A major sector body has rejected nearly half the proposals in a government consultation which aims to radically overhaul subcontracting rules.

Ten recommendations were put forward by the Education and Skills Funding Agency in its ‘subcontracting post-16 education and training’ consultation, which closed on March 17.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers, which represents hundreds of providers and employers, did not support four of them, including the idea that subcontracting partners ought to be no more than “one hour away from the prime contractor by car”.

Instead, the AELP argues, the focus should be on the whereabouts of the learner or employer, and subcontracted learners “should be in the same region as any direct delivery” – it should not based on “the location of the subcontractor’s head office”.

Another of the agency’s proposals, to limit the ESFA-funded post-16 learning a provider may subcontract through a percentage cap on subcontracting which steadily reduces over time, has also run up against AELP opposition.

The setting and applying of arbitrary percentages is “not helpful,” the association says, as “inappropriate” limits will “damage learners, communities and employers”.

The ESFA also wants to make prime providers inform them when they intend to subcontract entire programmes from 2020/21, and will make providers seek permission from 2021/22.

This is already in place for apprenticeships, but the AELP said the agency must consider those are longer and more complex than the post-16 training programmes being discussed in this consultation.

As many adult education budget and European Social Fund programmes are “considerably shorter”, it would be “impractical and inappropriate” to expect prime providers to deliver just a part of the training or assessment, the association argues.

They warn if more than one provider was involved, it could also harm the relationship between the provider and the learner and employer.

However, the AELP wants the government to take firmer action in certain areas.

As part of a proposal for providers to publish more information about the funding it keeps from subcontractors, the agency says it “expects” the prime to retain no more than 20 per cent, as it is worried about the impact retaining more has on training quality.

Whereas the AELP believes calling that an expectation “does not go far enough to address the issue of profiteering that the ESFA say they are wanting to rule out”, and the 20 per cent should be a specific policy instead.

Main providers also ought to be “open and transparent” with fees and charges, the AELP states, and should publish them on their website and also make payment terms “clearly” defined in the contract between the main and the subcontractor.

Those fees and charges, the association adds, should relate to the delivery of training – separate from other payments to enhance delivery like incentive payments for AELP not convinced with subcontracting overhaul supporting younger apprentices.

Chief executive Mark Dawe criticised the ESFA for “going down the road again of burdening the sector with more unnecessary red tape”, saying if the current rules had been enforced they wouldn’t be revisiting the matter.

AELP has now called for all subcontractors to be inspected directly by Ofsted, regardless of their size.

The association also repeats its proposal for the whole adult education budget, including what has been devolved to mayoral combined authorities, to be put out to tender.

Dawe summed up his association’s contribution by saying instead of “a complex rewriting of the rulebook” the government should be “encouraging the procurement of as much funding as possible to substantially increase the amount of direct provision by good providers with local delivery arms”.

The ESFA’s consultation was launched last month after a series of subcontracting scandals, most recently at Brooklands College, which resulted in the ESFA demanding clawback in the region of £20 million.

The ESFA plans to start implementing rule changes at the start of 2020/21.

A college is set to sell a campus for up to £10 million in the coming days despite local opposition, after being told by a minister to “prioritise” the sale to protect its solvency.

Developers have already been given the green light by the local council to demolish and build 108 homes at Warrington & Vale Royal College’s (WVRC) Hartford campus, which closed in March 2018 with a loss of 75 jobs.

The college has been trying to finalise a deal to sell the site ever since.

While the college has remained tight-lipped on the sale and the reasons behind its delay, one of its governors and local councillor, Sam Naylor, disclosed to FE Week that WVRC is selling to developer Lane End for a sum between £5 million and £10 million by the end of March.

The college declined to comment on whether the deal would be postponed amid the coronavirus crisis.

In February, a report published by FE Commissioner Richard Atkins warned the college’s “very weak” financial position put it at “significant risk of insolvency”.

A letter by then-minister for the FE market, Lord Agnew, published alongside the report, said WVRC could go broke by 2020-21 “unless appropriate steps are taken to secure the liquidity of the college”, adding that the “importance of this sale to ensuring the future viability of the college cannot be overstated”.

