More than 30 private training providers, colleges and councils have been slapped with a notice of concern or serious breach, for falling below qualification achievement rate thresholds.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency has today published an update list of providers given the notice, which for the first time lists those providers now subject to formal intervention for failing 2015/16 achievement rate minimum standards. Twenty private training providers have been given a notice of serious breach and 15 colleges and councils a notice of concern (see list compiled by FE Week below).
The Approach to Intervention document states for training providers: “We will identify the colleges and other training organisations that have failed to meet minimum standards in apprenticeships or classroom and workplace provision. We will then decide whether to intervene formally.”
It adds: “If we issue a notice of serious breach, it will set out the conditions necessary to continue to receive public funds. Failure to meet the conditions in the notice will lead to contract termination.”
For colleges and local authorities that receive the notice of concern, it says: “We would not usually refer a college or institution to the FE commissioner for review if the only trigger it fails is minimum standards, but we reserve the right to do so.”
The qualification achievement rate minimum standard qualification achievement rate thresholds for 2015/26 for can be viewed here, and are repeated below.
No information has been published as to whether the notice was issued for apprenticeship and/or classroom delivery, nor if it relates to the revised achievement rate calculations that led to an overall fall, as reported in FE Week.
The National Achievement Rate Tables should have been published last month, which includes the rates for qualifications at providers. When asked this week about the 2015/16 NART publication delay, the Department for Education would only say they would be published “in due course”.
See next edition of FE Week for more information and reaction.
Statement to members, reproduced here with permission
Although most of the feedback from members that I have received about yesterday’s ESFA announcement supports AELP’s initial response welcoming the paused non-levy procurement, I am acutely aware of the level of frustration at the latest turn of events and that not all providers are happy about it. Last night I made those feelings abundantly clear to the Agency’s leadership.
We were hoping for some more clarity in a further statement today from ESFA. Arguably the biggest issue concerns the position of the new main providers who will be denied new direct business while the pause is in place. These providers can still deliver levy payers’ apprenticeships but we urgently need a statement on the subcontracting arrangements that will be permitted after 1 May.
To all providers who understandably feel that their considerable time and effort was wasted on the ITT, there are two things to say in response. Firstly in the Agency’s own words, this is a ‘formal pause before they recommence it’. In other words, the scoring of your bid may still be taken into account in the final outcome. But the important point to recognise, especially in the case of current main providers, is that the £440m tender was massively over-subscribed. So even if your bid scored top marks, there would have been very little chance of getting what you bid for. Yesterday’s announcement may even allow for contract growth between now and the end of 2017 and therefore most main providers will benefit from the pause.
We were hoping for some more clarity in a further statement today from ESFA
Some providers have been critical of AELP’s position but we would argue that we have been entirely consistent given what we have been told publicly and privately in recent months. We have regularly said that the DfE and ESFA have been far too ambitious in trying to introduce too many funding, quality, standards and assessment reforms for apprenticeships at the same time. Our watchwords were ‘evolution, rather than revolution’ and MPs on the joint Business and Education select committee for skills clearly agreed with us in their sobering report a fortnight ago. The decision to run the ITT certainly fell foul of those watchwords and AELP said months ago that existing contracts should be extended at least until August of this year.
With regard to the specifics of yesterday’s announcement, it is obvious that the government simply ran out of time and hence the lack of detail in it. No one should be in any doubt that the reaction to the publication of the first RoATP list had a direct impact on the planned release of the non-levy allocations. In fact it threw everything up in the air. Ministers and officials have burnt the midnight oil on a Plan B but in the end they had to concede that the pause was the most sensible solution available to them.
Some providers have been critical of AELP’s position but we would argue that we have been entirely consistent
Senior AELP colleagues and I have been literally in daily contact with DfE and ESFA officials since the Register was published and we have been trying to get answers to the questions arising from the RoATP application process being reopened immediately and the implications for non-levy contracts. They have been willing to share some information with us but, fearful of leaks to the press, not all. Any pertinent information has been passed on to members in Countdown. The problem though with the limited information being shared is that we are not always able to point out any obvious pitfalls in the government’s line of thinking before an announcement is made.
