The Department for Education is consulting on plans to provide extra funding to cover the estimated £80 million rise in pension contributions for FE colleges in 2019-20.

It was announced last year that the amount colleges and other public-funded FE training providers must contribute to staff pensions is to rise from the current rate of 16.48 per cent to 23.6 per cent from September.

The DfE has now launched its promised consultation on plans to fully fund the increase in its first year – which it estimates will cost £1.1 billion across the whole education sector.

The pledge will cover the 2019-20 year, after which any further funding would rely on the government’s spending review.

The DfE is proposing to cover the initial £80 million cost to FE providers, which covers FE colleges, sixth form colleges, specialist post-16 institutions and adult and community learning providers.

Its consultation says: “The department know colleges are in a financially challenging environment.

“Although by 2019-20 the funding available for apprenticeships in England will have risen to over £2.5 billion and the adult education budget protected in cash terms since the last Spending Review.

“We want a financially sustainable sector, which is why we have already invested in restructuring of colleges.

“The government recognises that not funding the increased employer contributions would increase financial pressures that could undermine investment already made and influence, for example, colleges’ ability to recruit and retain the teachers they need.”

The DfE has confirmed in its proposals that it won’t cover the rise for private schools or the higher education sector. It said while it “values” these sectors and is “committed to seeing them thrive”, schools and colleges are in “high levels of need for additional support”.

FE providers have until February 12 to give their feedback.

The DfE has previously said changes to the teachers’ pension scheme will cost colleges an extra £142 million a year in employer contributions after 2019-20.

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges, previously said the figure amounts to approximately two per cent of college income.

As colleges already spend an average of five per cent of their income (£350 million) on contributions to the teacher pension scheme, this will take costs up to approximately £500 million, or seven per cent of total income, by 2020/21.

The outcome of a valuation of teachers’ pensions was released in August, which the Treasury undertakes every four years, and said public sector workers would get improved benefits from 2019.

A London college previously at the centre of controversy involving the Grenfell Tower has received its fifth consecutive grade three rating from Ofsted.

Kensington and Chelsea College was inspected in November and was considered to require improvement.

The inspectors wrote in their report: “A recent period of uncertainty in the college’s history led to a swift turnover of senior leaders and governors.

“This turbulence compounded the weak financial position of the college, the lack of clarity in its strategic direction and the slow progress to improve the quality of provision.

“Following an aborted merger with another college in January 2018, senior leaders and governors successfully established an interim management team.”

Their comments refer to the attempted merger between Kensington and Chelsea College and Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.

This was scrapped following a campaign by groups representing the survivors of Grenfell Tower, which is in the vicinity of Kensington and Chelsea College.

Last year, the college apologised for the “shameful” selling of its Wornington Road site for housing in 2016 after an outcry from the Save Wornington College Campaign.

Kensington and Chelsea College’s new principal, Andy Cole, took the reins in February last year from Dr Elaine McMahon, who served as the college’s interim principal when Mark Brickley resigned with immediate effect in 2016 – who was the man responsible for the sale.

“These managers have started to address the financial predicament. They have also begun to identify strategic options for the future, strengthened the capacity to make more cogent and well-informed strategic decisions and renewed the focus on quality improvement,” according to the report.

Mr Cole said: “While we acknowledge this challenge, we are also pleased that the report highlights many positives and examples of effective work taking place at all levels in the College.

“In particular, we are pleased that achievement rates have improved and are above London averages. In GCSE English and Maths, for example, achievement rates far exceed sector averages.”

Until recently, three or more grade three Ofsted reports in a row would automatically have qualified the college for an ‘inadequate’ rating.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman told FE Week in November that she had changed this rule when she took on the top job at the inspectorate in January 2017 “because I thought it was flawed in conception”.

“The job of inspection is to report on what we see when we inspect,” she said.

“To artificially say that something is ‘inadequate’ and trigger all the consequences that we know go with grade four judgments, because we want to heap up pressure, I don’t think that’s the right thing for us to do”.

Despite teachers at Kensington and Chelsea College being qualified and experienced in their subject matter, their lack of clarity in explaining activities leaves learners confused and struggling to make progress, according to today’s report.

