The FE Commissioner has offered “confidential” support to any colleges struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Atkins reassured the sector in a webinar hosted by FE Week last Saturday that formal intervention would not be triggered if colleges seek assistance during the current crisis, and urged principals not to make any “rash decisions” such as redundancies.

FE Commissioner intervention visits and “non-critical” Education & Skills Funding Agency intervention have been suspended until further notice, as confirmed by the Department for Education in guidance released this week.

Atkins said that he was “very keen to extend” consultations to any college that wants to “sound out” members of his team.

He added there had “never been a more important time for the sector to come together”.

When asked how the intervention system will adapt to recognise financial challenges colleges may face over the next six to 12 months, the commissioner said his team had been working with the DfE and ESFA to undertake “a range of modelling work”.

Atkins admitted that “at the end of this difficult time, a raft of colleges will face specific difficulties”, including commercial and international income, residential accommodation, real estate, mental health and wellbeing.

He urged college principals to “hold together that senior team, to communicate frequently and regularly with their staff… and not to make any rash decisions or rash judgments”.

Atkins noted that a range of colleges may have been considering restructuring but warned they needed to take advice, stating that his team could help with an “early conversation” about the implications.

He said National Leaders of Governance have already been working with college chairs across the country in mentoring and support roles.

Atkins stated: “We’re all going to be facing problems over the next few weeks that we’ve never faced in colleges, both in terms of welfare and health but also in terms of financial stability. I’m very keen to provide whatever support we can and to make it absolutely clear that we are not carrying out any form of assessment.”

He confirmed that a daily phone call has been taking place between the ESFA’s local teams and colleges “as a way of checking on the stability and the issues that are facing them”.

Atkins also extended support to local authority adult education services, which the team has previously worked with on quality issues, but said he was unable to do the same for independent training providers due to a lack of expertise.

The FE Commissioner called on colleges to keep subcontractors “very much in the loop, and communicate with them as frequently as they can”.

The FE Commissioner’s team and National Leaders of Governance can be contacted via email on FEC.OPERATIONS@education.gov.uk.

Colleges and training providers have adapted in positive and innovative ways to continue learning and support the local community during the Covid-19 crisis.

Here, FE Week shares some examples, including hospital donations, virtual horticulture, cooking and mental health classes, as well as zumba!

 

Care apprentices praised as they step up to new responsibilities

Care apprentices in the Midlands have been deployed to care homes to alleviate pressure on nurses during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Two hundred and fifty health and social care apprentices from private provider GB Training, some of whom are fresh out of school, have been armed with face masks, more facilities for handwashing and sterilising, and updated infection control training, to take on even greater responsibilities.

At The Chimes Residential care home in Stoke-on-Trent, elderly people have been isolated to their rooms and professional visitors are not being allowed past reception, so level 3 lead adult care worker apprentices have had to carry out tasks usually fulfilled by district nurses, including taking diabetics’ blood sugar levels.

The home’s care manager, Julie Davey, said how “very proud” she was of her team, especially the apprentices as they are “stepping up to the bar and learning the necessary skills to keep giving the vital care that older people need”.

The district nurses, she said, have given the apprentices an “A* for all they have learned in these uncertain times”.

Tracey Bradley, an apprentice working at a care home in Birmingham, said it had been “very stressful”, but they have “no choice” as the learners both know the people and care for them “deeply”.

“That we’d do all we can to help protect them goes without question,” she said, adding it was “rewarding” to be using skills and training she had learned to protect people, particularly when they are some of those most at risk from this “horrible disease”.

At Awarding Care, 92-year-old resident Stella Powell has given her thanks to level 2 apprentices “for your kindness and dedication. Not only now, but always”.

“You’ve become more than carers – you’re friends to us too. ‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem enough.”

But it’s not just the apprentices who are helping health services during this pandemic: a tutor at GB Training, Gemma Smith, has been contacted by a hospital she worked at for several years to request she join an emergency list in case of a lockdown in the UK.

The provider said despite the challenges and the anxieties, many of the apprentices are working overtime to cover fluctuating staff shortages, and morale remains high.

