Latest news from FE Week

The employer contributions colleges pay towards teacher pensions look set to rise and could cost them an extra £100 million a year, a move which one sector leader has warned could spark a “financial crisis” in FE.

The outcome of a valuation of teachers’ pensions, which the Treasury runs every four years, suggested the public sector workers will get improved benefits from April 2019.

New “draft directions” for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, published last Thursday, then stated that “early indications are that the amount employers pay towards the schemes will need to increase”.

It is unclear at this time what the employer contribution rate will eventually be.

But in a move which is likely to frustrate college leaders, the Department for Education has committed to “providing additional funding to maintained schools and academies in 2019-20 in view of the unforeseen costs” while it is only “looking at” how it can “support FE colleges with the additional costs involved where necessary”.

The introduction of higher employer pension contributions for college teachers will be welcomed news to them following the DfE’s decision not to fund a salary rise, despite doing so for school teachers.

But on the other hand it is likely to trouble college leaders who continue to struggle with significantly tight budgets and funding cuts.

Colleges currently contribute £350 million annually towards the pension scheme but the Association of Colleges has warned an increase in contributions could force them to stump up an extra £100 million on top.

“This would be 1.4 per cent of total income and would play havoc will financial plans drawn up this summer – unless there is full compensation for the higher costs,” the association said.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, warned that a significant increase in employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme “has the potential to lead to a financial crisis in our sector”.

“Years of cuts, cost increases and a static funding rate since 2013 have had a negative impact on staff, students and the financial health of institutions,” he said.

“The government must find the funding to cover any increase in employer contributions and this funding must be for the long term.”

He added: “We have made it clear that any financial support offered to schools to cover these costs must also be extended to Sixth Form Colleges, and that this funding is no substitute for a desperately needed increase to the 16-19 funding rate in next year’s spending review.”

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “We’ve been highlighting to colleges and government since 2016 that the teacher pension valuation ‎is likely to result in cost increases which will be hard to manage given current funding levels.

“It is good news that the Treasury plans to cover the higher cost for the period to March 2020 but it is unclear what happens after that. It’s difficult for colleges to make long-term plans when the information is presented so late.”

The DfE draft direction stated: “Initial indications are that the protections in the new cost cap mechanism mean public sector workers will get improved pension benefits for employment over the period April 2019 to March 2023.

“This test, known as the cost control mechanism, was introduced to offer taxpayers and employees protection from unexpected changes in pension costs.

“In addition, early indications are that the amount employers pay towards the schemes will need to increase.

“This is because of proposed changes to the discount rate, which is used to assess the current cost of future payments from the schemes.

“At this time, we’re unable to provide information on what the employer contribution rate will be, but the Department will be providing additional funding to maintained schools and academies in 2019-20 in view of the unforeseen costs.

“The department is also looking at how it can support FE colleges with the additional costs involved where necessary and will further consider the funding position for HE establishments as the valuation progresses.”

The DfE added that it will now complete the valuation and, following discussions with the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board, will provide details of the employer contribution rate and any options for amending member benefits.

“We will of course continue to provide further updates as soon as information becomes available,” it added.

Unions, college principals and staff will join forces on October 17 in a nationally coordinated lobby of MPs and parliament to call for fair funding for colleges.

The day, which is being run as part of the Association of Colleges upcoming “week of action”, has the backing of the National Union of Students as well as the Universities and Colleges Union.

Emily Chapman, the NUS’ vice president for FE, tweeted yesterday to announce the partnership and encourage all college students’ unions to “have a conversation with your principal about funding your attendance at this crucial day”.

She added that there will be “all sorts of opportunities to get involved besides the lobby”, including local action on campuses, as well as a FEstival on October 16, where the “theme will be around FE funding and campaigning”.

Crucially on Wednesday 17 October, we will be heading to Parliament to lobby our MPs in a nationally coordinated lobby of Parliament, alongside college principals and staff. https://t.co/qC6RhXzwge

— Emily Chapman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 (@EmChapman6) September 10, 2018

The week of action, taking place between October 15 and 19, follows the Department for Education’s decision to fund a 3.5 per cent pay rise for school teachers while ignoring college lecturers – an announcement which left AoC boss David Hughes “angry” and “frustrated”.

He pledged after this decision to switch from 10 years of “politely” highlighting the impact of funding cuts to making “a lot more noise”.

The AoC is still deciding exactly what action will be taken during that week, but Ms Chapman’s tweets offered an insight into what is planned.

