Damning Ofsted report that caused downfall of huge provider published

The damning Ofsted report that caused the downfall of huge apprenticeship training provider First4Skills has now been published.

The Liverpool-based provider went bust earlier this month, affecting around 200 staff and around 6,500 learners, after the Skills Funding Agency pulled its contract.

That action was prompted by a grade four rating from the education watchdog, following an inspection carried out from February 7 to 10 – the findings of which have now been made public.

As typically happens with private training providers that receive an inadequate-overall Ofsted verdict, this prompted the Skills Funding Agency to terminate its contract.

The Ofsted report slams First4Skills, which was 60 per cent owned by troubled City of Liverpool College, as inadequate across the board with no strengths.

Inspectors blasted leaders at the provider for failing to “tackle the significant weaknesses identified at the previous inspection”, with the result that “outcomes for learners and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment have declined further and are now inadequate”.

“Strategic priorities focus disproportionately on maximising the company’s income at the expense of providing high standards of education and training for learners,” it said.

Trainers’ targets “focus on recruiting more learners and increasing their caseload, and not on the aspects of training and assessment that they need to improve,” it continued.

Managers were also criticised for not ensuring “that the principles and requirements of an apprenticeship” were met, and for “failing to implement appropriate arrangements to monitor accurately the progress that learners make”.

First4Skills’ monitoring of its 14 subcontractors was found to be “poor”, and focused on “the processes that they have in place rather than the quality of training”.

Safeguarding at the provider was deemed “not effective”, with managers slammed for taking “insufficient action to support learners about whom they have serious safety concerns”.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment at both First4Skills and its subcontractors was found to be “poor”.

The report said: “Trainers place too much focus on assessing skills that learners already possess as opposed to developing new ones.”

“Inadequate teaching, learning and assessment” meant that “too many learners” failed to make the “expected progress” on their qualifications, inspectors found.

Furthermore, feedback given by trainers was found to be “overly positive and inaccurate” with the result that “too many learners” felt they were making good progress when they weren’t.

As previously reported by FE Week, staff at First4Skills were told on March 3 that the company had gone into administration.

It held an annual £15 million apprenticeship allocation, according to the most recent SFA figures.

First4Skills was jointly owned by City of Liverpool College and the Sysco Group.

When asked at the time whether the Skills Funding Agency were aware of the situation, a DfE spokesperson said: “We have exercised our right to terminate First4Skills Limited’s contract.

“We are working to ensure learners’ programmes are not disrupted and that where required alternative training provision is identified and transfer arrangements made.

“We will work with employers through the National Apprenticeship Service to ensure they are fully involved in the transfer process.”

Unison came forward a week later to say that the company might have acted unlawfully by hiding the degree of problems it was experiencing from its staff.

“The closure of First4Skills will cause uncertainty for staff and apprentices as jobs are lost and learners are moved to new training providers,” said Jon Richards, the union’s head of education.

“It’s now clear there will be redundancies. Unison believes redundancy laws may have been breached because the company failed to share the extent of the company’s woes with the workforce.”

The college was placed into administered status by the apprenticeships and skills minister, Robert Halfon, in October after it became the first college to be re-referred to the FE commissioner due to “severe financial problems”.

FE Week asked the college to comment on First4Skills’ Ofsted report, but it was unable to do  so ahead of publication.

Major provider chaired by ex-SFA boss calls in administrators

A major training provider whose chair was the first chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency has gone into administration after failing to make it onto the new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers.

Derbyshire-based Positive Outcomes Ltd has a current Skills Funding Agency contract worth more than £11 million, but failed to make it onto the list published by the agency on Tuesday.

According to its most recent Ofsted inspection report, published in June, it had around 4,700 learners, the majority of whom were apprentices.

Its chair was Geoff Russell, who was SFA’s first chief executive and ran the agency from its inception in April 2010 until July 2012.

But this afternoon FE Week was told by a former member of staff that the provider had closed and that all staff had lost their jobs.