Managing director Lawrence Barton expressed his and his whole organisation’s pride in seeing the apprentices “rise to the additional challenges placed upon them”.

“Our apprentices are serving on the front line in the struggle against this pandemic and helping to save lives. In a number of cases, they find themselves caring for and protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society, many of whom are the same age as their grandparents.”

PICTURED ABOVE: GB Training Health and Social Care apprentices receive 90 bunches of flowers donated by Marks & Spencers for both residents and carers as a gesture of gratitude for their hard work

 

Training provider gives entire charity fund to community groups

An independent training provider has donated more than £20,000 to an emergency coronavirus fund.

Learning Curve Group handed over the entirety of its charity foundation’s balance to help front-line community groups and local charities working to ease the pressure on those worst affected by the pandemic in County Durham.

Chief executive Brenda McLeish said: “People are at the centre of everything we do, so we’ve made an important decision to change the pillars upon which our fund was established with the aim of supporting those who are in need of funds more than ever.

“As changes are announced daily, we are committed to supporting the local community in whatever way we can.”

The County Durham Community Foundation has set up the County Durham Covid-19 Response Fund to help community groups survive during this period, and the Learning Curve Group Charity Foundation was one of the fund’s founding supporters.

The money will be spent on a range of activities. For example, £5 will go towards a hot dinner for an older person self-isolating.

In addition, £10 may be spent on purchasing items for a food bank and £20 could buy fuel to help a volunteer deliver meals on wheels. Larger sums of £50 will support volunteers from groups based in village halls calling elderly people in self-isolation, while £100 could keep the lights on for a community group.

Chief executive of County Durham Community Foundation, Michelle Cooper, said: “The situation is becoming more serious as each hour passes, and we cannot afford to wait around. We are devoting all of our time and energy into supporting our local grassroots groups, which in turn will bolster our communities.

“Illness, isolation, loneliness and poverty are very real in County Durham and Darlington right now, and exasperated by the spread of Covid-19: but if we work together we can provide support to the life-changing local community services that will lessen the blow.”

 

Wellbeing coach called in to keep apprentices motivated

An independent training provider has drafted in a mental health and wellbeing coach to keep apprentices motivated in their studies during the crisis.

Amazing Apprenticeships have launched a series of webinars for employers and providers who are trying to support their apprentices while facing their own challenges.

Director Anna Morrison said: “We have received an overwhelming response from the sector.

“We’re building a real sense of community and everyone is so positive about helping and supporting each other.”

The provider has partnered with Gen Healthy Minds and one of its coaches, George Anderson, to provide content for the sessions. Anderson has 20 years’ experience in the fitness and wellbeing industry and his Facebook group ‘On the wagon’ has more than 5,000 members.

He said: “Never before has there been a more important time to teach resilience, wellbeing and mental health management techniques.

“I’m delighted to be delivering this series of online masterclasses to a group of individuals who have the potential to influence large numbers of apprentices.”

Around 300 participants from across the country took part in the first webinar on Wednesday and 500 have registered for the next masterclass on Monday.

Mike Thompson, a managing partner at Gen Healthy Minds, said: “Mental health and wellbeing of apprentices must be our number one priority right now and the team at Gen Healthy Minds will help employers and providers in whatever way we can.”

Many of the providers participating in the webinars have been supporting apprentices in the NHS as well as those working in food production and distribution.

The programme is free to join and is being funded by Amazing Apprenticeships.

The provider has also set up a LinkedIn group to encourage sharing of best practice, ideas and support.

 

York College gives protective gear to local hospital staff

York College has donated almost 800 pieces of personal protective equipment to its local hospital to help battle against shortages brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

A range of masks, gloves, overalls and safety glasses, which are usually in stock for use by construction, engineering and stonemasonry students, have been handed to the York Teaching Hospital Trust.

York College principal Lee Probert said: “Since we’ve moved to online delivery only, we decided that these should be given to front-line staff in the NHS who are saving lives.”

