Staff at Lowestoft SFC out on the first of six strike days over merger

Staff at Lowestoft Sixth-Form College have walked out on the first of six days of strike action protesting a planned merger.

The industrial action involves 20 of the SFC’s 70 staff, and is being led by NASUWT. Further strikes are planned for July 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12.

A spokesperson for the teachers’ union said this was because grade two Ofsted-rated Lowestoft is “due to merge with East Coast College, which has significantly worse terms and conditions for its staff”.

“It is very disappointing that the NASUWT union feel it necessary to take this action and I hope that they will reconsider in the light of the actual terms of transfer that are being negotiated,” said David Gartland, the SFC’s principal.

“If we proceed with the merger, the terms and conditions of existing staff will not change, and they are protected”.

He insisted that all existing staff would move to the grade three East Coast College with their existing pay and holiday entitlement, and would retain their public-sector pensions.

“There are no redundancies expected as a result of a merger, due in part to the lean management structure we already have in place,” he added. “Regardless of the outcome of the proposed merger discussions, our aim is to ensure our students continue to have an outstanding sixth-form experience.”

Normal timetabled lessons at the SFC have been cancelled today and a series of non-compulsory drop-in sessions have been organised for students instead.

“These sessions will be run by non-striking teachers and pastoral tutors, support staff and careers advisors,” a spokesperson said.

The 2017 Norfolk and Suffolk area review of post-16 education and training recommended a merger between the two colleges, and they announced in April this year that “there has been significant progress towards this proposal”.

Following “careful consideration”, the SFC launched a public consultation on the proposed merger which ran from March 31 to May 4. The responses and resulting report are due to be published in early July.

A spokesperson for the SFC said a final decision “has not yet been made as to whether the merger will go ahead” and is subject to the board considering consultation responses.

If the decision is made to proceed, the merger will go through on August 1.

The union said it is striking over “transfer of contract of employment with unilateral variation to terms and conditions of service and potential job loss”.

Chris Keates, NASUWT’s general secretary, backed her striking members.

“These restructuring plans could potentially leave teachers on significantly worse pay and working conditions,” she said. “NASUWT members are not only concerned about their future careers, but also the impact that worsening terms and conditions will have on the future recruitment of teachers at the SFC, which in turn threatens the quality of learning and support for students.

“Due to the hard work and commitment of staff, Lowestoft is the top-performing sixth-form college in Suffolk and Norfolk, with a progress score rated as well above average by the DfE, placing the College in the top five per cent of schools and colleges in England.

“NASUWT members want to ensure that teachers continue to receive the pay and working conditions which will support them to maintain this excellent achievement.”  

Lowestoft SFC has 743 funded students. Most are on level three A-Level and BTEC study programmes, with others taking level two GCSE and BTEC qualifications. 

East Coast College was formed in August 2017 through the merger of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Colleges, and now provides further and higher education and training to over 4,000 students.

East Coast College has been approached for comment.

 

Top mandarin admits to contingency concerns over T-levels

The Department for Education should have left more time to make sure T-levels go to plan, according to its top civil servant.

Jonathan Slater was questioned by the Public Accounts Committee today about his ministerial direction, published in May, in which he asked to defer the start date from 2020 to 2021. He was overruled by his boss, the education secretary Damian Hinds.

“It’s a big change in programme, a complex set of reforms and any such programme will involve a plan with a series of challenging component parts,” the DfE permanent secretary told the MPs.

“The timetable that we have been set for implementing that works fine so long as each element of the plan goes ahead without any hiccups.

Damian Hinds

“Faced with that sort of challenge, you can either decide to stick with that plan, do your very best to  make sure that everything goes in accordance with the plan and there aren’t any hiccups – or you can buy yourself more time in case something does go wrong and you can build some contingency into it.

“My advice was to buy ourselves some more time to allow for the possibility that it wouldn’t all go according to plan.”

It was “completely legitimate” for the secretary of state to ignore his advice, he added.

