Apprentices aged 16 to 19 will also be expected to restart face-to-face contact with their training provider from June.

The Department for Education made the announcement in updated guidance last night that offered colleges significant flexibility over which learners they invite back onsite after half term.

It made clear that not only can they bring back 16 to 19-year-old learners on the first year of a two year GCSE, A-level or vocational and technical qualification course, but apprentices as well.

“We will be expecting colleges and providers to treat 16 to 19-year-old apprentices consistently with other learners for their off the job training where possible and appropriate, so that they can be offered some face to face contact.”

The guidance applies to other FE settings in addition to colleges, including independent training providers, local authority delivery and special post-16 designated institutions.

Minister for apprenticeships and skills, Gillian Keegan said: “I would like to thank everyone across the FE sector who has worked so quickly to successfully move learning online so students and apprentices can continue to progress during this difficult time.

“It’s been wonderful to hear how colleges and other providers have embraced distance learning, but we know many young people, especially those who need additional support or are looking ahead to assessments and exams next year or have been unable to complete their assessment for their existing qualifications, would benefit greatly from face-to-face contact.

“This is why we are giving providers the flexibility to offer a combination of face-to-face and online delivery from 1 June to more of their students and apprentices.

“We will continue to be led by the scientific evidence and will only take further steps when the time is right.”

We have published detail on how FE providers can open to more students & apprentices. The sector has embraced online learning & this step provides the flexibility to continue this & offer some face to face support for those that need it. @educationgovuk https://t.co/rZsGVXlWjw

— Gillian Keegan (@GillianKeegan) May 15, 2020

Last night’s guidance said that adults in the same class as 16 to 19-year-old learners could also receive face to face tuition, as can 16 to 19-year-olds due to finish this academic year “but not been able to because their assessments have been deferred”.

Many colleges are already open to vulnerable students and children of key workers, but the guidance makes it clear they do not have to open more widely from the June 1.

Monday June 1 is the earliest opportunity, but many colleges are expected to plan to open at a later date, after many leaders told the ESFA they would need more time to prepare.

College leaders have been given significant flexibility over which learners they invite back onsite from as soon as June.

The Department for Education made the announcement in updated guidance tonight after college leaders had strongly demanded them.

It is understood senior staff from the Education and Skills Funding Agency had phoned nearly every college principal on Wednesday 13 May to quickly collate feedback on the expectation they reopen from as soon as 1 June and only for those 16 to 19-year-old learners on the first year of a two year course, equivalent to year 12 in schools.

Mirroring the findings of an FE Week survey the following day in which 54 per cent of college leaders that responded said they were supportive of the announcement, a massive 94 percent (32 out of 35) said the DfE should leave it to college leaders to decide who should come into college when they reopen.

The new DfE guidance, published on May 14, says: “We understand that there may need to be some flexibility in place due to the variety of learners and courses offered in FE setting.”

Adults in the same class as 16 to 19-year-old learners could also receive face to face tuition, as can 16 to 19-year-olds due to finish this academic year “but not been able to because their assessments have been deferred”.

Apprentices aged 16 to 19 should also be included on the same basis “for their off the job training where possible and appropriate, so that they can be offered some face to face contact”.

The DfE added that the policy also applies to “a small number of local authority providers, specialist post-16 institutions and independent training providers”.

Many colleges are already open to vulnerable students and children of key workers, but the guidance makes it clear they do not have to open more widely from the June 1.

Monday June 1 is the earliest opportunity, but many colleges are expected to plan to open at a later date, after many leaders told the ESFA they would need more time to prepare.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the guidance “will help colleges to make the right decisions in the best interests of their students, whilst maximising the safety of staff”.

“We are advising every college to make their own decisions on their assessment of priorities, needs, the context in which they operate and individual risk assessments and we are confident that is what the government wants,” he added.

The latest guidance will be welcomed by Shelagh Legrave, chief executive of Chichester College Group, as she responded to the FE Week survey to say she wanted to be given “flexibility as to who is on site” along with “more guidance on health and safety”.

