that it will be launched in “due course”.

Let Me Play Ltd, which won a £3 million contract to deliver 19-to-24 traineeships this year, is one provider pleading with the agency to give it the opportunity to deliver the pre-employment programme to 16 to 18s.

Its co-founder and director, Matthew Lord, said: “We work with 16- to 18-year-olds on NEET contracts in London. We are keen to develop pathways for young people to progress and enter the world of work – traineeships would be one of those options, along with our apprenticeship provision.

“It would make sense to be able to offer them the same opportunities as we can for the 19- to 24-year-olds.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers claims there have been instances where providers have had to turn 16 to 18s away as a result of having no contract for this provision and no way of getting hold of one.

GTA England, a membership organisation for group training associations, also told FE Week several of its members want to expand into the 16-to-18 traineeship market to fill current vacancies.

Time is of the essence

Chief executive Mark Maudsley said: “Our challenge is market entry opportunities at 16 to 18 as we have many with vacancies that can’t be filled. Opening access would enable those members without traineeship contracts to capitalise on their excellent links with employers and create life opportunities via traineeships to progress on to the apprenticeship programme.

“With the trebling of the traineeships target for starts, members remain very keen and able to respond, but time is of the essence.”

There needs to be more than 43,000 traineeship starts between August 2020 and July 2021 to meet Sunak’s tripling target, which was set in July 2020 as part of his plan for jobs.

Latest government data only spans the period August to January but shows a total of 8,800 starts.

Compared to the same period in 2019/20, starts for 19 to 24s went up 44 per cent, from 1,600 to 2,300, but starts for 16 to 18s dropped four per cent, from 6,800 to 6,500.

The sluggish take-up comes despite the government reforming the funding rules for traineeships in September, which included increasing the funding rate for 19 to 24s by 54 per cent, from £970 to £1,500, and opening them up to people who already hold a level 3 qualification.

Employer cash incentives of £1,000 for each traineeship learner they take on were also introduced.

A big chunk of the starts needed in the last half of 2020/21 – around 20,000 – are hoped to come from a £65 million tender for 19-to-24 traineeships.

The procurement was originally planned to get under way last summer but was beset with delays – an issue that FE Week understands personally annoyed Sunak, as it hindered his expansion plans.

Steve Latus, the ESFA’s head of traineeships, spoke at last month’s AELP conference and told delegates that growing 16-to-18 starts numbers was now his “big concern”.

“In theory we have got enough capacity to deliver because we have the colleges. But actually, all the evidence says that we will need to grow the programme outside of just colleges.

“That is why we will be looking at coming out in the near future with an announcement about growing the 16-to-18 programme. I can’t go any further than that today…but unless we grow the programme with more independent providers, we won’t achieve the target.”

Simon Ashworth, the AELP’s chief policy officer, claimed his organisation is “seeing providers with demand for young people but they can’t get hold of any funding to help them”. He said opening up the market should a “no-brainer”.

He told FE Week: “The ESFA is trying to go to colleges with study programme contracts which allows them to move into traineeships and encourage them to do more 16-to-18 traineeships. But they’re not going to triple the numbers with that as a strategy.

“It seems barmy that you open up the 19-to-24 market, you’ve got providers with young people and good links to employers but nothing on 16 to 18. Unless they open up the market quickly, they’re not going to hit the target on their backs.”

Ashworth believes the ESFA should give providers that passed the 19-to-24 procurement automatic ability to deliver to 16-to-18 traineeships and then run a “mini market entry event for those that didn’t bid”.

£73m adult education budget tender outcomes delayed

[UPDATE: A day after this article was published the ESFA said the outcomes will now be communicated on Monday 28 June.]

The outcomes of the national adult education budget tender have been delayed, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has announced.

In a message to bidders this afternoon, the agency said the results of the £73 million procurement will be issued “very shortly” but not today as planned.

The agency had told FE Week earlier this week they were “on track” to announce the winners this week. Today’s message provides no reason for the delay.

