Leicester city council is the latest public body accused of diverting apprenticeship levy funding away from frontline learning via a brokerage-style deal with a third party.
It awarded a contract to a firm known as Salad Skills last October, to operate as a “quality-assurance partner”.
This role involves identifying suitable providers to train the council’s levy-funded apprentices, and monitoring how they get on.
However, one provider involved with the council has claimed that the resulting progress reports are duplication of work that training organisations should already cover.
FE Week’s source is dismayed that the council is not paying Salad Skills for brokerage-style work, given that the firm is taking a cut of levy cash in exchange for vetting providers.
The cost is instead passed onto providers at the other end of the chain, which are being asked to hand Salad Skills up to 10 per cent of their payment for delivering the training after “negotiating” a fee.
“Salad Skills is contracted to provide ‘quality assurance’, which isn’t in the ESFA’s list of ineligible costs, so is technically allowable,” said a spokesperson for the disgruntled provider, which wants to remain anonymous.
We feel that the fee they are asking to carry out these services would be diverting ESFA funding away from delivery
“However, we feel that the fee they are asking to carry out these services would be diverting ESFA funding away from delivery,” she said.
Salad Skills has a contract, secured through an open procurement process, to run until September 2019.
An advert on the government’s Contracts Finder website indicated that the total amount of levy funding involved is £16 million, so Salad Skills could in theory earn £1.6 million.
A council spokesperson insisted the advert is misleading.
“As it stands, our annual levy contributions from October 2017 to October 2018 are predicted to be approximately £1.2 million,” he explained.
If replicated over the second year of the contract, “the maximum amount that Salad Skills could earn would be £240,000”.
The situation has been likened to controversial subcontracting arrangements that are increasingly frowned upon elsewhere in the sector.
This usually sees lead providers skim off a hefty cut of up to 40 per cent of their total funding allocation in exchange for providing “management” services to subcontractors which deliver the actual training.
The case in Leicester is a little more unusual, given that Salad Skills is operating on the employer’s behalf.
Other brokerage schemes have seen providers obliged to pay fees to the civil service, various NHS trusts and Nottingham city council in order to win and maintain levy-funded contracts.
Funding rules were supposed to have changed last year to prevent brokerage. They state that “funds in an employer’s digital account or government-employer co-investment must not be used for specific services not related to the delivery and administration of the apprenticeship”.
Both Salad Skills and the council denied that this covered their particular arrangement.
“We’re neither a broker nor charge commission fees, and our quality-assurance, learner progress reviews and administration processes are in accordance with the council’s contract and ESFA guidelines which stipulate can be bought in from a third party,” said the company’s managing director Sarah Cripps.
“We don’t select the training providers, but identify those that offer the required apprenticeship frameworks and standards and meet the council’s due diligence criteria.”
Its monthly progress reviews include feedback from learners on their tutors and covering how they are progressing.
“Our successes to date include the highest ever learner retention rates for the council, tracking at just over 98 per cent,” she added.
The council claimed that its contract with Salad Skills covers mostly level two and three apprenticeships, including with local authority maintained schools.
“All procurement decisions regarding learning providers are made by the council, after due diligence by Salad Skills,” a spokesperson said.
“Our partnership is the most cost-effective way of running our apprenticeship programme – saving the council an estimated £50,000 to £75,000 per year.”
Large public sector employers have been obliged to pay the levy for the past year. Their payments flow into an account from which they are expected to draw in order to train apprentices.
The ESFA refused to say whether Leicester City Council is breaking funding rules with its arrangement.
A public services student is leading a new project to help Birmingham’s homeless population.
Nineteen-year-old Luca Buratti, a student at Stratford-upon-Avon College, has taken on the role of project leader in a scheme to turn a double-decker bus into a mobile shelter for rough sleepers.
The project is being run by the Rotary Club of Birmingham Breakfast, and Luca has been awarded membership of the group for his commitment to community projects and frequent charity work, including organising fundraisers for the Alzheimer’s Society, Blood Bikes and Warwickshire Hearts.
