Pilot applications open for new Strategic College Improvement Fund

A fund designed to help failing colleges improve the quality of education and training has opened its pilot scheme for applications.

Struggling general FE or sixth form colleges, supported by a stronger partner, will be able to apply for cash through the Strategic College Improvement Fund, to develop an improvement programme and a tailored package of support.

This is separate from the restructuring facility, which is funding available for colleges to implement recommendations from the area reviews.

Colleges rated as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’-overall can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £250,000 from the SCIF, with successful applicants also expected to contribute towards the total cost.

The cash is also available to colleges whose apprenticeship provision was graded three or four at their most recent Ofsted inspection.

Working with a partner college will “enable the applicant college to refine its understanding of the quality challenges it faces, develop a rigorous and costed programme of work, and use the experience and know-how of the partner college to put that improvement programme in place”, today’s announcement said.

The partner college must be rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ at their most recent Ofsted inspection.

The guidance does not stipulate that the partner college must be part of the connected National Leaders of Further Education programme – also launched today – although colleges being supported through NLFE can apply to the SCIF.

The grant cannot be used for capital expenditures valued over £2,500, staff restructuring or public relations activities, but the college’s own contribution can be used for these things if the applicant demonstrates the relevance of the expenditures.

Applications for the pilot, which expects to award funding to between 10 and 15 colleges, should be submitted before midnight on November 20. Successful applicants will be notified before Christmas.

Colleges can continue to submit applications until January 5 for the pilot’s second round of assessment.

Applications will be assessed by officials from DfE and the ESFA, with improvement work expected to begin in early 2018 and all grant-funded activity completed by July 31.

It’s all part of programme of support for colleges, announced by Education Secretary Justine Greening in July, which also included the NLFE programme – also launched today.

The NLFE, which is designed to complement the SCIF, will seek high achieving FE leaders to support weaker colleges.

Milton only appoints Conservative MPs as apprenticeships ambassadors

Three Conservative MPs have today been named as apprenticeship ambassadors by skills minister Anne Milton.

Maria Caulfield, Stephen Metcalfe, Trudy Harrison are all tasked with championing the opportunities and benefits of apprenticeships, to encourage people from all ages and backgrounds to consider taking one up. But it begs the question, why weren’t the appointments cross-party? 

“All the reforms we have introduced will make sure that there are high quality apprenticeship opportunities for millions of people of all ages and from all backgrounds,” Ms Milton said.

“We want everyone to have the skills to get a job with prospects, and for employers to have the skilled workforce they need. Since May 2015 we have seen over 1.1million apprenticeship starts.

Helen Grant MP

“Although we have seen record numbers with a disability or from disadvantaged backgrounds start an apprenticeship, there is still more to do.

“I am delighted to confirm today’s appointments to the vital roles that will work to ensure apprenticeships are truly open to everyone,” she said.

The apprenticeships ambassador network, chaired by business leader David Meller, is an employer-led body with responsibility to encourage more companies to become involved in apprenticeships.

The three new ambassadors named today are the first MPs to join the network.

Other appointments announced today by Ms Milton include another member of her party Helen Grant MP, as the chair of the apprenticeship diversity champions network, replacing Nus Ghani MP.

The network champions apprenticeships and diversity amongst employers and encourages more people from underrepresented groups, including those with disabilities, women and members of the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, to consider apprenticeships.

Ms Harrison has also been appointed the co-chair of the apprenticeship delivery board.

The DfE was approached for a comment on why the above appointments were not cross-party. A spokersperson replied: “On the make-up of the MPs, each of the MPs were all supportive of apprenticeships and were put forward on that basis.”

Labour’s shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden said: “This is a time when all stakeholders in the skills and apprenticeships area have been working together to champion on a cross-party basis initiatives, like  the recent Team UK’s World Skills  success , as well as other events to celebrate young people’s ambitions and to widen the uptake of apprenticeships by them .

“So  I think many would think it is pretty depressing that this minority government is behaving in so narrow and  partisan a fashion.”

Dominique Unsworth

The board, also co-chaired by Mr Meller, advises on expanding apprenticeships nationally, and aims to increase the number of apprenticeship places that employers offer in both the public and private sector.

Another member of the apprenticeship ambassador network, Dominique Unsworth, managing director of Resource Production, has been named by Ms Milton as an SME Ambassador.