It said: “We previously communicated that providers would be notified on the outcome of their bids on or around 24 June 2021 via the e-Procurement portal Jaggaer.

“We wish to update you that award decision notices will not be issued on 24 June, but will follow very shortly.”

Bids for a slice of the funding initially up for grabs in 2021/22 opened in February and closed in March.

The ESFA had originally planned to launch the tender in July 2020 but it faced a number of setbacks. It is a “re-procurement” exercise, and follows roughly the same scope as the controversial AEB tender that caused havoc in 2017 – the contracts for which expire this year.

The procurement includes caps depending on the type of provider applying for the funding to “mitigate significant oversubscription and speculative bidding”. A minimum contract value has been set at £150,000 and a maximum of £3 million.

Priority courses for this tender includes the new first full level 3 qualification offer for those aged 24 and over as per the prime minister’s lifetime skills guarantee, as well as sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs) – both of which were key features in the chancellor’s Plan for Jobs.

For “new” providers, they will have bids capped at £1 million, subcontractors will be capped at £2 million, and “existing” providers will be capped at £3 million.

The total AEB procurement could potentially reach £157 million if extensions are granted in future years, but these are not guaranteed.

The service start date is set for 1 August 2021.

This tender is just for the national budget, not for devolved combined authorities which run their own procurements.

Education to ‘broaden minds’: Is Ofsted chief inspector singing a new tune?

The Ofsted chief inspector appears to have changed her view on using education to direct learners into work, after years of attacking arts courses for their minimal job prospects.

Speaking at the Festival of Education today, Amanda Spielman said inspections should not focus on a “utilitarian” view of education.

“We do children a great disservice if we see them only as economic units, with education as the path to work-readiness, important as that is,” she told the event.

She went on to say: “Back in 2017, I said that education should be about broadening minds, enriching communities and advancing civilisation. About leaving the world a better place than we found it. That’s what I believed then – and that’s what I believe today.”

Ofsted chief had attacked ‘mismatch’ between courses and jobs

This argument sharply contradicts the litany of comments she made in the past, pushing for skills provision to be targeted at job opportunities.

Spielman courted controversy in a speech to the Association of Colleges annual conference in 2018, when she said there was a “mismatch” between the numbers of students taking arts and media courses “and the employment prospects at the end”.

She cited course adverts listing potential jobs in the arts, which were “in reality, unlikely to be available to the vast majority of learners but underplay the value of other skills these courses develop”.

This suggested the students taking these subjects outnumbered the job openings, she argued.

“Ultimately, there have to be viable prospects at the end,” she said, much to the consternation of audience members.

Spielman later clarified her remarks by assuring delegates the courses were not “bad,” just that: “When so many people opt for them with little or no prospect, there is a risk of setting up problems.”

She later followed up on this theme at the launch of Ofsted’s 2018/19 annual report in January 2020, warning providers in a speech against “flooding a local job market with young people with low-level arts and media qualifications, when the big growth in demand is for green energy workers”.

This approach would lead to “too many under-employed and dissatisfied young people and wind turbines left idle.

“We need a clearer focus on matching skills to opportunities.”

The report itself argued the apprenticeship system needed to target levy money “more directly at skills shortages”.

This was because of a “gap between the knowledge and skills required for our economy and future and current provision,” particularly affecting low-skilled workers.

Therefore, the further education and skills sector “needs to work much more in tandem with the government’s industrial strategy,” which set out plans to invest in skills to guide people into employment.

The strategy, published in 2017 and now being replaced with the government’s Plan for Growth, identified four grand challenges, including pivoting government and industry to being at the forefront of emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, clean growth, and the future of mobility (such as self-driving cars).

Challenged on the contradiction after her speech, Spielman said providers had to “balance” developing young minds while also setting them up for work: “What matters is making sure the path you steer young people is properly suited to their skills, but you don’t risk trapping them in a dead end where they suddenly find they spent several years studying a thing, and it’s really hard for them to get from that to employment.”