His college’s childcare students and staff have also been called upon to volunteer in some of the city’s childcare centres that are stretched for staff, while other employees are being encouraged to join voluntary groups in the community if they wish to do so.

Probert added: “I’ve acknowledged that whilst we’re working in this brave new way not all staff will be able to work as productively at home as they could do if the college was open, and empowered people to sign up for the city’s volunteering effort, if they feel able to do so.”

He also said that the college is going through its food stocks to donate goods due to expire in the coming weeks and months to food banks in the area.

“These are items which we might have to write off if we’re not open in the traditional sense for a significant length of time.

“We know that food bank stocks are becoming depleted and we’d rather they had it to put to good use than it be wasted.”

For its own students, York College is live-streaming interactive lessons in all curriculum areas every day.

Probert praised his staff for creating “hundreds” of online lessons and resources and “working really hard to ensure students’ successes”.

They have also been asked to stay in touch with learners to ensure they are not isolated and are in the “best possible position to engage with whatever system for awarding qualifications emerges”.

Daily remote enrichment programmes and quizzes are also being organised for the staff.

 

Online cooking could prove the recipe for happy students

A college in Merseyside has been using technology to stream live cooking demos, host competitions and offer pastoral support as they adapt to teaching in isolation.

Level 1 hospitality students at Hugh Baird College’s L20 Hotel School have been recreating dishes made by chef lecturers at home.

On Monday, level 1 students learned how to poach eggs as part of a remote breakfast lesson.

Remote learning in full flow today. Level 1 @L20HotelSchool students had an online breakfast lesson – learning how to poach eggs and then sharing their results on Microsoft Teams 🍳👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/ATYQ3GrcXe

— Hugh Baird College (@hughbaird) March 23, 2020

Steve Otty, curriculum co-ordinator, told FE Week the outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in a “rethink” of delivering methods, with the hospitality team embracing online teaching.

He said: “This has been a little challenging due to the very nature of vocational training. At college we have industry standard kitchens, a range of different ingredients and obviously we’re able to work more closely with learners.

“But it has been great fun and the learners have enjoyed the experience.”

L20 Hotel School’s learners have also taken part in an online student competition where they were challenged to upload a picture of the “most unusual” food item in their cupboards at home.

Nikolas Arnaudov, a 16-year-old who is studying for a level 1 VRQ Diploma in professional cooking, was victorious with Bulgarian pastries his mother had made while on lockdown.

Otty said the use of live group chats had resulted in “positive” student contributions and “improved” collaboration within groups.

He added: “It has been key that we have continued to engage and communicate with learners.

“I think that continuing with their course online has helped to lift their spirits and has kept their minds focused.”

Andy Howard, one of the college’s directors, also devised a way for Microsoft Teams software to offer emotional support to students during this period.

A tiered framework has been introduced to enable check-ins on learners and prompt further engagement if there are any concerns.

He said: “Planning the pastoral support is just as vital for our students as the academic delivery, if not more so.”

Principal Rachael Hennigan added: “I could not be prouder of all our staff at the college.

“Their response to an unprecedented situation has been sensational.”

 

‘Virtual College’ ethos accelerated to minimise social isolation

A college with over 30,000 learners has not missed a step in moving services like horticulture lessons and mental health support online during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Weston College principal Paul Phillips commended his “tremendous staff” for their work in mobilising their digital strategy during the crisis, saying tutors have actually increased their interaction with students since the campus closed on Friday.

The college has developed a portfolio of courses, such as digital skills and mental health wellbeing, to upskill employees and members of the local community at home, and said it is continuing to get requests from employers who are looking to use the lockdown to help boost their workers’ skills while they are homeworking.

The team of digital educators and developers at the college have helped build a digital learning culture at the college over the past two years, with the help of £565,000 from the Department for Education’s Flexible Learning Fund, which was used to train staff in techniques like video presentations.

Phillips says it was “clear” the digital strategy was not just about creating online learning, but also creating a strategy that would ensure the virtual classroom was “outstanding” and that “social isolation is minimised, that motivation is maximised, and that mental health support is embedded holistically”.