So far in his role as project leader, he has been responsible for securing the bus and liaising with the local council for permission to run the scheme.
“This is a fantastic project that will really reduce the problem of homelessness in Birmingham,” he said.
“Luca certainly personifies all the best qualities we hope to encourage in our students. We are tremendously proud of him for what he has achieved and for his public-spirited attitude in general,” added Aimee Clayden, the college’s public service lecturer.
The governors of a university technical college have been slammed for “abrogating” their responsibilities, in yet another damning Ofsted report into one of the 14-to-19 schools.
Medway UTC was branded ‘inadequate’ across the board in a report published this morning and based on an inspection in early March.
“Until very recently, governors have abrogated their responsibility for maintaining a high standard of education in the school,” the report said.
Governors and leaders at the school, which opened in 2015, had not “demonstrated that they have the capacity needed to secure the improvements needed”, and had “failed to support staff at all levels to do their jobs”.
There was a “culture of low expectation across the UTC”.
The sixth-form curriculum was “too narrow” and “does not meet requirements”, with a “lack of suitable and relevant non-qualification activities” to support students with their “chosen study programmes”.
A-level outcomes in 2017 were “poor”, and students’ progress was “significantly below the national average”. Current student progress remained ‘inadequate’.
“Students had been accepted on to courses without having previously obtained suitable skills or levels of understanding,” the report said.
Communication and partnerships with local employers was found to be “variable”, with some parents and students expressing “disappointment” at work experience placements.
But inspectors also noted that, following a recent change in leadership, “senior leaders and governors rightly recognise that the current provision is inadequate and pupils underachieve significantly”.
Paul Cottam, who took over as interim principal at Medway in January, said he was pleased that inspectors had recognised the improvements the school had already made.
“We are clearly not there yet and more needs to be done to ensure that Medway UTC is a good school which offers the very best learning experience and outcomes for its students,” he said.
The school is in “advanced talks” with Howard Academy Trust about joining the multi-academy trust, he added.
Medway is the latest in a series of UTCs to have hit troubled times.
It’s the sixth of the specialist technical education providers currently open to be rated ‘inadequate’, and it now means that 13 of the 26 existing UTCs that have been inspected are rated either grade three or four.
A further eight UTCs have so far closed, largely due to recruitment issues – six of which were grade three or four at the time they shut their doors.
Speaking at a Commons education committee hearing on Wednesday, Mr Osborne, who was involved in the inception of the project, said the model “clearly hasn’t worked” and “if I was back at the Treasury I would be looking at that”.
“There was a question mark at starting it at 14,” he told MPs. “There is an argument that I was digging into before I left office that moving school at 14 is not always the easiest thing and people are reluctant.”
Experts in Hedgehog care gathered at Hartpury College for an event promoting the animals’ welfare.
The Hedgehog Rehabilitation Symposium event attracted over 90 delegates from more than 35 different organisations, including wildlife hospitals and the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, who shared their tips on how to care for wild hedgehogs.
Sessions included presentations on the status of Britain’s hedgehog population, a talk from Nigel Reeve, the author of Hedgehogs, as well as a session with veterinary pathologist Alex Barlow, who dissected hedgehogs that had died in care to examine their cause of death.
“Hedgehog rehabilitation is largely funded by volunteers, giving up their time and money to care for sick and injured hedgehogs across the country,” said Lucy Bearman-Brown, a senior lecturer at Hartpury, and lead organiser of the event.
“To draw 90 delegates from so many organisations together was a fantastic opportunity to debate controversial issues, and explore ways we can work together to support best practice.”
A college owes the government almost £14 million in emergency bailout cash alone, but it still managed to scrape together the funds to pay its principal an eye-watering £266,000 last year.
Latest accounts show that the grade three Birmingham Metropolitan College owes more in exceptional financial support than any other college, yet Andrew Cleaves’ (pictured) salary makes him the second best-paid principal in the country.
