The ‘transformational bridge’ of continued adult education

Everyone, from business people to politicians agree that infrastructure makes a huge difference to economic performance.

Digital, transport links and R & D are all considered as central to the future of British business and all have powerful and visible lobby groups to make their case to government for both regional and national investment. One critical part of our natural infrastructure which lacks such support and is often less tended to is our people strategy, particularly in the areas of vocational education and lifelong learning.

The skills base of our population will be one of the key determinants of our post-Brexit future. An ageing population coupled with an increased rate of change within job markets and accelerated technological advancement means adult education is increasingly critical to supporting sustainable growth at an individual, community and national level.

The good news is that further education has a long heritage of supporting adults and lifelong learning. Colleges and independent training providers are as passionate about the differences they make to the lives of adults as they are about their positive impact on the life chances of young people; creating access, progression and transformative experiences. Our challenge as a sector will be how we deliver access and influence against a backdrop of changing work patterns, technology change and pressure on funding.

The world of work is undergoing a massive shift. Entire occupations and industries are simultaneously expanding and contracting, and the skills needed to keep updated in most industries are constantly changing: Average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months, and IBM predicts that in the next couple of years, global knowledge will double every 11 hours. The emergence of the “gig” economy is reshaping the traditional employer-employee relationship as more contractors fill roles once reserved for full-time workers. 

Added to this, it seems that with the advent of Brexit our access to both skilled and unskilled labour from abroad will also change – even if exactly how remains unclear.

Continued adult education is the transformational bridge to span the gap between the skills required by the ageing, increasingly automated post-Brexit economy and those that currently exist in the workforce. 

Employers and workers alike are demanding “plug and play” platforms that enable access to smaller bites of just-in-time education throughout their careers. Such opportunities enable adult learners to incorporate learning, anytime, anywhere, alongside other commitments such as work and family. Similarly, adults can use bite-sized learning to sample subject content and applicable learning before committing to something more substantial.

That’s why Pearson has developed a new, short, “taster and refresher” provision, alongside our existing modular approach to qualifications.  These short courses support adult learners seeking to switch career paths or to refresh their knowledge in existing or sectors of interest. These are delivered using digital solutions and blended learning to support access and progression for learners.

Using localised labour market information, we are working with colleges to map our new and existing provision against local training needs and skills shortages.  In addition, we are creating career progression maps that can be used by colleges to provide information to learners on opportunities within a sector which are matched to job roles and pathways. 

The political and economic landscape requires us to constantly update, retool, rethink, and relearn. Learning, like life itself is a mountain bike ride, uncertain and requiring flexibility and a constant reassessment of the plan and the route.  Adult learning opportunities serve as guides, enabling us to continue on that journey. It’s a crucial journey not just for the individual involved but for the whole country – supporting improved productivity, economic growth and social well-being.

Ofsted criticised for allowing college mergers to be excuse for turning a blind eye to failure

The chair of the influential education select committee has called on Ofsted to “learn the lessons” from Learndirect, after an FE Week investigation found failing colleges that still hadn’t been visited by the education watchdog a year after they merged.

Mid-Cheshire College, rated ‘inadequate’ for the second time in a row in May 2017, merged with grade three Warrington Collegiate in August, to form Warrington and Vale Royal College.

But the college has yet to receive even a follow-up monitoring visit, thanks to Ofsted’s policy of giving newly merged colleges up to three years before they’re inspected.

The revelation prompted Robert Halfon (pictured above) to demand the inspectorate “monitor all failing providers” regardless of their merger status.

“It’s absolutely critical that Ofsted learn the lessons from the Learndirect debacle and subsequent National Audit Office enquiry and Public Accounts Committee recommendations around oversight,” he urged.

The PAC’s inquiry into the monitoring, inspection and funding of Learndirect – rated ‘inadequate’ last year and subsequently given special treatment by the government – “rightly criticised Ofsted for delaying an inspection due to potential ownership change”, Mr Halfon said.

“It seems the same is happening with college mergers.”

