Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are “losing out” on degree level apprenticeships as they soar in popularity without “fair access”, new research has found.

Analysis published today by the Sutton Trust, a social mobility foundation, found that young apprentices from deprived areas have been “crowded out” since the introduction of the levy as they made up 6 per cent of degree level apprentices in 2018/19, falling from 9 per cent in 2016/17.

At the same time the number of older apprentices from “well-off” areas starting these courses has more than doubled – from 5 per cent to 11 per cent – leading to a “growing access” gap for those under 25.

More than half of degree apprenticeships have been taken up by people over 30, with just 20 per cent aged 20 or under.

The findings, which concern the likes of education select committee chair Robert Halfon, come two years on from then skills minister Anne Milton admitting that fear of a “middle-class grab” on apprenticeships was “valid”.

Speaking to FE Week about the Sutton Trust’s research today, Milton said the results were “hardly surprising” as employers wanting to use their levy funds were “always going to take the easier options, which is upskilling existing employees”.

However, she added that upskilling anybody is a “positive thing” and not “bad”, except if it is “to the exclusion of young people from more deprived communities who are quite capable of doing a degree apprenticeship”.

Halfon, a champion of degree apprenticeships and former skills minister himself, said it is “deeply worrying” that despite the growth in degree apprenticeships, “too many people from disadvantaged backgrounds are still being locked out of one of the best routes to a prosperous future”.

He added that “now more than ever” the government and higher education providers “must do everything possible to tear down the barriers to degree apprenticeships, sweep away the cobwebs of bureaucracy and to move both quickly and decisively to support our more disadvantaged learners”.

A spokesperson for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education admitted they “would like to see more younger people from disadvantaged backgrounds taking degree apprenticeships and will be working with the government on this”.

Degree apprenticeships were first introduced in 2015. The number has grown rapidly since then, from 756 to 13,587 in 2018/19, according to the Sutton Trust’s report.

Last year, just over 2,000 apprentices starting one of the courses at an English university was 20 years old or younger, which is about one fifth of all such apprentices.

The analysis shows 12 per cent of those aged 19 to 24 on degree apprenticeships at universities are from the most deprived areas, and 7 per cent of those under 19.

Among under 19s, degree apprentices are more than five times more likely to come from the most advantaged neighbourhoods.

The Sutton Trust said Russell Group universities “in particular” are “highly selective” after finding the average young degree apprentice who studies at one and has A-levels achieved AAB, which is “effectively the same as those doing other undergraduate courses”.

Since the levy’s launch, there has also been an explosive rise in other degree-level apprenticeships, from just 19 four years ago, to 8,892 last year.

At the same time, senior leadership courses – equivalent to an MBA – have expanded significantly, growing six-fold from 552 to 3,410 in 2018/19.

The controversial level 7 senior leader standard, which currently has an MBA attached to it but which is set for the chop later this year, has grown by 517 per cent since the levy was introduced, with 99 per cent of apprentices over 25.

Business management apprenticeships such as this are the “biggest growers”, but have the lowest proportions of young apprentices, and those from disadvantaged areas, the Sutton Trust found.

Senior leadership and chartered management courses alone now make up almost half (46 per cent) of the entire degree apprentice cohort as employers “look to put their senior staff through these courses rather than train younger, less affluent employees,” today’s report said.

It added that while such skills are “clearly in need”, such a “skew is unlikely to reflect the overall balance of skills gaps in the economy and will do little to benefit younger people looking for new opportunities”.

The Sutton Trust said that in order to widen access, universities and employers “must make widening participation a mission of the degree apprenticeship programme, by using contextual admissions and collecting information on the socio-economic backgrounds of their applicants”.

Sir Peter Lampl, the founder and chair of The Sutton Trust, said: “The popularity of degree apprenticeships is impressive, but it has come with problems for fair access. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are losing out on these opportunities.”

The Department for Education was approached for comment.

A new college for students with special educational needs and disabilities has been suspended from recruiting learners after receiving stinging criticism from Ofsted.

Fir Tree Fishery, an independent specialist college (ISC) in Wigan, received a visit from the watchdog in February which found ‘insufficient’ delivery across the board, including safeguarding.