Kelly Ball, joint managing director at Positive Outcomes, then released a statement to FE Week from the provider’s board confirming the news.

‘’Unfortunately, after 20 years of trading, it is with deep regret that Positive Outcomes has had to file for administration with immediate effect.

“The board of directors have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome. Our intention was to find a suitable buyer for the business. However, this unfortunately was not possible, resulting in the board having no alternative but to cease trading.

“Our priorities during this time are the learners and employers. We continue to work closely with the Skills Funding Agency to ensure a smooth transition to other providers with minimal disruption to them.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated staff who have been the company’s biggest asset over many successful years. We wish them well’’.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are working to ensure learners’ programmes are not disrupted following our termination of Positive Outcomes’ contract. We will work with employers through the  National Apprenticeship Service to ensure a smooth transfer process.”

The provider, which had offices in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Nottingham as well as South Normanton, Derbyshire, offered apprenticeships and work-based learning.

Today’s news comes after Positive Outcomes was issued with a notice of serious breach from the SFA for financial control, dated November 17. 

However, the provider would not be drawn on the reasons behind the notice.

Former chief executive Chris Longmate stepped down in January, after eight years in the role.

Kelly Ball and Ryan Longmate were both promoted to joint managing director in 2011.

Exclusive: New Ofsted chief ‘worried’ about apprenticeship register

The new chief inspector at Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has spoken to FE Week of her concern following publication of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers.

In a wide ranging interview on March 17, Ms Spielman was asked about the impact RoATP would have on Ofsted’s resource, given it represents a near doubling of the number of providers that might need to be inspected.

“We have very limited information but it’s clear there are a lot of would be new entrants, a lot of people with very limited experience and potentially quite a lot of fragmentation,” said Ms Spielman.

“What that will actually translate into in terms of who gets contracts and actual starts providing apprenticeships, isn’t entirely clear. I suspect that a lot of those registrations will be optimistic things that may never translate into actual learners on the ground.”

There are current 793 apprenticeship providers in scope for inspection as they have an allocation with the Skills Funding Agency for starts until May.

Whereas, RoATP is already nearly double the size, with 1473 organisations given the green light from May (1303 training providers and 170 employer providers).

This is likely to quickly rise to over 2000 providers, given the SFA RoATP application process will take place four times per year, starting for a second time next week.

So when pressed on this prediction of over 2000 apprenticeship providers, against a backdrop of ongoing budget reductions at Ofsted, Ms Spielman said she and Paul Joyce, Ofsted’s deputy director for FE and skills, were “worried”.

“It is a huge challenge and we are only at the start of the conversations [with the government] because there is nothing yet to inspect. So this is about setting up for the future.”

“This is not about something we are having to deal with this week, this month or even later this year – it’s further away. But yes, we have that statutory obligation to inspect. What that translates into and the resource requirement, that’s the essence of the conversations that Paul Joyce has with DfE.”

Mr Joyce added: “I am worried about the number of providers that we may have to inspect. I’ve had conversations with the DfE about our resource. They are aware of the potential increase in providers and therefore the additional resource or the different ways of working that we will need to do. So those conversations are ongoing.”

More from the interview, including answers to questions about new grading structures and plans for individual college campus inspections, will be published in the next edition of FE Week.

 

Less than 50 per cent of inspected UTCs ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’

Less than half of the university technical colleges visited by Ofsted have received ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ grades, exclusive FE Week analysis has revealed, in another blow to the ailing project.

The education watchdog has now visited a total of 20 UTCs, but only nine of these, or 45 per cent, were judged to be good enough for higher grades.

In fact, just one – UTC Reading – was actually rated ‘outstanding’ during an inspection in May 2015.

This drags the Ofsted results of UTCs well below those of sixth form colleges, general FE colleges and independent training providers – even though the previous chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw warned UTCs last July that they needed to be doing “significantly better”.

At the annual conference of the Baker Dearing Trust, the organisation founded by the former education secretary Lord Baker to facilitate the growth of UTCs, Sir Michael said: “If the UTC movement is to survive and prosper, then radical improvement is necessary.

