A board that was set up by government to increase apprenticeship starts has been quietly binned – with officials claiming its objectives have been “fulfilled”.

This reason “borders on the surreal”, according to shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, especially after a new co-chair was appointed as recently as July 2018, who described the board’s work as “so important” at the time.

The Apprenticeship Delivery Board (ADB) was launched four years ago and had representatives from high-profile employers, including the likes of Barclays, Fujitsu and the NHS as members.

Its key purpose was to: “Implement an employer-engagement strategy to deliver an increase in high-quality apprenticeships starts, and to support a greater volume and more diverse number of people applying for and starting apprenticeships to meet growing demand.”

But after months of inactivity, and with no board meeting minutes published since October, FE Week asked if it was still running.

After initially stating that there would be an update “in due course” two weeks ago, a Department for Education spokesperson has now said: “The Apprenticeship Delivery Board fulfilled its objectives and was dissolved on June 24.”

Trudy Harrison (pictured), MP for Copeland and the board’s co-chair, told FE Week the decision was taken “by both chairs in conjunction with the ESFA after extensive thinking about the remit and functions of the board”.

The board’s other co-chair was Claire Paul, the director of leadership development and new talent at the BBC. She only attended two meetings after joining in July. She declined to comment on its closure.

The minutes of the board’s last meeting in October suggest there was no plan to shut it down, especially as it was agreed to change its name to the “Apprenticeship Sector Development Board with immediate effect”.

They also state the co-chairs had asked that “board member sector delivery plans be completed by the end of December 2018”.

“Claire and Trudy also plan to arrange individual meetings with each board member before the next board meeting in February 2019,” the minutes add.

Furthermore, minutes from the meeting in July state how Harrison reported that her experience in her constituency “is that there is still a need for more employers offering apprenticeship positions” – another clear sign that the board had not yet fully achieved its objectives.

Marsden said the situation “borders on the surreal”.

“We know there have been all sorts of problems with the delivery board, with its management, with the people appointed, and the fact they were not transparent with their minutes, and now we’re told it has fulfilled its objectives.”

The controversial board member Marsden referred to was David Meller, former co-chair of the Presidents Club, which faced allegations of sexual harassment by guests at its January 2018 charity dinner. He was co-chair of the ADB at the time, but stood down shortly after the scandal.

Marsden continued: “This doesn’t exactly give employers, or indeed anybody, wanting to engage around apprenticeship delivery much confidence.

“When the new government comes in, and whoever is education secretary or skills minister, they need to work very hard at engagement and also engagement with apprentices themselves. Again, we have an apprentice group but use of it by officials and ministers has certainly in any formal sense been negligible.”

He said he will table a parliamentary question to find out what the criteria was for the board “having fulfilled its objectives”, as he believes their impact has been “barely on the radar”.

The ADB’s closure comes hot on the heels of the education secretary Damian Hinds admitting the government will miss its target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by next year.

“If you look only at the number of people starting an apprenticeship, then that target is not going to be reached,” Hinds told the education select committee last week.

Hinds did not give a fresh timetable for reaching the starts target, which was set in the Conservative Party’s 2015 election manifesto. Instead, hr said the focus ought to be on the quality of apprenticeships.

The chair of major high-street employer Ryman, ex-Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis, has accused the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education of “damaging” apprenticeship quality.

This follows IfATE’s decision to cut funding to the level 3 retail team leader and the level 4 retail manager standards, from £5,000 to £4,000 and £6,000 to £5,000 respectively.

Paphitis told FE Week that reducing those funding bands is “damaging to the quality apprenticeships we want to offer”, as it will mean training providers could struggle to provide learners with the breadth of learning experience that Ryman would prefer.

Both are popular standards, with 5,119 starts for the retail team leader standard, and 2,369 for the retail manager standard, according to latest ESFA starts data to January 2019.

The stationery giant may be forced to pay top-ups to finance the programme it wants providers to deliver, Paphitis said.

