The Department for Education has published new guidance on the controversial 20 per cent off-the-job training rule for apprentices, which attempts to bust certain “myths”.

The policy, which requires apprentices to spend a fifth of their week on activities related to their course that are different to their normal working duties, has split the FE sector since its introduction in 2015.

Many have complained that the rule is the single biggest barrier to apprenticeship recruitment, but others view it as a vital part of the apprentices’ development.

A lot of opposition to the policy has come as a result of confusion about exactly what the rule entails.

One area of potential confusion is likely have come from a recent calculation change to the policy, for example.

Under original rules, the 20 per cent off-the-job was based on a 52 week year and included annual leave. But the Education and Skills Funding Agency changed this in August and stated that statutory leave should be “deducted when calculating the requirement for all apprentices who begin their programme from 1 August 2018”.

It means that the calculation to determine off-the-job hours is different for apprentices who started before August 1, 2018, compared to those who started after.

To combat confusion, the DfE has today published an off-the-job training mythbusters document. It doesn’t, however, include clarification about the calculation.

One “myth”, according to the guidance, is that off-the-job training “must be delivered by a provider in a classroom, at an external location”.

“This is not true,” the document states.

“Off-the-job training can be delivered in a flexible way. This can be at the apprentice’s usual place of work, or at an external location. It can include for example, the teaching of theory, practical training and writing assignments.”

English and maths counts towards the 20 per cent requirement for off-the-job training is another “myth”.

“Apprenticeships are about developing occupational competency and they are designed on the basis that the apprentice already has the required level (level 2) of English and maths,” the document states.

“Training for English and maths must be on top of the 20 per cent off-the-job training requirement.”

Some in the sector also believe that off-the-job training can be done in the apprentice’s own time, which again is untrue, according to the guidance.

“An apprenticeship is a work-based programme so all off-the-job training must take place within the apprentice’s paid contracted hours,” it says.

“If planned off-the-job training is unable to take place, it must be rearranged. Apprentices may choose to spend additional time training outside paid hours, but this must not be required to complete the apprenticeship.”

The government has continually reiterated that the 20 per cent off-the-job training rule is here to stay, despite protests.

But it has promised to “listen to what’s working, what the challenges are and continue to review how the reforms are working”.

You can read the full mythbuster document here.

The government has revealed plans for its first ever FE workforce survey exclusively for non-colleges to better understand the challenges they face, including new policy areas such as T-levels.

A tender was launched by the Department for Education on Monday, which seeks a contractor to design, test and deliver a “nationally representative” survey of teaching staff and leaders in independent training providers, sixth form colleges, local authorities, and adult learning providers.

It follows the department’s inaugural college staff survey that was published in November.

It may prove challenging to draw many meaningful conclusions from the data

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, had mixed views on the proposal.

“Anything that gives us more information about the workforce is a good thing,” he told FE Week.

“However, it is an incredibly diverse workforce, responding to multiple sectors, areas and need. It may therefore prove challenging to draw many meaningful conclusions from the data.

“Having read the tender, the DfE should also be careful to use the language of the work based FE sector, such as assessors and trainers as opposed to ‘teachers’.”

The Education and Training Foundation already conducts an annual FE workforce survey, so it appears the DfE will duplicate this work with its own research.

The ETF’s, however, does not usually attract a high number of responses – in the most recent survey, for 2016/17, just 198 providers across the whole FE sector participated, and 175 took part the year before.

The DfE’s tender document states that “all approximately 1,000 FE providers (787 ITPs, 91 SFCs and 141 LAs) are in scope” for their new non-college staff survey.

This number, however, excludes subcontractors – including those on the Register of Training Organisations without a direct Education and Skills Funding Agency contract.

Explaining why this new workforce survey is needed, the DfE’s tender document says: “More than 1,000 ITPs, SFCs and LAs receive ESFA funding, but are under-represented in the Staff Individualised Record managed by the Education and Training Foundation.

“Whilst the SIR is the best available source of workforce data available to the sector, less than 10 per cent of ITPs responded, along with 11 per cent of Sixth Form Colleges.

“Similarly, the department’s call for evidence attracted relatively few responses from these parts of the sector. As a result we know relatively little about their workforces and the challenges they face.

Anything that gives us more information about the workforce is a good thing

“Their representative bodies are important here but many do not have the resources to provide representative, robust data on their members.”

The DfE said that with the upcoming introduction of T-levels, it is “even more important to understand the composition and characteristics of the FE workforce, and the challenges staff and providers face”.

The survey will “complement” the college staff survey, and will inform areas including the “pressures and challenges that the teachers and leaders may face which affect their abilities to teach/lead”, the “background, skills and experiences of teachers and leaders”, as well as the “working patterns” of staff.

Potential contractors are asked to “consider and propose methodologies they believe would be suitable for this project that would yield high response rates and deliver robust data within the timescales and budget”.

The mainstage survey is expected to take place this year with results available by December.

Two-thirds of schools are still flouting the controversial Baker clause a year after it was introduced – leading to calls for Ofsted to police the rule.