We said to the ESFA last night that they need to say something at least about the subcontracting rules. Without a pause in the changes to subcontracting rules, the proposed way forward will be significantly undermined. AELP has made this view very clear and the ESFA fully understands the concern. Having said that, we are unlikely to get clarity until next week. With the support of the AELP Board’s Funding Group, we are already logging some very important questions to put to officials early next week. If you have any that you wish us to consider plus any other views, please email: apprenticeships@aelp.org.uk.
We said to the ESFA last night that they need to say something at least about the subcontracting rules
Only a few months after the huge concerns arising from the August consultation proposals for funding 16-18 apprenticeships, I recognise that for some members your Easter break has been spoilt by these latest developments and that your strategic business planning has to be revisited again when all you want to be doing is going out to engage with new employers and take on new apprentices. But on balance, we feel that the ESFA announcement yesterday was the correct option and AELP will now do everything it can to work with the government to ensure that there is a long-term solution that is sustainable for employers of all sizes, those wishing to start an apprenticeship and for providers without whom the whole programme reform process would collapse.
I urge members to keep feeding us your views via the email address above and in the meantime, I hope you have a pleasant weekend.
After significant political pressure the Department for Education has added one of the Birmingham colleges onto the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP).
At least one provider had already gone bust when the register was first published, so FE Week yesterday asked the Department for Education why there had been no revision to the list of providers with permission to start apprentices next month.
Today the register was quietly revised, something only clear from the file name which was previously roatp-2017-03-18 and is now roatp-2017-04-13, although the provider that went bust was still included.
However, three new ‘main’ providers had been added, including South & City College Birmingham. The other two are private training providers: Norfolk Training Services Limited and The IT Skills Management Company Limited.
It is understood the change of heart follows a new DfE process to revisit applications in exceptional circumstances. In this case, we understand the rethink came about because of pre-existing Treasury Transaction Unit funding arrangements, which were agreed on the basis that apprenticeship delivery would be needed for a viable future.
In the case of Norfolk Training Services Limited, a source has told FE Week that the decision to overturn the rejection related to the way the RoATP Ofsted grade rules were being interpreted for an inspection which has yet to be published.
FE Week was first to report that none of the eligible major colleges in Birmingham (Birmingham Metropolitan College, Bournville College, South and City College and Solihull College) had made it onto RoATP when it was first published in March.
At the time David Hughes, AoC’s chief executive, said he was “concerned about the exclusion of some high-quality colleges from the register”.
And a spokesperson for South and City College said “we were very shocked to discover that our application had been unsuccessful, given our grade two Ofsted report and excellent track record.”
Several local Labour MPs had also expressed outrage, along with the shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden and the Labour mayoral candidate for the West Midlands Sion Simon, also reported in FE Week.
Gisela Stuart MP and Jack Dromey MP raised questions in parliament with Ms Stuart, the MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, saying their absence from the register was “destroying technical education for 16-year-olds in the West Midlands”.
And Mr Dromey, the MP for Birmingham Erdington, asked the skills minister Robert Halfon to meet with the 10 MPs representing Britain’s second city to discuss the issue. Mr Dromey told FE Week that the decision to exclude the colleges “on the basis of the answer to one question is inexplicable”.
“The process is fundamentally flawed and it is essential that the SFA thinks again,” he said. Roger Godsiff, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, said the process for applying to the register “smacked of a box-ticking exercise”.
He told FE Week that the Birmingham colleges had been “given to understand that the SFA would engage with them if their application was deficient in some form” but “all of them say that the SFA didn’t”.
Meanwhile, Richard Burden, the MP for Birmingham Northfield, said the omission was “shocking and out of order” – but added that it “can be nothing other than a mistake”.
Sion Simon, the Labour candidate for mayor of the West Midlands, has launched a campaign to overturn the decision, after just three of the county’s 16 colleges made it onto the register. “This decision will all but end technical education for young people in the West Midlands as we know it,” he said.
Although the RoATP application process was immediately reopened following its first publication, it is not believed these new additions are a result of a second attempt at applying.
At the time of publication neither the college nor the DfE had been approached for comment.
So see the next edition of FE Week for further information and reaction.
Excitement is building for this year’s AoC Sport National Championships as around 1,650 student athletes make their final preparations for the major event that kicks off next weekend.
The sporting stars will head to Nottingham to compete in the 39th national championships, described as the “pinnacle of the college sporting calendar”, after successfully battling through regional heats during the autumn term.