FE Week reported in October last year that entrepreneur Lord Alan Sugar could be about to quit his role as the country’s apprenticeships champion after receiving no contact from government officials after six months on the job.

The businessman, best known for his role in the hit TV show The Apprentice, was appointed “enterprise tsar” by former prime minister David Cameron back in May.

But in the wake of the turmoil in the Conservative government following Brexit, Lord Sugar said he thought he had been neglected by officials and would now “rethink” his position, according his spokesperson.

 

Ombudsman warns councils are failing special needs learners

Councils are not doing enough to ensure special needs learners get the help they need, a report from the local government ombudsman has found.

The new Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) were introduced in 2014 as a way of providing more holistic and efficient SEND support for learners up to the age of 25.

However, the first 100 investigations carried out by the ombudsman show that, far from making the system easier for learners and their families to negotiate, it has left some facing a “disproportionate burden” to get the help they are entitled to.

The ombudsman warned some students are missing out on places in colleges and schools and “ultimately failing to reach their potential” due to the long delays involved in the process, which is not supposed to take longer than 20 weeks.

The report highlights poor planning from councils resulting in extra meetings being hastily arranged, a lack of communication with learners, and failures to share information.

The EHCP code of practice stresses that learners and their families should be involved in decision making throughout the process, and offered a face-to-face meeting.

However, the report shows councils struggling to arrange meetings in a proper or timely manner, causing delays to the entire process.

EHCPs hit the headlines in September when City College Norwich allowed autistic learner James Parker to begin his studies, and then five days later asked his mother Emma not to let him return, saying the 16-year-old had been “enrolled in error”.

A consultation held by Norfolk County Council had decided the college could not support James’ needs, but the family had not been informed or helped to find an alternative.

As James’ application was made directly to the college it bypassed the council’s EHCP process, and the college did not find out about the result of the consultation until it had already made James an offer. 

The report warns: “The frustration, stress and sense of injustice for the families involved is understandable. When councils then fail to recognise and acknowledge fault, further damage is caused to relationships and trust.”

It also highlighted concerns that officers do not always have the necessary financial information to make informed judgements on preferred placements and that the use of panels to make decisions can leave learners feeling excluded from the decision making process. Delays on councils seeking professional advice was also raised, with some seemingly unaware that they bear the responsibility for gathering evidence for the EHCP and even trying to delegate the role to family members. 

 The ombudsman added a “lack of strategic planning” was not leaving learners enough time to appeal decisions, and that some councils were issuing inadequate or incomplete final plans simply to try and meet government deadlines, leading to preventable appeals and causing “unnecessary distress and confusion”.

Complaints about the system have doubled in the last two years, from 109 in 2015/16 to 217 2016/17, with the number expected to rise further. Investigators have upheld nearly 80 per cent of complaints received compared to the ombudsman’s average of 53 per cent.

Local government and social care ombudsman Michael King said: “When councils get things wrong, it places a disproportionate burden on families already struggling with caring and support.

“Some families have to go well beyond the call of duty to confirm the type of support their children should receive. 

“The system is not failing universally. But for those people who come to use, we are finding significant problems – sometimes suffering long delays in getting the right support and children ultimately failing to reach their potential.”

Apprenticeship funding model report provokes dismay

A long-awaited report on whether the government’s forecasting tool to predict apprenticeship starts is working has caused dismay over “seriously flawed” assumptions.

Cambridge Econometrics won a £15,000 contract in March to assess the Department for Education’s apprenticeships projection tool, that looks ahead to resulting spending requirements under the new apprenticeship levy-based system.

In its tender for the research project, the government referred to a “forecasting model” to project apprenticeship starts and costs for both levy and non-levy paying employers for 2017-18 and 2020-21.

The due date for the research was May 31, but we reported in early September that the DfE had denied our Freedom of Information request to see the resulting report, and refused to specify when it would be unveiled.

The report, now published, explains the tool’s principle assumptions governing starts for levy-payers.

This includes that “only 80 per cent of demand [from lev-payers] will be met”, overall growth in starts with levy-paying employers will be 20 per cent; and that the 10 per cent co-investment rate will result in a “10 per cent increase in starts”.

Only employers with an annual payroll of at least £3 million currently pay the levy, while smaller firms also have to contribute to training costs for the first time, through a 10-per-cent co-investment model.

