West Kent and Ashford College will apply to enter education administration tomorrow.
The embattled college is expected to follow its sister college Hadlow into insolvency, after the former fell in May, in order to streamline the sale of their various campuses.
It follows on from the FE Commissioner Richard Atkins recommending in July that Hadlow College and West Kent and Ashford College, which are currently part of one group, should have their campuses divided up between North Kent, East Kent and Capel Manor College.
MP for Tonbridge and Malling, Tom Tugendhat said the plan requires West Kent and Ashford College (WKAC) to be “formally broken apart”, and the Education and Skills Funding Agency has confirmed that applying for educational administration is the “most effective way of achieving this complex transaction”.
“It is not a new problem – rather, the beginning of a solution,” Tugendhat explained.
“Though it is concerning when any college applies for educational administration, I am assured by the college and administrators this is a necessary step in order to safeguard the long-term interests of students and staff at West Kent College.”
WKAC chair Martin Doel said that while the college’s finances have been stabilised over recent months, the college is “faced with exceptional outstanding liabilities and would be insolvent without external support”.
Graham Morley, interim principal at the college, reassured staff and parents entering education administration “will not affect the day-to-day operations of the college”.
“All courses will continue as normal and they should still apply to, and enrol with, us for this September,” he added.
Atkins said he believes this is the “beginning of implementing a better future for learners, staff and the wider community in Ashford, Tonbridge and West Kent”.
Education administration would only apply to WKAC itself and not its subsidiary, the Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery School.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Following a request from West Kent and Ashford College, we have applied to the court to place the college in education administration. This is now a matter for the court. This process is designed to specifically ensure that learners’ interests are protected and continue their studies with minimal disruption.”
Hadlow College was the first college to fall under the new insolvency regime earlier this year. It was put in the hands of administrators BDO by the High Court in May, after financial irregularities came to light.
The college’s deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor applied for exceptional financial support from the ESFA, which put the college in scope for intervention by Atkins. West Kent and Ashford (WKAC) was already under a financial health notice of concern.
Atkins found the board of Hadlow and WKAC had failed in their fiduciary duty and the college had run out of money after a request from Hadlow for £24 million from the restructuring fund to merge with the other two colleges had been rejected.
Graham Morley was made interim principal of Hadlow College and West Kent and Ashford, while ex-Association of Colleges boss Martin Doel and mergers and acquisitions expert Andrew Baird were drafted in as chairs of WKAC and Hadlow, respectively.
A troubled college group that has been run by an interim chief executive for nearly a year has appointed an Ofsted inspector as its new permanent boss.
John Evans (pictured) will take the reins from Dr Elaine McMahon at The Cornwall College Group during the autumn term.
She has held the position in an interim capacity since November, when former head Raoul Humphreys stepped down with immediate effect to “expedite” a government bailout.
Evans has more than 30 years’ experience in FE colleges, and has been principal of Yeovil College since 2014. He took on the additional role as an Ofsted inspector in 2011.
Chair of the TCCG board, Dr Ian Tunbridge, said the college was “thrilled” to secure an “outstanding leader in education”.
“John’s obvious passion and enthusiasm for delivering innovative teaching and learning, and ensuring that all learners have an outstanding experience resonated with everyone,” he said.
“In the meantime, we are fortunate that Dr Elaine McMahon will continue as interim chief executive, ensuring the sustainable long term future of our colleges for the benefit of our communities and the region.”
Cornwall College Group, which is rated ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted, secured a £30 million government bailout to drive forward its “fresh start” business plan earlier this year, but questions still loom about whether campuses will be sold off.
A local area review conducted by FE Commissioner Richard Atkins had suggested the best way forward for the group may be to merge with Truro and Penwith College, but following the large bailout this prospect was binned.
Cornwall had received £4.5 million emergency funding in 2016/17 and £3.5 million in 2017/18.
Prior to leading Yeovil College, Evans was vice principal for curriculum and quality at Swindon College. He also worked at Bridgwater and South Devon Colleges, as head of motor vehicle, construction and engineering and head of technology respectively.
Of his appointment, McMahon said: “I am passionate about the ability of FE to have a positive socio-economic impact and to widen participation through partnership working, which is why I am so happy this vital college has appointed John.
“His experience and expertise, particularly in terms of quality and student experience, will help TCCG secure a bright future for its learners and the businesses it supports through training and apprenticeships.”