A spokesperson insisted that the massive pay package is warranted, despite the issues that have developed under his watch that have left BMet owing huge sums to the government.
“The college’s pay policy reflects the skills needed to run a complex multimillion-pound organisation,” she said.
Details of the sums owed and Mr Cleaves’ salary were included in the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s 2016/17 college accounts, published last week.
They show the college owed the ESFA a whopping £13.8 million in support loans, of which £11.7 million is due to be repaid within one year.
According to BMet’s own published accounts, the debt stems from a £16 million bailout loan provided by the ESFA to the college in August 2015 as part of a recovery plan.
The funding agency “reinforced its support” to the college by “providing an interest-free £16 million loan to the college in 2015/16”.
“£1.5 million was repaid during 2015/16 and a further £0.7 million in 2016/17, leaving an outstanding amount of £13.8 million to be paid over the next two years,” the accounts said.
In addition, the college owed a further £1.7 million “in respect of historic funding irregularities”.
The ESFA had “agreed to combine the repayments” of both debts into one loan, “the terms of which are currently being renegotiated”, on the condition that the college sells “certain properties” and “uses the proceeds to repay the ESFA loan”.
“It is anticipated £13.8 million will be raised from the disposals of buildings, the remaining £1.7 million will be repaid from working capital.”
Despite these debts Mr Cleaves, who has run BMet since 2014, was paid £266,000 on top of pension contributions of £37,000 – a figure that remained almost unchanged from the previous year.
He has the second highest remuneration of any leader of a single college in England, behind only former North Hertfordshire College boss Matt Hamnett, who received almost £300,000 in 2016/17.
The college’s pay policy reflects the skills needed to run a complex multimillion-pound organisation
The ESFA accounts list the principal’s salary at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, formed through the merger of Northbrook College and City College Brighton and Hove in March last year, as being higher than that of Mr Cleaves.
However, the college said that this was the combined salary of the two principals that led the two colleges before they merged.
BMet, which was rated ‘requires improvement’ at its most recent inspection in March last year, is one of the largest colleges in the country, with an income of £61.3 million and 16,000 learners in 2016/17.
It has held a notice of concern for financial health since July 2015.
Its EFS debt is larger than that owed by any other college, according to the ESFA’s accounts.
They revealed that 29 colleges owed a combined total of almost £120 million – an increase of £29 million, or almost a third compared with the previous year.
Other colleges with massive bailout debts include Central Sussex College, which owed £13 million, and City of Bristol College, which owed £9.5 million.
EFS – which can come in the form of a grant or a loan – is only available to colleges that are “encountering financial, or cashflow, difficulties that put the continuation of provision at risk”, and which have “exhausted all other options”.
The government has indicated that these bailouts will be phased out with the new FE insolvency regime later this year.
Cruelties in the way much-needed welfare is handed out to NEET families is preventing their children from social mobility, writes Andrée Deane-Barron
Why would the government establish policy that so defiantly restricts the progress of another? I am referring to the welfare benefits system and its adverse effect on the take-up of apprenticeships, especially among those who are in most need of training and employment.
This barrier to improved life choices and opportunities is a restriction on social mobility and social justice – and the current situation doesn’t help the government’s target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.
When a young person starts an apprenticeship they earn a wage that’s not often much higher than the £3.70-an-hour legal minimum.
Nevertheless, their parents will generally lose their entitlement to housing benefit, child tax credit and child benefit. No consideration is made for the lower wage apprentices earn, nor the fact that many of these young people remain dependent on their parents.
According to the latest DWP statistics, housing benefit averages approximately £95 per week, the child tax credit is worth nearly £60 per week, while weekly child benefit is £20.70.
In some circumstances losing these benefits can end as a reduction of several thousand pounds a year, a loss which would be significant for nearly any family, let alone one already is struggling to manage.
