The proposed “points-based” immigration system has a number of seemingly ill-thought through consequences, argues Mick Fletcher
Many in colleges may have drawn some hope from the increasing number of senior figures calling for extra investment in FE, specifically in order to train UK workers now that we have left the EU. We certainly need more investment, and the arguments advanced sound superficially plausible. A moment’s reflection, however, suggests a dangerous lack of logic in what is being proposed, which risks undermining the sector’s case.
Ian Duncan Smith, for example, was recently on Radio 4 defending the proposed new “points-based” immigration system that envisages severe restrictions on access to the UK for those earning under £25,600 per year. Put aside for a moment the distasteful assumption that low-pay equals low-skill equals low-value (that argument is for another day) and concentrate on the logic.
British employers, he said, had grown lazy, and instead of investing in staff training had found it easier to recruit skilled workers from abroad.
So far most of us would agree. He quoted the example of a Belgian company that by investing in new technology and developing a highly skilled workforce was set to outcompete UK manufacturers who clung to a low-pay, low-value economic model.
“How does reserving unskilled jobs for UK workers help?”
Once again most of us would share his fears (and Remainers need to ignore the argument that if Belgians can do it within the EU, why can we only do it if we leave? That discussion, too, is for another day.)
The case he and others make is that we must stop employers recruiting unskilled workers from abroad so that they will invest in upskilling local employees. Reflect for a moment: how does that work? I could understand how restricting the number of high-skilled migrants might force employers to resort to training more locals: but how does reserving unskilled jobs for UK workers help?
Reducing the pool of applicants for unskilled jobs might help drive up wages for those jobs; but that would provide less of an incentive for such workers to invest in skills, not more, and give employers less cash with which to train them.
Employers might decide to move from low-value-added to high-value-added business models and look for highly skilled staff to work in the new environment – but in such cases they would still be free to recruit from abroad and might well prefer to do that rather than invest in local staff.
“Large parts of the economy depend on people skills – care, hospitality and retail”
Indeed, given that they would have had to invest in technology, they’d probably be less inclined, or able, to invest in training as well.
Finally, the increases in productivity that both require skilled workers and provide the returns with which to train and reward them well are simply not available to large parts of the economy that depend on people skills – care, hospitality and retail, for example. The Japanese are working hard to produce robots to work in care homes, in part because they do not want unskilled immigration: it sounds fanciful, but it does at least have a consistent logic.
There are many things that government could do to increase investment in training. It could, for example, reverse the serious cuts it has made over the past decade in its own adult education budget. It could encourage firms to invest by raising the minimum wage or by strengthening employment rights and the bargaining position of workers; and it could encourage individual investment through some sort of learning account.
To focus on cutting unskilled migrants, however, seems not to be promoting FE but rather using support for the sector to help justify a policy driven by other motivations altogether.
Hopes for a level 2 business administration standard were shattered today after the new boss of the government’s apprenticeship quango rejected a final plea from employers.
Following years of repeated rejections under Sir Gerry Berragan, the trailblazer group behind the proposal was given a glimmer of hope with Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) chief executive Jennifer Coupland.
She agreed to a final showdown meeting, in which the employers were asked to present new evidence to prove the standard could pass the required criteria.
A chainsaw couldn’t do a better job of removing the bottom rungs of the ladder
FE Week analysis shows that the popular framework version of the apprenticeship, which will be officially switched off from 31 July, attracted 3,064 starts from 346 providers in the first quarter of 2019/20. Of these, 74 per cent were female and 59 per cent were for those under the age of 19.
Over 100 employers have rallied for a replacement standard, but Coupland took no time to make a decision, telling the hopeful trailblazers it was game over by the end of today’s meeting.
Not only did she reject their proposal on the grounds it would never meet the 12 month minimum duration requirement, but she also told them they will not be allowed to submit any further applications for the standard.
This is despite staff in the Department for Education’s traineeship team considering alternative programmes but allegedly ultimately agreeing with the trailblazer group that the proposal should be developed into a level 2 apprenticeship standard.
Lucy Hunte, the national programme manager for apprenticeships at Health Education England, attended the meeting as a member of the trailblazer group and said she was “extremely disappointed” with Coupland’s decision.
