For the first time Ofsted is exploring a move to directly inspect all FE subcontractors, something until now it has ruled out.
Subcontracting in FE is big business, with 2,221 subcontracting arrangements at 856 subcontractors accounting for “around 14 per cent of the spending on apprenticeships and adult education” in 2018/19, according to Ofsted.
The inspectorate told FE Week that the Education and Skills Funding Agency has responded positively to resolving issues with the data they supply and discussions will now take place with the Department for Education to consider this major change.
Researchers found their own inspectors were being hampered by a lack of “access to timely and accurate data on the number and size of subcontracting arrangements held by a directly-funded provider”.
And “the current approach to inspection means that some subcontractors are visited more than once [as part of an inspection of a direct contract holder], while others are not visited at all.”
Ofsted is only funded to inspect the direct ESFA contract holder and will sometimes consider the quality of their subcontracted provision but even then, only if they have access to reliable data from the ESFA.
An Ofsted spokesperson told FE Week: “One of the best things to come out of the research report is the dialogue that researchers have had with the ESFA colleagues and the acknowledgement and understanding of how the data issues hamper inspection and the agreement to do whatever they can to improve and enhance the data.”
And the DfE told FE Week: “Better quality subcontracting data will provide a great range of benefits to the FE sector so we welcome Ofsted’s report. We are improving the data that we have about subcontracting and as part of our reforms, the ESFA will develop improved tools for collecting better and more timely data.
“We will continue to work with Ofsted about what data we can share with them to assist them in their work.”
This positive response from the DfE and ESFA appears to open the door to a major change to the inspection regime.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector said: “We are open to exploring how we could directly inspect subcontractors in the future, but that would need significantly more financial resource and better data.”
In the meantime, Ofsted has today also committed to:
increasing awareness among inspectors of Ofsted’s available inspection resource, in order to investigate more subcontractors
changing the way evidence is recorded to systematically and consistently include information about all subcontractors visited
where appropriate, highlighting more subcontractors in inspection reports.
The research does not appear to include any analysis of 16 to 18-year-old study programme subcontracting and invited 25 apprenticeship and adult education budget funded subcontractors to participate in interviews but only proceeded with the 14 that agreed to participate.
And the researchers do not pass judgement on the overall quality of subcontracted delivery compared to provision directly delivered.
A spokesperson for Ofsted told FE Week: “We found elements of good and poor practice, but what the report is not doing is giving a state of the nation report on subcontracting quality.”
The government has for many years been concerned about the lack of oversight, risk to public funds and the value for money of subcontracting.
Subcontractors typically pay the direct contract holder a significant management fee for the privilege of access to public funds and without direct inspection little is publicly known about the quality of what they deliver on the reduced funds.
There have also been high profile cases of colleges being caught up in multi-million pound subcontracting scandals.
The principal subsequently resigned and an investigation into the relationship with SCL Security Ltd resulted in the ESFA demanding the college return millions of pounds.
FE subcontracting has been on the decline in recent year following a series of funding rule changes and in recent months the ESFA has been consulting with the sector to introduce further policies to shrink its use further.
As colleges re-open their doors after a summer like no other, staff have had to cross their fingers and hope new learners turn up, on the right courses for them.
The outlook was nerve-wracking – schools that would usually hold students’ hands until they reach college hadn’t seen their pupils in months. Employers normally offering apprenticeships are shutting up shop. Then the exam results debacle saw students receive higher teacher-assessed grades at the eleventh hour.
After a mad few weeks of prepping sites, adjusting timetables and redeploying staff, how is enrolment looking now? As the numbers come in, Jess Staufenberg speaks to college leaders…and finds a changed landscape.
‘Shift up through the levels’
On 17 August the government announced a huge education policy U-turn – after a national outcry, it largely abandoned exam watchdog Ofqual’s calculated grades in favour of teacher-assessed grades.
