Merger partner found for FE college incorporated just four years ago

An FE college incorporated in 2014 has found a merger partner, after the FE commissioner decreed it would no longer be sustainable as a standalone institution.

Prospects College of Advanced Technology plans to join forces with South Essex College of Further and Higher Education.

It only converted from an independent training provider to college status four years ago, becoming the first college to be instituted in 20 years.

Its brand will be “retained” with further investment going towards developing its headquarters in Basildon, Essex, as the “combined group seeks to establish itself as a leading specialist technical, engineering and construction training provider”.

In an FE commissioner report published last month, Richard Atkins revealed the extent of PROCAT’s troubled finances.

Matters were so bad that he warned it was “extremely unlikely to be able to deal with its financial challenges alone” and recommended the college merge by the end of 2018.

PROCAT’s chair, David Sherlock, described the new partnership as an “exciting merger” to mark its “next step in our progress since changing from a private training provider”.

“Our dream has been to create a technical university for Basildon,” he said. “To do that we need larger scale as well as excellence. We are confident that this merger will provide that, establishing a powerhouse of technical creativity for the thriving Thames Gateway.”

The merger process in itself still has a number of stages to complete, before seeking the approval of the education secretary later this year. The merger will formally start in the new year.

“Our decision to merge with PROCAT has been underpinned by our shared commitment in providing technical training opportunities up to degree level in Basildon to meet the skills needs in the Thames Estuary and beyond,” said SEC principal Angela O’Donoghue.

“These are truly exciting times for all within this region and beyond and we look forward to working with PROCAT, to achieve our joint vision.”

The commissioner’s report noted a “very small” turnover of £9 million, around three times less than the average for FE colleges in England, and said it was “difficult to envisage the college, at this size, being able to invest in sufficient high-quality people”.

It was issued a financial notice to improve in February after being assessed to have “inadequate financial health by ESFA following a review of the college’s latest outturn figures for 2016/17 and the revised budget for 2017/18 and associated information”.

PROCAT, which is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, has around 2,000 learners and South Essex, also rated ‘good’, has over 11,500.

Open letter sees government on defensive before apprenticeship figures announced

The government is on the defensive one day before the latest apprenticeship figures appear, expected to show a continued year-on-year drop.

An open letter signed by skills minister Anne Milton, Institute for Apprenticeships boss Sir Gerry Berragan (pictured above) and dozens of senior figures from business schools, businesses and other organisations wants the sector to “support employers in making use of the levy”.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the letter had been intended as a defence of the apprenticeship levy following recent criticism, including from the Confederation of British Industry and the manufacturers’ organisation EEF.

“We believe that the apprenticeship levy gives employers a real opportunity to invest in training, bringing the well-recognised enthusiasm and new ideas of apprentices to their business,” the letter said.

University should not be “viewed as the only route to a successful career”.

“That’s why we should support employers in making use of the levy, and in providing opportunities for people to learn, earn, and get on in life,” it concluded.

Other signatories to the letter include Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Tony Blair and co-founder of apprenticeship agency WhiteHat, and leaders from businesses including Airbus, Barclays, Siemens and Aston Martin.

Two college leaders have also added their names: Dawn Ward, the principal of Burton and South Derbyshire College, and Garry Phillips, boss of West London College.

The levy was introduced in May 2017, set at 0.5 per cent of an employer’s payroll, and payable only by those with an annual payroll of more than £3 million.

Since its introduction starts have plummeted.

Final statistics for 2016/17 showed that starts in May were down a massive 65 per cent on the same period the year before.

This downward trend has continued into 2017/18, with provisional figures for the first seven months of the year showing a 25-per-cent drop on the period in 2016/17.

February saw the biggest year-on-year drop in six months, with starts down 40 per cent from February 2017.

The CBI said that this fall in starts is evidence that “the levy in its current form isn’t fit for purpose”.

Speaking at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference in March, its deputy director-general Josh Hardie demanded urgent reform to the levy to make it work for businesses – including greater flexibility over how they can spend their cash.

“The levy’s design faults are serious, but not insurmountable,” he said.

