UTC joining college-backed multi academy trust after Ofsted blow

Swindon’s university technical college will join the Activate Learning Education Trust, after being hit by an ‘inadequate’ grade in its first ever Ofsted inspection.

UTC Swindon, which specialises in engineering and business entrepreneurship for students aged 14-19, will be the fifth school to join the multi-academy trust.

Other members of the multi-academy trust include ‘outstanding’-rated UTC Reading, UTC Oxfordshire, The Bicester School and Bicester Technology Studio.

Activate Learning Education Trust was established by Oxford-based education and training group Activate Learning, which also includes Banbury and Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Reading College.

As part of the trust, UTC Swindon will be led by Joanne Harper, who is also principal of UTC Reading, with the aim of improving its leadership.

Ms Harper took up the new role of executive principal after supporting the UTC in her capacity as a National Leader for Education since November.

Current principal, Angela Barker-Dench, has reportedly been unwell for some time.

In her absence, the deputy principal, Jon Oliver, will work alongside Ms Harper as acting principal.

UTC Swindon received a damning review in its first ever Ofsted report, published last Friday (March 10).

The government’s watchdog slapped the UTC with grade fours in almost every category, including effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, outcomes for pupils, and 16 to 19 study programmes.

It received a grade three, or ‘requires improvement’, for personal development, behaviour and welfare.

Criticisms included “inadequate achievement of pupils in Years 10 and 11 in mathematics”, leaders making “insufficient use of the wide range of engineering-based industrial partners”, and the failure of senior leaders and governors to deal with “significant weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to raise pupils’ achievement”.

The UTC was also slammed for delivering an engineering-based curriculum that “does not meet pupils’ needs well”, and failing to monitor the development of students’ “wider employability skills” in 16 to 19 provision.

Some strengths were identified, such as pupils behaving “well in lessons and around the site” and being “well looked after, including the high proportion who have special educational needs and/or disabilities”.

Ms Harper said: “I have been working with the UTC Swindon team since the autumn term and together we have already made significant progress against the areas highlighted in the inspection report.

“I am pleased that this was noted by the inspection team, who recognised that leaders have a clear picture of what needs to be done to improve.”

She added: “We are clearly not there yet and more needs to be done to ensure that UTC Swindon is a good school which offers the very best learning experience and outcomes for its students.

“By working with our staff, students, parents and partners we can raise standards to ensure that the school delivers the first-class education it has been designed for.”

Lee Nicholls, executive director for the Activate Learning Education Trust, said: “We are pleased to welcome UTC Swindon to the trust.

“The UTC has all the ingredients required to develop young people for successful careers in leading local industries. I am confident that, with the right support, it will deliver the improvements required to become a good school.” 

It comes after former education secretary Michael Gove called on a general FE college in Bedfordshire to save the latest University Technical College (UTC) to suffer Ofsted grading disappointment, as reported in FE Week.

A spokesperson for Bedford College said it was stepping in at the request of Mr Gove at the inadequate-rated Central Bedfordshire UTC — the third UTC to have been inspected.

Studio school to stop recruiting from 14 and become sixth form

A former Ofsted ‘outstanding’ studio school has announced it will stop recruiting from age 14 and only offer provision for 16 to 19-year-olds from 2018/19.

Rye Studio School, in East Sussex, wrote to parents to inform them of the conversion to a sixth form centre last week.

It will become the 16th institution of its kind to either close or stop delivering provision from 14 since the model’s conception in 2010.

Studio schools are a vocational-based alternative to mainstream education for 14 to 19-year-olds, similar to university technical colleges but with smaller cohorts of up to just 300 pupils.

The news on Rye Studio School will be the latest blow to those who have been trying to push post-14, including Lord Baker for UTCs, as a better age for vocational-based learner recruitment to post-16 traditionally for FE colleges.

The school in east Sussex, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2015 but slumped to ‘requires improvement’ in January, will have a “period of consolidation” during 2017/18.

This means the school will continue to deliver teaching to pupils who have already started courses from age 14, but not be accepting new pupils for years 10 and 12 from the next academic year.

