There appears to be a worrying disconnect between the DfE and Ofsted over their approaches to substandard apprenticeship provision from newcomers to the market.
It was unambiguous in saying that the training was “not fit for purpose”.
It is therefore hard to understand why the DfE allowed the provider to take on new apprentices again on the back of a mere recovery plan.
There’s no way that Ofsted or the ESFA could have been truly confident things had turned around within such a short space of time after the inspection.
At the very least Key6 should have had Ofsted back in to check what’s now happening with the hundreds of apprentices it is already training, before this provider with no track record was allowed to recruit more.
The DfE completely undermined the role of the inspectorate in this process, and rendered its monitoring report obsolete.
It is letting learners, employers and the many high-quality providers down by failing to maintain what ought to be extremely high standards.
A student’s skateboard design will go into production after she won a graphic design competition.
Yang Hang (pictured centre), a first-year graphics student at Halesowen College, won after learners were asked to design something that raised awareness of an ongoing global issue, from plastic waste to equality, to animal experimentation and diversity.
The competition was run for graphic design students in partnership with SkateHut, a local company which will make the winning skateboard.
Seventeen-year-old Hang’s winning design was voted for by the public after SkateHut posted all 26 of the students’ creations on its social media channels.
“It was fantastic for the students to present their ideas to a real-world client. Their concepts are great and show that young people have real concerns about the world they live in,” said Gillian Dunkerley, BTEC course leader.
The students’ skateboard designs will form part of a display at the college’s end-of-year summer show.
“The students’ ideas were amazing. Many of them would work commercially as a real board,” added Amy Lou Holland from SkateHut.
It is crunch time at the nation’s largest college group, which is cutting staff and faces the return of Ofsted for a full inspection over its achievement rates.
NCG will receive visits from two teams of inspectors on Monday, FE Week can reveal.
One team will examine four of its colleges – Newcastle College, Newcastle Sixth-Form College, Kidderminster College and West Lancashire College.
The other will focus on its troubled training provider, Intraining, which is in the process of slashing staff numbers.
Both will be full inspections, which suggests alarm bells are ringing at the inspectorate. It would only be expected to carry out a short inspection, if there were no concerns that NCG’s rating could drop from grade two.
However, overall achievement rates at NCG are well below the national average.
In 2016/17, the combined overall apprenticeship achievement rate for NCG’s colleges was just 55.6 per cent, while Intraining’s was 58 per cent.
Both are 10 percentage points lower than the national average of 67.7 per cent, and lower than the minimum standards threshold of 62 per cent, according to the latest government data.
And for the all-important 16-to-18 study programmes, NCG was 4.4 points below the national average of 81.5 per cent.
It is understood that Ofsted wanted to reinspect NCG last year, but it was unable to analyse the group’s achievement rates because of “data glitches” which led to it being absent from the 2015/16 tables.
At the same time as dealing with these inspections, NCG is cutting staff numbers by up to a fifth at Intraining and its other private provider Rathbone Training, in an effort to save £3 million.
More than 100 of the 500 employees who work at the two providers face possible redundancy.
The group claims to have run into financial trouble as a result of new rules which restrict subcontracting apprenticeships, as well as the sudden downturn in the uptake of apprenticeships since the introduction of the levy.
“We anticipate a reduction in fewer than 70 roles,” Ian Webber, the managing director of both providers, told FE Week on behalf of NCG.
Intraining and Rathbone Training have had their combined ESFA contracts to deliver apprenticeships cut by more than half this year (from £35.8 million to £16.2 million), and the amount it is subcontracting out has reduced by nearly two thirds (from £11.9 million to £4.2 million).
They are now proposing to stop apprenticeship delivery in the south-west and East of England.
Both providers “are currently in consultation with colleagues as part of a process to transform our operations and achieve cost savings,” Mr Webber said.
“We need to realise around £3 million savings to align the cost base of both organisations with anticipated income.”
The lower level of subcontracting is a “reflection of government changes in funding” and the “success of several partners” who are now on the register of apprenticeship training providers and able to deliver directly.
The introduction of the levy hasn’t helped matters.
As of March, there were 206,100 starts recorded for 2017/18, which represents a 24-per-cent drop on the same period last year.
The group was further shaken last month when staff at Lewisham Southwark College, which was involved in a long-distance merger with NCG, voted to strike over pay.
He will work closely with Mr Webber who, when asked if either of his providers were likely to go bust, insisted that “the review of our operations is part of normal business processes to ensure sustainability”.
Level two brickwork students have been learning how to restore and rebuild medieval dry-stone walling.
The team of learners from Lancaster & Morecambe College have been working on a five-mile stretch of dry stone walling at High Hampsfield Farm in Lindale, which has sections that date back to the middle ages, including a lime kiln.
Students have been rebuilding the sections of the wall using traditional techniques, as well as restoring the bricks, all under the watchful eye of Bill Pimblett, who runs the farm.