Having read the report, Association of Employment and Learning Providers boss Mark Dawe said: “If it’s true that the government has been working on an assumption that only 80 per cent of demand from levy payers will be met from levy funds, then it must provide a separate guaranteed minimum budget of £1 billion a year for the smaller non-levy paying employers.

“The fact that the other assumptions in the paper look seriously flawed underlines AELP’s case for an open debate on what the model should look like when all employers join the Apprenticeship Service in April 2019.”

Mr Dawe intervened over non-levy payers following a 61 per cent drop in apprenticeship starts for May, June and July fell 61 per cent, compared to the same period last year, which it is feared reflects in part growing reluctance from smaller employers to take on apprentices.

He warned last month that the government’s second attempt at a £650 million non-levy apprenticeship funding tender was descending into “farce”, after a series of late “clarifications” and document updates were sent out.

Cambridge Econometrics researchers were set the task of reviewing the design of the government’s forecasting model, to consider whether it worked or if other approaches might improve its quality and capability.

The resulting report conceded: “It is recognised that given the major changes that have been made to the apprenticeship system over the recent past that extrapolation of past trends – even using sophisticated econometric techniques – may provide no guide to the future.

“At this stage, it is not clear – because the policies are so new – how employers will behave in the new demand-driven system.”

It did say improvements could be made, although the current model was said to be “well-suited to the users of the model and the intended audience of the outputs” – generally policymakers.

Key recommendations include greater recognition of the impact of the economic cycle on apprenticeships starts, progression and completion rates, and consideration of whether apprenticeships are “given to existing employees or new recruits”.

It also pointed out that “preliminary evidence suggests that employers in some industries may be more sensitive to the policy mechanisms than those operating in other industries”.

Considerations of employer demand across different industries may, it therefore argued, could help to improve the model.

The DfE was approached for a response to the report’s findings and Mr Dawe’s comments. A spokesperson said in response: “Our apprenticeship reforms have put control back into the hands of employers so they will gain the skilled workforce they need to compete globally.

“We developed the model primarily for the purposes of the financial control of apprenticeship spending in the medium term. We are continuously monitoring the model’s performance.”

Ascentis named as awarding organisation of the year

Ascentis has been crowned awarding organisation of the year on an exciting night for the sector.

The Federation of Awarding Bodies held its annual awards presentation at a special dinner during the organisation’s annual conference in Leicester.

This featured finalists for awarding organisation of the year, qualification of the year, team of the year, individual of the year, and innovation of the year.

The top prize went to Lancaster-based Ascentis.

A FAB spokesperson said they impressed the judges through a “complete review of products and services they have undertaken, all with the single aim of improving support for their centres and learners”.

“This was no ordinary change programme, it affected everything they do from the development of free resources, CPD training and networking to the back-office systems,” he added.

The judges for the awards were Neil Bentley, chief executive at Worldskills UK, Paul Warner, director of research and development at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, and Julia Wright, national director at Campaign for Learning had a tough time scrutinising finalists’ entries.

Welcoming the winners’ contributions to the awarding, FE and skills sector, FAB chair, Paul Eeles, said: “We were really impressed with the standards of entries to the awards this year and I’d like to extend my congratulations to all of the finalists, but especially to this year’s winners.

 

The other winners announced on the night were:

Team of the Year (Sponsored by PSI)

Sports Leaders UK

 

Qualification of the Year (Sponsored by Cirrus Assessment)

Agored Cymru Level 4 Diploma in Data Analytics

 

Individual Contribution of the Year (Sponsored by Gordon Associates)

Nigel Barraclough, Qualsafe Awards

 

Innovation of the Year (Sponsored by British Council)

City & Guilds and Worldchefs Digital Credentials using Open Badge technology

No news on permanent Institute for Apprenticeships boss

Attempts to recruit a permanent chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships are still ongoing, six months after the process was launched.

FE Week learned at the start of this academic year that the latest round of interviews would be taking place over three weeks up to the end of the first week of October.

A spokesperson said at the time that there had been “strong interest” and the search was in its “latter stages”, with interviews planned for a “number of candidates”.

But this week an IfA spokesperson could not confirm an appointment had been made, and claimed the “recruitment process is continuing” and that “an announcement will be made in due course”.

The search for a full-time successor to outgoing boss Peter Lauener, who is also coming to the end of his stint as chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, began in April.

The original closing time for applications was late May.