She said inspectors had visited providers where the balance had “tilted too far towards collecting funding or stacking up performance table points,” where the interests of young people had gotten “lost”.

“It’s about making sure that that young people are well advised and do the kind of education programme at every stage that both keeps the broadest set of opportunities, but creates some coherent path towards a plausible future for them.”

Williamson thinks education is for ‘fulfilling working life’

Education secretary Gavin Williamson, who recently handed Spielman another two years as chief inspector, today told the higher education think tank HEPI’s conference universities ought to “follow the lead of further education colleges” and offer more higher technical qualifications and apprenticeships, which should be “geared towards real jobs and the actual skills needs of local employers and the economy”.

While insisting he was not attacking arts courses, Williamson continued: “We must never forget that the purpose of education is to give people the skills that will lead to a fulfilling working life.”

Watch Amanda’s speech here

First exam board confirms 42% discount on entry fees

WJEC Eduqas will discount exam entry fees by 42 per cent this summer – making it the first exam board to confirm the level of savings for schools and colleges.

However the sum is unlikely to go down well in the sector, with the majority of leaders expecting 75 per cent of entry fees back this year.

The exam board, which has entries from 3,800 English centres, said the discount will put around £9 million back into schools and colleges in England.

WJEC Eduqas had yet to invoice for fees, but will in the coming weeks with the discount applied. Last year, the board discounted fees by 23 per cent.

Schools and colleges are still waiting for news on entry rebates from the largest exam boards: AQA, OCR and Pearson. These exam boards have mostly charged schools and colleges already this year, and will instead provide rebates.

Ian Morgan, WJEC Eduqas’ chief executive, said they “appreciate the continued patience and support from our centres as we finalised this year’s fees arrangements”.

“As a charity, we would never seek to take advantage of the current circumstances and are committed to re-investing in continuously improving the support we provide to schools, colleges, and learners, as we do every year.”

Morgan said they have had to develop a “range of new systems” this year and “invested significantly in a new and extensive package of support” to help schools and colleges this year.

In Wales, the Welsh government has committed to providing an additional £1.6 million of support to centres, meaning the overall discount will be 50 per cent.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs yesterday that he is expecting exam boards to deliver a rebate to schools this year.

Last year, just a quarter of exam fees were refunded to schools by AQA, Pearson and OCR. All have said they would again pass on savings to schools and colleges.

Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, has previously said there is a “real strength of feeling for something more significant” than 25 per cent this year.

An investigation by FE Week’s sister title FE Week last year revealed how three exam boards had hiked their fees earlier this year, despite exams being cancelled.

AQA later opted to ask schools and colleges for just 50 per cent of fees upfront, OCR delayed invoicing for three weeks while Pearson extended the payment deadline to the end of June.

But the Joint Council for Qualifications has defended boards, saying they are working harder than normal too.

First WorldSkills UK CPD event to feature in ‘Month of Learning’

WorldSkills UK has announced its first ever professional development event, with technical masterclasses, as part of a sector-wide ‘Month of Learning’ in November.

Run in partnership with the Education and Training Foundation, the virtual ‘Developing Excellence in Teaching and Training’ will feature interactive workshops and focus on four key strands.

These are equity, diversity and inclusion; ‘WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training and assessment,’ live technical masterclasses and “Education 4.0”.

WorldSkills UK deputy chief executive Ben Blackledge said: “In creating a skills system which is fit for the future, we now need to ensure that the ambitions to drive up the quality of post-16 education and training to meet employer needs are made a reality.”

Which is why the organisation has launched its first national continuing professional development event, “to enable delegates to utilise our global network and international insights to embed innovative ways to develop excellence in training their students and apprentices”.

Event will teach staff the ‘WorldSkills UK Way’

The equality, diversity and inclusion strand of the event will look at what barriers are faced by students, and how teachers can support them.

‘WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training and assessment’ will relate coaching and psychological methods from WorldSkills UK to FE teaching.