“No failing college should be able to put off or avoid regular monitoring visits and inspection simply because they’ve merged,” he said.

Ofsted’s normal policy is to visit providers rated ‘inadequate’ on at least three occasions and publish monitoring reports prior to a re-inspection within 15 months of the last full inspection report.

But following the area reviews of post-16 education and training, which ended in March last year, newly-merged colleges are now given up to three years before they receive a full inspection.

An Ofsted spokesperson said it “can of course inspect sooner if our risk assessment throws up any concerns”, but wouldn’t say why it hadn’t monitored Warrington and Vale Royal College.

“Ofsted regional directors have the power to inspect at any time, whether a college is newly merged or not. But it would be inappropriate to comment on the timing of any inspections or monitoring visits, since they are carried out at short notice,” he added.

The college itself cited the Ofsted policy to explain why it hadn’t been visited following last year’s merger – although it did say it expected a visit “imminently”.

In a recent expert piece for FE Week, the education watchdog’s deputy director for FE, Paul Joyce, insisted that “merging with another college is certainly not a route to avoiding inspection” and that “we are monitoring colleges that merge very closely”.

The PAC’s report on Learndirect, published in March, criticised Ofsted for delaying its inspection of the nation’s biggest FE provider after it claimed it was negotiating the sale of its apprenticeship business.

That policy “risks putting providers’ business interests ahead of learners’ interests”, the report said, and recommended the inspectorate introduce a new “specific deferral policy for commercial providers, to ensure that learners’ interests always take priority over the pursuit of profit”.

 

Education secretary ‘welcomes’ awarding bodies decision to withdraw T-levels legal challenge

Damian Hinds has “welcomed” the Federation of Awarding Bodies decision to drop its legal challenge against the government’s implementation of T-levels.

In his reaction to the news that was revealed by FE Week this morning, the education secretary promised to “continue to have constructive discussions” with exam boards to make technical education “better for the sake of the next generation”.

The FAB withdrew its threat of a judicial review today after the government watered down its rules in the procurement process for T-levels and offered to “reset the relationship” with the awarding sector.

Mr Hinds (pictured) labelled the legal action, which questioned whether the government has acted lawfully in its plans for introducing the new technical qualifications, as “deeply disappointing” and “unnecessary” when it was first announced last month.

Speaking today following FAB’s U-turn, he said: “I welcome this decision and commitment from the Federation of Awarding Bodies to support T-levels and work with the government on their development.

“Awarding bodies will be key to upholding the quality of our reforms to technical qualifications.

“With a rapidly changing world and a big productivity challenge, we have a pressing need to raise our game on technical education.

“I’ve been clear that it needs to be a shared endeavour across the world of education, government and business, and we will continue to have constructive discussions with the awarding body sector to make technical education better for the sake of the next generation.”

Legal action from FAB posed a huge threat to Mr Hinds’ plans for a rollout of T-levels, and would have almost certainly delayed their 2020 launch.

The federation said today that after weighing up the “continued value” of pursuing a judicial review, the “board does not believe that issuing a claim in the High Court at this time is the most optimal way of settling our concerns”.

“Instead, we have decided to take up the Department for Education’s offer to sit down with officials and, in due course, re-set the relationship between the government and the awarding industry,” the letter from FAB chair, Paul Eeles, added.

It also appeared that the federation’s members didn’t have the appetite for the cost of a legal challenge, after a survey revealed only 40 per cent of them were prepared to contribute to a legal ‘fighting fund’.

Awarding bodies first warned of a legal challenge last month following two market engagement events about the procurement process which left organisations enraged at the commercial terms they’d have to agree.

Its judicial review was going to be based on three grounds: irrational (timescales), unreasonable (lack of proper engagement on the single-provider model) and unfair (has a disproportionate impact on the awarding sector).

But the government then partly conceded to the demands of awarding organisations by easing up on a number of rules in the T-levels procurement process.

These include allowing them to co-brand student and employer facing materials, something the department said was impossible at the market engagement events.

Concluding the decision to drop the legal challenge, Mr Eeles wrote: “The robust action we took has resulted in the prospect of a different and better kind of relationship developing between government and the awarding industry in future.”

