Principal leaving UTC as year 10 recruitment stopped

An ‘inadequate’ university technical college will not take on any new year 10 students from September and is on the hunt for a new leader, following the resignation of its principal.

UTC Plymouth revealed that the college would not be admitting any 14 year olds – through a year 10 intake for 2017/18 – although it hopes to start doing this again from the following academic year.

It was added in a statement that principal Polly Lovell would be leaving her role at the end of this academic year.

The news comes after FE Week revealed last month that UTC Plymouth experienced a sharp decline in student numbers this year, falling from 180 to 153.

The college is also the least full established institution of its kind, operating at 24 per cent of its 650 capacity.

The UTC, which opened in 2013, was given a grade four in a damning report by Ofsted in June last year after inspectors found achievement at the college was “inadequate and shows little sign of improvement”.

The statement – first revealed by The Plymouth Herald – from the chair of governors Nick Buckland, said the college was consulting with staff on a “proposed restructure” in order to “secure the UTC’s future sustainability”.

“As part of the plan for securing its future the college will not be admitting a year 10 intake for 2017,” he said.

“This impacts on a relatively small number of pupils and the college is working with the council to ensure all pupils are placed in other suitable schools and the college is in full communication with those individuals’ pupils’ parents.”

Mr Buckland said the college will however continue to admit year 12 students for 2017/18 and it is “intended” that recruitment into year 10 will resume in September 2018.

He added: “The college will continue to encourage young people and their parents to consider the UTC as an exciting option that focuses on STEM subjects and prepares young people for an engaging and rewarding career.”

FE Week asked UTC Plymouth to clarify why it had decided to pause its recruitment at year 10, but the college would not comment directly on this.

A spokesperson however said: “The UTC is taking longer to fill than we had hoped. Recruitment is particularly challenging in this area reflecting low numbers in the general student population.

“UTC’s admit students at the age of 14, two years before GCSEs; this is an additional challenge particularly in a city that supports a grammar school system.”

The changes at the college will be taken on by a new leader, after Mr Buckland also revealed Ms Lovell would be “taking up a new role outside the college” from this September.

Her new destination is unknown but the statement said Ms Lovell will continue to work with the college, “providing guidance and support to the leadership team.”

Mr Buckland added: “The college is working closely with city partners, including other schools, as well as nationally with the Department for Education to ensure its future success.

“The aim is for the UTC’s long term contribution to the city is to be as part of a strong partnership with other local schools and significant progress towards this goal is being made.”

The problems at UTC Plymouth are only the latest in a string of troubles for the 14 to 19 institutions since they launched in 2010.

Seven have closed, or announced plans for closure, amid dwindling pupil numbers.

Sixty per cent of UTCs visited by Ofsted have meanwhile been given ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ ratings.

And FE Week revealed last month that learner numbers have dropped at around two thirds of established UTCs this academic year.

Support Our Sixth-formers campaign launched

An extra £200 funding per sixth form student should be given to improve the support providers can offer these learners, the Sixth Form Colleges Association has urged.

It made the call as part of its Support our Sixth-formers campaign and as the key demand in its 2017 general election manifesto, both launched today.

The additional investment would pay for improved mental health support, study and employability skills and careers advice – all vital services that sixth form providers have had to scale back on thanks to “chronic underinvestment”, the SFCA said.

It’s one of four recommendations in the association’s manifesto aimed at boosting investment in sixth form education.

Bill Watkin, SFCA chief executive, called on all political parties to back the campaign and its manifesto recommendations.

“Increased investment is now urgently required to ensure that students pursuing A-level and other academic qualifications receive the sort of high quality education and support they need to become healthy, happy, resilient and productive citizens,” he said.

The association is also calling for a wider review of sixth form funding, as it said there was a “disconnect” between the cost of delivering an academic curriculum and the cash providers were given to do this.

It is also urging the government to scrap VAT for all sixth form providers.

A long-running SFCA campaign calling for SFCs to be brought in line with school sixth form providers, which don’t pay VAT, resulted in the announcement in 2015 that SFCs could convert to academy status to avoid paying the tax.

But the SFCA is now pressing the government to extend this to all SFCs.

The association’s final demand is for a competitive process for establishing new sixth form provision.

“The absence of a competitive, demand-led process has led to the creation of sixth form providers in areas where there is already an oversupply of good or outstanding provision,” it said in the manifesto.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said: “All political parties must commit to addressing, as a matter of urgency, the severe underfunding of sixth form education.

“Schools are being hit by rising costs but the situation in post-16 education is even more serious because these pressures come on top of funding cutbacks in the last parliament.”

The SFCA’s manifesto demands come after the Association of Employment and Learning Providers last week called for a commitment to four million apprenticeship starts, alongside at least £1 billion guaranteed funding for non-levy apprenticeships.

Ambassador vows to ‘beat drum’ over small business fears

The government’s small business apprenticeship ambassador will “continue to beat the drum” over fears that limited access to funding will drive SMEs away.

Jason Holt spoke exclusively to FE Week after the devastating impact of last week’s “derisory” funding allocations for providers delivering apprenticeships to small employers between May and December became clear.

The announcement, made on April 25, followed a decision to pause the £440 million procurement process for employers not subject to the levy, in part because it was massively oversubscribed.

It provoked widespread fears for the future of apprenticeship engagement; 98 per cent of employers will not pay the levy, which only applies to businesses with a payroll of more than £3 million.

Mr Holt, who has been government apprenticeship ambassador for small business since 2013, told FE Week: “I am grateful to FE Week for raising the issue, and I can promise I will continue to beat the drum of SMEs once the new government is formed.”

Five years ago, he led a review on behalf of the government into how more SMEs could be encouraged to take on apprentices.

It would clearly be an issue if non-levy payers did not have necessary access to high-quality apprenticeship delivery

“It would clearly be an issue if non-levy payers did not have necessary access to high-quality apprenticeship delivery,” he said. “I know senior officials would want to work hard to resolve them in consultation with the sector.

“As chair of the Apprenticeship Stakeholder Board for past two years, I personally have been impressed with just how responsive officials have been to stakeholder feedback and concerns. I have every confidence they will address any issue swiftly.”

The Federation of Small Businesses’ national chairman Mike Cherry meanwhile warned that small businesses should have a key role in helping hit the government’s target of three million starts between 2015 and 2020, and claimed it was now being dangerously undermined.

“We want to see high-quality provision rolled out across England in the foreseeable future, and we are concerned at how this could be impacted by recent reports on funding allocations,” he said.

“We are keen to engage constructively with the government, to clarify the position as soon as possible, to provide reassurance to small employers with apprentices, and those that are thinking about taking on their very first one.”

He added that the FSB was “seeking to clarify” the situation with ministers and civil servants “as soon as possible”.

The Confederation of British Industry also warned employers had been “clear from the outset that for the apprenticeship levy to be effective, it needs to create a stable market for skills, encouraging investment from employers and providers alike”.

Its spokeswoman added that the outcry, led by Association of Employment and Learning Providers boss Mark Dawe, who described the allocations situation as a “horror show”, underlines “issues we previously raised about implementing a major reform on tight timescale”.

“We have called on whoever the next government is to treat the next two years as a transition and deal with matters like these quickly,” she added.

Area review transition fund shrouded in secrecy

Confusion reigns over the £726 million fund earmarked to help colleges make changes recommended by the area reviews, after the government refused to say how much of it has been handed out.

The Department for Education is also refusing to reveal who has been appointed to run the unit responsible, even though the application deadline passed two months ago.

FE Week has repeatedly asked both the DfE and the Treasury for information about the status of the restructuring facility, with negligible result.
The information, we are told, will be made available “in due course”.

We understand that there have only been a small number of applications to the facility, as colleges have been put off due to the level of detail they are required to submit with their application.

According to the official guidance on applying, which was first published in May 2016 and then updated in January, colleges must submit multiple documents with their application form, including a detailed implementation plan and a full financial plan.

The next government will have an interest in helping colleges implement area review recommendations

Julian Gravatt, AoC’s assistant chief executive, said the process of applying to the fund was “complicated” and would therefore “take time and money”, and called on the government to make applications easier for colleges.

“The next government will have an interest in helping colleges implement area review recommendations, and should therefore tackle obstacles by simplifying the restructuring fund process,” he said.

Information about the restructuring facility has been hard to come by since the fund was first revealed by FE Week in February 2016.

The size of the pot, which is managed primarily by the transaction unit, with the Treasury given final sign-off on allocations, was originally understood to be £560 million – a figure that the government repeatedly refused to confirm.

A Freedom of Information request from FE Week in December finally revealed that £726 million had been allocated towards implementing the area review recommendations.

This would consist “primarily of loan funding”, while £12 million had been set aside for transition grants.

This is cash that colleges can use specifically to bring in consultants or other expertise they need to put in place any changes.

The DfE confirmed in October that 50 grants totalling £3.5 million had already been dished out, but refused to answer FE Week’s subsequent requests for updates – with a representative declaring in December that it would not give a “running commentary”.

Adverts for a permanent director of the transaction unit were posted by the DfE in February, and featured a closing date of March 3.

The unit is currently headed up by Matthew Atkinson, who is on secondment from the audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

PwC provides financial services for 26 colleges, according to 2014/15 college accounts – raising concerns of a potential conflict of interest, were Mr Atkinson was appointed on a permanent basis, as his former firm would then be able to pick up work through the transition grant process.

Cancer Research UK calls for major levy rethink over charities

More than 20 leading charities including Cancer Research UK have joined forces to raise grave concerns over the apprenticeship levy which they fear the government is ignoring.

Major charities like CRUK will “only be able to spend a small proportion” of funding generated through compulsory levy payments, the organisation told FE Week, due to a serious lack of relevant apprenticeship standards.

The charity claims that the situation is aggravated by government rules that prevent the money from being used to train volunteers, who make up a large proportion of the charitable sector’s staff.

It wants charities to be allowed to transfer more than the current 10 per cent cap of levy funds to other related organisations. Without this, CRUK fears donations will end up being spent on apprenticeships outside of the sector, rather than contributing towards charitable objectives.

These concerns were echoed in a letter sent by the Charity Finance Group to education secretary Justine Greening, and co-signed by 24 charities including CRUK, Barnado’s and Marie Curie.

“By capping the amount charities can transfer at 10 per cent, the government is exploiting the charity sector by using it as a piggy bank to advance other policy objectives,” the charities wrote.

The government has yet to reply to the letter, which was sent over a month ago. A spokesperson would tell FE Week only that a response would come “in due course”.

This shuts off a huge pool of employees who may be more willing to work with charities rather than larger levy-paying organisations

According to a representative from CRUK, “the lack of appropriate apprenticeship standards for the charity and medical research sectors” would mean it was “only be able to spend a small proportion of the levy funds in our digital account”.

Javed Khan, the chief executive of the children’s charity Barnardo’s, added: “Creating sufficient apprenticeships quickly enough to spend the full amount Barnardo’s would pay into the levy is challenging.

“Whilst apprentices can and do bring valuable skills and potential to the workplace, in the short term this might result in a reduction of funds available for our direct work with children, young people and families.”

Marie Curie, which provides care and support for people living with terminal illnesses, also warned that it expects it will find it “very challenging” to spend all its levy money.

Meanwhile, Mencap’s head of employer engagement Mark Capper told FE Week that the Education Skills and Funding Agency’s recent move to postpone funding allocations for apprenticeship provision for non-levy-paying employers was another serious concern facing third sector members who hope to deliver apprenticeships.

“This shuts off a huge pool of employees who may be more willing to work with charities rather than larger levy-paying organisations who have their own existing apprenticeship providers,” he said.

FE Week first reported on the CFG’s concerns about the challenges the apprenticeship levy would pose for charities in December 2015, when it also called for the sector to be represented in the Institute for Apprenticeships.

It raised concerns in its response to the apprenticeship levy consultation, and then in a letter to former skills minister Nick Boles.

Last May Beth Brook, the chief executive of Fair Train, the group-training association for the voluntary and community sector, warned any requirement for charities to ensure their funds are spent directly on their missions would put them in conflict with the levy.

Anjelica Finnegan, the policy and research manager at the CFG, was blunter still. As things stand, she told FE Week, “this isn’t going to work for the sector”.

“The government is going to be taking money away from charities to be redirected to private business – that is not ok,” she added.

3 ways to support apprentices’ mental health

Apprentices need help getting the right mental health support in place to give them the best chance of retaining employment once qualified, says Chris Kingsbury

It is great to see the mental health of young people so high on the agenda. This is something I notice increasingly as I attend conferences and seminars across the UK. However, we still need a culture shift for them to feel it okay to talk openly about their mental health and seek the right support.

Many young people don’t realise they are experiencing symptoms of mental ill-health or are not aware that there is something wrong. They are also afraid to openly share what they are experiencing.

With the boost in apprenticeship numbers that will accompany the levy, training providers, colleges and employers are looking at their infrastructure and ways they can support young people with mental ill-health.

If mental health is not addressed appropriately, it can have a negative long-term impact on people’s lives. Statistics have shown that when someone with a mental health condition falls out of work it is harder for them to secure another job – more even than someone with a physical disability.

To ensure equality of opportunity we have to do three things:

Provide access

First, we need to make sure that they have access to tailored, individual support.

Providing mental health champions or mentors is one way. Others are: engaging with local community and mental health teams, seeking support from local NHS provision, or facilitating access to support groups. Colleges must also ensure student services can signpost staff and students to the appropriate services.

An apprentice with mental health challenges should have the same career opportunities as anyone else

Challenge stereotypes

Second, we should be challenging preconceptions of mental health. Colleges and providers can help by creating a positive environment that allows open conversation about mental health and creates a culture of support, not stigma.

I have already started to see some great examples of this. For instance, Total People, a not-for-profit apprenticeships and work-based training company, with which we worked on a series of video blogs about mental health aimed at staff and apprentices.

The videos are now posted on all its internal sites and are shown during inductions, meaning that apprentices are fully aware of the support available and can access it when needed.

Addressing mental health in a variety of contexts is vital to normalizing the topic and encouraging young people to access support services when needed.

Educate staff

Third, we should be ensuring that employers, colleges and training providers have a strong understanding of mental health in the workplace. These institutions need a greater appreciation of the challenges that young people experience, coupled with knowledge about how to offer an appropriate system of support.

My role at Remploy is to work with organisations to create a culture in which apprentices feel it is natural to talk to someone about their wellbeing and gain the relevant support.

Social taboos combined with this lack of knowledge can mean we shy away from offering opportunities to young people with mental health difficulties, but education about how support functions in an apprenticeship or college setting can build the confidence of learners and training providers alike.

The Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, funded by the UK government and provided by Remploy delivers a tailored programme of vocational support to apprentices. Since 2011 it has supported more than 7,000 people, with more than 90 per cent retaining employment within the first six months.

An apprenticeship is such a fantastic opportunity enabling young people to build a long lasting and fruitful career. It is critically important that young people facing mental health challenges have the same opportunity to complete their apprenticeships as their peers.

Chris Kingsbury is partnership lead for the mental health support service at Remploy

Principal with 30 years’ experience named next AoC president

York College principal Dr Alison Birkinshaw has been announced as the president-elect of the Association of Colleges.

She will take over from current president Ian Ashman at the end of his one-year term on August 1.

Dr Birkinshaw’s FE career dates back to 1984, when she began at Nelson and Colne College.

She moved to Runshaw College in 2001 as assistant principal for adult and higher education, before moving back to Nelson and Colne in 2004 to take the reins as principal.

Since 2008 she has served as principal of York College, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in January 2014.

Dr Birkinshaw’s services to further education were recognised with an OBE in January 2012 n honorary doctorate from the University of York in 2017.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr Birkinshaw said it was a “huge privilege” to have been elected as AoC president.

“Whilst I certainly will not neglect York College, this role will allow me to act as ambassador for the sector, and I look forward to drawing the attention of ministers and others in government to the big difference colleges make to the lives of individuals, communities and employers,” she said.

Dr Birkinshaw vowed to “work hard to ensure that there is recognition that investment in the college sector is crucial so that young people and adult students can contribute positively to society”.

“I will also enjoy paying tribute to the hard work of staff across the sector and the support colleges receive from the families of students, local businesses and the wider community,” she added.

David Hughes, AoC chief executive, said he looked forward to welcoming Dr Birkinshaw as the association’s president and described her as a “great asset to the AoC”.

“The next government will need to work closely with colleges to address labour market skills shortages and to engage with young people and adults who need and want to get on in life,” said.

“Alison will bring all of her vast experience into the many discussions we have with ministers, advisers and politicians and help set out the opportunities colleges offer in a post-Brexit world.”

Mr Ashman said: “Alison has more than 30 years’ experience in further education and a great track record of helping colleges achieve outstanding performance, as well as contributing to national work on enhancing the reputation of the sector. 

“She will be a great champion for colleges and I am pleased to see the role of AoC president in such safe and experienced hands.”

Cuts to apprenticeship providers will end in disaster

The goverment’s determination not to open up any more lines of funding for our incredibly hard-pressed providers is a strategy that’s doomed to end in disaster, perhaps for many years to come, argues Phil Hatton

The government keeps telling us that it wants to achieve a target of three million apprenticeships, even though we all know that’s extremely ambitious. It’s heavily reliant on small businesses taking apprentices on for the first time, on convincing employers of the benefits to their businesses, and on young people receiving unbiased and independent advice.

Yet every time a minister steps in front of a camera, they stubbornly repeat and refuse to back down from this key numerical pledge.

Surprisingly, over the last few months major changes have been bearing down on us like an iceberg: a new funding agency, levy and non-levy employers, frameworks replaced by standards, end-point assessment and even the bonus of an Institute for Apprenticeships.

Sadly, the news that apprenticeship providers are facing up to a “horror story” of bankruptcy and failure suggests that our shiny new ESFA (no doubt following ministerial orders) is ignoring the blindingly obvious fact that the whole apprenticeships system will need extra funding if it is to have any realistic chance of being successful. The last thing our sector needs is strangulation; instead it needs a turbo-boosted oxygen mask.

Our sector needs a turbo-boosted oxygen mask

Helping colleges and providers gives me the chance to talk to a wide range of employers and learners, and I see many of the latter interested in but not necessarily well-informed about apprenticeships.

A large proportion of 18-year-olds stayed on at school to take A-levels, largely because there was no one independent to mention the other A-word, “apprenticeships”, when they were 16. These same youngsters are now panicking at the prospect of the recommended next step: uni. My prediction for late summer is that many will not want to take up their university places, and because of this funding debacle with apprenticeships, will instead either become NEETs or pick a career path they are not committed to.

I know from my own dealings that civil service advisers often lack the gumption to inform their seniors of the most likely outcome of an action, when this would seem to contradict their ideas. Well, this is not only a huge mistake now, but unless it is quickly changed, it will have an effect for many years to come. There was a time when ministers sounded out inspectorates about possible outcomes of policy decisions, as an independent source, but that time has gone.

Trust me, when they speak out about what is happening to providers, AELP is not just talking for its members but for the young people of Britain and their futures.

If providers have to cut staff literally to survive, they are unlikely to be able to get them all back when the penny finally drops with ministers. Providers are recruiting staff to deliver potential growth areas like higher apprenticeships in management and specialist IT, but the expected funding has been slashed without warning. So much for strategic planning.

The government needs to admit the introduction of the levy and standards apprenticeships has been poorly handled and rushed, to make it happen for May 1. Getting it right should have been far more important than hitting a target date.

