Trouble brewing at NCG as Ofsted inspectors stay an extra day

Ofsted has taken a highly unusual decision to extend its inspection of NCG, suggesting that not all is well at the nation’s largest college group.

Two teams of inspectors were sent in last Monday owing to achievement rate concerns, and they had been due to wrap up their investigations by the end of last week.

However, inspectors are controversially going back in for one last day today.

It is understood that the visit has not gone well, and that NCG’s current grade two is in danger of being downgraded. Its apprenticeship provision is understood to be of most concern.

This is the largest and most complex FE inspection Ofsted has had to undertake

The group, which is currently consulting on significant redundancies, will be desperate to avoid a disastrous ‘inadequate’ rating in this area, which would see it booted off of the government’s register of apprenticeship training providers and banned from offering the courses.

Intraining, NCG’s troubled private training provider arm, also had a visit from Ofsted last week. This inspection ended on schedule and it is understood to have resulted in a likely grade three for apprenticeships.

If the worst happens and NCG is taken off of RoATP, it will be down to the Department for Education to decide whether to stop the group from using Intraining as the sole provider of the group’s apprenticeship provision, as happened similarly at Learndirect Ltd.

Just before this body, the largest overall FE provider in the country, received a grade four of its own last year, it set up a separate company – Learndirect Apprenticeships Ltd – to deliver apprenticeships regardless of whether Learndirect Ltd could or not.

Last week’s visits to NCG and Intraining were both full inspections, which suggests Ofsted’s alarm bells are ringing.

In more usual times, it would only be expected to carry out a short inspection, especially if there were no concerns.

The group was rated ‘good’ in September 2016, following a five-month standoff during which it successfully overturned a lower grade. Intraining was also given a grade two that June.

However, overall achievement rates at NCG are well below the national average.In 2016/17, the combined overall apprenticeship achievement rate for NCG’s colleges was just 55.6 per cent, while Intraining’s was 58 per cent.

Both are around 10 points lower than the national average of 67.7 per cent, and lower than the minimum threshold of 62 per cent, according to the latest government data.

And for the all-important 16-to-18 study programmes, NCG was 4.4 points below the national average of 81.5 per cent.

It is understood that Ofsted wanted to reinspect NCG last year, but was unable to analyse the group’s achievement rates because “data glitches” absented it from the 2015/16 tables.

“This is the largest and most complex FE inspection Ofsted has had to undertake, involving six colleges and a training organisation,” said an NCG spokesperson.

“Given the volume of information, it’s not surprising it has taken longer than a standard inspection and a request from Ofsted to extend by one day was agreed amicably.”

She said the group would not “pre-empt” the results of an inspection report “by commenting on what it might say”.

At the same time as dealing with these inspections, NCG is cutting staff numbers by up to a fifth at Intraining and its other private provider Rathbone Training in an effort to save £3 million, as revealed by FE Week two weeks ago.

The group was further shaken last month when staff at Lewisham Southwark College, a long-distance merger partner, voted to strike over pay.

Staff are due to walk out tomorrow and Wednesday.

Team UK picks 22 of the best for EuroSkills Budapest

Apprentices from BAE Systems, Toyota and a Michelin star restaurant are among 22 of the country’s most skilled young people – selected to represent the UK at EuroSkills Budapest 2018.

The team will fly to Hungary to battle it out against Europe’s best between September 26 and 28, in a broad spectrum of disciplines including heavy truck maintenance, floristry, mechatronics and welding.

It will be a “life-enhancing opportunity for these remarkable young people”, according to Dr Neil Bentley, the chief executive of WorldSkills UK, the organisation that selects and trains Team UK.

It will be a life-enhancing opportunity for these remarkable young people

To win a place in the team, learners battled through an exhaustive selection process after excelling in the prestigious WorldSkills UK national competitions, the finals of which are held at WorldSkills UK LIVE – formerly known as The Skills Show.

Twenty-seven other countries will compete in EuroSkills Budapest in over 30 different disciplines. Around 80,000 spectators, including European policy-makers, educators and industry experts are expected to attend.

Dr Bentley believes the competition, which is the last before the UK is scheduled to leave the EU next year, is vital for the economic future success of the country.

“After Brexit, our economic success as a nation will be dependent on our ability to close major trade deals and attract inward investment – and this will always hinge on demonstrating we have people with the right skills,” he said.

“Team UK is the embodiment not only of the kinds of traits and characteristics that we should aspire for in a young workforce, but for the UK government’s ambitions for global Britain too. They are leaders of their generation – and will inspire many more to walk in their footsteps.”

Those on Team UK come from all over England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Among them is Shane Carpenter, a 22-year-old IT network administration competitor who works at BAE Systems.

A duo from car-manufacturing giant Toyota – Jack Dakin, aged 22, and Danny Slater, 24 – will also represent the UK, as well as 22-year-old chef Nicolle Finnie, who works at the prestigious Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles restaurant in Scotland.

Dr Neil Bentley

They will hope to build upon Team UK’s success at the previous EuroSkills finals, held in 2016 in Gothenburg, where they finished in seventh place by taking home two golds, one silver, two bronze and eight medallions of excellence.

Team UK will now go on to complete an intensive training programme, supported by their trainers, employers and training providers, before competing in Budapest.

The competitors who take part in EuroSkills this year will also go onto compete for a place in the team that will represent the UK at WorldSkills Kazan 2019.

Last year, the UK team retained its top-10 position in the competition, after our competitors bagged one gold, three silvers, three bronzes, and 13 medallions of excellence in Abu Dhabi.

Team UK for EuroSkills Budapest will be formally announced at a special parliamentary reception hosted later today by Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee.

Members of Team UK

Chancellor of the exchequer faces a grilling from sixth-formers

The chancellor of the exchequer faced a grilling from sixth-formers during a visit to Strode’s College.

Philip Hammond, who is the MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, had over 80 students pressing him for answers about cuts to college funding, lowering the voting age to 16, Brexit and the government’s foreign policy.

The chancellor also shared his hopes for how he will be remembered in the political world, telling students “it will be defined by Brexit, but I hope we will be able to look back at the longer term and see how we prepared Britain for the challenge ahead”.

The visit was organised by the Surrey sixth-form college’s student union, and its SU president Ben Roberts, a second year economics, politics and history student, chaired the session.

“It was a privilege to be able to question such an influential figure of British politics,” he said. “Mr Hammond’s answers were engaging, giving an insight into the myriad of issues the chancellor must address.”

Nine puppies rescued by lecturer and raised by her students

Nine puppies taken in by a Reaseheath College tutor are being trained up by learners.

The 11-week-old pups are all crosses between a Staffordshire bull terrier and an American bulldog, and were born shortly after their heavily pregnant mother was rescued by the Animal Lifeline charity.

The college’s canine programme leader, Emma Caskie, fostered the new born dogs and brought them to work, where they have been nursed to full health.

Now, the puppies have been learning key life lessons with the help of canine behaviour students, including socialising with humans and basic training.

“The next step for these puppies is to learn how to interact well with humans and other animals and to be introduced to collars and leads,” explained Ms Caskie. “Our students need to learn about puppy training and socialisation, and they have also been able to see the consequences of irresponsible dog breeding.”

“It’s been nice to give these puppies a positive experience at such an early stage in their lives. It’s also been great fun for us, and we’ve learned a lot from it ourselves,” added student Lucy King.

Portsmouth College principal is the new AoC president-elect

Portsmouth College principal Steve Frampton has been announced as the president-elect of the Association of Colleges.

He will take over from current president Dr Alison Birkinshaw at the end of her one-year term on August 1.

Mr Frampton, who the AoC says has a “lifelong passion” for post-16 education, has over 39 years’ experience in the FE sector and has been the boss at Portsmouth’s grade two sixth-form college since 2005.

His extensive career has been recognised at the highest level, after being awarded an MBE for services to education in the New Year honours list in 2017.

“I am truly honoured and grateful to be given the opportunity to be the next president of AoC – it is an organisation that delivers so much value to the FE sector,” he said.

“I would like to acknowledge the excellent work Alison has done this year, building on the amazing work Ian did previously. I am aware I have an impressive legacy to uphold but will strive to carry on the brilliant work of previous presidents.”

He hopes as part of his role he will be able to visit more colleges, and meet with “you, your staff, governors and students to see how the AoC can even better support the brilliant work you are doing”.

He has been the director of several local community charities, including Business South and PiTC – the community arm of Portsmouth Football Club, and was also recently appointed to the National Board of Association of Colleges.

David Hughes, chief executive of the AoC, said he is “looking forward” to working with the president-elect.

“He will be a great advocate and help us to amplify the importance of colleges to the health and prosperity of our communities and the economy,” he added.

“Steve’s extensive range of experience, his enthusiasm and the skills he has learned over 39 years in our sector will have massive benefits for the FE community over the next year.”

The AoC’s president serves for a one-year term to promote colleges to government ministers to try and influence their decisions when making policy.

Other previous AoC presidents include the current FE commissioner Richard Atkins, former New College Durham principal John Widdowson CBE, and Ian Ashman, the old principal of Hackney Community College.

Institutes of Technology hit by mystery delays

The Institutes of Technology have already fallen behind schedule, and providers who applied to open one still don’t know if they have been successful.

According to the original competition invitation, applicants should have been notified by early May whether their bids for a share of £170 million had made it to stage two.

But no communication has been sent, the Department for Education has admitted.

A spokesperson said they had “received a number of high-quality bids” during the application window, which ran from December 15 until March 1, although he wouldn’t say how many.

“Applicants will be notified of outcomes as soon as possible after a decision has been made.”

He refused to comment on whether the delay will affect the timing of stage two of the process, during which bidders submit full business proposals, which is due to open next month.

IoTs, which were first mooted back in 2015, are intended to bring together FE and HE providers along with employers to deliver technical skills training, with a particular focus on levels four and five.

According to application guidance from the DfE, they will offer “higher-level technical skills on a par with more academic routes” and will “achieve the same level of prestige as universities”.

Between 10 and 15 of the institutes are expected to be created. The successful proposals are expected to be announced by the end of the year, with the first one due to open in September 2019.

The government’s industrial strategy green paper, published in January last year, included a promise of £170 million in capital funding to create the institutes.

But even though the DfE has repeatedly said the plan is to “establish high-quality and prestigious institutions”, in reality much of this cash is expected to go existing institutions rather than new ones.

It can be spent on “industry-standard facilities and equipment”, according to the DfE guidance.

FE commissioner Richard Atkins expressed doubts earlier this year whether the amount of cash on offer was enough to have an impact on the skills system.

Speaking at a House of Lords inquiry in early March, Mr Atkins said that IoTs are a “very good idea” but the “modest” amount of money means he’s “not sure it will transform the system”.

And Julian Gravatt, the Association of Colleges’ deputy chief executive, agreed that while IoTs are a “good experiment”, he fears “too much pressure” had been heaped on them to “revolutionise the system”.

When the concept of IoTs was first introduced, it was envisaged that colleges would be invited to become one.

But the 2017 Conservative party manifesto said they would be linked to universities and would offer courses at degree level – a change that confused many in the sector.

Speaking at last year’s AoC conference, a DfE official working on the policy said her team had been “equally surprised” by the move – which, it turned out, had been driven by a desire from Number 10 and the Treasury to “confer prestige” on IoTs by borrowing from the status of universities.

FE Week reported in March that a consortium led by Milton Keynes College had put in a bid for £18 million of funding to develop an IoT at Bletchley Park, former home of a world war two codebreaking centre.

The proposal, which also included Microsoft, City and Guilds and Cranfield University among others, would see 1,000 learners a year taught fields such as network engineering, applications development, intelligent systems, games development and cybersecurity.

Four 5ft hare statues painted by Gloucestershire College students for annual Cotswold Hare Trail

Four 5ft hare statues have been painted by Gloucestershire College students for the annual Cotswold Hare Trail.

The trail places around 100 of the statues around towns and cities in the Cotwolds, all hand-painted by local artists and members of the community, and each sponsored by local businesses. For the first time this year, the trail will be extended as far as Stratford-upon-Avon and Bath.

The learners’ creations include “Julius Caes’Hare” (pictured), representing the history of the Romans in the area, as well as “Flora”, whose design is inspired by the flowers and plants of the Cotswolds.

“It’s been a great chance for their work to be included alongside established local artists and to get their work seen by the public,” said Robbie Chapman, curriculum leader for art and design at the college.

The trail will run from May until September this year. The statues will then be auctioned off to raise money for the Cotswolds Conservation Board, who help preserve the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

College challenges local young people to make a water heating system as part of STEM campaign

In its campaign to get more people into STEM careers, Northampton College ran a competition challenging local young people to create a solar-powered water heating system from scratch, reports Samantha King.