In 2018/19, the studio school will re-design as a 16-to-19 sixth form centre and will be called Studio 6.

Tim Hulme, chief executive of Rye Academy Trust which runs three schools, said the decision was down to financial pressures which are hitting the trust as a whole.

He said the trust is “now at breaking point” and the only way some schools are going to manage “this significant cut in real terms” is through a “re-organisation”.

“The trust is a relatively small one and cannot sustain the current level of operating costs against a backdrop of cuts to pupil funding,” Mr Hulme said.

“Our three Schools are struggling to function adequately on a day-to-day basis, and, in addition, we are severely hampered in our ability to recruit and retain staff.

“I am totally committed to all our learners – we are looking to have a year of consolidation for the studio with view to re-design it for 2018/19. Studio 6 will offer several vocational pathways alongside the popular creative courses.”

Mr Hulme added that for any pupils who have applied and been accepted to join the studio school from 2017/18, they will be “escorted to other local colleges who offer sixth form provision”.

Rye Studio School’s conversion decision makes it the 16th institution of its kind to either close or stop delivering provision at age 14.

It follows plans to close by the Future Tech Studio School in Warrington earlier this month, which cited low pupil numbers as the reason for the decision – a common problem for the studio school model.

The two recent announcements mean just 34 studio schools will be left open.

Analysis of Ofsted data by FE Week’s sister paper FE Week last March showed that of the 31 studio schools that had been visited, 21 were less than half full and only one reached the 300-pupil mark.

David Nicoll, the Studio Schools Trust’s chief executive, previously told FE Week that the schools have had difficulties recruiting because the model is not seen as “traditional”.

Recruitment at 14 has proved to be a tough ask, with Michael Gove, a key ministerial architect of the UTC model, recently admitting the experiment had failed.

The former education secretary wrote in his column in The Times in February that “the evidence has accumulated and the verdict is clear” on the 14-to-19 institutions.

He said: “Twice as many UTCs are inadequate as outstanding, according to Ofsted. UTC pupils have lower GCSE scores, make less progress academically and acquire fewer qualifications than their contemporaries in comprehensives.”

Warm tributes paid to ‘doyenne’ of the employability and skills sector Janette Faherty

Fond tributes have been paid to Janette Faherty OBE, a “doyenne” of the employability and skills sector who has died after a short illness.

The founder of Avanta Enterprise Ltd, which provided welfare-to-work and skills training services across the UK, was aged 67.

Ms Faherty started her company in 1983 as TNG, but it became Avanta after a merger in 2006. It employed over 800 staff and delivered outsourced government services in employment, vocational skills and enterprise.  Avanta was later acquired by Staffline, a national recruitment and outsourcing organisation, for £65.5 million in May 2014.

James Clements Smith, managing director of employability and skills provider Prevista, where Ms Faherty was also a board member, had known her for almost 20 years.

He said: “Janette was an inspirational leader, she never compromised her belief that women entrepreneurs could be that: women.

“Janette was an inspiration to me personally and professionally and helped me shape my thoughts and direction for my business; she was selfless in that respect.”

Her friend Helen Richardson, managing director of traineeships, and employability provider Workpays, described her as a “doyenne” of the industry, who still “knew everyone’s names and cared about their opinions”. 

“Her gentle style encouraged us to share our thoughts and follow through on our ambitions,” she added.

Ms Faherty, who died last Friday of cancer, was widely praised for dedicating her career to the sector, gaining an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2010, for services to unemployed people and entrepreneurship.

Born in 1949, Ms Faherty was educated at Ellesmere Port Grammar School.

She gained an honours degree in politics and modern history at Manchester University, and went on to achieve a master’s degree in philosophy at Brunel University.

As well as her role as chief executive and founder of Avanta, she was one of the founding members of the Institute of Employability Professionals, the professional association for the employability profession, and its chair from 2011.

From 2012, she served as a director of the Digital Youth Academy, which offered training programmes in digital marketing and social media skills and a trustee of My Bnk, a charity that delivers financial education and enterprise workshop. 

