APP0080

Written evidence submitted by the Education and Training Foundation

Executive Summary

The Education and Training Foundation is the body responsible for supporting quality improvement and professional development in the further and vocational education and training sector.  Established in 2013, we are grant funded and backed by Government – primarily BIS and DfE – and owned by the further education and training sector collectively.

We are uniquely placed to contribute to this Inquiry into apprenticeship quality.  Our remit is to support colleges and providers in (a) training to the new apprenticeship standards and (b) developing their employer engagement strategies to adapt to the employer-led context.   Our work is underpinned by the research and conclusions of the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (2013)[1] which identified the key characteristics and features of excellent vocational education and training provision. 

Standard setting, standards monitoring and subsequent enforcement action are necessary but not sufficient measures Government must take when securing excellent quality of training.  In addition there must be substantial focus on practically improving (rather than simply enforcing) the quality of apprenticeships.  The professional development of the vocational education and training workforce holds the key to raising the quality of apprenticeships, and improving outcomes and impact for learners and employers.  It is by developing colleges’, training providers’ and employers’ capability and capacity to deliver quality apprenticeship training that we will raise standards, contribute to improving productivity, and achieve the ambitious 3 million target without compromising on the quality of apprentices’ experiences.

Our response to this Inquiry focuses on what we know about the capacity, and the improvement and professional development needs, of the vocational education and training (VET) workforce.  Based on our experience of working with the sector, we recommend:
 

-          That there be a continued commitment to fund support for the professional development of the workforce involved in apprenticeships, as the key contributor to improving the quality of apprenticeship training;

-          That the Inquiry acknowledge that there is excellent apprenticeship training taking place in England and recognise the importance of illuminating this practice to enable it to be spread more widely;

-          That the Inquiry investigate how reforms to curriculum and qualifications generally sit alongside the apprenticeship reforms – in particular how the new technical and professional routes will articulate with the new apprenticeship standards;

-          That the Inquiry consider apprenticeship provision for 16-19 year olds in the context of the wider VET system, in particular how it provides the foundations for progression, and the development and deepening of occupational expertise at all ages and levels.

-          That the Inquiry review the evidence illustrating the role of skills competitions in improving the quality of, and outcomes from, Apprenticeships, with a view to the approach being considered for further promotion and investment.

We would be happy to provide the Committee with further information and stand ready to take account of its findings in our future work.

The Education and Training Foundation

1. The Foundation’s objectives are to raise the quality and professionalism of the education and training system in order to achieve consistently excellent outcomes for learners and employers. High priorities are that we:

• assist staff working directly on apprenticeship programmes as part of a broader approach to improving the VET system;
• support improvements in maths and English;
• enable leaders, managers and governors to build strong links with employers to ensure the responsiveness and quality of VET programmes. 

2. Our response to this Inquiry focuses on what we know about the capacity and professional development needs of the vocational education and training workforce, and responds to the Inquiry’s interest in: “The quality of, and minimum standards for, apprenticeships, and how standards can be enforced”.  Our contention is that enforcing the new apprenticeships standards is a necessary but not sufficient condition for raising quality.  Employers, colleges and training providers need support to develop the skills and approaches that can deliver change and improve outcomes for apprentices and employers.  Our programmes do this; but other mechanisms could also be deployed if Government desired.

3. ETF currently supports the whole of the vocational education and training workforce, across the gamut of provider organisation types.  We are driven by the priorities of these providers and their staff, and so offer a unique perspective, and intelligence gathered directly from the sector.  This role and specific expertise is being reinforced and expanded following the creation of the Society for Education and Training – the professional membership body for staff working in the further education and training sector.

4. The ETF is the only organisation focused on all aspects of workforce development across all parts of the further and vocational education and training sector.  In addition to the specific, targeted, activities described below, our broader objectives are:

        Professionalising the sector workforce

        Attracting the most able and committed people to teach in the sector

        Enabling the sector to mature into a self-improving system

        Promoting effective use of the post-16 Professional Standards for teachers and trainers

        Encouraging use and creation of research by teaching professionals

        Publishing workforce data - such as where the most hard to fill vacancies are, the most common patterns of work, average salary, and percentage of qualified staff  - to assist leaders and policy makers with strategic workforce planning.[2]

        Assisting the co-creation (between employers and providers) of a world-class vocational training system.

Our engagement with the sector

5. The following section sets out the latest evidence of need for and impact of our apprenticeship and wider VET programmes of support for the sector workforce.

Apprenticeships

6. Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has played a significant role in identifying the practical implications for the sector resulting from the apprenticeship reform programme.  Early on, the sector identified a number of key areas in which they wanted to further develop their staff and business activity in response to the reforms.  The Foundation placed these areas at the heart of its apprenticeship support programme, the design of which was informed by a specially commissioned review and analysis [3] which is a key part of our evidence base. 

