Ex-No 10 adviser: Williamson taking skills role “not good” for FE policy

A former Downing Street advisor gives his insider view on what Gavin Williamson taking the skills brief will mean for the sector – and he does not believe the DfE’s promises this will make FE more of a priority.

What to make of the announcement – finally – that the Skills Minister portfolio will be held by the Secretary of State, rather than a junior minister?

On the one hand, clearly it’s a positive. FE will now have its voice heard around the Cabinet table, and by a senior member of the Cabinet at that. (It sounds technical, but more junior ‘attending Cabinet’ ministers – including Jo Johnson – tend to get called late on in any Cabinet discussion, after more senior ministers have spoken, and often when it is clear what the consensus view is likely to be and there’s less scope to make a counterpoint.)

But my overall view is that this not good for FE policymaking – and not good for the sector overall.

The secretary of state’s role, in any department, is largely to make final decisions on issues of policy. He or she does so, crucially, having taken detailed advice from junior Ministers who have considered any issue for more time. And the SoS also has an important role in being the final arbiter of a departmental position, when junior Ministers (politely, naturally), disagree with each other.

Both of these are at risk. Taking the first issue first, it is simply implausible for any secretary of state to dedicate as much time to FE as a junior minister will.

Gavin Williamson simply has too broad a portfolio to have diary space, or headspace, to do all the work that junior ministers do day in and day out – meeting stakeholders, engaging in discussions with civil servants, or doing committee work and dispatch box appearances in the Commons.

Good junior ministers are the lifeblood of making public administration run well. Any college, or FE organisation, is going to find it much harder to find time to discuss issues with the secretary of state than with a skills minister.

That means, in turn, that decisions made on these issues will not have necessarily had all the input from the FE sector which good policy requires.

This isn’t to say, of course, that the skills minister is the minister for the FE sector, and as no one needs pointing out, it’s not as if FE has always held a privileged position with regards DfE decisions, but at least government decisions on FE are theoretically informed ones.

The second issue is also now harder to achieve.

The SoS will need to make decisions in future months on the DfE position on anything from legislative time, to responding to other departmental proposals, to (pertinently) asking for funding in the Spending Review.

Human nature – and the experience of anyone who has watched impromptu children’s football games – tells us that if any individual is both a participant and a referee, it’s hard to do both well.

Let’s take a practical example – the policy on requiring post-16 GCSE resits.

The ‘skills’ perspective and ‘schools’ perspective on this may differ. If the secretary of state has considered the policy from a skills perspective and formed a view, would this realistically change when it comes to him for sign off as SoS, regardless of the merits of the counter argument?

Or let’s talk about funding. DfE will almost certainly want to ask for more money for FE in the Spending Review.

But it’s likely to want to do so for schools and for HE as well. If HMT says there isn’t enough for all of those and DfE has to prioritise, how is that final decision taken?

So, it’s bad for policy. But is it nevertheless good for FE if the SoS is – bluntly – biased towards them?

Cynically, that may be the case in some instances. But this is only true if he can genuinely take the time to form an opinion on the FE case.

Otherwise the risk is that in a discussion, a junior minister for another area, or a Secretary of State for another department, speaks up – and there’s no one in the room who makes the FE case at all.

 

 

 

Union critical of government axing skills minister post

Boris Johnson’s axing of the dedicated skills minister position has been criticised by the University and College Union.

In a highly unusual move, the Department for Education today revealed there would be no dedicated minister for apprenticeships and skills as there has been for at least the past decade, most recently Anne Milton.

The DfE instead announced that, almost a week after he was originally appointed, education secretary Gavin Williamson would take up the brief.

This comes after the appointment of two schools’ ministers, a universities minister, and a children’s parliamentary under-secretary.

And after it was mooted that universities minister Jo Johnson, who sits in cabinet with Williamson, would take on the FE brief.

UCU acting general secretary Paul Cottrell compared the situation unfavorably with that of higher education and schools, which have kept their dedicated ministers.

“We do not believe losing the dedicated skills minister is a positive step for further education, or suggests the sector is held in high regard by the new administration,” he said.

Boris Johnson, at his first Commons outing as prime minister last Wednesday, said FE and skills would be a “priority” for his government.

During his campaign for the Conservative Party leadership, he also pledged to “do more to fund our amazing FE colleges”.

Cottrell said they shall have to wait and see if Johnson’s commitments translate into proper funding.

Response from elsewhere in the sector to the news FE will be handled by a cabinet minister has been more positive: the Association of Colleges called it a “very positive sign”; while the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said it shows Johnson is “serious” about the sector.

ESFA move to short notice funding audits in dodgy data crackdown

Colleges and training providers will now be given as little as two weeks notice of a financial assurance audit and only three days to present sample files, the ESFA has warned.

