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Memorandum submitted by the Association of Colleges (AS 04)
Introduction 1. The Association of Colleges is the
representative organisation for further education, sixth form and specialist
Colleges in
2. The changes proposed in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill are the biggest restructuring of funding and commissioning for post-16 learning since 1993. The primary focus of all involved in these changes must be to ensure students of all ages are not adversely affected.
Apprenticeships Employer demand for apprenticeships (Clause 83) 3. The Government's current campaign to encourage companies to take on apprentices is to be applauded and we note the ambitious target that by 2013 every young person should be able to choose two sectors in which to take up an apprenticeship. However, even when the economy was buoyant there were insufficient employer places to meet the demand of potential apprentices. Now, in a recession, Colleges are already hearing of apprentices losing their places as companies go out of business. Group Training Associations should help (see below) but there may be scope for looking at additional incentives.
4. We welcome the recent announcement that local authorities, educational institutions, the NHS and other parts of the public sector will play a significant role in ensuring as many young people as possible can become apprentices. However, we believe that the right to choose two sectors will require a significant involvement from the private sector.
Adult Apprenticeships 5. The Bill, through Clause 83, places a duty on the proposed new Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to secure an apprenticeship place for every 16-18 year old who wants one, but does not contain a similar duty for those aged 19 and over. There may be a need to reconsider this as people look to re-train after losing their jobs during the recession.
Information, Advice and
Guidance (Clause 35) 6. The Bill places a duty on schools to consider, when giving pupils careers advice, whether it is in the best interests of the pupil to tell him or her about apprenticeships. AoC considers this proposal too weak and does not believe it will help young people make informed decisions about their post-16 options. Too many pupils make poor choices, on the basis of bad advice, and end up dropping out of education at 17. Colleges firmly believe that all young people should have a statutory right to be informed about all their options post-16, not only those which their teachers view as being in the pupil's interests.
Group Training Associations and employment (Clause 30) 7. One way in which SMEs can be encouraged to take on apprentices is through Group Training Associations. A College becomes the official 'employer' of the apprentice and then he or she spends time in a small business for their workplace experience but the SME avoids taking on the responsibility. We hope that the Bill will be flexible enough for such schemes to flourish.
Complexity for Colleges 8. We are concerned that Further Education Colleges will have to respond to at least two funding bodies - their local authority and the SFA. It is vital that these agencies, and the new Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA), have a default position of sharing information to ensure Colleges do not spend even more time dealing with bureaucratic burdens and can concentrate maximum effort to teaching students. We would like to see Clause 119 strengthened in this so the various agencies 'must' share information. Both YPLA (Clause 60) and SFA (Clause 99) can carry out performance assessments of Colleges and use these assessments when making funding decisions. It is particularly important that these assessments are carried out in a co-ordinated way in order to avoid duplication. Neither the nature of the financial relationship between local councils and Colleges nor audit arrangements are included in the legislation. We would welcome clarification whether local authorities, YPLA and SFA will each be able to audit Colleges.
Education and training for those of sixth form age 9. The table below demonstrates how many 16-18 year olds study in each type of institution and the funding received:
(Source: Learning and Skills Council)
A new Role of Local authorities (Part 2 of the Bill)
10. Colleges understand the logic in giving local authorities responsibility for 16-19 funding at a time when they are also taking on responsibility for raising the participation age, managing advice services for young people and delivering the 14-19 curriculum entitlement.
11. However, local authorities' role in this area must not be confused with the leadership of Colleges which needs to remain, as now, with the governing bodies and principals. Colleges are self-governing corporations with charitable status. Institutional autonomy has been a key factor in Colleges' success and allowed them to respond flexibly and effectively to the needs of students, employers and communities. College independence allows them to employ staff and borrow money without affecting the public finances.
12. There are potential conflicts in the new roles for local authorities as they will fund and commission education and training, provide information, advice and guidance to young people and have the power to direct Colleges to enrol particular students (see Clause 43).
Funding (Clauses 40 and 58) 13. AoC firmly believes that 16-19 funding should be directed to Colleges using a national funding formula set by Government. Such a formula would help Government end the infamous funding gap between school sixth forms and Colleges and ensure:
· sufficient funding for national qualifications regardless of location · there are proper incentives to institutions to engage disadvantaged learners and to improve success rates. · there is a fair process for setting funding rates. The current system for setting the funding tariff involves the examination of ten year's worth of evidence of the programmes taken by 1 million 16-18 year olds each year · an efficient management of the system would dictate that one funding system would be preferable to 168.