West Kent and Ashford College has been put into education administration, making it the second college to fall under the insolvency regime.
At the High Court today, Insolvency and Companies Court judge Sally Barber granted the petition put forward by the Department for Education at the request of WKAC.
The Ofsted grade three college will now be under the legal control of administrators BDO, who have been appointed to achieve the best results for creditors while minimising disruption to WKAC’s 4,500 students and 463 staff.
The court heard that in 10 of the 13 weeks between 29 July and 27 October the college has had a cashflow deficit. It also owed £1.6 million in debts that were overdue by over three months, and net liabilities of £17.5 million by the 31 May 2019.
In her judgement, Judge Barber said the college is “plainly insolvent” and this is an “appropriate case to grant the order”.
“Learner protection is clearly a very significant factor and the evidence before me suggests that protection is at the forefront of the minds of those putting together the proposal,” she added.
Kent MP Tom Tugendhat said yesterday that, as part of plans to split WKAC between North Kent College and East Kent Colleges Group, the campuses needed to be “formally broken apart”.
He said the Education and Skills Funding Agency confirmed that applying for educational administration is the “most effective way of achieving this complex transaction”.
Tugendhat offered reassurances this is “not a new problem – rather, the beginning of a solution”, and FE Commissioner Richard Atkins said he believes this is the “beginning of implementing a better future for learners, staff and the wider community in Ashford, Tonbridge and West Kent”.
WKAC chair Martin Doel said that while the college’s finances have been stabilised over recent months, the college is “faced with exceptional outstanding liabilities and would be insolvent without external support”.
If the sale goes ahead, this would be the second time the West Kent and Ashford campuses have been split up in ten years – they were adopted by Hadlow following the collapse of K College in 2014.
Graham Morley, interim principal at the college, reassured staff and parents entering education administration “will not affect the day-to-day operations of the college”.
“All courses will continue as normal and they should still apply to, and enrol with, us for this September,” he added.
Government guidance for further education bodies which become insolvent states the administrator must prepare a report on the conduct of all of the governors for the last three years for the business secretary.
The Insolvency Service will then review these reports and decide whether to seek to disqualify any of those governors; however, board members could also face jail sentences if it is found they have committed a statutory offence.
Education administration will only apply to WKAC itself and not its subsidiary, the Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery School.
Both WKAC and Hadlow College, which make up the Hadlow Group, have been subject to intervention from the FE Commissioner Richard Atkins and have been under financial health notices of concern with the ESFA.
A report by Atkins, published in May, revealed how Hadlow Group’s leaders concealed the truth of its financial position until the college needed bailing out, in a “corporate failure of leadership”. “We were genuinely shocked by what we found”, he told FE Week at the time.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Following a request from West Kent and Ashford College, the college has today been placed into education administration.
“The ESFA will continue to work closely with the administrators and with West Kent and Ashford College to minimise disruption to staff and students, and to deliver a longer term solution to protect the provision of Further Education in Kent.”
FE Week talks medal hopes and teamwork with WorldSkills UK mechatronics competitors Jack Dakin and Danny Slater as the final countdown to Kazan begins.
Reporter Fraser Whieldon travelled to Toyota UK in Derby yesterday to meet the mechatronics duo; both of whom are 24, from Derby, and work at the automotive manufacturer.
The two are no strangers to international competitions, having won a bronze medal for the UK at EuroSkills 2018 in Budapest. What are their hopes of bringing back a silver or gold from WorldSkills next week?
Our aim is to be the highest-ranked European team
“Realistically, there is a lot more competition going from EuroSkills to WorldSkills,” Jack (pictured centre) said. “I think we’ll take it task by task and as long as we come out the other end knowing we have given it our all, we’ll be happy.”
Danny (pictured left) is less coy, saying: “Our aim is to be the highest-ranked European team.”
Their competition will consist of constructing four stations over four days, much of which will be blind tests.
The stations will form a production line which draws on the multiple disciplines of mechatronics, including mechanics, electronics and fluid processes.
For example, a station they had been practising with at Toyota’s on-site academy involved transporting a WorldSkills coin in a pot from one end of the station to another using circuits to power the components and pressurised air to lift the pot around the production line.
Danny explained: “We don’t know what the stations are going to be, how it is going to be laid out, what it’s going to be asking us to do.