FE Week understands the initial delay with launching the recruitment process had been because the government wanted the IfA to have a permanent chair in place before they advertised for a CEO, who was eventually announced as Antony Jenkins.

It was then revealed that the position would be on a fixed-term contract of up to five years, with a salary of up to £142,500.

The initial recruitment round proved to be fruitless, with apparently no suitable candidates identified, so the IfA turned to headhunters in July.

The wait for a permanent chief executive is of particular concern at a time when the sector is crying out for leadership, amid mounting teething problems with the new levy system.

Things have come to a head with last week’s revelation that apprenticeship starts had plummeted by 61 per cent since May, compared with the same period last year.

The IfA has many key responsibilities, including developing and maintaining quality criteria for the approval of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, which it also publishes, and quality-assuring the delivery of end-point assessments.

Its recently launched website says that it has “been launched to ensure that all apprenticeships are top quality”, and will “focus on ensuring apprentices have the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to make a significant contribution to their job role, sector and employer”.

WorldSkills 2017: Full medal tables published

Team UK’s position as one the best in the world at vocational skills has been reaffirmed following World Skills Abu Dhabi 2017.

The 30-strong team’s haul of one gold, three silvers, three bronzes and 13 medallions of excellence put them in 10th position for medal points – ahead of 49 other countries, including Germany.

Between them Team UK – the smallest team in the medals top 10 – racked up an impressive 21,262 points, putting them in 11th place for total number of points scored.

Confirmation of Team UK’s achievement comes a day after WorldSkills Abu Dhabi’s spectacular closing ceremony, which saw Team UK’s 22-year-old Kaiya Swain crowned best young beauty therapist in the world (pictured above).

Despite its world-renowned apprenticeship system, Germany only managed to place 12th in the medals table – although it fared better for points scored, coming in ninth place.

Their 37 team members secured one silver, two bronzes and 17 medallions of excellence.

China, with 47 competitors, topped the leader board for medal points, having achieved an incredible 15 golds, seven silvers, eight bronzes and 12 medallions of excellence.

Korea came second, with eight golds, eight silvers, eight bronzes and 16 medallions of excellence between its 42-strong team, while Switzerland came an impressive third, with 11 golds, six silvers, three bronzes and 13 medallions of excellence across its 36 team members.

Despite its impressive haul, China was pipped to third place for total points scored – behind WorldSkills 2015 hosts Brazil and WorldSkills 2019 hosts Russia.

Russia – the largest team with 51 competitors – ended WorldSkills Abu Dhabi with a total score of 35,461, which put them at the top of the points scored leader board.

Other European countries doing well include Austria and France, which both placed in the top ten for medals and points scored.

South Tyrol, Italy came an impressive 11th place on the medals table – between the UK and Germany – despite being just one region of a larger country.

And the five-strong team tiny Principality of Liechtenstein – one of the smallest countries in the world – still managed to secure one gold and two medallions of excellence, putting them in 33rd place on the medals board.

Theirs wasn’t the smallest team at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi, however.

Mexico had just one competitor, but the country did not appear on either of the final tables.

According to the tables, the Philippines, Romania, Croatia and Kuwait all fielded teams of two.

Both Philippines’ competitors won medallions of excellence – making theirs the only team in which no one went home empty-handed.

In contrast, there were 12 teams that failed to secure a single medal or medallion of excellence.

View the complete medals tables here.

And read all about WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 in our special souvenir supplement.

 

SPONSORED: Tech trailblazers – FE colleges leading the way

Using technology to assist the delivery of an engaging education experience is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity.

Tools like Canvas can help institutions change pedagogy and deliver a flexible, progressive and student-centred approach which focuses on meeting these unprecedented demands.

In the face of dwindling budgets, increasing populations, and unprecedented global competition, the task for FE colleges has never been harder.

With a universal focus on price, accessibility and reach, education is in danger of becoming a mass-produced, non-specialised product that will diminish in value.

Together with the demands of an unpredictable employment market, where automation threatens many traditional jobs, these challenges mean that FE colleges are being forced to look again at the education they provide. Educators must provide an engaging and motivating learning experience, while delivering skills capable of morphing to suit the changing workspace.

This is where technology can help.

What about budget?

Fundamental change must be delivered on a limited budget. Pockets of funding for all educators have disappeared in recent years – and FE institutions report that budget cuts are hitting them particularly hard.

This can make justifying any expense tricky, and we know that some colleges look to quick-fixes when it comes to tech – reporting that free software may promise a cost-effective alternative to more commercial solutions.