Overnight, the GCSE grades delivered the highest pass rate and the highest proportion of top grades in England in recent years. About 76 per cent of entries scored a “standard” pass 4, the grade needed to access level 3 courses in colleges. It was a huge 9 percentage point leap from 67 per cent the previous year.
Of the seven college chief executives and principals FE Week spoke to, every one has reported a big rise in 16 to 18-year-old level 3 numbers. “We’ve definitely got more learners on those higher level courses than we typically expect,” says Julie Mills, chief executive at Milton Keynes College. Currently 193 more learners are on level 3 courses at the college this year than last year, with 145 more on level 2 and just 81 more on level 1.
Grant Glendinning, executive principal of NCG North, who oversees Newcastle and Carlisle College, has similarly seen a 10-15 per cent increase in numbers of students with standard passes or higher in English and maths. “We’re seeing many more applicants for level 3 courses, as they’ve got their grade 4 requirement,” he says, adding that STEM and engineering courses are particularly popular as learners avoid hospitality, tourism and travel courses in response to the pandemic.
Grant Glendinning
It’s a “shift up through the levels,” says Michelle Brabner, chief executive of Southport College – “particularly on vocational and technical courses. Our level 1 cohort has been much smaller.”
As a result, colleges have scrambled to redeploy staff to the fuller courses. Christine Ricketts, chief executive at Brooklands College, has added an additional level 2 group of about 20 learners and employed another level 3 lecturer. Meanwhile there’s only five learners on level 1 hospitality and catering, which is “unheard of”, she says. “It is a bit of a timetabling nightmare, but we’re managing.”
The real concern, however, is whether students are arriving with the English and maths skills to handle a level 3 course. College principals are clearly torn between real worry about this and wanting to honour the judgments of school sector colleagues.
“I am worried that some students will be forced, by virtue of their awarded grade, to enter a higher level than they should be on,” explains Stuart Rimmer, chief executive of East Coast College in East Anglia. “A functional skills course might be more appropriate for them, where it’s about number handling and sentence structure. Instead they could be stuck doing quadratic equations.” As a result, Rimmer warns, college staff “are going to have to work harder to plan for differentiated learning”.
Yet Rimmer notes an unexpected positive to the higher grades this year – not as many students will have to take English and maths GCSE re-sits until they pass (a condition of funding for level 3 courses). “One of the upsides of the grade inflation is it means students aren’t taking re-sits they really don’t want to. Some of it is torture for kids.” The other advantage for students is being able to head straight into a higher level course, which could “potentially raise aspirations”.
Christine Ricketts
Echoing his words, Ricketts is “less concerned about the level 2 to level 3 shift, and more about those in level 2 instead of level 1. If they’ve been on a level 1 programme, they develop skills, confidence, resilience – all those things they could transfer to cope better with level 2.” To tackle the issue, Brooklands College are looking at combining level 1 and 2 groups together in hospitality and catering and motor vehicles courses. “With this model they’ve got the flexibility of moving between levels without students feeling put down.”
There is also worry that some students have remained at schools during pure A-level provision. Claire Foster, who took up her post as chief executive of Boston College during lockdown, has seen AS-level numbers halved. “Our A-level numbers are significantly down – even where they’ve got grade 3s they seem to be staying in school more. I think there’s a nervousness at the schools about parents, so they’ve been allowed to stay on. The worry is they may not cope with the A-level provision and we will be taking them in later.” At the same time, Boston College has nearly doubled numbers on healthcare courses.
Claire Foster
College principals accept they must honour the grades students have arrived with. Brabner says “we must be really mindful that these grades may be allocated, but they are still the grades the students achieved.” Rimmer echoes her. “I think as a sector we should professionally honour and respect school teachers’ decision, just as we’ve asked universities to respect ours.”
‘Drop in apprenticeship starts and HE courses’
The area of provision that has undoubtedly taken the biggest hit is apprenticeship starts – not applications, but placements.
