After being shown FE Week’s analysis, Gavin Williamson described FE as a “vital” part of the education system and expressed his thanks to all lecturers, leaders and support staff for their hard work.
The education secretary also defended his old sixth form, Scarborough Sixth Form College, after it dropped out of offering digital T-levels, as he pledged to convene business leaders in an attempt to address shortages of work placement opportunities.
Thousands of students, staff and people who love colleges across the country then signed pledge cards and handed them to their local MP to mark this year’s Colleges Week.
Hannah H from National Cyber Security Centre told us why it is vital that everyone in the FE sector understands their own role in protecting their networks, following a string of cyber hacks.
She provided five measures colleges could take to make any attack less likely to succeed in the first place and, if they are affected, to reduce its impact.
The spending on hiring an orchestra was described as “concerning” by the college’s local MP, Emma Hardy, a member of the education select committee.
Meanwhile, the government announced plans for a radical overhaul of its subcontracting rules amid high-profile cases of “deliberate” fraud, and a former adviser to the minister for higher education expressed “concern” that dozens of providers delivering level 6 and 7 apprenticeships are still going without inspection, more than four years after the courses began.
We also sat down with Charlotte Bosworth, the managing director of Innovate Awarding, who told Jess Staufenberg that she is quite happy to be known as the “end-point assessment woman”.
Staufenberg then set out what Lord Agnew’s appointment as a minister for FE might mean for the sector, having closely followed his career in the schools sector, where his reputation divides opinion.
A former specialist college principal has been made a dame while a well-known champion of adult education has been recognised with a CBE in the New Year’s honours list.
Nearly 20 other leading figures from the FE and skills sector, including three general FE college principals and a gold medallist from WorldSkills UK, have been awarded accolades by the Queen.
Dr Caroline Allen, who retired from Orchard Hill College this summer after 32 years, received a damehood for her services to education.
Caroline Allen
She guided the college, which trains students with learning difficulties, to an Ofsted grade one in 2013. She also headed up the Orchard Hill Academy Trust.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be receiving this honour,” Allen said.
“I have been privileged to work with very talented students with special needs and with highly skilled staff, senior leaders, board members and governors at Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust.
“It is a unique and remarkable organisation and I owe the achievement of this honour to the support and commitment of the people there.”
Dr Sue Pember was one of five people from the adult education community to be honoured, receiving a CBE.
The former director of FE at the Department for Education and now policy director of adult education network HOLEX said she feels “this honour is not just about me but also recognises the work the sector does with adults who may have missed out at school and adult education gives them a second chance.
“I hope that everybody who has supported me throughout my career feels some pride in the fact that I have received this honour because I would not be in this position without their help, support and continued enthusiasm, energy and passion for lifelong learning.”
Also picking up a CBE was Christine Hodgson, chair of the Careers and Enterprise Company.
Five FE and skills sector representatives were recognised with OBE’s, including principal of City College Norwich Corrienne Peasgood.
Sue Pember
She joined City College Norwich in 1997 as a lecturer in plumbing and became its leader in 2012.
“I feel hugely honoured to receive this award,” said Peasgood, who is also on the board of the Association of Colleges.
“It points to what can be achieved through collaboration, teamwork, and inclusiveness – and to the importance of removing our institutional hats, from time to time, and working out together what is right for students or for a particular sector.”
Another AoC board member and college boss to pick up an OBE was Graham Razey.
The now chief executive of the EKC Group has spent 25 years in the college sector. He has recently been appointed to the DfE’s Principals’ Reference Group, as well as becoming a National Leader for FE.
“From the very first lesson I delivered, I was hooked on how FE transforms lives,” Razey said.
“I am truly honoured to receive this OBE and hope in some way that it helps to raise the profile of technical and vocational education.
“I have been blessed with having a great network supporting me, but I would like in particular to thank my wife and son who have been my rocks, and with whom I look forward to celebrating this honour.”
Head of the National Careers Service, Louise Proctor, has also been honoured with an OBE.
She said she is “passionate about the power of careers advice and how it can change lives for the better” and added she is “inspired every day by the talented, hardworking people that I work with”.
Corrienne Peasgood
Among the FE and skills figures recognised this year with an MBE is Diana Batchelor, principal of Abingdon and Witney College, who has spent 36 years in the further and adult education sector.
She joined Abingdon College in 1992 as the head of community education and became principal in January 2016.
“I am quite amazed to have been recognised in this way and very grateful,” Batchelor said.
“I’ve always had the very good fortune to work with fantastic colleagues without whom I couldn’t have achieved anything at all.”