It makes absolutely no sense that our welfare system doesn’t address these consequences
Understandably, parents often discourage their dependants from taking on an apprenticeship and, catastrophically, are forced to accept that they remain not in education employment or training (NEET).
According to a 2010 study, those who have spent time out of work and education are far more likely to be unemployed later in life. The average individual life-time cost to the Treasury of somebody being NEET is £56,300, but more important is the cost to an individual’s self-esteem and self-worth.
It makes absolutely no sense that our welfare system doesn’t address these consequences: the human cost of this waste of public money is appalling. Apprenticeships have the capacity to transform lives and give young people the tools they need to succeed, regardless of where they’ve come from, and the benefits system shouldn’t be holding young people back.
In our latest ‘Transforming education’ manifesto, Central YMCA called on the government to remove barriers for learners, but again and again our cries have remained unanswered.
It is understandable that enthusiasm for welfare reform is low given the colossal task of rolling out universal credit, and perhaps changes to schemes that are soon to become legacy benefits, such as housing benefit and child tax credit, are unlikely.
Child benefit however is not included in universal credit, and alone amounts to over £1,000 per year for families. Ensuring that parents can keep this benefit when a young person in their household becomes an apprentice surely isn’t a mammoth task, and it’s one that should have cross-party support given the apparent bipartisan consensus on the need to promote apprenticeships and encourage social mobility.
When I gave evidence to the education select committee a couple of weeks ago, this consensus certainly seemed evident, and many members agreed with me that the government really shouldn’t be passing up such a relatively easy hit.
I’m hopeful therefore that the committee will join Central YMCA in pushing for reform, but we know that changes to the welfare system alone won’t solve everything. There are other barriers for learners, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have learning difficulties and disabilities.
I wholeheartedly agree with the social mobility commission’s proposal to adopt a more ambitious and unifying approach in order to maximise everyone’s life chances and enable them to achieve their aspirations.
Individual ministers have taken some action over the years to improve social mobility, and I wouldn’t want to deny anybody’s personal commitment, but often it seems cross-departmental issues like these fall through the cracks.
It is only when the government takes an overarching approach to social mobility will issues such as the unintended negative impact of the benefits system be avoided.
Andrée Deane-Barron is education and skills director at Central YMCA Group
Two high-powered alumni of Kirklees College have returned to their former stomping grounds in Huddersfield to talk about their careers journeys.
The co-creator of The X Factor, Siobhan Greene, and Dean Hoyle, who founded the greeting cards chain Card Factory, both paid a recent visit to their former college.
The pair returned as guest speakers at the Huddersfield Town Enterprise Academy meeting, fielding questions from delegates about what made them.
The event was run in partnership between the college and Huddersfield Town AFC as a way of introducing local business people, and encouraging them to work together.
Hosted at the college’s Landings 72 restaurant, guests were also presented with a breakfast prepared by catering staff and students. “As someone who is Huddersfield born and bred, I’m immensely proud of our town and the accomplishments of its residents,” said Lydia Butterworth, head of sales and marketing at the college.
“It was fascinating to hear from our alumni Dean and Siobhan, who were informative and entertaining in equal measures.”
Thousands of young people are having their recent exam failures reversed, thanks to a change in the design of certain qualifications. FE Week looked into what’s going on: who’s making the change, why it has happened and how many learners are affected.
More than 1,300 learners who failed courses last year are now being told they’ve passed – including some who’d already dropped out of education.
Ofqual is responsible for their stroke of luck: the exams regulator has reinterpreted rules on reformed level three applied general and tech level qualifications, which introduced for teaching from 2016.
Most of these were designed so learners had to pass all their externally assessed exams to achieve the final qualification. That changed last month, after Ofqual wrote to awarding organisations asking them to create a “safety net” for learners who had narrowly failed one or more of their exams.
Awarding giant Pearson, whose BTECs account for the majority of the qualifications affected, has confirmed that 1,300 learners at 270 of its centres have been affected.