But the move has been opposed by local MP Mike Amesbury (pictured), who believes the provider ought to have made a “more concerted effort” to develop “a good FE offer to our community”.

He also laid into the government for cuts to the FE sector which have been “frankly, devastating” and have left colleges like WVRC in “significant financial difficulty”.

“I hear lots of talk about this government wanting to level up opportunities between the north and the south,” Amesbury said. “The college site will now be levelled down to rubble then houses, built against the wishes of local residents, put in its place.”

He “firmly believes the college should not have taken this decision and left young people unable to access further education in their home town”.

He has previously called for principal Nicola Newton to step down over the decision and he also launched a petition calling for the plans to be withdrawn, attracting nearly 3,000 signatures.

WVRC was formed in August 2017 from a merger of Mid Cheshire College and Warrington Collegiate, and Amesbury said that within months a “very valuable piece of real estate was closed and put up for sale”.

The site had £10 million spent on it in 2012 and featured a construction skills centre, sports facilities and a performing arts building with an auditorium, according to the BBC.

WVRC refused to respond to Amesbury’s opposition. Developer Lane End has also not responded to requests for comment.

This is not the first college to sell off land to help balance the books, and not the first such sale to run into opposition from parliamentarians: Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford arranged to meet personally with Atkins after RNN Group announced it would be closing its Dinnington campus – something Stafford called a “huge blow”.

Then-Stourbridge MP and government minister Margot James organised a debate in parliament in October to discuss BMet’s sale of her constituency’s campus. The site later sold for £1.45 million less than the sum that was spent on a refurbishment in 2015.

Conservative MP Sheryll Murray called for a government inquiry into the closure of Cornwall’s Saltash campus in her area, following a £30 million bailout for the group last year.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has written to college leaders, independent training and adult education providers today to thank them for their “expertise and ingenuity” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Here is the letter in full:

Over the past week this nation has entered a truly unprecedented phase and as a government, we have had to take some exceptional steps to deal with the challenge that we are facing.  As education secretary, taking the decision to close all education institutions and cancel this summer’s exams and assessments was not only enormous, it was incredibly difficult. 

I am aware of the challenges that everyone in the further education sector and all those educating young people and adults over 16 years old are facing. I want to express my deepest gratitude for the absolutely vital service that you are providing to young people, adults, and of course your local communities – for which I know colleges and further education institutions play a central role. It is thanks to your hard work on the frontline of our national effort that learners have stability and support to continue their studies and vulnerable young people continue to be cared for.

In a week of unique circumstances, one thing that hasn’t surprised me is the resilience, resourcefulness and real commitment of you all. Your sector has not only risen to the challenge, its expertise and ingenuity has shone through – using creativity and technology to keep the show on the road for the thousands of learners who rely on you. I have heard some fantastic stories of staff and leaders moving swiftly to online learning, sharing teaching resources and supporting local schools to ensure vulnerable children and children of key workers are cared for. 

I know that this will be a difficult and testing time for you all – both personally and professionally. We are in a crisis that seems to touch every aspect of our lives and I know you will be anxious about the wellbeing of your teams and learners that you support. We have published initial guidance on how best to keep staff and students safe, along with some more practical guidance on the implications of Covid-19 on the running and funding of your institutions.  Working closely with the minister for apprenticeships and skills Gillian Keegan, we will continue to review this and stay alive to the challenges you are facing and how we can best respond.  

On behalf of the Prime Minister and the entire government, thank you once again for all your work. 

 

The proportion of apprentices that last year passed the new style ‘standard’ has been revealed as just 46.6 per cent, something the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education said was to be “expected”.

Figures (see below), published this morning by the Department for Education, show that many of the most popular standards had achievement rates below 50 per cent, with some like the adult care worker at level 2 below 40 per cent.

These new ‘standards’ are being phased in to replace frameworks representing 54,590 (18 per cent) of all leavers.

Whereas the old style apprenticeships being phased out by the end of July 2020 represent 82 per cent of all leavers and saw an achievement rate of 68.7 per cent (see table below).

A spokesperson for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, said: “As with any reform to qualifications, you would expect to see a fall in achievement rates on the introduction of new curriculum and assessment regimes.

