Confusion and anger as hundreds of apprenticeship providers left disappointed

Training providers without a current apprenticeship contract have hit back against the government’s surprise announcement this morning to deny them direct access to non-levy funding from May, saying their time tendering has been “wasted” and their viability “threatened”. 

Earlier today the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced that the decision over funding allocations for apprenticeship provision for non-levy-paying employers had been be paused by the government, to allow the situation to be reviewed.

The government were due to release the results on the 14 March, and until today there had been no information about the delay beyond statements of “in due course”.

The recent procurement process for up to £440 million of funding was said to have been significantly oversubscribed, and the ESFA claimed the postponement would allow it to “review our approach to ensure that we achieve the right balance between stability of supply and promoting competition and choice for employers”.

The ESFA confirmed it will extend existing contracts held by current providers until the end of December 2017 to help continuity, but the hold up has frustrated those who were applying for a contract for the first time and now find themselves in limbo until further announcements. 

FE Week estimates over 400 main providers on the new Register of Approved Apprenticeship Providers (a third of the 1,303) will now not be able to directly deliver to over 98 per cent of the non-levy employers from May, owing to the pause. 

All main providers on RoATP without existing contracts will be able to continue to subcontract with a lead provider to access the non-levy funding. However, there is no indication that the tighter subcontracting rules from May, whereby the lead provider must deliver some training for the employer, are also being paused or delayed.

FE Week spoke to Liam Ryan, owner and commercial director at First Avenue Training, a specialist training provider for the early years childcare sector, about his concerns. 

Mr Ryan said: “Ninety nine per cent of our employers are SMEs [small- and medium-sized employers] so we only applied for RoATP to get the ITT [invitation to tender] contract.

“Like many others we spent a lot of time (and money for consultancy) which has been wasted and not a word of apology.”

He added: “We can continue as a subcontractor for the time being but I’m not sure that there is currently a viable business model in our sector when you combine cuts in funding rates, 20 per cent “off the job” [training] and mandatory 10 per cent contributions.

“I predict starts will plummet, particularly for 19+ learners, which is a great shame since we just spent two and a half years overturning the last government mistake in the sector (the mandatory GCSEs in early years).”

Mr Ryan said the refusal of the ESFA to grant Advanced Learner Loan contracts to providers that don’t have Adult Education Budget funding or apprenticeship contracts was a further problem for his company. “Once again this threatens our viability and I’m sure that we aren’t alone,” he said. 

Others took to Twitter to express their concerns about the ESFA announcement. Here are some of their comments:

Outstanding Ofsted verdict for private apprenticeships provider

An outstanding across the board rating has been handed out by Ofsted to a West Midlands independent training provider that specialises in engineering apprenticeships.

The glowing report on In-Comm Training and Business Services Limited was published today.

Its grade one verdict was up from a good rating following the company’s last inspection in 2015.

The report recognised that “apprentices’ achievement of qualifications is outstanding; the additional qualifications many achieve help to prepare them well for promotion opportunities and their future careers.”

“Apprentices become very highly skilled engineers, business support staff and supervisors; they develop their skills rapidly”, it added, with many undertaking significant responsibility with their employers early in their apprenticeships.

Inspectors further recognised that employers play a key role in planning and delivering the high-quality apprenticeship programmes.

The report highlighted the “strong partnership work” with employers in Shrewsbury, where In-Comm, together with local companies, has “set up a successful training academy for engineering apprenticeships”.

“Employers value highly the guidance and support they receive from In-Comm staff about apprenticeship provision and training generally,” it added.

Highly motivated apprentices were also said to “benefit from highly effective support from trainers and employers” that helps them maintain “rapid progress towards achieving their qualifications within the planned time”.

Meanwhile their skills in maths and English, and information technology are able to “develop to higher levels”.

Directors and the senior leadership team were also praised for being “very ambitious” and highly successful in pursuing high standards for the quality of provision.

All staff, the report added work towards challenging performance targets and have clearly defined responsibilities.