Inspectors said there was too little progress with improving on weaknesses identified at the last inspection in January 2017, including attendance, punctuality and in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The college was given a grade three in all areas, except for personal development, behaviour and welfare, where it was rated ‘good’ and about which inspectors wrote: “Staff are particularly experienced in supporting learners with emotional or mental health problems.

“This has been especially important in helping learners and staff deal with the aftermath of the local Grenfell Tower tragedy.

“Several staff have received specialist training in mental health first aid.

“Support staff also have good links with more specialist external agencies, such as Mind.

“As a result, learners with personal and emotional issues receive the support they need to help them remain on the programme and succeed.”

The college’s managers were commended for their diligence in strengthening relations with the local Islamic centre and the Save Wornington College Campaign.

The college had 4,893 learners in the past year, but no apprentices since it ceased to offer such courses after the last inspection.

In 2018, four learners on access to higher education courses secured places at Oxbridge and other learners on level three or four creative courses have gone on to design and art-related university courses.

The inspectors added: “Many alumni, for example from the millinery course, have progressed to very successful careers, often working for high-profile employers, celebrities and royalty.”

Ian Valvona, the chair of the KCC board who replaced Mary Curnock Cook last year, said: “Over the last few months the College has strengthened its ties with the local community, both with outreach work and with courses provided directly through community organisations.

“The board and leadership of the college remain determined to do everything possible to ensure that KCC’s future is a bright and successful one.”

A top government academies official has been appointed as the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s new director of funding.

Kate Josephs (pictured), currently director of national operations for academies and regional delivery at the Department of Education, will start in the new role in April.

She will head up a new funding “operations centre of excellence” team. Plans for the new team and role, the first to preside over the DfE’s entire £63 billion budget, were first revealed by FE Week over the weekend.

Ms Josephs, a former Treasury official who also worked in delivery at Downing Street, will take charge of delivering the national funding formula for pre-16 schools and the post-16 funding agenda, including apprenticeships and T-levels.

The job description said the ESFA was “moving towards a single funding operations centre of excellence, bringing together and improving existing functions”.

Eileen Milner, the chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, said: “Kate will report to myself and be part of the ESFA’s Executive team.

“She will lead and oversee the creation and operation of a single funding centre of excellence that is solely responsible for all schools, academies and post 16 funding.”

The new single funding operations centre of excellence will “bring together existing functions to deliver an excellent and expert funding service”, Ms Milner said.

It will be responsible for the “development, implementation and maintenance of an ever more efficient system across the agency with potential to grow and develop the scope of work undertaken still further”.

However, there are “no current plans to recruit staff to this new function”, and vacancies will be filled “through existing posts”.

Ms Josephs said she was “thrilled” to join the ESFA and take on the “important new role”.

“I look forward to building upon the already excellent skills and expertise that exist within the teams who deliver such a significant funding operation, and working with service users and our stakeholders, work to create a truly 21st century funding system.

“Our job is to make it as straightforward as possible for schools, trusts, colleges and work-based learning providers to engage with us and, whilst we do this, provide rigorous scrutiny and oversight to ensure that every £1 of public money spent is invested wisely.”

Ms Josephs takes up the post at a time of change for the ESFA. In 2019/20 the government will devolve the adult education budget to the Greater London Authority and six other combined authorities around England, but concerns have been raised that the rushed time frame could cause “market instability” in the sector.

Meanwhile the first three T-level pathways – in education, construction and digital routes – will be taught by 50 training providers from 2020, with a further seven pathways expected to begin in 2021. The funding methodology for T-levels is currently being consulted on.

It has been a mixed week for FE in Ofsted reports, as some providers celebrated ‘good’ first inspections while others experienced a drop in their grades.

Eastleigh College lost its ‘outstanding’ rating after an inspection in December downgraded the Hampshire college to ‘good’, and deemed its 16-to-19 study programmes ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors said leaders “review and adapt the curriculum well to cater for the changing needs of learners and their community” and work effectively with a range of subcontractors, but criticised a lack of high quality work experience and a “small minority” of study programmes where “too few learners achieve their qualifications”.