However, we’d warn against a cost-cutting approach to buying technology. We sometimes talk about the ‘hidden cost of free’; as colleges fail to factor in the costs of the ongoing maintenance and support as well as the up-front development needed to get the project’s true cost. Colleges find themselves on their own if something goes wrong with free software – and fixing the problem themselves may prove a bigger commitment than the lack of upfront cost justifies.

 

The Canvas solution

Offsetting the cost of commercial solutions are the cost savings which clever tech use can ultimately deliver. Tools like Canvas, our own Virtual Learning Environment, can ultimately save time, resources and reduce admin costs – significantly speeding up lesson creation, grading and reporting.

Moving beyond cost, if it’s used properly, and purchased to fulfil a real need, technology use can vastly enhance learning and teaching – and be particularly beneficial to college students, as they prepare for work in a technology-centric economy. Using digital content and sharing lesson plans and ideas globally with a teacher network can create engaging lessons.

New pedagogy like the flipped classroom and blended learning are powered by tech and can totally transform the learning experience. Completing rote material or ingesting lectures at home can free up classroom time for more in-depth and personalised teaching.

Tools like Canvas have the ability to immediately measure a student’s achievement on any given piece of work, look at what aspects of the teaching and learning have worked and what have not, and then adapt their instruction accordingly.

Students benefit from the more responsive teaching –  and a collaborative teaching and learning environment.

However, tech adoption will only deliver the benefits it promises if it’s adopted as part of a long term, pedagogy-driven strategy – to improve teaching and learning. Together with the hidden costs of ‘free software’, looking only to short-term objectives can have a damaging effect on teacher and staff views of classroom technology. For many, all they know is the kind of software which is at best a place to store documents and at worst, an unreliable service that scuppers far too many well-laid lesson plans.

But, different is possible. We’d urge FE institutions to take the leap into tech-enabled learning – but to put student and teacher experience, and learning outcomes, firmly at the heart of their strategies.

Learn more how and why further education institutions are switching to Canvas at www.canvasvle.co.uk/fe 

 

Case study: Career Colleges Trust – Building tomorrow’s workforce

Bev Jones, Director of Operations at the Career Colleges Trust

The Career Colleges Trust was founded in 2013 by former education secretary Lord Baker to improve vocational further education in the UK. We support a network of recognised ‘career colleges’ around the country specialising in a variety of industries from Hospitality to Digital Technology. By helping further education colleges to prepare students for their future careers in industry, we’re addressing an issue high on the agenda for academia and industry alike – the UK skills gap; where there aren’t enough skilled graduates to meet employer needs. We think that the skills shortage is stifling UK economic growth, but that greater emphasis on vocational training can go a long way to close the gap.

At the Career Colleges Trust we talk about not just a skills gap, but a fundamental skills mismatch. And we believe that it’s crucial to understand where the mismatches between the needs of employers and skills of students in FE lie.  By far and away the greatest issue that employers report is around digital literacy; and their desire for tech-savvy graduates, ready to enter the working world. The pace of technology development in industry is astounding – and if we don’t help students acquire adequate digital skills in the classroom, we are limiting their chances in the world of work.

Technology use in the classroom supports a learning style which appeals to young minds. Many students in further education already use social media to question, challenge and enhance ideas in all aspects of their life. These tools can be harnessed to engage with pupils with learning, and brought into the learning environment.

We encourage our colleges to look at the technology they’ve bought, to assess how they’re using it and to check whether they really have the tools they need to support their teaching. One of the courses we provide for each of our career colleges is around the specific digital skills required in various industries, and more generally in the world of work. Delivered online, using Canvas, this checklist is a kick-starter for colleges to begin to support online learning and digital collaboration between students, teachers and businesses.

Teaching the teachers

It’s natural that lecturers or college management may be reticent to use technology in the classroom, if they’re not as comfortable with it as their students. To address this, we provide all of our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for teachers online using Canvas.

This approach immerses teachers in a digital learning environment in a natural and low-pressure way, making them comfortable with the process and able to start seeing the benefits of using technology at work.

Training the teachers is key – and the intuitive and user-friendly nature of Canvas has made it the ideal tool to help. We’re keen to let teachers find their own way with the system – discovering how it can help in their own teaching.