Competitions will run from April 21 to 23 and following tradition, the golf tournament will swing proceedings into action at around 10am on the Friday, shortly followed by the start of the 12 other sports – including squash, football and hockey.
That evening the opening ceremony will start at around 8pm and will this year be compered by ex-professional wheelchair basketball player, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan.
Jordan Jarrett-Bryan
Mr Jarrett-Bryan, who commentated on the Paralympics at Rio last year and is a sports reporter for Channel 4, will then be on hand throughout the weekend passing down his knowledge to athletes and volunteers working at the event.
Over the Saturday and Sunday the students from FE and sixth form colleges across England and Wales will compete in badminton, cricket, rugby, tennis, volleyball, basketball, cross country, netball, and table tennis.
While going for gold in their own sport, the athletes will also vie for points for their region.
The region whose teams and individuals accumulate the most points will win the coveted Wilkinson Sword trophy.
The winners of this year’s event will be awarded at the closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon which will start at around 2pm.
Looking ahead to the national championships, George Hutchings, a North West tennis player from St Mary’s College Blackburn, is hoping to replicate his brother Charlie’s success of winning gold at last year’s event.
“I was really pleased for Charlie to win it last year and it would be great to do the same this year,” he said. “Whilst there is always some rivalry between brothers, all I can do is play my best to beat what is in front of me.
“I am expecting the competition to be tough but I am confident that if I play my best I have a good chance of winning. I try to focus more on my performance than the result and I know from experience that matches are won on the outcome of a few decisive points.”
Meanwhile Dominic O’Neill, men’s basketball coach for Carmel College in the North West, is expecting a “fantastic experience” for his players.
Ahead of the event he said: “To have the opportunity to represent the North West region in only our second year of existence as a basketball program is a fantastic testimony to all the students and staff that have worked tirelessly to ensure these boys are successful on the court and off the court.
“Competing in the AoC Sport National Championships is going to be an excellent reward for not only the players and myself as a coach, but as a whole college going forward.”
The AoC Sport National Championships 2017 will be run in collaboration with Nottingham Conferences – the event delivery arm of the University of Nottingham – as well as Sport Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City Council and tourism agency Experience Nottinghamshire.
Marcus Kingwell
The University of Nottingham’s brand new David Ross Sports Village will host a number of sports throughout the weekend, while others will take place at the Nottingham Wildcats Arena, Trent Bridge, Nottingham Hockey Centre and Nottingham Tennis Centre.
AoC Sport managing director, Marcus Kingwell, said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm the University of Nottingham as hosts for the 2017 AoC Sport National Championships.
“Ours will be the first major multi-sports event to take place at the David Ross Sports Village, and we believe the standard of the facilities will provide students with an incredible experience.
“We could even see a future Olympic champion in action at the championships.”
AoC Sport is a membership organisation launched in August 2014 which campaigns for every college student to participate regularly in sport or physical activity.
A former university vice-chancellor has been appointed as the new chair of education watchdog Ofsted.
Professor Julius Weinberg will replace the current interim chair James Kempton, education secretary Justine Greening announced today.
She said Professor Weinberg, who will now step down from his current role as Ofqual’s deputy chair, brings a “wide range of experience from organisations in the education sector” and can form a “strong partnership” with chief inspector Amanda Spielman.
Ms Spielman said Professor Weinberg’s experience touches on the “full range of Ofsted’s responsibilities and I know he will be a tremendous asset to the organisation”.
As well as his Ofqual role, Professor Weinberg (pictured right) has served as a board member for various university organisations, including the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, and London Higher.
Professor Weinberg said: “I am honoured to be asked to take on the role of Chair of Ofsted and look forward to working with Ofsted in its important work of raising standards and improving the lives of children and young people.”
He resigned in August last year after comments the Isle of Wight was a “ghetto” where “there has been inbreeding” at a TeachFirst conference in July.
Despite being backed by Ofsted’s board, which said Mr Hoare had made a “swift and unreserved apology”, he stood down a day after a meeting with Ms Greening.
According to earlier job adverts, the role pays up to £46,800 a year for two days’ work a week.