It has produced impressive results for students as the report said “outcomes for apprentices have improved considerably since the previous inspection and are now outstanding”.

“The vast majority of apprentices successfully complete their courses in the planned time and at a level that is much higher than national rates,” the report added.

In-Comm, which had no subcontractors at the time of inspection, is an ITP established in 1982.

Its focuses on the training needs of small to medium-sized employers from the engineering industry located in the West Midlands, with off-the-job training taking place in centres in Aldridge and Shrewsbury.

There were 334 learners on apprenticeship programmes at intermediate, advanced and higher levels at the time of inspection.

This was across the subject areas of engineering and manufacturing technologies; warehousing and storage; business administration and customer service; supervisory management; and information technology.

Around two thirds of the apprentices were on engineering programmes, with most of the remainder on business and management programmes.

Bekki Phillips [pictured above left], managing director at In-Comm Training, said: “To secure ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted is a fantastic achievement for everyone connected with the business: our management team, our trainers, our partners and, importantly, the 400+ apprentices and learners we support every year.”

“Over the last three years, we have worked tirelessly to raise the profile of vocational learning, in order to meet the acknowledged skills gap and have put in place a number of ambitious plans to make sure we are seen as an ‘outstanding provider,” she said.

Gareth Jones [pictured above right], who runs the business with Ms Phillips, added: “This includes investing more than £1 million in employing the best staff and installing the best equipment and forging exciting new partnerships with employers like our centre opened in Shrewsbury with Salop Design & Engineering.”

Paul Warner, AELP research director, told FE Week: “Our congratulations to In-Comm Training.  This is a fantastic achievement and shows what a difference can be made to young people’s lives in sectors critical to the success of the government’s industrial strategy.

“The funding reforms for 16-18 apprenticeships and for SMEs’ apprenticeships must not put this type of provision in jeopardy but there is a real danger that they will unless ministers act quickly.”

AELP demands widespread changes to 20 per cent off-the-job apprenticeship training rule

Calls are being made for widespread changes to the minimum 20 per cent off-the-job training apprenticeship rule, in a new report expressing Association of Employment and Learning Providers frustration.

According to the government, off-the-job training must amount to “20 per cent of the apprentice’s contracted employment hours across the whole apprenticeship”, but AELP wants more detailed guidance on how this will work in practice following widespread reforms coming in next month.

Final apprenticeship funding rules for training providers from May 2017 to March 2018, stated that “training is defined as learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment and leads towards the achievement of an apprenticeship”.

AELP has now called for the 20 per cent minimum to include time teaching compulsory English and maths resits training (where required), in a report unveiled today.

It also wants blended learning to be properly recognised within the definition as “well supported distance learning should be supported and not discouraged, with the utilisation of technology to enhance innovative learning being embraced and not stifled”.

A spokesperson added that in AELP’s view, the funding rules and guidance for the requirement should “fully recognise training which takes place away from the workplace”; training in the workplace but “in a separate training room”; or “effective training” at the apprentice’s “own workstation when non-productive”.

Mark Dawe

It comes after FE Week reported in January that AELP was offering the government help to define the minimum 20 per cent off-the-job training apprenticeship rule.

Chief executive Mark Dawe announced at the time that they would be sending out a survey to find out how its members currently approach the rule.

He said today: “We submitted our proposals and survey results to the government in February and with the levy now live, it’s vital that the DfE responds with guidance and examples of good practice very soon.

“Without it, employers who were considering offering apprenticeships for the first time may hold back from engaging in the programme denying thousands of young people the apprenticeship opportunities they need.”

The report unveiled today shares the results of the survey, based on 202 separate responses (around 25 per cent of AELP members).

It found that nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) of current off-the-job training takes place either “fully” or “mostly” on the employers’ premises.

Over a third (37 per cent) of off-the-job training still happens at the apprentice’s workstation, despite being separate from the actual job.

Only 13 per cent of off-the-job training, it revealed, took place entirely away from the workplace.