“It [the standard] is a vital entry route into the NHS and many other sectors and [this decision] will be incredibly damaging to social mobility,” she told FE Week.
Caroline Bragg, the employability and skills strategy manager at East Sussex County Council and trailblazer lead for the proposed standard, said the IfATE “seems intent on leaving behind tens of thousands of young people who access level 2 apprenticeships each year”.
“There seems to be a lack of understanding of who a level 2 learner is and the barriers facing them,” she added.
In previous rejections of the proposal, the IfATE has cited concerns about overlap with the business administration standard that is approved at level 3.
They’ve also claimed that the duties set out are “not stretching enough to require 12 months employment and training”, including the 20 per cent off-the-job training requirement.
Hunte said if young people leave school without maths and English GCSE then they “simply won’t be able to access a level 3 and in addition many of the entry level roles would not cover the scope of the level 3 business admin standard”.
Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe said: “It’s really difficult to understand why an organisation, which is now pushing really hard the line that it’s independent and employer led, is going against the wishes of large and small employers in both the public and private sectors.
“Only today the secretary of state has said that he wants ‘funding helping to kick-start careers or level up skills and opportunities’ and here we have a prime example of that agenda being undermined for so many young people who want to get on the ladder of opportunity which the apprenticeship programme provides. A chainsaw couldn’t do a better job of removing the bottom rungs of the ladder.”
He added: “It is about time the officials went on tour and met some of these level 2 learners and employers and told them to their face that they weren’t proper apprentices and had no value for the employers.
“The tour could start by meeting the numerous level 2 business admin apprentices working in the department for education.”
Making the case for the standard during today’s meeting, the employer group presented a final proposal document.
It stated that only 20 per cent of the new apprenticeship standards are available at level 2. In contrast, more than 40 per cent of the old-style frameworks were previously available at this level.
We appear to have another potential sexual discrimination problem
“This will have a significant impact on opportunities for new entrants, particularly young people, progression opportunities within the workplace, and on social mobility overall,” the document said.
“The loss of the business admin level 2 will impact young people disproportionately. In recent years, approximately 30,000 apprentices per annum undertook [the framework], and 83 per cent of these were under 19.
“Removal of the framework will have an impact on in-work progression for existing staff. For example, the NHS has numerous examples of auxiliary staff moving into administration roles through the business administration level 2, and they are unable to access learning at Level 3 or evidence the requirements through their role.”
After being shown that 74 per cent of the starts on the level 2 business admin framework between August and October 2019 were for females, Dawe said it “illustrates again that we appear to have another potential sexual discrimination problem when it comes to giving women high quality apprenticeship opportunities at an early stage of their working lives”.
“I called on the authorities to undertake some research last autumn and I would like them to respond positively to establish how big a problem we really have,” he added.
A spokesperson for the IfATE said: “We only agree apprenticeships where they meet the new higher quality standards.
“Unfortunately, we did not feel that this was the case when the business support assistant proposal was not approved for development last June. Institute officials met representatives of the trailblazer earlier this week but concluded that there was no prospect of a revised proposal being viable.
“Take up on the level 3 business administrator apprenticeship standard has more than doubled since it launched in 2017, which shows there is already a great route to skilled employment in an administrative role.”
Helen Van Aardt has identified eight things that athletes preparing for competition have in common with teachers
An elite athlete can be characterised as someone who is able to perform under pressure in a challenging environment, to achieve an outcome, whilst being observed by an audience. Teachers in further education colleges not only have to do everything included in the elite athlete description, but they also have to ensure learners achieve their outcomes as well. Our sector is packed with brilliant teachers, and at Loughborough College we have observed that great teachers may be more similar to elite athletes than they realise.
Loughborough College has a long history of supporting the development of elite athletes both inside and outside of the classroom. The provision of a world-leading dual career offer is a key strategic aim, and if the college was a country it would have been ranked eighth in the last Commonwealth Games medal table. It is working in this environment that informs the parallels in teaching practices that can support how we strive for consistently high-performing teachers.
