For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Today we take a look at May…

Crisis gripped the sector when Hadlow College became the first college to be put into administration.

An FE Week spread on the scandal told how FE Commissioner Richard Atkins had been “genuinely shocked” by what his team found on site, and how the college’s problems could have been uncovered sooner if the ESFA had checked Hadlow’s self-assessed financial health score of “good” against its accounts, which told a very different story.

It was also revealed that the National College for High-Speed Rail, which has since consulted on broadening its offering and was changing its name, needed a £4.55 million DfE bailout to sign off its accounts.

Moulton College in Northamptonshire had its future questioned after a second shock grade four from Ofsted, while there was contrasting emotions as the Institute for Apprenticeships’ latest funding band changes were announced.

The institute also revealed that it was to trial “gender-neutral” language in a bid to boost the number of female STEM apprentices – after research found “masculine” words in job adverts, such as “ambition”, “challenging” and “leader”, deter them from applying.

We delved into the government’s latest attainment figures and found how the English and maths GCSE resit policy was helping tens of thousands of students, and reported on the key findings and recommendations from the much anticipated Augar review of post-18 education.

It was also revealed that a cash-strapped college group, Birmingham Metropolitan, was to close Stourbridge College in bid to pay back debt, even though it had undergone a £5 million makeover just four years ago. The move sparked a local backlash which later featured numerous times in Parliament.

FE Week went behind bars to get a look at prison education: much calmer than an FE college, is what we found.

We also profiled Nazir Afzal, the chair of Hopwood Hall College in Manchester, who said he is “desperately concerned” about how the government treats FE, and we reported on this year’s national finals of the Association of Colleges sport championships, where the south east retained the coveted Wilkinson Sword trophy for the third successive year.

For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Today it’s March’s turn…

We kicked off the month by revealing what was behind the Hadlow College scandal, including how the deputy chief executive allegedly faked an email from the ESFA to justify funding claims and the former chair was “misled and lied to”.

The DfE itself came under the spotlight when the National Audit Office published a report that warned the apprenticeship budget was set to run out after the government got its forecasting wrong.

The department’s permanent secretary Jonathan Slater then admitted “hard choices” will need to be made in the face of an imminent apprenticeship budget overspend, during a Public Accounts Committee hearing.

Data troubles bedevilled Dudley College, which had to hand over more than £500,000 to the ESFA for “numerous” late withdrawals of apprentices and work-placed learners, and the police launched a “formal criminal investigation” into disgraced apprenticeship firm Aspire Achieve Advance (3aaa).

The Department for Education launched the first part of a two-stage consultation to decide the futures of over 12,000 vocational qualifications at level 3 and below. Anne Milton insisted at the time the review was not manipulation of the market to ensure T-levels are a success.

The chancellor’s spring statement brought with it some welcome news for FE: the 10-per-cent fee that small businesses must pay when they take on apprentices would be halved from April 1, and the government revealed it was to fund free sanitary products in colleges in effort to tackle period poverty.

Meanwhile, it was discovered that University Technical Colleges were being pressured to join multi-academy trusts after the programme’s architect Lord Baker U-turned on previous warnings that they will be “watered down” if they do.

Elsewhere, we published our annual National Apprenticeship Week supplement for 2019, our former commissioning editor, Cath Murray, visited two specialist colleges in Leicestershire to see how they are getting more adults with learning disabilities into paid employment, and the names of the young professionals who would represent the UK at WorldSkills Kazan in August were revealed.

For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Today we take a look at February…

A story that would define the year for further education was Hadlow College, and we reported exclusively in the second month of the year on how the FE Commissioner was investigating the Kent provider after accounting irregularities were found.

The ESFA also started making headlines this month when it had to delay issuing European Social Fund contracts due to alleged breach of tender rules, while providers fumed after officials started conducting short notice mystery audits in the wake of the 3aaa scandal.

Our first story of 2019 on Brooklands College, which would later turn out to be a huge subcontracting scandal, was published. We revealed that a private provider it subcontracted with, SCL Security Ltd, was suspended from recruiting apprentices while the government carried out an investigation, and it was found making ‘insufficient progress’ in its first Ofsted monitoring report.

Meanwhile, then-Institute for Apprenticeships boss Sir Gerry Berragan wrote about how the organisation recognised that it can improve how it works with employers, while the University and College Union began what would turn out to be a busy year for industrial action, as 13 colleges went on strike over pay.

We also revealed the impact of the apprenticeship levy drying up and found that providers were turning apprentices from small businesses away, and the Baker clause was labelled a “law without teeth” after it emerged the government did not take any action against schools for noncompliance in the first year of its existence.