A report published today and shared exclusively with FE Week and The Times by the Institute for Public Policy Research has warned the Baker clause has “failed to achieve its aims”.

It found that 70 per cent of the 68 FE providers approached as part of the research continue to find it difficult to access schools, while most of them who were granted access raised concerns they were only allowed to speak to less academic pupils.

Only 31 per cent of the post-16 providers believe the situation around accessing school students and promoting technical education had improved over the last year.

Meanwhile, 63 per cent of 101 secondary schools surveyed had failed to issue a policy statement, as required by the Baker clause since January last year, to show how they ensure education and training providers can access pupils to talk about technical education and apprenticeships.

Lord Baker has accused schools of “deliberately flouting and flagrantly disregarding the law of the land”, but the Association of School and College Leaders has warned the Baker clause is “only one of a large number requirements that schools have to juggle”.

The Baker clause, introduced in January 2018, stipulates schools must ensure a range of FE providers have access to pupils from year 8 to year 13 to provide information on technical education and apprenticeships. 

Skills minister Anne Milton warned in August the government would directly intervene in schools which failed to comply, but the IPPR said no intervention has taken place and providers are concerned about the “lack of any real consequences”.

The think tank randomly selected 10 schools within each region of England for its study. The other schools were from the constituencies of education secretary Damian Hinds and skills minister Anne Milton – where just three of 11 were found to be compliant.

The report said there is a focus on “pupil retention, rather than supporting students and their families to understand the options available” because schools are largely funded on a per-pupil basis.

It recommends Ofsted assesses compliance with the Baker clause as part of a wider judgement on a school’s careers guidance, including speaking to local providers to understand how effectively the school works with them.

Careers guidance would be ranked between ‘inadequate’ and ‘outstanding’, and any school which receives the lowest grade or does not comply with the Baker clause should be prevented from receiving the top grade in the ‘personal development, behaviour and welfare’ section of the Ofsted report.

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said another measure for Ofsted inspections is “the last thing that schools need”.

“We need to work together across the sector and with government over this issue, rather than attempting to produce results by coercion.”

A spokesperson for Ofsted said it already assessed careers guidance and the effectiveness of 16-to-19 study programmes.

But Lord Baker backed IPPR’s calls, adding: “The Baker clause was a major step to improve career guidance and by ignoring it schools are denying the right of their students to know more about technical education. This is totally unacceptable.”

Catherine Sezen, senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges, pointed out that allowing FE providers to speak to all students “doesn’t have any cost implications for schools” and will “help them to achieve the Gatsby benchmarks”.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said gender stereotyping and stopping providers talking to pupils of all abilities was a “major concern”.

Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee said it’s time for the government and Ofsted to “get tough and penalise schools which evade their duties under the Baker clause”.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said schools who are not supplying pupils with the necessary information will be asked for evidence of compliance with the Baker clause.

He added the DfE will “take appropriate action” against schools who do not supply this evidence.

The IPPR report also recommends the creation of a single online UCAS-inspired resource for more information on local FE pathways, as well as more responsibility on local authorities to engage parents with careers advice, help Ofsted tackle non-compliance and support partnership working across schools and education providers.

The apprenticeship budget will be “alright” for the rest of the year, the skills minister has said.

Anne Milton (pictured above) was speaking exclusively to FE Week following a parliamentary debate on apprenticeships and skills this afternoon.

She was asked if she had any concerns about the size of the apprenticeships budget, following reports late last year that it was heading for a £500 million overspend in 2018/19.

“I always want more money – the more we’ve got, the more we can do with apprenticeships,” she said in response.

But she had no fears about the budget running out – either right now or for the rest of the year.

“I think we’re alright until July,” she said.

Ms Milton’s remarks echo those of Keith Smith, the director of apprenticeships at the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

He told FE Week in December that he was “not expecting any pressure” on the £2 billion budget this year, despite the Institute for Apprenticeships warning of a potential overspend.

The figures, included in a presentation by the institute’s chief operating officer in November, showed the apprenticeships budget could be overspent by £500 million in 2018/19, rising to a £1.5 billion overspend in 2021/22.

They were exclusively reported by FE Week earlier in the month and prompted demands for an open debate on how the levy operates, and for the IfA to share the full presentation.

Mr Smith suggested the presentation was “trying to set out one scenario or a potential, particular illustration of what the budget might do and might happen” depending on take-up.

Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden wrote to Sir Gerry Berragan, boss of the IfA, asking for the presentation to be made public, after the institute refused to share it. 

He was told in late December that the institute was “considering” releasing it.

And Robert Halfon, chair of the influential education select committee, urged the government to be “open and transparent” about any potential overspend.

He made the remarks after the education secretary Damian Hinds dodged a question about it in parliament in December.

For more on today’s Westminster Hall debate and the interview with Anne Milton, see this week’s edition of FE Week.

A loans-only provider has been rated ‘outstanding’ – the first such provider to receive the highest possible rating from Ofsted.

Civil Ceremonies Limited, which offers level three courses in funeral, naming and couples’ celebrancy entirely funded by advanced learner loans, was rated grade one across the board in a report published this morning.

