The long-awaited content for the first three T-levels is set to be published as the skills minister pleads with providers to not pull out of delivery in light of the coronavirus crisis.

Gillian Keegan has sent a letter to the sector making it “clear” that the government is “fully committed” to delivering the first of the new post-16 technical qualifications as planned in September.

It comes as the content and specifications of the first three T-levels, which were supposed to be made available last month, are due to be published by Pearson and NCFE tonight.

Keegan’s letter said the Covid-19 outbreak has had a “huge effect on your work and that we don’t yet know what the full impact will be, but there are very strong reasons for us to continue”.  

While providers have “rightly raised some issues” with delivery, “most wanted to continue to deliver the first T-levels this year”.

“I know how hard you have all worked, both to help develop T Levels, and to get into a position to deliver them, and I do not want your hard work to be wasted. ,” she added.

“The government is also determined that students will not lose out on opportunities due to Covid-19 – hundreds have already been accepted onto courses and hundreds more will be accepted between now and September.

“We owe it to these young people to find ways to continue to deliver the courses that they have chosen and that will offer them great progression opportunities.”

Minister Keegan continued: “I also firmly believe that T-levels are absolutely vital for businesses and the economy of this country. We know that the current system does not produce enough young people with the skills, knowledge and experience that employers need.

“Now – more than ever – it will be vital to ensure that we provide a pipeline of skilled young people that will help our businesses and our economy to recover.  

“I do not underestimate the difficulties in carrying on with delivery in the current climate. Please do get in touch with your usual ESFA contact if you encounter specific issues or have questions, I have asked officials to report to me regularly on the issues that are being raised and what we can do to overcome them.”

The first three T-levels to be delivered from September, by 50 providers, are in design, surveying and planning for construction, digital production, design and development, education and childcare. 

Keegan said that in light of the “current challenges”, the Department for Education will “reduce the information returns that we ask you to send us for the rest of the academic year to the minimum requirements”.

The T-level professional development offer delivered through the Education and Training Foundation will “remain available online”.

The minister added that the “unprecedented impact” of Covid-19 has meant that it is “currently extremely difficult for you to continue to organise and deliver industry placements through the Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF), which was already one of the most challenging elements in delivering T-levels”.

Given these “exceptional and unprecedented circumstances”, T-level providers “will not be penalised for missing specific CDF targets this academic year” and “funding will not be clawed back if you can demonstrate how the funding has and will continue to support your work on industry placement delivery”.

Click here to read Keegan’s letter in full.

Staff at a college owned apprenticeship provider have taken a 25 per cent pay cut for the next sixth months to keep the business afloat during the coronavirus crisis.

Matt Garvey, the managing director of the West Berkshire Training Consortium part of Basingstoke College of Technology, told FE Week this “drastic” measure was taken by all 28 of his employees to “postpone disaster” and prevent the organisation from going out of business.

His provider currently trains around 400 apprentices.

So far the Department for Education has committed to continue funding colleges in advance of delivery for many funding streams including for 16 to 19s and the adult education budget, but officials have refused to provide the same support for private providers.

This is despite Cabinet Office guidance stating that in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Treasury will give consent to payments in advance at least up until 30 June.

Garvey said the position is “unsustainable” for independent providers such as his, and they have now been forced into the business of “buying time”.

“We hope the ESFA will come to their senses and be more equitable with independent providers,” he told FE Week.

“It is quite a drastic thing for our 28 staff to endure [to cut their wages]. It was clear if we did not do something like that then we would run out of money within six months.

“This has prevented that from occurring.

“I know of people in much worse circumstances than us. We are a charity so we are obliged to always keep some reserves and it does provide a buffer in the short term but unless something changes I don’t think any independent training provider can sustain themselves.”

Garvey added: “Longer term, if the employers don’t return to enrolling apprentices then ITPs are doomed without meaningful government support on a par to that rightly offered to colleges and other institutions.”

In a survey published by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers last week, 49 out of 279 private providers said they could soon go bust, 79 will “mothball” and 154 will downsize.

The international EuroSkills 2020 competition has been postponed from this September until next year, it has been announced.

It will now take place between 6 and 10 January 2021, but will still be held in the Austrian city of Graz, the original venue.

EuroSkills is a companion event to the WorldSkills tournaments which Team UK competes in alongside other European nations.

A EuroSkills spokesperson said: “The new dates for EuroSkills give the health authorities, the Austrian Federal Ministry, the Government of the Province of Styria, the City of Graz, and all involved in the organisation of the event the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID–19 pandemic.

“We understand that the decision to postpone EuroSkills Graz 2020 will be disappointing for some, but the safety and wellbeing of all involved is paramount.

“We also know that this decision is in the best interests of everyone involved in the event and we appreciate the understanding and support of our generous WorldSkills Europe community at this time.”