“As things stand today, it will clearly be very challenging to ensure that the first three T-levels are ready to be taught from 2020 and beyond to a consistently high standard,” Mr Slater wrote in his letter to Mr Hinds, dated May 17.

In a response dated May 24, Mr Hinds wrote that he was still “convinced of the case to press ahead”.

Sir Gerry Berragan, the chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships, also voiced concerns about the “worryingly tight” delivery timeline for the first three routes at an Ofqual conference in March.

“The last thing we should do is start the first three on the wrong footing and give them a bad reputation,” he said.

His views are particularly significant as the IfA is taking responsibility for administering T-levels.

Sally Collier, Ofqual’s chief regulator, meanwhile discussed the “ambitious” timeframe and the “risks” it carried at the same event.

Mr Slater was asked during today’s PAC appearance about what progress is being made on finding enough employers to offer what will be a mandatory 45-day minimum work placement.

Senior figures in FE are worried that young people in rural areas will lose access to many subjects, and are doubtful that thousands of businesses can be persuaded to join in.

“Good work is being done,” said Mr Slater. “We are piloting across the country right now around the country. We have many work placements in place already, so we can test what is working and what we need to adjust before we go live with the system.

“In some areas it is a lot easier than other areas. We are increasingly funding FE colleges themselves to work with employers in their localities to reach agreement to meet that piece of the jigsaw.”

Mr Hinds was also asked about T-levels by the shadow skills minister during education questions.

“The Secretary of State might be content with T-level progress, but I am afraid that many in the sector are not,” said Gordon Marsden, who suggested that there is “no clarity” on work placements.

“Is he content just agreeing with himself, or would he be happy with a process for T-levels with the wheels coming off – a magical mystery tour for young people that risks becoming a ghost train?”

“Dear oh dear, Gordon,” replied the minister. “I do not quite know where to go with that question, because I do not recognise its premise.

“I spend a great deal of time talking to employers, providers and others throughout the sector about this programme. T-levels are fundamental to building up the country’s skills base, and I would expect to see him supporting them.”

Three quarters of providers unhappy with non-levy apprenticeship funding

Almost three quarters of training providers are unhappy with the amount of non-levy apprenticeship funding available, claiming it is “insufficient” to meet demand from small businesses.

A new AELP survey, published on the second day of its national conference in London, reveals that the apprenticeship money set aside for SMEs this year is vastly lacking.

The government has allocated up to £650 million for the 15 months between this January and the end of next March – a major fall on the £1 billion that was available to small businesses in the previous 12-month period.

And in order to get their hands on a portion of this year’s cash, providers had to endure a shambolic procurement process – which saw some defunct providers winning contracts while ‘outstanding’ ones missed out. Several small providers simply went out of business.

None of these findings come as any surprise

Seventy-three per cent of the 246 providers who responded to AELP’s survey complained the £650 million fund is “insufficient”.

There are several other serious issues to resolve in the roll-out of the government’s apprenticeship reforms.

Seventy-seven per cent still believe that employers are struggling to understand and engage with the new apprenticeship system.

Meanwhile, 72 per cent said there are not enough new apprenticeship standards in place, and 82 per cent do not think there are enough end-point assessment programmes available.

The Institute for Apprenticeships introduced its “faster and better” process for approving standards earlier this year but AELP’s survey reveals that 60 per cent of providers are still doing the bulk of their training under the old apprenticeship frameworks.

Only 27 per cent have been able to move the majority of their provision to standards.

Just 11 per cent of respondents said the apprenticeship reforms are generally going well.

“None of these findings come as any surprise as we’ve been feeding back similar anecdotal evidence for months from regional meetings to ministers and officials on why apprenticeship starts have been dropping so sharply,” said AELP boss Mark Dawe.

“But while AELP remains supportive of the apprenticeship policy, the levy itself and standards, the survey results do underline the sheer scale of the challenges and the urgent need to make changes to the way that the apprenticeship reforms have been introduced.”