Some learners who sat externally assessed units in 2017 and 2018 are now eligible to achieve a qualification when previously they weren’t
“Some learners who sat externally assessed units in 2017 and 2018 are now eligible to achieve a qualification when previously they weren’t,” a spokesperson said.
“We have communicated with all providers about this change to ensure that all learners receive the qualification they deserve.”
Applied general qualifications and tech levels are vocational or technical alternatives to A-levels that can lead onto higher education or employment. The change is expected to have an impact on providers’ achievement rates, though the ESFA seems reluctant to make official changes.
Learners on two-year courses who are due to complete their qualifications this summer are affected, as well as those who finished one-year foundation courses last summer.
The true number of learners to get the good news might be much higher; two other major awarding organisations offering similar qualifications told FE Week that they had introduced changes as a result of Ofqual’s letter, though neither could say how many learners will be affected.
Ofqual itself was similarly unable to predict how many people would now qualify.
A spokesperson confirmed that its advice was issued “knowing that there was a case for retrospective regrading”, and that the regulator had “modelled the potential impact of assessment changes” with a number of awarding organisations, including Pearson.
One assessment expert who did not want to be named warned that learners could have “lost out” on a year of education or training, or found themselves unable to progress onto other education or training.
FE Week contacted a number of colleges that are among the 100s to have learners affected by the safety net change (see table below).
Some said several learners had dropped out after failing their courses last year, though many were permitted to carry on into the second year in an effort to boost their grades.
Uxbridge College said that 10 learners on one course will have their results reversed. It is petitioning the Education and Skills Funding Agency to have these changes reflected in official achievement statistics.
This represents a 19-per-cent increase in the success rate on that course, and a 0.1-per-cent uptick in overall 16-to-18 achievement rates.
But the ESFA insisted that it had “no immediate plans” to amend achievement rates – although it would keep this under review.
The courses were reformed in 2016 to make them more rigorous, under rules set out by the Department for Education.
These rules have not changed, but a spokesperson said the DfE had “recently reiterated guidance to ensure consistency”.
According to Ofqual statistics, there were 144,855 tech level certificates issued in 2016/17, and 222,445 applied general certificates.
Pearson, has by far the largest share of both: 79,970, or 55 per cent, of the tech levels and 180,225 or 81 per cent of the applied general.
Other awarding bodies include UAL and OCR, which had a nine- and six-per-cent share respectively of applied general qualifications in 2016/17. City and Guilds is the second largest awarding body for tech levels, responsible for 31,945 or 22 per cent.
An Ofqual spokesperson said it is “pleased” that Pearson had applied the change to BTECs.
“In weighing up the need to make changes to their qualifications, we asked awarding organisations to ensure appropriate standards were achieved in these new qualifications,” they said.
Click to enlarge
Spreading the news: How have providers been affected?
Hundreds of providers have now been given the joyous task of telling students who previously failed their courses that they have now passed.
Original failures for these learners would have had huge consequences: they might have been rejected from university, stopped from progressing onto higher courses or missed out on potential jobs.
For the training providers themselves, achievement rates would have taken a hit – meaning current government figures are not a true reflection of their training offer.
Although most are still trying to figure out the ramifications for themselves, a number of colleges with over 50 affected students between them, gave FE Week their initial reaction.
Uxbridge College has 10 learners on applied science courses affected, and some are now even being told that they actually achieved an overall ‘merit’.
However, the college said it took a “local decision at the time based on our own assessment and knowledge of the students’ standards and achievements in this qualification, before this was known, in order to not disadvantage these learners”.
All 10 were allowed to progress into their second year of the extended diploma “in an effort to improve their grades”.
It is not considered that these learners will be unduly and adversely affected by the change
“It is not considered that these learners will be unduly and adversely affected by the change and can focus their attention on improving the quality of the grades they obtain,” a spokesperson said.
However, she added that there is an impact on the college’s achievement rates.
