FE leaders need mental health support too

It can be lonely at the top, admits former principal Neil Bates

People who have headaches but describe them as migraines have probably never suffered from a real migraine. People who sometimes feel a bit down and say that they are depressed have probably never suffered from depressive illness.

My friend Joanne has a migraine on average once a week and it confines her to bed, makes her physically sick and takes nearly two days to feel better. It’s really tough for her to take, but she can say she is a migraine sufferer, and sympathy and understanding are properly and rightly dispensed.

But try telling someone that you have a mental illness and see what reaction you get. Moreover if you happen to be a man, try and tell someone you have depression. Heaven forbid you are a man and in a position of leadership and suffer from depression. I guarantee that any disclosure of this shocking and shameful secret will have most people running for the hills. 

In the UK anxiety effects six in every 100 people, and for full-on depression it is three in 100.

READ MORE: Healthy organisations need healthy leaders

Organisations are becoming much more aware of the mental health issues affecting their workforce. In my own college we have funded a professional counsellor to work with staff. One in four of us will suffer stress or anxiety during our lifetime so it makes sense to make early intervention available to prevent a difficult time from becoming a long-term illness. 

But there is one group of people who suffer in almost total silence. I am talking about men and specifically, men in leadership roles. To bring it even closer to home, I am talking about principals and CEOs in the FE sector.

What are our expectations of these men? We want them to be strong, charismatic, driven, optimistic, successful, and true leaders of people, and most times they are. In contrast, some of these men feel weak, vulnerable, inadequate, lonely, isolated, and above all else, sad. Not a tear-jerking movie kind of sad, but a sadness deep in the gut that cloaks everything in darkness and extinguishes the light. Place those expectations and feelings into a climate of intense pressure with the career life expectancy of your average premiership football manager, and you have an explosive cocktail. 

Heaven forbid you are a man and in a position of leadership and suffer from depression

There is some good news. You can live with depression and continue to be very good at your job. I have suffered from depression for the last 10 years. It comes and goes to some extent depending on what is going on in my life. I was extremely close to my mother who died in November 2013. I got the call from Ofsted on the day before the funeral. All grieving had to be suspended so that I could come back and lead my team. Such are the pressures on FE leaders.

Three months later I crashed and burned and ended up heavily medicated, but still working. And that’s my point. The most successful period in my 30-year career has been the last 10 years. Men with depression, who hold that dirty secret, are masters of disguise. People with depression can and do continue to function well. I had two days off work in 10 years. I am pretty sure that to the outside world I was “normal”. Suffering from depression is a perfectly manageable illness, but it is made much harder if the individual feels that they have to keep it a secret. That’s why we have to change our attitude.

I hope governing bodies will understand that we all have weaknesses and vulnerabilities, I hope chairs will understand that being a principal or CEO is a lonely place at the best of times and most of all, I hope that over time our attitude to mental health will improve. Finally, to the nine FE principals who know first-hand exactly what I am talking about in this article, I would like to say: “you are not on your own – let someone else help you carry the load.”

Last week I saw a wonderful quote on a notice board at Tower Hill Station. It summed it up for me: “Don’t hide from a storm, learn to dance in the rain.”

Neil Bates is a former college principal and chief executive

Ofsted worried about lack of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships

Fewer level two and three apprenticeships are in development by proportion compared to higher and degree apprenticeships, which could have a “detrimental impact” on recruitment for 16- to 18-year-olds, Ofsted has warned.

The education watchdog raised the concern in its annual report, which was published this week.

“Most apprenticeships being delivered in 2016/17 were at levels two and three, yet over a third of the standards ready for delivery were at level four and above,” it said.

“If this trend continues, there will not be enough approved standards at levels two and three.

“This could have a detrimental impact on the recruitment of 16- to 18-year-olds into apprenticeships.”

Speaking to FE Week following the launch, Ofsted’s deputy director for FE and skills expanded on these concerns.

Paul Joyce [pictured above] admitted the watchdog was “worried” about the large number of higher-level standards being approved as “older apprentices are likely to start those programmes”.

“We have seen a reduction in the number of apprenticeship starts, a reduction in the number of 16- to 18-year-old starts, and clearly we would want to see some level two and three standards approved, and for those numbers at level two and three and for 16 to 18s grow,” he said.

The Institute for Apprenticeships, which is responsible for approving new standards, defended its approach – which it said was led by employer groups.

“High-quality apprenticeships can help improve social mobility. It is important that apprenticeships provide opportunities for development for learners of all ages,” a spokesperson said.

But FE Week has discovered alarming figures that contradict the IfA’s claims – and confirm Ofsted’s fears.

Business administration was one of the most popular frameworks in 2016/17, with 43,800 starts at level two and three.

