Breaking: Sixth form college principal resigns with immediate effect

The surprise resignation of Bolton Sixth Form College’s principal has been confirmed this morning to FE Week, three days after it was reported he had been suspended.

Alex Fau Goodwin only took over as principal at Bolton in July 2016, following the retirement of former leader Steve Wetton.

But the Bolton News reported last week that he had been suspended.

The college initially refused to confirm or deny that this was true to FE Week, but it just emailed over a comment confirming his permanent departure.

A spokesperson said: “Alex Fau-Goodwin has resigned from his position as principal of Bolton Sixth Form College. The college wishes Alex every success in the future.”

She added Stuart Merrills has been appointed acting principal.

His suspension, which is reported to have taken effect “last Friday”, is understood to be related to his management of the college rather than financial matters, according to a story in the Bolton News.

The SFC was rated good overall at its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2014.

Prior to his move to Bolton, Mr Fau Goodwin led Hartlepool SFC from September 2014 until July 2016.

He oversaw the college’s rise from an inadequate Ofsted rating handed out just two months after his arrival in November 2014, to a subsequent good rating in February 2016.

But the SFC was hit with a financial notice to improve by the Department for Education within months of Mr Fau Goodwin’s departure, and subsequently visited by the SFC commissioner Peter Mucklow in March.

His report, published in April, said the SFC’s financial difficulties began at the time of the inadequate rating in 2014, and the college had taken “insufficient action in relation to recommendations made” during his previous visit in February 2015.

T-levels are great, but can government make them as prestigious as A-levels?

Conservative manifesto pledge: To replace vocational qualifications with T-levels that have 50% more teaching time

Catherine Sezen makes the argument FOR

In the run up to the general election the political parties are focused on the importance of skills; both employability and technical or vocational skills are on the agenda. Labour and the Conservatives explicitly refer to their commitment to the Skills Plan for technical education, though the Labour party would be looking to include the service sector.

At the Association of Colleges we are broadly supportive of the overall intention of the Skills Plan. Investing in, and raising the profile of skills is welcome. Ensuring that key stakeholders, particularly students, parents/carers and employers are aware of the best route to a specific occupation can only be a good thing – though comprehensive, impartial careers guidance will be essential.

READ MORE: AGAINST the Conversatives’ T-levels pledge

But what lies beneath Skills Plan headlines that make it feature so prominently in at least two manifestos?

At its heart the Skills Plan aims to provide 16-plus students with a clear line of sight to work. It divides the technical occupations into 15 routes, 11 of which will be predominantly college- or provider-based and four that will be delivered through work-based learning. Each route will have a common core followed by a specialisation year with an extended work placement of up to three months leading to a T-level (equivalent, we believe, to a Level 3). When students complete their route they will be able to progress to work, a higher apprenticeship or higher education depending on the occupation they wish to pursue.

Higher-level skills will be delivered at Institutes of Technology. In the Skills Plan these were aimed at Levels 4 and 5 and centred on colleges working in partnership with universities and employers. The Conservative manifesto refers to Level 6 qualifications delivered at universities. The Labour Party would invest more in the current FE structure, while the Liberal Democrats would invest in national colleges.

Students who are not ready to embark upon a T-level can take a transition year to help them work towards the required entry requirements. For some students it is acknowledged that this may take longer than a year and that the most appropriate destination may be a supported internship, traineeship or independent living.

There needs to be a huge cultural shift

On paper it all seems very feasible; students working towards clear occupational outcomes. But how will it work in practice? After all, students continuing to study English and maths sounded a good idea in theory, but as with English and maths, does the strategy meet the needs of students and employers?

How will the government sell the concept of technical education? There needs to be a huge cultural shift for this to be seen as equally prestigious as the academic route. One way the Conservative government started to do this was by announcing additional funding for delivery of T-levels, but is this enough?

Much of the additional funding will have to be ploughed into finding and monitoring work placements. Colleges currently struggle to access two-week work experience for all students. Occupation-specific placements will require far more employers to offer placements. Extended placements will also require a great deal of planning to ensure that they are meaningful for employers and students alike, while taking into consideration how they fit into the wider curriculum including GCSE English and maths retakes.

The T-level curriculum is yet to be confirmed though we do know that it is aimed at students working at Level 2 and above and that each route will be offered by only one awarding organisation or a consortium. It will be important that the offer is attractive to both current technical students and students who might be interested in T-levels rather than taking the ‘academic’ route. Will there be Level 2 and 3 T-levels aimed at different occupations?

