Westminster Kingsway College has become the first ever college to win a gong at the Careers and Enterprise Company’s annual awards.

The London-based college was announced as the 2019 winner for ‘Most Progress from a School or College’ out of a shortlist of three finalists in a ceremony at The Royal Society of Chemistry in Piccadilly, London.

This new category received the largest subscription of any of the 12 award categories with over 30 entries, out of 200 submissions overall.

The judges praised the incorporation of employer partnerships and inclusive policies of Westminster Kingsway College’s new careers strategy, which demonstrated “clear progress and strategic direction” towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Now in their second year, the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) awards celebrated the work of colleges, schools, businesses and careers professionals.

In a statement, the judging panel said of Westminster Kingsway: “This FE college has established a very thorough programme with an impressive relationship with employers who are now involved in shaping the curriculum.

“Vulnerable learners and those with complex needs are at the forefront of planning.”

The National Student Survey, an annual poll which asks learners about their training provider, found that 100 per cent of respondents from Westminster Kingsway College knew their next steps and 87 per cent knew where to get advice on what to do next.

The London college said that it overcame barriers to embed careers learning into the curriculum to address the needs of students who wanted an alternative to university. It was a relatively new area for the college which, “with time and dedication”, made structural changes to provide this support.

Two new careers leaders were appointed by the college within its centralised cross-college Careers and Employability Service before the start of the 2017/18 academic year: the employability lead evaluated and enhanced employer partnerships and developed a programme across curriculums, while the careers and progression lead focused on personal guidance and progression.

In addition, a tutorial scheme of learning was introduced from 2018/19 to support delivery of careers education in the classroom. Activities included a one-to-one service, employer visits, a university fair, and Q and A sessions.

Matthew Weatherby, regional community engagement manager at Willmott Dixon Construction, provided a testimonial about the college’s work. He said: “We support the construction skills learners with an employability programme, work placements, workplace and site visits, and the annual apprenticeship fair.

“With the employability lead we identified the key challenge of ensuring learners have the actual skills they need to get onto apprenticeship jobs and implemented the programme to address this. Last year we had 12 successful placements and next year we hope to double this number and continue expanding the employability programme.”

Westminster Kingsway College’s Careers Strategy 2018 – 2020 is based around the eight Gatsby Benchmarks. In its submission, the college singled out its development of the work experience strand during 2018/19: “A key factor in this delivery was our use of the Navigate platform, so that pupils could create a record of their work experience and careers provision,” it said. “Because of this, we will be able to measure distance travelled in employability skills development as a KPI [key performance indicator] of the careers programme.”

CEC chief executive Claudia Harris said: “Congratulations to the winners and shortlist of the Careers Excellence Awards 2019. The organisations and individuals recognised are setting the bar in careers provision across England and changing the lives of the children they work with.”

Main pic: From left: Jasbir Sondhi – Westminster Kingsway College director curriculum and learner services, Charlotte Hoets – careers and progression lead, Carlo Liu – employability and progression lead

Click below to see the full list of winners.

The independent investigation into Hull College Group is being led by a lawyer who has a long history with the college, FE Week understands.

Law firm Stone King confirmed this afternoon that it has been “instructed” to carry out the inquiry following allegations of nepotism and inappropriate use of funds by college bosses.

The firm’s further education team is led by Tom Morrison, who joined in January 2019 and has links with Hull College going back at least eight years.

Between September 1999 and December 2018, according to his LinkedIn page, Morrison worked at Rollitis, a business and private solicitors in Yorkshire and the Humber which sponsors and presents an annual business and enterprise award to a Hull College student.

He was pictured, in 2011, presenting the award to one student. In 2017 he was one of the main guest speakers at the college’s graduation.

Morrison also appears in the college’s prospectus for 2018/19 and 2019/20. In the latter he is quoted as saying: “Our business has benefited immensely from sourcing talented and enthusiastic students directly out of college.”

Morrison’s biography on the Stone King website states that he “recently joined as head of further education for the firm’s national FE practice and the Leeds Office lead for the education team”.

“Tom specialises in advising education providers on strategic and contractual/commercial issues,” it adds.

“He has particular expertise in leading projects, handling contract negotiations, drafting agreements and advising on information law compliance.

“Tom speaks at sector conferences and delivers sector-specific training at various events throughout the country, including those organised by the Association of Colleges, the Education & Training Foundation, the College Finance Directors Group and the Governance Professionals’ Special Interest Group.”

A spokesperson for Stone King said it could not comment other than to say it has been “instructed” to investigate Hull College.

Hull College has not responded to requests for comment.

FE Week revealed last night that the government is “carefully monitoring” the independent investigation into allegations regarding the management of Hull College Group, which received a £50 million bailout last year.