Understand the factors that contribute to high performance
Athletes and their coaches know what is required to be elite. There are numerous aspects that contribute to elite performance, including: technical, tactical, physical and psychological skills, supported by lifestyle. All these aspects need to be worked on. Similarly, with teaching, they need to understand what outstanding looks like and what their areas of development are, as well as taking care of their lifestyle in order to support wellbeing.
Goal setting
Elite athletes set goals. These goals can be outcome goals (long-term motivational targets) over which they have limited control; performance goals (personal standards); or process goals (the process behind performance) over which they have more control. Successful teachers do the same, setting performance and process goals as part of their development plans.
Preparation
Elite athletes prepare holistically and thoroughly for competition, often utilising a support network of sports scientists and coaches. Successful teachers also prepare thoroughly for their teaching and they too access a support network, for example, E-learning support, TLA leads and input from external trainers.
Marginal gains
Elite athletes look for marginal gains. Outstanding teachers are always looking to improve by making small changes to their practice. They trial modern techniques and methods, using research and contemporary approaches to help develop their teaching pedagogy.
Reflecting on performance
Elite athletes consider their goals individually and, if applicable, as a team. Support staff are involved in this, breaking down performance where required. They revise their goals and set new goals, continually looking to improve. Outstanding teachers also reflect on their performance, adopt a growth mindset and are open to constructive feedback.
No fear of failure
Elite athletes take risks to take their performances to the next level. Outstanding teachers are also not afraid to take risks to innovate and make mistakes in their drive to improve performance. The culture of the educational organisation needs to support this.
Wellbeing
Elite athletes look after themselves, assisted by nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Teachers can optimise their performance by looking after themselves, by exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet and managing stress. In doing so, they are able to provide consistency, continuity and reassurance to learners.
Ofsted
Loughborough Sport gained double ‘outstanding’ at the last subject-specific Ofsted. The preparation, as it would be for a major sports event, was meticulous. The requirements of outstanding provision were carefully reviewed, with action plans put in place to achieve these. External critical friends provided feedback and support to enable reflective practice.
FE as a sector faces similar funding challenges to many National Governing Bodies who fund sport. Whilst we hope the decade of cuts is reversed in the 2020s, focusing on high-performing teachers will help to raise the bar as high as our learners deserve.
Ten FE providers were awarded grade twos from Ofsted in a good week for the sector.
However, the college for HS2 and an independent learner provider were both hit with ‘inadequate’ ratings.
IT Skills Management Company Limited was one of the independent learner providers to receive a grade two after its first inspection by the education watchdog.
It has a partnership with Microsoft through which it delivers its apprenticeships within the digital sector using a variety of online teaching tools blended with more traditional delivery methods.
Inspectors found the 290 apprentices on roll “rapidly develop new skills and knowledge” and “benefit from the relationship the provider builds with their employer”.
The report also praised leaders and managers for developing a “well designed” curriculum.
SIGTA Ltd, which comprises a range of engineering companies in the south east, was also rated ‘good’ in its first inspection.
Training officer’s frequent training, as well as review, sessions, were praised by their 59 apprentices.
Most were found to have developed knowledge and skills they needed to be “effective and successful” employees.
In addition, Tower College of Further and Higher Education London Limited Learners was declared as a grade two.
All of its 500 learners are employed adults who attend lessons twice a week. The inspectorate reported that they enjoy how teachers bring lessons to life by drawing on their experience in the care sector.
The vocational and technical projects that 152 apprentices complete as part of their course at another ‘good’ independent learning provider, Valkyrie Support Services Ltd, “enable them to develop new practical and theoretical skills that are of immediate relevance to the workplace”.
Moreover, VQ Solutions Ltd improved from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ this week.
Inspectors reported leaders had “a clear purpose” to deliver apprenticeships that meet specialist employer needs in the IT, telecoms and data cable industry, which were said to be “critical to national IT infrastructure”.
They also found employers were impressed by the 93 apprentices’ willingness to innovate and to take on increased responsibility early in their apprenticeship.
Independent learning providers Resources (NE) Limited and the Skills Partnership Limited both retained their ‘good’ grades.
Bilborough College also kept its grade two, where students’ behaviour and conduct was “exemplary,” topics were introduced in a “logical sequence” and teachers had “good” subject expertise.
