A university learning experience is very different to what a typical inspector will be familiar with

Ofsted doesn’t ‘get’ higher education, says Greg Walker, and is not the right regulator for degree apprenticeship courses. Inspectors don’t understand how they work – or how they are delivered

Degree apprenticeships have been a significant success of the government’s aim to improve productivity and skills. They have been embraced by modern universities with long track records in professional, technical and vocational education, and enhanced their strong partnerships with local employers.

Degree apprenticeships sit at the heart of the levelling-up and social mobility agendas. The early nurturing of this provision by modern universities has shown this new and exciting development in learning and earning can play a fundamental role in economic growth, especially in the post-Covid era.

With such exciting potential, it is extremely disappointing to see the government clipping the wings of this policy before it has a chance to really fly. The proposal, based on a recommendation in the Augar review, for all apprenticeships provision, at whatever level, to be regulated by Ofsted is a worrying and unnecessary one.

Ofsted is a school and college inspectorate with a great deal of experience in its field. That does not, however, mean it is suitable to regulate the complex, diverse educational provision in higher education. Universities have a strong, robust system of regulation and governance, drawing on decades of experience and underpinned by rigorous quality assurance processes. This means a university learning experience, especially one that involves partnerships with employers, is very different to what a typical Ofsted inspector will be familiar with.

We have already seen some issues with Ofsted oversight of university provision. A tricky compromise between Ofsted and the Office for Students (OfS) meant the former reviews some elements of level 4 and 5 apprenticeships offered by universities. This has been a challenging experience for universities, dealing with a significant lack of understanding and a desire by Ofsted to simply overlay a wider inspection framework on to university learning. It has led to worrying assumptions that did not match reality – including seeing drastically different judgments about teaching excellence from the OfS’s TEF evaluation and from Ofsted inspectors, despite both organisations reviewing the same provision.

Ofsted’s leadership has not reassured stakeholders in higher education with comments on degree apprenticeships that seem to be based on misconceptions. It has been said that apprenticeships policy should focus on lower skill levels and should fundamentally be about delivering opportunities to young people. This ignores the employer-led nature of apprenticeships, and the benefits to the economy of higher level and degree apprenticeships.

If this proposal becomes policy, Ofsted should endeavour to engage with the HE sector in a constructive, open fashion to ensure that the inspection framework reflects higher education practice and is fit for purpose in being applied to levels 6/7 delivered in a university context. Another major improvement would be to amend the criteria to become an Ofsted inspector for degree apprenticeship provision so that it is obligatory to have had HE academic employment experience to review university-based provision. The current specifications make little allowance for this.

The most worrying element of the new proposal is the suggestion that there is nothing to be concerned about because Ofsted will concentrate only on the skills and training element of an apprenticeship. This suggestion itself demonstrates a major flaw in the understanding of how degree apprenticeships work and are delivered. They are designed to be integrated, dovetailing the experiences of theoretical learning in the classroom and the practical application in the workplace. These are not two elements that exist separately. They work seamlessly, and at their best enable the apprentice to see the fundamental links between theory and practice, and combine their experience and understanding to build high-level professional skills and knowledge.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education recognises this integrated approach as a leading model of good practice for both learning and assessment. The degree is not an optional extra to the apprenticeship standard – it is integral to it.

 

Colleges exempt from new Covid rules on adult indoor sport

New restrictions on adult indoor sports and five-a-side football will not apply to colleges if the activity is part of “education or training provision”, the government has confirmed.

However, colleges have been told that indoor student-led sport during lunchtime, break or free periods “should be limited to groups of six or less”.

All adult indoor games with more than six players have been banned from today as the government steps up its efforts to combat the huge surge in coronavirus infections.

When announcing a new list of Covid-19 restrictions for England in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Johnson said: “We will also have to extend the rule of six to all adult indoor team sports.”

The Department for Education has today told FE Week that organised indoor college sport, for groups of more than six, is permitted in further education settings “where it is part of an education or training provision, or as part of college teams”.

This applies to all age groups. However, the DfE said that sport should take place outside where possible.