At Newcastle and Carlisle Colleges, Glendinning is predicting a 30 per cent decrease in apprenticeship starts this year, based on current job postings. Yet applications from aspiring apprentices are up about 50 per cent. “We do have far fewer employer opportunities. So we’re looking at some innovative ways that we can develop pre-apprenticeship programmes for those young people, using the government’s high value qualifications list, for example.”
Similarly at Milton Keynes College, Mills is considering an apprenticeship theory programme for learners while they wait for hands-on placement to start. “It’s so that if the apprenticeship only starts in six to 12 months, the person has already done all that theory,” she explains. Not all have struggled – Foster says apprenticeship placements remain strong. But many hope the government’s “Kickstart Scheme” announced last week, which funds employers to create six-month job placements for young people currently on universal credit, will prompt employers to make enquiries again.
Julie Mills
For learners wishing to join higher education courses, however, it looks as though some colleges have lost out to universities this year. David Lambert, deputy chief executive at London South East Colleges, said his team had seen “fewer higher education students enrol – possibly due to students receiving higher grades than they may have expected and taking up offers at universities, rather than choosing to study locally at college”.
‘Where are the vulnerable young people?’
But the group of students bothering college principals the most is the one they haven’t seen enough of – those at risk of being not in education, employment or training (NEET). The majority of principals said enquiries from young people in this category seem to be down. It makes flexible timetables and course start times all the more important.
Rimmer says: “The student group I’m going to worry about are those who’ve not turned up yet. There’s a group of NEET learners who will have been mostly cut off from school since March. That’s a lot of disengagement. We’re behind the curve with that group arriving.” Without summer schools and buddy days, it’s been tougher than usual to get less engaged learners to turn up in September, adds Mills.
Stuart Rimmer
Adults, meanwhile, seem to be less willing to take on loans but are still signing up for courses. “We have seen a significant drop in the number of learner taking out loans, with far more self-paying,” explains David Lambert, deputy chief executive at London South East Colleges, pointing to the fact people may wish to avoid debt. Online adult provision numbers have also risen across several colleges as people anticipate a possible second lockdown.
‘Going forwards’
While college leaders tell FE Week they are grateful for the £150 per learner “tutoring fund” for learners who have not passed English or maths GCSE announced in July, the majority warn it will not be enough. Brabner, whose college is expecting about £190,000, says “it’s not an insignificant amount of money, but we’ve had very little to support us through lockdown, so it’s whether this will be enough to cover everything. We will need to do a lot in terms of mental health.”
Michelle Brabner
Overall, however, the sector can breathe for a minute – total enrolment numbers look steady. Colleges have always had to be flexible about courses and timetables, and in this sense leaders only stepped up a skill this year they demonstrate every year. The biggest outlier issue is that a certain cohort of disadvantaged students is quite clearly out in the cold somewhere. At the Department of Education, alarm bells should be ringing.
Meanwhile, principals are looking ahead to a year packed with potential and change. As Ricketts says: “This year, one of our key actions is to really reflect on the lockdown, and think about what worked well and that we want to learn from – and then be flexible going forwards.”
A college has dropped plans to alternate students between on-site provision and studying from home after an outcry from parents.
After local media outlet The News reported, followed up by FE Week, parents’ anger over plans for students to partially study from home, with a review planned for the end of this month, Havant and South Downs College has said they will accommodate all students for face-to-face teaching from next Monday.
Principal Mike Gaston told FE Week: “We have always believed that the best place for students to learn and develop is in the college supported by our staff.
“The decision to implement an alternate week on site timetable coupled with blended learning on two of our campuses for this September was taken during enrolment following feedback from staff and students. It was put in place for safety and social distancing reasons, with a review scheduled for the end of September.”
He said the decision was changed after the induction period allowed the college to test systems and listen to concerns from a range of stakeholders.
But Gaston warned the decision may need to change depending on the local and national situation, and updates to guidance.
The general secretary of a leading college union who lambasted colleges for how much their principals earn was handed a £400,000 pay-off according to published accounts.