“If this doesn’t happen, politicians will come to the conclusion that the model is flawed.”

If this doesn’t happen, politicians will come to the conclusion that the model is flawed

The Ofsted annual report for 2015/16 was also unsympathetic.

“Inspection outcomes to date have not been strong and the potential of these institutions has not yet been realised,” it found.

SFCs have fared best in Ofsted’s books, with 77 out of 89 (87 per cent) rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ according to data for all open and funded providers up to February 28, 2017.

286 out of 346 (83 per cent) ITPs achieved a grade one or two, while for FE colleges the figure is 140 out of 206 (68 per cent).

The most recent Ofsted report into a UTC, the engineering-focused UTC Swindon, produced an overall ‘inadequate’ rating last month. It received grade fours for effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, outcomes for pupils, and 16-to-19 study programmes.

It will now join the FE-backed Activate Learning Education Trust, with backers including Banbury and Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Reading College.

Proportion inspected rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’

Energy Coast UTC, which is based in Cumbria and specialises in construction and engineering in the energy sector, was also rated in February, receiving ‘requires improvement’ across the board.

And in September 2016, UTC Cambridge, which focuses on biomedical and environmental science and technology, was also branded ‘inadequate’ overall.

These new figures seem to suggest UTC performance is dipping; at the end of 2015/16, 15 UTCs had been inspected, of which eight, or 53 per cent, had received grades one or two.

During 2015/16, just one grade four overall rating was given, to UTC Plymouth, with grade threes going to Buckinghamshire UTC and UTC Lancashire.

And of the 48 UTCs currently open, 32 still have yet to receive a visit from Ofsted at all.

FE Week put its findings to the Baker Dearing Educational Trust.

Charles Parker, the trust’s CEO, conceded: “The Ofsted inspection grade is a key performance indicator for a UTC as with every other school.

No one should underestimate the challenges for our principals and their staff of starting up much-needed technical schools

“So far, we have not done as well as we should have liked, but no one should underestimate the challenges for our principals and their staff of starting up much-needed technical schools for 14- to 19-year-olds in the current English education system.

“In all cases, where we have been judged less than good, necessary changes have been made and rapid progress is evident.”

There has been more bad news for UTCs however, with the announcement this week that plans for a new one in Guildford have been abandoned.

A post on the UTC’s website from its trustees said: “It is with regret that we post this message to inform you of the cancellation.

“Unfortunately the Department for Education is no longer supportive of the project.”

Burton and South Derbyshire UTC failed to open in September 2016, after government approval for the project was withdrawn “following low pupil recruitment numbers”.

Two more UTCs are scheduled to close in August this year: Daventry UTC, following a financial notice to improve from the Education Funding Agency in April, and the Greater Manchester UTC, as a result of recruitment problems.

These closures follow four that have already shut: Black Country UTC, Hackney UTC, UTC Lancashire, UTC Central Bedfordshire.

Royal Greenwich UTC and Tottenham UTC are both converting to schools, starting in September.

Latest grade four

UTC Swindon was the latest to receive a damning grade four Ofsted verdict, after inspectors visited in January this year.

Criticisms included the “inadequate achievement” and “weak progress” of pupils in years 10 and 11 in maths, science and engineering, partly due to poor feedback that did not explain how to improve work.

Leaders were said to be making “insufficient use of the wide range of engineering-based industrial partners”, and failing to deal with “significant weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to raise pupils’ achievement”.

The governors were said to be “supportive” of school leaders, but were not challenging them “robustly enough to improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement”.

More than half of apprenticeship standards still have no assessor

Too many uncertainties in the new apprenticeship system is fuelling the acute lack of assessment organisations for new standards, according to the boss of their industry body.

FE Week research has revealed that more than half (87 out of 162) of the apprenticeship standards approved for delivery by the Skills Funding Agency still do not have an approved assessment organisation, despite ongoing concerns from sector figures.