And a report by the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, published in April, revealed that just five per cent of employers in the sector wanted to keep the levy as it is.

The report, called ‘A levy price to pay? The apprenticeship levy one year on’, found there were “instances where manufacturers were prepared to increase the number of apprenticeships they offered, but instead have either not done so, or had to delay or cancel those apprenticeships specifically because of the apprenticeship levy”.

It urged the government to make a number of changes, including extending the time limit for employers to use their funds from two years to four years.

 

Leading charity sector figure to lead London’s largest college group

A leading figure from the charity sector will take the reins at London’s largest college group.

Roy O’Shaughnessy, who is currently chief executive officer of the Shaw Trust, will start his new role at the Capital City College Group next term. 

Outgoing boss Andy Wilson is retiring, but will stay on for the time being “to facilitate a smooth handover”.

The Shaw Trust is a national charity that helps transform the lives of young people and adults.

Shaw Trust provides specialist services to help young people and adults gain an education, enter work, develop their career, improve their wellbeing or rebuild their lives. He has been The Shaw Trust’s CEO for the past six years, helping the charity to grow and diversify into a £250 million organisation with over 3,500 staff.

I am excited to be joining one of the UK’s largest college groups and look forward to meeting staff

“I am excited to be joining one of the UK’s largest college groups and look forward to meeting staff across the Group and its colleges,” Mr O’Shaughnessy, who is aged 62, said.

“I am sad to be leaving  Shaw Trust after a decade, but pleased that I leave it in great shape and on track to achieve its ambition of helping transform the lives of one million young people and adults each year by 2022.”

Alastair Da Costa, Chair of the Capital City College Group spoke of his delight at the announcement.

“Roy was the outstanding candidate during our extensive selection process,” he said.

“He has great leadership presence, is values-driven and has an ambitious and visionary sense” of how CCCG should develop its ambition.”

“It is an exciting time for CCCG, its staff, students and many stakeholders.

“I would like to thank our current CEO, Andy Wilson, for his role in leading the Group through its first two years.”

The Capital City College Group formed in August 2016 when City and Islington College merged with Westminster Kingsway College, rated grade one and two respectively. It also includes Capital City College Training, which was launched by CCCG earlier this year and provides around 100 apprenticeship programmes to organisations located in London.

The group has expanded again today, merging with the grade two-rated College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London.

Mr Wilson said he was “tremendously proud” of all the CCCG senior team, staff and governors and looks “forward to passing it in to such capable hands when Roy takes over the CEO role in September”.

Festival of Learning winners 2018 winners announced

The Learning and Work Institute has announced the 35 award winners and highly commended nominees for the 2018 Festival of Learning.

The winners and nominees have been selected in a wide variety of categories recognising, among other things, social impact, learning for health, tutors, employers and innovative projects.

The awards were handed out at a special ceremony in central London today.

They include the ‘employer award’, which went to McVitie’s, which in partnership with the College of North West London was praised for “using its apprenticeship levy to deliver advanced team member training at its Harlesden factory – the largest biscuit factory in Europe”.

The programme is open to employees who work on the biscuit production lines, who can “access higher-level engineering than would be the case in their everyday jobs”. Many from the first cohort “have gone on to take promoted posts or additional responsibilities”.

The prestigious ‘learning and work award’ went to Tracey Everitt.

The judges recognised how she had left school “without any qualifications and her confidence was low”, but she didn’t lose sight of her goal was to become a registered childminder, and signed up for courses including basic food hygiene and introduction to working in care at Islington council’s adult and community learning service.

Tracey is now running her own Ofsted-approved childminding business and has “inspired her sister and daughter to start their own learning journeys”.

“I’ve got more confidence, I’m active and focused, and I’m offering a professional service to local families. I love my job of providing good-quality care,” she said.

Derwentside College learner Casey Bougourd took home the ‘young adult learner award’ after breaking down gender barriers in her drive to embark on a career in construction.

“I’ve achieved my goal of gaining an apprenticeship, as well as making a little history and creating a path for other women to follow,” she said.