Fran Parry, managing director at employability and skills consultancy Bright Sparks, described Ms Faherty as a ‘friend, colleague and mentor”.

She said: “She was a generous giver of time; taking the view that ‘ if you ask a busy woman’ the job is most likely to get done.

“She was constantly available with good advice and was always free with her introductions to her remarkable contacts list.”

She added: “She was the consummate networker. Janette more than deserved her OBE and the sector was delighted to reflect in some of the glory of that honour.”

Friends and colleagues of Ms Faherty are working in her memory to develop an annual Janette Faherty OBE, Award for Entrepreneurship in Employability & Skills. 

Sponsored  by education and employment organisation Workpays and Prevista,  the award will be for made to a new business set up to provide education, skills or employability which operates against a strong set of values to meet the needs of its customers. 

Ms Faherty’s family has set up a just giving page and ask that instead of flowers, donations could be made to the North London Hospice: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/JanetteFaherty

It’s time to back T-levels

It’s fantastic news that the government has backed-up its T-level plans with a significant cash commitment.

Yes I know that the headline figure of £500 million-a-year won’t be realised until after 2020, with far lower sums committed in the preceding couple of years.

But it’s worth remembering that the government said last July there would be no new money to fund these 15 new routes.

There’s obviously been a major change of heart which is to be welcomed.

Lots of detail still needs to be worked on, with the plan for example for just one awarding organisation for each qualification bound to cause headaches.

But a sensible amount of time is being allowed, for the many kinks to be ironed out, before full implementation in 2022, with a small number of pathfinder routes in 2019.

This is of course in stark contrast to the imminent apprenticeship reforms, which many people justifiably fear are being rushed.

All in all I think the sector needs to embrace T-levels. If we maintain a positive outlook, we can help shape qualifications that should significantly boost the standing of FE and benefit thousands of learners in the process.

The UK needs to demonstrate global skills standards

Hosting skills competitions sends out a strong message that the UK is amongst the best, says Lesley Davies

Many say a week isn’t long enough to celebrate the success of our apprentices and I’m inclined to agree with them. I, for one wish the success of last week’s National Apprenticeship Week could be repeated throughout the year. 

As a sector, we should all be proud of what we have achieved over the last ten years in establishing National Apprenticeship Week as a fundamental event in the academic calendar. At Trafford College, we played our own part by celebrating the success of the apprentices we work with and also providing information, advice and guidance to school leavers and their parents, enabling them to hear the benefits first hand from existing apprentices and employers.

However, since the first National Apprenticeship Week in 2007 the political and economic backdrop against which we are working has changed significantly. We are increasingly facing global employment challenges, and as a result we need a renewed focus on the training we deliver through our apprenticeship programmes. There has been much discussion about the apprenticeship reforms, but alongside increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of the training delivered, we need to work with employers to focus on world-class standards.

Many of the businesses we work with in Greater Manchester are international organisations, which is why we need to show that global standards are embedded in our training. We can achieve this through the knowledge and experience gained from the UK’s involvement in the international WordSkills Competition.

We have long been using competition activity to enhance training programmes

Working with other local colleges and training providers, we have long been using competition activity to enhance the training programmes we run. For me, they are a proven mechanism in motivating and stretching apprentices and students, showing them just what they can achieve in the workplace. However, the opportunity to be able to benchmark standards in the UK with over 70 countries through the WorldSkills Competition is invaluable.

The UK’s success at the last two international competitions, which saw us placed in the top ten in the WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe rankings, shows we have a strong base from which we can grow our expertise in training to world-class standards. But to do this, we must all play our part: Government, industry and our sector.

I am proud that Trafford College, alongside The Manchester College, Stockport College, Coleg Cambria and Training 2000 will be hosting Team UK Selection for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. Not only will the UK’s top apprentices and students be using our facilities to demonstrate they should be chosen to represent the UK on the world stage, but we will also host apprentices from countries including India, Denmark, Canada and Russia as they use the opportunity to test their skills against the UK.