Both the adult and community learning providers to be assessed this week were handed ‘good’ ratings.
Middlesbrough Council retained the grade in a short inspection where the “ambitious” curriculum for learners and apprentices, many of whom are unemployed or have challenging personal circumstances, was praised by inspectors.
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult and Community College was declared ‘good’ in its first inspection. Ofsted said “learners benefit from good quality teaching and support from tutors which enable them to achieve qualifications and go on to their next steps”.
In contrast, independent learning provider Gordon Franks Training Limited and independent specialist college LifeBridge ASEND were both rated ‘requires improvement’.
Furthermore, the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (see full story here) and independent learner provider the Business Portfolio (UK) Limited were both declared ‘inadequate’.
Business Portfolio (UK) Limited was previously found to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in a second monitoring visit after receiving ‘insufficient progress’ across the board in its first.
The education watchdog found that apprentices “do not develop substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours,” and also felt “frustrated” about poor communication between the provider and their employer.
Selection Training Limited also gained one ‘insufficient progress’ grade in a second follow-up monitoring visit following three in its first.
Leaders were criticised for not ensuring that tutors had completed “effective training” on their responsibilities under the ‘Prevent’ duty or in safeguarding adults.
Employer provider Greenwich Leisure Limited was found to have made ‘insufficient progress’ in one of out of four assessed themes in a monitoring visit after receiving a ‘requires improvement’ rating.
Genius Software Solutions Limited received ‘reasonable progress’ ratings in a second monitoring visit, after being awarded ‘insufficient progress’ across the board in the first.
But the Romsey School was found to be making ‘significant progress’ in two out of three assessed themes in an early monitoring visit.
The remaining independent learning providers received ‘reasonable progress’ across the board.
These were: Cips Corporate Services Limited, Hart Learning and Development Limited and The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Solace Group) Ltd.
Ofsted struck a deal to pay their own legal fees in return for the college for HS2 dropping their judicial review, FE Week can reveal.
The watchdog does not yet know the extent of their legal costs but agreed to pay them in return for the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) abandoning an attempt to stop publication of a grade four report through a High Court judicial review.
An Ofsted spokesperson told FE Week: “It was mutually agreed that the judicial review proceedings would be withdrawn on the basis that each party bear their own costs.
“We felt that it was in the public interest for the report to be published sooner, rather than going through the lengthy and more costly judicial review process. The costs are still being finalised.”
Ofsted’s report was published Monday and was shortly followed by a financial notice to improve from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and an FE Commissioner report, which revealed NCATI was facing “potential insolvency” and is now in “supervised college status”.
The college now has to complete a structure and prospects appraisal (SPA).
Its top boss, Clair Mowbray, is currently on sick leave and commercial finance director Martin Owen is acting chief executive.
Education minister Michelle Donelan revealed on Wednesday, in answer to a parliamentary question, it has been agreed NCATI will receive up to £1.6 million “to be used for educational purposes only to keep the college operational during the SPA”.
This is on top of an emergency payment of £600,000 the college received last month, after forecasted learner numbers during the October 2019 intake were lower than expected.
A £4.55 million bailout was previously agreed to sign off the college’s 2017/18 accounts.
Despite saying it would be recruiting 2,100 learners by 2022, the college only had 187 students on roll at the time of Ofsted’s inspection. Of those, 167 were apprentices.
The watchdog’s report exposed how apprentices in practical engineering roles like locomotive maintenance and repair do not receive training in engineering skills they need in the workplace, such as hand-fitting and machining, so employers were having to step in and teach apprentices themselves.
It also reported that NCATI’s “managers and staff do not act quickly enough to protect apprentices from harassment”.
Inspectors wrote of one incident where trainers and managers did not recognise or take effective action when an apprentice was harmfully impacted by harassment.
We need to see NCATI’s minutes and accounts
The £600,000 is what triggered the notice to improve and the commissioner’s intervention and in his report, FE Commissioner Richard Atkins said “radical change is urgently required”.
In a repeat of the situation with the 2017/18 accounts, Atkins said “without a commitment of 12 months of continued emergency funding the board will not be able to sign off on their 2018/19 financial statements as a going concern”.