Mark Dawe

Seeing these concerns borne out in black and white goes “a long way” to explain why the latest official set of apprenticeship start numbers are over 50 per cent down on a year ago, AELP believes.

Over half of providers are changing how they deliver apprenticeships in response to the reforms.

Fifty-five per cent are moving their provision across to a different sector or occupational area, while 53 per cent are seeing their delivery switch over more to the large levy-paying employers.

Additionally, 42 per cent say the reforms are prompting them to run more higher-level apprenticeship programmes in response to employer demand.

Mr Dawe said the switch to higher-level apprenticeships is “good for the programme’s reputation, but we have to get the balance of provision right from level two to levels six and seven”.

“As the recent AELP policy submission showed, it’s vital for a post-Brexit economy and social mobility that lower level provision isn’t abandoned and this means getting the way it’s funded right,” he added.

“This is why AELP is calling for an immediate suspension of employer contributions for 16- to 24-year-old apprentices at levels two and three by non-levy payers or those employers that exceed their levy.”

AELP has over 900 members who serve 380,000 employers across the country.

AELP National Conference 2018

Excitement has been building ahead of the speech from the skills minister, Anne Milton, at AELP’s annual conference.

There was a chance the speech would be used to announce a dramatic policy U-turn: scrapping non-levy employer contributions for at least some apprenticeships.

And it has been many years since I can remember an FE minister making a genuinely new announcement in a conference speech.

But any hope of announcements came to nothing. Ms Milton appeared to mostly stick to the script given to her by officials, adding reference to careers advice near the end (take note, speechwriter!)

The lengthy ministerial Q&A was welcome, with delegates keen to probe on the usual range of issues and concerns relating to apprentices.

Overall it felt very much like she is still in listening mode, but doesn’t believe the evidence is clear yet that any policy change is needed.

She talked about being “able to demonstrate causality” – so I expect a bunch more AELP surveys in the coming weeks.

And several months ago the minister said in a webinar with me – “against advice from officials” – that she didn’t expect pick-up on starts until September.

So even if Mark Dawe, AELP’s chief executive, follows through on his threat to “almost daily” remind the minister of the need for change, there is no sign of it any time soon.

As regular FE Week readers will know, I think it is far too soon to panic about apprenticeships numbers, and even Jason Holt, representing small employers, is warning that a change in direction on fees would be premature.

Another highlight that I suspect we shall return to were the warnings from Sally Collier, the chief executive from Ofqual.

Coming onto the main stage after Sir Gerry Berragan had claimed that within a few years hundreds of thousands of apprentices will be going through end-point assessments, Ms Collier wanted of a lack of potential assessors.

At the AELP conference next year I’m willing to bet the employer fees U-turn debate will feel a distant memory, and the new barrier will be to capacity in the new assessment system.

Oh, and problems with implementing AEB devolution…

See you in 2019!

Ofsted: New apprenticeship provider monitoring visits a ‘concern’

The results of the early monitoring visits to new apprenticeship providers are “concerning”, Ofsted’s deputy director for FE has said, after a quarter were given ‘insufficient progress’ verdicts.

Paul Joyce (pictured) hit out at the newcomers in his speech at the AELP conference today, asserting that apprentices “deserve better than that”.

“Our monitoring visits to new directly funded providers are designed to give an early assessment of the quality of provision,” he told delegates.

“I have to say that the outcomes to date are concerning. Around a quarter of the judgements inspectors have awarded have been ‘insufficient progress’ – meaning that providers are making slow progress and the demonstrable impact on learners has been negligible.

“Apprentices deserve better than that.

“This is a concern to me and Ofsted continues to work closely with the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency to discuss and agree arrangements for the quality monitoring of these new directly funded providers.”

Numerous new providers have failed to come up to scratch over the last few months – including Mears Learning, Key6 Group, Mooreskills, and Apprentice Team.

