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College testing insolvency regime seeks speedy buyer for park and unfinished mining museum

Scandal-hit Hadlow College has confirmed it is looking to sell its £40 million visitor and business park, following the college’s application for insolvency.

FE Week revealed on Friday the education secretary Damian Hinds had applied to the High Court to put the college into education administration.

While this does not affect any of the college’s subsidiaries, or its sister college West Kent and Ashford (WKAC), a college spokesperson has said Hadlow is “currently in discussion with a range of potentially interested parties” about selling its subsidiary business Betteshanger Sustainable Parks.

This is due to the “financial challenges” faced by the college, which has required huge government bailouts to survive.

The college is looking to find a new owner for the 422-acre site by 31 July, but the spokesperson stressed the park will stay open, adding: “The key project funders and community partners remain committed to the delivery of the project and are all working to secure a successful future for the parks.”

Betteshanger Sustainable Parks, which has around 25 staff, is made up of two sites – the business park and the country park – and is built on what was a colliery.

Despite being owned by a college, none of its provision takes place at the park.

The college’s disgraced ex-deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor previously said the project was “personal” to him, as he grew up in Sunderland and saw the effect closing mines and shipyards had on the area.

Hadlow College previously attempted to sell the business park for £4 million; however, this fell through.

On the country park site, known as Betteshanger Park, the college is constructing the Kent Mining Museum with the Kent Mining Heritage Foundation, which was once chaired by Mark Lumsdon-Taylor.

The museum has received at least £1.8 million in charitable donations to fund its development, including a £1.3 million grant from the National Lottery.

The museum will be based inside a £9.5 million visitor centre, which was embarked upon in 2014 and was due to open in March 2019.

But that was delayed following several resignations from the college’s board, including that of the principal, Paul Hannan, Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, as well as the chairs of both WKAC’s board, Paul Dubrow, and Hadlow’s board, Theresa Bruton.

Their resignations came after the FE Commissioner’s team and the ESFA intervened at Hadlow and WKAC, following allegations of financial irregularities.

Hadlow College was landed with an extra £1.2 million bill for the Betteshanger visitor centre, because it had to replace the foundations it installed on the basis of incorrect advice.

The trustee board of the Kent Mining Heritage Foundation has been contacted, but declined to comment at this time.

Betteshanger Park’s MP, Charlie Elphicke, has asked the FE Commissioner to hand over the Kent Mining Museum to East Kent College, as it is “85 per cent complete” and: “We need to get this project back on track. Handing it over to East Kent College could be the answer. This facility would be great for our community, celebrating its mining heritage alongside a range of activities for families to enjoy,” according to a statement on his website.

A three-acre open-air amphitheatre is also being built at the park, with a price tag of around £70,000.

A Dover District Council spokesperson said: “We are seeking clarity on the situation with Hadlow College and the Betteshanger Sustainable Parks project. Betteshanger is an important regeneration site in the Dover district and we are keen to see its full potential realised.

“We are in dialogue with Hadlow and other partners, but it is too soon to comment on specifics.”

This is the second of Hadlow College’s new buildings that it is looking to sell off: FE Week reported last week East Kent College is looking to take over WKAC’s Ashford campus, which was completed in 2017.

This is part of work being undertaken by the financial advisory firm BDO to oversee the potential sale or transfer of assets within the Hadlow Group – which includes Hadlow College and WKAC – to neighbouring colleges, such as East Kent.

East Kent College has been asked whether it is taking over any part of the Hadlow Group, which includes Hadlow College and WKAC as well as Betteshanger, but has yet to comment.

The High Court is expected to hear the application to put Hadlow College into administration on May 22.

Spring clean of standards underway as IfA reveals outcome of digital review

The Institute for Apprenticeships has officially begun its spring cleaning of old standards, and started by withdrawing three in the digital sector.

A review of 12 digital apprenticeships developed prior to April 2017 got underway in September to ensure their content is of high-quality, meeting employer needs and do not overlap with each other.

The outcome, unveiled at an event in London today, reveals that six of the standards will be retained as they currently are but also “revised” to “ensure the content is relevant and up to date”.

The six digital standards being retained

The six other apprenticeships in the review will become three, with the content of those being withdrawn being merged into the three that are being kept.