14. Funding decisions need to be driven by student choice. A common approach should be taken to assessing school and College performance to ensure young people, parents and local authorities have the right information to make decisions.
15. Local authorities will directly fund and commission education which takes place in Sixth Form Colleges. Approximately 43 sub-regional groups of local authorities will be established to commission 16-19 education and training which takes place in Further Education Colleges, although the funding will still come direct from their local authority. In order for these groups to commission 16-19 provision effectively in their sub-region it is vital that they also consider the education in school and Academy sixth forms and Sixth Form Colleges.
16. Colleges also need a right of appeal, preferably to the YPLA, if they are unhappy with a funding or commissioning decision taken by the local authority or sub-regional group.
Sixth Form Colleges (Schedule 8)
17. Sixth Form Colleges will be established as new organisations and move from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to the Department for Children, Schools and Families. As discussed above they will have a much closer relationship with their local authority than that proposed for Further Education Colleges. Sixth Form Colleges will be small in number (93) within a Department which includes approximately 25,000 schools and nurseries but we hope Ministers and officials in DCSF are able to devote sufficient attention to their work and ensure they flourish. Sixth Form Colleges enrol students from across local authority boundaries, as do Further Education Colleges, and it is important that local authorities allow them to continue to do so in order to protect student choice. The Bill may provide an opportunity to expand the number of Sixth Form Colleges but this will only happen if school sixth forms are merged and there is sufficient capital funding. We understand that the difference between the Sixth Form College sector and the further education sector will be the organisation responsible for intervention in the event of poor performance. Local authorities will intervene on Sixth Form Colleges and the SFA will do so on Further Education Colleges.
Education and Training for young offenders (Clauses 47-50) and adults (Clauses 92, 96) 18. The Bill proposes that education and training for those aged up to 18 in a young offender institution or a secure training centre should be funded by the local authority in which the institution is located. We feel that this duty might be better performed by the YPLA because of the number of offenders serving their sentence outside of their local authority area and the need for a national overview. We support the proposals that adult prisoners' education and training will be funded by the SFA, which has a national perspective.
Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (Part 2) 19. The Bill gives local authorities responsibility for the education of students aged up to 25 who have learning difficulties or disabilities. Young people with the greatest need travel to specialist colleges and study on a residential basis. It might make more sense for the YPLA to fund specialist Colleges directly so that they can continue to offer places nationwide. We look forward to seeing the expected Government amendments to this part of the Bill which Ed Balls mentioned during the Second Reading debate.
20. There are additional concerns that those aged over 19, who have not had the necessary learning difficulty assessment or would not fall under its remit, will be funded by the SFA with its associated concentration on funding linked to employment and which may not be suitable many of these students.
Duty on Colleges to enrol named individual students (Clause 43) 21. The Bill replicates a power currently available to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) which would allow it direct Colleges to provide education and training to individual named students. However, this power has never been used by LSC and therefore we feel it unnecessary for the power to be replicated for local authorities. The Education and Skills Act 2008 already provides a power to local authorities to ensure all young people participate in education and training until the age of 18 and a duty on Colleges to promote good attendance (Section 11). We think these powers are sufficient and there is no need for Clause 43.
Transport (Clauses 51 - 54) 22. The Bill proposes strengthening transport arrangements for 16-18 year old students. When publishing their annual transport policy statement, local authorities will have to set out in full their thinking behind the statement and publish it in good time so that young people and parents can take account of it when making decisions about where to study. The Bill also strengthens the complaints procedure. While we welcome these changes we continue to have concerns about transport provision for sixth formers. Colleges spend an average of £305,000 per year subsidising student travel. We think the Department for Children, Schools and Families should assess whether each transport plan fulfils its statutory duties.
23. Colleges have also been told by the LSC that they must no longer use Learner Support Funds, a fund to help disadvantaged students access courses, to fund transport. It would be useful if Ministers could clarify whether Colleges can use these Funds and whether final responsibility to fund student transport should lie with local authorities.
24. The Bill also proposes that local authorities should publish a transport policy statement covering travel arrangements for students aged 19-25 with a learning difficulty assessment under the Learning and Skills Act 2000. We are concerned that this may mean students with learning difficulties, but who do not have the relevant assessment, would be treated as adults as far as transport provision is concerned despite their additional needs.
Right for College staff to search students (Clause 231) 25. The legislation proposes a new power for College staff to be able to search students for drugs, alcohol and stolen goods. It also reinforces a power passed in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 which allowed College (and school) staff to search students for offensive weapons. AoC supports Clause 231 as it replicates that proposed in Clause 229 to introduce new search powers for school staff. It is essential that such rules in schools and Colleges are identical, particularly as there are at least 80,000 14-16 year olds who spend part of their week in a College studying for a diploma or similar qualification. We are satisfied that the rules, as set out in the Bill, relating to who can search and in what circumstances, will ensure the new rights are implemented fairly and safely.
