The government appears to have broken its own rules in its Institutes of Technology competition, by putting NCG through to the final bidding round despite the group’s grade three Ofsted rating.

An update about the IoTs process was published yesterday which stated the Department for Education has now sent “interim guidance” about the next stage to the 16 providers successful in the previous round.

Surprisingly, however, the largest college group in the country was still included in the list of finalists even though it was downgraded to ‘requires improvement’ by the education watchdog last month.

DfE guidance for opening an IoT states that a provider’s Ofsted grade must be at least ‘good’.

A spokesperson for the department explained that NCG will need to improve its Ofsted rating by November to have a chance of getting approved.

“Applicants to the Institutes of Technology competition required at least a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted when stage one opened in December 2017,” she said.

”The deadline for stage two applications is in November 2018, and we require applicants to have at least a ‘good’ rating at that time or they will not progress further in the process.”

It was understood from DfE insiders that NCG would be thrown out of the IoT process following its grade three.

The apparent special treatment is likely to infuriate a number of other grade three providers who didn’t get the chance to apply in the first IoT round.

It will also raise questions about whether the decision to allow NCG to continue in the process is because the college group is now chaired by the former chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency which appears to be giving the go ahead to the rule break.

Two teams of inspectors were deployed to NCG in May, in a visit prompted by achievement rate concerns.

Ofsted then took little over a month to publish its report, giving it a damaging ‘requires improvement’ rating in all but two of the headline fields judges.

Yesterday’s IoT update said the DfE expects to publish the official guidance for the final stage in September, with the outcome then revealed in March 2019.

Each of the 16 providers are bidding for a share of a £170 million pot to open an institute.

IoTs, which were first mooted back in 2015, are intended to bring FE and HE providers together with employers to deliver technical skills training, with a particular focus on levels four and five.

According to application guidance from the DfE, they will offer “higher-level technical skills on a par with more academic routes” and will “achieve the same level of prestige as universities”.

Ofqual will soon begin auditing apprenticeship end-point assessment organisations to find out how they are mitigating risks around the capacity and capability of assessors.

The exams regulator today confirmed its approach to its external quality assurance of EPAs, by publishing a final set of rules.

The conditions and guidance, which come into force tomorrow, will lead to Ofqual carrying out audits of end-point assessment organisations to fish out any issues with examiners.

It comes after chief regulator Sally Collier (pictured) said she was concerned about assessor capacity and capability at the AELP conference last month.

She made a plea for delegates to help keep tabs on EPAs by joining an expert panel that looks into their technical problems.

“With these rules in place, we are now beginning a programme of work on the delivery of EPAs,” Ofqual said today.

“This will include a programme of audits to help understand how the EPAOs we regulate are mitigating risks around the capacity and capability of EPA assessors.

“Where an apprenticeship trailblazer group has selected Ofqual as the external quality assurer for its apprenticeship standard, all EPAOs offering EPAs for that standard must be (or become) Ofqual-regulated and all EPAs must meet these new conditions and our general conditions of recognition.”

The regulator reiterated, as Ms Collier did at the AELP conference, that it was not “lowering the recognition bar”.

It has instead “streamlined our recognition process for organisations seeking to offer EPAs, and we will be publishing further information in the coming weeks so that all organisations are able to decide at an early stage whether Ofqual regulation is for them”.

Today’s published set of rules include a number of amendments to original proposals following a two-month consultation earlier this year.

Included is a change which allows some parts of the EPA to take place at the training centre where the apprentice studied, as well as clarity around what end-point assessment organisations must contain and how specifications must be published.

Ofqual has so far been asked to provide external quality assurance for 55 apprenticeship standards – with another 37 in the pipeline.

As an EQA, the exams regulator also includes a technical evaluation of a proposed EPAs, to ensure that EPAOs have “interpreted assessment plans correctly and consistently so that employers get what they want and expect from the assessments”.

Ofqual has looked at 19 EPAs so far and asked EPAOs to make changes where required.

EQA providers oversee EPA assessment procedures and employer groups who develop new apprenticeships can choose the body that regulates their standards.

They can opt for one of four different EQA options: Ofqual, the Institute for Apprenticeships, a professional body, or an employer designed option.

Over three quarters of a million pounds will be invested in colleges over the next two years to engage inactive students in sport and physical activity.

AoC Sport announced today that Sport England will devote the sizeable chunk of its National Lottery funding to colleges from September 1, 2018 until August 31, 2020.