Elsewhere, Jacqui Canton, deputy principal of Abingdon and Witney College, explained how over a six-year period her college’s rating for apprenticeships improved from ‘inadequate’ to ‘outstanding’ – and they weren’t even focusing on inspections. “Do the right things for the right reasons and good results will follow” was her advice.

And then chancellor Philip Hammond was urged to show that he does love colleges after representatives from a campaign group demanding more FE funding delivered him a Valentine’s card.

Three independent learning providers received a grade three from Ofsted, in a mixed week for FE providers.

One independent learning provider, City College Nottingham, was found to be inadequate by the education watchdog but there were eight ‘good’ grades across the sector.

Green Labyrinth, a Swindon-based independent learning provider, dropped from a grade two to a grade three.

It had 53 young learners, 59 adult learners, 20 learners with high-needs and 51 apprentices at the time of the full inspection.

While the education watchdog found learners enjoy their education, it said teachers do not provide enough useful feedback on their progress, staff do not have the specialist knowledge of how best to support learners with high needs and not all apprentices receive enough training.

Inspectors said leaders and managers “have not acted quickly enough” to address weaknesses.

However, it was reported that adults receive a “high-quality education” and all the programmes have been “designed well to meet local needs”.

Lean Education and Development Limited, an independent training provider specialising in delivering apprenticeships in business improvement techniques for learners aged 19 and over, received a grade three in its first full inspection.

It became a prime-contract holder in May 2017 and had 724 apprentices at the time of the inspection.

Ofsted found apprentices enjoy learning and feel safe in their work environments but that they “do not receive the support they need to develop their English and mathematics skills” or “benefit from high-quality, impartial careers advice and guidance”.

The content was considered “too narrowly focused” on the standards or framework part of the apprenticeship but the links to employers were praised as were the coaches.

The other independent learning provider to be graded ‘requires improvement’ was the Development Fund Ltd, which had received two out of three ‘insufficient progress’ grades in an early monitoring visit report published at the start of the year.

At the time of the inspection, of the 89 apprentices who started level 3 standards in travel consultancy and were employed in travel agencies throughout the country, 45 are still in learning.

Nearly half had left their programme due to “threatened redundancies and the volatile nature of the travel industry”.

Since the last visit from the inspectorate, curriculum plans were developed but as these were recent, it was “not possible” to judge the full impact.

However, “quality improvement actions have been implemented too slowly” despite apprentices demonstrating “high levels of professionalism”.

Another independent learning provider, Genius Solutions Limited, received two out of three ‘insufficient progress’ grades in a monitoring visit.

It was found that leaders have “not developed a curriculum that considers apprentices’ starting points or is tailored to the needs of apprentices or employers” and “do not ensure that their programmes meet the requirements of an apprenticeship”.

While staff are highly qualified, apprentices’ progress are not tracked effectively and effective systems are not in place to check and improve quality, according to Ofsted.

However, in more positive news, SHL Training Solutions Ltd was found to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in its second monitoring visit of the year.

SIMIAN Risk Management Limited also received ‘reasonable progress’ grades in a monitoring visit after receiving a grade three in a full inspection in March.

London Skills & Development Network Limited improved from a grade three to a grade two while North Lancs. Training Group Limited maintained its ‘good’ rating.

Five out of six adult and community learning providers that were assessed this week also received grade two from inspectors.

Merton Adult Education improved from a grade three to a grade two while Wolverhampton Adult Education Service fell from being ‘outstanding’ to ‘good’.

Buckinghamshire County Council, London Borough of Newham Adult Learning Service and Lambeth Adult Learning Service (Lambeth London Borough Council) all retained their ‘good’ grades.

The other adult and community learning provider Kettering Borough Council was deemed to be making ‘significant progress’ in both themes in a monitoring visit, following a grade three in a full inspection in 2017.

Two employer providers received early monitoring visits this week. Gedling Borough Council made ‘significant progress’ in one assessed theme and ‘reasonable progress’ in the other two while University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation NHS Trust received ‘significant progress’ across the board.

East Riding College, a general further education college, continued to be a ‘good’ provider in a short inspection.

Another general FE college, Kensington and Chelsea College, made ‘reasonable progress’ across the board in a monitoring visit after receiving a grade three in 2018.

Independent specialist college Cambian Lufton College also received ‘reasonable progress’ grades in every assessed theme after being declared ‘inadequate’ in July.

The remaining independent learning providers to be assessed this week all received ‘reasonable progress’ across the board following early monitoring visits.