The six digital standards that will merge

The institute said it will seek to approve the revised and merged apprenticeship standards, which may include new assessment plans and funding bands, within 12 months of today’s announcement so that the existing standards can be withdrawn.

Asked what this meant for end-point assessment organisations currently assigned to the standards that will be merged, Gerry explained they’ll have to rebid to assess the apprenticeships once they’ve been signed off on.

“The trailblazer will go back in, look at the knowledges, skills and behaviours for both merging standards, see what needs to come in for the new standard, and at the end of that will review what the assessment plan should be to test it,” he said.

“So the end-point assessment will be rewritten. At that stage, the current EPAOs delivering the two standards can bid to deliver the new merged standard. There will be a change.”

Ana Osbourne, the IfA’s deputy director for apprenticeship approvals, stressed that any apprentices who have started on the existing standards will “continue on them and finish” in their current form.

Last year the institute came in for criticism for having failed to carry out any formal review of duplicate, narrow or low-skill standards since its launch.

Taking account of people on existing apprenticeships as we go through the review process is really important

It was urged to do so “at the earliest opportunity” by Lord Sainsbury in his report of the independent panel on technical education, published July 2016.

The peer made clear he was concerned about standards that overlapped, were too job-specific, or lacked enough technical content to justify 20 per cent off-the-job training.

The digital review was the IfA’s first statutory review of apprenticeship standards for a specific route. The institute has 14 other routes which will be reviewed over the next couple of years.

Those next in the pipeline will be in hair and beauty and creative and design, which will both commence in July 2019.

Following this, the agriculture, environment and animal care route review will get underway in September, followed by engineering and manufacturing in October.

It is not yet known how many standards will be involved in each review.

When the IfA first launched it had been planned that each standard would be reviewed every three years.

Asked today what this meant for standards that, for example, last for six years, Gerry said this timeline was no longer used.

“The plan for three year reviews was written in somewhere but it has never been in law, it has always been periodically,” he told FE Week.

“Taking account of people on existing apprenticeships as we go through the review process is really important so we don’t leave them high and dry halfway through an apprenticeship, we’d never want to do that.”

He added that the periodicity of the reviews will depend on the age of the standards and how many there are. The IfA is prioritising its first route reviews on standards linked to T-levels.

The IfA celebrated signing off on its 400th standard in February and around another 100 are expected to be launched by next year.

Gerry said the “impetus” was initially to get a significant number of standards available so that the government can turn off frameworks, but his institute will soon have the resource and time to focus on reviews instead.

READ MORE: IfA to trial ‘gender-neutral’ language in bid to boost female STEM applicants

“Even though there are still standards coming through the pipeline, they’re not coming through at the same pace which does give us the capacity to start to look at historic standards,” he added.

“I wouldn’t want to set a number against how many standards there will be because it always fluctuates slightly but we are now reaching a stage where the volume is reducing and that gives us the time to look back at existing ones.”

The IfA also used today’s event to officially launch its trial of gender-neutral language in digital standards. It comes after FE Week revealed the plan earlier this month (read more here).

Ofsted slams large employer provider with no apprenticeship passes – again

A large employer provider in the security sector that was suspended from recruiting apprentices last year has been rated ‘inadequate’ after Ofsted found none of its apprentices achieved their qualification.

Securitas UK said today it will challenge the education watchdog after it criticised leaders and managers for being “too slow” to improve the weaknesses identified during an early ‘insufficient’ monitoring visit it received in August, which found the provider forcing workers onto apprenticeships.

Ofsted’s new report found that “poor leadership and management” of the apprenticeship provision has since led to a third of learners withdrawing from the programme since January, with the number of learners dropping from 668 to 270.

Inspectors said “too few” apprentices gain new knowledge and skills or develop appropriate occupational behaviours to “achieve their learning goals or make progress at work”.

They concluded that apprentices at Securitas have all made “inadequate progress” and “none have achieved their qualification”.

Under the Education and Skills Funding Agency rules, any provider with an ‘insufficient’ rating from an early monitoring visit will be banned from taking on any new apprentices until they improve to at least a grade three in a full inspection.

Today’s ‘inadequate’ report means Securitas will be chucked off of the agency’s register of apprenticeship training providers, meaning it can no longer deliver the provision itself.