Other award-winners included University of Suffolk student Terrie Cornwell-Dunnett [pictured above left], who received this year’s ‘patron’s award’.

The award is given each year to someone who has made a particularly special commitment to learning, chosen by LWI patron Princess Anne from a shortlist of award nominees.

Ms Cornwell-Dunnett is currently studying a degree in special educational needs and disability studies, but began her learning journey with a BTEC diploma in social care at college.

“She is a remarkable young woman who has used learning to not only successfully change her and her family’s lives, but also to improve the lives of people like her with physical disabilities,” the Princess said.

Coventry Adult Education Service learner Frank McCann [pictured above right] was presented with the ‘learning for health award’ for his drive to relearn skills he’d lost in the wake of a severe brain injury and heart attack.

“My learning has made a huge difference to my life skills and continues to do so,” he said.

In addition to the 13 award-winners, a further 22 individuals, tutors, employers and projects were highly commended.

These included Chesterfield College learner Joyce Abumujor [pictured above middle], who was highly commended for the ‘outstanding individual award’.

“The Festival of Learning is all about inspirational people who show that anyone can benefit from learning. Lifelong learning is vital for all of us as jobs and society change around us,” said Stephen Evans, LWI’s chief executive.

“We encourage everyone to give learning a try, and there’s hundreds of free activities to pick from during June on our ‘have-a-go month’ calendar. Learning can help us at work and at home, and to build a fair and inclusive society.”

See below for a full list of the winners:

Photo caption: [l-r] Terrie Cornwell-Dunnett, Joyce Abumujor and Frank McCann

Rye Studio School to close over low pupil numbers

The Rye Studio School in East Sussex will close this summer after it failed to recruit even half of the pupils it needed.

It is the 24th studio school – 14-to-19 institutions with a vocational curriculum – to close or announce plans to close since the inception of the project.

According to trustees, the school has never managed to recruit more than 50 per cent of the pupils it needed, which affected its finances.

It opened in 2013 and had hoped to take on 300 pupils, but faced the kind of recruitment problems common among studio schools, many of which have struggled to persuade pupils to move at the age of 14. In light of its problems, it did not recruit any new pupils last September or for September 2018.

Trustees initially drew up plans to convert to a sixth form, but decided the move was “not financially viable”.

“It is with great regret that the school finds itself in this position,” said headteacher Barry Blakelock. “Despite all the efforts of trustees and dedicated staff, who have all done an excellent job, the school has never been fully utilised.”

“We have agreed, in principle, to the closure of Rye Studio School following a request from Rye Academy Trust,” said a Department for Education spokesperson. “A number of options have been explored but ministers have decided that the school, which has not admitted any new pupils for September 2017 or 2018, should close by the end of August 2018.”

The school, which as a result of its recruitment freeze last year now has only year 11 and year 13 pupils on roll, has arranged for careers support for current year 11 pupils looking for a new school.

Staff will be consulted on “redeployment or redundancy”, and a “listening period” for parents, staff and “interested persons” will run until July 5.

The announcement regarding Rye Studio School will come as the latest disappointment to those who have been trying to push post-14 as an alternative recruitment age from traditional 11 or 16, led by Lord Baker who is also a firm advocate of stuggling  UTCs.

‘Outstanding’ Ofsted result for Redbridge Institute of Adult Education

A local authority provider has been rated outstanding by Ofsted for the first time since 2015.

Redbridge Institute of Adult Education has received top marks in all headline fields.

The report was full of praise for the organisation, which teaches at a main adult education campus in Gants Hill and 47 other community settings in the east London borough of Redbridge.

“Teachers have extremely high expectations of their learners, their enthusiasm to pass on their knowledge to learners is infectious and lessons are fun,” inspectors said.

Leaders and managers have a “clear and accurate understanding of the quality of provision”. They have “successfully raised standards and addressed the significant majority of weaknesses identified at the previous inspection”.

Teachers promote English and maths skills “particularly well”, learners acquire “high-level” of self-evaluation and critical thinking, and “learn how to take responsibility for their own development”.