The DfE added that “indoor student-led sporting activity, where it is not in line with any education or training provision, should be limited to groups of six or less.

“This includes where students have free time such as lunch time, breaks and free periods.”

Colleges have also been reminded that at “all times, participants should comply with Covid-19 secure measures including the ‘system of controls’ for their setting and limit social interaction outside of the sporting activity”.

The government’s guidance for indoor sport that is not in an education setting states: “From 24 September, organised indoor sport and indoor exercise classes can continue to take place with larger numbers present, provided groups of more than six do not mix. If groups of six are likely to mix, these indoor activities must not go ahead.

“There is an exemption or organised indoor team sports for disabled people.”

Other restrictions announced this week includes an enforced 10pm closing time for pubs, restaurants and takeaways from today. All workers are also being told to again work from home if they can with immediate effect.

People who break the rules and meet for social gatherings in groups larger than six or do not wear face coverings on public transport face fines of £200.

The education sector is currently exempt from the measures, with Johnson insisting that “we will ensure that schools, colleges and universities stay open”.

College lobby boss keen on extension to break from Ofsted inspections

Full Ofsted inspections shouldn’t restart until April 2021 at the earliest, the chief executive of the Association of Colleges has said.

David Hughes tweeted today that the respite period should possibly even extend to next September while the inspectorate and sector decides “what adaptations might be needed to take into account Covid disruptions”.

Ofsted’s normal inspection regime was paused in March when lockdown was enforced.

A period of “interim autumn visits”, which the education watchdog insists are not routine inspections, commenced this month and will run until the end of December.

The current goal is to resume the full inspection regime in January 2021, but Ofsted and the Department for Education has said this is being kept under constant review.

An extension to this timeline seems likely following yesterday’s raft of new restrictions announced by prime minister Boris Johnson, which could be in place for the next six months.

While education providers appear exempt from the measures currently, other workers have been told to again work from home if they can with immediate effect, which may impact Ofsted’s staff.

Geoff Barton, the Association of School and College Leaders, said earlier this month that he was “not convinced” about Ofsted’s “determination to resume routine inspections in January 2021”.

“This plan may quickly unravel in the event of local lockdowns over the next few weeks and months,” he added.

“We note that this date will be kept under review and we urge the inspectorate to be prepared to change its plans.”

The Association of Colleges called for Ofsted inspections to be delayed until January 2021 back in April, but Hughes’ tweet today appears to be the first time he has said he would be keen for an extension beyond the current timeframe.

Apprenticeships will become unprofitable if ineligible costs excluded from funding bands

The Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education’s new funding band proposals are a step forward, but still need to address the thorny issue of ineligible costs, writes Simon Ashworth 

Consulting on funding rates for apprenticeships is a perennial but necessary hand grenade that will always prompt a lively debate.  But let’s credit the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfATE) for taking on board the concerns of AELP and others that its proposed funding band models for calculating and allocating funding bands to apprenticeship standards in its first consultation were blunt and arbitrary, with the Institute confusing simplicity with a quest for transparency. 

The Institute is consulting on a new consolidated single model which critically now allows trailblazer employers the option to submit variable costs for teaching and consumables. These are two aspects where costs and delivery model vary significantly and quite rightly need to be bespoke and individualised. It is even more critical to have providers and end point assessment organisations being involved and supporting trailblazer employers to make informed choices throughout the process. In fact, it is not unreasonable to ask why offer trailblazer employers the option of fixed inputs for teaching and consumables aspects in the first place when the impact analysis from both the Institute’s consultations clearly demonstrate the significantly detrimental impact this could have on the overall outcome. 

The Institute commissioned a research study by IFF in October 2018  which at 133 pages is a significant piece of work. However, the research is based on only 54 standards, with 204 data points and from 138 training providers. Such a sample is clearly insufficient when we have in excess of 550 apprenticeship standards now available, being delivered by some 1,500 main providers on the ESFA’s Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers and we have to question the timeliness of the research.