The details of their financial situation are still partially under wraps, as NCATI has yet to publish its 2018/19 accounts and its board has decided to stop publishing minutes of their meetings.
MP Cheryl Gillan, who put the parliamentary question to the DfE, told FE Week “we need to see those minutes and accounts”.
The provider, called the National College for High Speed Rail until last October, was opened in 2017 by then-education secretary Justine Greening and was intended to provide a skilled work force for the HS2 project connecting London with the north and midlands.
Gillan said NCATI had become a “revolving door” for HS2 personnel as the college’s chair Alison Munro and chief executive Clair Mowbray both worked at line builders HS2 Ltd before the college; Munro as its chief executive.
The delay meant employers were unable to commit to the apprentice volumes they had originally and NCATI missed its learner targets for the 2018/19 academic year.
An adviser to the government’s apprenticeship quango has quit after FE Week found he had set up an assessment company and then broke official advertising rules.
Lee Allsup, one of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) route panel members, left the role this week and his new end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has stopped claiming to offer standards they are not approved to assess.
It comes amid what this newspaper understands to be serious government concerns over the maturity of the EPAO market, more than a year after sector leaders called for the register to be “purged”.
They have allowed a situation to develop, that has more in common with the Wild West
After being shown this latest case, Tom Bewick, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, said officials are “repeating all the same mistakes” and called for the register to be closed and reviewed.
The EPAO in question, Allsup&Dale Limited, was co-founded by chef Lee Allsup whose past jobs have included working at the The Ritz, and incorporated in September 2019.
It was the only company added to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s register of EPAOs in an update last month, taking the total on there to 268. It is currently only approved to assess apprentices on the level 2 baker standard.
However, the company was advertising on its website that it was approved to assess seven standards, one of which, the fish monger, requires registration with Ofqual. The exams regulator told FE Week Allsup&Dale has not submitted an application for registration to date.
The firm’s website also marketed a further seven standards “coming soon”.
This is despite Education and Skills Funding Agency rules for EPAOs stating: “While we encourage you to directly promote your end-point assessment service to employers you must only do this once you are approved for the register and only for the standard(s) and assessment plan(s) you are registered to assess against.”
What’s more, Allsup was a panel member for the IfATE catering and hospitality route.
The role is advertised as being to “review and make recommendations on whether or not to approve apprenticeship proposals, standards and assessment plans” as well as “make recommendations on funding bands for apprenticeship standards”.
After FE Week brought this to their attention, the ESFA took action. Allsup&Dale was contacted earlier this week and told that they are in breach of the conditions of acceptance, and that they are required to update their website accordingly.
The following day Allsup told FE Week: “You will note that our website clearly states the position of our application process for all the additional EPAs we are hoping to eventually deliver.”
He added: “I am no longer on the hospitality route panel team, I stepped down to prevent a possible conflict of interest.”
Allsup only left the role on Wednesday after this newspaper asked about the obvious conflict of interest the day before. He has since been removed from the IfATE’s website.
A further misleading claim made on Allsup&Dale’s website is that the organisation has “over 70 years developing and progressing the education system in food manufacturing, engineering and hospitality and catering”.
Allsup did not respond to requests for comment about this.
The ESFA did say that as part of EPAO conditions, providers can indicate details of standards that they plan to apply for, but they must make it clear that they are not approved to deliver those standards.
The IfATE said it does not comment on individual cases but told FE Week “we are clear that individuals should declare all conflicts of interest, and we will always investigate and take action where necessary”.
Application guidance states: “You must declare to the Institute any personal or business interest which may or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to influence your judgement in performing the functions and obligations of a route panel member.”
Questions were also raised over whether Allsup&Dale was fast-tracked to get onto the register. EPAOs are assigned an ID number when they join the register. Allsup&Dale’s number is 303 – which is 15 ahead of the next most recent addition.
The ESFA claimed this was due to a technical issue, adding that the glitch is currently being investigated.
The government was urged to have a clear-out of its register of EPAOs in March last year after FE Week found a sole trader and a new company with no trading history had successfully applied.