This newspaper has spoken to numerous current and former employees and understands that a whistleblower has contacted the FE Commissioner alleging nepotism and inappropriate use of funds.

FE Week understands the commissioner’s team will be going into the college on Monday.

Lord Agnew, who was announced as a minister for FE earlier this month and now oversees the FE Commissioner, said: “The Education and Skills Funding Agency has been made aware of allegations regarding the management of Hull College Group. The college has launched an independent investigation into these issues. The ESFA has contacted the college to seek assurances that the investigation is independent and is monitoring the situation.”

Main pic: Tom Morrison speaking at Hull College’s graduation ceremony in 2017

A popular Italian restaurant chain has been served a complimentary report by Ofsted during a week of mostly positive reports in the FE sector.

Criticism was reserved for an NHS trust in London for its apprenticeship delivery and a private training provider which runs train driver and conductor apprenticeships.

The Azzurri Group, a market leader in Italian casual dining and operator of ASK Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama restaurants, was found to have made ‘significant progress’ in two out of three themes in an early monitoring visit.

Leaders and managers were praised by inspectors for designing “a well-rounded hospitality apprenticeship,” currently delivered with the level 3 hospitality supervisor standard, “that prepares apprentices very well for managerial positions”.

Its current cohort of 13 who all work at ASK Italian receive “high-quality coaching and mentoring” to help them complete their studies, take on responsibilities and gain additional qualifications, including in food safety and health and safety. 

Azzurri Restaurants Limited, which became a prime contractor for apprenticeships in October 2017, subcontracts to HIT Training to deliver the functional skills component of the apprenticeship.

Kickstart2Employment Ltd also received positive feedback from inspectors.

The Wrexham based independent learning provider received three scores of ‘significant progresses’ out of four in an early monitoring visit – there were 39 learners and 15 apprentices on the programme at the time.

Inspectors reported Kickstart2Employment uses their “well-developed links with partners, such as Jobcentre Plus and ex-offender referral agencies, to provide training opportunities for those who have been away from the workplace for extended periods of time”.

Individual and challenging sessions were designed by tutors, who have “excellent rapport with learners,” and apprentices “demonstrate excellent practical skills.”

Both providers were deemed to have made reasonable progress in ensuring effective safeguarding arrangements are in place.

An early monitoring visit of Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, in Marylebone, found it to have made ‘insufficient progress’ in two out of three areas in its apprenticeship programme.

The report stated leaders and staff “do not plan all the elements of the apprenticeship” to ensure the programme is completed within agreed timescales, and apprentices do not receive consistent access to planned off-the-job training. As a result, “the vast majority of apprentices do not make good progress”.

It also found that “managers have not implemented adequate teaching for English and mathematics functional skills”.

An independent learning provider, EMA Training Limited, requires improvement following a full inspection.

Most apprentices in scope for the inspection were on train driver and conductor apprenticeships with a single employer in the south east – their training is subcontracted to a private provider.

It requires improvement in the effectiveness of leadership and management as well as the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The apprentices make “slow progress” in developing written English and maths and completing their apprenticeship. Planning is “poor” and “leaders and managers do not ensure that subcontracted provision is good.”

However, all apprentices achieve their qualifications and all learners move into employment.

All other providers that received early monitoring reports this week scored reasonable progress across the board.

These were: Always Consult LTD, Blue Sky Assessing & Consultancy Ltd, Centrepoint Soho, FE Business Limited, Introtrain & Forum Limited, Universal Learning Streams (USL) Limited, Certas Energy UK Limited and Skanska UK PLC.

Trinity Solutions Academy was the only 16-19 academy to be inspected during this period while Lifebridge ASEND was the only Independent Specialist College. They both were found making ‘reasonable progress’ in every category of a monitoring visit following previous grade three ratings.

 

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Always Consult LTD	21/08/2019	24/09/2019	M	N/A
Blue Sky Assessing & Consultancy Ltd	29/08/2019	27/09/2019	M	N/A
Centrepoint Soho	14/08/2019	25/09/2019	M	N/A
EMA Training Limited	29/08/2019	27/09/2019	3	M
FE Business Limited	21/08/2019	27/09/2019	M	N/A
Introtrain & Forum Limited	28/08/2019	23/09/2019	M	N/A
Kickstart2Employment Ltd	14/08/2019	23/09/2019	M	N/A
Universal Learning Streams (USL) Limited	21/08/2019	25/09/2019	M	N/A

 

Sixth Form Colleges (inc 16-19 academies)	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Trinity Solutions Academy	13/09/2019	25/09/2019	M	3

 

Employer providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Azzurri Restaurants Limited	20/08/2019	25/09/2019	M	N/A
Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust	14/08/2019	26/09/2019	M	N/A
Certas Energy Uk Limited	21/08/2019	23/09/2019	M	N/A
Skanska UK PLC	14/08/2019	26/09/2019	M	N/A

 

Specialist colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Lifebridge ASEND	13/09/2019	27/09/2019	M	3

A government-imposed cap on advanced learner loan (ALL) provision is having a “devastating impact”, a college in Oxford has claimed.