“The changes do represent a 19-per-cent increase in the achievement rate of the applied science course and a 0.1-per-cent improvement to the overall 16-to-18 achievement rate for HCUC [the merged institution of Harrow and Uxbridge College], which at 85.5 per cent is now the highest among west London colleges and third across London colleges.”
She added that the college will make “representations” to the ESFA to ensure these results are reflected in the overall data record.
South Essex College was told by Pearson that it had 12 students affected.
“We are working with these students to support them through the process,” a spokesperson said.
“Six left the college to pursue other employment opportunities while six are continuing their studies at the college by progressing on to a different course.”
The Sheffield College had 20 students affected.
“The majority of those, 15, have re-enrolled and continued with the second year of their course,” a spokesperson explained. “We are in the process of contacting all of those affected.”
NCG, which had 3,160 students on the level three diplomas last year, knows of nine students at two of its colleges affected so far. Other colleges in the group are still waiting to hear if they have any learners affected.
A spokesperson said the group is “monitoring the impact closely and will liaise with learners at the earliest opportunity”.
Nottingham College and Exeter College informed FE Week that they only have a handful of students affected but said it was too soon to comment.
The rules explained and what has changed
Level three applied general and tech level qualifications were reformed in 2016, so that they could be counted in the Department for Education’s 16-to-19 performance measures.
The qualifications were designed to meet technical specifications set out by the DfE, which include a portion of external assessment.
These rules don’t say that learners have to pass all of their exams to achieve their qualification, but that was how most of the courses were designed, including those offered by Pearson.
This meant, for example, that a learner who had a distinction in three out of four exams but who narrowly failed one exam would fail the overall qualification.
In its letter, Ofqual said it is “concerned that this may impact the validity of grades issued and is not fair to students who narrowly miss passing one or more units”.
It asked the AOs to “provide a safety net for students who narrowly pass on one or more externally-assessed units” on these courses, so that a learner could still pass the overall qualification without having to pass all the externally-assessed exams.
It’s not clear where the original interpretation of the rules came from, or the impetus for Ofqual’s letter.
The DfE is insisting that its rules haven’t changed.
“We have always been clear with awarding organisations about the standard that is expected and nothing has changed. We recently reiterated the guidance to ensure consistency,” a spokesperson said.
An Ofqual blog post on the topic said AOs had designed the qualifications to meet official guidelines that learners had to pass every externally assessed exam.
Awarding organisations would have had to submit their qualifications to the DfE for inclusion in the list of awards that count towards the performance measures.
Reviewing tolerances: What are awarding organisations doing?
Pearson is by far and away the biggest provider of both applied general and tech level qualifications, though other major awarding organisations including City and Guilds and OCR also offer their own versions of these courses.
OCR offers both applied general and tech level qualifications through its level three Cambridge Technicals (2016) suite of courses.
A spokesperson said it would be “introducing a near-pass unit grade for this summer’s exams” for all qualifications in the suite, and that the change would be applied retrospectively.
However, it couldn’t say how many learners would have their results changed.
“We’re running the data checks now and will be in touch with any affected centres as soon as possible,” they said.
At this stage we cannot give exact figures of how many learners will be impacted
Similarly, City and Guilds, which offers tech levels, will be introducing a yet-to-be-determined “tolerance” for learners that would be completing their courses this year.
It intends to “consider those results that are within a tolerance of marks below the pass mark as having achieved the component”.
A spokesperson said the body is still “reviewing options” for learners that completed courses last year, and would “communicate further to centres once we have been through this process”.
“At this stage we cannot give exact figures of how many learners will be impacted,” she said.
AAT also offers tech levels. A spokesperson said it will be “reviewing what actions it needs to take in light of Ofqual’s letter, if any”.
And VTCT will be consulting over the summer before making any changes to its applied general qualifications in sports, active health and fitness.
It is “considering assigning a minimum points threshold” that would allow learners to pass the qualification without having to pass every external assessment.
Not every awarding organisation is making changes to their courses, however.
Graham Hastings-Evans, managing director of NOCN, which offers tech levels, said it “will not need to” do so, as “no learners have been adversely affected”.