Securitas told FE Week it was contesting the report’s findings, as it believes it has made “important changes to improve the learning experience” since the early visit.

A spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed at the outcome of the Ofsted report and have lodged an official complaint which Ofsted have acknowledged and confirmed will be fully investigated.

“Following the initial Ofsted monitoring visit, we’ve made a number of important changes to improve the learning experience for our apprentices, including increasing the number of field assessors and restructuring our learning and development team.

“We have introduced a clear governance programme and with our new leaders and managers in place, these changes are beginning to have a beneficial impact, as acknowledged by Ofsted in their report.”

The employer has around 11,500 staff and provides protective services across the UK. Apprentices enrol initially as security officers and on successful completion of the apprenticeship can progress to the role of protective services officer.

Today’s report did acknowledge that the new leaders and managers had started to improve the experience for the apprentices who remain on programme, and that their actions were beginning to have a beneficial impact.

Leaders and managers have also introduced “suitable governance arrangements”, enabling them to receive constructive challenge and scrutiny.

However, Ofsted still accused Securitas of not managing the apprenticeship provision “effectively”, failing to assess accurately apprentices’ starting points and not having quality assurance processes in place to improve provision.

Inspectors added there was no evidence that the off-the-job training that is recorded is “relevant, or of good quality, or that apprentices can evaluate the benefit of it”.

But Securitas defended itself, saying that its apprentices are “recognised as being professional, courteous and respectful and their confidence in dealing with both internal and external customers is increasing”.

“We understand the importance of expediating progress and will continue to work closely with an independent consultant to address the findings of the report,” its statement said.

The provider said 95 apprentices will be sitting their end point assessment and finishing the programme over the next three months.

Revealed: The 19 areas splitting £2.5m in careers hubs funding

The government has announced the names of 19 areas that will join its careers hubs programme, but they will split just half the amount of money handed out in the first round.

Damian Hinds, the education secretary, said today that £2.5 million will go to 19 local enterprise partnerships across England. Between them they will form 20 “careers hubs”, which will each work with up to 40 schools and colleges to train staff to give better careers advice and offer pupils more “encounters” with employers.

Each area will have one careers hub except the north east, which will have two.

It takes the total number of areas involved in the programme to 39 and the total number of schools and colleges involved to 1,300. Last July, Hinds announced that the first 20 areas would split £5 million in funding. It is not known why the amount on offer has been reduced for the second round.

The Careers and Enterprise Company, which runs the careers hubs scheme and distributes the funding on behalf of the government, has also reported “rapid improvement in careers support” in the first wave of 20 hubs, with progress strongest in disadvantaged areas. The project has also received the backing of the Confederation of British Industry.

“It is so important that young people get to know about a range of different jobs and careers so they can see the possible opportunities out there,” Hinds said today.

“Good careers education is such a valuable asset that helps children to explore future possibilities and go on to lead happy rewarding lives.”

He said the hubs would bring to together schools, colleges, universities and employers to share “their expertise and improve the careers education on offer to make sure young people have the information they need to make the most of their talents”.

“Today’s investment will give thousands more young people access to expert careers guidance as they take those first exciting steps into their future.”

The CEC said today that schools and colleges involved in the first round of careers hubs are now outperforming the national average on every single one of the eight Gatsby benchmarks of good careers guidance, which are used by the government to rate schools’ performance on careers.

Of those involved, 58 per cent are providing every student with “regular encounters with employers”, while 52 per cent are providing every student with experiences such as work experience, shadowing or workplace visits.

The improvements were strongest in the Tees Valley, Lancashire, the Black Country and Liverpool City Region, three of the most deprived areas in the first wave, the CEC said.

Claudia Harris, chief executive of the company, said it was proof that careers education “is improving across the country”.

“The accelerated progress we’re seeing in the first wave of careers hubs shows that this model is working and delivering for young people, with schools and colleges in this first wave of careers hubs already outperforming the national average across all aspects of careers education.”

The CEC was criticised last month after FE Week’s sister paper FE Week revealed the quango will no longer become self-sustaining, as was originally promised when it was set-up by former education secretary Nicky Morgan.