But although a replacement level three standard was approved for delivery in September, there are no plans for a level two standard – and in fact, a standard proposed at that level was rejected by the Department for Education.

This is particularly concerning as almost half of the framework starts at level two in 2016/17 – 12,550 out of 25,900 – were by 16- to 18-year-olds, while at level three that proportion dropped to just 25 per cent of starts.

Tom Pearce, a talent services executive at Grant Thornton, led the development of the level three business administrator standard.

He told FE Week that the majority of the employers in the trailblazer group had wanted the level three standard as they needed apprentices who were “able to act autonomously”, meaning that “level two wasn’t appropriate”.

The group had also received “a steer” from the DfE, that “a prospective apprentice looking at doing level two could do level three, they could jump that level”.

A number of NHS trusts which had been involved with the development of the level three standard, backed by Skills for Health, expressed an interest in developing a level two assistant business administration standard in 2016.

But that proposal was rejected by the DfE.

“While we recognise that business administration roles exist at that level, the training needed for full competence is not sufficient enough to justify an apprenticeship based on a standard at the lower level,” it said.

Skills CFA, the issuing authority for the business administration framework, confirmed that no date has been set for the framework switch-off at level two or three.

The IfA refused to comment directly on the lack of a level two standard in business administration, and reiterated that it would be up to employer groups to submit proposals at the level they think is most appropriate.

Ofsted tells college to ditch ‘outstanding’ label

A college that Ofsted last visited 11 years ago, and which dodged an inspection in 2016 after a merger, has finally been told to stop referring to itself as ‘outstanding’.

Bridgwater College received the top grade back in November 2006, its last full inspection.

But in June 2016, amid a significant fall in A-level standards, it merged with Somerset College of Arts and Technology, itself rated ‘good’, to form Bridgwater and Taunton College.

According to inspectorate’s handbook, a merged college may avoid inspection for up to three years but “will not carry forward any inspection grades from predecessor colleges” and “will have no inspection grade until after the first full inspection”.

The merged college had nevertheless continued to advertise itself as ‘outstanding’ and use Ofsted’s approved logo until FE Week got in touch.

Ofsted said it would be writing to the new college about the logo, and confirmed that as it “has not been inspected yet… it has no rating”.

Its performance has recently dropped in certain areas: in 2015/16, its 16-to-18 achievement rate at level three was 6.8 percentage points lower than the average for a GFE college, and at AS level, it was 9.4 percentage points lower than average.

It fared little better between 2014/15 and 2015/16, when its 16-to-18 achievement rate at level three fell 6.3 percentage points and 9.1 percentage points at AS.

A spokeswoman described the use of the logo and other references to ‘outstanding’ grades as “an oversight”, but at the time of going to press, its prospectus for 2018/19 still suggested its courses were graded ‘outstanding’.

“Our college routinely gets rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, with our provision in a variety of areas being highlighted for its quality,” it read. “We think that’s a record to be proud of.”

The college however has no plans to change its prospectus, as “we do not state that we are rated ‘outstanding’”.

“A new website will be published in January which will better reflect the new college and our ethos,” she added.

The college’s most recent results show it comes in below average for its scores in A-levels, academic qualifications, applied general qualifications, and tech level points.

This would normally have triggered a full reinspection, but during the national development of the post-16 area review process Ofsted agreed to wait up to three years, and updated their policies accordingly.

Bridgwater and Taunton’s spokesperson said that over 22,000 students were enrolled to study at the college, and that “for a small subset of students, historical achievement data, when combined, shows a dip”.

However, she insisted that achievement rates had increased in the first academic year after the merger, and expects this to be reflected in January’s progress scores.

She also pointed out that the college’s care standards for residential provision and nursery had both been graded ‘outstanding’ since the merger.

“We are confident in our self-assessment process and the accuracy of our grading, which reflect outcomes and overall student experience, and we continue to work within the parameters of Ofsted’s common inspection framework,” she said.

“We would judge the merger to have been successful for staff, students, our employers and the community we serve.”

 

Ofsted Watch: Two ‘inadequate’ providers make slow improvement

Two ‘inadequate’ training providers in Essex are making “reasonable progress” in improving their grades, but still have a long way to go in pulling themselves away from Ofsted’s lowest possible rating.

In what was a quiet week for FE inspections, Epping Forest College and Essex County Council each had their third monitoring visit reports published following their grade fours, which were first revealed in January and February this year respectively.

There was only one full inspection, but it did not make for easy reading as Chesterfield-based NLT Training fell from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’, which FE Week reported on Tuesday.

Epping, which teaches nearly 3,000 learners, was lauded for making “significant progress” in ensuring that all safeguarding arrangements for all groups of learners are “effective”.