It will be used to run a series of “targeted interventions” aimed at increasing the levels of physical activity within “lower socio-economic groups, women and girls, inactive students and volunteers”.

According to Sport England, nearly one in five students at FE colleges in England are currently not active enough – which means 138,000 students are doing less than the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity each week.

“We are delighted that Sport England are continuing to invest in the college sector,” said AoC Sport managing director, Marcus Kingwell.

“Our vision is every student active and this funding will help us target the most inactive young people in colleges, which in turn will benefit their education, employability and health.”

The interventions planned over the next two years include a “This Girl Can Ambassador” programme, where ambassadors in at least 60 colleges will be trained to promote and deliver physical activity and sport to female college students.

They’ll encourage “non-traditional activities”, such as Raveminton Open in a new window which involves playing badminton under ultra-violet lights with fluorescent lines, neon nets and shuttlecocks sprayed with UV paint, as well as tag American football, and bubble football – where five-a-side football players go up against each while wearing an inflatable orb.

The funding will also be used to increase the diversity of student volunteers to “better reflect society,” an AoC Sport spokesperson said.

To achieve this, the association will work with departments in colleges other than sport with a diverse population to “ensure opportunities are available to all students”.

A marketing campaign which will include guidelines on regularity and intensity will also be launched to “start the conversation” on what being inactive actually means.

The £760,000 is in addition to the £5 million Sport England has already invested into 49 colleges, as part of the Tackling Inactivity in Colleges programme.

Cassell Bailey, head of children and young people (education) at Sport England, said: “College is a time when students often stop participating in sport and physical activity so this investment is a great opportunity to embed this into their lifestyles so they can continue to be active for years to come.

“Not only will it help improve their physical and mental health, it can also help them prepare for the challenge of university or the workplace.”

Sport England invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.

A subsidiary company of the Association of Colleges, AoC Sport is a membership organisation which campaigns for every college student to participate regularly in physical activity.

FE Week has previously been media partner for the AoC Sport National Championships.

Training providers will have their European Social Fund cash protected until the end of 2020, even if a “no-deal” Brexit is reached.

Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) made the promise today that any funding that organisations secure through EU programmes will be “guaranteed” by the UK government until that date.

It was always the case that the current ESF funding round, worth about €3 billion (£2.3billion) across England, would run over the period from 2014 to 2020.

But questions were raised if this would still happen in the event of the government and the EU ending Brexit negotiations without agreeing departure terms in 2019.

“The Treasury will guarantee funding for UK organisations which successfully bid directly to the European Commission until the end of this EU budget period if no deal is agreed,” the Treasury said today.

This will give potential applicants “continued confidence to bid for funding whatever the outcome of the negotiations, and ensure that UK organisations continue to benefit from funding post-Exit”.

The ESF was cash that the UK received, as a member state of the EU, to increase job opportunities and help people to improve their skill levels, particularly those who find it difficult to get work.

Although providers will be pleased that this current funding round of ESF is guaranteed to run until 2020, many are still concerned what happens after that deadline.

In April, the work and pensions committee said the government must “urgently” design a successor programme to the ESF to avoid a “disastrous” post-Brexit funding gap.

Leaving the EU gave the UK a “historic opportunity” to “design a truly world-class successor” programme that was “entirely in its national interests: plugging skills gaps, boosting productivity and lifting up disadvantaged communities,” the report said.

But it warned the government “must act now to guarantee certainty for providers and communities and avoid a potentially disastrous interruption in funding”.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Mr Hammond said: “We continue to make positive steps towards getting the best possible deal with the EU – one that works for the whole of the UK.

“The guarantee we are making today however means that, even in the unlikely event of a no-deal, our businesses, universities and local authorities can be confident that they will continue to receive the funding they successfully bid for from any EU programme.”

The Department for Education has this morning published its annual report, revealing payoffs, various bonuses and millions in unrecoverable debt.

The accounts sets out the expenditure and performance of the department over the period April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018.

FE Week has the main findings:

 

1. Hinds’ ministerial direction ‘demonstrated strong commitment’ to T-levels

The accounts take note of the education secretary’s rare ministerial direction on the implementation of the new technical qualifications.

On May 17 Jonathan Slater drew attention to the ambitious timetable and the challenge in ensuring that the first three T-levels would be ready to be taught from 2020 and beyond to a consistently high standard.

