College caught on camera touting for rival’s learners

A college has been snapped touting for students right outside a rival’s campus – enflaming tensions sparked by a recent merger.

Sunderland College’s advertising van, emblazoned with the words “Sure you’ve made the right choice? It’s not too late to change your mind”, was parked at a junction outside the main campus of its neighbour East Durham College on Thursday morning.

Sunderland merged with Hartlepool Sixth Form College just a few weeks ago, stoking fears that competition to recruit FE learners in the region would become increasingly aggressive.

East Durham’s principal Suzanne Duncan told FE Week that she was “really disappointed” by the van’s appearance outside her college.

Sunderland College however insisted that it had been parked there by mistake.

“An error was made by a member of staff and this is not a practice that the college endorses,” she said. “When were made aware we moved the van.”

Both colleges took part in the north-east area review, which ended in February.

The ensuing report recommended they both stayed independent, albeit “working with neighbouring colleges on a collaborative curriculum offer and participating in shared service company”.

But Sunderland opened a consultation on a proposed partnership with Hartlepool SFC before this report ever even saw the light of day.

That plan came as a surprise to many, as Hartlepool had come out of the Tees Valley area review with a proposal to merge with its closer neighbour, Hartlepool College, and FE Week has been unable to find anyone to explain the rationale.

Even Darren Hankey, Hartlepool College’s principal, admitted to FE Week that he had no idea what prompted the SFC’s change of heart.

A report by the SFC commissioner Peter Mucklow, who visited Hartlepool SFC in March after it was hit with a financial notice to improve, noted that there had been a “lack of progress” on the proposed merger between the two Hartlepool providers, and urged the SFC to take “decisive action”.

“Hartlepool Sixth Form College should proceed with the proposed merger with Sunderland College as a matter of urgency,” he wrote.

But the revised plan upset both Mr Hankey and Ms Duncan, who argued that a merger between two colleges in different areas would increase competition for learners – even though the area reviews had been established to encourage providers to work together.

They insisted that the area reviews had been designed to rationalise provision, especially given the decline in the number of teenagers in the area, which already had a crowded post-16 market, particularly in Hartlepool.

Sunderland’s principal Ellen Thinnesen told FE Week at the time that the merger decision would be taken in the best interests of the college.

“Any decision relating to merger with a neighbouring college will be strongly informed by Sunderland College’s resolute position on ensuring maximum value for public investment, greater specialisation – in this case sixth form provision, reduction in duplication, and most importantly keeping the needs of all young people at the forefront of decision making,” she said.

Should we focus on our college merger or Ofsted?

Once a month, Dr Sue, director of policy and external relations at Holex, answers your questions, backed by her experience as principal of Canterbury College and in senior civil service posts in education and skills.

Question One: Area review intervention

I have just spent 18 months in area review meetings. Although we had already managed a successful merger, we were still encouraged to play a full part, but this distracted us from our implementation plan and we have lost ground. Do you know if others feel the same and has the initiative met its goal?

Answer: I’m afraid many governors like you feel that there has been an opportunity cost, that they have been distracted from implementing their plans and, in some cases, capital plans have been put on hold. The government expected the area reviews to “enable a transition towards fewer, larger, more resilient and efficient providers, and more effective collaboration across institution types”, but while we may end up with fewer colleges, whether they are more financially resilient has yet to be proven.

Although the reviews are complete and each area has been left with an action plan including a list of expected mergers, many of these plans are unravelling.

In retrospect, it may have been too ambitious to try and take a country-wide blanket approach. The original problem of financially unstable colleges could have been addressed through a targeted approach. I also think we will regret that sixth forms were not included in the equation because at some stage that will have to be addressed.

 

Question Two: Conflict of interest

Our merger has raised an unexpected issue. We have inherited two senior management teams and wanted our new chief executive to lead a restructuring of the senior staff. But due to staff changes made at the last moment in our merger partner organisation, the CEO’s spouse is in scope of the senior leadership restructuring. What advice can you give?

Answer: I take it that the promotions made just before the merger were appropriate and in scope of any terms of engagement which had been agreed. If you are satisfied they were, then you must make sure the process of selection for the new roles is as clear and transparent as possible.