“Moving from continuous assessment under old frameworks to end point assessment (EPA) under standards is what employers wanted to assure themselves of the occupational competence of apprentices.

“It has also been an important part of the reform programme’s drive to improve on quality.

“Providers are having to become familiar with training to the new expectations and that apprentices can expect higher quality, more demanding training and assessment.

“Unlike GCSEs and A levels, where grade boundaries can be manipulated, apprenticeships are about skills and apprentices will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the occupation in their final assessment in order to pass.”

It is also understood a significant reason for the low achievement rate for standards has been delays to apprentices completing end-point-assessments (EPA).

If an apprenticeship provider plans to complete the EPA by 31 July 2018, but the apprentice takes longer than planned, they are not included in the 2018/19 achievement rate figures.

To take account of these delays, the ESFA has also published a “new transparency table” for 2018/19,  to include withdrawals and achievements in the three months after year-end.

The DfE said: “We estimate that including these learners would increase the national overall apprenticeship achievement rate by 0.4 percentage points, and that for standards by 3.9 percentage points.”

Government consultations on apprenticeship funding and external quality assurance have both been extended by six weeks.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced the decision today, stating that they do not believe everyone interested in them will have the chance to respond due to the disruption brought about by the Covid-19 virus.

Their consultation on the proposed new model for setting apprenticeship funding launched on 24 February and was scheduled to close on 6 April, but this has been extended to 18 May at midday.

As FE Week reported at the time of the launch, funding rates for some apprenticeship standards could be cut by almost half under the new proposals.

The institute said today it “remains our intention” to conduct a pilot of the new model and “we will keep under review the most appropriate time to conduct it”.

But the extension to the consultation and delay to the start of the pilot does mean that the rollout of the new model – originally planned for summer 2020 – is unlikely to be met.

“Instead, working closely with the sector, we will ensure that transition to a new process is done so at a time and in a way that minimises unnecessary disruption,” a spokesperson said.

The institute’s consultation on a “simplified and strengthened” model of external quality assurance of apprenticeship assessments got underway on 27 February and was scheduled to close on 9 April, but this has been extended to 21 May.

The plans include dumping employers when it comes to external quality assurance of apprentices – and handing all of it to Ofqual within the next two years.

The only exception would be for integrated degree apprenticeships, which would be overseen by higher education regulator the Office for Students.

Both consultations had planned engagement events but these will now be taking place using a digital platform. The dates and further details of these will be “updated shortly on the consultation pages of the Institute’s website”.

The overall achievement rate for apprenticeships fell last year by 2.2 percentage points to 64.7 per cent. 

National achievement rate tables (NARTs) published this morning by the Department for Education reveal the fall comes after three stable years when just over two thirds of apprentices passed the course (see table above and click here for the documents).

The old style apprenticeships being phased out by the end of July 2020 represent 82 per cent of all leavers and saw an achievement rate of 68.7 per cent.

Whereas the new ‘standards’ being phased in to replace frameworks had an achievement rate of just 46.6 per cent, representing 54,590 (18 per cent) of all leavers (see table below).

The government’s Minimum Level policy, for the purposes of making an intervention, has been set at an achievement rate of 62 per cent for several years.

It is understood a significant reason for the achievement rate fall has been delays to apprentices completing end-point-assessments (EPA) for the new style courses known as ‘standards’.

If an apprenticeship provider plans to complete the EPA by 31 July 2018, but the apprentice takes longer than planned, they are not included in the 2018/19 achievement rate figures.

In December the Education and Skills Funding Agency said: “Delays were for various reasons as the standards programme develops from its infancy, such as providers understanding how long new standards take to deliver, assessor capacity issues for some end-point assessment organisations, some providers not planning enough time for end-point assessments, and some apprentices taking longer than planned.”

To take account of these delays, the ESFA has also published a “new transparency table” for 2018/19,  to include withdrawals and achievements in the three months after year-end.

The DfE said: “We estimate that including these learners would increase the national overall apprenticeship achievement rate by 0.4 percentage points, and that for standards by 3.9 percentage points.”