The T-levels row follows a rare ministerial direction from the education secretary in May, when Mr Hinds refused his own permanent secretary’s request to delay the initial rollout of T-levels until 2021.

Many fear the tight timescale for delivery will negatively impact learners in the first wave.

Exclusive: T-level legal challenge dropped after DfE offer to ‘re-set the relationship’ with awarding bodies

The Federation of Awarding Bodies has dropped its legal challenge against the government’s T-level implementation plans – paving the way for the planned rollout in 2020, FE Week can reveal.

The decision, which came about after the Department for Education offered to “re-set the relationship” with awarding bodies, was revealed in a letter sent to the organisation’s members this morning.

It said that after receiving the government’s response to its pre-action letter, the watering down of a number of rules in the upcoming procurement process, and weighing up the “continued value” of pursuing a judicial review, the “FAB board does not believe that issuing a claim in the High Court at this time is the most optimal way of settling our concerns”.

FAB does not believe that issuing a claim in the High Court at this time is the most optimal way of settling concerns

“Instead, we have decided to take up the Department for Education’s offer to sit down with officials and, in due course, re-set the relationship between the government and the awarding industry,” the letter from FAB chair, Paul Eeles, added.

It also appeared that the federation’s members didn’t have the appetite for the cost of a legal challenge, after a survey revealed only 40 per cent of them were prepared to contribute to a legal ‘fighting fund’.

The news will be music to the ears of education secretary Damian Hinds as it means the government can now plough on with the planned rollout of 2020 for the new technical qualifications without fears of inevitable delays.

The FAB first warned of a legal challenge last month following two market engagement events about the procurement process which left awarding organisations enraged at the commercial terms they’d have to agree.

The membership body then wrote to the DfE and Institute for Apprenticeships on July 17, outlining the grounds upon which it intends to launch a judicial review.

These included: irrational (timescales), unreasonable (lack of proper engagement on the single-provider model) and unfair (has a disproportionate impact on the awarding sector).

Since this time the federation has been in close informal touch with DfE officials before receiving a formal response to its threat of legal action – the contents of which are not able to be shared yet.

The FAB’s letter to members said there are still a “number of specific concerns” it will be continuing to work through with the DfE, including “how we minimise any potentially detrimental impact on learners of a qualification that is rushed”.

“Similarly, we need to work through the issue of consortia arrangements as this is one obvious way to mitigate the risks of a single provider model/ single point of failure model in the longer term,” it added.

“We will be in a clearer position to evaluate the progress of this position after recess. Of course, we will be keeping you regularly informed.”

The FAB carried out a members survey last month in which 90 per cent of the 39 respondents supported the approach that its board had taken to date.

READ MORE: Damian Hinds hits back at FAB’s T-levels legal challenge

Concluding the decision to drop the legal challenge, Mr Eeles wrote: “The robust action we took has resulted in the prospect of a different and better kind of relationship developing between government and the awarding industry in future.

“We are striving for a genuine partnership with government that reflects and respects the vast expertise and diversity of the awarding sector; a productive relationship that ensures government works with us on the basis that we are part of the long-term solution to improved technical education and skills in our country.”

Mr Hinds quickly hit back at the FAB’s threat of legal action last month, labelling it as “deeply disappointing” and “unnecessary” before vowing to press ahead with planned rollout of T-levels.

But the government did partly concede to the demands of awarding organisations by watering down a number of rules in its procurement process.

These include allowing awarding organisations to co-brand student and employer facing materials, something the department said was impossible at the market engagement events.

Development fees are also now allowed to be paid in installments rather than one lump sum, as well as indexation of fees being permitted.

Mr Hinds has welcomed the news. You can read his full reaction here.

The T-levels row follows a rare ministerial direction from the education secretary in May, when Mr Hinds refused his own permanent secretary’s request to delay the initial rollout of T-levels until 2021.