In terms of the college staff there were “some very enthusiastic to return tomorrow, others more reticent”, according to Legrave, who added: “We will not force staff to come in if they feel unsafe.”

Russell Lawrance, principal of Haringey Sixth Form College, said he encouraged the government to “set the challenge so to speak – but don’t interfere in the detail” and committed to all students “having a virtual meeting or a phone conversation or meeting in college with staff as a minimum sign off”.

And Bill Jones, principal of Leeds City College, also called on the government to “trust college leaders” whilst “responding swiftly to our questions and concerns”.

The government has also given college leaders the “flexibility to decide the appropriate mix of online and face to face content for each programme, reflecting what will maximise learner engagement as well as supporting more vulnerable learners, and enabling the provider as a whole to minimise transmission risk”.

Despite the flexibilities on offer, 71 per cent of those responding to the FE Week survey said they thought a significant number of students will refuse to come into college in June and 46 per cent thought a significant number of staff would refuse.

And nearly all college leaders expressed concern when asked about the logistics and cost of staff and student transport.

More guidance on the safe use of transport is expected from the DfE as they “will be consulting with sector representatives”…“and this will be published along with further guidance for secondary schools and colleges and other providers in the week commencing 18 May”.

A school has been rapped by Ofsted for flouting the Baker Clause, as the inspectorate begins to police the controversial rule.

Leicestershire-based King Edward VII Science and Sport College was rated ‘inadequate’ in a report published on Wednesday following an inspection in January.

Inspectors found, among other leadership and safeguarding issues, that the school was “not currently meeting its statutory responsibility to ensure that providers of technical qualifications and apprenticeships visit the school to inform pupils about these options”.

The watchdog said leaders “do not make sure that pupils receive independent careers advice”, which means students “do not feel well prepared for their next steps”.

Ofsted added that leaders “must” provide pupils with “information about what technical education and apprenticeship opportunities are available in accordance with the school’s legal obligations under the ‘Baker’ clause”.

FE Week understands this to be the first case of a school being pulled up by the inspectorate for failing the Baker Clause.

Ofsted confirmed it had not found any references to the rule in the reports it was able to search from the last academic year.

The controversial rule was introduced in January 2018 and stipulates schools must ensure a range of FE providers have access to pupils from year 8 to year 13 to provide information on technical education and apprenticeships.

It became law after the government adopted an amendment to the 2017 Technical and Further Education Act, proposed by former education secretary Lord Baker, who claimed schools were “resisting” those who tried to promote more vocational courses to pupils.

The government has become increasingly concerned at non-compliance with the rule but has yet to take any meaningful action.

While it has sent out numerous letter to schools and multi-academy trusts reminding them of the duty, no action was taken in the first year of its existence, even though a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research found that around two-thirds had broken the law.

It led to the clause being labelled a “law without teeth” by Charles Parker, the then executive director of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which helps to run University Technical Colleges.

Former Department for Education minister Lord Agnew sent out the most recent batch of warning letters in February 2020 – but MPs, such as education select committee chair Robert Halfon, believe the government is still “not doing enough”.

The lack of action has led to calls for Ofsted to assess compliance with the rule as part of a wider judgment on a schools’ careers guidance.

King Edward VII Science and Sport College is an academy that teaches around 750 students aged 14 to 18.

Aside from poor careers guidance, Ofsted found that governance was “not effective” and while staff do a “good job” to support pupils, some “do not feel supported by senior leaders” and “worry that leaders may respond negatively” if they raise concerns. 

Student safety was another concern, with inspectors reporting that leaders “did not respond appropriately or follow statutory guidance in relation to a serious safeguarding incident”.

Since Ofsted’s visit in January, the school has joined the Apollo Partnership Trust and appointed a new governing body.

Jennifer Byrne was the school’s principal at the time of the inspection, but a press release on its website states that vice principal Emma Booth has since become acting principal.

Julia Patrick, chief executive of the Apollo Partnership Trust, said that although King Edward VII College was not part of the academy chain at the time of the inspection, they have taken Ofsted’s report “very seriously and are actively reviewing it with a view to early implementation of any recommended changes”.