Arguably the biggest issue yet to be grasped is the thorny one of ‘ineligible’ costs. The IFF research reported that the actual cost of delivery of apprenticeships standards includes a significant 22 per cent of a provider’s costs are deemed to be ‘ineligible’. How can the likes of “enrolment, induction, initial assessment, initial diagnostic testing, or similar activity” be deemed to be ineligible costs when these are activities mandated by the ESFA and/or an expectation of what Ofsted would expect to see during inspection?  

It is too easy for IfATE to pass the buck to the ESFA and argue that their hands are tied by the agency’s funding rules on eligible and ineligible costs. Both the Institute and the ESFA need to work together to develop a solution; in AELP’s view, this means ESFA reviewing their funding rules on ineligible costs and the Institute properly accounting for key mandated activity in the form of a general overhead input as part of their new funding band methodology model.

Under the proposed model, providers should only be able to make a 9 per cent margin on the basis of their eligible costs, which as things stand would also need to cover the current ineligible costs. Without the ineligible costs issue being tackled,  most apprenticeship delivery will become unprofitable unless the provider were to charge substantial commercial fees or reduce their support for apprentices, which undermines the objective of providing a high quality and sustainable apprenticeship offer to support employers of all sizes.

It is important to recognise that the 9 per cent eligible cost margin is applied to the sum of teaching, formative assessment and administration estimates on the end of the costing process. This percentage is borrowed from the ESFA Financial Health Assessment, which is the margin needed to score maximum points within the ‘sustainability’ section of the assessment. But in the ESFA’s case and in contrast to the IfATE model, the 9 per cent is overall profit after both eligible and ineligible costs are taken into account. 

Finally, on implementation you don’t need to have a long memory to see the impact of what happens when funding bands were reduced with little warning and on short notice periods. A prime example of this was the slashing of 33 per cent off the funding band for level 4 Associate Project Manager, resulting in most providers pulling out of offering this apprenticeship and leaving employers with limited options from where they could access the training they needed. The Institute needs to recognise apprenticeship strategies of training providers and the employers they serve is not a short-term game. In many instances programmes are co-created on the basis of a long-term initial upfront investment, paying back over a 3 to 5-year period.

Government suggests schools and colleges relax phone bans to allow use of NHS Covid app

The government has suggested that schools and colleges with bans on mobile phones relax their policies in order to allow students to use the NHS Covid-19 app.

New guidance issued by the government even talks of the benefits of the use of smartphones by students during the school or college day, despite recent support from ministers for schools that ban phones from their sites.

The app, which uses bluetooth to track whether people have come into contact with confirmed Covid-19 cases, is a “key part of the country’s ongoing coronavirus response, aiming to extend the speed, precision and reach of NHS Test and Trace”, the guidance states.

While there is “no requirement for settings to change existing policies on the use of mobile phones by students due to their use of the app”, the guidance goes on to state that schools and colleges “may want to do so if they currently do not allow mobile phones on site”.

“There are likely to be benefits to settings, if a number of students and staff have the app and make use of it during the day. This is because the information it provides may help to limit the number of other students and staff who are required to self-isolate when there is a positive case.”

Earlier this year education secretary Gavin Williamson praised schools which had banned mobile phones.

Under government guidance it is the decision of a school’s or college’s leader to determine whether or not mobile phones should be allowed on site.

However last year, schools minister Nick Gibb stated his “own view is that schools should ban their pupils from bringing smartphones into school or the classroom”.

And in 2018, health secretary Matthew Hancock, then culture secretary, encouraged schools to ban mobile phones in order to protect pupils.

The NHS app is available for anyone aged 16 and above, meaning nearly all college learners will be eligible to download it, along with college staff.

The new guidance also states students may be informed whilst in school or college that “they have been in close contact with a positive case”.

“If an individual with the app tests positive for coronavirus (Covid-19), the app will ask them to allow those that they have been in contact with to be alerted. If so, the app will then alert relevant individuals if they have been in close contact with a positive case”.

However, use of the app in schools and colleges “does not replace the requirement of individuals to social distance or to report positive cases to the setting”.