The “post employment” payment to University and College Union boss Sally Hunt, as referred to in the UCU’s accounts, was in addition to salary, pension contributions and a car benefit. For the full year to 31 August 2018, Hunt’s basic salary was £107,448 according to the accounts
A University and College Union spokesperson told FE Week they could not comment on the settlement.
In 2018, after analysis showed a third of principals enjoyed a pay rise of more than 10 per cent in 2016/17, Hunt said those leaders who “pocket huge pay rises while pleading poverty on staff pay look greedy and hopelessly out of touch”.
And in response to FE Week analysis in 2017 showing seventy-one college leaders had earned salaries of £150,000 or more in 2015/16, Hunt said the pay awards “show it’s one rule for staff and another for those at the top”.
A college has implemented an ‘alternate week’ timetable for 16 to 18-year-olds after concluding it did not have the capacity to safely teach all 1,300 students onsite.
As reported by The News, Havant and South Downs College has told parents that students will be studying from home every other week – in what is believed to be the first instance of a college doing so.
The decision has caused outrage among parents, with one telling The News they were only informed about the move through a letter from vice principal Dan Beale on the day of enrolment.
“If this was the college’s intention then students should have been informed two months ago,” the parent said.
Paula Williams, another parent, has written to the college about her daughter, a year 12 studying A-level science, chemistry and maths, to ask: “How do yourself teach chemistry? As a college in an area of deprivation you should be getting them back in.”
Beale’s letter, according to The News, reads: “Following our recent enrolment it has become evident that we will not be able to accommodate our entire cohort of 1,300 16-18-year-old students at the same time.
“We are required to ensure that students’ desks are at least one metre apart along with other measures such as enhanced cleaning, hand sanitising, ventilation, students facing the front and the teacher remaining in their two-metre zone.
“Therefore, the capacity in most classrooms will be around 12 to 14.”
A college spokesperson told the paper the decision was not take “lightly”, but was based on keeping students safe on campus during a period when the UK has seen a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, particularly amongst young people”.
College leaders will reportedly review the decision next month and the spokesperson said: “Our expectation is to resume face to face teaching for all students as soon as possible.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson previously told the House of Commons it was the government’s “intention” to have colleges reopen in September and “get our young people back where they need to be in education and preparing for their future”.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said last month the government was “committed to doing everything necessary to deliver on our national priority of all students returning to schools and colleges in September”.
Further education providers were told by the Department for Education last month they would have to switch to a rota system if a local lockdown hit tier 2 – the second-lowest tier – and have just vulnerable children and those of key workers physically attending.
The college campuses are based in an area which appears to have a low infection rate. According to official data, there were seven cases per 100,000 people in the Havant area between 4 and 10 September compared to an average of 18 across England.
Staff have been told that they must fill junior executive vacancies with apprentices, as part of a three-month trial in the Department for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Skills minister Gillian Keegan said the change in recruitment policy was to show that “we practise what we preach” when it comes to boosting the number of apprentices across the country.
The department is also “actively exploring” the development of a “DfE traineeship” focused on supporting more young people onto their apprenticeship programmes.
In his summer statement, Sunak announced that, from August to January, any firm that hires an apprentice aged 16 to 24 would receive a cash bonus of £2,000, while those that hire apprentices aged 25 and over would be paid £1,500.
Speaking at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ Covid-19 business recovery conference this week, Keegan said the incentive payments meant it was “a great time for employers to offer apprenticeship opportunities”.
She was then “delighted” to report that the DfE was “changing our recruitment approach to support the take-up of new apprenticeships”, adding that “we will practise what we preach”.
From September 1 to December 31, all junior roles at executive assistant and executive officer level within the DfE and its funding arm, the ESFA, will be filled using apprenticeships for a “trial period”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “As the lead department responsible for apprenticeships, we are taking action to support more people to do an apprenticeship and gain the skills they need to start a rewarding career.