Funding rules for employer providers that apply from May state that providers must outline details of employment including “the agreed contracted hours of employment, including paid training, and 20 per cent off the job time, and the total planned length of the apprenticeship”.

They are also required to show  “how the 20 per cent off-the-job training will be quantified and delivered”.

But it is increasingly feared that many apprentices, on “low quality” programmes, are not spending this time learning away from the workplace, and are instead effectively working full-time on a lower apprentice’s wage.

When invited to respond to AELP’s recommendations, a DfE spokesperson could not say if new guidance would be forthcoming, and told FE Week: “The requirement for apprenticeships to include at least 20 per cent off-the-job training is a core principle that underpins a quality apprenticeship.

“As set out in the funding rules, this off-the-job training does not have to mean one day per week in a classroom.

“Indeed, providers and employers have the freedom to develop this training so it is tailored to individual employers and meets the needs of both them and apprentice, and we would encourage them to do so.”

Teresa Frith, senior skills policy manager at the Association of Colleges, also responded to the AELP survey finding.

She said: “Both the needs of the apprentice and the employer should be taken into account and good practice should be shared across providers to enable innovative, high-quality training.

“If providers are keeping to the intent of the funding rules and feel confident that their delivery model is justifiable, there should not be a problem.”

However, she added: “As with a lot of the apprenticeship reforms though, we won’t know if the intent of the policy is being realised until some delivery has actually been started.

“It would be a shame to stifle potential innovation in delivery by pushing the government to become too descriptive as to what is and is not acceptable.”

Breaking: Ofsted launches official ‘good’ logo in policy U-turn

A new logo is being launched by Ofsted for providers rated ‘good’ – seven months after FE Week exclusively reported how the inspectorate threatened legal action over “unauthorised” use of its logo promoting grade two ratings.

The apparent U-turn follows shocked and angry sector reaction to our original story last September.

We revealed that Ofsted had sprung a surprise by threatening legal action for unauthorised usage of its logo to advertise ‘good’ ratings – even though it had been common practice among colleges and training providers – with FE Week learning from sources a week later that the inspectorate could revisit the unpopular policy.

Now a spokesperson for the inspectorate has said today: “Ofsted is launching a new logo [see above] specifically for use by education and children’s social care providers that have been rated good.

“All providers judged by Ofsted to be good can now download and display an official ‘Good provider’ logo.

It added: “We have also redesigned our ‘Outstanding provider’ logo for use across all the areas we inspect.

“We created these new designs following feedback from some of the organisations we inspect, and after conducting a review of our existing policy and guidance on the use of Ofsted’s logo.”

Ofsted has also updated the system through which good and outstanding providers can obtain their copy of the logo.

“Providers can now use their unique reference number to download the relevant logo in a variety of formats for use on their own websites, stationery and other materials,” the spokesperson said.

“Organisations without a unique reference number should contact us for further advice.”

When asked by FE Week to respond to the claim that this amounted to a U-turn, apparently driven in-part at least by our reporting, the spokesperson said: “We decided the time was right for a review of our logo policy, taking into account all the feedback we have received from providers, which in some cases was brought to our attention by the press.”

Ofsted also conceded today that it was conscious that parents and learners rely on Ofsted as a “mark of quality”.

“Therefore, only providers currently holding a good or outstanding grade for overall effectiveness can apply the relevant logo to their branding materials.

“And we do not allow the use of our main Ofsted logo by any third parties, other than in specific circumstances we have agreed to. Guidance on how the logos can be used should be checked first.”

The move was welcomed by Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

He said: “We are grateful to FE Week for highlighting the issue after some AELP members drew it to our attention and it’s great that Ofsted have come up an excellent solution in response.

“In all our lobbying surrounding the apprenticeship reforms and the roles of the various regulatory bodies involved in safeguarding the quality of the programme, we have made it very clear that an Ofsted grade sets a benchmark that is universally recognised by employers and learners.

“Therefore it’s right that good providers should be able to market themselves with this new logo. This is a very positive step.”