The live technical masterclasses will focus on best practice in specific subjects, including construction skills, building information modelling, cyber security, IT networking, and automation.

Education 4.0 will look at emerging technologies and at how technology will shape teaching methods and the future skills needs of industry.

Sector groups join forces for ‘Month of Learning’

FE Week will be media partner for the event, which will run between 24 and 25 November, nearly coinciding with the ETF’s Society of Education and Training online conference on 2 November and the Association of Colleges’ annual conference on 16 and 17 November.

Due to the proximity of events focusing on developing and informing FE and skills staff, WorldSkills has partnered with ETF and AoC to make November the “Month of Learning”.

Blackledge said they were “excited” by the partnership, “which we know will deliver great opportunities for the sector to take part in inspirational workshops, talks and networking opportunities”.

Event intended to support Skills for Jobs white paper

WorldSkills’ event is intended to support the aims of the Department for Education’s landmark Skills for Jobs white paper.

Published in January, the white paper dedicated a whole chapter to staff development in the FE and skills sector.

It paid tribute to WorldSkills UK’s Centre of Excellence programme, an ongoing three-year pilot funded by awarding body NCFE to place the trainers of UK skills competitors in colleges and independent providers to train up staff.

The paper said the government would encourage “organisations with relevant expertise to provide high-quality and evidence-based training and development for teaching staff in the sector,” by supporting initiatives like the Centre of Excellence.

The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, which followed on from the white paper and is currently being considered in parliament, contained a number of measures concerning initial teacher education as well.

‘Developing Excellence in Teaching and Training’ is being run in partnership with NCFE, Autodesk, Electude, and Jisc.

Bumper year as 102 winners scoop silver Pearson Teaching Awards for 2021

Inspirational teachers, leaders, support staff, schools and colleges from across the country have been honoured today for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of their students.

A total of 102 winners have scooped silver awards in the annual Pearson National Teaching Awards. The names have been announced to coincide with national Thank a Teacher day.

The hard work and dedication of teachers in schools, colleges and across the education sector during the pandemic has been inspiring

The silver award winners (full list below) will now be shortlisted to win one of 15 gold awards. The winners of the final will be announced in the autumn on The One Show.

Author Sir Michael Morpurgo, president of the Teaching Awards Trust, said Thank a Teacher Day “gives us all a chance – children, families, all of us – to pay tribute to those wonderful educators who change more lives than they will ever know”.

“Today we say thank you to the teachers who have helped our young people navigate these most difficult of times, and who will continue to inspire countless young minds over the coming years.”

Sharon Hague, senior vice president of schools at Pearson UK, said she wanted to “say thank you to all the incredible school staff who have kept children and young people learning despite unprecedented challenges”.

“We hope the celebrations today show how much you are appreciated, and that your hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unrecognised.”

This year represents a big rise in winners. There were 76 winners last year and 68 in 2019.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said the “hard work and dedication” of teachers during the pandemic had been “inspiring”.

“While our teachers deserve the country’s recognition every year, this year’s Thank A Teacher Day is even more significant.

“The support they have provided children, young people and adults has been remarkable, and each and every one of us should be grateful for the part they have played over the past 18 months.”

New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust found that three in four parents and carers had newfound respect for the profession following their experiences of remote learning.

The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School, supported by Randstad

Catherine Magee, St Comgall’s Primary School

Jacqueline Birch, St.Peter’s C of E Primary School

Jade Martin, Loscoe CofE Primary School

Jill Stevens, Collingbourne CofE Primary School

Melissa Sladen, Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School

Rebecca Sutton, Whiteley Primary School

Ross Hasler, Honiton Primary School

Ryan Walters, Ernesettle Community School

Stacey Harris, Coed Eva Primary

Tim Eustace, St Peter’s CofE Primary School

Yasmin Taylor, Roundhay School Primary Campus

The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Nord Anglia Education

Abigail Chase, Bassaleg School

Andrew Kyprianou, WMG Academy for Young Engineers Coventry

Emma Beaton, Sandringham School

Hope Vardon-Prince, Northolt High School

Jane Marshall, Rainhill High School

Karen Sims, Solihull Alternative Provision Academy

Lisa Kelly, The Gateway Academy

Mark Bailey, Netherhall School

Matthew Shaw, The Ruth Gorse Academy

Rachel Glasgow, Monkton Senior School

Robert Thorp, Hitchin Boys’ School

Ute Steenkamp, The Gateway Academy

Victoria Carey, Mary Immaculate High School

The Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School, supported by Hays Education