“For eight years, we have seen cut after cut, putting FE staff under increased pressure,” she said.

“FE has always been a special place where students can grow and release their potential, yet we have seen our education becoming more about the qualification expense crucial aspects of FE.

“Throughout my time as VP (Further Education), I have been known for my hashtags #myFEjourney and #FEisheretostay. I’m not one to shy away from the fight. Which is why I am proud to announce that we are partnering with @AoC_info and @ucu on a Week of Action for FE Funding.

“As part of this week, NUS is asking for two key things: fair pay for staff, and fair funding for colleges. Together, as a movement, we can show that a strong learner voice can make the difference when it comes to bringing about positive change in FE.

“Crucially on Wednesday 17 October, we will be heading to Parliament to lobby our MPs in a nationally coordinated lobby of Parliament, alongside college principals and staff.

“But that’s not all. There will be all sorts of opportunities to get involved besides the lobby, including local action on your campuses. Alongside this, on Tuesday 16th October, we will be hosting FEstival, where the theme will be around FE Funding and Campaigning.”

She added: “It’s time for FE to stop surviving and start thriving! It’s time for FE Voices to be heard, and show how our SUs and voices need investment for our futures. @AoC_info @ucu #FEisHeretostay Save the date!”

This morning the Department for Education published the list of T-level employer panel members for the routes that will be taught from September 2022 and 2023.

Click here to view.

The panels are responsible for developing the outline content for new T-levels. They are made up of employers, professional bodies and providers and help in creating technical education programmes.

“I am thrilled these talented industry experts have come on board to help make T-levels a success,” said skills minister Anne Milton.

“They will play a key role in creating a world-class technical education system for our country.

“Introducing T-levels is a once in a generation moment. The direct experience of panel members will help to create gold-standard T-levels that give young people the skills that employers need.”

The employer led panels announced today will shape new T-level programmes in: animal care and management; agriculture, land management and production; human resources; management and administration; catering; craft and design; cultural heritage and visitor attractions; media, broadcast and production; and hair, beauty and aesthetics, and will be first taught from 2022.

The nine new panels will join the 16 existing that are already up and running, designing the outline content for the first tranche of T-levels, in routes including digital; legal, financial and accounting; education and childcare; health and science; engineering and manufacturing; and construction. 

Find out more about T-levels here, and from this presentation.

The Greater London Authority has so far drafted in 57 new bureaucrats to handle the capital’s adult education budget ahead of devolution next year.

Fifteen posts in various other teams are still to be appointed and will eventually bring the total number of administrators in the department to 72, the majority of which will eventually and controversially be paid for via a top-slice of £3 million from the adult skills budget.

An organogram of the authority’s new AEB structure was published in a briefing document ahead of a GLA meeting about the budget later this month.

The physical image (see below) lays bare the scale of the team being employed, which sector leaders have criticised as mayor Sadiq Khan plans to fund their wages by using less than one per cent of the capital’s £311 million annual AEB cash, diverting it away from frontline learning.

 

Employees in the AEB team are currently funded either by the GLA or externally.

On top of these posts, the briefing document outlines the GLA’s vast AEB governance structure (see image below), which will include a corporate investment board, AEB mayor board, skills for Londoners board, and an AEB programme board.

It comes ahead of a big month for AEB planning in London, as the inaugural meetings of the skills for Londoners and mayoral boards are set to take place, as well as appointments to the London occupational skills board.

Members of the AEB mayor board include Mr Khan, the deputy mayor for planning, regeneration and skills Jules Pipe, the mayor’s chief of staff David Bellamy, the mayoral director for policy Nick Bowes, and the GLA’s executive director of resources Martin Clarke.

Appointments to the Skills for Londoners Board are currently being finalised but are expected to be published before their first meeting on September 21.

The team of 72 AEB officials will form six units: a strategy, policy & stakeholder relationships team, a co-financing organisation to handle the European Social Fund, a funding policy and systems team, two programme delivery teams, and a management team.

Principals at a couple of the capital’s largest colleges have blasted the prospect of diverting adult education cash away from the classroom into the hands of administrators – although the GLA insists the blame lies with the government’s unwillingness to pay for what it sees as necessary oversight.

“Shocking and hugely disappointing that this has been allowed to happen and divert £3 million from this underfunded sector to pay for administrative officers @MayorofLondon #accountability #valueformoney #skillsforlife ultimately hurting learners the most,” Sam Parrett, the principal of London South East Colleges, tweeted at the time.