7. Between February 2014 and September 2015, our Apprenticeship Staff Support Programme (ASSP) supported providers to:

        Engage with employers and especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

        Embed English and maths into apprenticeships in ways that were relevant for learners and employers.

        Further improve curriculum development, and teaching, learning and assessment on apprenticeship programmes.

        Prepare for the transition from apprenticeship frameworks to the new trailblazer standards.

8. During the 18 month programme, over 60% of the estimated 800 colleges and providers involved in apprenticeship delivery took part in ASSP.  Over 6,000 practitioners were supported, and more than 170 new professional development resources were developed by staff, for staff.  These are now freely available online.   Annex 1 summarises 3 case studies of providers who benefited from the programme.

9. A small impact study of ASSP participants completed in autumn 2015 indicated that:
    

-          66% reported an increase in the confidence of their staff to deliver current apprenticeships;

-          66% were more able to effectively engage with employers, with over half finding the support particularly helpful in engaging with SMEs;

-          50% reported an improvement in progression rates of apprentices going into permanent employment or higher-level training.

10. In November 2015, we launched our new Future Apprenticeship support programme, which is referenced in the Government’s Apprenticeship Plan (p18)[4]. The programme has been designed to respond to the priorities identified by the sector through the predecessor ASSP programme.  The Future Apprenticeships programme is focused on:

-          Supporting delivery of the new apprenticeship standards, with a focus on linking on and off the job training through effective curriculum development and high quality teaching, learning and assessment;

-          Further developing competence and capacity in employer engagement, focused on the new employer-led apprenticeship context;

-          Building the capacity of leaders (executive and non-executive) to meet the challenges of apprenticeship reform and grow apprenticeships.

11. The first phase of the new programme, which is due to complete at the end of March 2016 has revealed significant demand for and engagement with the support available, including:

-          1800 teachers, trainers and managers have taken part in the programme;

-          popular workshops have focused on action planning to prepare for the transition from frameworks to standards, and strategies for improving employer engagement;

-          webinars providing policy briefings and updates have attracted numbers far beyond those predicted;

-          requests for further professional development for staff involved in delivering higher apprenticeships.

12. Phase 2 of the Future Apprenticeships programme will run throughout 2016-17 and further impact studies (see para 13 above) will be undertaken periodically in order to build a longitudinal picture of how the ASSP and Future Apprenticeships programmes are contributing to provider preparedness for growth.   The results of the next study will be available in summer 2016.

13. During the first phase of the Future Apprenticeships programme we have also commissioned research with sector leaders, employers and LEPs about the types of professional development support they believe the sector would benefit from in the coming year.  The findings from this research are currently emerging, but there are a number of themes which both provide signals for the support we should include in phase 2 of the Future Apprenticeship programme, and offer indications of the issues pre-occupying sector leaders and their partner stakeholders.  These are:

-          an ongoing need for information about how the new apprenticeship arrangements will work in practice, including how the levy will work, how new funding routes will work, what the quality assurance mechanisms will be, and the role and scope of the Institute for Apprenticeships.  This is vital for providers and employers alike, and is particularly important for work with SMEs who tend to rely on advice from colleges and independent training providers who are themselves grappling with the changes.  There is uncertainty about how SMEs will engage with the new apprenticeship funding arrangements. 

-          a need to build local collaborative networks of employers and providers, including higher education institutions to ensure that local labour market needs are met as well as demand from learners.  Some LEPs are providing this type of support but there is more that could be done to support this collaborative planning;
 

-          a need to understand how all the curriculum and qualification reforms sit alongside changes to apprenticeships – e.g. the new professional and technical routes and the articulation between these routes and apprenticeships;
 

-          a recognition that there is a need for different sets of skills for providers than those previously required to deliver apprenticeships under frameworks so there is a need for capacity building and workforce remodelling and skill building (e.g. in terms of costing, marketing, pricing, future business modelling, and improving the quality of vocational teaching and learning).

We would be happy to share the report of this research with the Committee when it is available in April.

Traineeships

14. The Foundation has also played a key role in supporting the professional development of staff involved in delivering the Traineeships programme.  Our Traineeship Staff Support Programme (TSSP) was based on research commissioned with the sector and focused on:

-          improving the quality of teaching with a focus on English and maths, employability and basic occupational skills;

-          supporting staff to engage with employers with a focus on securing and managing work placements, working with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and developing placements in new sectors;

-          supporting the development of robust initial assessment processes to ensure appropriate learner enrolment;

-          improving the quality of provision for learners from vulnerable and excluded groups and communities and those who have protected characteristics.

Over 170 professional development resources and materials from the programme are now available to the education and training sector. 