Responding to these findings, Stephen Wright, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, told FE Week that the current apprenticeship system contains “too many uncertainties”, and that awarding organisations are likely to be “cautious” about engaging in any assessment that might “compromise their reputation”.

“With the high development cost and the memory of previous failed initiatives it isn’t surprising that many awarding organisations have taken a wait-and-see approach,” he said.

The lack of clarity around external quality assurance and external assessment could also discourage awarding organisations from coming forward, he claimed.

Implementing the reforms to apprenticeships will require a high level of development and investment

Earlier this month, the awarding giant OCR pulled out of delivering final apprenticeship exams altogether, potentially sending out a negative message to others in the sector.

“Implementing the reforms to apprenticeships will require a high level of development and investment, and OCR has recently decided that, unfortunately, we will not now be pursuing or developing any new apprenticeship standards that incorporate changes in assessment,” said a spokesperson for OCR at the time.

Terry Fennell, the chief executive and responsible officer at the specialist awarding organisation FDQ, told FE Week that there was a range of issues contributing to “a worrying time for awarding organisations”.

He agreed that the environment is “uncertain”, and that assessors may not want to “pioneer” services and would “probably wait until the market is more stable”.

Mr Fennell pointed out that cost remains a grey area, as there is “still much uncertainty in relation to fees that we can charge”.

He also warned that the EPA at best lacked “sufficient detail” for some standards, but at worst was “virtually undeliverable from an assessment organisation’s perspective”.

Graham Hasting-Evans, managing director of awarding organisation NOCN, said: “There are risks as well as opportunities in the AAO market, and trying to link EPA charges to training costs does not help.

“Government needs to encourage the IfA’s employer groups to engage with potential AAOs as early as possible in the development, so that their knowledge and understanding is incorporated at the beginning.”

The environment is “uncertain”, and that assessors may not want to “pioneer” services

Commenting on FE Week’s findings, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “We continue to make good progress in growing the number of AAOs on the register and are taking action to ensure there is always EPA provision by the time apprentices complete their apprenticeship.”

Back in October, FE Week reported that some AAOs applying to the register were being turned away because their plans for EPA were inadequate, after the interim chief executive of the IfA, Peter Lauener, told the parliamentary subcommittee on education, skills and the economy that the SFA had “knocked back quite a lot” of applications.

His comments followed FE Week research which revealed there were at the time no approved AAOs for over 40 per cent of learner starts on new standards.

This revelation provoked Dr Sue Pember, who stood down as the civil service’s head of FE and skills investment in February 2013, to label the situation “diabolical”.

But in November, Mr Lauener told a roomful of delegates at the AELP Autumn conference that the shortage of approved end-point assessors was not a serious problem. He accepted that the situation was “not ideal” but insisted it was “manageable”.

No funded qualifications for over a third of approved standards

More than a third of the apprenticeship standards that the government has deemed ready for delivery involve no funded qualifications other than a final assessment, exclusive FE Week research has revealed.

While the standards have end-point assessments in place, they will not provide apprentices with the chance to accumulate qualifications as they go along – as was the case with the previous apprenticeship frameworks.

This structure was designed to allow apprentices to build up their achievements, meaning that if they were unable to finish the full apprenticeship, they had still gained qualifications (or partial recognition in the form of units) from it.

It was also considered beneficial when a learner chose to change sectors, as it broke down the course, making transferable skills clearer to employers.

But the apparent lack of qualifications within new apprenticeships standards has raised concerns in the FE sector over the transferability of current training, and how well its quality will be measured.

Every standard “should include or itself be a recognised qualification”

Mark Dawe (pictured), AELP’s chief executive, told FE Week that he believes every standard “should include or itself be a recognised qualification”.

“The omission of qualifications from standards will adversely affect the portability and transferability of apprenticeships, make it difficult to make comparisons between standards of level and breadth, and present difficulties in inspecting for quality,” he said.

“There is a serious question about whether we have the right assessment with a need for skills and competency to be measured throughout the apprenticeship, rather than placing so much reliance at the end point.”

AELP has already recommended that the government’s Technical and Further Education Bill, which is currently moving through the House of Lords, be amended to take this into account. Mr Dawe said he was “encouraged to see both MPs and peers agreeing” with the proposal, even though “ministers still remain unpersuaded”.

Andy Walls, head of vocational policy at the Joint Council for Qualifications, agreed that embedded qualifications were valuable for apprentices.

“The evidence shows that learners benefit in their careers from obtaining a recognised qualification as part of their apprenticeship,” he said.

“Although it is right that employers decide the requirements of their sector’s apprenticeship standard, we want to see learners gaining the advantage that a recognised qualification brings.”

Teresa Frith, senior skills policy manager at the Association of Colleges, acknowledged that end-point assessment “does represent a change from the old system”, but said from her perspective the new approach could still be effective.

“In some industries, taking qualifications alongside an apprenticeship will still be important but for others the EPA is sufficient and the apprenticeship itself is the qualification,” she said.

The previous system was overly complex

“Providers need to continually challenge the rigor of the EPA system, so that we can be confident that apprenticeships remain high-quality, nationally recognised qualifications.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government’s apprenticeship reforms remain focused on “quality”.

“The previous system was overly complex with a huge number of qualifications that tested incremental progress, but did not necessarily demonstrate that an apprentice was competent at the end of their apprenticeship,” she said.

“We have therefore introduced new apprenticeship standards which are developed by employers themselves and rigorously checked.

“We have also taken steps to protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ from misuse helping us to achieve our target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 and providing excellent value for money.”

Finance director blamed in new FE commissioner report

A former finance director has been singled out as the “root cause” of a major London college’s financial failings, in one of three recent FE commissioner reports.

The former commissioner Sir David Collins and his team visited Lambeth College in September, following a “significant deterioration” in its cashflow.

Their report found that college finances were “no longer sustainable” unless it merged.

They cited and concurred with an investigation that had been carried out by the college itself, which found that “the root cause for both management and governors was the reliance on and trust placed in the vice-principal for finance and business planning who oversaw financial controls that were inadequate”.

Meanwhile, reports of the FE commissioners’ interventions into Tresham College and Epping Forest College – both published on Thursday – revealed that both had been placed in administered status.

Sir David’s team visited Tresham in September after it had been rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, while his successor Richard Atkins (pictured) visited Epping Forest in January, after it was given a grade four.

The report into Lambeth College found that both the 2015/16 budget setting process and financial reporting had been “poor”.

Its budget had been prepared by its former finance director, but it “was not based on a realistic and accurate curriculum plan”, while there had also been “a lack of rigour in ensuring the budgets were deliverable”.

The college’s principal at the time, Mark Silverman, and its then-finance director, Shaun Orrell, have left the college since its financial difficulties were uncovered.

Mr Orrell, who is currently finance director at independent training provider JTJ Workplace Solutions, said when he took up his post in March 2014 he had inherited a number of issues at the college that he had “worked hard to address”.

He added that there were “several ongoing and significant issues that affected the college’s finances”, including funding cuts, and industrial action at the college.

As previously reported by FE Week, Lambeth is pursuing plans to join forces with London South Bank University, though no date has yet been set for any link-up.

Monica Box, the college’s interim principal, said: “Lambeth College is currently working to address the recommendations within the commission report”.

She added that discussions with LSBU were “moving forward on models of governance”.

The report into Tresham College said there had been a “high level of churn” in senior management, and that the board had failed to identify this as a “key risk”.

“Weak performance has been left unchallenged until it has reached a crisis point,” it said.

Financial forecasts were meanwhile found to be unrealistic, and it was “likely that the college will go back into deficit this year”.

Although it noted that changes were now being made, the report concluded that “the quality and finance improvement agendas are both now urgent”.

Ioan Morgan, who is the interim principal at Tresham, said he was pleased the report “acknowledges that we have taken appropriate action to address the college’s position”.

He added: “The college is now working towards a merger with Bedford College which will address both quality improvement and financial sustainability.”

The commissioner’s report into Epping Forest was damning about governance, standards and finances at the college.

While the college’s financial health had been rated ‘good’ until recently, the report concluded that a “significant deterioration” in its finances meant that it would fall to ‘inadequate’.

I have every confidence that the college is on the way up

There were found to be “serious issues” in governance, and both the board and the senior team had “been too slow to recognise the declining quality and financial performance”.

Saboohi Famili, Epping Forest College’s principal, said she agreed with the commissioner’s report and was already working to implement his recommendations.

“The college has already established a renewed leadership team and new members of the board of governors,” she said.

“Our practices have been revamped to ensure our learners are successful in their qualifications and gain university places or progress to higher-level courses or jobs. I have every confidence that the college is on the way up and I am personally grateful for the support we receive from government agencies on our journey.”

Performing arts student gets real life filming experience in VR road safety video

A Walsall College student has become the face of road safety after appearing in a promotional virtual reality film created by the West Midlands Fire Service.

The seven-minute video will be used to educate young people in colleges and universities across the west Midlands about driving safely.

Dean Webb, a 20-year-old level three performing arts student, spent two days working in various locations across the Black Country to film the video, which has been shot from the driver’s perspective.

Following a group of friends on their journey to a party, the film – which can even be watched through a virtual reality headset – provides a 360-degree immersive experience, and poses decisions for the viewer to make. The choices they make will determine which scenario they end up in.

Dean said: “I really enjoyed being involved in the filming as it’s been a great experience.

“We do a lot of shows at college but this is the first time I’ve worked for a client with a real script.

“Filming the video gave me an insight into what it’s like for real actors in the industry and has made me want to become an actor even more.”

 

Main image: Hot stuff: Andy Gillespie from West Midlands Fire Service with Dean Webb

Struggling college has ‘agreed to release’ principal

A college that recently switched merger partner following an Ofsted grade four has “agreed to release” its principal.

The departure of Simon Andrews (pictured above) from Stockport College, after just two years at the helm, was announced today.

Former Guildford College Group principal Dr Mike Potter CBE will start as transitional principal on Monday.

Louise Richardson, Stockport College chair, said: “It is with sadness and regret that we have agreed to release our principal Simon Andrews, having made a significant contribution to the overall development and direction of the college.”

She said Mr Andrews had led the college, which was rated inadequate by Ofsted last November, towards a “secure future” with plans for a merger with Trafford College now “advanced”.

“Simon has led with dignity, professionalism, and vision through what has been an extremely difficult period for the college. The college is now a much better place and we will be very sorry and sad to see him leave,” she said.

No reason was given for Mr Andrews’ departure.

He took over as principal at Stockport in April 2015, replacing former interim principal Ian Clinton.

The college had been rated as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted in December 2014, up from its previous ‘inadequate’ grade in September 2013.

But it was downgraded again before Christmas, after the education watchdog found it to be inadequate in almost all areas.

As reported by FE Week, Mr Andrews said he would appeal the judgment as it did not “accurately reflect” the improvements made at the college over the previous 12 months.

Stockport emerged from the contentious Greater Manchester area review, which ended in June last year after nine troubled months, with a proposal for a three-way merger involving Oldham and Tameside colleges.

But, as reported by FE Week last month, that plan was scrapped following intervention by the FE commissioner Richard Atkin in favour of a link-up with Trafford College.

In an email dated February 3 and seen by FE Week, Trafford’s principal Lesley Davies told staff that the merger is expected to go through at the end of December and that she will lead the merged college.

Dr Potter led Guildford College from August 2012 until he stepped down at the end of October, having previously been principal at Wirral Metropolitan College following a career in the Royal Navy.

He said:  “I am delighted to be returning to the area, with a clear mandate of working with colleagues to take Stockport College forward and to provide a strong, successful and sustainable future for further and higher education in the area.”