In addition, hosting the competitions helps us to internationalise our existing students, opening their eyes to the world that they live and compete in, and providing them with the opportunity to see the very best students at work. This sends out a strong message to the employers we work with but also to employers where those international competitors are from, that the UK is amongst the best, rising to the challenges that a fast-changing global economy presents.

Registration for WorldSkills, for which FE Week is a media partner, is open until 7 April

Lesley Davies is Principal of Trafford College

Ofsted watch: College bounces back from inadequate to good

A college that has bounced back from a grade four to a grade two is leading the charge on a week that has been good almost across the board.

Stanmore College was applauded for its “rapid and significant improvement” since it received the lowest possible grade in September 2015, in a report published March 6 but based on an inspection at the end of January.

The 3,000-learner institution was rated good in all areas, with inspectors noting that the proportion of learners achieving their qualifications “has risen and is high”, while learners and apprentices were “making good progress”.

Teachers were praised for their “skills, which are now good, to support their learners effectively and raise their expectations” and to “be successful”.

East Kent College retained its overall grade two rating – but with outstanding aspects – following a full inspection in late January, in a report also published March 6.

The college’s “outstanding leadership strategies” met the “economic and social needs of students across the region” as well as “employers’ skills needs”, the report found.

Its work experience provision was also deemed “outstanding”, while the “almost all students enjoy very good levels of progression”.

Brockenhurst College had less reason to celebrate its grade two this week, as it lost the outstanding rating it had held for nearly nine years.

Leaders were commended for their “decisive and swift action” which mean that “in-year progress and achievement has improved considerably” following a fall in performance in 2015/16, in a report published March 6 but based on an inspection at the end of January.

A “high proportion” of learners “make good progress and achieve” thanks to “good teaching”, but “not enough apprentices” achieved their qualifications on time.

Independent training provider Skills Training UK Limited also retained its good rating, in a report published March 8 but based on an inspection in mid-February.

Leaders at the Wembley-based provider were found to have a “strong commitment” to learners with “low educational attainment and from areas of deprivation”.

Trainees progress successfully into “sustained employment, further training and apprenticeships”, while apprentices “develop high levels of practical skills and behaviours”, inspectors noted.

The Leigh University Technical College, in Dartford, received a grade two overall in its first ever inspection.

The report, published March 7 but based on an inspection in early February, noted that the 14 to 19 institution’s sixth form students “typically achieve well”, and “at a high level in technical qualifications and core mathematics” in 2016.

Two adult and community learning providers, Leeds City Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly, also retained their grade two ratings following short inspections.

That means the only FE and skills provider not to have received a grade two this week was independent training provider Brooks and Kirk Ltd.

The Boston-based provider received a grade three overall following its first ever inspection, carried out mid-February, in a report published March 6.

The proportion of learners completing their qualifications on time was found to be “too low”, while senior managers were criticised for not ensuring that “staff improve their practice sufficiently to secure high achievement rates and good progress by all learners”.

But inspectors also noted that “learners enjoy their courses”, with benefits from participation including “progress into employment or promotion”.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Brockenhurst College 31/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 1
Stanmore College 31/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 4
East Kent College 24/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 2

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Skills Training UK Ltd 14/02/2017 08/03/2017 2 2
Brooks and Kirk Ltd 15/02/2017 06/03/2017 3 –

 

Other (including UTCs) Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
The Leigh UTC 01/02/2017 07/03/2017 2 –

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Leeds City Council 08/02/2017 08/03/2017
Council of the Isles of Scilly 15/02/2017 07/03/2017

What happened during National Apprenticeship Week 2017?

People across the country got involved in National Apprenticeship Week 2017 this week – from Barnsley to Barnet, and Teesside to Truro.

Scroll down to see a snapshot of the events that took place to mark the occasion, and download the NCFE NAW2017 supplement for extended NAW 2017 coverage, funding timelines and more.

Climb aboard the apprenticeships express

It was all aboard the apprenticeships express at the Barnsley Interchange during NAW.

The town’s busy hub for bus and train services was the site of Barnsley College’s first apprenticeship pop-up shop.

Advisors from the college were on hand to talk to commuters about the range of apprenticeships available and the benefits of being an apprentice, along with details of current vacancies.

