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.

The chief executive of the Hart Learning Group has stepped down after three years in charge, it has been announced.

Matt Hamnett was appointed head of Hart Learning, which describes itself as a “charitable organisation with a mission to create social and economic value through learning”, in March 2015.

The group includes North Hertfordshire College and The Hart Schools Trust, which encompasses the Thomas Alleyne Academy secondary school and the Roebuck Academy primary school in Stevenage.

Two studio schools run by the trust, the Da Vinci School of Creative Enterprise in Letchworth Garden City and the Da Vinci School of Science and Engineering in Stevenage, closed this summer.

Hart Learning paid tribute to Hamnett’s “three transformational years at the helm” when it announced he had stepped down today, including adopting an “ambitious five-year strategy” and creating the emerging talent business Hart Learning and Development, which has recently signed major apprenticeship deals with companies including Co-op, World Pay, Pay Point and Avnet.

Hamnett described his time as chief executive as a “genuine privilege” and said he had “learnt a great deal from a wonderful set of colleagues and students”.

He added: “I’d like to thank them for their hard work and good humour as I wish them well for a future which I know will be very bright.

“For my part, I plan to take a break and smell the roses before deciding on my next adventure.”

North Hertfordshire College principal Kit Davies has taken over as interim CEO before a permanent replacement is found next year.

He said working with Hamnett had been a “real, different and development experience for all of us” and said Hamnett “leads differently to anyone I’ve ever worked with in the sector.”

He added: “We’ll miss his leadership, his sporting metaphors and his unique approach to staff communications. We will also, absolutely, maintain the trajectory of improvement we’ve established under his leadership.”

Acting chair of the group board of governors, Lynne Ceeney, paid tribute to Hamnett’s “passion, imagination and ability to engage colleagues in pursuit of excellence”.

She added: “We wish Matt the very best for the future – whatever he decides to do next”.

 

Apprenticeship providers in London are the biggest losers from the results of the much anticipated non-levy tender, after FE Week analysis revealed they were only awarded a third of their bid.

The ESFA last night informed providers of how much funding for apprenticeships with small employers they will receive from January 2018 to March 2019.

In the results letter sent out, the agency detailed how it decided the values each provider would receive.

“As set out in paragraph 6 of Attachment 2 of the ITT (Evaluation Guidance and Scoring Matrix), the awards for each individual budget were set through a pro rata process: for each of the 18 budgets, the Agency divided the total budget available by the total value of successful tenders to generate a pro rata percentage,” it said.

“The pro rata percentages were then applied to the value of the successful tenders in the respective budget groupings. The value of the pro rata awards at individual Potential Provider level was then combined to form a total contract award. (Any pro rata percentage that exceeded 100 per cent, was capped at 100 per cent so that resulting awards did not exceed tender values).”

The 18 budget groupings were made up on England’s nine regions, and then two different age ranges– 16 to 18 and 19 and over.

FE Week launched a survey immediately after the results release, and providers have been telling us their outcomes ever since. From this, we have been able to work out the proportion of non-levy funding awarded by age and region (see table above).

We will run out of non-levy funding by April and learners will suffer as a consequence

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

At the other end, providers in the east of England came out on top after being awarded nearly two thirds of their bids. The variations came about as the ESFA attempted to manage demand across the country.

The second biggest losing region was the west midlands, followed by the south east.

London apprenticeship providers have been expressing their disappointment.

“As a successful college provider which has increased its apprenticeship delivery substantially over the past two years, delivering in a highly deprived part of London, this is an extremely low award,” Stewart Cross, director of information and integration at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, told FE Week.

His college bid for £1.5 million but was only awarded £569,413.

“About 90 per cent of our current delivery, like many in London, is to non-levy payers,” Mr Cross added. “We will run out of non-levy funding by April at our current rate and SMEs and learners in Tottenham and Enfield will suffer as a consequence.”

Others, who failed to get a single penny in the tender, were even more annoyed.

North East Employment & Training Agency Ltd, a provider which has been running for 30 years and is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, bid for just over £300,000, a tender which was “realistic based on our current levels of delivery”, according to its managing director Stephen Briganti.

He told FE Week his tender was successful but the pro rata awarding process saw any potential award fall below the £200,000 minimum requirement and the “end result of this is that we are being offered nothing”.

“To find out we have then been made unsuccessful based on a pro rata calculation taking us below the minimum threshold is devastating news,” he said.

“Had we been greedy/unrealistic in our request, we may well have received an allocation in line with our actual request.”

Some providers were just relieved to get any award considering the “year we’ve [FE] all had”.

After receiving £595,559, even though he bid for £1,044,500, Malcolm Armstrong, the managing director of Access Training Limited, based in the north east, told FE Week: “Not sure how I feel. After the year we’ve all had, anything could have happened. So, I am relieved we’ve got a contract, but disappointed in the allocation.

“Holding on to the fact that it is an ‘initial allocation’. We already had two growth cases approved so hopefully we’ll get increases through the year.”

The non-levy tender debacle has been going on for a year now and has been plagued with problems and subsequent delays.

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