Tom Bewick
At that time, the Federation of Awarding Bodies warned of the “extremely weak” approach to allowing EPAOs onto the register.
“It really is unacceptable that ESFA have not acted on our concerns,” Bewick said this week.
“Instead, they have allowed a situation to develop, that has more in common with the Wild West, than a taxpayer-supported apprenticeship system.
“Things are getting so out of hand, that even some new entrants to the marketplace are offering ’no-win, no fee’ arrangements in order to secure business.”
He told FE Week that three “urgent things” now need to happen.
First, the register “should be closed to new entrants with immediate effect”.
Second, IfATE should lead a “fundamental review, supported by the Quality Alliance partners, into the independence and integrity of the EPAO marketplace”.
“If I have seen a significant amount of evidence of conflicts of interest and sharp practices going on in the marketplace, then I’m sure others have to,” Bewick said.
“I am sent anecdotal evidence all the time of provider-owned EPAOs offering advantageous referral rates which would not exist if there was a clearer operational separation between these two aspects of apprenticeship delivery.”
Thirdly, he said, the planned takeover of the external quality assurance of apprenticeship standards, reassigned to Ofqual in future, “should mean that these bodies hold the EPAO register going forwards, and not the ESFA”.
The current EPAO market in numbers
Around half of all registered end-point assessment organisations have not delivered a single end-point assessment to date, the government has admitted.
Education and Skills Funding Agency data obtained by FE Week via a Freedom of Information request shows that 53,362 EPAs have been completed since 2016/17 to date.
However, they would not reveal the names of the organisations that delivered them.
An official said this was because this “could be prejudicial against EPAOs and their commercial interests”, but they do “anticipate sharing this information in the future when the market is more developed”.
While they could not reveal the names, a spokesperson for the agency told FE Week that over half of all EPAOs have delivered end-point assessments.
For a “significant majority” of the others, they are in their readiness development period or have not yet been engaged to deliver end-point assessment.
They added that for over 200 standards which are approved for delivery, apprentices have not yet reached gateway and so the EPAO are not required to deliver yet.
There are currently 268 EPAOs on the government’s provider register.
EPA numbers have, unsurprisingly, been shooting up each year ever since 2016/17 when apprenticeship standards were first brought in to replace frameworks.
In the first year, 299 EPAs were completed, while 26,570 were carried out in 2018/19.
A total of 23,496 EPAs have been completed so far in 2019/20.
The level 3 team leader / supervisor standard, which takes apprentices 12 months to complete, has racked up the most EPAs since 2016/17 – 4,680 in total.
Second was the level 2 customer service practitioner standard, which again has a typical duration of 12 months, after recording 3,595 EPAs.
Third was the 12-month level 2 adult care worker standard with 2,929 EPAs.
Apprenticeship subcontracting has more than halved since the introduction of the levy in April 2017, new FE Week analysis has revealed.
The Department for Education released a new list of declared subcontractors for 2019/20 this week – updating the records for the first time in more than a year.
FE Week analysis shows the amount of subcontracting funding for apprenticeships dropped from £310,659,000 in 2016/2017 – the last time the full figures were provided – to £145,270,000 in 2019/20.
In addition, the number of declared subcontractors decreased by three quarters during this period, from 1,557 to 386.
The number of contracts also dropped by 70 per cent over the three academic years, from 3,417 to 1,012.
However, there was a slight increase in the amount of main providers, which rose from 322 in 2016/17 to 347 in 2019/20.
There are two most likely causes for the dramatic reduction in funding being passed on to subcontractors.
Firstly, a new funding rule forced main providers to deliver apprenticeship starts to all the employers also serviced by the subcontractor, or end the arrangement.
Secondly, many subcontractors gained direct access to funding with the introduction of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, so no longer needed to work with a main provider.
In the most recent figures, out of all main providers, the British Army awarded the highest value of subcontracts, £22,922,296 – more than the rest of the top five combined. The employer provider gave out just four subcontracts – with Babcock Training Limited receiving the largest sum of £8,068,043.
The independent learning provider advertises that it is the largest provider of engineering apprenticeships to the British Army, and also delivers more than 758,000 training days annually for the force.