Despite a 40 per cent increase in demand for its adult learning courses, Ruskin College has been denied permission by the Department for Education (DfE) to increase its ALL facility.

This has led to at least 10 additional learners who wanted to enrol on courses, including potential nurses and carers, being denied a place, the college said.

The DfE said that to be eligible for advanced learner loan facility growth under its rules, the value of paid loans must be at least 75 per cent of the provider’s 2019/20 total budget.

“All providers must meet a funding threshold of committed learners before they are awarded further funding to take on more learners,” a DfE spokesperson told FE Week.

She added that at their most recent review, Ruskin College “did not meet this threshold, but will be eligible for another review in November”.

A college spokesperson would not reveal how many loans learners it had already enrolled, but said: “Unsurprisingly, we are seeing increased demand year on year, so the cap on advanced learner loan allocation is having a devastating impact on those adults who may come to us a little later in the academic cycle and don’t yet have a loan in place.

“In a climate where there are severe shortages of nurses and carers, the cap is actively deterring the very students that the government says it is trying to attract.

“Although we have been advised that new allocation may be available after 1 November, this lack of certainty is forcing students to rethink their study options or defer to next year.”

She added: “As a college, we cannot enrol potential students without the loan, so this is extremely frustrating, especially given Ofsted’s focus on tackling disadvantage and our own Ofsted rating as exemplary for widening participation.”

In 2018/19, Ruskin College had an initial allocation of £1,240,914 for advanced learner loans, according to ESFA data; but by July this reduced to £1,197,675.

This loans cap is not peculiar to Ruskin: the post-18 education report led by Philip Augar and published in May said: “Qualifications supported by advanced learner loans are not demand led.

“Instead, institutions have a funding agreement with the ESFA that enables them to provide a loans facility.

“The size of this facility is based on what was delivered through loans in previous years. As such it is difficult to increase the size of the facility even if the demand is there.”

It added that this can be “particularly problematic for small institutions which may lack the capability and capacity to meet minimum delivery expectations, yet these institutions are often very close to the labour market and its changing skills needs and are potentially the key to filling local skills shortages”.

Advanced learner loans are available for people aged 19 and above, studying courses at levels three to six.

The number of learners using the loans dropped by nearly a fifth between 2015/16 and 2018/19.

Additionally, FE Week revealed towards the end of 2017 that 58 per cent of FE loans funding – amounting to almost £1 billion – had not been spent since the policy was introduced.

Less than a third of colleges are currently offering traineeships to 16 to 18-year-olds, FE Week analysis of new government data shows.

A list of providers, put together for the first time to help young people and employers find out who offers the preemployment programme, was recently published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

It shows that just 52 of the 170 general FE colleges in England offer traineeships to those aged 16 to 18. Overall, 138 of all providers deliver them for that age group.

At a time of low unemployment publicity for the programmes needs to be reaching students and employers

It comes three months after the former skills minister Anne Milton hailed the success of traineeships in light of research that revealed 75 per cent of learners move on to work or further study within a year of completing their programme.

Her comments were a boon for the pre-employment course, which has been plagued by falling learner numbers and a lack of investment that has frustrated sector bodies.

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges, suggested that one reason for low take- up among colleges is that the government has failed to advertise traineeships well enough.

“Traineeships are a good way to provide education, training and work experience to help young people who are perhaps not quite ready for employment,” Gravatt told FE Week after being shown the latest college figures.

“However, at a time of low unemployment publicity for the programmes needs to be reaching students and employers.”

Gravatt added that the AoC is working with a new government-led Traineeship Advisory Group to “make sure the traineeship offer fits within the broader context of pre-apprenticeship and employment support to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can get the skills they need to progress”.

Traineeships, launched in 2013, are designed to get 16 to 24-year-olds ready for an apprenticeship or job. They can last between six weeks and six months.

The courses include work preparation training, a work placement and English and maths support if needed.

Many general FE colleges in England that have some of the largest numbers of 16 to 18-year-old students do not offer them. Staff have indicated there is a lack of awareness of the scheme and problems with the design.

A spokesperson for Harrow College and Uxbridge College (HCUC), which had 5,960 students aged 16 to 18 in 2018/19, said it does not deliver traineeships due to the unpaid work placement element of the programme.