You haven’t said whether these are senior post-holder roles, if they are then it will be for governors to lead the selection process. The CEO will have a perceived conflict; there could be a financial interest and therefore they cannot take part in the selection process or in agreeing any terms of redundancy if the spouse is unsuccessful. There will also be line management and performance appraisal issues which will need to be handled by another, for instance the deputy chief executive.

To ensure there is no animosity, you need to talk the situation through with the chief executive, explaining this is about protecting reputation and ensuring appointments on merit. For fairness, the same conversation should be had with the spouse.

 

Question Three: Post-merger Ofsted

We are just about to merge and are working through our risk assessment. As we will not be visited by Ofsted for three years, it has been hinted that we don’t need to focus too much on quality measures but instead on merger transition issues. I am not comfortable with that approach. What is your view?

Answer: Merging two colleges is extremely time-consuming and to get the efficiency gains that are expected, it is important to have an agreed management implementation plan. As governors, your role is to set the strategic direction, monitor quality and ensure the expected practice is implemented, as detailed in the Ofsted inspector framework.

The guidance explains that “a newly merged college will normally be inspected as a new provider within three years of the merger. And, any newly merged college may receive a monitoring visit or support and challenge visit to assess risk. This is more likely where previous provision has been graded as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ or is giving cause for concern. Also, if there are concerns arising from other sources this may lead to an earlier full inspection.”

Therefore, this is a vital role which cannot be put on ice because of merger issues. It is important you find the time to undertake the same level of scrutiny that you have previously.

Cow created with flowers impresses guests at Alresford Agricultural Show

A cow created entirely with flowers by floristry students took pride of place at a recent agricultural festival.

The students, from Farnborough College of Technology in Hampshire, were commissioned to create the cow for the Alresford Agricultural Show by a local accountancy firm.

It took a team of students from the level two and three floristry courses a total of two days to complete the cow, nicknamed Daisy.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for our students. They worked well within a team to make their design a reality, and we are all proud of their incredible achievement,” said floristry lecturer Vicky Hutton.

“We’ve received a thank-you email from the event organisers, and are delighted that they enjoyed the design as much as we did.”

The show took place on September 2, and has been running for over 100 years. It hosts activities ranging from animal petting to ferret and pig racing.

“It’s brilliant that our floristry students are able to create floral designs for clients. We look forward to working with the Alresford Agricultural Show in the future,” added programme manager Gwen Grace.

Why are neurodiverse apprentices so badly supported?

Students’ learning needs are met at university, but not on apprenticeships, says Chris Quickfall

How can it be, in a world that talks so much about equality and diversity, that the self-development opportunities for learners with a neurodiversity, for instance dyslexia, favour one post-16 study route far more than another?

If a learning weakness is present, a university student has a good chance of being assessed by an educational psychologist and identified for any additional learning needs. If identified, they can access support services throughout their studies, enabling them to learn coping strategies and overcome their learning difficulties.

Universities have dedicated disability support officers, assistive technologies, and staff and lecturers who are neurodiversity aware. These individuals are qualified to usher post learners to the right support.

The support structure for apprentices is shockingly fragile in comparison. If a learner chooses to undertake an apprenticeship it is doubtful that they will even be assessed for a learning need. Without this, they receive no targeted support and lose the opportunity to learn valuable coping strategies.

I was the last one in my class in primary school to spell my own name, to learn the alphabet or the months of year, and to tell the time. Education has a way of creating a negative echo chamber, repeating the message that you’re a bit thick.

Education has a way of creating a negative echo chamber

I was the best in the class at maths, but when the only kid who still can’t spell his own name outperforms his peers in maths, he is labelled a cheat, and cheats get punished.

The system’s incorrect assumptions discouraged me from performing where I was strongest, so I gravitated to sport and learned I could be quite good at not being good at what I was good at.

At university I studied mechanical engineering and almost 40 per cent of my class was diagnosed with a learning difficulty. Concentrations like these happen in certain subjects because neurodiversities often cause the brain to prefer some types of information.

We are finding these concentrations within different branches of the apprenticeship sector too: with ranges of identification from 11 per cent to 70 per cent of learners, depending on the area of specialism.