We also await further details on the transition year, but it does appear that it won’t be funded for 900 hours like the T-levels themselves. There are still questions over the role of applied general qualifications, especially where there is an overlap with routes such as the creative industries, and where there is no technical route, such as sport.

The outcome of the general election will be known by the early hours of 9 June; for the final version of T-levels we will have to wait a little longer. Let’s hope they deliver.

Catherine Sezen is senior policy manager for 14-19 at the Association of Colleges

Don’t prioritise vocational over academic routes

Conservative manifesto pledge: To replace vocational qualifications with T-levels that have 50% more teaching time

James Kewin argues AGAINST

The Conservative party’s plans to introduce T-levels could eventually amount to an annual increase in funding of £500 million per year.

While there is unquestionably a need to strengthen technical education in England, this should not be instead of (or potentially at the expense of) what the government’s Skills Plan defines as ‘the academic option’. Increasing investment in technical, but not academic, education is based on a flawed analysis of the country’s productivity challenge. The high-skill economy envisaged in the government’s Industrial Strategy will be driven by leaders, scientists, technicians, engineers and others that in most cases will have followed the academic path during their sixth-form studies.

READ MORE: FOR the Conservatives’ T-levels pledge

The £500 million pledged for technical education was underpinned by research conducted for SFCA by the Institute of Education that concluded sixth-form education in England was “uniquely narrow and short” compared to the high-performing education systems in Shanghai, Singapore, Canada and elsewhere. Unfortunately, this investment will have no impact on the vast majority of students in sixth form colleges as they are primarily studying academic qualifications such as A-levels. Our members provide the sort of academic education that the government variously describes as ‘world class’, ‘high quality’ and ‘well regarded’. Yet in short, it is not considered a priority for further investment. This is a mistake.

While it is true that sixth form colleges and other providers have continued to deliver excellent academic exam results in the face of funding pressures, the development and progress of young people cannot simply be measured through annual performance tables. The funding that institutions now receive to educate sixth formers covers the cost of delivering three A-level or equivalent qualifications, and little more. As a result, the wider support offer to students has greatly diminished. For example, it is increasingly difficult to address the concerns expressed by employers that young people lack the skills to flourish in the workplace and many institutions do not have the resources to address the sharp increase in students reporting mental health problems.

The wider support offer to students has greatly diminished

SFCA’s election manifesto and associated Support Our Sixth-formers (SOS) campaign calls for an immediate increase in funding of £200 per student to help schools and colleges to begin reassembling the range of support activities required to meet the individual needs of young people. The government was right to identify that students studying technical courses require additional support to succeed, but the same is true of young people studying A-levels and applied general qualifications – particularly disadvantaged students.

We are pleased that the Conservative party has adopted the second recommendation in our election manifesto and committed to undertaking a major review of funding across tertiary education. After ducking the challenge of including schools in area reviews, and focusing too narrowly on technical education with the cash injection for T-levels, it is important that an incoming Conservative government gets the scope of this review right.

It must include academic, as well as technical education and can begin by asking some pretty fundamental questions. For example, can we justify providing 21 per cent less funding for sixth formers than younger students? Is it good for our international competitiveness for sixth formers in England to receive half the tuition time as sixth formers in Shanghai? And most importantly of all – what does a rounded, high quality, sixth-form education actually cost to deliver? The proposed review is a golden opportunity to move away from funding sixth formers based on a notional number of annual hours and an arbitrary funding rate, and provide our young people with the sort of world class educational experience they deserve.     

James Kewin is deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association

Merger of two London colleges agreed

Two London colleges have finally agreed to merge, more than 18 months after the link between them was first proposed.

The College of North West London and City of Westminster College will join forces this summer to become United Colleges Group.

The decision was taken at their individual corporation meetings on May 17 and 24 respectively, after independent due diligence reports and responses from the consultation period were approved.

The colleges are expected to finalise the legal merger on August 1, 2017, though this is currently subject to final approval from education secretary Justine Greening.

In 2016, City of Westminster College took part in the central London area review, while the College of North West London was in the west London review. The merger was recommended through both reviews.

City of Westminster College and the College of North West London were both rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

As part of the merger plans, a shadow board, led by chair designate Tony Johnston, has also been approved, and arrangements to appoint members are in progress.

Mr Johnston served on the College of North West London Corporation for two years, including as chair for the past four months. Outside the college, he is managing director of Engage Media Training.