Jo Withers, executive director employer services and partnerships at HCUC, told FE Week: “Our experience of supporting traineeships across a range of sectors indicates that eligibility criteria and issues relating to extended unpaid work placements mean other routes tend to be more accessible to learners and employers, as well as maximising integration with pre-existing college provision.

“Responsive provision is a core value at HCUC and continued provision of traineeships is an ongoing possibility should it prove helpful.”

Dan Shelley, the executive director of strategic partnerships and engagement at East Sussex College, explained that until 2019/20 the funding rules for traineeships made the “English and maths requirement contained in the condition of funding unworkable, as it meant the very students that this would be targeting would need to participate in GCSE programmes.

“This has now changed but we are focused on providing all our students with meaningful industry placements so feel this is a change hat has been too slow in coming,” he added. “We may reconsider this decision in the future.”

And a spokesperson for Capital City College Group, which had over 9,500 students aged 16 to 18 last year – the second highest out of all colleges in England – said: “We have found that the traineeship programmes don’t have enough flexibility to engage or meet the needs of preNEETS (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and NEETs.

“We deliver similar programmes like pre-apprenticeships, which we have found better meet learners’ expectations while still providing a trained and educated workforce for employers.”

Traineeships saw their starts numbers fall from 24,100 to 17,700 (26 per cent) between 2015/16 – before reforms to the apprenticeship system came into force – and 2017/18.

The DfE’s latest data, published in July, shows there were 12,500 reported traineeship starts during the first three quarters of the 2018/19 academic year, a decrease of 16.8 per cent from 15,000 starts at the same time in the previous year.

Previous FE Week analysis found that colleges delivered less than a quarter of traineeships in 2016/17, and nearly half across the country had no starts whatsoever.

Recognising that traineeships are in need of reinvigoration, the government recently announced it would introduce a new traineeships achievement rate measure for the academic year 2019/20 to help monitor the programme’s effectiveness.

During her tenure as skills minister, Anne Milton told FE Week in June that she wanted to launch a new youth preemployment programme as early as next January.

She revealed she was already in cross-departmental discussions with ministers about the programme, which would prepare 16- to 25-year olds for employment, whether that be apprenticeships or another route.

Asked if officials were disappointed by the number of colleges that offer traineeships, and whether there has been any movement on this new pre-employment programme tabled by Milton, a spokesperson for the DfE said: “Traineeships are a demand-led programme.

“We are continually working to raise awareness of them and boost supply with providers to ensure young people are able to access opportunities.”

Click below to see the full list of colleges offering traineeships:

The government is “carefully monitoring” an independent investigation into allegations regarding the management of Hull College Group.

FE Week has spoken to numerous current and former employees and understands that a whistleblower has contacted the FE Commissioner alleging nepotism and inappropriate use of funds by college bosses.

Education minister Lord Agnew told this newspaper that the college has launched an independent investigation into the allegations regarding the management of Hull College Group.

He said: “Any financial wrongdoing, if it has occurred, is treated extremely seriously and we will be carefully monitoring events as the information becomes available.”

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

The Hull College Group chief executive and principal is Michelle Swithenbank, who joined in January 2017 as deputy chief executive.

Swithenbank became the top boss in August 2018. This was 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 is the now chief executive Michelle Swithenbank and the partner, now husband, is Graham Raddings.

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

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

In April, an anonymous twitter account believed to be set up by Graham Raddings tweeted: “Been sacked. Quite pissed off. Wonder what Hull Coll have to say about it. #shitcollege.”

The tweet, seen by FE Week, was deleted shortly after.

Raddings did not respond to a request for comment and has removed his LinkedIn profile.

In July 2018, he married Swithenbank, according to Radding’s Twitter account.

Several sources also claim that at a staff event in late 2018, Swithenbank told staff that the low point in the year for her was “being forced to sack my husband”.

The college has 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, Dafydd Williams.

Lord Agnew, who was announced as a minister for FE earlier this month and now oversees the FE Commissioner, said: “The Education and Skills Funding Agency has been made aware of allegations regarding the management of Hull College Group. The college has launched an independent investigation into these issues. The ESFA has contacted the college to seek assurances that the investigation is independent and is monitoring the situation.”

Writing in FE Week this week, he said many colleges are “already working hard to” balance the books and “curb excessive costs”. However, he added, “in the rare circumstances when this does not happen, I will not hesitate to step in”.

A spokesperson for Hull College Group said: “With regards the ongoing investigation, as FE Week will be aware, it would be inappropriate for this to be discussed publicly until it has been allowed to conclude without risk of interference or prejudice.”

The college remains in financial intervention and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.