“It’s great for them to learn more about what’s on their own doorstep and how we can all help to preserve it,” he said.
“This has been an excellent opportunity for Bricklaying students to add something extra to their CVs and is a great introduction to walling techniques, which will hopefully enthuse students to want to follow this traditional skill further,” added Liz Smith, a tutor at the college.
The Department for Education has been heavily criticised for its oversight of the Student Loans Company during the tenure of its disgraced former chief executive, in a new report from the National Audit Office.
The watchdog looked into how the DfE monitored the company while Steve Lamey, who was dismissed for gross misconduct last November, was in charge.
The report has identified a catalogue of monitoring shortcomings at both the DfE and the onetime Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
“There were many changes in the company during 2016,” the report stated. These included changes to its governance and senior leadership, “but the department did not consider whether its oversight arrangements were sufficient”.
Furthermore, “accountabilities, roles and responsibilities for the department’s oversight of the company are not up-to-date and lack clarity”.
The report also revealed that the DfE is reviewing its oversight and governance arrangements with the SLC. In fact, it will cover all its arms-length bodies, including the Institute for Apprenticeships, Ofsted and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
A spokesperson said the department had “reviewed and introduced changes to our oversight measures, including quarterly shareholder meetings to discuss performance and risk management” after it assumed responsibility for the SLC in 2016.
The current review will look at “how we can build on those measures to ensure that the SLC is well-supported” in the future, she added.
Mr Lamey was appointed chief executive of the SLC in June 2016, despite concerns from BIS about his suitability for the role, according to the NAO report.
The report identified a number of areas where the DfE and BIS had fallen short in its oversight, including failing to update the framework which set out its relationship with the SLC for almost 10 years.
“We welcome the NAO report and have already implemented a number of changes to strengthen governance in the areas they identified,” a spokesperson for the SLC said.
Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Public Accounts committee, said the report was a “story of the failure of two departments to effectively monitor a public body under their watch”.
Arboriculture students from Myerscough College’s Preston campus have won prizes in the 2018 Northern College Climbing Competition.
The team of level three BTEC students won £500 of arboriculture equipment for their college, impressing judges with their speedy tree-climbing in both of the competition’s categories: climbers with less than one year’s experience, and climbers with less than two years’ experience.
Students from the agricultural college’s Preston and Croxteth campuses took part, going up against learners from Reaseheath College.
The challenge is run by the Arboricultural Association, to give students an introduction to industry-standard tree climbing, building on their experience from college.
“Students from both our sites made superb times on their climbs and showed the north what awesome climbers they are. We’re proud of everyone who competed,” said Andy Taaffe, head of greenspace and creative studies at Myerscough College.
Engineering is an area that’s historically been dominated by men. Sandra McNally is leading an inquiry into how to massively widen women’s participation in this vital area of the economy, and is asking for written submissions by May 21
In this ‘Year of Engineering’, the Skills Commission is running an inquiry into the pathways for women into engineering. Engineering contributes 26 per cent of the UK’s GDP, and developing skills in this area is a key element of the industrial strategy.
While gender imbalances are prevalent in engineering in many countries, the UK is one of the worst, according to statistics produced by the Women’s Engineering Society. Research from the Learning and Work Institute found that women are far less likely than men to apply for an apprenticeship in engineering, manufacturing and technology. The Centre for Vocational Education Research has shown that men who undertake an advanced apprenticeship have much higher earnings in the future than women – and much of this is attributable to the sector of specialisation.
Why are women so underrepresented in engineering and what might be done about it? These are the central questions I and my co-chairs of the Skills Commission inquiry, Lucy Allan MP and Preet Gill MP, are asking. Even the question is difficult, because engineering is a very broad area and can be studied within both FE and HE.
Part of the answer might lie in the narrowness of how people perceive engineering as an occupation, perhaps picturing hard hats and railway lines. Witnesses to our inquiry have been keen to stress that there is much more to engineering than that, but it seems to suffer from an image problem that needs to be turned around.
While gender imbalances are prevalent in engineering in many countries, the UK is one of the worst
This is not helped by the school curriculum, where reference to engineering is absent, nor by the quality of information, advice and guidance on offer. Positively, the Skills Commission has already called for a step change in information, advice and guidance at schools, and the Baker amendment to the Technical and Vocational Education Act has ensured that local FE providers can meet potential pupils to make pathways into further education more accessible. One message seems to be that if people knew what engineers actually do and the range of settings where many of them work, it would not be so much at odds with the hopes and expectations of young women.
On the other hand, gender stereotyping from an early age is a very pertinent issue for STEM in general and engineering in particular. One of the researchers giving evidence to the inquiry told us that many women in engineering have a family member who works in the sector and need to be resilient to jibes from others for choosing to study and work in this area. This societal problem is sometimes reinforced in advertising, the media and even children’s toys. On top of this, the workplace culture can sometimes be hostile to women: from very practical ways of overlooking the their needs (such as a lack of appropriate clothing and facilities) to “macho culture”. However, there are examples of firms at the other end of the spectrum – desirable places for anyone to work.