Ben Blackledge, deputy chief Executive of WorldSkills UK and UK Technical Delegate for WorldSkills Europe said the decision to postpone was taken to “safeguard the health of all involved in the event and to contribute to the containment of COVID-19”.

“WorldSkills UK is committed to participating in the EuroSkills Competition,” he added.

“Our number one priority remains the safety of the UK delegation and we will continue to act on the advice of the UK government and will travel to the event if only safe to do so.”

Teachers will calculate student grades for the majority of cancelled BTEC and other vocational qualification exams, but a full list of those in scope will not be ready until after Easter.

In a briefing to the FE sector this morning, Ofqual said that vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), such as BTEC Nationals, Cambridge Technicals, UAL Diplomas and functional skills, which are “used for progression to higher and further education”, will be graded the same as A-levels and GCSEs this summer.

In “some instances”, teachers may be asked to “provide a rank order” of learners, as with GCSEs and A-levels.

However, Ofqual has reiterated that this approach will not be “appropriate” for all VTQs, such as those designed to support progression straight into employment and signal occupational competence.

The exams regulator said it is still working with awarding organisations to identify those qualifications where it would be better to “adapt assessments or delivery models” so that they can still take place even though centres are closed.

In cases where qualifications “directly signal occupational competence including a licence to practise”, there may be no option but to delay their assessments until students return to their training provider.

A list of VTQs where grades cannot be calculated is being worked on but further arrangements will not be announced until after Easter.

Ofqual explained that calculated results for VTQs could be based in part on teacher judgements of what grade each learner would “most likely” have achieved had they been able to complete their assessments in summer 2020.

They must “draw appropriately” on a “range of other evidence” held by the school, college, training provider and the awarding organisation offering the qualification.

Evidence which “might be useful” in the estimations includes “actual achievement data for candidates – exams or internal assessments which have (or haven’t been through moderation, centre risk profiles” and “historic data on centre outcomes”.

Ofqual said any estimation should have three elements: professional judgement and evidence from teachers and component results from already moderated assessment by awarding bodies; quality assurance such as comparison to historic centre outcomes and evaluation of the algorithm for calculating grades; and a check to see if there appears to be a reasonable profile of grades, similar to previous years.

Learners who do not feel their result reflects their ability will be able to complete an assessment once their provider reopens.

In a letter to chief regulator Sally Collier yesterday, seen by FE Week, Federation of Awarding Bodies chief executive Tom Bewick warned about the overbearing additional resource load for his members in estimating VTQ grades and called for a “resource fund” to be made available.

“Where flexibilities are introduced in awarding, these need to consider constraints of implementation – both around the data available to allow an AO to estimate grades reliably, and the capacity that AOs have to complete this work within the desired timeframe,” he said.

“It is essential that the volume of additional resources required to implement these temporary assessment arrangements is fully understood by all parties.”

Bewick’s letter added that Ofqual has a “duty to make the case to the Department for Education for a specific capacity building and resource fund, to be accessed by AOs, to meet the additional requirements of implementing an emergency regulatory framework”.  

“Adaptation and/or the estimation of qualifications, including up to 9,000 VTQs active in the marketplace, is a hugely demanding piece of work.

“The only way to give AOs the confidence that they can take staff off furlough arrangements will be if they are assured by the department and the regulator that any additional costs of this exercise will be met by government in full.”

Ofqual’s guidance for grading VTQs can be found here.

And their press release can be found here.

The education secretary’s ministerial direction to Ofqual can be found here.

 

Results for this summer’s cancelled functional skills exams will be based on teacher calculated grades, Ofqual is set to announce.

They will follow the same format being adopted for grading GCSE and A-level students who can’t sit their tests due to the coronavirus crisis.

Ofqual revealed the move in a briefing to the FE sector this morning, where they said the majority, but not all, vocational and technical qualifications will be graded in the same way (click here for full story).

It said: “Calculated results to be used for qualifications akin to general quallifications, including functional skills.”

But the decision will not be welcomed by the Federation of Awarding Bodies.

Their chief executive, Tom Bewick, previously said: “To be absolutely clear, the Federation of Awarding Bodies does not support an ‘estimation’ approach towards functional skills.

“These important qualifications are not the same as GCSEs and A-levels they are about functionality and competence; and we do need to ensure that even these very challenging times – while we do need to be creative, innovative and pragmatic, we don’t junk quality in the process.”

He added: “So it’s a bit like a driving test – we wouldn’t say to driving instructors ‘you just get on and assess whether or not somebody is safe to drive on the roads’. That external assessment and examination is still possible and indeed there are lots of innovative practices already out there – like online secure proctoring.”

Ofqual’s announcement comes despite one awarding giant, City & Guilds, launching plans to allow thousands of students to sit their functional skills exams from home this summer.