Inspectors said learning focuses “too much on random activities” that fit around what students want to do and “not what will benefit them and help them to succeed”, while tutors’ feedback was “overly positive”.

Some learners had also been placed on “unachievable” qualifications which negatively impacts their self-esteem.

Ofsted began carrying out monitoring visits to ISCs that are newly Education and Skills Funding Agency-funded from December 2019.

Similarly to early monitoring reports of new apprenticeship providers, if they are found making ‘insufficient progress’ in one category, they receive a temporary ban on starting students, in line with ESFA rules.

Fir Tree Fishery CIC was the fifth early monitoring visit of a newly ESFA-funded ISC, but the first to result in an ‘insufficient progress’ judgement.

The college provides young people aged 16 to 25 who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities with a “unique environment to learn”, including its own accessible angling lake, polytunnel and allotment area, according to Ofsted’s report published today.

It has 27 learners, seven of which have moderate learning disabilities while the remainder required support for social, emotional and/or mental health needs.

A spokesperson for the college confirmed to FE Week they have been barred by the ESFA from recruiting new learners until they have a follow-up monitoring visit which results in a better judgement.

They said Ofsted’s visit was “not the most negative experience ever because it helped us highlight where we were not working as well as we thought” and the college is now “desperate for a follow-up visit that allows us to demonstrate what we have done to improve so we can get that recruitment restriction lifted”.

Staff at Fir Tree Fishery were praised by the watchdog for their “effective and supportive” relationship with the college’s “respectful and communicative” students who develop “effective personal and social skills”.

However, leaders and managers were criticised for lacking a “coherent, well-designed curriculum that meets the needs and interests of learners”.

“For example, for one pathway, the first week related to building a shed, the next was around radicalisation and the following week about food hygiene,” today’s report said.

It found that managers did not know which learners have achieved their English and math qualifications and they did not focus “sufficiently” on quality improvement.

Ofsted also found that leaders did not target the funding that they receive for high-needs learners “specifically enough” to support the individual learners for whom it was intended.

The work in learners’ files was of a “poor quality” and there was “no logical correlation between previous qualifications and the level of qualifications that the provider has recommended”.

Ofsted gave the example that a few learners were placed on an entry level 3 English qualification and a level 1 mathematics qualification when they cannot read or write.

And although the Fir Tree Fishery was praised for making learners feel “safe and know what to do if they have any concerns”, inspectors failed the college on safeguarding as their risk assessments were “not sufficiently rigorous to demonstrate that learners are always safe around hazards on and off the site”.

The college’s spokesperson said the report has given them “direction and clarity that has enabled us to put new good practice and systems in place”.

While Ofsted has suspended inspections and publishing reports during the coronavirus outbreak, it does release those where permission is given by the provider.

Colleges that refuse to begin face-to-face teaching with students before the next academic year will “lose an opportunity to start a journey that we need to go through” to recover from Covid-19, Gillian Keegan has warned.

The apprenticeships and skills minister believes the safety issues currently presented by the pandemic will still be there beyond September, and today urged college bosses to “show leadership” by taking these “painful steps” sooner rather than later.

She was addressing an FE Week webcast following guidance published last week by the Department for Education which said colleges and training providers could start their wider reopening from 1 June.

It came on the same day that a survey from this newspaper found a huge 94 per cent (32 out of 35) of college leaders said the DfE should leave it to them to decide who should come in for face-to-face contact when they reopen, and 71 per cent believe a significant number of students will refuse to attend next month.

Unions representing tens of thousands of college staff have also set out five “tests” they believe should be met before students return, and are advising them to continue working and studying from home if they can.

Asked during today’s webcast what she would say to a college principal who decides that all provision will be online-only until the 2020/21 academic year, the minister said: “I think they’d be losing an opportunity to start a journey that we need to go through.

“They need to do risk assessments, they need to look at the provision, the mix of cohort, the facilities, their buildings – all of those questions do not go away in September, so start now.

“Unless you start to assess the risks, you can’t come up with a plan to mitigate them. These are painful steps, the sooner you take the first one, the easier it is take the second one. We are having to show leadership and that is what is required in these cases.