However, “insufficient progress” is being made in “swiftly” improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

“Too often, teachers do not take into account the starting points of their learners to ensure that they set them demanding tasks and activities that challenge them to excel,” inspectors said.

“In lessons, too many learners are left to become bored when they have completed tasks that they have found too easy.”

Some teachers’ presentations, resources and materials contain “spelling, punctuation and grammar errors”, Ofsted added.

Insufficient progress is also being made in ensuring that learners’ attendance, punctuality and behaviour are “good”.

It was better news for the college’s work in strengthening the “observation” of teachers’ practice to “drive improvements in teaching, learning and assessment”, and ensuring that the progress of learners and apprentices is monitored “rigorously” and leaders “understand accurately” the strengths and weaknesses of the provision.

Epping was also found to be making “reasonable progress” to ensure that leaders work “effectively” with the local enterprise partnership, employers and community organisations to “ensure that the range and content of all provision is aligned to local and regional priorities”.

Over at Essex County Council, leaders was praised for “rapidly improving” the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and ensuring that the observation of tutors’ practice is “fit for purpose and secures improvements”.

Leaders’ self-assessment is now “robust and appropriately self-critical” and “drives effective action planning that secures sustainable improvement” leaders now provide county councillors with “accurate information on performance so that county councillors challenge them effectively”.

“Significant progress” was found to be made in safeguarding arrangements.

“Leaders have established a regional safeguarding peer group comprising local authority community learning and skills providers to peer-assess safeguarding arrangements and share good practice,” Ofsted explained.

“All staff have conducted safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty training since the inspection of December 2016. Nearly all staff have also undertaken further training on the promotion of online safety.”

NLT Training, an independent training provider with around 250 learners, received the lowest possible grade across the board from Ofsted.

It is now trying to get taken over by WEBS Training Ltd, a Nottingham-based furniture training provider rated ‘good’ in April this year to save the business.

Sarah Temperton, NLT’s chief, said she was “extremely disappointed” at the Ofsted verdict, and that she would be “challenging them at a number of levels”.

Declining achievement rates at NLT, which specialises in engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships and study programmes, were among the issues dragging it down in the report.

“A large proportion of apprentices have not completed their apprenticeship by the planned end dates, many of which were unrealistic,” it said.

Achievement rates among study programme learners were deemed to be “very low”, as was the rate at which these learners “successfully progress to further education, training or employment”.

Elsewhere there was one provider – Baltic Training Services Ltd in Durham – which kept its ‘good’ rating in a short inspection.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Epping Forest College 14/11/2017 14/12/2017 M M

 

Adult and Community Learning Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Essex County Council 31/10/2017 11/12/2017 M M
NLT Training Services Ltd 31/10/2017 12/12/2017 4 2

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Baltic Training Services Limited 08/11/2017 14/12/2017

 

 

Non-levy tender: let’s have an investigation and recount

Nobody could have predicted that the ESFA would accidently award non-levy apprenticeship funding to a company that went bust months ago.

Although the DfE is tight-lipped and presumably red-faced, there must surely be an independent investigation into how this slipped through the due diligence process.

Conversely, that some high-quality colleges and training providers will see their funding stop from January is nonsensical.

The ESFA will no doubt say its bid evaluation team simply scored the applications on the basis of the 10,000 words they included.

That the result is a fail for grade one Exeter College and others like it is most likely because a small part of the submission they had written wasn’t deemed to answer the question well enough.

But as a result, over 98 per cent of employers, those not paying the levy, can’t continue to work with these colleges and providers.

There will always be winners and losers in any competition, but as our investigation has laid bare, a recount shouldn’t be ruled out.

IfA: ‘Faster and better’ promise from new boss

The Institute of Apprenticeships will make its processes and policies “faster and better” in 2018, under the new regime of former military man Sir Gerry Berragan.

It launched its assault on government red tape in a statement on Monday, just two weeks after the former army adjutant general took over as chief executive.

Among the improvements the institute promises are “faster standards development” and “revised funding calculations” – two bones of contention for the employer groups developing standards and the providers wanting to deliver them.

“We’ve always recognised some of the systems, policies and processes we inherited needed improving,” it said.

“Institute staff have been listening, consulting and planning improvements to make the process faster and better.”

The institute is “working hard to shorten the process” of developing standards.

From the New Year, it said, “trailblazer groups will be able to access intensive two-day workshops to complete the writing of standards or assessment plans from start to finish” which will save “about a third of the usual time”.

It also plans work with the groups so that “standards and EPA plans can be submitted and approved in parallel, saving about six weeks from the end-to-end process”.

Furthermore, it committed to “developing a quicker and more transparent system for making funding band recommendations” aligned to the new approvals process, “to cut out unnecessary stages and make sure new apprenticeships are ready as quickly as possible”.