She would not comment on Byrne’s position at the school.

Ofsted has paused the publication of inspection reports during the Covid-19 pandemic, but has said it will release them sooner if requested, as was the case with King Edward’s.

Twelve months ago a “regional skills concordat” was set up so that 11 colleges would work with industry to identify current and future skills gaps.

Robert Halfon, the MP for Harlow and chair of the education select committee, launched the collaboration in April 2019 claiming the “vital and exciting development will provide a ladder of opportunity for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and improve the prestige of skills development”.

The UK Innovation Corridor – a network of science and technology companies, academics, start-ups, finance and law firms from London to Cambridge – set up the project and helped produce a “showcase” of FE college-led employer engagement and skills activity along the region.

Former college principal and chair of the UK Innovation Corridor, Ann Limb, praised the collective efforts as “phenomenal”. The final showcase was due to be presented in parliament but had to move online owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

FE Week joined the webcasted event on Wednesday, during which ten of the participating colleges answered one of three questions about the benefits of developing partnerships with businesses and potential future changes to engagement with employers.

Here is how the showcase went…

Q1: How has your employer engagement most benefited the college, your learners, employer partners and the wider community?

Hertford Regional College

Katrina Dougherty, vice principal of enterprise and innovation, said the college operates a destination curriculum model, which “supports learners to see their current studies as a passport to their future careers and not just the achievement of a qualification in its own right”. She focused on the provider’s 15-year relationship with Winchmore Brickwork – its team visits at least once a month to actively engage in programme delivery and typically uses the partnership to recruit their apprentices each year. “Working with Winchmore has enabled us to provide learners with access to real-time, hands-on experience,” she added.

Peterborough Regional College

Marie Peene, operations director of apprenticeships, provided the example of the development of the level 3 food and drink engineering maintenance apprenticeship standard. Prior to delivery, the college engaged with employers and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink to shape the curriculum. Forums, meetings and feedback informed the contextualisation of the programme as well as the layout and equipment that should be used in the centre. Further engagement allows staff at the college to ensure they have up-to-date expertise.

Q2: Which employers has your college engaged with?

Capital City College Group

Barry Connelly, strategic advisor for engineering development at Conel (part of CCCG), discussed the gratitude of Transport for London rail and of global real estate firm CBRE for the development of apprentices’ engineering skills and benefits to their businesses. He added the college’s facilities put it in a “strong position to bring out further growth” and that increased employer partnerships would create new apprenticeship opportunities to help “young people within the local community and the UK Innovation Corridor become the next generation of qualified engineers”.

Waltham Forest College

Senior business adviser Nelson Dean spoke about the development of the college’s partnership with One Housing Group. It started with a request to help recruit one apprentice and has now grown into a bigger programme with opportunities for industry work placements. Dean said Waltham Forest College also has wider discussions with the housing association’s supply chain and host networking events to explore the challenges of the industry and how the college can support the upskilling of staff or provision of candidates for jobs.

Ada, the National College for Digital Skills

Principal Stuart Noss elaborated on Ada’s partnership with software company Salesforce. It provides “significant” numbers of mentors every year and sponsors events such as a weeklong take-over of the college to co-deliver a client brief training project, giving students “the opportunity to experience what the real world will be like”. The firm has also helped design the curriculum, is part of the induction programme and provides grants to invest in welfare. Noss concluded the partnership is “hugely beneficial for both parties”.

Stansted Airport College, part of Harlow College 

Deputy principal Will Allanson explained that the partnership came about due to the college’s location, the fact Stansted Airport was the largest single employment site in the East of England and that there had been no access to vocational education within the district. He said the curriculum had been designed to prepare people to go into employment at the airport. “We join the dots up with young people between where they are and where they need to get to,” Allanson continued, citing employers coming in to work alongside learners and tutors at the college as well as opportunities for work placements.

Q3: How do you see your employer engagement changing in the coming one to five years? What is driving this change?