He said: “Both college corporations are satisfied that the merger is the best strategic approach to securing a successful future.

“The formation of the new group places us in the best position to deliver outstanding technical, academic and vocational education, and serve the needs of employers and the communities of Westminster, Brent and the wider region.”

The college corporations jointly appointed Keith Cowell, who has served as principal and chief executive of City of Westminster College for nine years, as chief executive officer designate of the new institution.

Andy Cole, principal and chief executive of The College of North West London since January 2014 and the Association of Colleges WorldSkills champion for London, will take up the role of group principal designate.

Mr Cowell and Mr Cole will continue in their existing roles alongside their additional responsibilities until the proposed merger in August 2017, when they will take up their new positions in full.

Speaking of his new appointment, Mr Cowell said: “I believe the future of both colleges are better together and we have worked hard to ensure that as a combined organisation we have a vision to deliver the highest quality education and training opportunities for students and employers across west and central London, and beyond.”

Mr Cole added: “With growing recognition of the importance of vocational skills and apprenticeships to the future of our economy, this is an exciting time for the colleges to be coming together.

“Our mutual strengths and quality of provision mean the new merged college will present an excellent training proposition to employers and be a first-choice destination for individual students.”

A full response from the consultation process has been produced and is available from the College of North West London website and on the City of Westminster College website.

Individuals who submitted a written response during the consultation process will also receive a personal reply.

Tendering for external quality assurance finally launched

Tendering for the external quality assurance of apprenticeships has finally been launched by the Institute for Apprenticeships – three months after it was originally supposed to go live.

The opportunity to apply to deliver EQA services on behalf of the IfA was posted on the gov.uk contracts finder website last night, with a closing date of 2pm on June 20.

The contract will run from August 1, 2017, until March 31, 2018, at a value of £160,000.

This ends the significant delay to starting the procurement process, which the IfA had scheduled for February this year, in a draft operational plan published in January.

The long-awaited advert promises a pre-tender briefing session for the week commencing June 5, in London, with a shortlist for the job finalised by June 28.

Shortlisted applicants will then meet with representatives from the Institute on July 4, and the final contract will be awards on July 14.

The contract will cover EQA for any apprenticeship standards where the IfA is the named EQA provider and the end-point assessment starts before March 31, 2018.

The Institute will also have an option of extending the contract “for up to a further six months” to cover standards where EPA starts before September 31, 2018.

According to the specification, the IfA predicts that across the timeframe of the contract “between 1,500 and 2,500 apprentices will undertake EPA across up to 36 standards which have nominated the Institute to provide EQA”.

The successful applicant must “provide monthly progress reports to the Institute highlighting progress the agreed project plan, any risks and issues identified”, as well as delivering a “comprehensive EQA service”.

This will include ensuring “standards and assessment plans are fit for purpose and delivering high quality outcomes”, “apprenticeship assessment organisations are interpreting assessment plans effectively and consistently across the standard”, and assessment instruments are “fit-for-purpose”.

Other responsibilities will be guaranteeing “processes and procedures are in place to manage the delivery and marking of assessment and that these are systematic and rigorous” and “individual AAOs are operating effectively and have robust internal quality assurance processes in place”.

In March this year, FE Week reported that the Institute for Apprenticeships was proving the most popular choice for EQA for apprenticeship standards – even though it was only set up as a “last resort” option for the task.

Employer groups must choose from four options for the EQA of the apprenticeship standard they have developed: an employer group, a professional body, Ofqual, or the Institute for Apprenticeships.

An Ofqual spokesperson previously told FE Week that in the new apprenticeship landscape it was “inevitable” for trailblazers to reach “different conclusions regarding their preferred EQA provider”.

However, he defended Ofqual’s credentials, saying: “We start from a base of having renowned assessment expertise, regulatory tools and a tried and tested framework.”

Speaking during a webinar on January 6, Peter Lauener, the shadow chief executive of the IfA, told FE Week’s editor Nick Linford that the IfA did not have “the resource to do the quality assurance role directly”.

He also insisted it would be acceptable for the Institute to charge for EQA because “the principle of a regulator charging bodies in the industry for regulation is not uncommon at all”.

In contrast, an Ofqual spokesperson told FE Week: “We don’t charge and do not intend to introduce charges for our external quality assurance role.”

Ofsted watch: Three providers drop to ‘requires improvement’

It’s been a largely disappointing week, as all three published full FE and skills inspection reports resulted in a drop from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.