Perhaps the most damning report was for Key6, whose training Ofsted described as “not fit for purpose”.

The ESFA banned it from delivery, but this only lasted for two months.

Mr Joyce pointed out that the monitoring visits show a “really mixed picture in relation to quality”.

“It has been pleasing to see some new providers making significant progress and apprentices receiving high-quality training that develops substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours that are beneficial to them and their employers,” he said.

“In the best examples, apprentices and employers are extremely complimentary about the high-quality training, excellent resources and the support and guidance provided by experienced training provider staff.”

However, it is “less pleasing to see existing employees with almost all the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the apprenticeship being recruited as apprentices and a train-to-gain, assessment-only programme delivered”.

“Or where the quality of training provided is simply not good enough, where training is not well planned or coordinated and where apprentices and employers feel let down,” he continued.

“Wherever inspectors come across this substandard provision, they will have no hesitation in reporting insufficient progress.”

Speaking to FE Week after his speech, Mr Joyce said he is expecting a policy announcement “imminently” in relation to intervention at these failing providers.

“We continue to talk with the DfE and ESFA about how best to monitor the new apprenticeship providers,” he said.

“That is in terms of our resources and conversations in terms of their intervention policy as a result of our judgements.

“Those negotiations are continuing, progressing well, and I am expecting the DfE to make a policy announcement imminently in relation to their intervention policy, and I do hope to hear very soon about the additional resources we are likely to get to carry out more monitoring visits.”

FE Week revealed last month that the watchdog will soon be given as much as £7 million to visit every new apprenticeship provider.

Critically, it will also have the final say over quality, after the skills minister Anne Milton admitted in May to the education select committee that it wasn’t clear who was accountable for quality at these new providers.

Milton offers no concessions on employer fees at AELP conference

Issues with the 10-per-cent fee that small businesses must pay when they take on apprentices have been “noted”, but there will be no announcement on a rule change anytime soon, the skills minister has said.

There was a lot of anticipation over whether Anne Milton would scrap the fee altogether during her speech at the AELP national conference this morning, after she told FE Week she was “keeping an open mind” on the policy last week.

She did not rule out binning it, but told delegates she is not sure the co-investment is the real reason for the sluggish apprenticeship starts numbers.

“I’m sorry I’ve not made any big announcement but I see this conference as an important opportunity to gather your thoughts and feedback,” Ms Milton said.

“Co-investment for 16- to 24-year-olds, noted.”

Addressing the policy again in a Q&A session following her speech, she said: “What one battles with and all governments do is to demonstrate causality.

“I think that is a hard thing here. If you took away the 10-per-cent co-investment there would be less money in the pot to do apprenticeships. You get less apprentices for your money.

I’m sorry I’ve not made any big announcement

“But it is about demonstrating causality and that us the key for me. When you have a lot of other factors out there it is quite hard to demonstrate.”

AELP boss Mark Dawe hit back at Ms Milton’s claim.

“Providers take the 10-per-cent hit so there would be no impact on numbers,” he said.

“Numbers are a concern but at the moment it is from lack of demand and we need to change that.

“We will be in almost daily communication on this matter.”

The apprenticeship levy is paid by employers with an annual payroll of £3 million or more, who can then spend their contributions on apprenticeship training.

Smaller employers can also access the funds generated through the levy, although they must pay 10-per-cent towards the cost of the training.

There was no mandatory charge before May last year, simply an assumed contribution for apprentices aged 19 and over.

We will be in almost daily communication on this matter.”

Since last May, only 16- to 18-year-olds at employers with fewer than 50 staff are fully funded and therefore free to train.

The AELP has been heavily campaigning to remove the 10-per-cent rule as it believes it puts SMEs off apprenticeships, and is the reason why starts have fallen so much since the introduction of the levy.

Latest figures show that starts for March were down 52 per cent compared with the same period in 2017.

FE Week is media partner at the AELP national conference 2018. Follow @feweek on Twitter for live updates.