“They could throw in new equipment nobody’s seen just to enhance the competition.”
But that’s good for the competition, says Jack, as “everyone’s on the same level, but you’ve never seen it before, so it’s about overcoming those problems”.
Making the playing field more level could play in Danny and Jack’s favour when they are up against some countries like China and Russia, which plough tremendous amounts of time and resources into WorldSkills and compete in a much wider array of events.
While Jack says they are “very lucky” that Toyota invest so much in the competition, going up against countries which prepare so rigidly for this one tournament may prove to be an epic challenge for the pair.
To prepare, the two have been revising the components they know will come up, to hammer down how they will function in the production line.
Another area is speed, trying to perform quicker and more efficiently.
Much like Phoebe MacLavy, Team UK’s hairdressing competitor FE Week spoke to last week, these two have been honing their skills and scouting out the competition at a number of other tournaments.
Other than EuroSkills, Jack and Danny, who completed apprenticeships together at Toyota, have done other competitions in the Netherlands, the UK, and Budapest last week, where they competed against Russia and Hungary – the two teams which bested the UK at EuroSkills – and came second behind Russia.
Danny said: “As we’re working as a pair, we are trying to know each other’s strengths and what we can leave to the other person to save time.”
Helping them along is training manager Calum Knot, who competed in mechatronics at EuroSkills 2014.
There is hardly a better pair of hands for Jack and Danny as, aside from having finished in the top five in 2014, Calum has also worked as an associate lecturer at Middlesex University and goes around the country running training and installing equipment for international technical education company Festo Didactic.
“One of the things about being a training manager is you don’t have to be the quickest person at doing it,” he said.
“The best person at teaching doesn’t have to be the best person at doing it. A football coach doesn’t have to be the star player, just be able to point the star player in the right direction.”
As with other training managers, Calum will stop being a training manager in Kazan and become an expert who must remain neutral and not show favouritism towards their national team.
Of his expert role, Calum said it is very hard to stay “emotionally disconnected” and avoid looking over at what your competitors are doing.
Hopefully he will not have much to worry about, as Jack says: “We are as ready as we can be.”
Team UK will travel to Russia on Monday before four days of intense competition start on 22 August.
FE Week is the exclusive media partner of WorldSkills UK and will be reporting live from Kazan.
Over 200,000 students studying the qualifications up and down the country will today find out whether all their hard work has paid off, and what their next step in life will be.
*** The live blog is now closed. Sorry if your pictures didn’t make it in – we’ve been inundated with stories and there simply hasn’t been time to add them all. We really appreciate you sending them and don’t forget to send them in next year. Congratulations to all the learners who got their results today and best of luck for the future.***
As with previous years, we’ll be sharing some of the success stories from colleges, sixth form colleges and providers from across England on this live blog. Stay tuned!
Sixth form student heading into higher apprenticeship, after impressing employers on his placement
Jacob Moat, an A-level student at Bede Sixth Form, will be enjoying the best of both worlds after being accepted onto a higher apprenticeship.
18-year-old Jacob (pictured), who achieved a B in media studies, a B in business and a C in economics will be undertaking a level 6 chartered surveyor apprenticeship with PD Ports, which will involve one day a week studying at Northumbria University.
Jacob said he was “ecstatic” about being accepted onto the apprenticeship after partaking in the college’s Logistics Academy programme, which aims to help raise young people’s awareness of the logistics industry by taking part in a series of workshop, masterclasses and site visits.
Top grades for Barnet and Southgate student after coming from Syria just three years ago
A student from Barnet and Southgate College has achieved an A* in physics and chemistry and an A in maths, despite only having arrived in the country from Syria three years ago.
Karim Bakkar (pictured left) has secured a place at Birmingham University to study an integrated BSc and Masters degree in nuclear engineering.
The 20-year-old had to complete an ESOL course before enrolling at the college, but said he had had “a unique time here and I have loved every minute”.
Sector leaders respond to A-level results
The congratulations of FE sector leaders on A-level results day has been tinged with warnings over the future funding for those qualifications and the apprenticeships school leavers may go on to.
Bill Watkin
The chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association Bill Watkin said his members had delivered another “outstanding” year of A-level results, and large specialist providers of sixth form education were leading the way in delivering a “broad, high-quality education to young people”.
However, he said the decline in entries to English literature and language A-levels was a concern, and it is important the government and regulators develop a much clearer explanation about grade boundaries and how they are set.
The latter comes after FE Week reported yesterday on leaked copies of Edexcel’s and OCR’s grade boundaries, which revealed A-level maths students needed as little as 55 per cent for an A grade.
Watkin and AELP policy officer Simon Ashworth also voiced their worries about funding for A-levels and apprenticeships respectively.
Simon Ashworth
Ashworth said: “Congratulations to all those students who have worked so hard to give themselves a chance to thrive in a very uncertain climate.”
But he added: “AELP’s major concern is that employers would currently like to be offering them up to 25 per cent more apprenticeship opportunities if the funding was available and the shortage is being felt most outside the big cities.”
After Boris Johnson said it was “vital” the government invest more in FE and skills, Ashworth said that extra investment needs to be “pumped in quickly” if the prime minister “doesn’t want thousands of disaffected young people on his hands”.
Exeter College student celebrating university offer after tough year
From left to right: Jack’s sister Rose, his mum Juliette, and Jack himself
An Exeter College student is celebrating getting an A*, an A and a B in a year when he had to care for his mother, who has been suffering with aggressive breast cancer.
Jack Smith, who lost his father in 2012, studied A-levels in physics, maths and further maths and will be studying physics at the University of Exeter.
The 17-year-old said: “It has been a tough time for me, but Exeter College have helped me along the way and I’m thrilled to be going to study physics at university.”
West Notts College student doesn’t let health problems stop her securing scholarship
A student at Vision West Nottinghamshire College did not let a curved spine stop her achieving A-levels and getting her hands on a scholarship with the University of Sheffield.
With a B in English literature, B in law, C in politics and a B in her EPQ now under her belt, Emily Gay (pictured) is off to study English literature.
The 19-year-old, who has double-curved scoliosis, which causes curvature of the spine, said: “I’ve had 19 years to get used to my health problems, having scoliosis and my legs are different lengths, but I just get on with things and it’s not stopped me achieving.”
While Emily prepares to start her life at university, 18-year-old Phoebe Stirland (pictured left) will be starting in the world of work – with an apprenticeship.
After an “exhausting and demanding” exam period, from which she gained an A in history, B in English language and C in biology, she will start next week at Launay’s Restaurant and Bar as a chef.
“Most of my friends are going to university, but I’m really looking forward to getting into the world of work,” said Phoebe, who also boasted about her skills with lemon meringue.
UTC sending its first ever student to Oxford
Christian Marriott (pictured) has become the first ever student from his UTC to secure a place at Oxford.
The 18-year-old from UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park scored an two A* grades and an A in maths, further maths and computer science, ensuring his place at Mansfield College to study maths.
Christian said he “had a great time at the UTC”, as he enjoyed both the academic and technical learning, and the opportunity to taking part in other projects, such as the Vex Robotics competition.
Harlow College student who originally missed out on A-levels heading to university
A Harlow College student who did not get the chance to take A-levels on their first time around is “really happy” after opening their results today.
Bevan Collins
22-year-old Bevan Collins is off to the University of York to study theoretical physics after securing an A in maths, a B in physics, and a C in further maths.
He said: “I didn’t get a chance to sit my A Levels the first time around so I was determined to come back to education to take them now.”
Getting his results, he added, was the “the culmination of a four year journey”.
Fellow Harlow student, 18-year-old Sarah Williams, was “overwhelmed” after receiving an unexpected A in politics, B in psychology and B in history.
“My goal was always to go to Sheffield to study History and now I’m doing it!”
Blackburn College student to take maths degree after competing in national challenge
From left to right: Jack Esson, Molly Bailey, Lolita Semjaskina, Leah Clare and Kane Kilburn
Jack Esson (pictured far left) from Blackburn College is off to study for a degree in maths and computer science after getting the chance to partake in a national maths competition.
He achieved an A*, three As and a B in his A-levels after choosing to study at college for the “more adult environment” which allowed him to become more independent and take responsibility for his own studies, as opposed to a school setting.
While at college, Jack was also given the chance to take part in the UK Mathematics Trust Maths Challenge.
Joining him at Lancaster will be Leah Clare, who will be studying physics, astrophysics and cosmology after achieving three As and a B.
She said she had “thoroughly enjoyed” her course, with the standout moments being when she was able to meet a former college student who had gone on to study for a PhD.
Boris forgets colleges… again
First, he forgot to appoint a minister for skills for nearly a week. Now Boris Johnson has forgot colleges also offer courses to do after A-levels in his congratulations to students picking up their results today.
In his message, the Prime Minister said his new government will do “all we can to improve funding for education and to give schools the powers they need to deal with bad behaviour and bullying so that pupils can learn”.
He went onto say that government “must focus much more attention on providing great apprenticeships for all those who do not go to university”, seemingly forgetting colleges also offer routes for school leavers.
His lapse comes after the Department for Education caused outrage by making the same mistake on Twitter, where it said A-level students could either go to university, do an apprenticeship, or get a job after they got their results, with no mention of college courses.
This could be seen as a further snub of colleges and FE from a prime minister who did not appoint a dedicated skills minister in his first reshuffle and instead shared the brief between education secretary Gavin Williamson and children’s minister Kemi Badenoch.
Derby College student following in mother’s footsteps
18-year-old Uther Naysmith from Derby College has secured his place to study law at Oxford after scoring an A* in politics and As in history and french.
He said he had “really enjoyed” his time at the college, and it was his teachers who encouraged him to apply for Oxford, which he had not thought of doing before.
Uther Naysmith
Other success stories from the college include Ethan Lee, 19, who gained A* grades across the board in English language, psychology and sociology.
He is off to the University of Nottingham to study cognitive neuro science and psychology, and said he was “on another level of relieved and thrilled” with his results.
Yousra Jamal (pictured right)
Meanwhile, Jaiya Verma, 18, is “really pleased” with her A grade for Extended Project and B grades in English language, English literature and sociology.
She hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an English teacher, and will be studying English Literature at either Durham or Newcastle.
Good luck message from education secretary
We kick off today’s blog with a message from new education secretary Gavin Williamson, who said everyone receiving results today should feel “proud” of their achievements – as should the “thousands of teachers that supported them in our brilliant schools and colleges”.
“Today marks the culmination of years of hard work which it’s right to recognise at this time of year,” he added.
“Of course, the minds of thousands of young people getting their results will soon turn to the next chapter in their lives, whether that’s a place at one of our world class universities, earning on an apprenticeship or entering the world of work – and I hope every one of them is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them and I wish them the very best of luck for their results today.”
Students would only be able to apply to universities after seeing their A-level and other qualification results under a Labour government.
The party has today pledged to “radically reform” higher education admissions by scrapping offers based on predicted grades.
Labour said the current system, where college and sixth form student applications are made by January – months before sitting their exams in early summer – unfairly penalises disadvantaged students and those from minority backgrounds.
“This would put a further squeeze on the amount of teaching time available”
Its proposed “fairer system” of post-qualification admissions (PQA) would “curb the sharp rise in unconditional offers” and bring an end to the “stressful” clearing process.
The review said the changes were also impractical because students from the four countries of the UK sit their exams at different times of the year, and students might research their university options less thoroughly.
Labour hasn’t addressed those issues in its announcement today. But shadow education secretary Angela Rayner (pictured) said they will work with schools, colleges, and universities to “design and implement the new system, and continue to develop our plans to make higher education genuinely accessible to all”.
She added the current system “isn’t working” and “radical action is needed to change that”.
The Sutton Trust has previously warned poorer students are more likely to have their grades under-predicted than their wealthier peers, meaning they are less likely to apply to the most selective institutions.
But Clare Marchant, UCAS’ chief executive, said while a post-results admissions service has a “natural appeal”, it would be “likely to significantly disadvantage underrepresented and disabled students”, unless school, college and university calendars changed.
“Young people need their teachers’ support when making application choices, and this isn’t readily available to all at the scale required when schools and colleges are closed during August.”
Former UCAS chief executive Mary Curnock-Cook told FE Week that Labour would need to pull some “major system changes out of the hat to ensure that it doesn’t become just one big clearing process over a few short weeks in the summer holidays”.
She said having the “choice of applying early and getting a motivational conditional offer, or applying post-qualifications in what is now a very professional clearing system, is the best of both worlds”.
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said a review of current arrangements is “welcome”, but “many of our members are concerned that making offers after the publication of A-level results would mean that exams would have to take place at least a month earlier”.
“This would put a further squeeze on the amount of teaching time available – time that has already been reduced following the introduction of linear A-levels,” he added.
Mary Curnock-Cook
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the current admissions system “concerns” colleges and “it is clear that pre-results applications are problematic” as “only 16 per cent of applicants achieving their predicted A-level grades”.
“We are keen to explore other approaches and with more than half of university students coming from colleges it is vital that colleges are part of the ongoing discussions about how to make the system work better,” he added.
Labour said PQA is the norm across the world, and England’s reliance on predicted grades is an international outlier.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, believes allowing people to apply after they receive their results would “help level the playing field for students”.
“The current system, based on inaccurately predicted results, is failing students and it is time we adopted the type of system used around the rest of the world where university offers are based on actual achievements instead of guesswork,” she added.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Universities must ensure their admissions practices are fair, to ensure everyone can access higher education, or they will face action.”
She added that the Office for Students and Universities UK are already undertaking a review of university admissions to “look at how well current practices serve students and we urge all groups to support them to see how they can be improved”.
The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has met Team UK representatives during his first visit to a further education college in his new role.
On what the Department for Education described as a unofficial private visit, Westminster Kingsway College hosted a meeting between Williamson and representatives of WorldSkills UK, including chief executive Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann.
The minister also met several Team UK members, including: Jack Goodrum, who will be competing in carpentry; Owen Aldous, cabinet making; Collette Gorvett, restaurant service; Tonicha Roberts, chemical laboratory technician; Ross Megahy, mechanical engineering CAD.
His visit coincided with Vocational Results Day, when learners sitting qualifications such as BTECs receive their externally assessed results.
While he was there, Williamson also got the chance to try his hand at some of the skills himself including hospitality cocktail making and carpentry.
37 competitors representing the #UnitedKingdom will show how brilliant our technical education is next week at @WorldSkillsKZN. So enjoyed hearing about the training all the apprentices and students have undertaken and I am sure all their incredibly hard work will pay off. https://t.co/4fH6Q3omvq
“It was fantastic to meet members of Team UK and see them all in action,” Williamson said.
“There is no greater honour than representing your country on a global platform like this, and I wish them all the very best of luck as they head out to Kazan next week.”
Williamson, who has taken on personal responsbility for the FE and skills brief, also told all those receiving vocational results that today is the “culmination of years of hard work for thousands of young people”.
“It is right that their efforts are celebrated across the country as well as on the front pages – but getting a good set of A levels and then a degree is only half the story.
“As the first education secretary to personally take charge of further education and skills, I’m going to make sure that those people who opt to take a technical or vocational qualification are given the proper recognition for their hard work.”
He added that while some people will be getting their technical and vocational results today, from next year, students finishing their GCSEs will be able to take “one of our new T-levels as a high-quality technical course that will carry the same UCAS points equivalent to three of our world-class A levels”.
“Young people and their parents can be confident that T-levels will be just as stretching as their academic equivalents and will offer progression to the next level whether that is landing a great job, an apprenticeship or going on to do a degree,” he said.
“As the technical ‘gold standard’ option for young people post-16, T-level results will be also be published on the same day as A-levels from 2022.”
“Technical and vocational educational has played second fiddle to traditional academic options for too long.
“In three years’ time the look and feel of results day will be very different, with students getting their T-level results celebrating their hard work alongside those getting their A-levels.”
This year’s Vocational Results Day comes as the future of thousands of applied general qualifications, including BTECs, hangs in the balance. A government review of those at level 3 and below was launched earlier this, and any that are deemed to overlap with A-levels and T-levels will have their funding removed.
Team UK will travel to Russia on Monday before four days of intense competition start on 23 August, where they’ll battle it out with 65 other nations in a range of disciplines, from mechatronics to cooking.
FE Week is the exclusive media partner of WorldSkills UK and will be reporting live from Kazan.
In response to a knife attack in London on August 8, 2019, Boris Johnson said he is going to put more police on the streets.
Of course he is right to suggest people will feel safer as a result.
However, he couldn’t be more wrong if he had thought that more police would solve the underlying issues that are causing this resurgence in knife crime. This needs to be understood in the context of what is driving young people to seek a life of crime and gangs. Many are themselves vulnerable and need help.
Further education colleges should be at centre of the debate as we seek solutions.
The PM is no doubt aware that more police won’t solve the knife crime problem
In particular, two things need to be addressed – the reduction in college funding and the lack of emphasis on personal development as we focus on qualifications and job readiness.
Funding cuts have meant that colleges are no longer able to offer a broad enough curriculum. This narrowing of the curriculum, to maintain financial viability, comes at the expense of losing provision which would be better suited to engaging some of our more vulnerable young people.
The relentless focus on employability and job readiness, in policy, regulation and funding for FE has neglected that other essential quality of education – the development of character.
Johnson should understand this. His alma mater, Eton, includes among its aims “fostering self-confidence, enthusiasm, perseverance, tolerance and integrity”.
The question is whether these noble qualities should be fostered in the few or the many.
The PM is no doubt aware that more police won’t solve the knife crime problem.
I would argue that cuts in college funding coupled with an education system that is focussed primarily on employability is at best naively dangerous.
One way to chart a more purposeful course would be to promote and regulate FE as a sector with the dual purpose of encouraging employability and job readiness as well as citizenship and community cohesion.
There are multiple approaches to combining the two and this agenda is very much part of the fabric of the FE sector.
To augment a young persons’ educational programme of study with work around purposeful citizenship to help them contribute meaningfully to their local community is relatively straight forward.
There are multiple examples of this kind of work in colleges, including an enquiry-based philosophical approach called AskIt which is promoted by the Helen Hamlyn Trust and adapted to a vocational education setting here at Central Bedfordshire College.
AskIt enables young people to learn to debate, to accept difference, to air their views and to vent any anger in an enlightened and purposeful manner.
AskIt is a methodical approach to learning. It is about how to think, how to question and how to articulate arguments. The college uses AskIt to help young people learn and hone important skills beyond the technical discipline in which they train and work, alongside training to become plumbers, carpenters, hairdressers, social workers, computer programmers, nurses and the many other careers which they can look forward to.
I call upon the Prime Minister to engage with the FE sector in a meaningful way so that we are better able to support community cohesion as much skills. Both are urgent priorities with the advent of Brexit.
Firewalls, data back-ups and training staff to verify email senders are some of the actions colleges should take to protect themselves against cyber attacks, according to new government guidance.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency has published the advice today after colleges fell victim to phishing scams earlier this year, where genuine-looking emails were sent by fraudsters to trick people into sending money or private information.
As well as the tips, the ESFA release warns providers that they “retain responsibility to be aware of the risk of fraud, theft and irregularity and address it by putting in place proportionate controls”.
Phishing scams and malvertising – when malicious code is downloaded onto a victim’s computer after they click on, or even just hover over an advert online – are two traps the ESFA has warned providers of.
The release lists five strategic questions that education providers should use as a “starting point to consider cyber risk in their organisation”.
They include: Does the organisation have a clear and common understanding of the range of information assets it holds? Does the organisation have a clear understanding of cyber threats and their vulnerabilities? Is the organisation proactively managing cyber risks? Does the organisation have a balanced approach to managing cyber risk? Does the education provider have sound governance processes to ensure actions to mitigate threats are effective?
It goes on to list 10 “cyber security tests”, which are based on the National Cyber Security Centre’s ‘10 steps to cyber security’ guide.
As well as verifying email senders before sending payment or data, college staff should be trained to ensure they “understand the risks of using public Wi-Fi” and “understand the risks of not following payment checks and measures”, according to the ESFA.
Fraudsters, perpetrating a phishing scam, hacked into the email account of principal Chris Nattress and sent a link to his contacts to “review and sign”.
When Nattress’s contacts replied to check if the email was genuine, the fraudster replied saying that it was.
They also changed the college’s phone number in the email signature by one digit, and made up a mobile number, so contacts could not check in that way.
The college’s digital team identified the issue before staff received any reports of a problem.
Education providers were first warned about phishing in an ESFA update in June, which said some had suffered “financial losses” after falling for this type of scheme, but it is unclear how many.
This is not the first time education providers have been targeted in such a manner: in 2014, emails purportedly from the Skills Funding Agency were sent to providers, asking them to send details that would allow the fraudster to take money from the provider’s bank account.
The 19-year-old, who has double-curved scoliosis, which causes curvature of the spine, said: “I’ve had 19 years to get used to my health problems, having scoliosis and my legs are different lengths, but I just get on with things and it’s not stopped me achieving.”