These were: Apprenticeship Recruitment Service Ltd, Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited, Evolve Your Future Limited, Mercury Training Services Ltd and Thermal Insulation Contractors Association (TICA).

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Apprenticeship Recruitment Service Ltd	21/11/2019	16/12/2019	M	N/A
Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited	21/11/2019	20/12/2019	M	N/A
City College Nottingham	08/11/2019	20/12/2019	4	3
Evolve Your Future Limited	14/11/2019	18/12/2019	M	N/A
Genius Solutions Limited	26/11/2019	17/12/2019	M	3
Green Labyrinth	29/11/2019	20/12/2019	3	2
Lean Education and Development Limited	06/12/2019	19/12/2019	3	M
London Skills & Development Network Limited	07/11/2019	16/12/2019	2	3
Mercury Training Services Ltd	05/12/2019	19/12/2019	M	N/A
SHL Training Solutions Ltd	28/11/2019	17/12/2019	M	M
SIMIAN Risk Management Limited	28/11/2019	20/12/2019	M	3
The Development Fund Limited	27/11/2019	20/12/2019	3	M
North Lancs. Training Group Limited	27/11/2019	16/12/2019	2	2
Thermal Insulation Contractors Association (TICA)	28/11/2019	18/12/2019	M	M

 

Adult and Community Learning	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Buckinghamshire County Council	27/11/2019	18/12/2019	2	2
Kettering Borough Council	27/11/2019	19/12/2019	M	3
London Borough of Newham Adult Learning Service	14/11/2019	18/12/2019	2	2
Merton Adult Education	11/10/2019	18/12/2019	2	3
Wolverhampton Adult Education Service	29/11/2019	19/12/2019	2	1
Lambeth Adult Learning Service (Lambeth London Borough Council)	30/10/2019	18/12/2019	2	2

 

Employer providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Gedling Borough Council	07/11/2019	18/12/2019	M	N/A
University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation NHS Trust	22/11/2019	19/12/2019	M	N/A

 

Specialist colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Cambian Lufton College	27/11/2019	17/12/2019	M	4

 

General FE and Tertiary	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
East Riding College	04/12/2019	18/12/2019	2	2
Kensington and Chelsea College	22/11/2019	18/12/2019	M	3

The chief executive at a college under investigation for nepotism and ‘financial wrongdoing’ is leaving, FE Week can reveal.

In an email to all staff seen by this newspaper, the chair of the corporation confirmed “Michelle Swithenbank will be leaving Hull College at the end of this term” but investigators had found “no impropriety”.

She was previously on a ‘leave of absence’ and no longer running the college.

Vice Principal HR and Professional Services at Hull College Group, Julie Milad, is another high-profile departure.

Dafydd Williams, Corporation Chair, told staff today that “no impropriety on the part of Michelle” had been found by Eversheds’ review of operational arrangements.

“Nevertheless, Michelle has informed us that she wishes to move on, and feels this is a good time to do so,” he added.

Swithenbank joined the Hull College Group in January 2017 as deputy chief executive.

Milad had been engaged by the college on a consultancy basis to lead the Fresh Start staffing reductions and restructuring and “stayed at the College longer than she originally intended”.

Williams said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank both of them for their work on our behalf and wish them well for the future.”

It was understood that the FE Commissioner, Richard Atkins, visited the college following the revelation in FE Week that the ‘independent’ investigator hired by the college chair, was the college lawyer.

The college was already under financial intervention following a £50 million bail-out last year.

It is currently being run by an interim chief executive Derek O’Toole, who was appointed in November to initially take up the role for one month.

Allegations of nepotism first surfaced in 2018, but it was understood that it is appointments that have occurred in recent months that are under investigation.

Swithenbank became the top boss in August 2018 around the time that the college received a bailout of more than £50 million and slashed more than 300 staff to balance the books as part of a ‘Fresh Start’ programme overseen by the FE Commissioner.

Published accounts for 2017/18 reveal a “partner of a senior post-holder” was appointed in January 2018 and resigned their position in August 2018 after being paid £36,640.

The senior post-holder was then chief executive Michelle Swithenbank and the partner, now husband, was Graham Raddings.

Raddings was appointed to a new senior post, executive director of marketing and innovation in January 2018.

He used the marketing budget to hire the 80-piece Hull Philharmonic Orchestra to play computer-game music when in charge of the college marketing budget between January and August 2018.

The investigation is understood to also include over £100,000 spent on a computer game app, computer game-style cinema advertising and a PR agency that promoted the music event and computer game.