This year we have assessed nearly 10,000 apprentices, studying levels one through to five in a broad range of subjects, and found that around 19.6 per cent have a hidden learning need.

I’m more concerned than ever that when talking to apprenticeship providers, I keep hearing that “my learners do not have learning difficulties; they are level three”. This shows how ill-prepared some providers are for meeting the needs of all their learners.

Ofsted has publicly stated that the majority of the skills sector is not doing a good enough job in this area. The lack of training and awareness means the main intervention for a learner with an additional learning is more often than not “more time”: more of the same training that did not work first time round.

As apprenticeships become a more significant part of UK education, it is imperative to identify and support this group of learners. The government needs to fund this area as well as it does higher education, and the sector needs more training.

Higher education students have access to a grant called the disabled students allowance, which pays £660 for an expert to identify relevant interventions, and hands out up to £5,358 for software and hardware, and as much as £21,305 per year for ongoing support.

FE students don’t have access to DSA. The most recent release from HESA is 2014/15 data that showed 88,930 claiming DSA. Even though only a few learners ever reach the ceiling of these grants, it demonstrates the disparity between the two study routes.

I am presently working with industry leaders and sector bodies to establish a neurodiversity interest group to identify best practice and share this across the sector, championing an equal approach to neurodiversity and inclusivity for all.

Today we are letting learners with neurodiversities down, but tomorrow can look different.

Chris Quickfall is CEO and founder of CognAssist

Only one FE institution shortlisted in nationwide ‘Construction Investing in Talent Awards’

Gateshead College is the only FE institution to be shortlisted for an award at the annual Construction Investing in Talent Awards this year.

The college has been shortlisted in the ‘apprenticeship scheme of the year’ category for its role in the PlanBEE Consortium – an alliance of architects, designers, contractors and engineering specialists.

It teamed up with the network to develop an apprenticeship in which students can work across several companies at once while completing their qualifications. The first cohort began in September 2016.

Also shortlisted in the category are Fife council, contractors FK Group, infrastructure support service Amey, project management and consultants Pettit Group and apprenticeship employer TrAC.

The awards are hosted by Construction News, and seek to find organisations helping people from a diverse range of backgrounds access the construction industry.

This year, there are a total of 13 categories, including ‘wellbeing initiative of the year’, ‘excellence in learning and development’, and ‘best use of technology’.

The college will find out if it has been successful at the grand final hosted in London on November 15.

Student nesting box project proves successful after discovery of baby barn owls

A nesting box project begun by students at Moreton Morrell College has been successful after three barn owl chicks hatched.

The project was a collaboration between level three wildlife and countryside management students and level three arboriculture students, who built a series of nesting boxes in the hopes of attracting barn owls for their farm habitat management module.

The students worked closely with the South Warwickshire Barn Owl Survey to build the boxes, and the arboriculture students used their climbing skills to install them in May.

The chicks have been given a health check by licensed barn owl handlers, and recently flew the nest.

“The students decided that they wanted to build the boxes so it’s all down to them and their hard work,” said countryside management lecturer

Heather Hopkinson. “We were delighted that they have been used by the owls so quickly – it’s a fantastic success for our students.

“This term we are planning to start building nesting boxes for kestrels, tawny owls and barn owls, so we hope they will be just as successful.”

College adds ‘vlogging for adults’ classes to its leisure learning programme

An Ipswich college is hoping to uncover the next big social media star by introducing video blogging classes to its programme of leisure courses.

From this month, Suffolk New College is offering a ‘vlogging for adults’ course at its Ipswich campus, a course covering everything from building a successful social media profile to making quality videos.

The courses will run over five weekly, two-hour sessions on Thursday evenings, and are open to anyone over the age of 16.

John Nice, a spokesperson for the college, said: “Video blogging and the rise of YouTube as a marketing tool for individuals and businesses is becoming increasingly effective. We would love to think that we could create an internet star via this course. So far, the take-up has been good.”

It isn’t the only new idea the college has introduced, with laughter yoga also on offer – a course that focuses on breathing and laughter to boost health and wellbeing.

The college’s leisure learning programme was reintroduced in 2016 after increased demand, and offers classes in cookery, construction, crafts and languages, with Indian cookery classes proving the most popular.