According to Ofsted statistics, there are 136 local authority providers and just three have grade one ratings: Oldham metropolitan borough council, Wolverhampton adult education service and Kirklees council adult and community learning.

Oldham was most recently inspected, retaining its grade one at an inspection in November 2015.

The quality of learning support for learners at Redbridge Institute who need extra help and support is “excellent”.

“Teachers accurately identify the starting points of learners, both on accredited and community learning courses,” inspectors added. “They provide frequent and valuable verbal and written feedback to learners.”

The vast majority of learners’ work was also “of a high standard” and “learners take pride in maintaining well organised folders”.

Inspectors were impressed with how learners on craft-related community courses “develop good higher-level technical skills”. For example, “learners on a jewellery course became adept at using riveting and chainmail techniques”.

The proportion of learners who complete and achieve their qualifications has been high for several years.

The institute provides community learning from entry level to level four for learners drawn predominantly from Redbridge. It taught over 2,400 learners last year, and most study at up to level two.

“This result really puts Redbridge on the map and recognises the commitment, support and expertise of all our staff who provide the innovative and inclusive provision which enables our very diverse range of learners to thrive and succeed,” said Joni Cunningham, the principal.

“I am very proud of both the learners’ achievement and what they will go on to contribute to their communities, as well as the commitment and professionalism which our staff have always shown in supporting them.”

“The governing body has always been dedicated to the success of our learners who benefit from the outstanding learning opportunities and support we provide. This is an exciting outcome with new opportunities for the future,” added Margaret Partridge, the chair of governors.

Dr Sue Pember, who leads adult and community learning providers and their representative body, HOLEX, was also delighted.

“Our members are very pleased and excited that an adult community learning provider has been recognised by Ofsted as outstanding overall, and in all areas and with no areas needing to be developed,” she said.

“The work Redbridge Institute does is inspirational, and this can be seen throughout the report and we are pleased that it was recognised that teachers support learners to develop their confidence, pride in their work and motivation to learn, as well as a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing.”

Two Stoke studio schools will shut down

Two studio schools in Stoke-on-Trent will close by next summer amid dire problems with recruiting students.

Stoke-on-Trent Studio College for Construction and the Built Environment (CaBE) will close this August, while its sister college for Manufacturing and Design Excellence (MaDE) will close the following year.

These are the 25th and 26th of this type of vocational school to close or announce plans to do so since their inception.

It leaves just 29 studio schools, which offer a vocational curriculum for 14- to 19-year-olds, with no plans at present to close.

Ann Marie Lucy, the chief operating officer of Alpha Academies Trust, which runs both schools, said the decision to close had been made as they “have not been able to recruit sufficient students”.

“In particular the sixth form has struggled to attract prospective students,” she said. “It is a sad reality that such small schools cannot continue long-term,” she said.

A Department for Education spokesperson said it had “agreed, in principle” to the closure.

“A number of options have been explored but ministers have decided that the schools, which have not operated above 25-per-cent capacity, should close in August 2018 and August 2019 respectively,” a spokesperson said.

The CaBE studio school opened in September 2012, and is currently rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, while the MaDE school opened the following year and is rated ‘requires improvement’.

Both have a capacity of 300, but have struggled to recruit anywhere near that number – particularly post-16.

CaBE currently has 17 pupils in year 11, while MaDE has 17 in year 11 and 34 in year 10, but none in either sixth form.

“Despite all the efforts of its governing body and dedicated staff, who have all done an excellent job, the schools’ sixth form has never been fully utilised,” said David Miles, interim principal of both studio schools. 

“This is because our students have progressed at 16 to further study or apprenticeships elsewhere,” he said.

The provisional decision to close the two schools is subject to a four-week “listening period”, which will run until July 6.

If the closure goes ahead the sites will remain with Alpha Academies Trust, which plans to provide 120 alternative provision places through Reach Pupil Referral Unit, which will join the trust from September.

Just days ago, another studio school, Rye Studio School announced it too would close in the summer, after it failed to recruit even half the pupils it needed.

In addition to the 26 to close or face closure, four more of the schools were proposed but never got off the starting block.

