Time to close the loophole that harms Catholic SFCs

A legal anomaly is stopping Catholic sixth-form colleges from reaping the benefits of academisation. Putting this right would be a simple matter, writes Paul Barber.

In the wider Catholic school sector there are a variety of legal safeguards which protect the distinct character and ethos of Catholic schools – for instance the emphasis put on religious education.

These legal protections have been in place, and have largely stayed the same, since the Butler Act in 1944. When academy legislation was brought in and developed by successive governments, Catholic schools were allowed to keep the same safeguards which protected their Catholic character when they converted from a voluntary-aided school to an academy.

We remain hopeful that this legal anomaly will be resolved

However, because academisation legislation for sixth-form colleges was developed separately from schools, the same safeguards given to schools were omitted for Catholic SFCs – as FE Week reported last week. This was done not out of any malice towards the church, but because of our relative size in the FE sector.

Because the Catholic Church is the largest provider of secondary education and the second largest provider of primary education in the country, accounting for one in 10 of all schools, any academy legislation for schools would naturally have to take into account the uniqueness of our sector. With just 14 Catholic SFCs in England, our sector was simply not big enough to register.

The situation in which this legal anomaly has left the Church is frustrating for several reasons.

It is holding back colleges that want to convert to academies for the VAT boon this would bring, which could be so easily rectified with one line of legislation. Moreover, the Church actually has sixth-form colleges which are academy sponsors for schools whilst being unable to convert themselves.

The Catholic Education Service has a strong working relationship with the Department for Education which is fully aware of the issue and how it is specifically affecting our sector. We remain hopeful that this legal anomaly will be resolved as and when the next piece of education legislation is brought to Parliament.

READ MORE: Catholic sixth-form colleges demand academisation protection

Because of the size of the Catholic school sector in this country, people often overlook the Catholic further and higher education establishments which the Church runs.

As the longest-serving provider of education in the country, the mission of the Church has always been to educate the whole person, allowing them to achieve their best, whatever their best may be.

A key part of this is providing a wide variety of education establishments to help young people succeed throughout the entirety of their academic life.

Much of this has been through the provision of sixth-form education. The vast majority of Catholic sixth forms are attached to existing schools, but there are also 15 standalone Catholic sixth-form colleges – 14 in England and one in Wales.

To this extent, the only standalone SFCs to have a religious character in England are all maintained by the Catholic Church.

Like all other Catholic nurseries, schools, colleges and universities, they have a very distinct character rooted in the Catholic faith.

In addition to its many voluntary aided schools and academies, the Catholic Church also maintains four universities, a variety of teaching schools and 11 special schools for children with severe learning difficulties.

We even have some dioceses which have looked into the prospect of opening a pupil referral unit. The Catholic community is perhaps the most ethnically and socially diverse in the country, and our wide variety of education establishments are there to cater for them all, offering a high-quality education within a distinct Catholic ethos.

Catholic sixth-form colleges have a proven record of success with many being rated either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and achieving A-level results significantly above the national average. This success is down to these colleges’ distinct Catholic ethos – something they shouldn’t have to lose if they were to convert to academies.

Paul Barber is director of the Catholic Education Service

Hull College staff want their CEO sacked after ice-cream ‘bribe’

Staff at the cash-strapped Hull College Group are demanding the immediate resignation of their chief executive after she offered discounted ice-creams to deter them participating in a protest over job losses.

Members of the University and College Union unanimously backed a vote of no-confidence in their boss Michelle Swithenbank today.

It follows yesterday’s vote for strike action which came about over a bitter dispute over the potential loss of up to 231 full-time jobs.

UCU said Ms Swithenbank’s position is now untenable after her failure to defend jobs at the college and a “bizarre” 24 hours which saw the management team attempt to “bully and then bribe” staff not to attend a protest on Wednesday (April 18).

The college had first sent an email to all staff saying that anyone who joined the protest risked doing so illegally. It then tried a different approach, inviting staff to purchase discount ice-creams at a venue at the opposite end of the college to the protest.

The college hired the ice cream van from 11am to 1pm – coinciding with the protest.