But education secretary Damian Hinds, having “considered the advice in detail”, was “convinced of the case to press ahead”. The direction “demonstrated the government’s strong commitment to the future success of the T-level programme,” according to the accounts.

 

2. Justine Greening was handed a £16k payoff

The former education secretary was given a £16,876 severance payment when she left the department in January.

Damian Hinds replaced her and he was paid £15,425 salary until the end of the year.

Former skills minister Robert Halfon received no pay-off when he was sacked in June. But he did pick up £7,000 including pension on top of his MPs salary for his time as a skills minister that year.

Anne Milton joined on June 12 and received £25,432 until the end of the year. The overall salary for a skills minister has not changed, and sits at £31,680 for a full year.

 

3. Bonuses for senior staff

Three DfE directors received bonuses in 2017-18. Peter Lauener, the former chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency received between £20,000 and £25,000 despite numerous torubles before he left, including two procurement fiascos and the Learndirect scandal.

Andrew McCully, the director general for infrastructure and funding, got between £10,000 and £15,000, and Paul Kett, director general for education standards, received between £5,000 and £10,000.

 

4. Presidents Club organiser Meller was paid £27k

Apprenticeships ambassador and businessman David Meller resigned as a non-executive board member at the DfE in January following revelations about the controversial Presidents Club charity dinner.

He set up the Meller Educational Trust, which runs four schools and a university technical college, and served as chair of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.

But he was also the co-chair of the charity set up to run the dinner, which was rocked by allegations of sexual harassment by guests following a Financial Times investigation.

Most non-executive board members are unpaid. However, DfE accounts show Meller was one of three to receive remuneration, paid £15,000 in 2016-17 and £12,500 in 2017-18.

The same payments were also made to board member Marion Plant, while Baroness McGregor Smith received £17,500 in 2016-17 and £15,000 in 2017-18.

 

5. Over £60m lost because of poor colleges and failed UTCs

As revealed in the ESFA’s annual accounts last week, the DfE waived huge amounts owing to its exceptional financial support for colleges.

The college with the biggest amount waived was Hull, where the ESFA abandoned £21,267,000. The second was Central Sussex College with £12,098,000, followed by Bournville College, which had £10.5 million waived.

Three failed University Technical Colleges – Daventry, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire – had a combined total of £3,137,000 written off as a result of closure.

 

6. Staff costs increased and spending on consultants and temporary staff on the rise

In 2017-18 the DfE spent £535 million on paying wages, up from £473 million the previous year.

The DfE meanwhile spent £9 million on consultancy in 2017-18, up from £6 million last year and £3.5 million in 2015-16.

Spending on temporary staff also rose to £27.2 million, up from £22.5 million last year.

 

7. The DfE employs 127 people ‘off-payroll’

The department and its various agencies is paying 127 staff off-payroll – something the Treasury isn’t too keen on because it means staff could use it as a tax dodge to pay a lower rate of tax.

These employees are paid more than £245 a day.

This includes 32 at the department itself, 54 at the ESFA and 21 at the Standards and Testing Agency.

Of the 127 arrangements, 27 have been in place for less than a year, 46 have been in place for between one and two years, 20 for between two and three years, nine between three and four years and 25 for more than four years.

 

8. 35 colleges in formal intervention

As at August 31, 2017, there were 35 colleges in intervention due to poor financial health. This was a decrease from the 40 at the same point in 2016.

Colleges that are in inadequate financial health can be referred to the FE Commissioner, who will conduct an intervention assessment.

 

9. Research spending has doubled in two years

In 2017-18, the DfE spent £22.6 million on research, compared to £16.7 million in 2016-17 and £11.1 million in 2015-16.

However, during that time, the DfE has grown in size, having taken on responsibility for adult skills and higher education in 2016.

None of its “key research strands” were for FE.

An independent specialist college showed the best of FE this week as it maintained its ‘outstanding’ rating, but the worst of the sector was also displayed when a private provider was branded ‘inadequate’.

Foxes Academy, based in Somerset, was given a grade one across the board for the third time since 2007, in a report published on July 19.

It is a residential college and training hotel for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities – taking learners from across the country whose disabilities include hearing impairments, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.

“Learners epitomise the values of staying safe and healthy, enjoying and achieving their qualifications, becoming independent and contributing positively to society,” Ofsted said.

“Learners make exceptional progress in developing their confidence, communication and interpersonal skills, enabling them to make their views known effectively and contribute to improving the college.