Free meals for College students 26. Disappointingly the issue of free 'school' lunches for College students is not included in this legislation. 16-19 year olds in schools receive a free lunch whereas those in Colleges do not. As local authorities will have lead responsibility for all 16-19 education we hope Ministers will consider amending the existing legislation to ensure all young people are treated equally.
Students aged over 19 27. The table below shows how many students aged over 19 are studying in Colleges in each age bracket (2007-08 figures):
Right to ask for time off for study or training (Clause 39) 28. AoC strongly supports the Government's proposal in Clause 39 to allow staff to ask for time off to study or train. Subsection (3) of new Section 63E of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which this Clause amends, says that it is not essential that the training lead to the award of a qualification of any sort. We welcome this and note the different approach taken to funding for post-19 learning which is primarily restricted to level 2 and 3 qualifications and those of a higher level than already achieved.
Post-19 Education and training (Clause 93 - 98) 29. All education and training for those aged over 19, except higher education, will become the responsibility of the SFA. The Bill places a statutory duty on the Chief Executive of SFA to fund certain qualifications, such as a first level 2 or a qualification higher than one already held (Clause 93). The Chief Executive has more limited duties with respect to all other adult education and training.
30. In this respect, the Bill carries over the duties placed on the LSC in the Education and Skills Act 2008 but AoC has concerns about the relative balance of responsibilities. Colleges and the SFA need to have maximum flexibility to be able to respond to local, regional and national need. AoC believes that the SFA should have stronger duties to provide all forms of adult learning.
Status of the Skills Funding Agency (Schedule 4) 31. It is worth noting that the SFA will be an
Executive Agency, with its Chief Executive and his/her 1800 staff becoming
officials within the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Cabinet Office guidance suggests that an Executive Agency structure is suitable
when expert advice is not needed and when the emphasis is on implementation of
decisions made by Ministers. We do not think this is the case for post-19
education. Other examples of Executive Agencies can be found on the Cabinet
Office website:
32. The YPLA will be established as non-departmental public body and the 500 staff will not be civil servants.
Duty on Colleges to co-operate (Clause 116) 33. Clause 116 gives a power to the Secretary of State to direct the Chief Executive of SFA to use funding mechanisms to require a College or other training provider to co-operate with other Colleges or training providers and make such co-operation a condition for funding. We are unsure why the Government feel it is necessary to introduce this power as Colleges have co-operated with others for many years without the need for legal powers. It would be useful if Ministers could clarify what they are seeking to achieve through Clause 116.
Duty on Colleges to promote well-being (Clause 242 and Schedule 8 (page 180) 34. The Bill places a new duty on Further Education Colleges (Clause 242) and on Sixth Form Colleges through Schedule 8 to promote the social and economic well-being of the local area. Colleges' primary purpose is, and always has been, to serve the needs of their communities and some have been doing so for hundreds of years without the need for a statutory duty. We would welcome clarification from Ministers as to why this new duty has been introduced and whether they expect Colleges to be assessed on whether they are fulfilling the new duty.
Other issues Ofqual (Part 7) 35. The Bill establishes Ofqual as the regulator of qualifications and outlines its objectives, including an 'efficiency objective'. AoC particularly notes that Ofqual will be looking at the sums payable to bodies awarding or authenticating qualifications and whether they represent value for money. Colleges currently pay approximately £170 million per year in unavoidable exam fees and therefore welcome this assessment. However we would appreciate clarification on the criteria that will be used to make judgements.
Children's Trusts (Clause 184) 36. AoC warmly welcomes the proposal to ensure Children's Trusts promote co-operation with additional 'relevant partners' including the governing bodies of Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges.
Capital Funding 37. Although College capital funding is not included in the legislation we understand that Sixth Form Colleges will be brought under the scope of Building Schools for the Future (BSF). We are unclear how this will work however, for example, how much funding needs to be transferred from LSC capital funds to BSF to finance capital projects in Sixth Form Colleges and whether a Sixth Form College located in an area which has already received BSF funding, will be able to apply for capital funding? We would recommend the establishment of a single cross-departmental, capital budget for all Colleges, including Sixth Form Colleges, at least until 2015. The present problems relating to capital funding have arisen from poor management of the budget. The conclusions of Sir Andrew Foster's review should be taken into account when new capital funding arrangements are established following abolition of the LSC.
March 2009
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