Gerard Curley, Neilston Primary School

Jeremy Hannay, Three Bridges Primary School

Navroop Mehat, Wexham Court Primary School

Philip Barlow, Chantlers Primary School

Reema Reid, Hollydale Primary School

David Jenkins, Ysgol ty Coch (all-through school, joint with secondary)

The Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Hays Education

Alan Pithie, Auchmuty High School

Michael Allen, Lisneal College

Steve Elliott, Wrenn School

David Jenkins, Ysgol ty Coch (all-through school, joint with primary)

The Award for Lifetime Achievement, supported by DfE

Gerrard Smith, The Jo Richardson Community School

Marie Lindsay, Saint Mary’s College

Mary Graham, Kingsdale Foundation School

Rosemary Littler, Liscard Primary School

Sheila Edgar, The Elizabethan Academy

Stuart Maxwell, Eastwood High School

Sue Bailey, The Arthur Terry School

The Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, supported by DfE

Aashna Jethmalani, Haileybury Turnford

Georgina Pennycook, Heathcote School

Hannah Lewis, Troedyrhiw Community Primary

Joseph Gill, Willows High School

Rob Plumbly, Swallowfield Lower School

Sam Craggs, Malton School

Zoe Leyland, Summerseat Methodist Primary School

The Award for Teaching Assistant of the Year

Dawn Watts, Western Community Primary School

Dorota Hall, St Edward’s School

Ian Clash, New Horizons Learning Centre – Secondary

Madison Bertalan, Fourfields Community Primary School

Mark Berryman, Chiltern Way Academy – Wendover Campus

Ruth Riley, Ballykelly Primary School

The Award for Making a Difference – Primary School of the Year, supported by PiXL

Arthur Bugler Primary School, Arthur Bugler Primary School

Chantlers Primary School, Chantlers Primary School

Hudson Road Primary School, Hudson Road Primary School

Khalsa Primary School, Khalsa Primary School

Manorfield Primary School, Manorfield Primary School

Roundhay School Primary Campus, Roundhay School Primary Campus

The Award for Making a Difference – Secondary School of the Year, supported by PiXL

Casterton College, Casterton College Rutland

Sedgefield Community College, Sedgefield Community College

Wymondham College, Wymondham College

The Award for Impact through Partnership

ACS International Schools Partnerships, ACS International Schools

Haringey Learning Partnership, Haringey Learning Partnership

The Isle of Arran Cluster, Arran High School

The Roma – Narrowing the Gap Team, Queen Katharine Academy

The Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education

Aine Mellon, St Patricks & St Brigids College

Rachel Elliott Downing, Kenton School

Sam Newton, The Children’s Trust School

Sarah Anderson Rawlins, Tbap Unity Academy

Stephen Evans, Derwen College

The Award for Digital Innovator of the Year, supported by Nord Anglia Education

Calum Coutts, Riverbrae School

Catriona Houston, St Patrick’s College

Christian Aspinall, Eldon Primary School

Emma Darcy, Denbigh High School

Joe Yates, Park View Primary School Cambuslang

Michael Law, Park View Primary School Cambuslang

Toby Osborne, Ferndown Upper School

The Award for FE Lecturer of the Year, supported by DfE

Carina Ancell, Newham Sixth Form College

Gemma Westlake, Basingstoke College of Technology

Jonathan Rogers, Gower College Swansea

Laura Denton, Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education

Melissa Tisdale, Walsall College

Paul Mercer, South Eastern Regional College (Bangor)