A letter from the agency, titled ‘ESFA Funding Assurance’ visits, says it plans to give providers as little as two weeks’ notice of an assurance review visit, which can take place any time of year, whereas previously providers were notified in June or July if they were to be visited in September.

And where before, providers had between five and ten days to prepare a selected sample of individual learner files, the ESFA will now give them between three and five days.

FE Week also understands that while the auditing only used to cover last year’s data and clawback from last year, this has been extended to include data from three years’ previously.

Elements of this new regime chime with the controversial mystery audits the ESFA carried out a number of providers earlier this year, where hundreds of documents from as far back as 2015/16 had to be handed over within two days.

This tightening of deadlines for providers is part of a crackdown by the ESFA on record-keeping by FE institutions.

3aaa, one of the country’s biggest apprenticeship providers, went bust in October after it was alleged employees had manipulated data to artificially inflate achievement rates by a huge amount.

In March, the principal of Dudley College, Lowell Williams, apologised after it was found the college had been late in recording the withdrawal of numerous apprentices, which also inflated the achievement rate.

An ESFA investigation also found some learners’ end dates were inaccurate.

The ESFA audit team has also been beefed up this year.

As reported by FE Week, in May, it launched a recruitment drive for a “newly created market oversight unit”, including an advert for four auditor vacancies posted on the civil service jobs website.

DfE says FE so important the education secretary will lead on skills brief

The education secretary Gavin Williamson has taken responsibility for the apprenticeships and skills brief.

Despite it previously being understood universities minister Jo Johnson would take on the brief in addition to his responsibilities as universities minister, after Anne Milton resigned from the role last week.

However, the Department for Education has today said the new secretary of state will instead fill in for the skills minister, with support from children’s minister Kemi Badenoch.

A spokesperson for the department said that, after five ministers were already appointed to the DfE, there would not be an individual skills minister.

“As the Prime Minister has said, further education and skills will be a priority for this government – and the Education Secretary taking the lead for this vital work is a reflection of that commitment,” the spokesperson added.

Prime minister Johnson told Milton in the Commons last Wednesday that further education and skills would be a “priority” for the government.

Williamson was appointed last Wednesday, barely two months after he was sacked as defence secretary by Theresa May.

Appointing Williamson to the skills brief shows Johnson is “serious” about apprenticeships and further education, says the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ chief policy officer, Simon Ashworth.

The association has already written to Williamson about the funding challenges presented by the Apprenticeship Levy, especially the shortage of funds for non-levy SME employers.

Ashworth said they would also welcome dialogue with Badenoch about the funding of adult care worker apprenticeships and IfATE’s refusal to approve a level 2 standard for business administration “even though her own department is employing apprentices on the framework at the same level”.

The Association of Colleges’ chief executive David Hughes said they are taking Williamson’s appointment as a “very positive sign” of new and significant investment in policy and relationships and funding for colleges.

 

Boris Johnson: ‘It’s vital we invest now in FE and skills’

Boris Johnson has said it is “vital” the government invests “now” in further education and skills, and has promised to make this a “priority”.

He made the statement in answer to a question from ex-skills minister Anne Milton during his first appearance in the Commons as prime minister this afternoon.

Milton asked Johnson: “Would my right honourable friend agree with me that while money for schools is very welcomed, further education and apprenticeships are probably the best enabler of social mobility, giving people a second or third chance?

“And will he make sure that both apprenticeships and further education have the cash that they desperately need?”

Johnson replied: “I want to pay tribute to the right honourable lady for all the work she has done in her career.

“She is absolutely right to raise the issue of further education and skills. Indeed I had a long discussion on that very theme last night with the new education secretary and that is going to be a priority for this government.

“Yes it is a great thing that 50 per cent of our country, 50 per cent of our kids should have the ambition to go to university, but of course it is equally, equally important that the other kids should acquire the skills they need which can be just as valuable, can lead to just as fantastic careers.

“It is vital that we invest now in further education and skills.”

His words come a day after Theresa May used her last appearance at the dispatch box as prime minister to plead with Johnson to invest more in FE.

Today was the first time Milton has asked a question from the backbenches since she resigned on Tuesday.

Her replacement is yet to be appointed.

 

Ofsted watch: Promising for most, but well-known waste disposal employer disappoints

FE providers have shown great promise in Ofsted inspections this week, except for one national waste disposal employer which made ‘insufficient progress’ in two areas.

Biffa Waste Services, which currently has 21 apprentices, had not ensured it met the requirements of successful apprenticeship provision in its first monitoring visit since it won a direct contract with the ESFA.

Inspectors wrote their implementation of their sole standard, the level 2 large goods vehicle programme, was “weak”, and Biffa does not ensure apprentices all over the country receive their full entitlement to off-the-job training.

“At too many depots, local managers allow the operational demands of the business to take precedence over the apprentices’ need to have time to train and study,” which has led just over a third of learners to withdraw, the report reads.