FE Week has previously reported on the frustration felt by various trailblazer groups at the delays to getting standards approved for delivery.

Keith Donnelly, who chairs the group working on the level two carpentry and joinery standard, which is still in development, is one such malcontent.

He complained to FE Week in June about the “inordinately long time” it was taking to get the standard ready for delivery – which is now close to four years.

He has now welcomed the IfA’s new measures.

“Anything that can speed up the approval process for standards will be most welcome by employer groups across the country,” he told FE Week.

Other trailblazer groups have discussed the difficulties they have had in agreeing funding bands for their standards, which have added lengthy delays to the approval procedure.

It’s understood these hold-ups are the result of processes established by the IfA itself in April, when it introduced a funding board to secure “value for money”.

Other improvements due to be brought in next year include a new policy to clarify when qualifications can be included in apprenticeships, because current policy had “led to some unpredictable results”.

The IfA’s overriding principle is that “apprenticeship standards assume that the apprenticeship itself is the qualification”, a statement with which Mark Dawe, the AELP’s chief executive, took issue.

“This seems to be a very strange choice of language and change of position from before,” he said. 

“We believe that successful apprentices deserve more than assumptions, namely a proper qualification which benefits them in the employment market.”

Sir Gerry’s appointment as IfA boss was announced in November, after a six-month long recruitment process.

He served as a career soldier for 37 years and was initially appointed as an IfA board member in January.

He took over on November 27, replacing former interim chief executive Peter Lauener, who had been about to retire, but who has instead taken up a temporary position in charge of the Student Loans Company.

Farriery apprentices learn the art of caring for donkey feet

Farriery apprentices have had a lesson in caring for donkeys’ feet during Myerscough College’s annual Donkey Day.

Experts from the Donkey Sanctuary in Devon joined the hoof-care students for a workshop on how to trim donkeys’ feet, which differ greatly from horses in the way they grow, before letting them loose on visiting donkeys from the neighbouring town of Blackpool.

The senior farrier from the sanctuary, Colin Goldsworthy, delivered the workshop to the learners accompanied by veterinary surgeon Jo Goliszek, and the local sanctuary coordinator Pam Moon.

“It’s an important skill for them to learn, as donkeys’ heels grow three times faster than their toes, so their feet have to be trimmed differently to horses.” Mr Goldsworthy said. “The students are keen to learn and it’s very rewarding to see them enjoying it so much. I’m pleased that they’ve learned plenty from the day.”

It is the twelfth year running that Mr Goldsworthy has given talks on trimming donkeys’ feet to Myerscough students.

“We always get a warm welcome here. We’re looking forward to our next visit,” he added.

College’s shy dancers tackle their fear on BBC Radio 5 Live

Lytham Sixth-Form College students have tackled their phobia of dancing during a segment on reluctant dancers on national radio.

Presenters on the BBC Radio 5 Live discussed whether men are too embarrassed to dance with a group of male sixth-formers at the ballroom of Blackpool Tower.

The students were given dancing tips from professionals and received advice on overcoming their shyness on the dancefloor by Dr Peter Lovatt, a psychology researcher who studies the effects of dancing on wellbeing.

“For me, it’s a personal thing where you’re putting yourself out there to be judged when you don’t have to,” said 18-year-old Ben Wilkinson during a discussion with presenters Nihal Arthanayake and Sarah Brett, as well as Dr Peter Lovatt and Taekwondo Olympian Lutalo Muhammad, who won Strictly Come Dancing for Children in Need.

“The producers specifically wanted students who aren’t keen on dancing, and I think many people can empathise with that feeling,” added Matthew Barr, the college’s associate head. “It was an interesting debate and I think the students involved really enjoyed setting aside those awkward feelings and learning techniques which might help them.”

Students help organise local charity’s annual Christmas-themed fundraiser

International business studies students have helped organise a local charity’s annual Christmas-themed fundraiser as part of their employability scheme.

Bath College partnered with Dorothy House Hospice Care for their seventh annual Santa and Elf Run, giving students the chance to get real-life event management experience.

The event attracted 300 people dressed in suitably festive attire, who then tackled either a 2.5k or 5k fun run in the hospice’s grounds.

The team of level three BTEC students handed out promotional flyers ahead of the event, marshalled, and ran activities for children and adults on the day, including a selfie tent.

The link-up was part of the college’s employability initiative, its Academy of Business, which prepares students for working life by giving them access to work placements and industry professionals.

A number of local organisations have signed up to offer placements, company visits, student mentoring and business talks, including Dorothy House, which provides support for people with life-limiting illnesses.

“The college is delighted that the students gained practical work experience while supporting a great local charity,” said Lucy Beattie, an employability advisor at Bath College.