FE Week then revealed in June that the new AEB department will also be used to lobby for control of 16-to-18 funding, which drew further criticism.

“There are some 457,000 Londoners without qualifications and thousands more with health issues and older learners,” said Naina Kent, the equality representative for the University and Colleges Union’s London regional committee.

“That is what the budget is there for, and not on creating policy for those learners who are supported by other funding streams.”

There was cause for celebration at a university technical college this week as it was rated ‘good’, while four new apprenticeship providers were found to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas.

But one specialist college didn’t fare as well after Ofsted said it ‘requires improvement’, in the only other report published in the last seven days.

West Midlands UTC, which specialises in construction and IT and teaches just over 200 students aged 14 to 19, was given grade twos across the board in its first ever inspection.

The principal, Avtar Gill, who is “ably supported by senior leaders”, was praised for overseeing “rapid improvements in behaviour, attendance, teaching and students’ progress”.

“Leaders demonstrate openness and integrity,” Ofsted found. “They have high expectations of staff and students.”

Inspectors said the school’s curriculum is “distinctive and well planned”, while employers “contribute impressively to many aspects of school life” and “the school’s specialism is evident in all that it does”.

“Most teaching is very effective,” they added. “Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to plan appropriate tasks that help students to make good progress.”

But Ofsted did note that some weaker teaching remains.

“Here, teachers’ questions do not help to deepen students’ understanding, and tasks are sometimes too easy or too hard,” inspectors said.

The report will be welcomed by UTC supporters, following a tough period at the end of the 2017/18 academic year when three separate ‘inadequate’ reports were published by Ofsted in the space of a week.

Estio Training Limited, based in Leeds, was one of the four ‘new’ apprenticeship providers to receive an early monitoring visit from Ofsted, with reports published this week which found all were making ‘reasonable progress’ in all three themes under review.

Inspectors said leaders and managers at the provider have a “strategy that is carefully devised and clear” and they “aspire to become a national market leader of IT-related apprenticeships”.

“Apprentices’ starting points are defined clearly through skills scans and base-line assessments that are detailed and relevant to the specific programme that they are starting,” they added.

The Management Academy Ltd, based in Oxfordshire, came in for similar praise.

“Leaders have a clear strategic direction to provide training for managers within the aviation industry,” Ofsted said.

“They have worked closely with a single employer to design a course that meets its business needs and the needs of apprentices.”

Meanwhile, leaders at Firebrand Training Limited, based in Bedford, “share a clear vision and determination to provide the highest quality of apprenticeship training for the digital industry.

“Since gaining a directly funded contract, senior leaders have ensured that they have a suitable management structure in place, and sufficient assessors to meet the growth in apprenticeship numbers.”

And at the University College Of Estate Management, based in Berkshire, “staff assess all new apprentices carefully to decide if the surveying technician advanced apprenticeship is appropriate for them and their employers”.

“When a potential apprentice has existing knowledge and skills which make an advanced apprenticeship insufficiently developmental, managers work with the employer to help prepare the employee for a higher-level apprenticeship,” inspectors said.

The only negative report was for Brentwood Community College, a specialist college in Greater Manchester which was established in 2014 “as a result of the local area special educational needs review for students aged over 19 who were progressing from the associated special school”.

Ofsted rated it ‘requires improvement’ in all fields apart from personal development, behaviour and welfare, which was rated ‘good’.

“The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not yet sufficiently good so that all students make the progress of which they are capable,” Ofsted said.

“The curriculum offer requires further development so that it meets all the needs, interests and abilities of students who have high needs and ensures that they achieve their long-term goals and aspirations.”

However, the college was praised for ensuring “students make very good progress in developing strategies to manage their own behaviour”.

 

Independent Specialist College	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Brentwood Community College	10/07/2018	06/09/2018	3	NA

 

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Estio Training Limited	07/08/2018	07/09/2018	M	M
The Management Academy Ltd	18/07/2018	06/09/2018	M	M
Firebrand Training Limited	01/08/2018	06/09/2018	M	M
University College Of Estate Management	08/08/2018	05/09/2018	M	M

 

Other (including UTCs)	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
West Midlands UTC	19/06/2018	03/09/2018	2	NA

The nation’s largest college group has been praised for tackling “insecure” staff contracts, after it unveiled plans to move workers on zero-hours style contracts to permanent ones within two years.

NCG is said to have “set a benchmark” to colleges across the country by adding security to “vulnerable” staff on casual contracts.