Their slow progress was further delayed when a subcontractor delivering functional skills went bust, so learners were not being prepared for their tests.

Biffa used to have 40 apprentices on a customer service practitioner standard, but these were withdrawn from the programme in November 2018.

A spokesperson told FE Week the company was “disappointed” with the outcome.

“We will be taking Ofsted’s recommendations on board and will review our training procedures to ensure that our schemes are delivered in line with Ofsted’s guidelines.”

An almost completely opposite result was made by fellow employer provider Leonardo MW, an Italian manufacturer of goods such as helicopters and electronic military systems, which has 75 apprentices and made ‘significant progress’ in all three areas of the inspection.

Inspectors praised the provider for setting very high standards for apprentices to meet the exacting standards of the aviation industry.

Thanks to high-quality on-the-job support provided by highly-skilled trainers and work supervisors, apprentices make rapid progress and are well-prepared for their end-point assessment because managers with considerable engineering experience assist awarding organisations to develop the engineering standards and assessments.

HCUC (Harrow College & Uxbridge College) had its first monitoring visit since it was formed from a merger of the grade one Uxbridge College and the grade three Harrow College.

Happily, Ofsted found it to be making ‘significant progress’ in two areas and ‘reasonable progress’ in three.

Its leaders are “ambitious” for the future of the general FE college, and are updating one of its estates to ensure all sites are of a high-quality, and have upgraded technology resources – a priority for one of the sites.

Staff across both colleges have developed a set of agreed and “essential” shared values, which “include a commitment to excellence and to having high expectations for their learners”, according to inspectors.

Another provider that has shown signs of progress from a previous grade three is Buckinghamshire UTC.

Since that inspection, there have been some changes to the governing body, the senior leadership team has been restructured and a high number of teachers have left and have joined the college.

In a letter to principal Sarah Valentine after a monitoring visit, inspectors said she knows the 14 to 19 provider well and, with the governors’ help, is “determined to make it as effective as you can to improve the life chances of the young people”.

Specialists from a teaching school have been working with the UTC to improve the quality of teaching and learning to a consistent level, and there is evidence of emerging success.

While learners passed comment on some variances in the quality of teaching, the watchdog told Valentine it had found they are “positive about the differences you have made as principal during their time at the school”.

Specialist college Royal Mencap Society, however, scored a grade three at its very first inspection.

The inspectorate found the college, which provides to learners with a learning difficulty, disabilities or an autism spectrum disorder, does not collate attendance data and staff do not have accurate information about apprentices’ and learners’ progress.

The report also says leaders and managers “have not ensured teachers have the qualifications and knowledge to help apprentices and learners to develop their English and mathematics skills”.

Elsewhere, a number of providers were found to have made ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas: Cornwall Marine Network, Freshfield Training Associates Ltd, Hct Group, Jag Training Limited, Phx Training, SR Supply Chain Consultants, Oxford University Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust, Anglia Ruskin University, and Canterbury Christ Church University.

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Cornwall Marine Network 04/07/2019 24/07/2019 M N/A
Freshfield Training Associates Ltd 27/06/2019 23/07/2019 M N/A
Hct Group 27/06/2019 25/07/2019 M N/A
Jag Training Limited 04/07/2019 24/07/2019 M N/A
Phx Training 27/06/2019 25/07/2019 M N/A
SR Supply Chain Consultants 29/06/2019 23/07/2019 M N/A

 

Employer providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Biffa Waste Services Ltd 11/07/2019 24/07/2019 M 2
Leonardo MW Ltd 28/06/2019 26/07/2019 M N/A
Oxford University Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust 20/06/2019 22/07/2019 M N/A

 

Other (including UTCs) Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Anglia Ruskin University 27/06/2019 26/07/2019 M N/A
Canterbury Christ Church University 27/06/2019 23/07/2019 M N/A
Buckinghamshire UTC 09/07/2019 26/07/2019 M 3

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
HCUC (Harrow College and Uxbridge College) 05/06/2019 23/07/2019 M 1

Gavin Williamson becomes new education secretary

Gavin Williamson has been appointed the new education secretary, replacing Damian Hinds who was sacked earlier this evening.

A former defence secretary in Theresa May’s government, Williamson has been the MP for South Staffordshire since 2010.

He was educated at a comprehensive, before taking his A-levels at Scarborough Sixth Form College.

He has previously spoken in the House of Commons on the topic of apprenticeships.

In a debate in March 2013, he said: “Apprenticeships have a vital role to play in driving down unemployment and getting young people into work.”

He also told the Commons: “We have to ensure people understand apprenticeships are as good, if not better than going to university.”

Williamson was sacked as defence secretary in May this year following allegations he leaked confidential information. He strongly denies the allegations.