FE Week’s story last September reported how in one letter received by an unnamed training provider, which had deployed a version of the logo on its website, the education watchdog said it would bring legal action to bear if the logo was not removed from its materials within 14 days.

ofsted-logos3

The letter said: “It has been brought to our attention that you are displaying a logo identical with or similar to the Ofsted logo which is protected and also registered by Ofsted.

“This logo appears at the foot of every page of your website without our express permission.

“The Ofsted logo is covered by Crown Copyright. 

“You should be aware that the unauthorised use of our logo may give rise to a civil action against you. To avoid this, please remove the Ofsted logo from your website.”

Institutions awarded an ‘outstanding’ overall grade had long since been allowed to use a specially designed “outstanding provider logo” on their branding.

And even though obscure policy guidance which has been in place since the year 2000 clearly states that “we do not issue a good logo”, many providers graded “good” over the years had been using modified versions of the logo in their materials.

Following a bemused reaction from FE Week readers to such warnings, we then revealed a week later that Ofsted could be heading for a U-turn over its decision.

A spokesperson for Ofsted denied to FE Week at the time that there had been a “formal” review, and said the policy was “very much as it was last week”, but added: “We do look at policies across the board on a regular basis.”

 

Ofsted watch: College snubbed from register rated ‘outstanding’ for apprenticeships

A college that didn’t make it on to the government’s new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers has received an ‘outstanding’ grade for its apprenticeship provision – in what was otherwise a relatively quiet week for the FE sector.

The list of providers that will be eligible to deliver apprenticeships from May was published last month by the Skills Funding Agency – however, a large number of major providers of apprenticeships somehow missed out, including at least 18 colleges.

That number included Hartlepool College, with a spokesperson telling Week at the time they were “genuinely stunned” the college, with an apprenticeship allocation of almost £2.9 million, had not made it onto RoATP.

Yet Ofsted has now given the college a grade one for its apprenticeship provision, in an overall ‘good’ new report.

When invited to comment on this, Darren Hankey, principal of Hartlepool College, told FE Week: “Hartlepool College has a long and well-established of providing high quality apprenticeships. We are still shocked at the recent decision to not be allowed on to the RoATP.

“It looks as though there are many other colleges in our situation“, which he added begged the question “if the process used was fit for purpose?”. When previously questioned over this issue, a Department for Education said:  “All those that applied to be on the register of training providers were given a clear set of criteria in order to receive funds for apprenticeship training, ensuring they are high quality and capable of delivering the training that young people deserve.”

Inspectors found in the report on Hartlepool College that apprentices receive “excellent support” from their teachers, and make “outstanding progress”.

It added: “Apprentices show high levels of respect for others, and are confident and articulate. They develop a high level of personal, technical and employability skills that employers need, and almost all apprentices make positive and measurable contributions to their workplace.”

The college, which trained nearly 5,000 learners last contract year, received a grade two overall following its previous inspection in 2014.

Just four other FE and skills providers had Ofsted reports published this week, including CTS Training, which slumped from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ in a report published April 3.

Inspectors found that too few learners at the private provider make the progress “of which they are capable” due to “insufficient planning for learning that is based on the identified individual needs of learners”.

The Ofsted report added that leaders at the Sheffield and Rotherham-based provider do not have a “coherent strategy” to drive improvements in English and maths across the company for staff and learners.

The provider trained nearly 3,000 learners over last contract year. To improve, inspectors said the provider needs to ensure that all tutors “understand how to use information about the needs of each learner in order to plan learning activities that support them to make good progress”.

Meanwhile, WEBS Training Limited, in Nottingham, maintained its ‘good’ rating, in a report published April 4.

Inspectors said most apprentices “successfully complete all elements of the apprenticeship framework within the planned period”, and almost all “continue to work for their employer after they have completed their studies”.

They added that leaders have taken “decisive action” to resolve most of the weaknesses identified at the last inspection in 2015.