The decision over funding allocations for apprenticeship provision for non-levy-paying employers has been be paused by the government, to allow time a careful review.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency today revealed that the recent procurement process had been significantly oversubscribed, due to overwhelming interest from the training provider market in the apprenticeship reforms.
It said pausing the competition would allow it to “review our approach to ensure that we achieve the right balance between stability of supply and promoting competition and choice for employers”.
The announcement acknowledged that “it is important that we fully consider how best to achieve these outcomes in a way that achieves the best value for employers and apprentices, as we move to a fully employer-led system”.
In the interim period, the ESFA will extend existing contracts held by all current providers until the end of December 2017.
It comes after FE Week revealed last month that allocations worth up to £440 million, for delivering apprenticeship training to non-levy employers, had been delayed by the government.
A key meeting that the former Skills Funding Agency was supposed to hold on March 8, to reach final decisions on which providers would be allocated a non-levy employer funding allocation, was also cancelled.
Mark Dawe
The ESFA said today it would notify providers of specific arrangements shortly, to make sure amended contracts are in place ahead of May 1, and confirmed that provision for existing learners would not be affected.
It also said it intends to engage further with the market to about its approach to the procurement process, to ensure it “meets the government’s wider objectives of securing stability in the market, good sectoral and geographical coverage of provision, and a market which meets the skills needs of employers”.
FE Week understands that further guidance will be issued “shortly”.
In response to the ESFA’s announcement, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe said: “AELP fully supports the government’s welcome announcement which is right for the sector and right for the apprenticeship programme.
“It clearly shows that the government is as serious about the quality of the programme and the social mobility benefits of apprenticeships as it is about hitting the 3 million target.”
He added: “The decision also gives the new providers on the register [of apprenticeship providers] more time to prepare their offer for non-levy paying employers but more importantly, existing providers can continue to support their employers and start new apprentices while a more considered review of anticipated programme demand takes place in the context of the Industrial Strategy and the skills implications of Brexit.
“We recognise that some providers who invested a great deal of effort into last autumn’s procurement will be frustrated by the announcement but the programme’s reputation will be better served by this rethink of the government’s approach.”
David Hughes
David Hughes, chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “I am pleased that the pause on the apprenticeship procurement process has been announced by the ESFA. It is a sensible and helpful recognition of the scale and complexity of change which is happening at the moment.
“This provides welcome stability to colleges and providers as well as to employers and apprentices through the coming months; this will give more time to get the procurement process right.”
He added: “We know that there are many new providers wanting to enter the apprenticeship market, but the government needs to find a way to ensure that their introduction does not inadvertently undermine current high quality, trusted colleges and providers that have built strong employer relationships over many years and for which apprenticeships are a key opportunity for progression for their students.”
On March 14, FE Week reported that the allocations, worth up to £440 million for delivering apprenticeship training to non-levy employers, had been delayed by the funding agency.
A message was sent out to non-levy funding applicants via the government’s ‘Bravo’ e-tendering portal – seen by FE Week – which confirmed that the announcement of the allocations would be postponed.
The update stated that “the timetable for communication of results to applicants” had been “amended”, and further advice would be revealed “as soon as we are able”.
Previously on March 8, FE Week had also reported that a key funding agency meeting which was supposed to decide which providers would receive a non-levy employer funding allocation and how much they would get had been cancelled.
Training providers without a current apprenticeship contract have hit back against the government’s surprise announcement this morning to deny them direct access to non-levy funding from May, saying their time tendering has been “wasted” and their viability “threatened”.
The government were due to release the results on the 14 March, and until today there had been no information about the delay beyond statements of “in due course”.
The recent procurement process for up to £440 million of funding was said to have been significantly oversubscribed, and the ESFA claimed the postponement would allow it to “review our approach to ensure that we achieve the right balance between stability of supply and promoting competition and choice for employers”.
The ESFA confirmed it will extend existing contracts held by current providers until the end of December 2017 to help continuity, but the hold up has frustrated those who were applying for a contract for the first time and now find themselves in limbo until further announcements.
FE Week estimates over 400 main providers on the new Register of Approved Apprenticeship Providers (a third of the 1,303) will now not be able to directly deliver to over 98 per cent of the non-levy employers from May, owing to the pause.
All main providers on RoATP without existing contracts will be able to continue to subcontract with a lead provider to access the non-levy funding. However, there is no indication that the tighter subcontracting rules from May, whereby the lead provider must deliver some training for the employer, are also being paused or delayed.