“The vast majority of learners gain long-term employment or are successful in moving into independent living accommodation.”

Inspectors found that the curriculum and range of support, such as speech and language therapy, are “very well designed and delivered”. They raise learners’ “aspirations and enable them to develop their independence and work skills very well”.

Partnerships with employers are also “excellent and productive, assisting learners to enjoy highly effective work experience or work placements”.

“The real working environment of the Foxes Hotel enhances the experiences of learners very successfully,” inspectors added.

On the other end of the spectrum, a provider which trains hundreds of glass industry apprentices was given Ofsted’s lowest possible grade, in a damaging report which led to the Education and Skills Funding Agency withdrawing its funding.

The Vocational College Limited, based in Liverpool, has now ceased trading.

“Too many” apprentices were said to be making slow or very slow progress,” inspectors said.

“They are unable to complete the apprenticeship by the planned end date due to weak management of the programme and poor teaching, learning and assessment.”

It was better news for BCTG Limited, a private provider based in Oldbury, which improved from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’.

Leaders provide “clear strategic leadership and are ambitious” for their 3,279 learners.

“Managers work effectively with local and regional partnerships to identify and provide education and training that meet the needs of employers, learners and apprentices,” inspectors said.

“Most learners and apprentices achieve their qualifications by the planned end date.”

The majority also progress towards employment or gain promotions in their jobs, Ofsted’s team added.

Also going from a grade three to a two was Waverley Training Services, an adult and community learning provider which trains around 950 learners on study programmes and apprenticeships in Surrey.

“Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have made changes that have improved the standards of teaching and learning so that a much higher proportion is good,” inspectors said.

“Staff at Waverley Training Services support employability learners well to remain on their courses and overcome problems that have prevented them from achieving in the past.”

Going in the opposite direction was Strathmore College.

This independent specialist college, based in Stoke-on-Trent, went from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ because governors and senior leaders pay “insufficient attention to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment”.

It trains learners who have mild to severe learning disabilities, and emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

“Staff training in the ‘Prevent’ duty has not yet led to learners having a secure understanding of the risks of radicalisation and extremism,” Ofsted said.

“Leaders and managers have not made sufficient arrangements for learners to receive impartial careers education, advice and guidance to enable them to make informed choices.”

Meanwhile, there were two monitoring visit reports of “new” apprenticeship providers published this week.

Bauer Radio Limited, based in Edinburgh, and Sccu Ltd in Coventry, were both deemed to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in all fields judged.

Lastly, three short inspections were released in which all providers maintained their ‘good’ grades.

These were for Prevista Ltd, a private provider in London, The Northumberland Council, and the Heart of Birmingham Vocational College, another independent specialist college.

 

Independent Specialist College	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Foxes Academy	13/06/2018	19/07/2018	1	1
Strathmore College	05/06/2018	18/07/2018	3	2

 

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
BCTG Limited	12/06/2018	20/07/2018	2	3
Sccu Ltd	06/06/2018	19/07/2018	M	M
Bauer Radio Limited	25/06/2018	18/07/2018	M	M
The Vocational College Limited	05/06/2018	16/07/2018	4	2

 

Adult and Community Learning	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Waverley Training Services	12/06/2018	20/07/2018	2	3

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2)	Inspected	Published
The Northumberland Council	20/06/2018	19/07/2018
Prevista Ltd	12/06/2018	16/07/2018
Heart of Birmingham Vocational College	27/06/2018	20/07/2018

The Department for Education spent more than £90 million on university technical college and studio school projects that went on to fail, new data shows.

The government updated its register of capital spending on free schools, which includes the acquisition and construction costs for the 14 to 19 technical institutions.

Analysis of the data shows that, since 2010, £63,983,295 has been spent on eight UTCs that went on to close or announce closure.

A further £28,926,340 has been shelled out for 17 studio school projects that didn’t work out.

The actual spend is likely to be higher, as some of the doomed schools have not yet been included in the government’s data.

In total, 26 studio schools and nine UTCs have either closed or announced plans to shut.

The government has also admitted today that it handed a UTC site worth £10.3 million to a university after the college closed down.

Annual accounts of the Education and Skills Funding Agency reveal that the site previously occupied by UTC Lancashire until it closed in 2017 was handed over to the University of Central Lancashire.

This resulted in a “gift” of £10.3 million from the ESFA to the university being listed in the accounts after the site was given up.

Overall, the government has spent more than £407 million on UTCs and studio schools since 2010.