The 19 areas in the second wave

Black Country

Liverpool

Tees Valley

Leeds

Solent

West of England

Birmingham

Thames Valley Berkshire

North East x 2

Dorset

Swindon & Wiltshire

SEMLEP

Hertfordshire

Heart of the South West

D2N2

Solihull

Coventry

Warwickshire

Oxfordshire

The 20 areas in the first wave

Cornwall & Isles of Scilly

Lancashire

Leeds City Region

Black Country

York, North Yorkshire and East Riding

Cumbria

Swindon & Wiltshire

Stoke & Staffordshire

The Solent

West of England

Buckinghamshire Thames Valley

Greater Manchester

The South East (East Sussex)

Leicester & Leicestershire

Heart of South West (Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay)

Humber

Tees Valley

Worcestershire

Liverpool City Region

New Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk)

City and Guilds calls for new quango to oversee skills policy

The City and Guilds Group has called for the creation of a new independent body to oversee skills policy in the UK to put a stop to decisions being made in “short-term political cycles” by ministers.

In its ‘Sense & Instability 2019’ report, the education giant warned that government policy is being created “without any clear success measures”, any “identified business case” nor “understanding of its intended value for money”.

Because of this, City and Guilds said it is “impossible to tell if the millions going into new initiatives like T-levels, the National Retraining Scheme or apprenticeship standards is set to make a difference or just go to waste”.

Its report claimed that skills and education policy has become “short-term in outlook, disjointed and inconsistent”, partly due to the fact that 70 different ministers have held responsibility for skills policy in the last three and half decades, compared to 20 for schools policy and 21 for higher education in the same period.

It argued that “important lessons from the implementation of skills policy over several decades have not been learned”, such as the doomed Train to Gain initiative, meaning “badly-needed” training and education programmes are “not fit for purpose or delivering the right results”.

City and Guilds believes a Skills Policy Institute needs to be developed to fix this.

According to its report, the new institute would assist in gathering evidence to feed into revisions of policy delivery and provide a research base.

Chris Jones (pictured), chief executive at City and Guilds, said: “We’re navigating a period of unprecedented uncertainty and change, which makes effective skills policy more vital than ever. Unfortunately, our research shows that successive governments have failed to learn the lessons from implementation of policy over recent decades and are not properly evaluating whether it’s really working. This is not good enough.”

Jones called for “stability and longer term perspective”, but warned this is difficult to achieve “with the normal rate of political churn”.

“Policymakers must look further over the horizon to better anticipate and prepare for the challenges and opportunities that the future of work will bring – and if they can’t easily, they should have access to something that can provide this,” he said.

“To tackle this, we believe there needs to be an independent body to oversee policy development, demonstrate best practice and model a more rigorous approach to implementation, as well as hold government to account over the effectiveness of its skills policy-making.

“This can provide a view of skills demands both now and in the future, and build a solid evidence base over time that can be used to formulate new policy. Importantly, it would also act as a centre to bring together people from across the skills and education ecosystem – along with employers – to ensure policy works for all.”

City and Guilds’ report also suggested “more and better” use of policy pilots, comparison groups, baseline/endline data comparisons and longitudinal impact studies is needed in policy development.

Other recommendations include developing a value for money framework for skills policy, similar to the frameworks already in place within the Department for Transport and the Department for International Development.

City and Guilds also urged government to seek to include a “reliable evidence base or rationale” when developing new targets and setting up impact measures to ensure programmes achieve policy objectives as well as quantitative targets.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton, said: “As the City and Guilds Group report recognises, T Levels and the National Retraining Service are brand-new initiatives so we will make sure we get them right.

“Right from the start we worked with, and consulted employers and stakeholders to make sure that these initiatives benefit all students, employers get the skilled work force they need and the economy benefits as well.

“We will continue that work as we progress and refine the initiatives where needed. I’m confident both T Levels and the National Retraining Scheme are going provide young people and adults with valuable opportunities and help to boost our country’s productivity.”

Facing up to the challenges of the reformed functional skills

The new qualifications will be ready for teaching from September 1. Some aspects have stayed the same, but you need to be aware of a few vital changes, says Ian Sugarman

Reformed functional skills qualifications in English and maths will be taught from September 1. The Department for Education and Ofqual have consulted on and confirmed their overall approach to regulating these new qualifications, although some aspects have remained the same.