We must tell the chancellor FE needs more, not less funding

Further education is being asked to find more cuts, despite already being under-funded. Let’s fight back by insisting on fair funding for 16–18 education, retorts James Kewin

To paraphrase the former Labour prime minister Harold Wilson, a day is a long time in politics.

On Tuesday, Damian Hinds used a speech at the Resolution Foundation to set out his vision for social mobility. Although much of the speech focused on early years, the secretary of state had a lot to say about the issues facing what he described as “young people right on the cusp of adulthood”.

T-levels, the progression of disadvantaged students to university and the attainment gap between the independent and state sectors were all mentioned. It was particularly pleasing to hear him emphasise the importance of extra-curricular activities, and few in further education would disagree with his assertion that “you won’t crack social mobility by only focusing on exam results”.

But today, FE Week reported on a story in the Times that the chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond has told ministries without protected budgets – including further education – to identify areas for budget cuts over the summer.

It would be easy to dismiss this as a silly season story

It would be easy to dismiss this as a silly season story, and it is unclear why further education was singled out alongside public health, local government and transport. But taken together, Tuesday’s speech and Wednesday’s story actually provide a good indicator of what lies ahead on the road to next year’s spending review.

Let’s start with a positive – there are few in the Department for Education who would agree that more savings can be found in the further education budget, and this has not always been the case. Anne Milton has acknowledged the funding gap with other sectors, and earlier this year agreed to calls from the Support Our Sixth-formers campaign (which was supported by FE Week, alongside a range of school and college associations) to conduct a review of 16-18 funding. The IFS has shown that without further investment, spending for this age group will be the same in real terms in 2020 as it was in 1990.

The DfE will need to be hard-headed to realise its ambitions for social mobility

However, the Treasury will be looking for a “something for something” deal in the spending review. This is an unwelcome phrase, as it ignores the funding cuts and cost increases that institutions have already had to contend with and the negative impact this has had on the education of students. But with the Treasury’s austerity mind-set still firmly in place, the DfE will need to be equally hard-headed to realise its ambitions for social mobility.

For example, Hinds said on Tuesday that he plans to say more about the importance of character and resilience, and the benefits of “taking part in extra-curricular activities from sport, to music, to volunteering, to work experience itself”. The Social Mobility Commission has been charged with taking forward a research project to identify how these activities influence social mobility.

All worthy stuff, but with a spending review looming, any new research should be used to strengthen the DfE’s submission for more funding. Our most recent funding impact survey showed that 67 per cent of schools and colleges have actually reduced student support services or extra-curricular activities – with significant cuts to mental health support, employability skills and careers advice. In this context, a research report that confirms what we already know – that what happens outside the classroom is vital to social mobility – is unlikely to have much of an impact.

What happens outside the classroom is vital

Chancellor Hammond is the man we should be collectively trying to influence. It is unclear if he shares Hinds’ undoubted commitment to social mobility, but we must ensure he understands that the ongoing underinvestment in 16–18 education is having a negative impact on the education of students, the financial health of institutions and the ability of government to achieve its ambitions for the economy (as well as social mobility).   

The preference of HM Treasury for “something for something” deals has recently led to some small, targeted increases in 16–18 funding linked to particular qualifications or subjects. What we actually need is a significant increase in the 16–18 funding rate – that is the only way to ensure funding is sufficient and made available in a way that colleges and schools can tailor to the individual needs of their students.

How do we convince the Treasury to agree to this in the spending review? By working together.

Next term, the coalition of organisations behind the Support Our Sixth-formers campaign will unveil plans for the final stage of our shared funding campaign backed by targeted new research. This cannot simply be a college or FE campaign. We may feel the impact more acutely, but the reality is that everyone – from small rural school sixth forms to large grammar schools – is under financial pressure, and we must put aside our sector differences to secure a result next year. Students, staff, parents, governors and others across all sectors will have a vital role to play.

This is a high-stakes spending review – defeat would mean that the 16-18 funding rate would be the same in 2023 as is was in 2013. This is hard to contemplate, particularly as the needs of students, demands from government and costs of delivery continue to grow. As Harold Wilson also famously said – he who rejects change is the architect of decay. We must speak with one, powerful voice to ensure that the Chancellor heeds that advice next year.