“Staff have made it quite clear that they have no confidence in Michelle Swithenbank’s leadership and want her to resign immediately,” said UCU regional official, Julie Kelley. “To go from bullying to bribery in less than 24 hours highlights the chaotic shambles at the heart of Hull College leadership.

“Staff need someone running the college who will talk it up and publicly defend its staff and students. The college should scrap damaging plans to cut jobs and courses, and work with us to develop a more positive approach which meets the needs of local people.”

UCU said it expects to announce strike dates in the next few days.

A spokesperson for the Hull College Group said it had received no correspondence as yet from the union suggesting a vote of no confidence in Ms Swithenbank, but “should any such vote be received, the group will gladly provide their response”.

He added that the college’s employment solicitors “identified participating in an unofficial protest during staffing hours (11am) could result in a breach of contract”.

“A communication was sent to staff to give clear advice on their own responsibility and to make an informed decision to participate,” the spokesperson said.

“We felt it was our responsibility as an employer to highlight the possible actions of joining a protest organised by an organisation which is not affiliated with the current negotiations.”

The FE commissioner reported in February last year that HCG’s finances remained precarious after the then-Skills Funding Agency had issued a notice of concern in November 2016.

Richard Atkins warned that HCG’s “operating performance, as measured by surplus/deficit after interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation costs has amounted to a cumulative deficit of around £10 million over the past four years”, while “a further deficit in excess of £1 million is forecast for the current year”.

Ms Swithenbank warned that “some difficult decisions have to be made” to regain stability amid longstanding financial troubles, and announced in March it looked to cut up to 231 full-time jobs.

MPs’ inquiry will look into long-term planning for FE

The Commons education committee will investigate long-term education investment – especially whether colleges and schools are getting the money they need.

The influential group of MPs has launched an inquiry into whether a longer-term plan is needed for investment across education, including FE, and what resources are really needed.

MPs will look ahead to the government spending review process, which will determine the overall level of public funding for schools and colleges.

The inquiry will also look at the effectiveness of “targeted funding” such as the pupil premium, and how a new national funding formula will be implemented.

“Young people are in compulsory education for around 13 years, yet government only plans investment in education every three or four years,” said committee chair Robert Halfon.

We need to move to a situation where education funding is not driven primarily by Treasury processes but rather by a long-term strategic assessment of our national priorities for education and skills.”

He warned that rising cost pressures faced by sixth-forms and FE colleges have led to “serious challenges” in the provision of high-quality education “which can be a key driver” for social justice and productivity.

“The spending review provides the government with an opportunity to help close the funding gap and it is vital this process is informed by the views of parents, teachers and pupils,” he added.

Some areas of public expenditure are informed by an overall target, whether it’s 0.7 per cent of gross national income on international aid or two per cent of gross domestic product on defence.

“Other areas are vocal about their level of need, such as in the case made for greater expenditure on health services,” said Mr Halfon. “I hope our inquiry will help give ordinary people a role in creating a 10-year vision for education investment.  

“The prime minister recently signalled a new approach to funding the NHS; I hope the education committee can help to make the case for a similar plan for expenditure on our schools and colleges.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, threw his support behind the inquiry.

“We welcome the education committee’s inquiry into the level of funding for schools and colleges, which comes at a time of severe financial pressures caused by government under-investment in education,” he said.

“The funding crisis is putting hard-won education standards at risk and damaging social mobility. Our young people deserve better.”

 

“The comments made by the chair of the Education Committee are a breath of fresh air. We entirely agree that a longer term plan is needed for investment in education and have long been calling for such an approach. It cannot come soon enough.”

The committee has invited written submissions by May 30 on the following issues:

  • What the Department for Education’s priorities should be for the next Spending Review period as they relate to schools and colleges
  • Whether the spending review cycle is the best mechanism for determining overall expenditure on schools and colleges, and what that level should be
  • The effectiveness of targeted funding such as the pupil premium, and its relationship to core education funding
  • The practical implementation of the national funding formula

Apprenticeship starts still in free-fall

Apprenticeship starts were down 31 per cent in January on the same period in 2017, the latest provisional government statistics have revealed.