He is the fifth education secretary in the space of just over five years.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe said AELP is “greatly encouraged” that Williamson was championing apprenticeships in the House of Commons “only six months after the Richard blueprint for the apprenticeship reforms was published”.

“We therefore welcome him to his new post and hope that he will translate the prime minister’s recent promise into action that apprenticeships should be ‘funded properly’,” he added.

Steve Frampton, president of the Association of Colleges said Williamson has stepped into the education secretary role at “one of the most crucial times in modern history”.

“The House of Common’s own education select committee this week released a report that warns that the education system risks ‘reaching breaking point’ unless government acts. And so we urge him to act and act quickly,” he added.

Monthly apprenticeships update: April starts up 3% on last year but May stays static

Apprenticeship starts for the period August 2018 to May 2019 are up 7 per cent on the previous year, but 26 per cent down for the same period in 2016/17 – the year before the levy reforms were introduced.

Monthly provisional figures for both April and May 2019 were published by the Department for Education this morning.

They show 24,800 starts for April 2019, which is 3 per cent up on the 24,100 provisional starts published this time last year, but 65 per cent down on the 71,000 starts in April 2017.

For May 2019 the data shows 22,300 starts, the same number published at the same time last year. The 22,300 starts are 73 per cent up on the 12,900 in May 2017, but they’re down by 39 per cent on the 36,700 achieved for the same month in 2016.

May 2016 is a better comparator than May 2017 given that there was a huge drop in starts following the introduction of the levy.

There have been 336,900 apprenticeship starts reported to date between August 2018 and May 2019, compared to 315,900 reported in the equivalent period in 2017/18, 457,200 in 2016/17 and 420,800 in 2015/16.

A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said today’s figures “confirm what a big job” new education secretary Gavin Williamson has “to get the levy reforms back on the right track”.

“The fact is that the situation is not going to get any better unless he acts quickly because apprenticeship training providers are running out of funding to allow non-levy SME employers to offer new opportunities on the programme,” he added.

“AELP is writing to the minister today to underline the urgency of the issue.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the number of people starting an apprenticeship has increased by 6.6 per cent compared to this time last year.

“It’s also good news that over 62 per cent of people this academic year started their apprenticeship journey on one of our new higher-quality apprenticeships, which were designed in partnership with employers.”

She added: “Thanks to our reforms, apprenticeships are now longer with more off-the-job training and have a proper assessment at the end. There are also more apprenticeship opportunities available in a range of exciting industries like law, fashion, architecture and aviation.”

Cabinet reshuffle: Education secretary Damian Hinds out

Damian Hinds has lost his job as education secretary, following skills minister Anne Milton out the door, as new prime minister Boris Johnson puts his cabinet together.

He announced the news on Twitter: “It has been the greatest privilege to serve as education secretary.

“Thank you to the brilliant team at . And thank you to everyone working in education and children’s care, for all you do. I look forward to supporting the government from the backbenches.”

Appointed in January 2018, the MP for East Hampshire replaced Justine Greening and oversaw the preparations for T-levels, which proved controversial during his first few months in post.

In May 2018 he was asked by the Department for Education’s permanent secretary Jonathan Slater to delay the launch of the new technical qualifications after raising concerns over timescales. Hinds refused this request in the first ever ministerial direction issued by an education secretary.

During his tenure he’s also pledged to build a “new generation” of higher technical qualifications at levels 4 and 5, and announced 12 new Institutes of Technology.

He’s also launched a controversial review of qualifications at level 3 and below to crack down on “poor quality post-16 qualifications” – which could see the chop of many popular applied generals including BTECs.

In terms of apprenticeships, Hinds has failed to reverse the drop in starts since the year before the levy reforms were introduced in 2016/17.

He was forced to concede to the Commons education committee last month that the government will miss its much-vaunted 3 million apprenticeship starts target.

On top of this, the apprenticeship budget could soon go bust, due to more expensive higher level apprenticeships being taken than was expected.

While Hinds has been helming the Department for Education, the college insolvency regime has been rolled out and claimed its first college, Hadlow, which went into administration in May.

Another big issue in the sector that came into effect the same month Hinds took up his post is the Baker Clause.

A year on, in January 2019, the Institute for Public Policy Research found two-thirds of schools were flouting the clause; so, later that month, Hinds said he would write to schools who prevent FE providers from talking to students about technical education, but this wouldn’t be “done lightly”.

Like Milton, who resigned yesterday, Hinds had supported Jeremy Hunt for the leadership only to see him lose to Johnson.

Before his role at the DfE, Hinds was elected to the education select committee and served until October 2012.

He also chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on social mobility, served as assistant government whip from July 2014 until March 2015, exchequer secretary to the Treasury from May 2015 until July 2016, and as a minister for the Department of Work and Pensions from July 2016 to January 2018.

Hinds’ replacement is likely to be picked in the coming days.