The week-long Big Rig challenge, held at the college’s Booth Lane campus, pitched eight teams made up of apprentices and school pupils against each other to create a water-heating system on a specially constructed scaffold.

The winners

An all-female team emerged victorious, scoring highest in criteria including how effective they were as a team, how well they understood and executed the project, and their economical use of materials.

The teams were put together by the college after registering their interest in the challenge, and met for the first time on the day of the event.

“Each member was given a particular role, so there would have been a project manager, a health and safety lead and a couple of engineers,” explained Patrick Leavey, deputy principal of the college. “For many students, particularly school pupils, they would have heard about the different types of solar panel in their science lessons, but for many of them this was the first time they would have physically touched one, connected it to pipe work and positioned it to maximise its heating potential.”

There are plans to run the competition again next year but with a different task relating to another STEM area.

“Some departments in the college have seen the rig outside, and they’re coming up with innovative ideas about the different types of tasks we could develop to happen on the scaffold,” said Mr Leavey. “Our public services students and their teachers there are thinking about designing a forensic task exercise, with different clues in different areas of the rig.”

The Big Rig challenge was the latest activity the college has run in its ongoing ‘Igniting the Spark’ campaign, running workshops on the solar system for seven schools in Northamptonshire in conjunction with the UK Space Academy earlier this year.

Ofsted watch: An encouraging week for FE and skills

An adult and community learning provider has boosted its grade to ‘good’ in a positive week for the FE and skills sector, as two providers received glowing reports following monitoring visits of their apprenticeship provision.

Hackney London Borough Council was rated grade two across the board, up from its previous ‘requires improvement’ rating, in a report published May 16 and based on an inspection in mid March.

Learners, many of whom “experience social, emotional and health difficulties” make “good progress” and “benefit significantly from courses which reduce their isolation and dependency on other services”, inspectors noted.

Leaders and managers have “high aspirations” for learners, the report said, and have created a “nurturing and purposeful environment that supports learners well to take positive strides in their lives”.

They also “work very effectively” with subcontractors – of whom five are listed in the report – “to provide value for money and to achieve their mission to provide education to residents who experience disadvantage”.

Both employer provider Virgin Trains Sales Limited and independent learning provider ARC Academy Limited had monitoring visit reports of their apprenticeship provision published this week.

Leaders at Virgin, which began delivering level two and three apprenticeships in customer care and team leader in 2017, were found to being making ‘significant progress’ in ensuring it was meeting all the requirements of successful provision.

They were found to “share a vision” of providing high-quality training, and to “communicate very effectively their passion for apprentices to be ‘the best that they can be’”, according to the report published May 17 and based on a visit in late April.

“Well-organised training programmes ensure that when apprentices join their on-board crew members, they are able to participate in providing high-quality service,” the report said.

The provider was found to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in ensuring that apprentices benefit from high-quality training that leads to positive outcomes, and in ensuring that safeguarding was effective.

Managers had “implemented appropriate quality monitoring processes” to evaluate training, and were using these to “review effectively the standard of apprentices’ work”.

ARC, based in Wales, which delivers level two apprenticeships in construction and rail engineering, was a subcontractor before being a lead provider.

In a report published May 17 and based on a visit in early April, inspectors found them to be making ‘reasonable progress’ in all three themes.

Leaders were “committed and determined to deliver effective apprentice training” and “demonstrably keen to manage and further improve” provision.

“Leaders recognise that there is always more work to be done and have plans in place that demonstrate the potential to bring about any improvements necessary,” it said.

Staff were also found to “use their industry-specific expertise and insight very well”, and to “maintain very effective, close working relationships with a range of large employers”.

Where off-the-job training was “well-planned” it helped to enhance “apprentices’ understanding of the theoretical aspects of their day-to-day job”.

But the report noted “some variation in the quality of off-the-job training is evident” and that in some cases it was limited to “general advice and guidance”.

Independent learning provider Access Training Limited held onto its grade two rating, following a short inspection in late April.

No general FE or sixth form colleges had inspection reports published this week.

Adult and community learning Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Hackney London Borough Council 13/03/18 16/05/18 2 3

 

Employer providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Virgin Trains Sales Limited 24/04/18 17/05/18 Monitoring Monitoring

 

Independent learning providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
A R C Academy UK Limited 11/04/18 17/05/18 Monitoring Monitoring

 

Short inspection (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Access Training Limited 24/04/18 16/05/18