15. Our impact study of the TSSP programme revealed that:

-          over 66% reported that it had helped improve the delivery of apprenticeships by improving progression from traineeships;

-          75% said that TSSP had increased their confidence and supported them to more effectively engage with employers;

-          66% reported that it had improved the quality of their teaching.

Improving the VET system

16. More broadly, the Foundation supports colleges, training providers and employers to improve the quality, outcomes and impact of vocational education and training (VET) with a clear line of sight to work.  Our ambition is to contribute to the creation of a world class VET system, with employers at its heart.  The Foundation was charged with taking forward the recommendations from the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) report ‘It’s about work …’ [5].  The CAVTL report synthesised over 300 evidence submissions[6] and was based on a review of the research literature on vocational learning, both in the UK and internationally.   It has provided a stimulus for our work to identify, showcase and promote development and innovation in VET.  This includes:

        a national framework for Teach Too, to support and encourage people from industry to spend time teaching, and for teachers and trainers to spend time in the workplace on professional refresh experience;

        models for effective leadership of employer/provider partnerships – based on the concept of the Two-way Street;

        professional development to expand the reach and exploit the potential of skills competitions to raise standards in VET, including apprenticeships;

        resources and professional development to support effective use of learning technologies in response to the FELTAG report, including specifically to support higher level VET and apprenticeships;

        the joint CAVTL/Ofsted case studies [7] of excellent vocational teaching and learning practice.

Maths and English

17. Supporting the sector to deliver the new GCSE maths and English requirements is a key area of The Foundation’s work.  The successful delivery of and strong learner outcomes in maths and English are core to a successful Apprenticeship programme. 

18. The Foundation is currently leading a programme of reform for Functional Skills and continuing professional development for teachers is central to this.  Raising standards for learners means that we also need to support the workforce. 

19. The requirement for GCSE A*-C maths and English in Early Years and Childcare requires focused support for teachers to support outcomes for learners in this vocational area.  If this is not urgently addressed, the policy drive to raise standards will fail.  We currently offer courses in this area but take-up is low. 
20. The FE and training workforce is not sufficient in numbers, competence or confidence to meet these challenges without help. Data are incomplete but we estimate that an additional 2,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) maths teachers and 1,500 English teachers are needed to meet the immediate capacity challenge. The challenge is both in relevant subject knowledge and appropriate teaching skills. Many teachers need to recognise their own levels of maths and English are insufficient.  The Foundation currently supports all teachers to improve their personal skills in maths and English through its online learning platform, Foundation Online Learning and around 600 are currently subscribed but more needs to be done to encourage take-up.  Improving teaching approaches to motivate reluctant learners is critical as simple repetition is not enough. The workforce challenge is compounded by lack of teacher confidence in using technology for learning. [8]

21. Another real challenge for the whole workforce is that of integrating English and maths in all vocational teaching including apprenticeships. This approach, which we are supporting with a dedicated programme to support embedding within vocational teaching, will be particularly relevant to securing better learner outcomes from Apprenticeship delivery.  However, vocational teachers need time to plan alongside specialist maths and English teachers.

Annex 1

Apprenticeship Staff Support Programme (ASSP): Provider Case Study

Provider: IPS International Ltd

Organisation Type and size: IPS is a specialist independent apprenticeship training provider as well as a leading provider of training and consultancy, operating across the UK and also overseas.  Delivering apprenticeships across a range of business sectors and vocational areas including Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction, Administration, Management, IT, Accountancy, Motor Vehicle and Health and Social Care. Alongside their own direct delivery IPS support a network of 5 subcontractors.

Background: IPS have actively engaged with ASSP and are keen to introduce the standards as soon as they become available. They have made use of the one to one support and group work to review and strengthen current delivery as well as reposition the organisation for the new relationship with employers.  The ASSP workshops and suite of resources have enabled staff including sub-contractors (100 in total), to update knowledge and access good practice. The information and resources have been further embedded through staff induction, day to day operational activity and training - improving staff’s knowledge and understanding.

Outcomes of the ASSP support: ASSP provided IPS with adviser time which enabled senior management to work through the provider readiness assessment tool to map current frameworks to new standards, review their business/marketing strategy and then introduce specific, time bound action plans with heads of departments. As a result of understanding the implications for assessment, IPS is now considering their potential as an assessment organisation whilst also working closely with current assessment organisations to explore and confirm where they will develop beyond their current apprenticeship offer.

Impact on provision and future plans: As a direct consequence of ASSP, IPS have been able strengthen their delivery[[]1] and are looking to engage with the following Trailblazers: Engineering, Property Maintenance, Hair and Beauty, Adult Care, Early Years and Accountancy. In preparing for implementation of the new standards, IPS acknowledge there is still some way to go to secure implementation with employers. They will be actively engaging with the Provider Readiness Groups as they see these as the next crucial step in working through the delivery of each standard as it becomes available. They have identified that further support with financial modelling would be helpful and see this as pressing issue just now. A lack of clear information on the costs involved with the end point assessment has made it difficult, for example, to progress with the new standard in Property Maintenance.  This information is important in order to provide the clarity and transparency that secures employer commitment. IPS have been working with the assessment organisation to try and secure this level of detail but so far it has not been made available.