There are, however, a number of challenges. The reformed qualifications continue to:

• have the three components of speaking, listening and communicating, reading and writing, which all need to be passed to achieve the overall award of English.
• have the three core sections that relate to number, measure and shape, and data handling, which all need to be passed to achieve the overall award of mathematics.
• enable level 1 and 2 to be available to support skill development, progression and attainment.
• enable each level to build on the skills of the previous levels and encompass the skills of the previous levels.
• have assessments that will be accessible, flexible and varied to meet learner needs.
• ensure that level 1 and level 2 assessments will be externally set and externally marked, apart from the speaking, listening and communicating component, which will still be internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by the awarding organisation.

These skills will require providers to consider the increased challenges for learners

Speaking, listening and communicating
The new definition is: “Speaking, listening and communicating’ within functional skills English qualifications is non-written communication, normally conducted face-to-face and can also include ‘virtual’ communication methods such as telephone or spoken web-based technologies.”

This definition allows the greater use of remote “video-chat” technology such as video-phoning, video-conferencing, Skype, etc. This comes with a new challenge, as without a physical presence and a limited view of the learner, how is body language and non-verbal communication observed and assessed?

Reading
The new definition is: “The independent understanding of written language in specific contexts. This can be demonstrated through the use of texts on screen or on paper.”

Learners are now expected to not only provide their personal “take” on the content of the text, but also to justify these views. Many of their responses will be based upon personal experiences and the understanding of current issues which, because of their age, they may not have.

Writing
The new definition is: “Write texts of varying complexity, with accuracy, effectiveness and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar and understand the situations when, and audiences for which, planning, drafting and using formal language are important and when they are less important.”

Learners will now need to spell, punctuate and write grammatically without using dictionaries, and spelling or grammar checkers. They will also need to spend more time learning the skills to communicate in the appropriate language, tone and style to meet audience needs. Again, many of these skills come with the experience of written communication, which many learners may not have.

Mathematics
Some of the changes include:

• an indication that learners can demonstrate their ability through appropriate reasoning and decision-making to solve realistic problems of increasing complexity.
• exposing learners to concepts and problems which, while not of immediate concern, may be of value in later life.
• enabling them to develop an appreciation of the role played by mathematics in the world of work and in life.

Learners will need to perform calculations without a calculator, to know times-tables and to use mathematics as standalone skills, as well as part of problem-solving contexts.

These new requirements demand that learners not only need to be “mentally competent” in mathematics, but also provide commentary on the outcomes of problems and to provide a simple rationale on the application of their skills to solve mathematical-based problems.

These reformed skills will require providers to consider the increased challenges for learners. They will now have to demonstrate independent competence across the range of skills, a greater expectation to “perform” to the required level and to fully cover the qualification content to support successful end-assessment.

What to expect as the T-level Transition prepares for take-off

In terms of ensuring a pipeline for T-levels and enabling more young people to access level 3 study, the T-level Transition Programme is crucial, says Catherine Sezen

There has been a lot of focus on T-levels over the past 18 months: level 3, rigorous, substantial study programmes with industry placements of 45 days. However, there had not been as much emphasis on the Transition Programme for T-levels, which, for colleges with large level 2 cohorts, may have greater impact on delivery.

Behind the scenes, though, as noted in their December 2018 T-level Action Plan, the Department for Education transition team were out and about speaking to key stakeholders about transition programmes to level 3.

At the Association of Colleges we are delighted to be working with The Challenge alongside DfE and a number of the 2020 T-level providers to flesh out what a successful T-level Transition Programme could look like and support early delivery from September 2020.

So, who is the Transition Programme aimed at? The 2016 Sainsbury Review of Technical Education stated that every young person “should have the opportunity to benefit from technical education – including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)” while at the same time acknowledging that there will be some young people “who are not ready to access a technical education route at age 16”.

The T-level Action Plan confirmed that it will be targeted at young people “who are not ready to start a T-level at age 16, but who can realistically achieve a T-level by age 19”.

This is a significant group of young people – just over 20% of the college cohort according to AoC data. Meanwhile, 48% of current level 3 students start this level at age 17, suggesting that it is more than likely that they studied a level 2 programme in the previous year.