He added: “We are great believers in quality, not quantity. Reducing the costs will make it even harder for some companies to spend their pot in the way it was originally intended.”

The retail apprenticeships were two of 17 standards that had revised funding bands published this week, following a review by the IfATE.

This latest stinging criticism of IfATE’s decision-making will not be welcomed by skills minister Anne Milton, who told FE Week she wanted the quango to have a much more “collaborative relationship” with providers.

There is little sign of that this week, with hospitality apprenticeship provider HIT Training accusing the institute of engaging in a “race to the bottom”.

Two level 3 hospitality standards have been cut from £5,000 to £4,000 this week: hospitality supervisor and senior production chef.

A spokesperson said the institute “always call on us for support when there is a funding band review, but frankly, it seems that in spite of providing a significant evidence base, they invariably choose the cheapest option”.

“We will cut our cloth to suit, but it is a real pity high-quality provision will be removed from the sector,” they added.

People 1st, which represents the standards’ trailblazer groups, appealed against IfATE’s decision to cut the four standards.

All four appeals were rejected by IfATE, as were two against cuts to the level 3 bus and coach engineering technician standard, which was cut from £18,000 to £16,000; and the level 3 heavy-vehicle service and maintenance technician, which was cut from £18,000 to £15,000.

The cuts may mean training providers decide these two standards are not viable to run, warned the standards’ trailblazer group representative, head of fleet at First Bus Jon Harman.

Of the 17 new funding bands published this week, only one standard had an increase: the level 3 highway electrician/service operative, from £9,000 to £12,000.

Six remained the same, while ten have had cuts.

There have been two funding band reviews, in May last year and the following December, which have led to several standards having funding cuts, including the popular chartered manager degree apprenticeship.

Three funding band reviews from December are outstanding.

An IfATE spokesperson said: “The aim for all standards reviewed is to ensure they have the most appropriate funding band to support high-quality delivery, and provide value for money for employers and taxpayers.

“Each standard has been considered on its own merits following the same approach used throughout the review process to ensure consistency.”

The spokesperson said IfATE had worked collaboratively with trailblazer groups and collated evidence that was used fairly and in a balanced way.

“We welcome feedback and will assess the impact of any changes to funding bands over the coming months, taking action where appropriate.”

The winners of the ninth annual BTEC Awards have been recognised at a ceremony featuring performances, celebrity appearances and a bucket load of vocational talent.

Awards were presented to 21 winners in 20 categories, following deliberations by an expert panel of 52 judges, including the managing director of FE Week publisher Lsect, Shane Mann.

The winner of the creative media student of the year award, Sam Pope from The Bath Studio School, was described by his teacher as a “serious talent” who “goes beyond what is expected” while mentoring classmates too.

His short films have even landed him a role in an upcoming professional feature film by award-winning director Kae Bahar.

The awards were held in Westminster and run by Pearson, and its president in the UK, Rod Bristow, said: “All of those that won this year deserve huge congratulations and stand every chance of continuing that success into the careers they are now ready to start.

“This year’s awards are a fantastic celebration of them, alongside the schools, colleges, universities, training providers, and employers, who have underpinned their efforts.”

Hosting the awards was TV’s Steph McGovern, and the ceremony was also attended by Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock, presenting the award for School of the Year.

The winner of the business and enterprise student of the year award, Ttanya Sachdev from Braeburn International School Arusha in Tanzania, earned her award after starting her own tuck shop business for teachers and students.

Performing at the ceremony were the four winners of the Showstopper Challenge, groups from schools and colleges offering BTECs in the performing arts: Deanery High School, D16 Performing Arts College, Jackie Palmer Academy and Bury College.

In a recent poll, Pearson has found that two thirds of medium sized businesses have hired BTEC graduates in the last five years. One such graduate is the winner of the hospitality, travel and tourism student of the year award Luke Bearpark from Exeter College, who has landed himself a job on the international cabin crew for British Airways.