 

Learndirect under new ownership just days after PeoplePlus deal falls through

Learndirect has a new owner, after striking a deal with entrepreneur Wayne Janse van Rensburg for his firm Dimensions Training Solution to take the reins.

But it remains unclear how many jobs will be saved at the troubled provider, as government income beyond July will be limited to Learndirect Apprenticeships Limited (LDA) which began recruiting apprenticeships last May.

As previously reported by FE Week, PeoplePlus Group Limited had been in talks with the owners of Learndirect, Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), but it is understood this deal fell through early last week.

LDC then turned to entrepreneur Wayne Janse van Rensburg with the offer of a deal.

Mr Janse van Rensburg is the Managing Director of the Stonebridge College Group, which supplies Learndirect with a Virtual Learning Environment known as PEARL.

Stonebridge College Group includes Dimensions Training Solution (DTS), a training provider that Mr Janse van Rensburg purchased in 2015.

Within just a few days the Education and Skills Funding Agency had approved the change in ownership of LDA on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers.

A deal could then be struck in which LDC would financially support a DTS business plan to own and run Learndirect.

It is understood that the deal means DTS will take ownership of Pimco 2090, which includes the subsidiary companies of Learndirect Centres Limited, Learndirect Limited and Learndirect Apprenticeships Ltd.

Speaking exclusively to FE Week, Wayne Janse van Rensburg said: “The acquisition of Learndirect has protected the future of the Learndirect group and its learners and apprentices.

“We have the building blocks through which to deliver a service of the highest quality and respond to the ever changing face of the skills and apprenticeship market.

The LDA brand will remain, as it is well respected by our employers and recognised as the brand of the largest dedicated provider of levy apprenticeships in the country.”

AELP presents its new code of governance

A new code of governance will be unveiled today at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ annual conference.

The code, which is still in draft and out for consultation, sets out the principles the AELP believes any independent learning provider should adopt in order to conduct its business in the best interest of its trainees, employers, key stakeholders and funders.

It has been developed by Dr Sue Pember (pictured), director of policy at HoLEX, and former Ofsted inspector Karen Adriaanse, in partnership with AELP, which is encouraging all its members to adopt the code.

“The governance of many independent training providers has much to commend and it is been a major factor in their growth,” said Mark Dawe, AELP’s boss.

“However the sector recognises that there is always room for improvement and this is why it has come together to produce this code.”

With independent providers delivering government-funded training worth £1.8 billion every year, good governance “helps ensure that funds are well spent, are focused on government priorities and are delivering high-quality teaching and learning for the benefit of employers and learners”.

“Adoption of the code should not limit innovation in guidance or stifle the dynamic nature of ITPs for which they are renowned,” he continued.

Dr Pember, who is also an FE Week contributor on governance, will present on the code during her speech at today’s conference.

“Effective governance is a major contributor to the success of a business and the sector’s reputation as a whole,” she said.

By adopting the code, providers are “signalling a willingness to enter into a new era of governance with an energy and commitment to ensure the very highest standards for their stakeholders”.

The code is based on the seven Nolan principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.

These principles provide an ethical framework for the personal behaviour of a provider’s board members and leadership.

It incorporates a number of expectations of good governance, including putting the trainee, apprentice and employer first, and providing strong strategic leadership and challenge to the senior team.

The code is designed to apply to all independent training providers which deliver publicly funded skills programmes on behalf of the government.

Its development was supported by the Further Education Trust for Leadership.

Dame Ruth Silver, FETL’s founding president, said the new code “should have a direct impact on the quality of skills training because it can make a real difference for providers of all sizes”.

The code touches on the following principles:

  • Putting the trainee, apprentice and employer first
  • Promoting high expectations and ambitions for trainees, apprentice and staff
  • Listening to trainees, apprentice employers and staff
  • Promoting inspirational training, teaching and learning and assessment
  • Creating a safe environment for trainees and apprentices to train, learn and develop
  • Providing strong strategic leadership and challenge to the senior team
  • Demonstrating accountability to all stakeholders, including publishing accurate and timely information on performance
  • Ensuring the achievement of equality of opportunity and diversity throughout the organisation

FE commissioner reflects on six months of change

Six months ago the FE commissioner embarked on a series of new initiatives designed to support colleges before they get into too much difficulty.