They said last week they plan to use remote invigilation by using online meeting software such as GoToMeeting, Zoom and Microsoft Teams this summer.

FE Week has asked Ofqual if all awarding bodies will now need to grade all functional skills students affected by Covid-19 via teacher estimations.

When calculating functional skills grades, teachers must “draw appropriately” on a “range of other evidence” held by the school and the awarding organisation offering the qualification, this morning’s briefing said.

Evidence which “might be useful” in the estimations includes “actual achievement data for candidates – exams or internal assessments which have (or haven’t been through moderation, centre risk profiles” and “historic data on centre outcomes”.

Ofqual’s guidance for grading VTQs can be found here.

And their press release can be found here.

The education secretary’s ministerial direction to Ofqual can be found here.

Plans to remove the controversial MBA component attached to the level 7 senior leader apprenticeship standard have been revealed.

The employer group behind the programme has “revised” its content following a review ordered by the education secretary Gavin Williamson, who said in February he was “unconvinced” it was in the “spirit” of the apprenticeships programme or that it provides “value for money”.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education said today it had since advised the trailblazer group that requiring the inclusion of an MBA in the apprenticeship “would not meet the intent of our policy on mandated qualifications which was extended to cover level 6 and Level 7 standards in 2018”.

Explaining the decision, the institute said: “As a senior leader, there is no regulatory requirement to hold such a qualification, there is no requirement to be a member of a professional body and an individual would not be significantly disadvantaged in the senior leader job market without such a qualification.

“In addition, the inclusion of such a qualification would not meet the requirements of our ‘Type 2’ category which is intended to cover off-the job technical qualifications and short awards (for example food safety and manual handling certificates) which do not accredit full occupational competence, do not duplicate end-point assessment and add very little to the cost of the apprenticeship standard.

“The trailblazer has agreed to revise the occupational standard on this basis, focusing on ensuring that passing the revised end-point assessment (still to be drafted) will provide all the necessary assurance that full competence will have been achieved.”

A consultation on the revised standard was launched today and will be open to the public until 29 April.

The Department for Education has set a deadline of 1 June for a decision on the standard’s funding future.

The IfATE told FE Week that as the changes to the occupational standard and end-point assessment plan are likely to be significant, they expect to consider the funding band for the standard again, which currently stands at £18,000.

A spokesperson added: “This apprenticeship standard sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours employers require of competent senior leaders.

“Providers are free to develop their training programmes from scratch or to draw from other related training courses.

“The apprentice’s competence will then be judged against the standard through a comprehensive end point assessment.”

The level 7 senior leader apprenticeship was launched in February 2018 and currently allows apprentices to achieve a Master’s degree in management, either MA, MSc or MBA. It has proven extremely popular since its launch in February 2018.

FE Week analysis shows there were 6,387 starts on the programme up to the end of the first quarter of 2019/20. As each start is worth £18,000 from the apprenticeship levy pot, this means as much as £115 million has been spent on this standard.

IfATE boss Jennifer Coupland herself has defended spending public levy money on management qualifications, like the senior leader standard, as “perfectly legitimate”.

Others like Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman have said they have seen “levy funding subsidising MBAs that just don’t need it”.

Colleges have been urged by their membership organisation to pay exam fees to awarding bodies this summer following the cancellation of GCSE and A-level exams.

A joint letter from the Association of Colleges and Federation of Awarding Bodies states that this action should be taken to “protect all parties” during the coronavirus crisis.

It adds that there is “shared interest in ensuring that both colleges and awarding organisations remain viable” and recommends the payment period to be extended to 90 days, but colleges who are in a position to make payments earlier “should do so”.

The letter sets out a set of “principles” which “will support the contractual relationships between colleges and awarding organisations in these exceptional times”.

The “number one priority” is to “protect the interests of students to have the opportunity to obtain the qualifications and assessments they have worked for”.  

“In order to achieve that, we need to protect the provider and awarding organisation post-16 skills ecosystem which supports learners,” it says.

“This includes organisations of all sizes which will face difficulties as a result of the crisis and some of which offer important ‘niche’ qualifications.”

The letter adds that AoC and FAB “understand that there will be both savings and new costs associated with the processes” this year and “agree” that any net savings should be passed on to the providers paying for the qualifications.

“Similarly, we call on regulators and government to recognise that there may also be some net additional costs placed on the awarding sector as a result of implementing an emergency regulatory framework designed to help learners progress,” it continues.

“In all cases, open and independent verification of these calculations would aid transparency and trust.”

The letter concludes: “We hope that these principles will guide the relationships between colleges and awarding organisations and help the sector navigate through the current crisis.

“Achieving that will help to ensure that students are appropriately rewarded for their hard work and offer an approach which allows for a sustainable future for both colleges and awarding organisations.”

You can read the letter in full here.