The ESFA cannot leave this until after the election. We are in that crucial time of the year for recruitment to apprenticeships, and if the funding for places is not there, the impact on small businesses engagement will be harmful in both the short and the long term.The impact on literally hundreds of thousands of young people will be devastating to each individual whose parents have encouraged them to work hard.

This damage is an unmerited extra blow to the sector, which still has to deal with the negative impact of end-point assessment, which is not even available for some standards-based apprenticeships now starting, and for which the unregulated costs are likely to be a future front-page story just like HE fees were.

If the government is strong, as we are being told it is, it needs to admit and correct this funding mistake now.

Ofstedwatch: Contrasting fortunes for colleges

This week saw a reverse of fortunes for two colleges – with Ofsted dragging one down from ‘outstanding’ but boosting another two grades from ‘inadequate’.

Meanwhile, a good week for the independent sector saw Northern Care Training Limited made the leap from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’.

Blackburn College lost its ‘outstanding’ rating following an inspection in mid-March – almost ten years since its last visit – and is now deemed to ‘require improvement’.

In its first full inspection since November 2007 the college was hit with grade threes in all categories except apprenticeships and provision for learners with high needs, which remained ‘good’.

Leadership and management came under criticism because of a lack of “consistent improvement in students’ achievements” and a failure to effectively “set and monitor the impact of actions taken to improve the quality of provision”.

Particularly worrying was the finding that students and apprentices at the Lancashire-based provider “do not have sufficient knowledge on how the dangers of radicalisation and extremism can impact on their everyday lives”.

Meanwhile celebrations took place at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, which jumped from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ after its inspection in early March.

Ofsted handed out grade twos to the college in every category except apprenticeships, which still ‘requires improvement’.

The “persistent determination” of leaders, managers and governors to bring “long-term sustainability” was praised and said to have resulted in improvements to “the quality of provision, learners’ achievements and the financial position of the college”.

Performance management was found to be “rigorous” while the college’s partnerships were described as “excellent and well-considered”, putting it in a secure place for “significant business and community projects in the west London region”.

The inspectors said “extensive investment in improving teachers’ teaching and learning skills” had “directly led to improved teaching and learning” at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London, since its previous grade four report in October 2015.

Independent learning providers saw a success story this week, as Northern Care Training Limited improved from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’.

In its first Ofsted visit since October 2013 the County Durham provider scooped grade ones in every single category.

Inspectors reported that leaders, manager and training advisers at Northern Case Training “have very high ambitions” for the providers’ 1,017 learners and progress is “very good”.

The learners were said to be “highly motivated”, with most achieving functional skills qualifications in English and maths “at the first attempt”.

Apprentices were working “to high professional standards” and adult learners showed “excellent work-related skills”, while teachers and trainers were both “challenging and supportive”.

Another ILP received positive feedback from Ofsted this week in a short inspection that took place on April 11.

Clarkson Evans Training Limited remained ‘good’, as did Portsmouth College, which was visited for a short inspection on March 30.

And adult and community learning provider Roots and Shoots also maintained its grade two across the board, after a full inspection on March 7.

Roots and Shoots was originally set up in 1982 to help disadvantaged young people from Lambeth and Southwark to prepare for the world of work, and now offers study programmes aimed at young people aged 16 to 19 who have mild or moderate learning difficulties, are from disadvantaged backgrounds and have low prior educational attainment.

The vocational training is delivered in horticulture, retail, floristry and employability alongside functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics.
Senior leaders and managers at the London-based provider were praised for developing “an excellent range of activities that enrich the programme and help learners improve many aspects of their lives, including their health and understanding of the wider world”.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College 07/03/2017 02/05/2017 2 4
Blackburn College 14/03/2017 04/05/2017 3 1
Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Northern Care Training Limited 21/03/2017 04/05/2017 1 2
Adult and Community Learning Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Roots and Shoots 07/03/2017 28/04/2017 2 2
Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published    
Clarkson Evans Training Limited 11/04/2017 02/05/2017    
Portsmouth College 30/03/2017 02/05/2017