Under the new plans, casual contracts will be restricted to eight weeks and after two years staff will be given a permanent contract. NCG has six colleges across England and will roll out the plan initially at its two Newcastle sites. 

The group has a total of 442 staff on casual contracts, out of a 2,985 workforce (15 per cent), who this move will help.

It follows a call from the University and Colleges Union in 2016 to make casual staff permanent if they’ve been working at an FE provider for at least two years.

A union spokesperson told FE Week it has had commitments in this area from other colleges since the call was made, but “we haven’t had anything on the scale of what should happen at NCG”.

UCU believes the move could “transform people’s lives”, after research from 2015 found that staff on casual contracts have struggled make ends meet. 

Over half of 540 survey respondents working in FE said that they had struggled to pay household bills. Around two-fifths had had problems keeping up with mortgage or rent commitments and three in 10 said they had had difficulties putting food on the table.

The union says staff without permanent contracts are unable to plan their lives as they don’t know how many hours they will work or what they may earn on a monthly basis.

“We are delighted with this new approach from NCG,” said UCU general secretary Sally Hunt.

“This added level of security can be life changing for staff. Some of the most vulnerable staff will go from not knowing what they might be earning each month to being able to better plan their life.”

She added: “This move from NCG sets a benchmark for good practice and it is up to other colleges and universities to follow suit.

“We are keen to work with any institution that wants to eradicate the scourge of insecurity for its staff.”

Joe Docherty, chief executive of NCG, said: “Working constructively with our trade union partners is really important to us and I’m delighted that we have worked closely with the unions to provide a framework which improves the job security of colleagues, and still allows those who wish to work flexibility to do so.

“It’s an important development which I am pleased to support.”

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is to focus on intervention and prevention in independent training providers following a number of high profile failures, as it continues to beef up its audit team.

Its latest recruitment drive for its “market oversight” unit includes six advertised roles, who will try to identify financial problems at ITPs before they occur and “respond swiftly to provider failure to ensure learner and employer interests are protected and new, high quality provision is identified”.

The new jobs include an assurance manager, senior assurance officer, assistance assurance officer, and a graduate assistance assurance officer.

“We welcome these steps as part of a two-way dialogue in terms of understanding how policy changes can possibly destabilise the ITP market

Also being recruited is a post-16 senior interventions support officer and a post-16 financial intervention support manager.

All adverts, posted on the civil service jobs website, state that they will have a specific focus on independent training providers.

The extra agency resource comes after a series of significant failures, requiring the transfer of thousands of apprentices to new employers and providers.

In March 2017, First4Skills, one of the largest apprenticeship providers in England, called in the administrators after the ESFA terminated their contract following an Ofsted grade four inspection report. As many as 6,500 apprentices were affected.

Then in August later that year the nation’s largest FE provider Learndirect was also suddenly hit with an Ofsted grade four. It had around 80,000 learners at the time of inspection and the ESFA delayed cancelling its skills contracts in an effort to avoid transferring many of the students before finishing their courses.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, welcomed the new assurance and intervention teams.

“While AELP believes that the current ESFA audit process has generally worked well for a sector that has over 1,000 providers, we have been saying to the agency for some time that the intervention process should be reviewed and improved,” he told FE Week.

“We therefore welcome these steps as part of a two-way dialogue in terms of understanding how policy changes can possibly destabilise the ITP market and at the same time achieve a positive impact from any interventions that the agency feels necessary to make.”

FE Week reported in May that the rapid increase in the number of training providers has forced an expansion of the ESFA’s audit team.

All personnel in the new assurance and intervention teams will operate directly under the leadership of Matt Atkinson, the ESFA’s director of provider market oversight – a unit which now has around 120 employees.

A key responsibility of the manager who will lead the assurance team will be to “oversee, develop and manage a programme of assurance monitoring visits that targets specific risk issues and complement existing assurance activities”.

“The programme will be suitably flexible to target emerging issues and respond on a timely basis, with an emphasis on Independent Training Providers,” the job advert adds.

The successful candidate will be “responsible for ensuring appropriate quality assurance and continuous improvement procedures are in place to enable the assurance work to be delivered to the high quality standards expected”.

They must also carry out “horizon-scanning, anticipating the impact of emerging policy and sector changes, as well as technological opportunities, acting as a champion for associated business transformation”.

The post-16 financial intervention support manager must act as a “national link” between the provider market oversight unit and the ESFA intervention team “on all things relating to intervention with ITPs”.

They must “attend meetings at ITPs, providing challenge and advice on the financial position of institutions as required”.