This is the beginning of an exciting journey

While the T-level Transition Programme may not be the answer for all of these young people, in terms of ensuring a pipeline for T-levels and enabling even more young people to access level 3 study the Transition Programme is crucial.

Level 2 students have so much potential, but they have not always had the opportunity to flourish in their previous learning environment. They often lack employability skills, including English and maths at grade 4 or above and they need encouragement to find their niche and to fly.

What will the offer be? Again, we need to go back to The Sainsbury review which said that a transition “year” (now “programme”, as it will be a study programme) “should be flexible and tailored to the student’s prior attainment and aspirations”.

The report recommended that “the key objective for the year remains to provide tailored provision that has a sharp focus on basic skills and on progression”.

The review also recommended that “the new transition year is available to students alongside first teaching of the technical education routes”. In the first instance this will, of course, focus on supporting students to progress to the first three T-levels in education; design; surveying and planning; digital production; design and development.

T-levels are innovative new technical study programmes. The T-level Transition Programme will need to focus on helping young people develop the skills, experience, knowledge and behaviours required to progress on to, and successfully complete, one of these new programmes, through the provision of a preparation period that both meets individual needs but also the specific requirements of the specific T-level.

Learning from this phase of the project will help inform and shape not only Transition Programmes for 2020 providers, but it will also establish good practice that can be adopted by 2021 providers and subsequent waves.

This is the beginning of an exciting journey and we look forward to being able to share more detail as the project continues.

Too many prisoners may still fall through the education net

The Coates review recommended wide-ranging changes to prison education. So how are things progressing? Not as quickly as they should, says Francesca Cooney

Three years ago, the ground-breaking Coates report Unlocking Potential set out a wide-ranging agenda for reforming and improving education in our prisons. This week the Prisoner Learning Alliance, a network of organisations and individuals working for improvements in prison education, is publishing a progress review on its recommendations.

So, how are we doing? Although the proportion of FE colleges judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding is increasing, the opposite is true in prison education. Over the past year, no prison education provision was judged as outstanding and only four out of ten were good. Ofsted’s message is very clear: urgent action is needed to ensure prisons are helped to improve.

Coates recommended wide-reaching changes and a complete overhaul in funding and management. These changes are now in force. Prison governors have a much bigger input into how education is delivered in their prisons. Over the past two years they have decided what they want from their education provision, and from April this year took on the responsibility to monitor it too.

It is very early days as the contracts have been in place for only a month. But it is hoped that having governor involvement in education will make it a higher priority and better integrated into the prison timetable.

To take just one example. Coates highlighted the needs of prisoners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD) – highly significant because a third of people entering prison have LDD. New, mandatory contractual requirements mean sentenced prisoners are now screened when they enter prison.

Another positive development is that most prison education departments are now using the same management information system. Therefore, if a prisoner who has been screened for LDD is transferred, staff in the new prison will be able to see the assessment.

A third of people entering prison have LDD

So far, so good. However, the anticipated tool for screening has not yet been nationally approved and individual prisons are using a variety of tools to find out whether people entering their care have LDDs. It is positive that all prisons will be carrying out some sort of screening, but the process needs to be standardised. Without this there is a danger that prisoners will go through different screening assessments each time they move between prisons.

Another benefit is that if a released prisoner returns to prison, the previous assessment will be available. This is important because nearly half (48 per cent) of people leaving prison are reconvicted within a year. This will mean that needs are identified quickly when vulnerable people come back into prison.

The new requirements do not cover all prisoners, though. It is not clear what will happen to longer-term prisoners who may have unidentified needs. It is not yet mandatory that they receive screening. It is also not clear what will happen to those on remand. A prisoner on remand who is engaging with education will be assessed. But, legally, unconvicted people cannot be made to go to work or study – and many don’t. It is up to individual prisons to decide whether they screen all their remand population.
The Coates report recommended that every prison should adopt a whole-prison approach to identifying, supporting and working with prisoners with LDD. While there has been some progress, this is too slow.

The new requirements are a step forward, but substantial numbers of prisoners may still fall through the net. System-wide screening, with a standardised tool, available to all prisoners would be the first step towards achieving the vision Coates set out for prisoners with additional needs.