However, in a few cases, managers at the 300-learner provider “do not provide detailed enough feedback to trainers following observations about how they can improve their practice”.

Employer provider Walsall NHS Trust, which trained just 110 learners last contract year, received a grade three. Inspectors reported that self-assessment and quality improvement planning at the provider is “not robust enough to help managers to secure and sustain high-quality provision”.

They added that the board has not yet set “clear performance indicators” for the apprenticeship programme to hold managers better to account.

Bromley London Borough Council also received a ‘requires improvement’, the same grade it achieved at its previous inspection in 2015.

To improve, leaders must “ensure that they devote more of their time to the consistent application of comprehensive and rigorous arrangements to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and improve it”.

Two short inspections were also published this week, with E.Quality Training Limited in Staffordshire, and Manchester City Council retaining their grade two ratings.

And Citroen U.K. Limited was found to be making “significant progress” in its second monitoring visit since an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report in May 2016.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Hartlepool College of Further Education 07/03/2017 07/04/2017        2 2

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
CTS Training 21/02/2017 03/04/2017        3 2
Webs Training Limited 07/03/2017 04/04/2017        2 2

 

Adult and Community Learning Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Bromley London Borough Council 07/02/2017 03/04/2017        3 3

 

Employer providers Inspected Published  Grade Previous grade
Walsall NHS Trust 07/03/2017 06/04/2017        3 NA
Citroen U.K. Limited 01/03/2017 03/04/2017       M M

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
E.Quality Training Limited 15/03/2017 07/04/2017
Manchester City Council 27/02/2017 04/04/2017

Decision to retain forced maths and English GCSE resits ‘extremely’ disappointing

A government move to continue insisting on widespread GCSE maths and English resits – through the heavily criticised condition of funding rule – has left sector bosses “extremely disappointed”.

All 16 to 18-year-old students with a near-pass (previously grade D, now grade three) GCSE in the subjects have since August 2015 had to continue studying and resit them through the rule, alongside FE courses, rather than a level two functional skills qualification.

The policy came in for stern criticism in Ofsted’s annual report, published last December – as providers continued struggling with the extra burden of teaching the GCSEs to often demoralised students, and pass rates tumbled.

FE Week had been told by multiple senior sources that the policy was going to be scrapped – which would allow all such students to study functional skills. Confirmation of this was expected in funding guidance for 2017/18.

But the document, now published online by the new Education and Skills Funding Agency, appears to show no change, with the key section stating: “Full time students starting their study programme who have a grade three or D GCSE, or equivalent qualification in maths and/or English, must be enrolled on a GCSE, rather than an approved stepping stone qualification”

Paul Warner

After learning of this, Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ director of research and development, Paul Warner, told FE Week: “We’re extremely disappointed. A functional skill level two is equally indicative of ability as a GCSE grade C/four.

“If the government is serious about enabling young people to actually get on top of these core subjects, it needs to recognise they learn in different ways.”

Catherine Sezen, senior policy manager for 14-19 and curriculum at the Association of Colleges, added: “AoC had hoped to see the funding tolerance continued and will be speaking to Department for Education officials to discuss future steps.”

She added AoC stressed, in its recent response to the government’s Industrial Strategy consultation, that “the funding condition in its current form is not the best way to achieve our shared goal of ensuring every young person has necessary grounding in English and maths”.

Ofsted, which declined to comment today, was highly critical of forced resits in its annual report.

It said: “While the policy’s intention to improve literacy and numeracy levels is well intentioned, the implementation is not having the desired impact in practice.

Catherine Sezen

“For many students, an alternative level two qualification may be a more appropriate means of improving their English and mathematics and ensuring that they are ready for work.”

Meanwhie, Stephen Evans, chief executive at Learning and Work Institute, told FE Week: “Nobody disagrees that all young people should meet a standard in English and maths which gives them the best chance at further learning and a good job. That is the ultimate test of any policy. GCSEs are a widely recognised and understood qualification. But retake after retake is not the answer.” 

Resit results for maths and English took a distinct turn for the worst last summer.