The news comes just days after the chancellor Philip Hammond admitted to Parliament that he had expected the apprenticeship levy would usher in a fall in starts – but not quite to this extent.

There were 25,400 starts in the first month of 2018 – down 11,300 from January 2017’s provisional total of 36,700, according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s monthly apprenticeship statistics update, published April 19.

The latest figures represent a bigger proportionate drop than in December, which saw a 23-per-cent year-on-year fall in starts

“I recognise that starts are down—we always expected that,” he said during Treasury questions on April 17.

“There are fewer starts than we expected, but we are seeing a much higher level of apprenticeship. The Department for Education and the Treasury are looking carefully at how this is working.”

David Hughes, boss of the Association of Colleges, wants the government to “engage with colleges and employers to work out how to stimulate growth where it has fallen”.

This might include more outreach and “developing provision to encourage reluctant employers to engage in the system”.

“Where standards are not ready yet, frameworks should be fully-funded and there should be more support for pre-apprenticeship training to help people get ready for their apprenticeship,” he said.

Mark Dawe, Mr Hughes’ counterpart at the Association of the Employment and Learning Providers, warned that the government is “creating social immobility” through the apprenticeship system.

“The government said at the end of last year that its funding priorities lay with levy-payers, and this has been borne out by the fact that nearly half all starts can now be found in large employers and this proportion continues to grow,” he said. 

“Given many levy-payers across the country are concentrating on higher level starts, it’s no wonder that we’ve seen a massive collapse in level two starts and starts for 16- to 18-year-olds.”

Apprenticeship figures from August 2017 onwards remain provisional, and the DfE stresses that they are subject to change; starts for recent months have generally been revised up since they were first published.

There have now been 206,100 starts recorded to date for 2017/18, which represents a 24-per-cent drop on the same period last year.

Of these, 44 per cent have been at level two, which is nine percentage points lower than 2016/17’s final share of 53 per cent.

Meanwhile, 11 per cent of starts so far this year have been at level four or above, an increase of four points on last year’s final share of seven per cent.

Last month the skills minister admitted that fears over a “middle-class grab” on apprenticeships are valid, given that the “one area where starts have gone up is at degree level”.

“I feel quite strongly that an apprenticeship can offer social mobility, so I sit and wait and watch,” Anne Milton told a House of Lords committee hearing on March 13.

In response to the latest statistics, a DfE spokesperson said its reforms were “about increasing the number of quality apprenticeships, so people of all ages and backgrounds can take advantage of the opportunities apprenticeships bring”.

“We have recently seen an increase in the number of people starting on higher level apprenticeships”, which had been “designed by employers themselves to meet their needs,” she continued.

Sixth-form colleges given access to government bailout fund

Sixth form colleges can now apply for government bailout cash, according to updated guidance published by the Department for Education this morning.

The college financial intervention and exceptional financial support guidance, first published in 2015, has today been updated to “include sixth-form colleges, which are now eligible for exceptional financial support”.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said it was “helpful” that arrangements for SFCs were now aligned with FE colleges.

“But the introduction of the insolvency regime means that arrangements for colleges in financial difficulty are likely to change again in the near future,” he warned.

“The vast majority of SFCs will not require exceptional financial support, but there is no question that ongoing funding pressures are having a negative effect on the financial health of the sector.”

He added that he was “pleased” the DfE was reviewing funding for the FE sector “in response to our joint funding campaign”.

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, proposals for which were recently out for consultation

It’s not clear exactly how much money has been spent on bailing out struggling colleges.

Former skills minister Robert Halfon told parliament in January last year that the government expected to have spent £140 million in exceptional financial support by the end of March.

That figure is likely to have risen much higher since then.

FE Week has reported on cash-strapped colleges receiving multi-million pound bailouts, including £11 million dished out to 12 colleges in December alone.

According to the DfE at least part of this cash came from the adult education budget, which was underspent by £63 million in 2016/17.