“Leadership, by the way, that many others have done already. Think of our health service, think of our transport workers, the people who keep the lights on, the people who keep keeping us fed. They have all done this already. What we’re saying is, could we have some of the education sector join them as well in trying to get back to normal.”

Keegan added: “There is a counterfactual for everything and the counterfactual here is we stay at home. How long are we going to stay at home because all of those challenges will be there in July, they’ll be there in September and will probably be there a while after that.”

She described the reopening guidance from the of DfE as “baby steps” and reiterated that the department is giving the sector’s “brilliant” college leaders “flexibility” to decide exactly what face-to-face contact they supplement with online learning from June.

The minister pressed that “we have to start this journey” and cannot wait until the country has other safety measures such as a coronavirus vaccine, antibody test, or a track and trace system.

Keegan concluded that the FE sector has “exceeded expectations so far” in response to Covid-19 and the “fantastic” online delivery “will probably change aspects of how we deliver FE going forward”.

FE Week was joined by apprenticeships minister Gillian Keegan this afternoon for our latest webinar on the response to the coronavirus pandemic for the FE and skills sector.

Editor Nick Linford quizzed her on the Department for Education’s guidance on the wider reopening of colleges and training providers.

Roger Coates, the DfE’s deputy director for FE Covid-19 response and Karen Woodward, the deputy director for apprenticeships leading on employer relations, also joined the webcast.

To kick off the session we heard from Denise Brown, the principal of Stoke-on-Trent College.

You can watch it back for free by clicking here.

These webcasts will take place every Monday at 14:00-15:30. Register for them here.

Gillian Keegan has ruled out an extension to the switch-off date for starts on old-style apprenticeships, known as frameworks, after “comprehensive, careful consideration” of sector-wide concerns.

Conversations between the skills minister and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education about a possible delay had been taking place as the July 31 end-date draws nearer.

Numerous training providers and college leaders have 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.

Rob Nitsch, the institute’s chief operating officer, first revealed the talks were happening during an Association of Colleges webcast last month in which he agreed that extending the date would “make sense”.

But the Education and Skills Funding Agency revealed on Wednesday that they are sticking with the planned cut-off date and all starts must be on standards from August 1.

“We would like to remind providers that all remaining apprenticeship frameworks will be withdrawn to new starts on July 31, 2020,” the agency said in its weekly update.

While the IfATE appeared to have a preference for extending at least some frameworks, the decision ultimately lay with Keegan.

A spokesperson for the institute told FE Week: “The institute works closely to support and inform the Department for Education. They reached this decision after comprehensive, careful consideration of the associated facts and circumstances.

“The institute has always been convinced of the benefits of standards-based apprenticeships.”

The spokesperson refused to comment on whether the institute was advising the minister to extend the deadline.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said that with apprenticeship starts “on the floor”, not extending frameworks is the “wrong decision because it puts even more pressure on employers and providers when we should be maximising the number of opportunities available to young people”.

“Sectors such as plumbing will be particularly hit,” he added.

Karen Woodward, the ESFA’s deputy director for employer relations, defended the decision to stick to the July 31, cut-off date during an FE Week webinar on Monday.

She claimed that the agency has actively informed employers of the switch-off for the past 18 months, urging them to move quickly with developing any new standards that are needed.

“We have actually been specific in writing directly to employers who are still using frameworks for any of their new recruits to say you need to know that this framework is running out of time and if this is an important occupation to you, and you haven’t got standard in place, then you need to act,” she said.

Questioned on whether there was a good case to extend the cut-off date due to the current pandemic, especially for frameworks where there is no viable replacement standard in place for August 1, Woodward said this would be “opportunistic”.

“The current approach is that we are continuing with the timeline that we have got in place. We have signalled this for a good time. I know we have had Covid, and it hit us at the end of March, but all employers know that in order to have a good standard and funding arrangements in place, and to be ready for delivery, even with the wind behind you, takes a good nine months.

“We knew the timeframe for switching off frameworks was the end of July, so if you were really desperate to make sure you have a good-quality standard in place from August 1, you would have been doing this in September last year. So saying you have just thought of this in March, when Covid has arrived, I think is a heck of an opportunistic approach.”