To that end, the college has also rolled out “body and mind” physical and wellbeing activities for groups of learners, as well as sessions like watching Netflix together and sharing a break for tea.

But it is not just students getting a digital helping hand during these times: Phillips is also running regular briefings over the internet with colleagues “to keep morale high”.

He has urged other principals to do the same, saying: “Encourage staff to digitally innovate to keep students engaged in education and use their virtual community as a mechanism to reduce self-isolation and to improve mental health, and success will come from a ground-up approach.”

The #myvirtualcollege hashtag has also been launched by Weston to capture best practice, ideas and suggestions for the future.

 

East Durham staff step in to keep farm ticking over

The coronavirus has not prevented East Durham College from caring for the livestock on its farm, with staff stepping in where students left off.

The college has a 24-horse yard, 200 sheep and an animal care unit which houses ‘Wrinkles’ the giant tortoise as well as wallabies.

Its Houghall Campus is set in around 500 acres of arable, grazing and woodland. Lindsay Haggis, director of landbased studies, told FE Week: “The farm is ticking away absolutely brilliantly.

“I guess the disappointing thing is the learners would have been here to see it all and that is the opportunities that they are missing at the moment.”

She said the equine lecturing team had “pulled out all the stops” the week before the college closed to ensure that learners had completed the practical assessments required to achieve their qualifications.

Staff have been using Facebook and Microsoft Teams to keep learners updated with what their favourite horses are up to as well as providing information on how Covid-19 is impacting the industry.

Yard manger Kate Lee and her team of four have been following a rota to take care of the horses and ensure they will be ready for when the students return.

Most agriculture, animal management and foundation learners had the opportunity to get involved with the lambing season before closure but the college’s suckler herd of native cattle have just started calving, with three born so far and another 27 on the way.

Haggis said: “Luckily the farm staff always take the time to take a snap or two so we can share these events with the learners.”

Similarly, level 3 agriculture students had managed to complete their ploughing assessments before classes ended.

Haggis added: “While it’s a shame the learners didn’t get to follow this up with drilling, they will see the fruits of their labours when they return for year two and get on with harvest.”

The director also stressed it is “very much business as usual” in the animal care unit, with senior animal care technician Imogen Wright training giant sulcata tortoise Wrinkles as well as looking after the rest of the animals, which include wallabies and raccoons.

 

College leader zooms in on fitness for colleagues

A college senior leader by day and dance instructor by night is running free online classes to keep her colleagues active during Covid-19.

Tracy Round-Turner, assistant principal for young people at West London College, has been a dance instructor for eight years, having previously danced professionally with the likes of Mr Motivator and on Blue Peter, and now teaches disciplines like Zumba and her own dance fitness hybrid.

Once her regular community class in Wimbledon had to stop due to the government restrictions, she moved the classes online through the video conferencing platform Zoom.

On top of her regular attendees, many of whom are NHS workers, she decided to advertise it to staff from her college to “help keep them active and build a sense of online community”.

Round-Turner said: “I think isolation can be scary, and it is important to reach out to each other and feel connected.

“I’m hoping the staff of the college will get involved and join me to shake their cares away and take some time to feel good about themselves.”

She taught her first online class on Monday – ‘Monday Motivation’, featuring Zumba and another discipline called ViBeatz, from 8pm to 9pm.

And last night, she ran a class called ‘Burn It Up’, which involved high-intensity interval training, and helped core strength and balance.

On top of that, Round-Turner is also offering a 20 to 30 minute yoga stretch session each day around lunchtime to “help those that have been sat in front of their screens all morning to remember the importance of resting their eyes and re-aligning their bodies and minds and re-energise them for the afternoon ahead”.

She sees this as an opportunity for people to get even fitter than they were before the lockdown, saying: “I think we should learn from this and think more about employee wellbeing – which we’ve been quite slow to do in this country.”

The beleaguered National College for HS2 blew £73,000 on a failed legal attempt at stopping Ofsted publishing a grade four report, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) provided the figure to FE Week after the college went to the High Court in the hope of suppressing the watchdog’s findings.