FE Week spoke to Liam Ryan, owner and commercial director at First Avenue Training, a specialist training provider for the early years childcare sector, about his concerns.
Mr Ryan said: “Ninety nine per cent of our employers are SMEs [small- and medium-sized employers] so we only applied for RoATP to get the ITT [invitation to tender] contract.
“Like many others we spent a lot of time (and money for consultancy) which has been wasted and not a word of apology.”
He added: “We can continue as a subcontractor for the time being but I’m not sure that there is currently a viable business model in our sector when you combine cuts in funding rates, 20 per cent “off the job” [training] and mandatory 10 per cent contributions.
“I predict starts will plummet, particularly for 19+ learners, which is a great shame since we just spent two and a half years overturning the last government mistake in the sector (the mandatory GCSEs in early years).”
Mr Ryan said the refusal of the ESFA to grant Advanced Learner Loan contracts to providers that don’t have Adult Education Budget funding or apprenticeship contracts was a further problem for his company. “Once again this threatens our viability and I’m sure that we aren’t alone,” he said.
Others took to Twitter to express their concerns about the ESFA announcement. Here are some of their comments:
@AELPUK@SDN_HQ@Apprenticeships what about primes who do not meet the new funding rules requirements from May….will the rules be relaxed?
@AELPUK@Apprenticeships@educationgovuk It may be good news shame it’s taken so long for common sense to prevail after all the scale must have been obvious last November?
@AELPUK@Apprenticeships What about the levy paying employers? One rule for one, not the other? I’d be pretty hacked of if I were a levy paying employer!
@GrahamDavidHowe@AELPUK only in this world would there be a requirement to gear up and put in significant investement in systems only to be told it is now on hold
An outstanding across the board rating has been handed out by Ofsted to a West Midlands independent training provider that specialises in engineering apprenticeships.
Its grade one verdict was up from a good rating following the company’s last inspection in 2015.
The report recognised that “apprentices’ achievement of qualifications is outstanding; the additional qualifications many achieve help to prepare them well for promotion opportunities and their future careers.”
“Apprentices become very highly skilled engineers, business support staff and supervisors; they develop their skills rapidly”, it added, with many undertaking significant responsibility with their employers early in their apprenticeships.
Inspectors further recognised that employers play a key role in planning and delivering the high-quality apprenticeship programmes.
The report highlighted the “strong partnership work” with employers in Shrewsbury, where In-Comm, together with local companies, has “set up a successful training academy for engineering apprenticeships”.
“Employers value highly the guidance and support they receive from In-Comm staff about apprenticeship provision and training generally,” it added.
Highly motivated apprentices were also said to “benefit from highly effective support from trainers and employers” that helps them maintain “rapid progress towards achieving their qualifications within the planned time”.
Meanwhile their skills in maths and English, and information technology are able to “develop to higher levels”.
Directors and the senior leadership team were also praised for being “very ambitious” and highly successful in pursuing high standards for the quality of provision.
All staff, the report added work towards challenging performance targets and have clearly defined responsibilities.
It has produced impressive results for students as the report said “outcomes for apprentices have improved considerably since the previous inspection and are now outstanding”.
“The vast majority of apprentices successfully complete their courses in the planned time and at a level that is much higher than national rates,” the report added.
In-Comm, which had no subcontractors at the time of inspection, is an ITP established in 1982.
Its focuses on the training needs of small to medium-sized employers from the engineering industry located in the West Midlands, with off-the-job training taking place in centres in Aldridge and Shrewsbury.
There were 334 learners on apprenticeship programmes at intermediate, advanced and higher levels at the time of inspection.
This was across the subject areas of engineering and manufacturing technologies; warehousing and storage; business administration and customer service; supervisory management; and information technology.
Around two thirds of the apprentices were on engineering programmes, with most of the remainder on business and management programmes.
Bekki Phillips [pictured above left], managing director at In-Comm Training, said: “To secure ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted is a fantastic achievement for everyone connected with the business: our management team, our trainers, our partners and, importantly, the 400+ apprentices and learners we support every year.”
