Ofsted’s deputy director for further education and skills spoke to FE Week after its annual report was unveiled this morning. Paul Joyce reflected at length on the unease at the way funding cuts are narrowing the learning experience of sixth-form learners, and even backed campaigners asking the government to invest more.

The Support Our Sixth-Formers campaign, backed by among others the Association of Colleges, Sixth-Form Colleges Association and FE Week, wants the 16-to-18 per-pupil funding rate to increase by at least £200.

Asked if he supports the campaign, Mr Joyce diplomatically explained that his boss, chief inspector Amanda Spielman, “has said she believes until 16-to-18 funding rates are increased, the sector will continue to face significant challenges, and I certainly support that view and share that opinion”.

She explicitly warned in her speech that the sector will struggle unless it is given more funding.

“We’ve become aware through inspection of a number of sixth-form colleges, for example, that no longer offer four A-levels in the first year, and then drop into three,” Mr Joyce said.

“Also, we’ve seen where enrichment activities have been reduced because of the constraints to funding or staffing that institutions experience.

“Historically, where learners would get additional care, support and guidance, we have seen those activities, tutorials, preparation for work, for interviews, debating societies, that kind of thing, reduce gradually over time.”

He stressed that to run quality provision, “there has got to be some sort of link between funding and the provision that’s on offer”. Such considerations will increasingly be taken into account by inspectors.

“We already report about the curriculum. What you can expect to see in the reports is a little more focus on the curriculum, about what’s changed, and we will start to look at the reasons for some of that change,” he said.

“This is around funding for 16-to-19 provision generally. We will report on the curriculum in the round, but the issue of core funding-rates for that age group certainly will be an area of exploration.”

The annual report also declared that the “case of Learndirect case has shown that no provider is too big to fail”, after it was given a grade four in August. It has still arguably received special treatment from the Department for Education that has so far allowed it to retain its skills contracts much longer than is usual for ‘inadequate’ providers.

It begs the question, do does he think Learndirect should have been allowed to fail?

“From our perspective, if we inspect a provider, regardless of its size, if it’s ‘inadequate’ we will say so,” he said. “What others do with that, that’s entirely up to them. It does raise the question of when markets grow, whether there is enough scrutiny and consideration.

“Growth needs managing carefully, quality needs to be a key consideration, and big is not always better.

“This, at the end of the day, is taxpayers’ money we are dealing with, and levy money. We need to make sure that is used appropriately to provide quality training.”

He also reflected on questions in the report on where money generated from the apprenticeship levy is being directed, and connected changes to the wider apprenticeship system.

“We have some concerns about how these apprenticeship reforms are playing out. It is early days but we are worried that the majority of new standards that have been approved are at higher levels,” he admitted.

“That clearly means that 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.

“That’s what we mean about the use of money.”

An independent training provider that has slumped two grades to ‘inadequate’ is trying to get taken over.

Chesterfield-based NLT Training received the lowest possible grade across the board from Ofsted – down from ‘good’– in a report published today.

Sarah Temperton, its chief executive, wants to be taken over by WEBS Training Ltd, a Nottingham-based furniture training provider rated ‘good’ in April this year.

She hopes that the takeover, which she said is agreed between the companies but is still subject to Education and Skills Funding Agency approval, will help to secure continued apprenticeship training at NLT’s Chesterfield and Scunthorpe centres.

Providers that receive a grade four usually have their funding cancelled by the ESFA, which can force them to close.

“If the takeover does not gain approval, there is a real risk that valuable bridge between education and employment may now be taken away from a number of disadvantaged young people across Scunthorpe and Chesterfield,” she said.

Ms Temperton said she was “extremely disappointed” at the verdict, and that she would be “challenging them at a number of levels”.

Samantha Jones, the managing director of WEBS, said the two providers had already “worked together for a number of years and combining forces provides many opportunities”.

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 published this morning.

“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”.

“A significant number of learners leave or are dismissed from the programme without achieving all their learning goals,” it said.

NLT Training had 252 learners and apprentices at the time of inspection, as well as a 2017/18 ESFA allocation of £600,979 for apprenticeships and £333,924 for study programmes. It is on the register of apprenticeship training providers.

The standard of apprentices’ off-the-job training was criticised in the report for failing to “focus sufficiently on developing their understanding of engineering principles”.

Inspectors found that apprentices’ on- and off-the-job training wasn’t well-coordinated, and that “training officers fail to exploit workplace activities fully so that apprentices can practise and apply learning they have developed at the training centre”.

“Not all training officers have sufficiently high aspirations for apprentices and learners.”

Leadership was heavily criticised in the report, with strategic and operational management deemed “inadequate”.

“Decision-making is uncoordinated. Senior leaders, managers and directors are not taking sufficient action to ensure that learners on the study programmes and apprentices receive high-quality training,” it said.

Directors had received inaccurate information in 2015/16 which meant they were “unaware” of the decline in performance and were “insufficiently active in identifying and challenging weak performance and actions that could lead to reputational damage”.

But it noted that “the reports that directors now receive are appropriate to inform effective scrutiny”.

And it said that Ms Temperton, who was appointed in late 2017, was “ambitious for the company” and “under her guidance, directors and senior managers have started to identify key actions to improve standards”.

While safeguarding at the provider was “effective”, the report found that “apprentices’ and learners’ understanding of fundamental British values is often underdeveloped”.

NLT Training is the third independent training provider to receive the lowest possible grade from Ofsted since September, after Activ8 Learning and First City Training both received a grade four in reports published in October.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are aware that Ofsted has published its inspection report on NLT Training. We will take swift action to work with NLT Training to ensure that impact on learners and employers is minimised.”

The first annual Ofsted report delivered by Amanda Spielman has warned that the ignominious fall of Learndirect shows that “no provider is too big to fail”.

The chief inspector unveiled her report for 2016/17 this morning, confirming FE Week’s predictions that it would warn of declining performance for both general FE and sixth-form colleges.

It drew attention back to Learndirect, which was rated ‘inadequate’ over the summer.

“This year, the case of Learndirect has shown that no provider is too big to fail. That raises questions for us and for government about failure in market regulation and whether incentives drive the right behaviour,” the report said.

This reflects comments made during an exclusive interview with the chief inspector in the wake of the scandal.

The report appeared in August, in the wake of a failed legal attempt to quash it, and a gagging order which FE Week successfully overturned.

The report has also commented on the apprenticeship levy, which was introduced for large employers by the government in April.

“The apprenticeship levy is raising a very substantial amount of money to fund training,” it said. “This carries the risk of attracting operators that are not committed to high-quality learning.”

Since the levy launched, there have been fears that it is driving a massive rise in higher or degree-level apprenticeships at the expense of lower levels, as employers are keen to upskill existing staff.

“Most apprenticeships 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,” Ms Spielman wrote.

“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.”

The report added that Ofsted will over the coming year review how it inspects apprenticeships “in the context of the new apprenticeship levy, including how we inspect sub-contractors”. This will come as a relief to many in the sector who are frustrated that Ofsted has still not started directly inspecting subcontractors, despite an apparent change in the rules last September to allow for this. 

It also confirmed FE Week’s analysis from last month, which showed an eight-point fall compared with the previous year in sixth-form colleges with a grade one or two in 2017.

Until 2017, the proportion of SFCs receiving the top two grades had climbed every year since 2012. It rose from 72 per cent five years ago to an impressive 89 per cent in 2016.

But figures to September this year show that the proportion rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ had dropped to 81 per cent.

Our analysis also found that 69 per cent of general FE colleges were rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by August 31, amounting to an overall decline for the third year running.

Seven general FE colleges subsequently managed to dig themselves out of failing grades in the early part 2017/18, but this success is not expected to be recognised in the report, which will only look at inspections published in 2016/17.

The findings backed up Ms Spielman’s recent comments to the education select committee, when she admitted that colleges “have the biggest funding challenge” and said Ofsted had seen “disappointing outcomes” in FE.

Meanwhile, 80 per cent of independent training providers received the top two grades.

This year’s annual Ofsted report recognised the “important role” that ITPs play in FE.

Former chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw delivered his fifth and final annual report last December, when he warned that the government’s maths and English compulsory GCSE resits policy, which has placed huge added pressure on colleges having to lay on extra classes and delivered poor results, was not working out.

Spielman accepted this time that “this has not changed”.

“In seven out of 10 colleges that improved to ‘good’ this year, English and maths were still weak,” she wrote.

“While the policy’s intention to improve literacy and numeracy levels is well intentioned, the implementation of the policy is not having the desired impact in practice.”

 

A prankster has caused confusion by setting up a fake Twitter account for a college and claiming it had closed for the day because of the freezing conditions.

The message was posted three hours ago from an account titled North Warwickshire & Hinckley College, with the handle @HinkleyNorth, saying that all “campuses are closed today due to icy roads and possible health and safety issues”.

 

All North Warwickshire and Hinckley College campuses are closed today Tuesday the 12th of December due to icy roads and possible health and safety issues (keep checking for any updates using the box or/ social Media’s)

— North. Warwickshire & Hinckley College (@HinckleyNorth) December 12, 2017

 

The college at first responded with posting before 9am from its official Twitter account, insisting that “this is a fake account and that North Warwickshire & Hinckley College is open at all sites to staff and students today”.

 

Please be advised that this is a fake account and that North Warwickshire & Hinckley College is open at all sites to staff and students today (12 Dec). Please follow @nwhcnews for official information https://t.co/Jf6zBUi2nm

— NWHC News (@nwhcnews) December 12, 2017

 

NWHC also confirmed to FE Week that it has reported the fake account to Twitter.

The message appeared to have tricked at least one person, believed to be a learner. Joe Farren tweeted: “I believed it n went back to bed now n late.”

 

Tbf i believed it n went back to bed now im late😩

— Joe Farren (@fazzjoe) December 12, 2017

 

The confusion mounted, though, when NWHC tweeted later in the morning to say it had decided to close its sites after all, “due to the continuing adverse weather conditions”.

“The safety of our staff and students is paramount and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We will re-open 13 Dec,” the tweet said.

A spokesperson for the college explained further.

“This morning, we started to receive reports that a fake Twitter account has been set up announcing that North Warwickshire and Hinckley College would be closed all day. We retweeted that this was a fake twitter account and that the sites were actually open.”

But she added that the decision was then taken to close all of its campuses due to “the health and safety issues” that the weather posed to staff and students.

A total of 714 training providers have won contracts in the £650 million non-levy tender – nearly a third of which did not have an apprenticeships allocation last year.

The ESFA has released a list of all the winners from the much-anticipated procurement to fund apprenticeships at small employers.

It reveals that 714 providers have been handed contracts for the period between January 2018 and March 2019.

Although the document does not state the value of the contracts for individual providers, FE Week checked the ESFA’s allocations spreadsheet for 2016/17 and was able to filter which of them did not previously have an apprenticeships allocation.

This revealed that 227 (32 per cent) of the 714 are on their first apprenticeships contract.

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was unable to comment on exactly how many providers applied in the non-levy tender as it was still a “live procurement”.

Results for the £650 million procurement, for which apprenticeships minister Anne Milton has already apologised after its aborted first attempt and delays to the second, were finally released last Thursday (December 7) by the ESFA.

FE Week launched a survey immediately after the release, to encourage providers to tell us their outcomes, and we were able to work out the proportion of non-levy funding awarded by age and region.

Our analysis shows that London has been worst hit; providers from the capital have generally only received a third of what they applied for.

At the other end of the spectrum, providers in the east of England came out on top, and were awarded nearly two thirds of the values of their bids. These variations came about as the ESFA attempted to manage demand across the country.

You can fill in FE Week’s survey telling us about your experience here.

A survey of civil servants working at the education watchdog shows a surge in approval of Ofsted’s leadership and ability to manage change this year.

The 2017 civil service people survey has offered the first glimpse into life at the inspectorate under Amanda Spielman, who took over as chief inspector from Sir Michael Wilshaw in January.

Overall, 63 per cent of staff had something positive to say about the organisation’s leadership and change management, up six percentage points on last year.

The biggest rise is in the proportion of staff who feel the watchdog’s top leaders have a “clear vision” for the future of Ofsted, up to 70 per cent this year, a 13-point increase.

There have also been rises in the proportion of staff who feel change is managed well at Ofsted (up eight percentage points to 51 per cent) and those who have confidence in the decisions made by senior managers (up seven percentage points to 70 per cent).

The proportion of staff who felt that when changes are made at the watchdog, they are made for the better, is also up seven percentage points, to 45 per cent this year.

Today’s survey results also show significant rises in other areas. For example, 82 per cent of staff said they had the tools to do their job effectively this year, up five percentage points on last year.

Three quarters of employees also reported feeling proud when telling others they are part of Ofsted, up five percentage points on 2016. The proportion of staff who would recommend Ofsted as “a great place to work”, also rose by five percentage points to 63 per cent this year.

Sir Michael caused huge controversy with his outspoken comments about the FE sector during his tenure as chief inspector. But ever since she was introduced as Ofsted’s new boss, Ms Spielman has vowed to “reset” the relationship between the education watchdog and colleges.

An ‘outstanding’ training provider is facing a significant challenge to survive after it was only awarded a fraction of the funding it said it needed from the non-levy tender debacle.

Haddon Training, a private provider based in Wiltshire, has been delivering work-based training in equine, animal care and business services for over 20 years, but will now have to look outside of direct ESFA funding to keep its doors open.

It needed £2.4 million from the government to train apprentices with small employers between January 2018 and March 2019, but said it had been capped at £1.5 million because its historic apprenticeship starts delivery was at or below that amount for 2015/16.

The provider was forced to tender for that £1.5 million, but was awarded just £832,000 – two thirds less than the £2.4 million it originally required.

As a result, it is at a “significant risk”, according to David Grant, the chief operating officer for the firm that usually teaches around 650 apprentices every year.

“We have run this through our budgets, and by July 2018 our number of apprentices will drop from 650 to 160,” he told FE Week.

“We will make a loss of £243,000 this year and unless we can find another source of income, will most likely close.”

Mr Grant said Haddon Training was already struggling after funding for frameworks for their largest programme, equine, was reduced by half in May, even though there were “no new apprenticeship standards to move to”.

Seven months on, the standards for equine are still not live and they look unlikely to be available until next May.

“This has naturally had a significant impact on our finances and as a small provider, cash flow. We have however survived the storm,” he said.

But he fears this non-levy allocation could be a funding cut too far.

“I do not understand the ESFA’s or governments logic,” said managing director Chris Hewlett.

“We work in a sector where there are no levy-paying employers, we enrol 540 16- to 18-year-olds every year, a priority age group, and are a high-quality, grade one training provider.

“Why does the government not value small, quality training providers and want to make our lives so very difficult and push us towards administration? Surely we are contributing to the government’s target of three million apprenticeship starts?” he asked in exasperation.

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the non-levy tender as it was still a “live procurement”.

Haddon Training will not be the only provider to be hit hard by the outcome of the process.

Results for the £650 million procurement, for which apprenticeships minister Anne Milton previously apologised, after its aborted first attempt and delays to the second, were finally released last Thursday (December 7) by the ESFA.

FE Week launched a survey immediately after the release, to encourage providers to tell us their outcomes, and we were able to work out the proportion of non-levy funding awarded by age and region (see table).

Our analysis shows that London has been worst hit; providers from the capital have generally only received a third of what they applied for.

At the other end of the spectrum, providers in the east of England came out on top, and were awarded nearly two thirds of the values of their bids. These variations came about as the ESFA attempted to manage demand across the country.

You can fill in FE Week’s survey telling us about your experience here.