After the revelations, a spokesperson for Hull College Group said: “The board were made aware of the event happening in June 2017, and considered there was no conflict of interest.”

FE Week understands that in February 2018 a whistleblower informed the FE Commissioner of the relationship.

The college told FE Week that full disclosure of a family connection was made to the board and claim it was a fixed term marketing role concluding in August 2018.

The current investigation is understood to relate to the use of college funds and appointments in recent months, and is being conducted by a law firm with experience of the FE sector which will report back to the chair.

Email: Chair announcement to all staff

Dear Colleagues,

As the year draws to a close, I write with news of two departures.

Our CEO, Michelle Swithenbank will be leaving Hull College at the end of this term.

As you know, Eversheds has been conducting a thorough review of our operational arrangements, and I must stress it has found that there has been no impropriety on the part of Michelle. Nevertheless, Michelle has informed us that she wishes to move on, and feels this is a good time to do so. Michelle will be communicating with you all shortly.

Our VP HR and Professional Services Julie Milad has also informed us that she wishes to move on having originally been engaged by the college on a consultancy basis to lead the Fresh Start staffing reductions and restructuring. Julie has stayed at the College longer than she originally intended. As some of you may know, Julie’s home is in Manchester, and due to family responsibilities, she has decided to return there.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank both of them for their work on our behalf and wish them well for the future.

Kind regards,

Dafydd Williams
Corporation Chair

UPDATE:

A statement received from the college after publication said: “Hull College CEO Michelle Swithenbank has announced she is stepping down at the end of this year.

“In a note to colleagues she wrote: ‘While there can be no doubt that this has been a challenging period, I have always cherished the belief that this is a special place, doing wonderful things. It deserves the best chance to recover.

“I have been blessed to work with staff who shared this belief, and the net result is a college that has a financially viable future and every opportunity to thrive. It is now time for me to pass the baton on to someone else for the next stage of your journey.’

“The search for her replacement will begin in the New Year.

“The College has stressed the operational review conducted by Eversheds found there was no impropriety on the part of Michelle Swithenbank.”

For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Starting with January…

FE Week began the year with a preview of what was to come in 2019: apprenticeship policy tweaks, the Augar Review, adult education budget devolution, a new Ofsted inspection framework and the spending review.

Little did we know it would actually involve potentially two new governments, a general election and a bidding war over cash for the sector.

There were inklings of some of the big events that were to happen, though: we found that Highbury College was locked in a £1.4 million legal battle with Nigeria and we had to report the college to the Information Commissioner for refusing to reveal the expenses of its principal, with one expert warning they were “skirting with possible criminal offence”.

It was also reported that West Nottinghamshire College, which had run into severe financial difficulty, ended the use of corporate cards for senior staff after its former high-profile principal claimed more than £40,000 in expenses over the last five years.

But it was good news for South and City college Birmingham, which got its ‘good’ Ofsted rating back after one of its divisions, Bournville college, slipped to ‘requires improvement’ overall and ‘inadequate’ for apprenticeships in 2016, as it battled with deteriorating finances.

Meanwhile, then skills minister Anne Milton dismissed rumours of a £500 million apprenticeship overspend, claiming the budget will be “alright” for the rest of the year. She also vowed to “dig deeper” into the drop in level two apprenticeships, and whether it might be linked to the rise in management courses.

It was a month to celebrate for Civil Ceremonies Limited, a loans-only provider that was the first of its kind to be rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

A petition by Brockenhurst College students reached nearly 70,000 signatures and triggered a House of Commons debate on college funding.

Also that month, new Association of Colleges chair Julie Nerney wrote for us about harnessing the AoC to help learners, and EMPRA boss Ruth Sparkes advised colleges on how to handle bad news: tell the truth, essentially.

A college embroiled in an expenses scandal has appointed an ex-chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) as its new interim chair.

Martin Doel CBE, who was previously brought in to chair West Kent and Ashford College’s board at the request of the Further Education Commissioner, joined Highbury College today.

He was elected by members of the Highbury College Board at a meeting on December 17.

Doel said: “I am looking forward very much to working with Board colleagues and with the College staff led by the Interim Principal, Penny Wycherley, to continue to best serve the College’s students and their communities, as well as the many employers with which the College works to great effect.

“I am also looking forward to renewing contacts with the College’s local partners and stakeholders.”  

Since leaving the chief executive role at the Association of Colleges in 2016 after spending eight years at the helm, Doel became a Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) professor of leadership in FE at University College London.

This followed the new interim chair’s 28-year career at the Royal Air Force.