“We are starting with a three-month trial covering all junior vacancies in the DfE and ESFA. After the trial period is up we will review its effectiveness before deciding on our next steps.”
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education – the government’s apprenticeship quango – told FE Week that, while it was in “close communication” with the DfE about the new apprentice recruitment initiative it had no current plans to take part in the trial.
A spokesperson added that the institute would “continue to look at our own approach and what can be done to employ more apprentices”.
Ofsted, a non-ministerial arm of the DfE, told FE Week that it had no plans to take part in the trial. A spokesperson said: “Recruitment at Ofsted has been significantly reduced due to the pandemic, and it is likely to remain limited as we focus on our restart programme. However, we will continue to review whether any new vacancies are appropriate to offer as apprenticeships.”
According to the DfE’s latest data, apprenticeship starts have dropped by 47 per cent, from 101,300 to 53,530, between March 23 and July 31 this year compared with the same period in 2019, largely because of lockdown.
It’s worth bearing in mind the lessons of lockdown as we all return to the ‘new normal’, writes Amanda Wayling
There were some very surprising outcomes from our remote teaching and learning experiences over lockdown – including that some of our learners engaged in ways that we couldn’t ever have predicted.
The rapport between teachers and students was noticeable. Learners seemed to understand that teachers were working hard to create content amid highly challenging circumstances. Many of them became more cooperative, made suggestions about delivery of classes, created quizzes, contacted students who may have missed a class and were more confident in being part of the learning process. Very oddly lockdown created, in some ways, a deeply communal environment.
Now we’re back to the “new normal” as socially distanced colleges, and it’s worth bearing some of these lessons in mind. A particularly important lesson we won’t be forgetting quickly is around our neurodiverse students.
Some of them told us they enjoyed the distance created by remote teaching. They could choose when to talk and when to be seen by muting or unmuting their microphone, turning their camera on or off and completing their work in the sanctuary of their homes.
One student, completing his course and about to go off to university, said that virtual lessons meant he didn’t have to worry as much about participating in groups and trying to read and understand the body language of other students. This kind of virtual delivery fits seamlessly with the complexities of neurodiversity.
Meanwhile, self-motivated and independently minded learners are enthusiastic about learning without distractions, at their own place, through virtual lessons.
Teenage anxieties, already heightened, seem to get worse in virtual sessions
But of course, it’s not all positive news. As we move to a blended model of face-to-face and online learning at our college, we mustn’t forget that students with learning needs can also be overwhelmed by the experience.
Without the one-to-one support they can rely on in the classroom, many found it very difficult to accept that they are on track, despite constant reassurance. Our teachers have, like Spiderman, a “Spidey sense” about when a student is in trouble, not engaging, or about to switch off and our Learner Support teams have worked hard to keep our students connected. But it’s still very difficult to replace face-to-face contact.
The other big group that aren’t ready for a switch to more virtual learning are those with poor attendance records or who struggle to maintain focus. The feedback we’ve got from them is that they find remote teaching and instruction difficult to manage as they are more engaged by face-to-face attention and encouragement.
Anyone who has tried to “get in” on a remote conversation will appreciate how hard it is sometimes to interrupt the speaker – as a result, less engaged students often didn’t want to ask questions.
Average teenage anxieties, already heightened, also seem to get worse in virtual sessions. Students turn their camera on if they see others have, leaving the teacher talking to a series of ID symbols on a screen.
On the plus side, classroom management is easier for staff because students only talk to other students in permissible places, like breakout rooms or by using the chat function. This has meant that teachers can focus on teaching and assessment, without having to manage distractions.
So what we need to remember in this new academic year is that remote teaching can be a positive experience. It can enhance learning and allow students to demonstrate their technological competence.
At the same time, the majority of students say they missed being in a class and with their friends. And for neurodiverse students, it has mixed blessings.