Being in such a central location meant the pop-up shop was able to attract the interest of a wide range of people – including prospective apprentices and, perhaps crucially, their parents and grandparents.

Those interested in getting on the ladder of opportunity could leave their details, and the college will work with them to find the right apprenticeship for them.

Mel Jenkinson, head of student recruitment, said: “Events like these are vital if we are going to raise awareness of apprenticeships and the benefits of choosing this career pathway.”

Hawk swoops in to Number 10

Even 10 Downing Street got in on the action this week, with a visit from top apprentices at Hawk Training.

Many apprentices at the private provider already work in positions across all sorts of government departments, including the Treasury and the Cabinet Office, which ran a tour of the prime minister’s official home for 25 lucky learners.

George Shackelford, a 21-year-old business and administration apprentice who works at Downing Street, hosted the tour and walked his colleagues through history, showing them the belongings of past prime ministers such as Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.

After the tour the Hawk apprentices gave presentations about their work, followed by an informal networking session at the nearby Wales Office.

Crawford Knott, the provider’s managing director, said: “Against a backdrop of unprecedented change within the sector, National Apprenticeship Week 2017 provides an opportunity to celebrate what is most important, the apprentices and their achievements.”

A better world at the Eden Project

The lush gardens of the Eden Project provided a fitting backdrop for an event that sought to grow apprenticeships in Cornwall.

Around 120 young people – including apprentices and other interested parties – gathered to share their experiences and take part in activities across the site.

The aim of the day was to inspire young people in the area to consider an apprenticeship, and provide them with valuable information and skills.

Attendees included apprentices for the NHS, Cornwall Council and from the Eden Project’s own programme, which is run in collaboration with Cornwall College.

Activities during the day, which was organised in partnership with the Cornwall Apprentice Ambassador Network, included a workshop on job interview techniques, as well as den-building and orienteering.

Will Pearce, an apprentice at Pendennis Shipyard, said: “Meeting other apprentices has been useful, it gives me a different perspective on what everyone else is doing,” he said.

Omelette and cocktail challenge

Learners at Barnet and Southgate College have marked NAW with a contest guaranteed to tickle the taste buds – an omelette and cocktail making challenge.

The competition, which was open to anyone with an interest in studying for an apprenticeship at the college, saw around 15 learners and local school pupils go head to head for each challenge.

Entrants were timed to see who could rustle up a plain omelette the quickest, while the first to mix up a virgin mojito was crowned the winner of the cocktail challenge.

Sophie Reid, 21, who is currently studying a level two NVQ in catering but plans to progress to an apprenticeship, proved to be the biggest whizz in the kitchen by winning both challenges.

She whipped up her omelette in an incredible two minutes and 50 seconds and said she loved taking part in the challenges.

“I can’t believe I came top in both!” she added.

She said she wanted to do an apprenticeship “to gain experience in the working world – it’s ideal as you earn while you learn and it’s so difficult to get a job without any relevant training in the field these days”.

Scaling the skills gap across Teesside

Apprentices in Teesside have scaled its famous Transporter Bridge in an effort to learn where they can fit into their area’s proud industrial history.

Ten apprentices and 15 employer representatives joined a crew who visited the top of the longest working transporter bridge in the world – a site which was mostly operated by apprentices when it was first built in the early 20th century.

The event was organised by Northern Skills Group, the commercial training arm of Middlesbrough College, which is responsible for training around 2,000 apprentices every year.

NSG invited employers from across the north-east, including reps from engineering giant Amec Foster Wheeler, chemicals firm Sabic, robotics specialists Labman and manufacturer Caterpillar, all of whom use its training services.

“The Transporter Bridge remains a true symbol of the skills and creativity that have earned this region a fantastic worldwide reputation – and today’s apprentices are the ones who will be taking that reputation forward,” said the director of NSG, Peter Wilson.

Stepping up and over for 5-a-side football cup

Apprentices in Oxfordshire were pitched against each other in a hard-fought five-a-side football tournament to kick off National Apprenticeship Week.