Just 34,486 – or 26.9 per cent – of the 128,201 learners aged 17+ who took GCSE English last year got at least a C. And of the 173,628 learners aged 17 or above taking GCSE maths, only 51,220 – or 29.5 per cent – achieved a C or above.

In comparison, the previous year 35.1 per cent of the 97,163 learners aged 17+ achieved a C or above in English, while 35.8 per cent of the 130,979 GCSE maths learners aged 17+ got at least a C.

The latest development follows publication last month of education secretary Justine Greening’s letter to Neil Carmichael, chair of the Education Select Committee, advising on implications of the new numeric GCSE grading system.

Ms Greening said: “Under the new system, a grade four and above will be equivalent to a C and above”. She added: “This is – and will remain – the level pupils must achieve not to be required to continue studying English and maths post 16.”

Justine Greeening

She previously strongly hinted, at November’s AoC conference, that a change of heart towards resits was imminent.

As reported in FE Week, she told delegates students must not be spending “time running upwards against a brick wall that they’re not going to get over.”

Apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon also told delegates: “It is clear that we need a credible, high-quality option for students for whom GCSEs are not appropriate or achievable.”

Skills Commission demands cross-departmental minister for lifelong learning

A group of key FE figures has called for a cross-departmental minister for a lifelong learning, through a new report by the Skills Commission.

It’s one of a number of recommendations made by the commission, co-chaired by former chair of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service Dame Ruth Silver, in its new report ‘Spotlight on…lifelong learning for an ageing workforce’ published this week.

Dame Ruth Silver

The report looks at how training for older workers can be incentivised, and how older people can be supported to remain working, and comes amid a growing government focus on lifelong learning.

The creation of a “joint minister for lifelong learning between the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education” would improve co-ordination and make it possible to “properly assess the impact of retraining or upskilling on the duration of a working life”.

It comes after FE Week launched its #SaveOurAdultEducation in February, which called for the government to consult on a properly co-ordinated adult education strategy.

“Older workers are affected by barriers and issues that cut across multiple government departments,” the new report said.

“If government is to encourage apprenticeships and training schemes for unemployed people who would benefit from them, departments must be more collaborative and integrative.”

The last minister to have lifelong learning within his job title was thought to be John Hayes, who was minister for FE, skills and lifelong learning from 2010 to 2012.

But current skills and apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon told FE Week in January that lifelong learning was firmly back on the government’s agenda.

The government’s industrial strategy green paper, published in January, committed to exploring “ambitious new approaches to encouraging lifelong learning”.

The DWP’s Fuller Working Lives strategy, published in February, also encouraged more older people – even those approaching traditional retirement age – to consider doing an apprenticeship to boost their employment prospects.

This year’s spring budget, unveiled by chancellor Philip Hammond on March 8, included £40 million for lifelong learning pilots “to test different approaches to help people to retrain and upskill throughout their working lives”.

Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations at Holex, said the Skills Commission’s report was “timely and important” and “should be tied into the industrial strategy”.

“As a country we need to ensure all our workforce, whatever their age, is appropriately trained and supported,” she said.

Sue Pember, HOLEX

Ms Pember described the “all age” apprenticeship programme as a “fantastic development” but added: “there are many in the workforce who will not be able to take advantage of it and it is for those we need to establish new exciting and motivating opportunities”.

The Skills Commission is made up of parliamentarians from both Houses, college principals and representatives from other sector bodies and awarding organisation. 

The report is based on the findings of an inquiry chaired by Peter Mayhew-Smith, chair of Kingston and Carshalton College.

He said: “Older workers constitute the single largest pool of untapped potential in Britain. With the challenges that lie ahead, it is crucial we build on their wealth of skills, experience and collective wisdom.” 

Other recommendations in the new report are aimed at incentivising both employers and learning providers to train more older workers.

Given the lack of financial incentives to employers to take on older apprentices – compared with younger apprentices – the report called for the Institute for Apprenticeships to work with the DWP to “consider areas and demographics where additional support to employers would encourage them to hire older apprentices”.