Julie Hyde, the director of CACHE, said it had “determined that no safety net was required” for either the NCFE CACHE technical or NCFE applied general qualifications, after “reviewing the assessment strategy and purpose” of the courses “alongside consultation directly with Ofqual”.
The IMI is “not intending to make any changes” to its tech level qualifications”, and ActiveIQ, which offers tech levels, “cannot adjust the qualifications’ assessment specification”.
A spokesperson for University of the Arts London, which issued the second highest number of applied general qualification certificates in 2016/17, said its courses aren’t subject to the Department for Education’s rules. As a result it didn’t need to make any changes, and none of its students were affected.
A college that charged up to 57 per cent in management fees has been found to be attempting to use up £100,000 of skills funding with tactical subcontracting.
But the Education and Skills Funding Agency has refused to say whether it will take enforcement action over what appears to be a clear breach of funding rules.
According to a posting on the government’s contract finder website from late April, Stephenson College is on the lookout for subcontractors to deliver part of its adult education budget for less than three months.
The contract worth £100,000 will run from May 14 to July 31. Bids from interested providers were requested by May 4.
The duration of under three months suggests it’s a tactical move to use up unspent adult education budget.
Funding rules state that providers “must not subcontract to meet short-term funding objectives”.
We ultimately wouldn’t have this problem if those that delivered got the funding directly
But the ESFA said it could not comment on this specific case – even though it has begun a subcontracting crackdown to ensure funding is used for “recognised costs”.
The college avoided repeated opportunities for almost a week to defend itself.
It also declined to justify management fees topping 50 per cent, as detailed in its subcontracting supply-chain policy, which is supposed to be reviewed in November.
“Stephenson College retains a management fee from all subcontracted partner organisations; typically this is between 22 to 57 per cent,” it said.
The policy was changed shortly after FE Week’s enquiry.
After taking six days to respond, a spokesperson eventually said: “The subcontracting supply chain fees and charging policy on our website reflects our current practice.”
The policy was actually updated on May 1, one day before the statement was issued.
It now says that the subcontracting charge is “typically” 20 per cent.
Mark Dawe, the head of AELP, said this proportion should be the “absolute maximum”.
If Stephenson College or any other provider is breaking funding rules on subcontracting, he insisted that the ESFA needs to “enforce them”.
“We ultimately wouldn’t have this problem if those that delivered got the funding directly,” he stressed.
In March, AELP, the adult community education body Holex, and provider group Collab all signed up to new best-practice guidance that lead providers should charge no more than 20 per cent in management fees.
Lead providers often claim that pricey management fees are necessary to cover administrative costs, but many in the sector, including the education committee chair Robert Halfon, believe that too much money is being diverted from frontline learning.
Management fees of up to 40 per cent, as were infamously charged by Learndirect, have long been a source of major controversy – but this figure pales in comparison with Stephenson College’s 57 per cent.
The college has an AEB allocation of £2,182,600 for 2017/18. It currently has a single declared subcontractor, Canal Engineering Limited, which delivers £80,000 of AEB on the college’s behalf, according to the ESFA’s list.
Four subcontractors delivered AEB and apprenticeships provision worth £206,730 on behalf of the college in 2016/17 – of which it retained £40,813, or a little under 20 per cent, according to the college’s website.
But in 2015/16 it retained a massive 40-per-cent cut on a subcontract with one provider worth £186,163.
Last month the ESFA announced it would be reviewing subcontracting fees and charges, and any changes will come into force from August.
“The ESFA rules are clear that providers must not subcontract to meet short-term funding objectives,” a DfE spokesperson said. “The ESFA investigates such cases and can take action where necessary.”
Sessions included presentations on the status of Britain’s hedgehog population, a talk from Nigel Reeve, the author of Hedgehogs, as well as a session with veterinary pathologist Alex Barlow, who dissected hedgehogs that had died in care to examine their cause of death.