Cambridge Regional College

In the most popular quote of the seminar, deputy principal Michelle Dowse passed on the perspective that “resilient companies don’t bounce back, they bounce forward”. She said that many employers in the Innovation Corridor have told her they will embrace the technological changes that many of them have accelerated during lockdown and “they’ll require even more support from us to help them make those changes”. She predicts this may take the form of more webinars, virtual career support and interviews, as well as greater flexibility in delivery models. 

Capel Manor College

Key issues for principal Malcolm Goodwin included climate change and food security, which he said had been highlighted with the pressures on the supply chain during Covid-19. For the specialist environmental and land-based college the most effective way to develop multi-employer collaboration has been hosting large fairs. “Looking at the three- to five-year picture, I think I can see the alumni playing a much more significant role,” he concluded.

New City College

Steve Lee, the deputy group director for apprenticeships and business development, said the college has been maintaining engagement with employers and stakeholders during the pandemic and “keeping that momentum going where we can”. It is currently in the process of opening a new campus and modernising the others with hopes to “meet the needs of employers and to future-proof education where we can”. Input received so far on equipment and technology has been utilised to shape what the campus should look like.

North Hertfordshire College

Adam Barnes, head of employer engagement, outlined how the college’s separate brand for apprenticeship provision, Hart Learning & Development, was set up to look at how it could “expand on a more national basis”. By cutting the number of courses on offer, it was able to create “a much more tailored programme”. He sees the provision of pre-apprenticeship training to help clients with recruitment as an area for future growth. According to Barnes, this means the provider “can design things that are expressly related to the job roles that people go into”.

 

The Department for Education has published a “checklist” to assist colleges with their wider reopening from 1 June.

Government guidance was updated this evening to help leaders decide “what to consider and steps to take when planning increased attendance”.

It says that given the “varied nature” of colleges it is “not possible for the government to be prescriptive and provide a blueprint that could apply to every college”.

“A tailored approach, within these guiding principles, will be required to ensure an approach that is practicable, safe and which meets, as far as is possible, the needs of the learners, staff and wider community,” the guidance adds.

The DfE warns that implementation of the checklist “may well have financial implications” so “care must be exercised to ensure these are taken into account with due regard for the impact on the college’s overall budget and financial position”.

It also states that the week commencing 1 June is the “earliest” that colleges should start to reopen for face to face contact with 16 to 19 learners on the first year of two-year programmes, alongside the provision they are offering to priority groups.

The department says that they “understand” there may need to be some flexibility in place due to the variety of learners and courses offered in FE settings, so although the main face to face contact is for 16 to 19 learners from 1 June, there “may be some courses that include learners within a class that are over 19”.

“Some 16 to 19-year-olds will have been due to finish this academic year, but not been able to because their assessments have been deferred (typically where they involve a license to practice). These learners can be included in on-site delivery if they would benefit from face to face contact,” the guidance adds.

“We will be expecting colleges and providers to treat 16 to 19-year-old apprentices consistently with other learners for their off the job training where possible and appropriate, so that they can be offered some face to face contact.”

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said the guidance “makes clear that 1 June is not set as a rigid date for re-opening”.

“We are advising every college to make their own decisions on their assessment of priorities, needs, the context in which they operate and individual risk assessments and we are confident that is what the government wants,” he added.

Among the recommendations, colleges have been urged to consider establishing a “coronavirus governance and leadership group which meets regularly to monitor the board approved plan and consider any required adjustments and/or circumstances that may have arisen that require an immediate policy response”.

“The group’s membership, role and relationship to the full board should be agreed by the board, along with regular reporting protocols,” the DfE said.

In addition to colleges, the guidance also applies to the “smaller proportion of 16 to 19 learners in other further education settings – including local authority delivery, special post-16 designated institutions and independent providers”. 

The checklist and guidance can be read in full here.

 

Colleges and training providers will have a three week “window” to provide calculated grades for vocational and technical qualifications from 1 June, Ofqual has revealed.

The exams regulator has today published further guidance for grading the courses this summer owing to the cancellation of exams.