In addition, it said: “The Skills Funding Agency should review the costs to learning providers of supporting older workers to retrain and stay in employment” and give extra support “where appropriate”.

Another recommendation related to the lifelong learning pilots announced in the budget, and lifelong learning learning accounts.

It said the DfE and DWP should “work together to oversee pilots by Jobcentre Plus, the National Citizen’s Service and others to look into the feasibility of learning accounts and their effectiveness in directing workers towards in-demand roles”.

There was a “need to incentivise both individuals and the government to co-invest in learning, and make access to funds more straightforward,” it said.

Personal learning accounts, proposed by the Learning and Work Institute in 2016 as a “revamped but distinct version of Individual Learning Accounts” – with money saved by individual learners topped up with a “help to learn bonus” – offered the benefit of “aligning skills provision to local labour market demands”.

Barry Sheerman, MP for Huddersfield and co-chair of the Skills Commission, said: “This report highlights the training gaps which badly need reforming for our lifelong learners.

“We can be more productive as a country and fill skills gaps if we invest in lifelong learning and returning to work support, and by making upskilling the norm at work.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “As set out in the government’s Industrial Strategy, we are committed to a skills system that drives productivity, improves social mobility and makes a success of Brexit, and the Budget provided up to £40 million to deliver that commitment.

“‎This will include considering ambitious new approaches to lifelong learning, including changes to proposals on costs, outreach and better information on availability of opportunities. There is more funding than ever before to support adult learning, up to £3.4bn by 2020‎.”

HEFCE to regulate degree apprenticeships

Degree apprenticeships will be regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and not by Ofsted.

The news was revealed by the Department for Education this morning, as part of its apprenticeships accountability statement.

It comes after FE Week reported in December that Ofsted had been seeking to extend its remit to cover higher-level apprenticeships.

“HEFCE will regulate the quality of degree apprenticeships (level 6 and 7),” today’s statement said.

Meanwhile, Ofsted “will inspect the quality of apprenticeship training provision from level 2 to level 5”.

But where this overlaps – where there are “apprenticeship providers at level 4 and/or 5 where the apprenticeship standard contains a prescribed HE qualification” – the statement said “HEFCE and Ofsted will reach a judgement, informed by joint working”.

FE Week reported in December that Ofsted had been in talks with the government, as well as HEFCE and the Quality Assurance Agency which oversees all university-level provision, about giving the education watchdog a key new role.

During an exclusive webinar, Paul Joyce, Ofsted’s deputy director for FE and skills, told FE Week’s editor Nick Linford that:  “Where I would see the gap being [for Ofsted to fill] is the apprenticeship part of the degree, so not the degree qualification delivered in a university, that we won’t be looking at.

“We do need to ensure that the other part of the apprenticeships provision, ie what happens in the employer, is looked at and that it’s quality assured. So not the degree qualification, but the wraparound apprenticeship.”

He added: “I’m certainly of the view that regardless of its level, an apprenticeship is an apprenticeship. To me, it makes perfect sense that we have one inspection regime for an apprenticeship and that inspection regime should be Ofsted across the piece.”

Today’s news prompted AELP boss Mark Dawe to reiterate his organisation’s calls for a “single inspection framework” for all apprenticeships.

“Ofsted already has the expertise and experience to be the principal arbiter of whether a provider deserves a delivery contract on quality grounds for all level apprenticeships,” he said.

Mr Dawe said that HEFCE and QAA had an “important role” to play in “continuing to approve and oversee apprenticeships where a degree qualification is embedded”, but insisted that the education watchdog “should still have the overarching responsibility to ensure both consistency and transparency”.

Today’s statement, which outlines each of the bodies involved in apprenticeships and their accountabilities, comes on the first working day of the new Institute for Apprenticeships and three days before the apprenticeship levy kicks in.

Robert Halfon, apprenticeships and skills minister, said: “I am delighted that today marks the first working day of the Institute for Apprenticeships.