East Sussex College Group distributed the second highest amount of subcontracting funding as a prime provider for apprentices this year, £6,881,266, to 13 providers.
In third, independent learning provider BCTG Limited handed over £5,238,444 to 20 subcontractors.
Rounding off the top five was employer provider Bae Systems PLC, which gave out £4,812,196 to 13 providers, and the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) which offered £4,654,650 to 70 subcontractors.
The next four general FE colleges on the list after East Sussex College Group were Bradford College, Dudley College of Technology, Eastleigh College and Heart of Worcestershire College.
One of the key proposals in the ESFA’s subcontracting consultation is to strengthen controls on the volume and value of provision that can be subcontracted by a prime provider.
A percentage cap is proposed on subcontracted provision of 25 per cent of ESFA post-16 income in 2021/22, and further reducing that percentage to 17.5 per cent in 2022/23 and to 10 per cent in 2023/24.
The ESFA also wants to “exercise greater oversight of the volume and value of provision that can be delivered by a single subcontractor”.
Its consultation said that where the aggregate value of a subcontractor’s delivery exceeds more than £3 million of ESFA funded provision, the agency proposes to make a referral to Ofsted for the subcontractor to be subject to a direct inspection.
The ESFA also outlined that as a “broad rule of thumb”, it believes subcontracting partners should be no more than one hour away from the prime contractor by car.
And from 2021/22 the government agency proposes to introduce stricter controls on the circumstances in which the whole of a learner’s programme can be subcontracted.
A sixth-form college in Blackburn is set to be the first of its kind to remove its Catholic status, FE Week understands.
St Mary’s College, now in government “supervised status”, will make the move in order to secure a merger partner to survive after running into severe financial difficulty.
The main reason St Mary’s, which is the smallest sixth-form college (SFC) in England, was told it was no longer “sustainable” was due to falling student numbers.
It was first warned of its deteriorating financial position four years ago and was urged at that time to find a merger partner or to academise.
But it has been its ethos as a Catholic college that has prevented it from doing so.
The process for removing the status – including timescales – is not clear at this stage because it has never been done before.
St Mary’s said it could not comment on this because a structure and prospects appraisal is currently taking place with the FE Commissioner. It is due to finish by April and is expected to iron out the details for removing its Catholic status.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Salford, the district within which St Mary’s falls, added they were “awaiting the outcome of that process”.
Despite being established by the Marist Fathers – an international Roman Catholic religious congregation – in 1925, the FE Commissioner’s report found St Mary’s current trustees were concerned the college “does not meet its constitutional objectives as a Catholic institution”, citing non-Catholic senior staff and very low numbers of Catholic students.
For example, vice principal Elissa Best was appointed interim principal in July 2019 but it was noted that she had not been eligible for the permanent post as she is not Catholic.
They also concluded that imposing mandatory Catholic requirements with significant financial implications would be “unfeasible”.
They have now proposed to “dissolve the trust through a ‘managed withdrawal’, removing the constraints on the college and allowing it to seek a non-Catholic partner as part of any restructuring process”.
The report added that while land and leasing arrangements are “complex, there is a willingness to negotiate a long-term agreement to the benefit of both the trust and college”.
St Mary’s was first told to merge or academise in 2016 following the Lancashire Area Review.
Becoming an academy, and consequently enjoying the luxury of not paying VAT, has been an option for nearly all SFCs since former chancellor George Osborne changed the rules in November 2015.
But a group of 14 Catholic-run SFCs have been prevented from doing so due to their religious character, areas of curriculum, acts of worship and governance, which would not be maintained under current government rules.
A short clause in the education bill could “easily rectify this”, according to the Catholic Education Service and the Sixth-Form Colleges Association, which were in joint talks with the Department for Education in 2018.
The SFCA this week said discussions are still ongoing but it would require a brand new education bill to add the clause.
The same issues persist when it comes to merging with other non-Catholic colleges.
Plans were previously developed to create a formal federation between Liverpool Hope University and Cheadle & Marple Sixth-Form College but this “did not address the financial weaknesses at St Mary’s directly”, this week’s report said.
In addition, a “weak” balance sheet was reported to provide “no resilience against unforeseen events and raises questions as to future solvency”.