The guidance advises students or staff who receive a notification they have been in close contact with a confirmed case to isolate, while learners should also inform a member of staff.

“No further action is needed unless the student or member of staff goes on to become a confirmed case themselves”, the guidance adds.

Education sector appears exempt from new Covid restrictions in battle against second wave

No changes have been announced for the FE sector despite a list of new restrictions for England.

Prime minister Boris Johnson today unveiled a raft of tougher measures including the axing of “all adult indoor team sports” and five-a-side football, and an enforced 10pm closing time for pubs, restaurants and takeaways from Thursday.

All workers are also being told to again work from home if they can with immediate effect.

However, Johnson insisted that schools, colleges and universities “will stay open”.

He said: “I want to stress that this is by no means a return to the full lockdown of March.

“We’re not issuing a general instruction to stay at home. We will ensure that schools, colleges and universities stay open because nothing is more important than the education, health and wellbeing of our young people.”

What is unclear at this stage is whether adults in colleges will be exempt from the “rule of six” when it comes to adult indoor sports. FE Week has asked the government for clarification on this.

The new restrictions have been announced after the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in England began rising sharply over the past few weeks. The UK’s coronavirus alert level was this week raised from three to four.

The Skills Network offer award-winning LMS at no cost

Last month, leading learning technology provider The Skills Network (TSN) announced that it will permanently offer its award-winning learning platform for free, in order to help accelerate a quality benchmark within the education and corporate sectors.

After an overwhelmingly positive month, TSN has been able to on-board and help many schools, college and training providers to make the shift away from classroom learning and begin providing online learning experiences for students.

EQUAL enables organisations to:

  • Create blended or fully online courses
  • Publish online learning content for remote study, blended sessions or training programmes
  • Engage students with videos, gamification, quizzes and interactive learning features
  • Track, manage and report on students’ interactions
  • Use pre-built modules for multiple different assessment types
  • Create online certifications for any of the online courses developed.

A range of existing online learning content is also available in EQUAL to support providers with their delivery of AEB, ESF, Apprenticeships, study programmes and traineeship provision. Content is available in areas such as personal development, employability, business, finance, health and social care, early years, education, and mental health.

EQUAL is currently used by over 300 learning providers, across 30 countries, with one million users on the platform.

Matt Dalton, Business Development Director at TSN, said:

“It’s been an incredibly disruptive few months for everyone – forcing providers to rethink how they deliver learning and training. Despite the challenges faced, we know how crucial it is to ensure key learning continues and that organisations have the resources and capabilities to deliver online learning.

Offering our EQUAL learning platform and authoring tool at no cost has alleviated many of the financial and transitional challenges that organisations currently face when making the shift to online learning. We believe we can create a new benchmark of quality in the industry for everyone to benefit from. “

Find out more

For more information on TSN’s offer, click here.

5 things that make a brilliant 16-19 employability programme

We’re keen to work with like minded organisations to help learners boost their skills, confidence and go the distance – read more

  1. Employer engagement

A brilliant 16-19 employability programme should start with the end in mind: which jobs are learners intending to get when they complete?

Involve employers in curriculum design 

Employers welcome the chance to contribute to curriculum content.  This way, they know that what’s being delivered will be relevant to their business.  Don’t worry if your curriculum is heavily influenced by just one employer; learners who can showcase specific, practical skills for one, prove that they are capable of doing it for others. 

Employer interviews

Ask employer representatives to come along and interview your learners, and not just at the end of their course.  Unfamiliar faces wearing uniforms or suits don’t help learners perform at their best.  Exposing learners to interviews from strangers, just like the strangers who will be interviewing them for a real job, will help them to relax and give their best at the right time.

Employer sponsorship

A large local employer may provide enough job opportunities every year to recruit significant numbers of learners.  An excellent employability programme acts as a pipeline of talent for employers and, as such, they may be willing to ‘sponsor’ a course. 