Two WorldSkills UK representatives – painting and decorating training manager Peter Walters and former beauty therapist gold medallist Kaiya Swain – received an MBE and British Empire Medal respectively.
Swain said she “couldn’t believe” the news when she heard about it.
“Taking part in WorldSkills competitions and winning gold in Abu Dhabi changed my life,” she added.
“It gave me the confidence to grow my own beauty business Kaiya Swain Beauty and I hope through my continued support for WorldSkills UK I can inspire more young women to follow their career goals.”
Who got what in FE and skills:
Damehood
Dr Caroline Allen, principal and chief executive officer, Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust – for services to education
CBE
Christine Hodgson, chair, Capgemini UK and chair, The Careers and Enterprise Company – for services to education
Dr Susan Pember, director of policy and external relations, HOLEX – for services to adult education
OBE
Pauline Anderson, director of learning and skills, Derby City Council and chair of the trustees of the Traveller Movement – for services to children and young people in Education
Florence Davies, head of director general office and policy profession lead, Department for Education – for services to diversity and inclusion
Corrienne Peasgood, principal of City College, Norwich – for services to safeguarding and construction skills in Norfolk
Louise Proctor, head of National Careers Service – for services to education and careers
Graham Razey, chief executive of the EKC Group and memberof the principals’ reference group – for services to education
MBE
Diana Batchelor, principal of Abingdon and Witney College – for services to further and adult education
Elaine Billington, lately chair of the North West Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network – for services to apprenticeships and young people in North West England
Jenifer Burden – for services to education
John Butler, lately chair of governors at Furness College – for services to FE
Aziza Chaudry, quality manager for Adult Education Wolverhampton – for services to education
Francis Clayton, chair of the Yorkshire and the Humber Apprenticeship Ambassador Network – for services to apprenticeships
Lisa Dancer, adult education quality manager – for services to adult learners with mental health issues in the London Borough of Hillingdon
Carolyn Keen, chair of governors, Westminster Adult Education Service – for services to adult education and the community in London
Dominique Unsworth – for services to apprenticeships
Peter Walters, training manager at WorldSkills UK – for services to the WorldSkills competition
Yolande Stanley, former pâtisserie and confectionary training manager at WorldSkills – for service to young people in the hospitality industry
British Empire medal
Amanda Reeve, curriculum manager at Norfolk County Council Adult Learning – for services to education
Kaiya Swain – for services to the WorldSkills competition
For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Here’s what September included…
It was scoops galore for FE Week this month, featuring our front page about Highbury College principal Stella Mbubaegbu’s £150,000 expenses, which prompted government intervention.
The story, which was picked up by a number of Fleet Street newspapers, reported how she had spent college money on first-class flights, five-star hotels, and lobsters and cocktails. It followed a year-long freedom of information battle.
We also revealed how Brooklands College’s future was in the balance following a £20m apprenticeship subcontracting scandal. It was told to pay the funding clawback owing to its dealings with training firm SCL Security Ltd.
The DfE then confirmed it was “carefully monitoring” an investigation into Hull College Group following allegations of nepotism and inappropriate use of funds.
And Lord Agnew was given responsibilities for FE and used his first opinion piece for FE Week to warn that he would “not hesitate to step in” on college spending.
He said he was “100 per cent” committed to helping providing colleges, who he said have a responsibility to the taxpayers who fund them, with the support they need to deliver high quality education.
The first provider to be inspected under Ofsted’s new inspection framework also spilled the beans the “very different” regime. The watchdog’s focus has moved from outcomes to the “quality of education” and what is being called the three I’s: intent, implementation, and impact.
And we sat down with Simon Connell, the new chief executive of the Baker Dearing Trust, who is on a mission to change perceptions of university technical colleges, while Sam Parrett, boss of London South East Colleges, said it’s worth trying to see if the football transfer process could work in the regulated world of FE.
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 August…
There was no print edition this month during the summer holidays but there was no let-up for FE Week: Chancellor Sajid Javid announced a £400 million boost for 16- to 19-year-old learners, which he called “the biggest increase for a decade”.
It included £190 million to increase the base rate of funding for that age group, to £4,188. There was also £120 million to help deliver “expensive but crucial” subjects, such as engineering, in the funding package.
The funding will come into effect in 2020/21 and cover the 257 colleges in England, as well as other FE providers like school sixth forms.
We also jetted off to Russia for WorldSkills Kazan 2019 with Team UK. WorldSkills is a biennial competition that featured more than a thousand competitors from over 60 countries.