In a letter published alongside the report, former DfE minister Lord Agnew said it was “clear that previous efforts to secure the college’s financial position since being placed in intervention have failed”.
“The college is currently operating under extreme financial duress and is unsustainable without immediate exploration of possible structural solutions,” he added.
In the latest financial accounts for 2018-19, the provider recorded a £347,264 deficit, an increase from £249,781 in 2017-18.
The college declined to comment on potential merger partners.
The government has agreed to write off the loans for another group of learners left with no qualifications after their provider closed, despite a previous investigation that concluded they were still liable to make repayments.
Questions have now been raised about the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) after it appeared to re-open their cases and U-turn on the cancellations only after FE Week began investigating.
In one instance a staff member from the agency, who previously dealt with some of the complaints, was accused of “gaslighting” and “victim-blaming” a student while dismissing their concerns.
This development follows a year-long battle for students to have their advanced learner loans written off after Nottingham-based independent learning provider Active Lifestyles closed down – with some testifying how their mental health has been affected during this process.
The training provider had its contracts terminated in November 2018 after receiving a grade four from Ofsted. There were 102 listed learners at the time of inspection in September 2018.
Since July 1 2019, the education secretary has been able to cancel advanced learner loans for learners left in debt when their provider goes bust, following a change in legislation prompted by FE Week’s Save Our Adult Education campaign.
On January 27, the start of a one-month FE Week investigation, this newspaper asked the ESFA if any Active Lifestyle students were in scope for their loans to be cancelled.
The DfE said none were, as Student Loans Company (SLC) records showed there were no loan-funded students in learning at the time of the provider’s termination.
But last week, Alexandra Allen, 31, was told her £2,882 loan for a Diploma in Personal Training, and the interest accrued, is eligible to be cancelled.
The ESFA’s response to her complaint, which was originally lodged in November 2019, cited new evidence from Active Lifestyle’s awarding body, YMCA Awards, which was obtained by FE Week.
The SLC had told FE Week she was still liable to repay the loan on January 30, 2020.
The former sports coach from Long Eaton, who was signed off work with stress, anxiety and depression last year, said she had been “left in the lurch” and called it a “big scandal.”
While she described the loan cancellation as a weight being lifted, Allen said she had not received an explanation or apology from the ESFA.
Once a loans-only provider has its contracts terminated, they are not monitored by the ESFA, the agency told FE Week.
“Someone has to take responsibility and change the process,” Allen said.
Nick Price, 22, a duty manager from Lincoln, was notified that his loan from 2018, worth around £1,200, is also now eligible to be cancelled.
Price received a new response from the government last week after previously being told an investigation into the case had been closed in October 2019.
The first reply had referenced his complaint from June, which asked for his loan to be wiped. “It is safe to say I was losing sleep over it all,” he told FE Week.
“I am extremely grateful to not have to pay the loan back but I think this is only fair anyway, they haven’t done me a favour, they have just done what was needed this whole time,” Price added.
Victoria Paterson, 45, alleged representatives from the government agency were “gaslighting”, “victimblaming” and “quite rude” to her after she complained about the situation.
In emails seen by FE Week, she was told the ESFA had not funded her loan or selected her training provider, and that these decisions had been made by “you”.
“I was really gobsmacked by that… [the official] was being deliberately difficult and provocative,” Paterson continued.
“I couldn’t understand why they were so averse to doing a proper investigation.”
Paterson, who has since completed her qualification elsewhere, set up a support group on Facebook for learners “still waiting” for their certification in June 2019.
It currently has 25 members but not all of those who joined have had their debts written off.
Another former student has been told he is still liable to pay back his loan while others have not been contacted as they did not complain.
Jamie Williams, 28, said: “I have been devastated… It’s a constant burden over my life if I’m honest.”
Phonchrist Ongouya Adouki, 35, called the situation a “mess” and added that his “whole life is on hold”. He said it felt “hopeless when you do not know who to talk to”.
Lucy Godfrey, 26, also claimed she had been unsure who to complain to.
The DfE declined to explain why the ESFA had not checked with YMCA Awards before, or confirm how many student loans from Active Lifestyles are now being cancelled.