The Award for FE Team of the Year, supported by DfE

The Beauty Therapy and Makeup Artistry Team, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College

The Foundation Learning Team, Telford College

The Hospitality and Catering Team, Eastleigh College

The PE Department, New College Pontefract

The Performing Arts Team, Newham Sixth Form College

The Sports Department at Wigan and Leigh College, Wigan and Leigh College

The Lockdown Hero Award for Learner and Community Support

All Saints CE Primary School, All Saints CE Primary School – Bolton

Blaine Stewart, Derrygonnelly Primary School

Canolfan Elfed Inclusion Centre, QEH School

Eden Academy Trust’s Family Services Team: Jan Ahmad, Sophia Barton, Lisa Hatcher, Janet Lobb, Louise Mullins, Kelle Sharpe and Shriti Thompson, Pentland Field School

Edmund Rice College, Edmund Rice College

Frankie Arundel, Firth Park Academy

Ian Sippitt, Aurora Eccles School

Matt Jenkins and Jo Fison, Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education – School

Rebecca Garratt, The Wyre Forest School

Sarah Gray, ST Mary’s CE Primary

Star Academies

The Poppy Academy Trust, Fair Field Junior School

Proposed new IfATE powers ‘strike the right balance’ with Ofqual, says Williamson

The education secretary has defended plans to hand new powers to the government’s apprenticeships quango, saying it will “strike the right balance” with Ofqual’s responsibilities.

Gavin Williamson, today speaking to the education select committee, called proposals to hand the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education sign-off on approving and regulating technical qualifications a “tidying up measure”.

The Federation of Awarding Bodies warned last week it would introduce a “material conflict of interest” and “sets the scene for a muddled and cumbersome two-tier system of qualifications regulation”.

“This turns the institute into both a market participant in qualifications (by developing, accrediting and certificating its own technical qualifications),” such as T Levels, “and a market regulator of technical qualifications, deciding which qualifications that they do not own can operate in the marketplace in future,” a FAB position statement, seen by FE Week, read.

This could prove troublesome as power is handed to the institute, which is responsible to political ministers, rather than the independent qualifications regulator Ofqual, which is responsible to parliament.

Williamson told MPs he felt “the right sort of balance” had been struck between Ofqual and IfATE “in order to be able to give IfATE all the powers it properly needs in order to deliver the work it needs to do.

“But I always accept people will have different views and IfATE also seem to have the confidence and belief that they had the tools they need.”

Labour seeking to make Ofqual sole qualification regulator

During the bill’s second reading in the House of Lords last week, Labour spokesperson Baroness Wilcox said her party was “concerned that this handing back of day-to-day political control of technical qualification regulation would undermine the independent status of Ofqual and risks a cumbersome new dual-regulatory approval system”.

“We will seek to amend the Bill to ensure that Ofqual remains the sole body,” she added.

Crossbench pier Lord Curry of Kirkhale echoed the concern the bill’s changes would create a “two-tier and rather cumbersome regulatory approval system.

“The last thing we need is confusion, duplication and an additional load of bureaucracy,” he warned.

Williamson admits watchdog and IfATE ‘crossover’

Quizzed by committee chair Robert Halfon today on why the Department for Education did not simply hand qualification regulation to IfATE wholesale, Williamson said there are “areas of crossover.

“It’s important that we have two organisations that are looking at slightly different sectors but there is crossover, and we expect those organisations to all work in harmony and close cooperation together and I think that that’s something that can be done and can be achieved.”

The minister said before the institute there had been concern in the post-16 sector Ofqual had not brought the “the same level of focus” to apprenticeships as other sectors.

Whereas with IfATE, skills provision had been given “a lot more attention”.

Other reasons behind the changes were “to enable IfATE to basically define new qualification categories and approve a broad range of technical qualifications”.

And also to “lay the foundations to an allow T Levels to be delivered outside England,” Williamson added.