There was also bad news this week for Livability Nash College in Hayes, which is run by a Christian charity and provides education and training for young people with complex learning needs.

The college plummeted to ‘inadequate’ from its previous ‘good’ rating, with inspectors criticising governors for being “slow to establish a stable and effective leadership team” and failing to maintain the quality of provision “which has declined in all areas”.

Although students were said to enjoy attending the college, the report warned that too few achieve their personal targets and the proportion who go into supported or voluntary employment is “very low”. However, the new senior leadership team was said to have a “sound understanding” of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision.

A spokesperson for the college, which has recently appointed a new acting head, said it was taking “immediate action to make very important improvements”.

However, there was better news for Manchester Metropolitan University, which retained its grade one rating for 16-to-19 study programmes and apprenticeships, with inspectors praising “outstanding” student progress where a “high proportion” receive better than expected grades.

Leaders were commended for their “clear vision”, and said to be “making higher education accessible and beneficial for all”.

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council also had a reason to celebrate, after its adult and community learning provision rose from a grade three to a grade two.

The report said leaders and managers had taken “effective action” to improve the quality of teaching and ensured that the provision “makes a positive contribution to enhancing the lives of people in Barnsley”.

Several providers also had their first full inspection. Kettering-based Civil Ceremonies became the first loans-only provider to receive an ‘outstanding’ grade after Ofsted found leaders and managers were “highly successful in implementing their vision and mission for the business”.

South and City College Birmingham received a ‘good’ rating in its first inspection after its merger with Bournville College in August 2017. Inspectors praised senior leaders for creating a “harmonious and inspiring environment” and close collaboration with local partners and employers.

Escala Training Academy in Essex was also deemed to be ‘good’ after inspectors found staff had taken “effective action to recover the drop in achievement rates in 2016/17 and they are now high”.

A high proportion of learners were said to gain employment or promotion following their hair and beauty training, and the chief executive Samantha Warren was praised for her focus on improving teaching and working with loyal employers.

However, three providers were deemed to be ‘requires improvement’ in their first full Ofsted inspections.

Leaders at LD Training Services in Middlesex were criticised for not accurately identifying weaknesses in certain courses or improving the English skills of those with a different first language, while too many adult learners complete functional skills qualifications at “too low a level”.

Despite this, training on apprenticeship programmes was “good” and the “vast majority” of adult learners move onto further or higher education or gain employment after completing their qualifications.

The management team Bristol-based Any Driver was criticised for “ineffective” governance reporting and not thoroughly evaluating the quality and standards of its training programmes or the progress of learners, but a “very high proportion” of all learners were said to complete their programmes and enjoy their learning.

And Newcastle’s Trinity Solutions Academy, which aims to help vulnerable and disadvantaged learners who have “significant barriers to learning” re-engage with education, was found to have “too many” learners leaving programmes early and experiencing “delays and uncertainty” in securing work experience.

However, a high proportion of learners who do complete their programmes were said to progress to further study, employment, voluntary work or increased involvement in family and community life, and were described as having “greatly” improved confidence and self-esteem as a result of “the inclusive ethos and encouragement that they receive at the academy”.

A flurry of monitoring inspection reports were also published this week.

Tempest Management Training in Mansfield,  Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation in London, I&F Limited in Preston, Aspire Development (UK) in Yorkshire,  Kainuu in Bolton, new providers received early monitoring visit reports of their apprenticeship provision, but all were found to be making ‘reasonable’ progress in every area. Care Training Solutions had its safeguarding reinspected and was found to be making ‘reasonable’ progress. 

Gateway Sixth Form College,  Norman Mackie and Associates,  Thomas Rotherham College in Yorkshire, West Thames College in Hounslow, were monitored having previously received a ‘requires improvement’ judgement and were all deemed to be making reasonable progress, but Chesterfield College received two ‘insufficient’ progress judgements.