It follows an announcement at the end of April that schools and colleges can either grade the qualifications by calculating results, adapting assessments, or, as a last resort, delay assessments until they reopen.

Ofqual reiterated today that the “majority” of learners should receive a calculated result before revealing that colleges and training providers should “expect awarding organisations to ask you to provide centres assessment grades and other information about learners in a window of up to three weeks, starting 1 June”.

This will only be a week after the regulator publishes its response to the current vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) consultation on 22 May.

Ofqual intends to publish an “app” that will allow colleges, training providers and learners to see what qualifications are in scope for calculated grades or need adapted assessment “when we publish the outcomes of our consultation”.

The new guidance states that in “exceptional circumstances” where awarding organisations need to extend the window beyond three weeks, “they will be in touch with you”.

“The window will allow them time for awarding organisations to quality assure the data, check the overall profile of outcomes and if necessary raise any queries with centres before results are issued,” Ofqual said.

“If you feel your awarding organisation’s deadline is unachievable, you should speak to them urgently.”

Results day for level three VTQs will be held on 13 August alongside A-levels, while level two results will be given to students on 20 August alongside GCSEs.

Ofqual’s new guidance can be found here.

Unions representing tens of thousands of college staff have set out five “tests” they believe should be met before students return on 1 June.

In a joint statement, the University and College Union, GMB, National Education Union, UNISON and Unite said staff and student “safety” must be “guaranteed” before colleges open more widely.

They called for “stringent hygiene measures, protection for vulnerable people and isolation for all suspected cases” to avoid colleges becoming Covid-19 “hotspots”.

The unions are advising staff and students who can work from home to “continue to do so”.

It comes after the government announced on Monday that for learners in year 10 and 12 due to take “key exams” next year, “we are asking schools and colleges to supplement remote education with some face to face support for these year groups from 1 June”.

The Department for Education later confirmed to FE Week that this applied to first year students on all two-year 16 to 19 vocational study programmes, such as BTECs, as well as GCSE and A-level learners.

Guidance published alongside Monday’s announcement included a range of “protective measures” to ensure education settings remain safe places, including reducing class sizes, staggered break times, as well as increasing the frequency of cleaning and reducing the use of shared items.

The unions’ five tests for government and colleges in full are :

1. Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases

The new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend and confidence that new cases are known and counted promptly. And the government must have extensive, open and transparent arrangements in place for testing, contact tracing and isolating those with Covid-19 symptoms.

2. A national plan for social distancing

The government must have a national plan in place which includes parameters for both appropriate physical distancing and safe levels of social mixing in all further education settings. To help ensure physical distancing during travel and at colleges, all staff and students who can work and study from home must continue to do so.

3. Comprehensive testing

Comprehensive access to regular testing for students and staff, with isolation for all suspected cases, to ensure colleges don’t become hotspots for Covid-19. In addition to routine testing, protocols to be in place to ensure testing across whole college sites and other non-college work-based learning sites whenever a confirmed case of Covid-19 occurs. 

4. A whole college strategy for health and safety

Risk assessments and safe ways of working for all tasks and spaces within a college should be established with relevant staff and unions in advance. This should include regular deep cleaning and stringent hygiene measures. Where PPE is identified as required by risk assessments, supplies of these are secured before re-opening of affected areas. Strategy to be clearly communicated to all stakeholders.

5. Protection for the vulnerable

Vulnerable staff, and staff who live with vulnerable people, must work from home, fulfilling their professional duties to the extent that is possible. Plans must specifically address the protection of all staff, students and members of their households who are vulnerable to Covid-19.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Staff and student health is the number one priority and nobody should be going back to college until it is safe to do so. The government needs to work with us to address the national challenges, while individual colleges should work with their local union reps to address the unique challenges they will face.”

National Education Union joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted added: “Safety has to be the overriding concern. Planning for wider reopening should focus on ensuring safety is assured if and when the college reopens, not on meeting government deadlines which may well prove unrealistic.”

FE Week has asked the unions to define what “safe” would look like and how that could be “guaranteed”.