Scandal-hit Hadlow College first to go through insolvency regime

The ongoing financial scandal engulfing Hadlow College has led to it having the dubious honour of becoming the first to be taken through the new college insolvency regime.

FE Week can reveal that the Department for Education plans to end bailouts to the college, and on Tuesday the education secretary, Damian Hinds, applied to the High Court to place it in education administration.

A judge has yet to be appointed, and the application is due to be heard on May 22.

This is an exceptional case under new legislation which has never been used before

Hadlow College employs 454 staff and has just over 2,000 students studying qualifications across both its further and higher education provision, including apprenticeships.

Investigations into financial irregularities are ongoing, including the role of the principal, deputy principal and two college chairs, all of whom have now departed in disgrace.

In the meantime, the financial advisory firm BDO has been appointed to oversee the potential sale or transfer of assets within the Hadlow Group – which includes Hadlow College and West Kent and Ashford College – to neighbouring colleges.

It is understood that, for example, East Kent College is keen to take over the Ashford campus and has until June 3 to formally express initial interest.

A spokesperson for Hadlow College said: “Due to the immediate financial challenges it is facing, it was determined that it was necessary to place Hadlow College into education administration in order to protect the provision of learning for students.”

The college confirmed that company subsidiaries, the onsite secondary school and West Kent and Ashford College are not included in the insolvency application.

The spokesperson continued: “Hadlow College will continue to operate as normal and courses will continue as scheduled. Qualifications will not be affected by this process. College staff will continue to be employed as normal and we envisage no changes to staffing as a result of the appointment, in due course, of education administrators.”

The local MP for both colleges is Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs select committee. Speaking to FE Week, Mr Tugendhat said he had met several times in recent weeks with both the skills minister Anne Milton and FE Commissioner Richard Atkins.

“I would be extremely disappointed to lose any education provision as a result of insolvency,” he added.

“Both Hadlow College and West Kent College are a really important part of their local community and I am keen to see the rights of students protected.”

In a letter to Milton dated May 10, Tugendhat also expressed concern over any potential sale of agricultural land which is “critical to the courses which students take at the college”, as well as the impact on the local businesses that supply goods and services to the college.

Upon hearing the news, shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden said: “This is obviously going to be very concerning news for the staff, for the students and for the families affected by it. We did press the government long and hard about the adequacy of the provisions with the new insolvency law so it will be interesting and important to see how effectively they can be applied.”

In an email to member colleges about the insolvency application, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, David Hughes, wrote of the “concerns about how the governance and leadership has allowed the college to get into trouble”.

“This is an exceptional case under new legislation which has never been used before,” he added.

“Because of that, everyone involved in this will be learning as they go, so it is more difficult than usual to forecast what might happen.

“This appalling situation must not overshadow the incredible work that thousands of college governors and senior leaders do.”

The application to appoint an education administrator will have followed advice from the DfE’s FE Commissioner, Richard Atkins, and the ESFA’s director of provider market oversight, Matthew Atkinson.

But a DfE spokesperson would not be drawn on matters surrounding the decision to end bailouts at Hadlow, simply saying: “We can confirm that following a request from Hadlow College, we have applied to the court to place the college in education administration. This is matter for the court and it would be inappropriate to comment further until a decision is made.”

Who is to blame?

The education administrator has to submit a report on the conduct of the leadership and all governors who were in office during the last three years of the college’s trading.

This could lead to governors facing consequences which range from being banned from serving as a company director, to seven years in jail.

Sanctions may be imposed for causing, or persuading, the college to commit a common law offence, such as conspiracy to defraud, or for causing a statutory offence.

It has been alleged the group’s former deputy chief executive, Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, forged emails from the ESFA to justify additional funding from the government.

When the ESFA checked those emails against their own server, they could find no record of them and the agency demanded the money back.

The college’s local MP, Tom Tugendhat, told FE Week: “I’ve been deeply concerned by the accounts I have been hearing of spending, and the way public money has been used, and I have asked the skills minister to keep a very careful record as the investigation goes on, should it be required for any further purposes.

“If there is any suggestion that there has been any misuse of public funds or fraud, then I would be extremely keen for that to be investigated and prosecuted.”