FE could face MORE budget cuts despite hopes for more cash

The FE sector could be in for another shattering round of funding cuts, after the chancellor reportedly told ministries without protected budgets to find savings.

Philip Hammond (pictured) wants various Whitehall departments including further education to work with the Treasury over the summer to find areas for reduction ahead of next year’s spending review, according to The Times.

It said that some departments believe the budget cuts could be by as much as five per cent. The order to start looking for savings came last week in letters from Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury.

Although the government has committed to protecting schools budgets, FE funding can still be cut.

The Department for Education may very well be able to find savings from other areas, but any reduction in FE’s budget would come as a major blow to the sector which has suffered with severe underfunding for years.

It would also come as a surprise, considering that skills minister Anne Milton told the education select committee just two weeks ago she was “constantly” fighting Treasury for more funding after admitting that FE has historically “fallen against other sectors”.

The DfE is currently reviewing the “sustainability” of FE, the outcome of which was expected to show the sector needs more cash not less.

It comes at a pivotal time, with the government constantly saying the introduction of T-levels is the biggest shake-up of technical education for 70 years.

Read more: We must tell the chancellor FE needs more, not less funding

A reformed apprenticeships system has also only just been put in place, which many employers and training providers are struggling with.

Any cuts to FE would also likely mean that college teaching staff currently battling for a pay rise will not be successful.

The DfE said it was working closely with the Treasury to set their budget.

DfE ploughs ahead with plans for college campus performance reporting

The Department for Education will go ahead with proposals to strengthen performance reporting for colleges that are part of a group or have multiple sites, it confirmed today.

It means that from next year data on the performance of individual institutions or sites within mega-colleges will be made available – potentially paving the way for campus-level inspections.

Separate performance data for colleges within groups will be reported on an ongoing basis, while for individual sites it is being introduced as a pilot.

“We are changing the way that we report on performance for FE colleges so that people are better informed about their local colleges,” said skills minister Anne Milton.

“This will help people make the right choices for their futures, and make sure that colleges are responsive to local needs.”

Today’s announcement, which follows a nine-week consultation on the proposals, comes alongside the introduction of a new campus-level identifier in 2018/19 individualised learner records.

That now allows “identification of provision delivered across the various sites of merged institutions”.

The first separate data will be made available in 2019/20 as ‘shadow data’ for colleges in groups and ‘experimental data’ for individual sites.

This means it will be “analysed and made available” in that year, but not included in the National Achievement Rate Tables until 2020/21.

In the case of the experimental data, this will be reviewed before any final decision is made on full implementation. 

The prospect of campus-level inspections at mega-colleges with multiple sites was first raised during an FE Week interview with Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman last March, who said they were under “active” consideration with the DfE.

According to today’s consultation response, the “implications of our proposals for Ofsted inspection will be considered as part of Ofsted’s current review of the inspection framework”.

The DfE asked for views on two separate proposals: separate performance reporting for colleges that are part of a group, and separate reporting for delivery sites that are part of the same college.

The proposals were intended to provide “greater transparency on the quality of local provision”, according to the consultation document.

The majority of respondents to the consultation – 44 out of 50 – backed the first proposal, while only around half supported the second.

 

 

IfA quality committee fears conflict of interest the ‘biggest risk’, newly published documents reveal

Conflicts of interest are the “biggest risk” to the effectiveness of external quality assurance, the Institute for Apprenticeships has admitted.

Employer groups developing apprenticeship standards name the organisation to deliver this service, but so far just a quarter – 10 out of 40 – of those chosen have been approved by the IfA.

The body’s concerns were revealed in newly-published minutes from January and March meetings of its quality assurance committee, which is responsible for approving organisations to check apprenticeship assessments.

These minutes, along with those from the IfA’s approval and funding, and audit and risk assurance committees, have been published for the first time following a Freedom of Information request by FE Week.