This term, we will seek to more closely differentiate and safeguard learners. For instance, we can provide digital backgrounds for the students so that their privacy is secured and still persuade them to turn on their cameras so that the learning environment is alive. We can deliver more flipped learning sessions to challenge and expand knowledge and understanding.
This way, as we begin our blended approach, we hope to ensure no-one falls behind.
Digital learning has shown its potential, and while issues of equity remain now is the time for colleges to make the transition permanent, writes Sally Dicketts
Colleges play a significant role in building communities and supporting their local economy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this sharply into focus. Innovative practices were rapidly put in place to teach remotely during lockdown, and we saw colleges championing digital as a way of supporting learners.
As learners now return to college, the further education (FE) sector is helping the UK bounce back – upskilling, reskilling and providing pathways for those who have recently left school. Whether students are learning on campus, remotely, or with a blended approach, they are using digital systems and learning platforms, connecting and collaborating with their peers and tutors, accessing support for their wellbeing, and benefitting from a nurturing college community. Technology underpins every aspect of that experience.
Jisc’s learner digital experience insights survey 2020 gives crucial insights into where we are now and what students may need in future, highlighting how 19,137 learners in colleges and sixth forms experience and use technology to support their learning. These findings highlight the valuable work colleges have been doing. I’m pleased to note that 76 per cent of learners rate the quality of digital teaching and learning on their course as ‘good’, ‘excellent’ or ‘best imaginable’, and that 75 per cent rate the quality of their organisation’s digital provision similarly highly. This validates the investment colleges have been making in their digital environments.
We cannot continue to assume that all learners are confident with the new digital tools
However, there are some concerning results too, which expose issues of digital and data poverty, and raise questions over whether learners have adequate access to devices, wifi and other essential systems and services. Students seem to be relying on smartphones to access digital learning, with 82 per cent saying they use one for their studies. Meanwhile, 68 per cent use a laptop, 28 per cent use a desktop, and 25 per cent use a tablet. That leaves a significant number potentially using sub-optimal mobile phone resources and, more worryingly, 3 per cent of learners saying they don’t have access to any digital device. That’s a small percentage, but in real terms, it’s 574 individuals for whom learning online is a real challenge. I care deeply about the consequences of that.
The rapid move to remote learning we’ve seen through COVID-19 has highlighted the need for teaching staff to reconsider the way they integrate technology into their delivery, ensuring learners are offered interactive and engaging experiences, and opportunities to collaborate online. Contact with their tutors, both synchronously and asynchronously, is critical to keeping learners engaged and giving them a sense of belonging.
Yet the survey findings show that 33 per cent of learners never work online with other learners. This has to change; the college experience must reflect collaborative workplace practices and help students connect with the wider learning community. While preparing them for the realities of employment, this can also help mitigate feelings of isolation, build support networks, and maintain motivation to study.
A key theme emerging from this year’s survey was the need to support students to develop their digital skills. We cannot continue to assume that all learners are confident with the new digital tools and apps they are being asked to use. While 66 per cent of learners surveyed rated the quality of support they received from their college to develop their digital skills as ‘good’, ‘excellent’ or ‘best imaginable, only 51 per cent agreed they receive guidance about the digital skills they need for their course, and only 41 per cent agree that their organisation provides them with the chance to assess their digital skills. Student confidence in essential knowledge and behaviours, such as digital wellbeing and safety, was low with only 54 per cent agreeing they were informed about their health and wellbeing as a technology user.
We all now need to build on the learnings of lockdown to help students utilise their life skills, adaptability, creativity, teamwork and empathy. Now is the time for colleges to ensure digital underpins every aspect of their learners’ educational journey.
I intend to take full advantage of the expert advice and support provided by Jisc and hope colleges will do the same, working to ensure they are able to realise the potential and benefits that technology offers across all aspects of their delivery.
Collaboration across our community – bringing staff, learners and employers together – can help us all to survive and thrive in this uncertain world, where digital is no longer optional but a seamless part of every aspect of post-lockdown life.