One SFC that could benefit is Cadbury Sixth Form College. An FE commissioner report published in March reported a “series of financial items” that “could result in the college being at immediate risk”.

A cash-flow forecast for the college “indicated that external support for cash flow would be needed in March 2018”, according to the report.

Last month the current skills minister announced a review into how the current system of funding for FE meets the costs of high-quality provision.

But just two days later at hearing of the Commons education select committee the education secretary Damian Hinds cast doubt on Anne Milton’s announcement – and the DfE later confirmed that it was as “internal” review within the department.

The SFCA, along with other organisations including the Association of Colleges, launched its Support our Sixth Formers campaign last year, calling for more funding for learners aged 16 to 19.

New ways to win at the 15th National Apprenticeship Awards

The 15th National Apprenticeship Awards are now open for entries – and several new categories have been announced, including the ‘Recruitment excellence award’.

“It will recognise employers who have attracted a diverse and high-quality apprenticeship workforce through new and innovative approaches to recruitment,” said an Education and Skills Funding Agency spokesperson.

Also new for 2018, is a special recognition award for an individual who has “made a special contribution to the promotion and delivery of apprenticeships” – to be selected by the National Apprenticeship Service.

There will be a ‘Rising star’ award for the first time, to showcase apprentices who have “made impressive progress in their career to date and who show the potential, through their apprenticeship, to take a career path to the very top of their chosen profession”.

Apprentice employers and apprentices from all sectors and industries are invited to enter the awards by the May 25 deadline.

Entrants could be chosen as a regional winner at nine awards ceremonies across the country. A national judging panel will then choose overall national apprenticeship award winners from the regional champions. The national ceremony will take place on November 28.

Charlotte Hughes, a GSK employee and winner of the ‘Higher or degree apprentice of the year’ award in 2017, recommended others to enter this year.

“I am extremely proud to have been a winner. It’s provided a huge boost to my confidence and has helped raise my profile,” said Charlotte, who was interviewed in FE Week’s 2018 National Apprenticeship Week supplement. “The whole process has made me realise what I’m truly capable of. I would encourage anyone that is eligible to apply.”

Tim Brown, managing director of Superior, a Dorset manufacturing firm crowned ‘Medium employer of the year’ in 2017, said the experience had been “unforgettable”.

“It has motivated us to do more and continue raising the profile of apprenticeships,” he said.

“Everyone at Superior is incredibly proud of this fantastic achievement, it has helped us gain positive recognition as an employer that is committed to offering quality apprenticeships and careers to people of all ages and backgrounds.”

Apprentice employers and apprentices are invited to enter the following award categories

Employer of the year categories:

  • SME of the year: 1 – 249 employees
  • Large employer of the year: 250 – 4,999 employees
  • Macro employer of the year: 5,000+ employees
  • The recruitment excellence award: new for 2018, the winner will be selected from the employer of the year award entries

Apprentice of the year categories:

  • Intermediate level (level 2)
  • Advanced level (level 3)
  • Higher or degree level (level 4 or higher)

Special recognition categories:

  • Rising star award: new for 2018, recognises apprentices that have made impressive progress in their career to date, and have the potential to go even further
  • Recognition award: new for 2018, awarded to an individual who has made a special contribution to the promotion and delivery of apprenticeships – to be selected by the National Apprenticeship Service
  • Apprenticeship champion of the year: recognises individuals who go ‘above and beyond’ to champion apprenticeships

Visit https://appawards.co.uk/ to enter.

Caption; The National Apprenticeship Awards finalists for 2017

South Wiltshire UTC rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted

Another University Technical College has been rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, taking the total number in the category to six.

Following an inspection in mid-February, the South Wiltshire UTC was told its leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, outcomes for pupils and 16 to 19 study programmes were inadequate.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils at the UTC was rated as ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors said expectations of what pupils can achieve are “not high enough”, and work does not challenge pupils of different abilities to realise their potential.

The curriculum at the UTC is not meeting students’ needs because it “lacks the flexibility required”, and staffing issues have exacerbated this problem.