DfE considering ‘accelerated inspections’ to help Ofsted tackle Covid backlog

Gavin Williamson has revealed the government is looking to accelerate the timetable for Ofsted inspections in order to address the backlog of schools and FE providers due a visit.

The education secretary was questioned by the Parliamentary education committee this morning on the possibility of speeding up the process for those left waiting for inspections, which were suspended when Covid hit last year.

David Johnston, the Conservative MP for Wantage, explained that some schools in his constituency were “living on an old Ofsted judgement where they know they’ve improved and it would help their admissions if they could show that improvement”.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman appeared before the committee last week and raised concerns about the length of time between inspections for ‘outstanding’ providers.

These were previously exempt from inspections, however the immunity was removed in October last year following a consultation.

Principals of grade three colleges are also in uproar after they were excluded from yet another government fund because they are stuck with the rating, with no way to improve, as revealed by FE Week last week.

Johnston added that Spielman raised concerns over some schools going without inspection for 14 years and “her view when I put this question to her was they could accelerate the timetable for Ofsted inspections if they were directed to by government.”

DfE considering ‘accelerated inspections’

Williamson said the Department for Education (DfE) “would certainly be looking at a whole range of different options including accelerated inspection.”

He added Johnston was “right to highlight” the need for schools and FE providers to progress out of lower grades and the lack of inspections in those rated ‘outstanding’.

The education secretary said the government will now be “looking very closely” at what “further action we can take to ensure that schools are best supported by Ofsted” as the sector moves out of the pandemic.

Ofsted suspended full graded inspections in March 2020 when the pandemic struck, but they are due to resume in September.

A previous FE Week investigation revealed that 30 colleges have been ignored by Ofsted for over a decade.

Williamson looking at adaptions for 2022 exams to ensure ‘right level of support’ for students

The government is looking at a “similar set of measures” for the 2022 exams as those proposed for this summer’s series before formal tests were cancelled, Gavin Williamson has said.

The education secretary told the education select committee this morning that they “very much hope and intend” for exams and vocational and technical qualifications to go ahead next year.

Last December, ministers proposed that grades 2021 exams would be as generous as those in 2020, and that students would get advance notice of topics in certain subjects and be allowed to use exam aids. But the measures were ditched in January when exams were cancelled.

Simon Lebus, Ofqual’s interim chief regulator, revealed in March that government was considering adaptations “along the line that had been originally contemplated for this year”.

Simon Lebus

Today, Williamson confirmed the government was considering such measures.

Asked what plans government have in place for exams next year, he said: “We are considering what we need to do to ensure that there’s fairness and there’s the right level of support for pupils as they take these qualifications. I think that’s the right approach.

“We had quite an extensive package of measures that was intended for this years’ awarding session and supporting youngsters as they took their exams and we will look at having a similar set of measures that can be brought forward in order to be able to support pupils as they take assessments.”

Caroline Johnson MP asked: “Do you expect adjustment to be a requirement next year, or the year after, or the year after that?”

Williamson responded said he “very much expects there to be adjustments and mitigations to be put in place, because I think those youngsters that are in year 10 and year 12 will have obviously suffered disruption as a result of the pandemic, so I think that you don’t have a situation of immediately switching back to the absolute same state of situation as it was in 2019”.

‘I never want to see children not taking exams’

But the sector is still waiting for full proposals for the 2022 exam series to be published, with just weeks left until the end of the academic year.

Williamson would only say at the Festival of Education last week that plans would be published “very shortly”, and said Parliament would be informed first.

He said today: “I never want to see children not taking exams, I would probably have been so bold if I was talking to you in December last year to say absolutely children would have been sitting exams, never recognising the fact there would be a new variant but that it absolutely our aim and intention but with proper contingency plans always in place.”

This year, government faced criticism for not having an “off-the-shelf” plan B ready.

Williamson also said today that he is expecting exam boards to deliver a rebate to schools and colleges this year.