Moulton College received a monitoring visit following its ‘inadequate’ judgement in February, and was found to be making reasonable progress in all areas apart from ensuring students make good progress in their studies, which was found to be ‘insufficient’. And UK Training & Development was found to be making reasonable progress in all areas in a monitoring visit following its ‘inadequate’ inspection in October 2017. 

 

GFE Colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Moulton College	14/11/2018	09/01/2019	M
West Thames College	28/11/2018	11/01/2019	M
South and City College Birmingham	27/11/2018	08/01/2019	2	N/A
Eastleigh College	04/12/2018	10/01/2019	2	1
Chesterfield College	21/11/2018	07/01/2019	M

 

Sixth Form Colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Gateway Sixth Form College	28/11/2018	09/01/2019	M
Thomas Rotherham College	29/11/2018	10/01/2019	M
Trinity Solutions Academy	20/11/2018	08/01/2019	3	N/A

 

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
UK Training & Development Limited	21/11/2018	09/01/2019	M
Norman Mackie & Associates Limited	28/11/2018	11/01/2019	M
Care Training Solutions Ltd	14/12/2018	11/01/2019	M
Escala Training Academy	28/11/2018	08/01/2019	2	N/A
LD Training Services	20/11/2018	07/01/2019	3	N/A
Civil Ceremonies Limited	28/11/2018	09/01/2019	1	N/A
Any Driver Limited	04/12/2018	08/01/2019	3	N/A
Tempest Management Training	29/11/2018	09/01/2019	M
I&F Limited	04/12/2018	09/01/2019	M
Aspire Development (UK) Ltd	28/11/2018	11/01/2019	M
Kainuu Ltd	04/12/2018	09/01/2019	M

 

Adult and Community Learning	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council	13/11/2018	10/01/2019	2	3

 

Employer providers	Inspected	Published	Grade
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust	12/12/2018	10/01/2019	M

 

Other	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Manchester Metropolitan University	20/11/2018	09/01/2019	1	1

 

Independent specialist colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Livability Nash College	13/11/2018	09/01/2019	4	2

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is preparing to move towards a “single Funding Operations Centre of Excellence” as it appoints its first overall director of funding.

The agency is expected to announce who has been given the coveted position in the coming days. The successful candidate will be responsible for the “development, implementation and maintenance of a truly 21st-century funding system”.

The funding director, who will control more than £63 billion of government money, will take charge of delivering the national post-16 funding agenda, including apprenticeships as well as the national funding formula for pre-16 schools.

The job description for the role, which went live at the end of last year, said the ESFA is “moving towards a single Funding Operations Centre of Excellence, bringing together and improving existing functions”.

However, the Department for Education would not comment on what the centre of excellence was.

The term “centres of excellence” has become fairly common in business. A company sets up a centre of excellence department and, rather than being purely operational, the centre also has a role to improve expertise and discover best practice in a certain area in order to share this knowledge with other departments.

This approach has been taken by other government departments. For example, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs runs an earth observations centre of excellence, alongside other external partners, to focus on how data from satellites complements existing datasets to deliver policy and services, and a best-practice centre to improve the management of existing private finance initiative deals is being piloted in the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Department for International Development has provided a five year grant to the Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning, which develops and tests methods for evaluation and evidence synthesis, while the Government Communication Service has brought together digital experts across Whitehall in its Digital Centre of Expertise to offer support and insight to other departments.

The new ESFA funding director will report directly to the chief executive, Eileen Milner, alongside fellow ESFA directors Mike Pettifer (academies and maintained schools group), Peter Mucklow (further education) and Keith Smith (apprenticeships).

The director takes the post at a time of change for the ESFA. In 2019/20 the government will devolve the adult education budget to the Greater London Authority and six other combined authorities around England, but concerns have been raised that the rushed time frame could cause “market instability” in the sector.

Meanwhile the first three T-level pathways – in education, construction and digital routes – will be taught by 50 training providers from 2020, with a further seven pathways expected to begin in 2021. The funding methodology for T-levels is currently being consulted on.

And the long-awaited national funding formula for schools is set to be rolled out fully by 2021 after ministers delayed its implementation by a year to support a “smooth transition”.