Ultimately, we believe that using tools like Canvas can help teachers in all aspects of their work – allowing them to have a much greater sense of students’ progress, strengths and weaknesses. They can collaborate much more closely with their students, and tailor their teaching to individual needs.

Learn more how and why further education institutions are switching to Canvas at www.canvasvle.co.uk/fe 

Ofsted watch: Two colleges improve to ‘good’ rating

Two FE colleges are celebrating Ofsted success this week after climbing from a grade 3 to a grade 2.

Burton and South Derbyshire College was ranked ‘good’ across the board after its inspection on September 26.

The report, published on October 20, commended the college for taking “extensive and effective steps” to improve provision, with the progress and achievement rates of learners increasing in a range of subjects including English and maths and a “significantly higher” proportion of learners and apprentices achieving their qualifications.

The college, which has two main campuses in Burton town centre and a dedicated construction academy in South Derbyshire, was also said to have strong employer partnerships which have helped to “reshape the curriculum”, while staff provide “highly effective additional support” for learners.

However, the report highlighted that there are not sufficient work-experience opportunities for learners with high needs at the college, and said too few apprentices achieve their English and maths qualifications within planned timescales.

It also said: “Most courses now match closely with employers’ specific skill requirements. Consequently, most learners develop their skills successfully and progress to employment or further learning.

“As a result of extensive support and development for teachers, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has improved rapidly and is now good in most areas.”

The Marine Society College of the Sea has also moved up the rankings from a grade 3 to being a grade 2 across the board.

The historical college, which was founded in 1756 to encourage men and boys to join the Navy ahead of the Seven Years War and now operates within the Marine Society and Sea Cadets, offers personal and professional development to seafarers and opportunities to gain a range of accredited qualifications.

During the inspection on September 28, Ofsted found that leaders and managers had “a very clear and well-considered strategy to support seafarers to improve their education and to progress in their careers.”

Staff were found to have taken effective actions to improve the quality of teaching, learning, assessment and outcomes, and were commended for supporting and monitoring the progress of learners .

The report, published on October 19, also commended staff at the Lambeth –based college for understanding “the complexities of learning and working at sea and give good advice to learners to help them choose suitable courses.

“As a result, the number of learners who remain on their programme has improved and is high.

“Learners have high aspirations, enjoy their learning and take pride in their work. They produce work of a good standard.”

The college was also congratulated for a well-designed curriculum, although Ofsted mentioned concerns that not enough was known about how many learners progress to higher levels of learning and staff did not regularly fellow up on recommendations about improving feedback on work.

Employer provider Capita PLC retained its grade two ranking in an inspection report published on October 20.

Ofsted said the company, which delivers apprenticeship programmes, traineeships and pre-employment programmes nationwide, had introduced a range of new apprenticeship standards and developed partnerships with large corporate clients in financial and public services, leading to high-quality work placements.

The inspection on September 12 found the personal development, welfare and behaviour of learners was outstanding, but gave the company a grade 3 for its traineeship provision with a warning that too few trainees progress to apprenticeships, employment or further learning.

However, Capita was commended for its high quality and effective training both on and off the job, with the majority of apprentices learning the required skills and achieving their qualifications within the planned time frame.

Finally, both Trafford College in Altrincham and Steadfast Training Ltd in Spalding retained their grade 2 during short inspections.

Trafford College, inspected on September 27, was found to provide “a good standard of teaching, learning and assessment” in a “welcoming and safe environment”, with an increase in the proportion of students receiving higher grades.

However, the report, published on October 18, warned that the provision of maths and English at the college still required improvement. 

Steadfast Training Ltd was inspected on September 27, with a report published on October 20. Ofsted found a focus on high-quality apprenticeships in health and social care had been maintained, with good links to local and regional businesses and good training and development for apprentices.

The report also commended Steadfast Training  for supporting underperforming staff to either improve or leave the company, and said the proportion of apprenticeships receiving their qualifications had risen significantly.

It added: “Current learners are making good progress, enjoy their learning and appreciate the good support they receive from their tutors and assessors .”

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Burton and South Derbyshire College 26-Sep-17 20-Oct-17 2 3
The Marine Society College of the Sea 28-Sep-17 19-Oct-17 2 3

 

Employer providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Capita PLC 12-Sep-17 20-Oct-17 2 2

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Steadfast Training Ltd 27-Sep-17 20-Oct-17
Trafford College 19-Sep-17 18-Oct-17