The contest, organised by Oxfordshire Apprenticeships in partnership with Ignite Sport and the University of Oxford, also showcased the range of apprenticeships in the county.

Twelve teams lined up, each representing local businesses including the Oxford plant of car manufacturer MINI, electricians Clarkson Evans, and training providers 3aaa, Activate Learning and SOFEA.

And after a long afternoon of fancy footwork the apprentices from Oxfordshire County Council emerged victorious.

The team’s captain, 29-year-old Luis Audibert, who is studying a level three technical highways apprenticeship, said the event had been “a good chance for all of us to have fun, bond as a team and raise awareness of apprenticeships”.

The event also raised money for SeeSaw, an Oxfordshire charity offering grief support for children and young people.

The charity’s representative Jane Elliott said it was “wonderful” to see so many teams taking part in the competition.

Opening windows of opportunity

It was “pane sailing” for a team of apprentices at Oldham College as they created a “window of opportunity” to celebrate NAW.

Six of the college’s construction students combined their skills in woodwork and painting and decorating to fit a seven-foot window in the job shop – the college’s central hub, where learners can speak to an advisor about apprenticeship vacancies and work opportunities.

The week-long reconstruction and makeover project included a complete revamp of the whole room. Speaking on the second day of the project, painting and decorating apprentice Connor Kemp, 18, said: “We’ve managed to knock through the wall and put in the window frame already and it’s only day two. An assessor has been on site to support us but all the work has been our own. It’s been a real team effort.”

At the end of the week local construction firms joined the apprentices in the rebuilt Job Shop to celebrate their achievements.

Making the cut with Manchester stylists

The hair stylists of the future have been showing off their skills at Michaeljohn Training School as they recreate the looks of iconic women through the ages.

The Manchester-based independent training provider marked both NAW and International Women’s Day on March 8 with a competition for its hairdressing apprentices.

Learners competed against each other to impress the judges with how well they had recreated the look of a significant woman, past or present.

Each apprentice researched the individual style of the woman they’d chosen to feature, then recreated the look on live models using a variety of techniques they’d learned on their course including setting, blow-drying and upstyling.

Nineteen-year-old Abbey Lambert, a level two apprentice, said she enjoyed recreating the look of her chosen icon, the acid-attack victim and TV presenter Katie Piper.

“I love how strong she is and how independent she is after all she has endured,” Abbey said.

“Apprenticeships are great. You are learning while you are working, and getting paid for it.”

 

 

Will the Institute for Apprenticeships succeed?

National Apprenticeship Week isn’t just a government thing. Labour’s shadow apprenticeships minister Gordon Marsden also got in on the action, and went on a great British tour of his own, as he explains below.

During National Apprenticeship Week we are rightly able to celebrate the thousands of individual successes from young beginners to older workers – and of the trainers, colleges and employers who inspire them.

This week I was delighted to speak to meet apprentices here in Parliament, across London, at Blackpool, in the engineering and motor industries, and at the new BAE Systems Academy near Preston.  I was regaled with stories of success and of the chances available to young people taking an apprenticeship. These success stories build on the vital achievement of the last Labour government in setting up the National Apprenticeship Service, introducing National Apprenticeship Week in 2008, and revitalising our apprenticeship programme.

But with every success comes concern. For apprentices to get the most of their experience and gain the skills employers need, the new Institute for Apprenticeships must have adequate capacity and resources. Are 80 employees and a paltry £8 million annual budget going to be enough to support the government’s desire for three million apprenticeship starts by 2020? Not to mention the extra workload when the Institute takes on responsibility for technical education from 2018/19.

Are 80 employees and an £8 million annual budget going to be enough to support three million apprenticeship starts by 2020?

How are they going to tackle continued concern from employers on what new routes include? At the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reception on Monday, a host of employers expressed anxiety that new routes would not have the solid qualifications they require. We have issued warnings that government’s blinkered approach to reaching its three million target could be to the detriment of quality provision.