“Significant weaknesses” in its 16 to 19 study programmes and apprenticeships, were among the factors contributing to Northampton College’s slide to grade three, in a report published May 23 but based on an inspection April.

Quality of these programmes was found to be “not yet good enough” as “actions taken by leaders and managers” had “not yet had sufficient impact”, the report said.

Inspectors noted that “many teaching, learning and assessment activities” on study programmes “do not challenge and motivate learners to make good progress” and that these learners “develop their knowledge and understanding too slowly”.

But provision for both adult learners and those with high needs was found to be good.

Adult learners “develop their knowledge, personal and employability skills well” while learners with high needs “develop good skills for independent living and employment”, the report said.

Independent training provider Focus Training Limited was given grade three across the board in a report published May 22, and based on an inspection in late April.

The proportion of learner completing their courses on time at the Bolton-based provider was found to be “low”, and “too many learners do not achieve their full potential”, the report said.

A lack of reliable information about learners’ progress and the quality of provision meant that “board members have not supported and challenged senior managers sufficiently”.

Marson Garages (Wolstanton) Limited, an independent learning provider, was also graded as ‘requires improvement’ in all areas, in a report published May 22 and based on an inspection in April.

Leaders and managers at the Newcastle-under-Lyme-based provider were criticised for having “not secured sufficient improvements in the quality of the study programme”, while governors were unable to “challenge managers effectively” due to a lack of “sufficiently detailed reports on the study programme”.

Learners were found to be “not achieving enough of their learning aims or making sufficient progress in English and mathematics”, and “too few learners” were doing work experience.

Two monitoring visit reports were published this week, for Epping Forest College and Hereward College.

Epping Forest College was found to have been making reasonable progress in three areas, significant progress in one area – but insignificant progress in two areas, in the second monitoring visit report since it was rated ‘inadequate’ in January.

Meanwhile, Hereward College was deemed to have made reasonable progress in four areas but insufficient progress in two areas, in its second monitoring visit since it was given a grade four in November.

Just one provider, adult and community learning service Basingstoke ITEC, held onto its ‘good’ rating following a short inspection this week.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Epping Forest College 25/04/2017 26/05/2017 Monitoring
Hereward College 26/04/2017 24/05/2017 Monitoring
Northampton College 24/04/2017 23/05/2017 3 2

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Marson Garages (Wolstanton) Limited 25/04/2017 22/05/2017 3 2
Focus Training Limited 20/04/2017 22/05/2017 3 2

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Basingstoke ITEC 04/05/2017 22/05/2017

NOCN expanding through new acquisition

Expansion is on the cards this summer for awarding organisation NOCN, with a new acquisition from the Construction Industry Training Board, which it claims will transform it into one of the biggest AOs in the UK.

Cskills Awards, currently a division of the CITB, will officially move to NOCN on August 1 and will bring with it around 4,000 apprenticeships a year.

The construction focused AO is the second largest in its sector after City and Guilds, holding a 25 per cent share of the market and providing 271 regulated construction qualifications from entry level to level seven.

Norfolk-based Cskills Awards had 97,500 learner registrations and 69,000 qualification achievements in 2015/16.

The acquisition will broaden the range of NOCN’s offer to include construction qualifications such as ‘license to practice’ and professional development, as well as English and maths, functional skills and the new T-Level technical qualifications from autumn 2019.

The new combined operation will provide apprenticeships, qualifications and assessments across the construction industry.

NOCN told FE Week that CITB sold Cskills in order to focus on its primary function as an industry sector skills council and to remove any conflict of interest as it develops skills standards for the sector.

Graham Hasting-Evans, managing director of NOCN said: “As someone who started out as an apprentice first time around and who has worked in the building and construction sector for many years, I find this new opportunity very exciting.

“I am looking forward to working with Cskills Awards personnel to incorporate their product expertise and their technological distinctiveness to NOCN.”

He added: “NOCN has a wide range of qualifications that will meet the future skills needs of our combined customer base, new employers, and accredited centres operating in the construction sector.”

The collaboration would aim to “create new opportunities, re-address the skill gaps, re-balance gender inequality and support a strong growth for the construction industry in the UK”, he said. 

Sarah Beale, chief executive of CITB, said: “The sale of Cskills Awards is the right decision for the construction industry.

“NOCN has a commitment to continuing to service the breadth of products and services and maintain quality levels.”