“Traditionally leisure learning is seen as being something for mature learners, however, as far as we’re concerned, age should never be a barrier to learning; therefore we welcome all-corners to our courses,” he added.

Vlogging tutor, Jack Sizer, right, shows his student the ropes

Founder of student-run games studio wins top title at National Enterprise Educators Awards

A lecturer who founded student-led, commercial games publishing studio Rizing Games, has been awarded a top title at the National Enterprise Educators Awards, reports Samantha King.

Michael Warburton, the head of computer games development at Cambridge Regional College, won the Enterprise Catalyst award last week for his work with Rizing Games, a company run by the college’s level three UAL games development students.

During their two-year course – which has been designed to reflect the way a games company works – students develop business plans, and learn all aspects of game creation before commercially releasing their games under the Rizing Games brand.

The initiative has now been running for eight years and began after Mr Warburton, who taught himself to programme after a career as a music tech teacher, noticed an hour of free time in the students’ timetables.

“When I started teaching on the games course I thought, hang on, they’re all learning these different bits but they’re not building computer games,” he said. “I decided, if they’re not doing anything in that hour, let’s get them to make a company where they can bring their ideas together and release games.”

Michael Warburton

Mr Warburton was up against two university lecturers in the Enterprise Catalyst category, which looked for educators driving change inside or outside the curriculum through entrepreneurship.

“It was a surprise, if I’m honest,” he said of his win. “The universities have set up amazing companies with degree-level and postgrad students that are turning over money.

“Rizing Games doesn’t make a penny. It’s not about the money.

“It’s humbling to think people can recognise what I’m trying to do – it’s not all about when you get to higher education. Yes, it’s fantastic and you can specialise, but we’ve got to trust the younger learners. They can do it earlier if you give them the right tools and environment.”

And since 2014, Mr Warburton has secured a spot for his students to exhibit the games they have made on their course at the world’s largest international video game show, the E3 expo in Los Angeles – a highlight of the academic calendar.

“The second or third year of running Rizing Games, I said why don’t we go to E3 and have a stall with the students. Everyone said don’t be an idiot, so I went ahead and did it anyway,” he said.

“Fundraising got us there, and a little bit of college support. We were standing there at E3 surrounded by the likes of Warner Bros and these massive games companies, and there was us this tiny little college from the UK. We were the only educational establishment in the whole world there.”

During their first year at the expo, Warburton made connections with software company Unity and gaming giants Playstation, who both donated software and equipment to help the fledgling company get off the ground.

Mr Warburton is now keen to help schools, universities and fellow colleges set up similar initiatives, and is looking forward to continuing to grow Rizing Games.

“My dream goal would be to run apprenticeships for college and uni kids,” he said. “There aren’t apprenticeships within the games industry, so if I could get to the point where I could offer them an apprenticeship here, that would be really cool.”

Off to LA with Rizing Games

 

IfA interviewing chief executive candidates

Interviews for a permanent chief executive at the Institute for Apprenticeships will at last begin later this month, finishing in October.

The hunt for a full-time successor to Peter Lauener began way back in April, with a closing date of May 22 for applications.

But the IfA turned to headhunters in July after failing to appoint anyone after the first recruitment round.

However, a spokesperson has now confirmed to FE Week that the institute is in the “latter stages” of its search.

“There has been strong interest and we will be conducting interviews with a number of candidates in September and October,” he said. “We will make a further announcement after that process.”

It will be welcome news for many across the sector, which has been eagerly anticipating an update for months.

“The IfA has a vital role to play in the system in making sure apprenticeships meet learner and company needs,” Neil Carberry, the CBI’s managing director, told FE Week.

“It’s great news that the appointment of a permanent chief executive is finally making progress.”

The IfA, which launched in April and is expected to have an annual budget of around £8 million and up to 80 staff, has been led by Peter Lauener in an interim role since September last year.

He took the work on alongside his existing responsibilities as head of both parts of the then-separate Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency.

In March, the Department for Education announced that Mr Lauener would retire once his permanent replacements were in place.

In August the ESFA announced it had appointed Eileen Milner, currently an executive director at the Care Quality Commission, as head of the newly combined ESFA.

She is due to take up her new job in November, after which Mr Lauener is expected to begin his well-earned retirement.