We are still waiting for the government to announce how it intends to tackle a careers IAG system, where apprenticeships are often seen as the poorer cousin of higher education. That is why I was delighted to see Lord Baker’s amendment to the TFE Bill, which will ensure schools have to give access to advice about apprenticeships, as well as fully supporting my colleague Nic Dakin’s 10-minute rule bill, which will allow businesses and FE providers to go into schools and let students know about opportunities available via apprenticeships.

It was great to speak at my colleague Kelvin Hopkins’ debate on financial support for apprentices. Too often we speak about apprenticeships but not enough about the individual apprentice. In the debate I raised issues around the financial benefits apprentices are excluded from and the negative effect this has on the social mobility and life chances of those from disadvantaged groups and areas.

It is crucial the government utilises traineeships as the key point of entry to get far more young people competitive at the starting gate for high quality apprenticeships. We’ve had warm words from the minister on their progress,s but he must get agreements with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury to make them financially attractive to would-be applicants, as well as employers, providers and colleges.

This week of course we’ve had confirmation of the chancellor’s changes in technical skills funding – welcome, if inflated, for their potential in expanding quality apprenticeships in their announcements. But the £500 million promised will only amount to £60 million in 2018-19, and won’t get anywhere near its full value until 2021/22 – after the next election – according to the Treasury’s own detailed figures.

Meanwhile a succession of reports, from the BIS select committee, the EEF and the IfS – indicate there is still widespread scepticism about whether government is doing enough to satisfy the crucial link between apprenticeships and industrial strategy, overcoming Whitehall silos and energising skills and training policy with a proper devolution process. It’s a big challenge for the IfA to address, coming in as lean as it is, with still no permanent chief executive, come April.

 

Gordon Marsden is shadow skills minister

Movers and Shakers: Edition 202

Your weekly guide to who’s new, and who’s leaving

Lucy Maggs has been appointed assistant principal at Callywith College in Cornwall.

The new college is due to open in September in association with Truro and Penwith College, where she currently works as a programme team leader for student services.

She will share the assistant principal position with Jon Grey, who was also recently appointed.

Her main responsibilities will include leading on student support, and she says she is “looking forward to being a part of all the individual student success stories”.

During her time at Truro and Penwith, Ms Maggs taught health and social care across A-level, extended diploma and foundation degree courses, held the role of programme team leader, and most recently managed student services.

Speaking of the college, she said: “Callywith will give the opportunity to raise life chances for young people in north and east Cornwall. Such outstanding local provision on their doorstep enables local young people to achieve qualifications that will widen their opportunities for the remainder of their lives.”

_____________________________________________________________

Andy Berry has been appointed the new principal of Bridgwater and Taunton College in Somerset.

The college was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and has received a total of 13 National Beacon Awards from the Association of Colleges for its innovative practices.

He will take over the role following the retirement of current principal, Mike Robbins, at the end of the academic year.

Mr Berry is currently vice principal at the college, a role he has held for five years.

The future principal says he’s most looking forward to working more closely with “the fantastic staff team”, adding: “These are exciting times for the towns of Bridgwater and Taunton, and for Somerset generally. 

“I fully expect the college to continue playing a significant role in supporting economic development through the provision of high quality academic, technical and skills programmes for our students and employers.”

Derek Randall, chair of governors who led the recruitment panel, said “We anticipate that his appointment will also ensure continuity in our progress towards achieving our ambition of becoming a world class education and training organisation”.

_____________________________________________________________

Julie Richards has been appointed chief executive of the Chesterfield College Group.

Ms Richards, who was formerly deputy principal of Chesterfield College, began the new role at the beginning of March.

She will develop the way further and higher education is delivered, as well as working closely with the wider community.

Ms Richards has worked in the further education sector for almost 30 years, working in colleges and private providers across England, spending the last 20 years in senior management roles. 

She first joined Chesterfield as executive director of business enterprise eight years ago, to lead on the development of apprenticeship provision and services to employers for the college group.

She has a strong connection with the college, after studying there at the age of 16, and returning in 1990 to undertake her teacher training qualification.

Speaking of her appointment, Ms Richards said: “Helping students progress and reach their potential, and supporting employers to grow and develop the skills they need for both now and in the future, will always be our prime objective.”

 

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk