College wellbeing scheme has students thanking their former teachers

Learners have been sending thank-you cards to their favourite former high school teachers, as part of a college’s mental health and wellbeing programme.

Students at Birkenhead Sixth-Form College have been writing to their old teachers at secondary schools across the Wirral to thank them for their support and share their own achievements post-16.

The cards were sent as part of the college’s BePART (Be Positive, Ambitious, Resilient, Thoughtful) programme, a course devised by psychologists within the staff, which encourages healthy eating habits, teaches relaxation techniques and boosts students’ overall wellbeing.

“Showing gratitude has been proven to make a significant impact on a person’s outlook on life, and such a simple thing can go a long way,” said Mike Kilbride, the college principal. “It’s such a show of appreciation for the entire teaching profession and proves that what we all do, day-in and day-out, matters so much to the next generation.”

One student got in touch with their former English teacher at Woodchurch High School to say: “I believe everyone has a teacher who they always remember because of the impact they had on them. You are that teacher to me. Thank you for everything.”

Environmental charity invests in student activism

Eleven colleges are offering their students the chance to train as activists as part of a programme run by the National Union of Students and Friends of the Earth, reports Samantha King.

Operating in colleges in the east Midlands, Bristol, London and south Wales, the My World, My Home project gives learners the chance to gain the OCNLR level three award in community campaigning, and make a positive environmental change at their college through planning and executing their own campaigns over the course of six months.

“Working with young people is absolutely crucial – they’re the future of the environmental movement, and it’s a really great opportunity for them to develop new skills,” said Laura McFarlane-Shopes, community activism coordinator at Friends of the Earth, a major environmental charity.

“They’re learning the essential campaigning training, and making a really big impact on their local areas. I think equally the project has a huge effect on their confidence and their ability to manage projects. It’s a project management course in some ways.”

So far on the programme, participating learners have strived for a plastic-free college and campaigned for a more frequent bus service to and from their college, by taking 72 Double Decker chocolate bars with messages written on them to their bus operator, which agreed to meet them.

The initiative has received £999,074 funding from the National Lottery’s Big Lottery Fund which will enable it to reach 160 college learners at Richmond Upon Thames College, Newham Sixth Form, Newham College, City and Islington College, Nottingham College, Derby College, West Notts College, City of Bristol College, Bridgend College, Gwent College and Coleg y Cymoedd.

The funding, which is delivered through the Our Bright Future programme, provides for weekly meetings with Friends of the Earth, and one-to-one sessions every fortnight.

“It’s a deliberately intensive programme, working with a small number of students,” said Ms McFarlane-Shopes. “It is quite a rare opportunity as many funders do want big numbers, but Our Bright Future seems to really appreciate that it takes real time and investment to train and coach young people at this stage in their campaigning journey to achieve this kind of personal and environmental transformation.”

The NUS and Friends of the Earth are hoping to extend the project to more colleges in the near future, and are encouraging interested colleges to get in touch with either organisation.

“It’s incredible being able to bring together young people who might not ever come across environmental movement or environmental campaigning, and be able to provide a programme that’s really useful for them in a really practical sense for university or employment,” Ms McFarlane-Shopes added.

 

Why we should aspire to China’s approach to skills

As he prepares for the long road to WorldSkills 2021 in Shanghai, Dr Neil Bentley is ever more convinced that the skills future lies with China

It was great to hear the prime minister this week talking about the importance of high-quality technical training and international trade as a means of boosting economic growth.

The link between skills and trade is a key focus for us at WorldSkills UK, and in her speech at Derby College this week, launching a review into the funding of post-18 education in England, Theresa May demonstrated that she grasps the main issue that has held back the advancement of apprenticeships and technical training for too long: a lack of prestige.

Parents naturally want what’s best for their children and we  shouldn’t be surprised if over two decades’ worth of education policies, pushing the university route as the marker for success, have left parents with the perception that their children need a degree to get on in life.

However, the speech and recent public policy developments point to a changing landscape. 

All this demonstrates that we now recognise the need for academic and technical routes to be seen as equally valid.

In the WorldSkills global benchmark, China is number one

This is a welcome and vital shift in public policies as we face up to and get a grip on how to fill growing technical skills gaps across the economy identified in the UK industrial strategy.

The trick to enhancing prestige further will be to create more high-quality technical training aligned with business needs, boosted by trade and inward investment partnerships. And the UK can’t afford to stand still: technology is changing what we do at such a fast pace and, as the PM recognised, the worlds of AI, biotech and data science are real and evolving.

If we don’t evolve with them, we will be left behind. Evolving means having an army of confident, highly-skilled young people who are ready to be able to take advantage of the new opportunities around them. It means not just more apprentices but a new understanding of what technical skills are, why they are important and how they can allow us to compete globally as a nation.

That’s why, in her speech, the PM also spoke of a self-confident, outward-looking nation that seizes opportunities to trade.

This comes hot on the heels of her trade mission to China a few weeks ago. And as it happens, I was in China at the same time at the WorldSkills global leaders forum in Shanghai, helping prepare the ground for WorldSkills Shanghai 2021, when the Chinese will host the skills Olympics.

In the WorldSkills global benchmark, China is number one because at the most recent event in Abu Dhabi, they walked away with 15 gold medals to top the medal table across a raft of advanced skills that power their economy.

The fact the competition is taking place in China means that all nations will raise their games to show what they can do

I am incredibly proud of Team UK’s top 10 finish in the same competition, but the fact that China’s haul of golds exceeded our gold, silver and bronze medals combined demonstrates both the skills gaps we face and the level to which we should be aspiring.

During my time in China, talking with my peers from across the world about the opportunities presented by Shanghai 2021, I was convinced that we need to work more closely with the Chinese to develop skills around areas of mutual economic interest in relation to trade and investment, such as financial services, digital manufacturing and green tech. And we also need to learn about how they produce their world-class skills.

By grasping this opportunity, WordSkills Shanghai 2021 could not only be an important milestone in our international trade relationship, but our chance to demonstrate the high quality of British skills and the viability of investing across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

By competing to the world’s highest standards in apprenticeships and technical skills in the world’s most technically skilled nation, Team UK can help bring new investment to our shores. 

I’m convinced that the fact the competition is taking place in China means that all nations will raise their games to show what they can do.

We need to step up too and start preparing for what we can achieve on this global stage and in doing so, support the prime minister’s ambitions to help challenge outdated assumptions about apprenticeships and technical training, boost our economic growth and help more and more young people get the best start in work and life.

Dr Neil Bentley is chief executive of WorldSkills UK

Apprenticeship starts slip further behind as November flops

There were just 27,000 apprenticeship starts last November according to figures published by the government this morning, 40 percent fewer than in 2016.

As the figures above show, this latest update to the monthly starts will come as a huge disappointment following declines of 21 and 24 percent in September and October.

The figures from August 2017 onwards remain provisional, and Department for Education (DfE) has warned that they are subject to change.

The government did not publish monthly updates or starts per month in previous years, so it is not possible to compare provisional figures.

Provisional figures published by the DfE in January revealed that provisional starts for the first quarter of 2017, covering August, September and October, were down 26 per cent compared to the same quarter the previous year. 

The government’s target is to hit three million apprenticeship starts by 2020. November 2017 represents just past the five year half-way point with 1,226,900 starts since May 2015.

As the graph below shows, this is currently 18 percent below the target trajectory, representing a very sizable and widening gap to make up of 283,100 starts simply to be back on track.

The country would have to add an average of at least 50,000 apprenticeship starts per month to have a chance of achieving that ambition, a threshold which has only been passed three times since May 2015, prompting calls from the Association of Colleges for the target to be scrapped. 

However, a spokesperson for the DfE said the government is still “committed” to hitting the target. 

During an exclusive FE Week interview on Tuesday, skills minister Anne Milton revealed she expected to see a surge in apprenticeship starts by September. 

“I will be told by my officials that I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to say it anyway,” she said. “I would hope that by September to see some real numbers.”

Responding to the latest figures today, Ms Milton said employers had seen “a period of significant change” over the last year and the DfE would continue to “work with them to adjust and respond.” 

She added that, as employers have two years to spend their levy funds, it is “right” they plan “high quality apprenticeship training that meets their specific needs and maximises the benefits apprenticeships can bring.” 

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) told FE Week: “Here is hard evidence rather than anecdote and we don’t want to hear any more excuses.  These latest figures seem to confirm that the government is currently way short of hitting its manifesto target.

“But the real concern is the impact on social mobility as we see fewer starts for young people and at levels two and three.  How many more months’ data do we need before the government starts taking action?  AELP is calling for no more employer contributions towards apprenticeships for 16 to 24 year olds at non-levy paying employers, or at employers that have exceeded their levy.”

For more analysis and reaction see the next edition of FE Week. 

Movers and Shakers: Edition 235

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving

Peter Manford, Chair of governors, Warwickshire College Group

Start date: February 2018
Previous job: Head of Commercial, Higgs & Sons Solicitors (ongoing)
Interesting fact: Peter enjoys photography, cars, skiing and (occasionally) keeping fit.

____________________________________________

Antonia Evans, Joint headteacher, Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC

Start date: February 2018
Previous job: Assistant principal, Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC
Interesting fact: Antonia did Teach First straight after graduating and has always wanted to work in education.

____________________________________________

Adam Rogers, Principal of sixth-form, Ada, National College for Digital Skills

Start date: January 2018
Previous job: Vice-principal, Ada, National College for Digital Skills
Interesting fact: Adam has a reputation with students and staff for telling “dad jokes”, and knows more cheese-related gags than you would brie-leave.

____________________________________________

Ian Peake, Principal, North Shropshire College

Start date: Feburary 2018
Previous job: Principal and chief executive, Herefordshire and Ludlow College (ongoing)
Interesting fact: Ian has enjoyed being involved in sustaining and improving further education in predominantly rural Herefordshire and Shropshire.

____________________________________________

Jeremy Scorer, Principal, HIT Training Licensed Retail Academy

Start date: October 2017
Previous job: Managing partner, Charnwood Training
Interesting fact: Jeremy was the youngest pub tenant in the whole of Nottingham when he and his wife ran their first pub at the age of 24.

 

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk

FE commissioner forces merger at Guildford College

A financially challenged college is being forced into a merger as it becomes only the second institution to be subject to FE commissioner intervention for a second time.

Richard Atkins’ report into Guildford College, published this morning, recommended that it undertake a structure and prospects appraisal to identify a potential partner to address its ongoing financial difficulties.

It’s the second time the college has been visited by the FE commissioner, having previously been in intervention between March 2014 and September 2015.

Only one other college, City of Liverpool College, has so far shared this dubious honour.

Guildford College “has faced difficulties for a number of years”, Mr Atkins’ report said.

“Its financial position has been weak and is likely to continue to be so for the medium term as it seeks to improve enrolments (and hence increase income) and make significant cost savings,” he wrote.

He noted that “progress has stalled” towards implementation of the Surrey area review recommendation that the college pursue a federation or merger.

“Fresh impetus is now required,” he said.

The main recommendation was that the college “fully engages with and supports” an FE commissioner-led SPA to “identify a merger partner for the college, with a merger to be completed by the end of calendar year 2018 at the latest”.

Mr Atkins’ visit to the college was “a result of the college’s uncertain financial position”.

It is currently subject to two notices of concern from the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The first, for financial health, was issued in March 2014, while a second, for minimum standards in apprenticeships, was issued the following March.

A notice of concern for financial control, issued in June 2015, was lifted in March last year, according to the report.

The college’s 2016/17 accounts, dated December 21, indicated that its financial health would remain at ‘satisfactory’ before moderation by the ESFA.

However, the report suggested that matters may be less rosy: another of his recommendations is that the college “determines as a matter of urgency whether it needs to seek exceptional financial support in 2018”.

He also urged the college to complete a “review of its 2017/18 financial forecast which is currently underway” and develop “reforecasts” for both 2017/18 and 2018/19.

“Given the importance of establishing a credible financial baseline, the college should engage its internal auditors to undertake a review of the reforecasts when they are complete,” he recommended.

Other recommendations related to quality improvement at the college, rated grade three at its most recent inspection in June.

“Ahead of the merger being achieved, it is essential that you rapidly improve the quality of delivery for current learners, through strengthening the college’s post inspection action plan,” Justine Greening, former education secretary, wrote in a letter to the college’s chair accompanying the commissioner’s report.

A college spokesperson said it was “actively working with the FE Commissioner’s Office to seek a merger partner who will support the growth and development of the Guildford College Group.”

Apprenticeship funding bands set to change

Apprenticeship funding bands might be about to change – because employers “do not feel able” to negotiate with providers on price.

The Department for Education has announced that it would review the “effectiveness of the current funding band structure” which “includes considering funding band structures” – and any changes will apply to new starts from August 2018.

“When we moved to 15 funding bands, we expected to see employers and providers negotiating on price below the funding band upper limit,” it said.

“However, this hasn’t materialised across all of the market, with many employers telling us that they do not feel able to negotiate with providers. We are therefore considering changes to incentivise negotiation and drive better value for money.”

Every apprenticeship standard and framework are allocated a funding band of between £3,000 and £27,000.

That band represents the maximum government or levy funding an apprenticeship can attract and employers are expected to negotiate with providers on the price.

Employers can agree to pay more than the funding band maximum, and pay the difference from their own cash.

The current 15 funding bands for apprenticeship were introduced in May 2017, an increase from the previous six funding caps for apprenticeship standards.

According to today’s announcement the maximum funding band will stay the same, but other bands could change. Any changes would be confirmed in the spring.

“If we do change the funding band structure, we will work with the IfA to ensure that any new standards that are approved for delivery are allocated to both one of the 15 current funding bands and to a new, post-August funding band.”

 

Skills minister: Apprenticeship starts will surge by September

The skills minister identified September as the month by which she expects to see a surge in apprenticeship starts, in an exclusive webinar with FE Week.

Anne Milton revealed that she is looking to the start of the next academic year, during her chat this afternoon with FE Week’s editor Nick Linford.

“I will be told by my officials that I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to say it anyway,” she said. “I would hope that by September to see some real numbers.”

Figures released by the Department for Education in January revealed apprenticeship starts have fallen 41 per cent since the introduction of the levy in May, compared with the same period in the previous year.

Provisional starts for the first quarter of 2017, covering August, September and October, showed a fall of 26 per cent on the previous year.

For the government to hit its target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 there would need to be an average of at least 50,000 starts a month.

But the monthly average over the first 28 months stands at just 41,470.

However, Ms Milton believes there has been “quite a dramatic shift with employers” recently, and said many are “planning to rapidly increase numbers” of apprentices, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors.

“We’ve done some proper investigation,” she said. “These things take time, and it’s only been a year. But the providers are waiting in the wings and ready to go.”

FE Week editor Nick Linford questions Anne Milton about apprenticeship reforms during the webinar

During the webinar, sponsored by the Northern Council for Further Education (NCFE) and featuring the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s director of funding and programmes, Keith Smith, Ms Milton said local MPs have a role to play in encouraging small businesses to take on more apprentices.

“We are doing some teaching sessions for MPs,” she said. “I’ve got 650 disciples in the Houses of Parliament. They know their local areas, they know a lot of small businesses.

“I think they can do a great deal of work with them. I think that’s a great opportunity.”

Mr Smith shared the ESFA’s plans for the development of apprenticeship policy over the next year, including the option for employers to transfer 10 per cent of the levy to another employer from April. 

He said the new policy should be seen as an “employer-led opportunity” and means “levy-paying employers taking control of where they want to invest their funds”.

At the end of the session, Ms Milton said FE Week’s webinar had been a “great opportunity” and she was looking forward to “doing again soon”.

Others also took to social media to respond to the minister’s answers during the session.

 

 

 

 

AEB underspent by £63 million, minister claims

FE providers failed to spend £63 million of the adult education budget during the last academic year alone, the skills minister has admitted.

Not everyone agrees with Anne Milton, however: the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, has insisted that the true figure is likely to be much higher.

Ms Milton’s admission came in answer to John Mann, the chair of the Commons treasury sub-committee, who asked what estimate had been “made of the underspend against the AEB in the academic year 2016/17”.

“The underspend against the mainstream participation element of the AEB for the 2016 to 2017 academic year was £63 million,” the minister replied. This is “less than five per cent of the total contracted value”, she claimed.

The underspend against the mainstream participation element of the AEB for the 2016 to 2017 academic year was £63 million

“A portion of the underspend was reallocated within the further education sector, providing the opportunity for providers to expand provision through growth bids, funding over delivery in providers who exceeded their delivery aims, and support other provision.”

This excludes “growth deals and other funding support” because these programmes are “managed on a financial-year basis”.

The AELP boss Mark Dawe believes the announcement was misleading, however, as not all elements of the AEB have been accounted for.

It is “really disappointing” that the written answer only referred to “the mainstream participation element of the budget”, he said.

“The bottom line is that revenue budget was wasted on bailing out failed institutions not supporting learners.

“Any underspend should be reallocated to support the participation of learners by effective providers,” Mr Dawe added. “The AEB procurement demonstrated the unmet demand.”

Private providers were forced last year to tender for a slice of just £110 million in a much-cricitised AEB procurement exercise.

Their competitors, notably colleges and councils, were exempt.

The total sum of tender applications is understood to have been six times larger than £110 million.

FE Week reported last September that a total of £200 million was unspent in 2016/17, a figure which angered many private providers who missed out in the AEB tender.

Multiple sources confirmed at the time that around 13 per cent of the total £1.5 billion AEB budget had not been used.

Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden said this was part of a “systemic set of problems that we are seeing all the way through to the dispersing of adult funding” and insisted that the government needs to “urgently review the whole process”.