The news will come as a blow to advocates of 14-to-19 technical education, including university technical colleges.

Persuading pupils to change schools at 14 has been a struggle for many, while others have received poor Ofsted ratings.

Alpha Academies Trust is run by Sarah Robinson, a former leader of Stoke-on-Trent College.

She took up her post as chief executive of the trust, which was run by the college at the time, immediately after leaving her job at the college.

Despite this, she still received a severance payment from the college – although it refused to explain why.

Queen’s birthday honours 2018: Who got what in FE and skills?

The FE and skills sector is well represented in the Queen’s birthday honours list this year, in which Ofsted’s chief operating officer has been made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Matthew Coffey, who joined Ofsted in 2007 and was appointed COO in 2014, has made a “huge contribution” to the education watchdog, according to chief inspector Amanda Spielman.

“He has seen us through many challenges and complexities, applying intelligence, energy, determination and integrity, while above all putting the interests of children and young people first,” she said.

Matthew Coffey

His recognition in the honours list is “thoroughly well deserved and everyone at Ofsted is delighted for him”, she added.

The leader of a college that boosted its Ofsted grade to ‘outstanding’ just a year ago is among four new FE sector OBEs honoured today.

Gill Alton, chief executive of the Grimsby Institute, was recognised for services to education. She joined the college in March 2016, having previously led Rotherham College for six years.

Ms Alton, who was also named to the FE commissioner’s principals’ reference group and national leaders of FE programme in January, said she was “completely overwhelmed and humbled”.

“I’d like to acknowledge and thank the people I’ve worked with, who are the very best in the sector and have achieved wonderful things for Rotherham, Grimsby and Scarborough – this award is really a result of their hard work,” she added. 

Richard Bridgman, founder and owner of mechanical engineering firm Warren Services Ltd, received an OBE for his services to apprenticeships.

The 70-year-old, who began his own career as an apprentice, has been dedicated to promoting apprenticeships and work experience opportunities for young people for many years. This includes employing many apprentices at his own firm over the past 28 years.

“Many people have helped me throughout my business life and without their support and understanding I don’t think this award would have been possible,” he said.

John Boyle, governor and lately chair at Blackpool Sixth-Form College, told FE Week he “couldn’t speak” after learning of his OBE for services to education.

Mr Boyle has been on the board at the grade one SFC for 15 years, and was appointed adviser to the FE commissioner earlier this year.

He said the honour is “very surprising and very humbling”.

Angela Williams, principal of grade one Huddersfield New College, also received an OBE.

Angela Williams

“It is an incredible privilege to work with young people on a daily basis, and it is a joy to be part of the wonderful staff team at Huddersfield New College, who work extremely hard to help the young people in our care to achieve their dreams,” she said.

Seven figures in the FE and skills sector have been recognised with MBEs in this year’s list.

These include Beverly Aitken, the former chair of governors at East Kent College, who said it was “an incredible feeling to receive this award”.

She joined the college’s board in 1990, and was appointed chair in 2012 – a position she held until the college merged with Canterbury College in February.

Adult and community learning was recognised with two MBEs – one for Rehana Mohammed, learning manager at the Workers’ Educational Association, for services to the education of marginalised women in Rochdale and Oldham, and the second for Helen Osborne, principal of the Friends Centre in Brighton, for services to adult education.

Rehana Mohammed

“I have so much pride for my community and for them to nominate me and to recognise my commitment to them is such a blessing,” Ms Mohammed said. 

Ms Osborne said her honour “represents all that we do here at Friends Centre”.

“I am very lucky to have a supportive team and set of trustees to ensure we are able to help over 1,100 learners each year through our courses,” she added.

Two training managers for WorldSkills UK also received MBEs following Team UK’s stellar performance at WorldSkills AbuDhabi in 2017.

Paul Dodds said it is “great to be rewarded for work which helps a lot of young people reach such high levels of skills”, while Sue Simpson is “honoured to be recognised for my years of work with young people, nurturing them to grow and progress”.

Sandra Clelland, estates security manager at Hugh Baird College, received an MBE for her services to the community and charity in Liverpool.