Using diagnostic assessments and peer-to-peer support, Richard Atkins aims to avoid a repeat of the high-profile college failures of recent months.

These new measures are all the more important, given the impending insolvency regime, which will allow colleges to go bust for the first time.

At the same time, both the restructuring facility, which provides cash for colleges to implement major changes, and exceptional financial support will be withdrawn.

In an exclusive interview with FE Week, Mr Atkins discusses what he and his expanded team of deputies and advisers have been doing to ensure that colleges are ready for the coming changes.

Interventions are down – but diagnostic assessments are up

The backbone of the FE commissioner’s work has always been interventions with failing colleges: those with an ‘inadequate’ rating either from Ofsted or for financial health.

Mr Atkins has begun formal involvement with just nine institutions in 2017/18, down from 18 the previous year.

At the same time, the team has also carried out 29 diagnostic assessments at colleges in difficulty but not yet failing, “which is more than I thought we’d do”.

These assessments are designed to sniff out areas for improvement before a college falls too far into difficulties.

“I think we’re having some success in getting to places a bit earlier, trying to provide advice, help and support to avoid a college slipping too far, too fast,” he says.

Of those colleges that have fallen into scope of intervention, “financial difficulty this year has been more frequently a cause than quality”. 

And, while the restructuring facility has “helped resolve the longstanding difficult cases” in the sector, it is likely that colleges will “occasionally get into difficulty” in the future and funding is still needed to “oil the wheels in these situations”.

Mergers, mergers, mergers

The surge in mergers is showing no signs of slowing down.

Last year there were 15, and “I would expect to see a similar number” this year.

These partnerships are “beyond area review”, and many have been brokered through an FE commissioner-led structure and prospects appraisal.

This process, which he has previously likened to “going to an introduction agency and having a courtship”, allows a college to thoroughly weigh up its options.

All of the 19 SPAs that he and his 15-strong team have led have ended with a proposal to merge.

It’s not just for failing colleges, either.

New guidance on the process, published last week by the Department for Education, “emphasises the point” that a SPA is “not only for colleges in intervention” but also for those who “come to us voluntarily” to consider their “strategic options”.

Principals’ reference group

Mr Atkins’ crack team of principals is already starting to have an impact at the DfE.

The team, which is designed to act as a sound board for Mr Atkins and to help shape policy, has met three times so far since it was formed in January.

They’ve been involved in consultations on T-levels, high needs and workforce development, and are set to get stuck into the internal review announced by Anne Milton earlier this year, looking at FE funding and resilience.

“I would say that most of the policy teams here in the department now see them as one of the key groups that they consult with,” he says.

Peer-to-peer support

The national leaders of FE programme, first announced last November, is one of the means by which Mr Atkins aims to encourage a culture of colleges supporting each other.

The names of the seven leaders were announced in January, and they’re all now working with at least one college.

They are “really critical to helping” at a college in difficulty, following an intervention or diagnostic assessment by his team.

Alongside this support for college leaders, a similar programme for governors is in the process of being set up, with the call for applications launched last week.

“I think it’s a really useful way for a chair, a board member or a member of a senior team to have a reference point,” he explains.

Strategic college improvement fund

Fourteen colleges received money from the pilot round of the strategic college improvement fund, which offers a tailored package of support.

These colleges are implementing a range of initiatives, including “developing better costed curriculum plans to quality improvement implementation practices, such as teaching observations”.

The main phase of the fund is expected to open for application very soon.

His overall aim with the fund and his other initiatives is to “try to avoid the catastrophe we’re seeing at the moment at one or two colleges” by supporting them at an earlier stage.