He was also a governor of Cambridge Regional College, a trustee of education charity CVQO, the Challenge Network and Royal Society for Blind Children, as well as an independent member of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s audit and risk committee.

Penny Wycherley, Interim Principal and CEO of Highbury College, added: “Martin is a very talented addition to our Board and we enthusiastically welcome the invaluable insights and experience he will bring to the leadership of this amazing College.

“Our thanks go to the former Chair, Tim Mason, who has contributed so much time and dedication to this role and we look forward to our continued work together.”

Wycherley took over Stella Mbubaegbu’s responsibilities as principal at Highbury College earlier in the month after the latter was suspended last month.

At the same time, Highbury’s chair Tim Mason announced he would also be stepping down.

It follows intervention from the FE Commissioner, who recently moved Highbury into “supervised college status”.

The FE commissioner was sent into Highbury by Department for Education minister Lord Agnew, who said he was “deeply concerned” after FE Week revealed that its principal had claimed expenses of £150,000 over four years, following a year-long freedom of information battle.

Included in the spending were numerous first-class flights, stays in five-star hotels, travel in luxury cars, a £350 bill – including a £45 lobster and nearly £100 on cocktails – at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a £434 pair of designer headphones.

In October Mbubaegbu, who was awarded a CBE in the 2008 New Year honours for services to further education, announced her intention to retire from Highbury in the summer next year.

In the same month FE Week also revealed that the college applied to the Education and Skills Funding Agency for up to £5 million to replace “non-compliant” panelling which, according to the architects, “failed” a safety test.

The cladding at the halls of residence for students under the age of 18 is the same type as that used on Grenfell Tower in west London which caught fire in June 2017.

In addition, Highbury is locked in a legal battle with a state in Nigeria and this newspaper found it had substantially lowered its expectations of recovering the £1.4 million it claims to be owed. Leaders believe they now have a “medium opportunity” of recouping just £872,000.

The college recorded a £2.48 million deficit in its 2017/18 accounts. Leaders axed its sixth form and had to make staff redundant this year owing to financial pressures.

Highbury’s Ofsted grade dropped from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’ in June 2018.

An investigation has been launched at Gateshead College after it had an unexplained deficit in the last financial year.

FE Week also understands its finance director went on sick leave following the revelations.

The grade one college confirmed it has been working with the ESFA and FE Commissioner.

A spokesman for Gateshead College said: “There was an unplanned deficit in the last financial year and an investigation by a team of independent forensic accountants has been commissioned by the Governors to establish the explanation for this; for obvious reasons we can’t comment further until that is concluded in January.

“As soon as the situation came to light, the college re-modelled its budget and produced a sound 3-year financial plan on confirmed income which returns the college to a financial position showing a surplus by 2020/2021.

“These plans have been shared with the ESFA and FE Commissioner who we are working closely with.

“This situation will not affect the education and training we offer our students and customers, which remains our paramount concern.

“We remain a college which is performing at the very highest level in relation to its students and it is our priority to make sure it continues to do so. Our student achievement rates are amongst the highest in the country and are sustained year on year, we have exceptional staff and student numbers are growing.”

Gateshead College received an ‘outstanding’ grade from Ofsted following a full inspection in July 2015.

The college also has the highest paid college leader according to published accounts last year.

Principal Judith Doyle CBE received a salary between £340,001 and £350,000.

The college’s financial statements for the year ended July 31 2018 also confirmed six other key management staff, including the Accounting Officer, were paid between £110,001 and £190,000.

Robert Halfon, the former education minister who chaired the Parliamentary education committee for the past two-and-a-half years, is seeking re-election to the role.

The Harlow MP confirmed to sister newspaper FE Week that he will run “on a platform of the education ladder of opportunity, with rungs on skills, social justice, standards and support for the profession”.

Select committee chairs must seek re-election at the beginning of each new Parliament.

Arrangements for elections have not yet been announced. The House of Commons must first decide which party will get leadership of each committee, though education is expected to remain under Conservative control, as it has been since 2010.

Halfon was first elected as education committee chair in July 2017 after previous chair Neil Carmichael lost his seat at that year’s general election.

He beat opponents Nick Boles, Tim Loughton, Rehman Chishti, Stephen Metcalfe and Dan Poulter in a vote of MPs to land the role of the cross-party committee.

He served as skills minister from July 2016 to June 2017, and was previously a minister without portfolio and deputy leader of the Conservative Party.

In the education sector, Halfon is perhaps best-known for his “ladder of opportunity” catchphrase, and for his willingness to clash with ministers from his own party, and even his former colleagues, when they appeared as witnesses.