Hugh Baird principal Yana Williams said the honour is “a fitting recognition of her commitment and service to the local community and her contribution to fundraising for some of the most vulnerable and deprived in the Liverpool area”.

Alan Moss, a senior lecturer at the RAF Central Training School, also received an MBE for his services to apprentice training.

And finally, Peter Templeman, a curriculum technician in carpentry and joinery at Oaklands College, was named a medallist of the Order of the British Empire for his services to technical education.

He described the award as the “ultimate validation” that what he did everyday was “of value, is worthwhile” and “is making a difference to the lives of the students”.

Scrap the Institute for Apprenticeships, says Lords report

The Institute for Apprenticeships should be scrapped, according to an influential committee that sits in the House of Lords.

The Lords economic affairs committee has also poured scorn on the government’s target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

“The IfA should be abolished,” it said in a new report. The role of the institute is “unclear” and it doesn’t seem to act as an effective policing body for apprenticeships standards, it was claimed.

The IfA has many responsibilities, including developing and maintaining quality criteria for apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, which it also publishes, and quality-assuring the delivery of end-point assessments.

It plays a dominant role as external quality-assurance provider of choice for many trailblazer groups – even though it’s supposed to be the “option of last resort”. Many in the sector feel this responsibility should solely lie with specialist regulator Ofqual.

And it will soon even be overseeing prestigious new T-levels that are being developed as a technical education equivalent to academic A-levels.

Today’s report wants a simplified regulatory system across further and higher education, and sees no place for the IfA.

“The quality and outcomes of level two and three apprenticeships should be the responsibility of the new further education regulator,” it said. “The quality and outcomes of level four and above apprenticeships should be the responsibility of the Office for Students.”

The OfS is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the higher education sector in England.

Authors also want the skills and apprenticeships minister Anne Milton to “provide oversight of both” the FE and HE regulators.

The IfA has come in for mounting criticism since its launch last year, and there are fears it has too many responsibilities and is struggling to cope.

There have been significant delays to the approval of new apprenticeship standards, which the IfA’s chief executive Sir Gerry Berragan is trying to address with his “faster and better” initiative.

The cross-party lords committee also pulled no punches with its criticism the government’s target of three million apprenticeships by 2020, warning it “has prioritised quantity over quality, and should be scrapped immediately”.

“Framing a target in terms of starts makes no sense when about 40 per cent of starts are not completed,” the lords said.

Recent progress towards the manifesto target has in fact been poor. Apprenticeship starts were down a massive 40 per cent in February on the same period in 2017.

This has largely been attributed to delays among employers adjusting to last spring’s apprenticeship reforms, especially the new apprenticeship levy.

“Despite the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, the UK is still a long way away from the effective apprenticeship system needed,” the report warned.

Forcing large employers to pay towards training through the levy has “encouraged the rebadging of training activity”, and more investment in higher-level apprenticeships for existing staff.

“It is also concerning that over half of training providers for apprenticeships were recently rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ in a recent Ofsted inspection,” the report continued.

Part-time study and adult learning have also “declined dramatically”

“This neglect of part-time and mature students is short-sighted: flexible learning is important for mature students looking to learn new skills to adapt to changes in the labour market and working practices,” authors claimed.

They also want more FE funding and better treatment of the sector compared to HE, and the committee’s chair Lord Forsyth has insisted the current system is  “deeply unfair”.

“The structure and distribution of funding in the post-school education sector is unfair and inefficient. Further education is the poor relation to higher education.”

“We ‎will consider the report and respond in full in due course,” a Department for Education spokesperson said.

“We agree that for too long young people have not had a genuine choice post 16 about where and what they wish to study.

“That is exactly why we have overhauled apprenticeships to focus on quality and why we are fundamentally transforming technical education, investing £500m a year in new T Levels that will provide a high quality, technical alternative to A levels and make sure we can keep up with the world’s best.

“On top of this, we are undertaking a major review of post-18 education and funding, to make sure students are getting value for money and genuine choice between technical, vocational and academic routes.”

The IfA declined to comment.