Staff absence, insufficient leadership of teaching and staff shortages means the quality of teaching is “too variable”.

“Too often, teachers do not use progress information or provide adequate guidance to pupils to help them improve their work.”

Pupils are not well prepared for their next steps and do not receive strong careers advice, the report warned.

Ofsted also criticised the progress of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, who don’t do as well as their peers at the UTC. Additional funding is not helping to raise their achievement.

On top of this, leaders have not ensured provision for pupils in the sixth form is adequate.

“Students do not make sufficient progress because their study programmes, and the quality of teaching, do not meet their needs,” inspectors warned.

Absence is too high for different groups of pupils, they said.

South Wiltshire UTC, in Salisbury, only opened in 2015. It currently has 215 pupils on roll, but a capacity of 600.

The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities who need support at the UTC is “much higher than average”, Ofsted said.

The report brings the total number of UTCs inspected so far to 30 and the number rated inadequate to six. It means one fifth of UTCs inspected by Ofsted are now ‘inadequate’.

The UTC movement launched in 2011 with the backing of former Conservative education secretary Lord Baker.

These specialist technical education providers are seen by many as unwelcome competition to more established general FE and sixth-form colleges, which consistently return a much higher proportion of higher Ofsted grades.

Joe Mulligan, principal of South Wiltshire UTC, said the outcome of its Ofsted inspection was “disappointing for our students, parents and staff” and that work had already begun to “systematically, robustly and rapidly address every issue identified by Ofsted”.

“The UTC’s priorities have been to focus on both the core and STEM curricula, to raise achievement levels, to create an environment where our students are proud to be part of an energetic, vibrant community, where they feel motivated and supported and where our values around the whole student and employability underpin everything we do; the Ofsted report does not really reflect this,” he added.

Hull College staff ‘overwhelmingly’ vote to strike over 200 job cuts

Staff at the financially troubled Hull College Group have “overwhelmingly” backed strike action in a bitter dispute over the potential loss of up to 231 full-time jobs.

In total, 170 (79 per cent) of 214 the University and College Union members who voted at the college’s three campuses in Hull, Harrogate and Goole supported industrial action.

Staff will meet on April 19 to discuss potential strike dates and to vote on a motion of no-confidence in HCG chief executive, Michelle Swithenbank.

The row centres on plans announced in March to cut the jobs in an effort to balance the books.

UCU believes that the proposal could lead to around a third of the workforce being cut and would mean “fewer learning opportunities for local people”.

Staff and students joined a lunchtime protest against the job losses outside the college’s Hull site today, after the college had “bizarrely” sent an email to all staff saying that anyone who joined the protest risked doing so illegally.

A spokesperson for UCU said this was “clearly was not the case” and has “questioned if the college was deliberately misinforming staff or did not understand employment law”.  

“Staff feel they now have no option but to take strike action to defend jobs,” said UCU regional official Julie Kelley. “They have little confidence in a senior management team that either doesn’t understand employment law, or has taken to deliberately misinforming staff to try and bully them out of protesting.

“UCU members will be discussing a motion of no confidence in the college chief executive tomorrow.”

The FE commissioner reported in February last year that HCG’s finances remained precarious after the then-Skills Funding Agency had issued a notice of concern in November 2016.

Richard Atkins warned that HCG’s “operating performance, as measured by surplus/deficit after interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation costs has amounted to a cumulative deficit of around £10 million over the past four years”, while “a further deficit in excess of £1 million is forecast for the current year”.

In a previous statement, the college’s chief executive Michelle Swithenbank warned that “some difficult decisions have to be made” to regain stability amid longstanding financial troubles.

In a statement released today, Hull College said: “Industrial action will not resolve the group’s financial and operational issues and we remain committed to an ongoing consultation which seeks to minimise potential job losses and support affected staff.

“We urge our union colleagues to work productively with us through this process and avoid the inevitable disruption the result of this ballot will cause for our current students and ability to recruit new ones.

“We are also aware of a number of planned protests in the city which sadly detract from our students’ achievements and the excellent learning opportunities which continue to be offered at all of our sites.”