“Over the last three years, we have worked tirelessly to raise the profile of vocational learning, in order to meet the acknowledged skills gap and have put in place a number of ambitious plans to make sure we are seen as an ‘outstanding provider,” she said.
Gareth Jones [pictured above right], who runs the business with Ms Phillips, added: “This includes investing more than £1 million in employing the best staff and installing the best equipment and forging exciting new partnerships with employers like our centre opened in Shrewsbury with Salop Design & Engineering.”
Paul Warner, AELP research director, told FE Week: “Our congratulations to In-Comm Training. This is a fantastic achievement and shows what a difference can be made to young people’s lives in sectors critical to the success of the government’s industrial strategy.
“The funding reforms for 16-18 apprenticeships and for SMEs’ apprenticeships must not put this type of provision in jeopardy but there is a real danger that they will unless ministers act quickly.”
Calls are being made for widespread changes to the minimum 20 per cent off-the-job training apprenticeship rule, in a new report expressing Association of Employment and Learning Providers frustration.
According to the government, off-the-job training must amount to “20 per cent of the apprentice’s contracted employment hours across the whole apprenticeship”, but AELP wants more detailed guidance on how this will work in practice following widespread reforms coming in next month.
Final apprenticeship funding rules for training providers from May 2017 to March 2018, stated that “training is defined as learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment and leads towards the achievement of an apprenticeship”.
AELP has now called for the 20 per cent minimum to include time teaching compulsory English and maths resits training (where required), in a report unveiled today.
It also wants blended learning to be properly recognised within the definition as “well supported distance learning should be supported and not discouraged, with the utilisation of technology to enhance innovative learning being embraced and not stifled”.
A spokesperson added that in AELP’s view, the funding rules and guidance for the requirement should “fully recognise training which takes place away from the workplace”; training in the workplace but “in a separate training room”; or “effective training” at the apprentice’s “own workstation when non-productive”.
Mark Dawe
It comes after FE Week reported in January that AELP was offering the government help to define the minimum 20 per cent off-the-job training apprenticeship rule.
Chief executive Mark Dawe announced at the time that they would be sending out a survey to find out how its members currently approach the rule.
He said today: “We submitted our proposals and survey results to the government in February and with the levy now live, it’s vital that the DfE responds with guidance and examples of good practice very soon.
“Without it, employers who were considering offering apprenticeships for the first time may hold back from engaging in the programme denying thousands of young people the apprenticeship opportunities they need.”
The report unveiled today shares the results of the survey, based on 202 separate responses (around 25 per cent of AELP members).
It found that nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) of current off-the-job training takes place either “fully” or “mostly” on the employers’ premises.
Over a third (37 per cent) of off-the-job training still happens at the apprentice’s workstation, despite being separate from the actual job.
Only 13 per cent of off-the-job training, it revealed, took place entirely away from the workplace.
Funding rules for employer providers that apply from May state that providers must outline details of employment including “the agreed contracted hours of employment, including paid training, and 20 per cent off the job time, and the total planned length of the apprenticeship”.
They are also required to show “how the 20 per cent off-the-job training will be quantified and delivered”.
But it is increasingly feared that many apprentices, on “low quality” programmes, are not spending this time learning away from the workplace, and are instead effectively working full-time on a lower apprentice’s wage.
When invited to respond to AELP’s recommendations, a DfE spokesperson could not say if new guidance would be forthcoming, and told FE Week: “The requirement for apprenticeships to include at least 20 per cent off-the-job training is a core principle that underpins a quality apprenticeship.
“As set out in the funding rules, this off-the-job training does not have to mean one day per week in a classroom.
“Indeed, providers and employers have the freedom to develop this training so it is tailored to individual employers and meets the needs of both them and apprentice, and we would encourage them to do so.”
Teresa Frith, senior skills policy manager at the Association of Colleges, also responded to the AELP survey finding.
She said: “Both the needs of the apprentice and the employer should be taken into account and good practice should be shared across providers to enable innovative, high-quality training.
“If providers are keeping to the intent of the funding rules and feel confident that their delivery model is justifiable, there should not be a problem.”
However, she added: “As with a lot of the apprenticeship reforms though, we won’t know if the intent of the policy is being realised until some delivery has actually been started.
“It would be a shame to stifle potential innovation in delivery by pushing the government to become too descriptive as to what is and is not acceptable.”