Kirsty Evans has been appointed as the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s new acting director of further education.

She takes over the role from Peter Mucklow, who became the agency’s director of apprenticeships last month when Keith Smith left to join the Department for Education as its director of post-16 strategy.

As director of further education, Evans (pictured) will be responsible for oversight of FE providers and colleges, including implementing early and formal intervention strategies to “prevent or remedy institutions’ poor performance in finance, quality or governance”.

She will also be in charge of funding and performance management of sixth forms, colleges and training providers for 16 to 19 year olds, the adult education budget, non-levy apprenticeships and the European Social Fund.

Eileen Milner, ESFA chief executive said today: “Kirsty Evans, currently deputy director in the funding directorate and is responsible for the implementations and delivery of our funding systems, will become acting director of further education, taking over from Peter.

“Kirsty has 25 years’ experience working in the education and skills system. Previously she was responsible for ESFA’s adult funding operations, and most recently led the co-ordination of ESFA’s response to Covid-19.”

Evans has been the ESFA’s associate director for adult funding operations since April 2018, leading on the implementation of adult education budget and loans facility funding policy.

Prior to that, she worked as deputy director of funding policy implementation for the then Skills Funding Agency, having previously held roles as director of area relationships, and regional skills director.

Before joining the civil service, Evans worked for Oldham Chamber and Merseyside Training and Enterprise Council.

A cash-strapped college’s merger plans have been delayed owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College, which was told by FE Commissioner Richard Atkins last year that it could not survive as a standalone due to its “terminal” finances, had scheduled to join the Trafford College Group by August.

A consultation on the move was run at the end of March and while both parties are still committed to it, they have pushed back the date for completion to October 30.

In a joint statement the colleges said: “In light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation and the impact this will have on the due diligence process, the merger transition board, along with the Education and Skills Funding Agency considered the July 31, 2020 merger date and agreed that it was sensible to reschedule the merger date for October 30, 2020.

“This not only allows more time to ensure the merger process is completed but also allows both colleges to recruit and enrol at the start of the academic year as well as get students inducted and on to their study programmes as the main priority.”

The merger is reliant on additional funding being fronted up by the ESFA.

Minutes from a Trafford College board meeting in January stated that principal Lesley Davies “reminded members of the red risk and that the group would not proceed with the merger if funding was not made available”.

“The ESFA representative commented that it was important that the ESFA were clear on what the funding requirement was and its justification.”

The college told FE Week it is still working with the ESFA on funding models and options, which cannot be assessed until all due diligence has been completed.

They would not provide a figure of how much funding has been requested.

A number of other college mergers are planned for August 2020 and remain on track despite the disruption caused by Covid-19. These include Peterborough Regional College joining up with New College Stamford, and Swindon College merging with New College Swindon.

The Grimsby Institute and East Riding College are also currently scheduled to merge in August, but a spokesperson said they could not comment on whether this was still the case.

Atkins’ report on Cheadle and Marple revealed how the college had generated “substantial” deficits since 2013-14, and said it was “unlikely” the college could continue alone.

Merging Trafford College Group and Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College would create a single college group working across the existing college sites.

Trafford College already merged with Stockport College in April 2018, a move that required a £30 million bailout from the Department for Education.

The merger will have to be finalised without Trafford principal Lesley Davies, who is stepping down from the role on July 31 after leading the college for four years.

“I am immensely proud to have led The Trafford College Group and its amazing staff for the past four years and it has truly been a highlight in my career,” she told FE Week.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to work with so many fantastic colleagues, supporters, stakeholders and our communities in Trafford and Stockport.”

Davies added that while she is leaving her full-time job, she will be continuing with a number of non-executive board roles.

She started her career in education and training 30 years ago as a college lecturer and has since held senior roles in the Adult Learning Inspectorate, the Learning and Skills Council, the Association of Colleges and Pearson.

James Scott, the vice principal of curriculum and campus principal of Stockport College, has been appointed as acting principal and chief executive of the group while it recruits a permanent replacement.