  1. Competitions

Generating a healthy and balanced sense of competition among peers can improve learning.  Entering learners into organised competitions is an obvious benefit and looks great on a CV.  However, using Worldskills UK to drive the content of a curriculum can provide learners with the edge over their counterparts. Set up competitions with local providers or intra-provider competitions.  It could be vocationally-relevant or applicable to a whole cohort – the sense of achievement young people gain simply from taking part, enhances their studies and employability. 

 

  1. Enrichment

A recent article by David Hughes, AoC CEO, talked about the fact that, in any learning activity, we often learn as much about ourselves as we do about our qualifications.  It is as important to focus on these aspects as it is on exams and assessments.  And employers know this; David’s article points to the fact that employers look as much at behaviours and attitudes when it comes to recruitment as they do at qualifications.  Ofsted also recognises this and split the previously single headline judgement of personal development, behaviour and welfare into two: personal development, and; behaviour and attitudes.

  1. Teaching and learning

The success of any course depends on the quality of learning.  If teaching is excellent, learners are more likely to stay on the course, be engaged, achieve, and secure a job.  Professional development is key and we’d advise a focus on two central facets:

Industry experience:

This is relevant for teachers as well as learners – the specific provision that employers have helped to design is further enhanced with specific professional development. Engaged employers will readily support placements for teachers. 

  1. Peer observation

Peer observation is non-judgemental, aids self-reflection, builds trust and allows greater collaboration between colleagues.  Teachers delivering on employability programmes may be teaching only part of that programme – it is important to link learning support staff very closely with vocational teaching to help improve learners’ job outcomes.

  1. Careers education, information, advice and guidance

Weaving careers support into employability curriculum, in addition to scheduled 1:1 careers guidance sessions, is a great way of adding tailored provision that will differentiate your employability programme from generic offerings.  For example, ask careers advisors to take over lessons on your timetables. It’s an excellent way of meeting Gatsby benchmark 4 – there are resources to help with this from a number of sources, including the Gatsby website. Many providers have Enterprise Advisers, industry professionals linked with the providers to support with careers guidance.  Enterprise Advisers are ideally placed to support you to make links with industry and to use those links effectively to support employability. 

NCFE’s ‘go the distance’ bundles will help you quickly build and deliver brilliant, outcome-focused 16-19 employability programmes, deploying these initiatives.

We’re keen to work with like minded organisations to help learners boost their skills, confidence and go the distance – read more

Minister’s office breaks apprenticeship recruitment pledge

A pledge to fill all junior roles with apprentices until the end of December has already been broken by the Department for Education.

Job adverts for three diary managers, who will work directly with ministers and the DfE’s permanent secretary, at executive officer level are currently live and state the roles can be filled by “non-apprentices”.

It comes despite skills minister Gillian Keegan having told education select committee chair Robert Halfon earlier this month that the DfE was changing its recruitment approach to “ensure all executive assistant and executive officer positions are filled using apprenticeships, for a pilot period between 1 September to 31 December 2020”.

She repeated the promise when speaking at an Association of Employment and Learning Providers conference on 9 September – declaring that “we practise what we preach” when it comes to boosting the number of apprentices across the country.

After being shown the diary manager adverts, the DfE admitted that in a “small number” of instances an “exemption” to their new recruitment policy may be necessary.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ensuring all executive assistant and executive officer positions at the DfE are filled using apprenticeships, for a pilot period between 1 September to 31 December 2020.

“We are bringing in three diary managers to work in private offices across the department. The intention is to fill these roles with high potential apprentices who will be able to manage a fast paced working environment while keeping on top of their apprenticeship learning. However, it may be necessary to fill one of the roles with a candidate with a higher level of previous experience who would therefore be ineligible to undertake the apprenticeship in business administration.

“We are advertising 28 apprenticeship vacancies and have received a high level of interest from potential candidates.”

The DfE is accepting applications to the diary manager roles until 27 September. Based in London and paid £28,500 a year, successful candidates will “manage the minister or permanent secretary’s time so they are able to attend key meetings, ensure they have the time available to engage with policy and strategic issues and make business critical decisions”.

The DfE’s recruitment pilot is also being run in the Education and Skills Funding Agency.