In February, Ofsted struck a deal to pay their own legal fees in return for the college dropping their judicial review.

The education watchdog has now told FE Week it spent just £12,500 on the case.

NCATI said its decision to go to court was taken following “full and careful consideration” and after they received advice from “leading legal counsel of a strong likelihood of success”, which was assessed “rigorously” against the costs and benefits of proceeding.

When Ofsted’s report was published last month, it revealed employers had to fill in gaps in their apprentices’ skills left by NCATI.

It also found that management and staff did not act quickly enough to protect apprentices from harassment.

“Staff did not prioritise the welfare and safeguarding needs of the apprentice over the needs of others in the class,” the report said, while also stating the college’s safeguarding arrangements are “not effective”.

The college was allowed to fund the legal challenge despite currently surviving on government bailouts and being in formal intervention, as the Department for Education has said it is an “independent organisation”.

Universities minister Michelle Donelan wrote to NCATI, in a letter published in February, confirming the college would be placed in supervised college status “in light of the severity of the college’s financial situation”.

This came after FE Commissioner Richard Atkins found that “without a commitment of 12 months of continued emergency funding, NCATI’s board will not be able to sign off on their 2018-19 financial statements as a going concern”.

The costs from the legal challengehad also been “significant”, the commissioner’s report said, and given the college is receiving emergency funding, it was “clearly a very difficult and sensitive issue”.

A £4.55 million bailout was previously agreed to sign off the college’s 2017-18 accounts. NCATI, formerly known as the National College for High Speed Rail, ran into problems with learner recruitment as delays in announcing HS2 contractors meant employers were unable to commit to the apprentice volumes they had originally anticipated.

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 in November 2019. Of those, 167 were apprentices.

A successful alternative to the business admin level 2 apprenticeship, for NHS Trusts at least, has been found, according to the government.

A blog post published by the Education & Skills Funding Agency last week lauded the level 2 customer service programme as a viable replacement.

It has been used in Leeds Teaching Hospitals, which said the standard has proven to be “versatile, and we have used it in a range of roles within corporate services and clinical settings”, such as patient-booking services, reception areas, HR and radiology.

They have 50 apprentices currently on the programme, being delivered through Leeds City College.

Jordan Faithwaite, the education, learning and organisational development manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said in each setting the apprentices meet a “range of internal and external staff, patients and families, which provides experiences that enable the apprentices to achieve their required competencies”.

“Previously, the level 2 business administration apprenticeship would have been used in these areas, but the customer service apprenticeship has supported apprentices to undertake their administrative duties while also focusing on the level and delivery of service and customer experience,” she added.

But Rob Brookes, an NHS apprenticeship lead, hit out at the ESFA’s blog and said: “What a disgrace… Are they advocating the use of a standard that’s not relevant to a job role? That really fits with apprenticeship policy doesn’t it?”

He added: “I know it can work and is working for some, but it’s paperingover the cracks a bit and it only really works for patient-facing admin staff.

“I have heard that apprentices can use colleagues as ‘internal customers’, but that’s manipulating the situation to fit the apprenticeship. Not ideal, in my opinion.”

An alternative to the popular level 2 business admin framework is needed as it will be officially switched off from July 31, and the government last month outright refused to replace the programme as a new apprenticeship standard, despite lobbying by more than over 100 employers, including the NHS.

The Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education said the proposal did not meet the required length or quality of an apprenticeship standard.

Chief executive Jennifer Coupland then told FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference that signing off on the standard would “undermine” efforts to create a “wellregarded” programme.

Health Education England told FE Week it is aware of a “handful of NHS trusts nationally” that are now using the level 2 customer service apprenticeship standard where they would have previously used the level 2 business admin framework.

However, they warned this “only works for a limited number of jobroles” and therefore might not be suitable for all types of employers.

The ESFA’s blog admitted that there “may be other standards that will work better for your business if you are currently using the business administration framework at level 2”, including, for example, the level 3 business admin standard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Here is the letter in full:

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

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

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

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

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