Our call for evidence is now being extended to May 21, looking for examples of good and bad practice at engineering firms. We want examples of initiatives that have been tried (in any area) to address the barriers to women’s decisions to study or work in engineering. We are seeking ideas on how policy at various levels might help to address problems. For example, can more be done to incentivise best practice ? Are there practical ways that larger employers can help small employers in their supply chain? At schools and colleges, how might information, advice and guidance or the curriculum be changed to accurately represent what engineering actually involves, in all its diversity? Is there something that those designing T-levels can do? More broadly, are there practical ways that the more deeply embedded stereotypes can be challenged and changed?
It’s difficult to see how the needs of the engineering sector can be met without doing more to attract the 50 per cent of the population, from whom the current supply is pitifully small.
The Skills Commission has extended its call for evidence deadline until May 21. We want to hear from the engineering sector and those in the FE and HE sectors training engineers of the future. If you have thoughts to share, please respond to our call for evidence. Written submissions can be made anonymously or contact Beth Wheaton at Policy Connect .
Sandra McNally is the director of LSE’s Centre for Vocational Education Research
The UK’s first renewable energy training facility based at an FE college has been declared open by the prime minister.
The Energy Centre at the Berkshire College of Agriculture was officially opened by Theresa May on April 27.
The facility has been developed by the college in partnership with biomass company LC Energy, and will offer students aged 16 to 19 a range of technical qualifications in areas such as biofuel engineering and renewable energy.
During her visit, Ms May had a tour of the facilities, including the first training biomass boiler at a UK FE college, and met with students and staff.
“I was pleased to be able to meet with students who, through using the new energy centre, will be given the training and opportunity to make a real difference to help protect our planet for future generations,” Ms May said.
“We already have two biomass boilers and engine rooms on campus, and the addition of this new centre provides the facility for the development of professionally recognised training for this sustainable energy provision,” added Gillian May, principal of the college.
The principal of a London sixth-form college with a history of financial problems has been very suddenly replaced.
It is understood that Ken Warman left BSix Brooke House Sixth-Form College yesterday.
The grade three Ofsted-rated college would not comment on the reasons for his departure, but announced that his replacement Kevin Watson has been appointed “with immediate effect”.
Kevin Watson
“BSix Brooke House Sixth-Form College announces that Kevin Watson has today been appointed principal with immediate effect.
“Kevin has been director of learning at BSix since September 2017. He has almost 20 years’ experience as principal of Leyton Sixth-Form College, Richmond-Upon-Thames College and Winstanley College, Wigan.
“During that time Kevin was instrumental in raising the standards of those institutions.”
Further evidence that BSix was in danger of running out of cash emerged six months later, after the commissioner’s report uncovered grave financial issues.
“The finance committee had drawn to the corporation’s attention that the financial outcome for 2015/16 was far worse than forecast; a deficit of £492,000 caused largely by staff costs in relation to agency staff,” the report said of the minutes.
The SFC’s financial performance latterly appeared to have improved according to the ESFA’s accounts, which showed a surplus of £52,000 in 2016/17 on an income of £9,482,000.
But in a ‘requires improvement’ across-the-board report, published in April, Ofsted warned “governors have not challenged leaders and managers to bring about rapid enough improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and student achievements”.
The SFC was rated ‘requires improvement’ in 2016, and ‘good’ three years before that. Mr Warman was in charge at the time of all three inspections.
The governors section of BSix’s website, which quotes from the more impressive 2013 report, still listed Mr Warman as principal at the time of publication.
But Stephen Blackshaw, the chair of governors, welcomed his replacement in a statement issued to FE Week.
“I am delighted that Kevin has agreed to become principal at BSix,” he said.
“His record of achievement during his years as principal at three separate institutions speaks for itself.
“In particular, Kevin’s focus on the core business of teaching and learning at BSix is essential for our continued improvement in those areas and in student outcomes. I very much look forward to working with him.”
Mr Watson led Leyton Sixth Form College from 2009 to 2017. It was rated as ‘good’ by Oftsed in 2010, 2013, and 2016.
He was at Richmond-Upon-Thames College from 2005 to 2008, which was rated grade two by Ofsted during this time.
Leadership and management was also rated ‘outstanding’ at Winstanley College under his watch from 1998 to 2005.
“I very much look forward to steering the continued forward momentum of BSix,” he said. “In my association with the college to date, I have seen considerable appetite for improvement and become aware of a widespread readiness to augment the many existing strengths with some fresh ideas and new approaches.
“The aim is to consolidate BSix as the destination of choice for 16- to 19-year-olds in Hackney and beyond.”