Conflicts of interest are “one of the main reasons for rejecting potential EQA providers” and there is an “ongoing need to manage” these conflicts, according to the minutes from a March 14 meeting.

“It is also one of the biggest risks to the effectiveness of EQA and the reputation of the institute,” the minutes warned.

FE Week previously reported in March that the IfA had “concerns” about conflicts of interest in its new EQA model, according to minutes from a December 2017 quality assurance committee meeting obtained via a previous FOI request.

At the time the committee agreed to develop “a register of interest for EQA providers” which “should list any declared interests that EQA providers have and how these are to be mitigated”.

According to the March minutes, the committee now plans to “mitigate conflicts” through this register of interests, “conditions of recognition” and ongoing management.

The assessment and quality team at the IfA had also been asked to “draw up a decision tree” to outline conflicts and how they are being handled.

“The committee agreed it needs to ensure that the relevant checks and balances are in place for managing conflicts of interest for EQA providers,” the minutes noted.

Employer groups developing new apprenticeship standards can choose one of four options for externally quality-assuring the final exams.

These are an employer-led approach, a professional body, Ofqual or the IfA itself.

Two potential EQA providers had their applications deferred at the March meeting “on the basis that there were clear conflicts of interest with them”, while one provider was approved.

A further three providers had their applications rejected outright at a meeting on January 23 as there were “clear conflicts”, while just one was approved.

One of the three rejected organisations was on the register of end-point assessment organisations, and the other two were also EPA organisations, the minutes said.

At the December meeting one organisation was rejected.

None of the rejected or deferred organisations are named in the minutes.

So far, just 10 of the 40 employer-led or professional body EQA providers named in assessment plans have been approved – although it’s not clear how many of the remaining 30 have been rejected.

The IfA has committed to “proactively” publish the minutes on its website, and that they would be produced in an “open and transparent manner”.

However, not all minutes appear to have been published, and some are heavily redacted. The IfA has yet to say why this is the case.

Almost 350 Carillon apprentices to lose wage support

Nearly 350 former Carillion apprentices will have their wage support cut off next month after being made redundant.

The government’s official receiver overseeing the liquidation revealed yesterday that 356 people will be leaving the business, 341 of which are apprentices.

It means attempts to find new work for nearly a third (30 per cent) of the 1,148 trainee bricklayers, carpenters and builders left jobless in the wake of the collapse of the outsourcing giant have failed.

Unite the Union described the decision to dump them as an “act of crass stupidity” whilst also attacking the government’s timing – as the announcement was made after Parliament went into recess preventing MPs from raising concerns.

But the Construction Industry Training Board, tasked within finding the out-of-work apprentices new employers, has promised that it will continue to offer a “tailored support package” for all those affected.

This will include a weekly contact via social media highlighting suitable apprenticeships, access to career events and personalised support with job seeking skills and CV preparation.

The official receiver has been paying the wages for the out-of-work apprentices ever since January 15 when Carillion went into liquidation. It was revealed in June that keeping the trainees gainfully employed cost the government £3 million.

The CITB told FE Week in April that over 800 of the apprentices had been found either new work or education providers.

The Department for Education said today that 777 of them had been found new employment with wages.

Skills minister Anne Milton revealed two weeks ago that 147 of the affected young people had not engaged in the CITB’s attempts to contact them.

It is for these apprentices and the others still trying to find work that will feel the full brunt of Carillion’s collapse and no longer have their wages paid.

“This is an appalling way to treat these apprentices who should have become the backbone of the industry,” said Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail.

“To dump them and to destroy their training is an act of crass stupidity. 

“These actions highlight the government’s total failure to assist the workers who have been most affected by Carillion’s collapse through no fault of their own.

“The government could have used its procurement power to find placements for these apprentices but it chose not to, demonstrating that it is not serious about dealing with the skills crisis facing the industry.”

The official receiver’s update yesterday said: “Regrettably, 356 people will be leaving the business as their roles are no longer required but support is available to help them find new work.

“Staff have been professional throughout the liquidation and we will continue to engage with staff, their elected representatives and unions as arrangements are confirmed.”