“This is a key part of the jigsaw that will ensure employers get the skills their workforce needs.

“With the apprenticeship levy coming into force later this week, we are truly working together with business to invest in home-grown skills and ensuring people of all ages and all backgrounds get their foot on the ladder of opportunity.”

Sixth UTC hit with Ofsted inadequate grade

Pupils were “sold a dream” and had their “confidence and aspirations knocked” by a university technical college that has been slammed by Ofsted.

Bolton UTC received the lowest possible grade in all areas by the education watchdog in a damning report from the education watchdog, based on an inspection at the end of February.

The verdict, which has been published by Bolton UTC but not yet by Ofsted, makes it the sixth such institution to have been handed a grade four out of just 23 published inspection reports.

Pupils in years 11 and 13 – who started at the 14 to 19 institution when it opened in September 2015 – told inspectors they had been “’sold a dream’ and that they are now very disappointed with the reality”.

It said: “They say they were promised high-quality education but teaching was very poor and they made little progress.”

“Pupils have been on courses that were not appropriate for them” and consequently “the confidence and aspirations of pupils have been knocked”, the report said.

A “growing tension” throughout the UTC’s first year between the former principal, who resigned in December, and the chief executive “had a detrimental impact on the leadership of the college”.

“Staff morale is low because they lack trust in the effectiveness of the most senior leaders,” the report said.

Governors were also slammed for presiding over a “failing college”, and for failing to hold the chief executive to account in the UTC’s first year.

A vice-principal, Liam McDaid, was appointed in June 2016 and had been acting as interim headteacher since the departure of the principal, the report said.

It noted that “in the very short time he has been in post, the vice-principal has been very effective in improving teaching and pupils’ level of achievement”.

But it found that “college improvement has not been fast enough” as senior leaders “have too little time to fulfil their responsibilities”.

Safeguarding was also found to be “ineffective”.

Leaders were also criticised for giving “too little thought of the needs and abilities” of its first intake of learners.

“Many pupils were placed on unsuitable A-level courses” without the “prior understanding that would have enabled them to cope”, the report said.

Pupils in the school’s first year made “inadequate progress” because the “management and organisation of teaching, and teaching itself were inadequate”.

While pupils were making “better progress” this year “it is not good enough to mitigate the considerable weaknesses of the previous year”, the report said.

Students on 16 to 19 study programmes “underachieve in both academic and vocational courses”, and “very few” took part in “high quality external work placements”, it said.

Bill Webster, Bolton UTC’s chair of governors, said: “We fully accept the findings of the inspection and are taking significant steps to deal with the highlighted issues as quickly as possible.”

These included the appointment of two new governors to strengthen the board.

“UTC Bolton is working closely with the Regional Schools Commissioner, Department for Education, Baker Dearing Educational Trust and the University of Bolton, and they remain highly supportive,” he added.

Mr McDaid said Liam McDaid, Acting Principal at the UTC Bolton, said the UTC had taken “swift action” to address the safeguarding issue highlighted.

“The wellbeing and safety of our students is our highest priority,” he said.

“I am committed to working with governors, staff, students and parents to ensure that the UTC Bolton delivers the first class education that it has been designed for,” he added.

A spokesperson for the UTC said that its proposals to take on pupils from year 7, which FE Week reported on in October, were not being taking forward following consultation.

Charles Parker, chief executive of the Baker Dearing Trust, an organisation established to develop and promote the concept of UTCs, described Bolton’s Ofsted rating as “disappointing”.

“The issues highlighted in the report are important and need to be addressed rapidly,” he added.

FE Week reported in March that just nine out of the 20 UTCs to have been inspected to date had been rated good or outstanding – while six had been rated as ‘requires improvement’ and five had been graded ‘inadequate’.

Since then both Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC and Lincoln UTC have been graded as requires improvement.

Along with the Bolton verdict, this means that the proportion of the institutions rated good or outstanding has dropped to just 39 per cent.