Another college winner was East Surrey’s Francesca Horn, the winner of the art and design student of the year gong, whose work has previously been featured on BBC News.

The winner of the child, health and social care student of the year award, Teanna Maguire from Sir John Deanes sixth form college was described as a “shining star” with an “exemplary work ethic”.

Kasra Soltani, only came to England four years ago, yet his time and effort at Croydon College earned him this year’s construction student of the year award.

Shalini Rajan, the winner of teacher of the year, was said to be “empowering her students by embracing modern teaching and learning strategies” at The Winchester School in Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

 

The winners are:

• BTEC Art and Design Student of the Year: Francesca Horn, East Surrey College, UK
• BTEC Business and Enterprise Student of the Year: Ttanya Sachdev, Braeburn International School Arusha, Tanzania
• BTEC Child and Social Care Student of the Year: Teanna Maguire, Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College, UK
• BTEC Construction Student of the Year: Kasra Soltani, Croydon College, UK
• BTEC Creative Media Student of the Year: Sam Pope, The Bath Studio School, UK
• BTEC Engineering Student of the Year: Ryan Kimber, Isle of Wight College, UK
• BTEC Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Student of the Year: Luke Bearpark, Exeter College, UK
• BTEC Land-based Student of the Year: Chloe Rochester, Bishop Burton College, UK
• BTEC Music Student of the Year: Katie Cherry, Holmer Green Secondary School, UK
• BTEC Performing Arts Student of the Year: Millie Davey, Scarborough TEC, UK
• BTEC Public Services Student of the Year: Ryan Jolly, East Surrey College, UK
• BTEC Science Student of the Year: Abbie Densham, Exeter College, UK
• BTEC Sport Student of the Year: Dominika Bzdon, Nelson and Colne College, UK
             
• BTEC Apprentice 16-18 of the Year: Connor Coupland, Leeds College of Building, UK
• BTEC Apprentice 19+ of the Year: Christopher Meredith, Leeds College of Building, UK
• BTEC School of the Year: Milton Abbey School, UK
• BTEC College of the Year: Sunderland College, UK
   
• BTEC Teacher of the Year: Shalini Rajan, The Winchester School, Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates
• BTEC Tutor of the Year: Gwyn Williams, Abingdon and Witney College, UK
• BTEC Students of the Year 2019: 
  • Josephine Kiaga, Braeburn International School Arusha, Tanzania
  • Christopher Meredith, Leeds College of Building, UK

Scandal-hit Hadlow College has scored well in its first Ofsted monitoring visit since it went into administration.

The college, which became the first provider to fall under the new insolvency regime in May, received three ‘reasonable progress’ ratings. Its last full inspection, in 2010, resulted in a grade one.

In its report published today, inspectors said the interim principal, Graham Morley, “supported effectively by the educational administrators, senior leaders and the advisory group, has made sure that the education of students at the college has not been adversely affected” by the recent tumult.

Since February, when FE Commissioner Richard Atkins visited the college, Hadlow has seen the resignations of its principal Paul Hannan, deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, board chair Theresa Bruton, as well as several governors, following allegations of financial irregularities.

However, replacements have been appointed, including Morley and a new chair of governors, Andrew Baird, who chairs East Surrey College’s board and is a National Leader of Governance.

The new leaders and managers have recognised a historical decline in achievement rates for learners on study programmes, which fell by 2.7 per cent between 2015-16 and 2017-18, according to today’s report.

They have “planned carefully to improve student retention” by giving students initial advice to make sure they are more aware of their course’s requirements, and identified when a learner is at risk of leaving a course and scheduled talks with them prior to this point to inspire them.

Systems have been developed to improve classroom performance, and leaders and managers can effectively check and improve the quality of curriculum areas.

They support staff well to make changes that help more learners to achieve their qualifications, such as when introducing GCSE resits for English and maths last year, which led to a higher proportion of learners who take these examinations achieving grades four to nine.

“Students value and enjoy the courses that they study,” inspectors found, benefitting from “high-quality resources and equipment that teachers use to develop their understanding of their industries well”.

Learners also benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities at the land-based college: equine students complete British Horse Society qualifications to make them of greater value to employers; and horticulture students can access the college’s nationally recognised collection of hellebore flowers.

The college’s 200 apprentices benefit from well-planned programmes, both for frameworks and standards, and “develop the skills, knowledge and workplace behaviours they need to be successful”: out of the 14 apprentices on the golf green-keeping standard, half of them have achieved a distinction.

This report will be welcomed good news to Hadlow College, which has been the subject to months of negative press following what Atkins called an “extremely serious financial situation”.

He found the board, many of the members of which Hadlow shared with West Kent and Ashford College (WKAC), had failed in their fiduciary duty; to the extent, Atkins told FE Week, the college would not have been able to make payroll in February without exceptional financial support.

Ofsted told FE Week in May it was keeping the college under review.

Hadlow College was part of the Hadlow Group of colleges with WKAC, which ran a portfolio of businesses including a visitor and business park, a vineyard, a cookery school – Atkins said neither of the latter two were financially successful.

The park, Betteshanger Sustainable Parks, went up for sale the week the college went into administration.

A government department is pumping £100,000 into a pilot designed to get around the inflexibilities of apprenticeship levy rules for the creative industries.

UK film and television businesses have struggled more than most to make use of their levy funding since the policy’s introduction in 2017, with figures from industry body ScreenSkills showing they’ve only spent a quarter of the £20 million they annually pay into the pot.

The main issue is that apprenticeships must last for a minimum of 12 months, but most roles in TV and film are freelance and usually only run for two to three months.

To overcome this barrier, culture secretary Jeremy Wright used a visit to the set of Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios today to announce a pilot.

It will aim for around 25 apprentices to be employed by a provider, which will be similar to an apprenticeship training agency, and be placed on multiple placements for major films and TV shows during a 12-month programme.

It is planned to launch later this year, but details still need to be ironed out.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told FE Week it is yet to be decided whether it will be the delivery partner that will be paid the £100,000. The partner is expected to be appointed over the next few months.

Seetha Kumar, chief executive of ScreenSkills, which will lead on the pilot, welcomed the government’s “move to working with us to unlock the apprenticeship levy for the screen industries”.

“The opportunity to earn while you learn has huge potential to encourage new and diverse talent to join our booming film and television sector while tackling its skills needs,” she said.

“The pilot will provide an opportunity to stress-test a new approach to using levy funds to deliver high-quality training. We are working on ironing out the details as it is vital to find a way for the apprenticeship levy to support UK screen.”

Barbara Broccoli, the producer for EON Productions Ltd, said the film industry is projecting “severe skill shortages” in the next 5 to 10 years and it is “vital we invest in training through apprenticeships, to ensure that we have a healthy and diverse workforce in the future”.

Education secretary Damian Hinds applauded the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for “investing in apprenticeships to help more young people from underrepresented groups to pursue a career in TV and film”.

“There are a range of high-quality and exciting apprenticeship opportunities available in creative industries – everything from Junior 2D Artist, to Broadcast production assistant or Post production technical operator,” he added.

The levy requires employers with payrolls greater than £3 million to set aside money for apprenticeship schemes.

A university technical college in Cumbria is celebrating after becoming only the second of its kind to be rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Energy Coast UTC opened in 2014 and got off to a shaky start when the education watchdog first came knocking and graded it ‘requires improvement’. It also currently holds a financial notice to improvement.

But in a glowing report released today, the 14 to 19 college received a grade one in every category judged.

I’m thrilled by the report, but not surprised

Inspectors praised the principal, Cherry Tingle, who has “systematically and very skilfully developed high-quality leadership skills in all school leaders and managers”.

They added that the senior leadership team “has ensured that all aspects of the school have improved considerably and rapidly”.

Tingle took over the helm in September 2016. “When I started, there was a range of problems, from results to the need for improvement in every area,” she said.

“My mantra was, and still is, everything has to be ‘good enough for my child’.

“There’s enormous satisfaction going from there to becoming one of the highest performing UTCs in the country.”

The only other UTC to be rated ‘outstanding’ is UTC Reading. The pair have bucked the national trend of poor performance for the troubled programme. The majority have been hit with poor Ofsted ratings and low recruitment numbers leading to deteriorating finances since launching in 2010, and ten have had to close so far.

The grade one for Energy Coast UTC comes despite it running at 54 per cent capacity, with only 300 on roll out of a possible 560.

The UTC’s financial notice to improve was first issued in March 2017. FE Week’s sister paper FE Week reported in 2017 that the UTC had outsourced its teaching.

Lord Baker, who created the UTC model and set up the Baker Dearing Trust to promote them, said Energy Coast UTC “leads a revolution in technical education”.

“This UTC provides what its chain of local suppliers needs most – skilled technicians and engineers at 16 and 18,” he added.

Inspectors noted how many students “start at this school disillusioned with what they have achieved in their key stage 3 education at other schools”. Some are “resentful about schooling” but through “excellent support and guidance, staff transform the negative attitudes of these pupils in a remarkably short period of time”.

Ofsted said all staff at Energy Cost have “nurtured very effective relationships with a range of high-profile employers in the region” – including construction giants Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Iggesund, Sellafield, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Jacobs and Nuvia.

“The employers and the UTC have developed excellent work-placement programmes that enthuse and engage students in STEM careers,” inspectors wrote.

“Consequently, almost all students who leave the school at the end of Year 13 progress to STEM-related apprenticeships in the local community.”

The Ofsted report continue: “Working with the principal, governors have created a highly positive school ethos which raises pupils’ aspirations to be the best they can be.

“The encouraging, professional and supportive culture of the school now enables the vast majority of pupils to achieve very well. They catch up with any learning they may have missed at their previous school.”

Tingle concluded: “I’m thrilled by the report, but not surprised. What goes on here is extraordinary, but it’s happening every single day. It is absolutely the norm that we expect – and get – a high degree of commitment and excellent levels of achievement.”

Picture: Principal Cherry Tingle with jubilant Energy Coast UTC students

 

A college in the Humber has announced plans to merge with one of the largest FE provider’s in the country, in a bid to “safeguard their long term sustainability”.

East Riding College will join the TEC Partnership, formerly known as the Grimsby Institute Group, in the summer of 2020, subject to a public consultation.

The decision has been made following a review of East Riding’s “strategic plan”, which was conducted with the Department for Education and FE Commissioner “at the college’s request”.

A spokesperson said: “Not only will joining the TEC partnership provide East Riding College with added sustainability, it will also provide scope for the college to continue to thrive and maintain its high performance.”

East Riding is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted and teaches around 4,000 learners every year.

Its latest accounts, for 2017/18, show a deficit of £982,000. Its cash outflow for the year was £141,000, which was “largely” due to the large deficit as well as cash clawbacks by the Education and Skills Funding Agency of £305,000 “relating to the previous year’s performance”.

As part of the TEC Partnership, East Riding said it will retain its “independence and identity”.

The Grimsby Institute is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and teaches over 10,000 learners every year.

Mike Welsh, principal of East Riding College said he believes the merger is “the right thing to do”.

“Joining such a strong and influential partnership as an equal partner gives us the means and resources to increase opportunities for our communities and realise our ambitions for the region,” he added.

“East Riding College continues to perform extremely well, with overall achievement rates putting us in the top 15 per cent of general further education colleges nationally.”

Gill Alton, chief executive of the TEC Partnership, said: “I’m delighted with today’s news.

“We will now work together over the coming months to help East Riding College integrate with the Partnership whilst maintaining our absolute focus on our learners and our colleagues in both organisations.”

The colleges expect to finalise the merger towards the end of 2019/20 “after public consultation and consultation with their stakeholders”.

The TEC Partnership currently comprises of the Grimsby Institute, University Centre Grimsby, Scarborough TEC, Skegness TEC, The Academy Grimsby, Career 6, Modal Training and National Employer Training.

Assessment organisations have hit out at the Institute for Apprenticeships’ “unfair” decision to start charging £40 per learner for apprenticeship quality assurance from September.

Tom Bewick, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, has penned a letter to the institute’s boss Sir Gerry Berragan about the issue after his members “raised several concerns”.

They’re particularly aggrieved at the way the charge was announced and the subsequent lack of formal communication about its planned implementation.

What is being proposed has all the hallmarks of a bureaucratic nightmare

FAB has now called for external quality assurance (EQA) of apprenticeships to be treated as a “national infrastructure cost”.

“The inconsistency and lack of clarity for employers of EQA charges threatens the integrity of the entire apprenticeship reforms,” Bewick told FE Week.

“It should be paid for out of a central budget, for example, in the same way that Ofsted inspections are currently funded.”

There are currently 18 approved EQA bodies that monitor end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs), to ensure the process is “fair, consistent and robust”.

The EQAs are allowed to apply a charge as long as it is on a “cost-recovery basis”. FE Week revealed the “ridiculous variability” in these charges in February, which were criticised by sector leaders for ranging from a free service to £179 per apprentice.

Robert Nitsch, the IfA’s chief operating officer, announced at the Association of Employment and Learning Provider’s conference last week that the institute will start applying a £40 charge for the EQA it delivers, which is currently offered for free, from September.

On the same day, Ofqual’s director for vocational and technical qualifications, Phil Beach, confirmed his organisation would continue to offer the service for free – which has left the sector bemused as to why the IfA needs to charge.

FE Week analysis shows that of the 212 apprenticeship standards the IfA is the EQA provider for, 137 had starts totalling 52,840 in the first six months of 2018/19. It means that when the £40 charge is applied, the IfA will claim over £2.1 million for that period.

The government expects there to be around 500,000 starts every year when the apprenticeship reforms hit steady state. If the IfA continues to deliver EQA for 40 per cent of the market, as it has done for the last two years, they’ll be claiming around £8 million in assurance charges annually.

FAB’s letter to the institute, seen by FE Week, says that levying a £40 charge at the point of EPA sale, has the “potential to load significant transactional charges on the system and confuse employers”.

“For example, should EPAO’s itemise these charges on their sales invoices as a government tax, similar to VAT?”

The letter continues: “There does not appear to be any formal published confirmation or notification of this intention.

“The announcement was delivered at a conference a week ago and we would have hoped for formal notification to all affected EPAOs before or shortly after that time.

“It is essential that key developments, such as this, are communicated promptly and formally to all those affected.”

It is understood that the IfA’s intention is to begin applying the £40 charge to all end-point assessments that are EQA’d from September 2019, irrespective of when the apprentice started their apprenticeship or was registered for their EPA.

“We do not believe it is fair to retrospectively apply this charge to those apprentices who are already on programme,” FAB’s letter said. “Furthermore, this is an extremely short notice period for EPAOs to work with.”

“What is being proposed has all the hallmarks of a bureaucratic nightmare, where massive amounts of public resource will be put into issuing and chasing potentially thousands of individual invoices,” Bewick told FE Week.

“Meanwhile, for those standards — where Ofqual is the EQA — will see no charges introduced from September. The whole thing is a mess and needs sorting out urgently.”

A spokesperson for the institute said: “It has always been government’s intention that the EQA service is funded on a cost-recovery basis by charging and we have been clear about this.

“The Institute’s power to charge has been set out in legislation for almost a year and a half, but we haven’t charged to date to allow the market time to develop and mature. The legislation states that the maximum possible charge is £56, but we are mindful of potential impact and have kept the cost down as much as possible.

“We will be writing to EPAOs formally in the coming days.”