She added: “In addition NOCN will be able to greatly expand the range of qualifications on offer to customers, beyond construction occupations, as they are not subject to the same restrictions as CITB.

“Our thanks and good wishes go with our colleagues who have not only served CITB well, but I am sure will continue to deliver excellent support to the industry through NOCN.”

General Election 2017 | a closer look at election pledges

When I wrote my last general election supplement in 2015, I never thought I’d be doing another over two years. But that’s the world we live in now, so here we go again.

Click here to download the supplement

Education is once again a key issue on the campaign trail and in these 20 pages, we aim to bring you all the pledges from the three main English political parties, along with stacks of news, analysis and reaction.

On page three, we take a look at what the party leaders have been up to during school and college visits across England. Pages four and five set out Labour’s plans for schools and skills, and include an article from Angela Rayner, the woman who would be education secretary in a Jeremy Corbyn government.

On page six, we present FE Week’s analysis of Labour’s policies and the outcome of a readers’ survey on the manifesto, while page seven has the FE sector’s reaction to Corbyn’s plan for skills.

Pages eight and nine have all the details of the Conservatives’ education manifesto, but we’re afraid we can’t bring you an article from Justine Greening, the education secretary because our repeated requests were ignored.

On pages 12 and 13, you can read the analysis of the schools and FE components of the Tory manifesto, then pages 14 and 15 set out what the Liberal Democrats would do in the unlikely event that they win power on June 8.

Pages 16 and 17 are where you can read the results of FE Week’s survey of its readers on both manifestos and hear from the paper’s editor Nick Linford. There’s also details of what the sector organisations want for education.

And finally, on pages 18 and 19, you can read more expert reaction and analysis from the schools sector, including a little something from FE Week editor Laura McInerney.

Enjoy.

Freddie Whittaker, Political Reporter | FE Week

Call to convert UTCs to 16 to 19 colleges

Ailing university technical colleges should be converted into 16-19 colleges, with all studio schools joining multi-academy trusts to stave off closure, says a new report.

A major study by the Institute for Public Policy Research has uncovered concerns over the 14-19 schools.

The report found that while UTCs attracted a comprehensive year 10 intake similar to the national average, their league table performance was “significantly below average”.

Two-thirds also ranked in the bottom 10 per cent of schools nationally for Progress 8.

Meanwhile, studio schools appear to be “leading to the ‘tracking’ of disadvantaged and low-attaining pupils”, the report said.

Craig Thorley (pictured above), senior research fellow at IPPR, said despite the government championing both school types, the institutions were not “working for pupils, and face too many barriers to being successful”.

The findings follow several investigations by FE Week, the most recent of which showed that established UTCs were still more than half empty.

The IPPR wants a ban on any new UTCs or studio schools, instead calling for them to become “high-quality providers of technical education” for 16 to 19-year-olds.

The report says any new UTC should have this “revised remit” with existing UTCs converting unless they had a “record of high performance”.

The IPPR said existing studio schools should be required to join a local multi-academy trust with a more “readily available” pool of pupils “to safeguard their future viability”.

Thorley said: “The next parliament will see a greater commitment to technical and vocational education to form part of a modern industrial strategy post-Brexit.

“To save the UTCs programme, these schools should be converted to post-16 providers able to deliver high-quality technical education in line with the needs of young people and the economy.”

The report said this could help to “plug the gap” in specialist technical 16-19 provision needed to deliver the government’s new T-levels – a technical alternative to A-levels where students can study a course in 15 sector areas.

The IPPR found that the pupil intake at UTCs – based on deprivation, disadvantage and prior attainment – “broadly matched” the national average.

Despite this, in 2015/16 an average of 35 per cent of UTC pupils achieved five A* to C grades, including English and maths, compared with a national average of 54 per cent.

Just 10 per cent of UTC pupils were entered for the EBacc in the same year, with 3 per cent achieving it – compared with a national average of 37 and 23 per cent respectively.

Charles Parker, the chief executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, said students were educated elsewhere at key stage 3, and “have often made little progress when they join a UTC”.

Parker said the trust, set up to promote the concept of UTCs, was proud of the progress pupils made during key stages 4 and 5. “The evidence for this is the outstanding destinations of UTC leavers.”

On studio schools, the report found the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grades, including English and maths, was 26 per cent in 2015/16. Just 6 per cent entered the EBacc, with 3 per cent achieving it.

The Conservative manifesto made no commitment to expanding UTCs, a stark contrast to the 2015 manifesto.