It follows an investigation by FE Week in November which found that 80 per cent of the loans-only providers inspected by Ofsted to date were less than ‘good’, while none had been rated ‘outstanding’ at the time.

Today’s report said that leaders and managers at Kettering-based Civil Ceremonies Ltd were “highly successful in implementing their vision and mission for the business”.

The provider was founded in 2002 and began directly delivering loans-funded provision in 2016 after a period subcontracting for a local college. According to Education and Skills Funding Agency figures it has a 2018/19 allocation of £331,444.

In addition to its loans-funded provision, delivered through a combination of distance learning and residential courses, Civil Ceremonies has also developed its own qualifications “which allow their courses to be delivered to a wider audience by other providers to meet local and national need”, the report said.

Its training programmes are “very well designed and demanding” and “provide learners with excellent training to become celebrants”, while training staff have “very good sector knowledge and experience” and “exceptionally high expectations of their learners”.

Current learners, of whom there were 75 at the time of inspection, “are all on track to achieve and make excellent progress”, and a “high proportion” go on to “become self-employed and practise as celebrants”.

Anne Barber, Civil Ceremonies Limited’s managing director, said she was “thrilled” by today’s report.

“We may only be a small team but this ‘outstanding’ mark demonstrates how we can compete at the highest level on the quality of our training,” she said.

Loans-only providers only came into scope for inspection by Ofsted from September 2016 – even though some providers had been delivering since late 2013.

ESFA figures show there are 49 providers whose only form of adult skills funding is loans allocations, worth a combined total of almost £18 million, in 2018/19.

FE Week’s investigation at the end of November found just 20 of these loans-only providers had been inspected, eight of which had received an ‘inadequate’ grade and a further eight were rated ‘requires improvement’.

But despite these statistics, the education watchdog would not say whether it was planning to up its monitoring of this kind of provider, prompting demands for urgent action.

Advanced learner loans, originally known as 24+ loans, were introduced in 2013/14 for learners studying courses at levels three or four and aged 24 and older.

Eligibility was expanded in 2016/17 to include 19- to 23-year-olds and courses at levels five and six.

Following a series of scandals in 2017, reported by FE Week, involving loans-funded providers that went bust leaving learners in the lurch, the ESFA introduced tighter controls on providers wanting to access loans funding.

A college that saw its Ofsted grade slip two years ago while it battled with deteriorating finances has got its ‘good’ rating back following a mega-merger.

Bournville College was warned by former FE Commissioner David Collins of its “hand-to-mouth” financial situation in 2014 and was downgraded by the inspectorate to ‘requires improvement’ overall and ‘inadequate’ for apprenticeships in 2016.

The former 8,000-learner college then received £10.5 million in exceptional financial support from the Department for Education in 2017/18, all of which was waived.

It shows very clearly that the college is totally focused on our students

But it appears the college’s troubles have started to turn following its merger with grade two South and City College Birmingham in August 2017, at which point their Ofsted records were wiped.

The new college taught more than 22,000 students over the previous full contract year and achieved ‘good’ ratings across the board.

Principal Mike Hopkins said he was especially “delighted” with the inspection outcome as it came “so soon after the merger with Bournville College”.

“[It] shows very clearly that the college is totally focused on our students,” he added.

“It also shows what incredible, dedicated and capable staff we have.”

Under Ofsted policy newly merged colleges have their inspection records reset and can be given up to three years before they’re inspected. South and City College Birmingham told FE Week it did not request its inspection despite it coming within just 15 months of its merger.

The new college has an estimated annual income of around £75 million and currently teaches around 5,000 learners who are aged 16 to 18.

Governors and senior leaders at the college, which now teaches 14- to 16-year-olds as well as apprentices and adult learners, were praised for managing “recent strategic changes well”.

“The recent college merger and the separate development of courses for full-time pupils aged 14 to 16, have led to improved outcomes for students, pupils and apprentices,” Ofsted said.

“The principal and senior leaders create a harmonious and inspiring environment, in a large and complex college, which enables staff to raise aspirations successfully.”

Inspectors found that achievement rates in vocational qualifications have “improved and are high”.

“Most students and apprentices who leave the college at the end of their course continue to higher education, employment, promotion or training,” they said.

We are now beginning our journey from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’

Teachers are “successful in supporting students with significant personal difficulties and low skill levels to improve their confidence, language skills and readiness for work”.

To improve to ‘outstanding’, Ofsted said the college’s teachers and assessors, particularly in A-level provision and English and maths GCSE courses, need to “improve the quality of teaching learning and assessment”.

Leaders and managers also need to “improve pupils’, students’ and apprentices’ attendance” on courses where rates are currently “too low”.

South and City College Birmingham was first formed in 2012 following an initial merger between South Birmingham College and City College Birmingham.

Its mega-merger with Bournville College was originally planned for August 2016 but was delayed for a year.

Mr Hopkins said today: “Anyone considering where to study only has to read the Ofsted report to see that no matter who you are, this is the college where you will be supported, be safe and above all else will achieve your qualifications.

“We are now beginning our journey from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’.”