Four days of skills competitions took place at the event and the UK won two golds, one silver, one bronze and 15 medallions of excellence – for those who achieved the international standard in their chosen skill.
Aircraft maintenance gold medal winner Haydn Jakes told FE Week winning “was a really pleasant surprise” while the other UK gold medal winner, Rebecca West, who placed first in beauty therapy, said she felt “really, really amazing and so proud”.
The medal winners got their moment of glory at the dazzling closing ceremony, which was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The WorldSkills flag was then handed over to China, marking the start of the run-up to WorldSkills 2021 in Shanghai.
The UK came in 12th place in the medal table overall, missing out on the top ten of participating countries for the first time in ten years.
For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Here’s what July involved…
There was bad news for the sector this month after FE Week found only seven per cent of college principals were from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background. Our analysis also showed that three out of nine English regions had an all-white set of principals.
Ali Hadawi, principal at Central Bedfordshire College – one of just 13 non-white general FE college bosses of 185 identified in FE Week’s study – said he was “not surprised” by the numbers and called for a “programme that targets the under-represented to understand what holds them back”.
Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said a “simple solution has been ignored and instead, this immensely bureaucratic process appears both out of the blue and shockingly late in the day”.
Matthew Grant, from Priestley College in Warrington, described what he felt was the key to success: “Where I’ve heard there might be issues with academising is where a sixth-form college has joined an existing academy trust and all the trustees are already in post, all the policies are there, and there’s no opportunity to influence the culture or the way it operates.
“We’ve ensured our trustees didn’t come mainly from one organisation within the trust.”
For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Here’s what happened in June…
Victims of a long-running FE loans scandal found out they were set to benefit from new legislation that gives the education secretary powers to clear their debt – representing a huge win for FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign.
But it was an early loss for the Augar review, after the government rejected one of its recommendations – by giving the Office for Students responsibility for overseeing thousands of higher level apprenticeships that were going unregulated.
Bradford College skirted insolvency when the DfE threatened to put them under the regime unless Lloyds Bank halved an unsecured £40 million loan. The college did have to cut 130 jobs to find £3.5 million in savings, and the ESFA shared the costs of writing off loans with the bank.
That month, the new Universities and College Union general secretary, Jo Grady, accused the leadership at Sandwell College of “everyday racism” after it sacked lecturer Dave Muritu, while the troubled Easton and Otley College announced it would be broken up and merged with two other colleges, following two consecutive ‘inadequate’ ratings by Ofsted.
A forgotten pre-employment scheme, traineeships, was put back in spotlight after the minister Anne Milton said she was “thrilled” with new research findings, while Carmel College became the first sixth form college to score a grade one Ofsted rating in nearly two years.
As Ofsted’s new inspection framework came into view, the watchdog’s specialist apprenticeships adviser Dr Chris Jones wrote in FE Week that they were looking to focus on “the substance of the curriculum and supporting leaders and teachers who act with integrity”.
And Steve Frampton found out he would continue as president of the Association of Colleges for a second year, after his only challenger, Lesley Davis, pulled out at the last moment.
For the last 12 days of 2019 we’re running back through the previous 12 months of FE Week. Here’s what April included…
Embarrassment for the Department for Education after FE Week exposed cold spots in the country where there was not a single one of the government’s flagship institutes of technology.
The department then promised a review, and education secretary Gavin Williamson has since promised eight more of the institutes.
In April, we also brought readers a supplement on the Annual Apprenticeship Conference and awards. The two-day event featured speeches from Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman and Sir Gerry Berragan: the AAC awards included wins for apprentice employer of the year, the Royal Air Force, and lifetime achievement award winner AELP chair Martin Dunford.
The country’s national statistics regulator launched an investigation into whether the ESFA’s apprenticeship achievement rate data can be trusted, after the agency published the tables for 2017/18, which came with a list of more than 30 providers with “unreliable” data.
Plans for PhD-level apprenticeships were thrown into doubt after the Institute for Apprenticeships raised concerns they were not in the “spirit” of the programme, while Ofqual issued its first intention to fine an end-point assessment organisation for poor delivery.
FE Week also brought all the information about the “strengthened” intervention regime – which included placing colleges with “serious” cash flow pressures into formal intervention.
Meanwhile, the skills minister and the chair of the education select committee, Robert Halfon, clashed after Anne Milton refused to say how much extra FE funding she requested from the Treasury.
Our former commissioning editor, Cath Murray, visited a principal who took over two failed colleges and came out smiling, and Chris Cherry, a senior associate at the Strategic Development Network, explained how to know when your apprentice is “gateway ready”.
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.
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.