Illustrations of how ASSP has helped strengthen current delivery and prepare for implementation of the new standards:

• a provider readiness tool has been instrumental in helping IPS work with an ASSP adviser to prepare for implementation of the reforms and develop their action plan - engaging Heads of Departments. and setting clear targets with timeframes;
• support has enabled the development of specific USPs for Apprenticeship Standards;
• the ASSP employer mentoring toolkit has been embedded within the employer package of support. An employer, with no track record of employing apprentices, has found this invaluable in working with a group of 4 young apprentices;
• employer engagement good practice and ASSP online toolkits are helping develop the business development  team as well as improving employer focused marketing/communications;
• initial assessment and learner support has improved through integrating ASSP materials and resources - such as support for vulnerable learners, safe guarding and equality & diversity materials/resources embedded into staff induction and training;
• the ASSP funded SETA programme focused on observation, teaching and learning has been built into staff training and development - to upskill staff and help them understand Ofsted’s perspective in relation to Observation of Teaching, Training and Learning practitioner practice.

Apprenticeship Staff Support Programme (ASSP): Provider Case Study

Provider: PROFILE Development and Training

Organisation type and size:  Profile has been supporting learners and employers access funded provision over the last eight years across a number of business sectors and vocational areas including the IT industry and teacher training. As a company, Profile is involved in a number of Consortium and partnerships and is closely connected to providers across Essex, Sussex and Kent. They understand the opportunities and challenges of working with others and have a strong track record in collaborative working which extends into the support they are now providing to ASSP. Currently they deliver apprenticeships in IT professional, Supporting Teaching and Learning, Early Years, Customer Service, Business and Administration.

Background: Andrea Webb, MD of Profile, has worked in the education sector for the last 17 years across 2 FE colleges and an awarding body and now runs her own company with a 94% apprenticeship achievement rate. Even with this background and after reading all the material available on the reforms, she still found that a shortage of guidance and support was hindering the rate at which she could really understand the rationale for change, prepare her staff and persuade employers to engage in transition to the new standards. Through ASSP, she attended workshops this summer where she started to explore and develop her knowledge and understanding alongside colleagues and was reassured that there were others in a very similar position.

Outcomes of the ASSP support: There is no doubt in Andrea’s mind that the ASSP workshops, through the content and facilitated discussions, were of considerable benefit. Andrea talks about a lightbulb moment when she and other workshop delegates realised that delivering to a set of frameworks and qualifications was no longer a viable way forward, even though this had proved successful for many employers and learners.  She could see that the standards would be opening up very real progression pathways for learners as well as responding to specific business needs, with opportunities to work with employers previously excluded because their business requirements didn’t fit with the rigidity of the framework. The workshop format and peer to peer discussions helped her move from considering the implications to preparing for implementation. She is now sharing this knowledge with her staff, locally with fellow providers, has contributed to a recent ASSP podcast and will be speaking at the ASSP workshops running in October.

Impact on provision and future plans: Andrea is now working through scenarios to gain a perspective on how to introduce the new IT standards and provide routes which take young people from 16 years through to level 4/5. A significant change has been to start with the job role rather than using the qualification as the driver. The change in approach and understanding has had a positive impact on staff and, when talking to other providers, she often spots that moment when they have a similar lightbulb moment. Through her networks, she is also aware that there is still considerable work to be done to ensure that the education and training sector as a whole moves from just considering to understanding and then planning for implementation. Her view is please do not stop providing this level of CPD activity, the small group work and peer to peer discussions - they enable constructive, often challenging, discussion which for her has been crucial.

Apprenticeship Staff Support Programme (ASSP): Provider Case Study

Provider: New College Swindon

Organisation Type and size: The College has over 3000 14-18 students, either on-site at New College or taught elsewhere by partners and over 7000 adult and business learners. Having expanded to include Access to Higher Education and Degree courses, the college set up its business services arm, Fast Forward, in 1996 through which it delivers vocational training and professional qualifications. The thirteen apprenticeships frameworks currently available include a broad range of vocational areas including Business Administration, Health and Social Care, AAT Accounting and Facilities Management.

Background: New College Swindon approached ASSP following a period where the college had needed to reassess aspects of its apprenticeship delivery. As a consequence, staff were looking for help to determine the most viable options for delivery against the new standards and, most importantly, wanted help to know where to start and what steps to take towards implementation with employers.

Outcomes of the ASSP support: ASSP provided New College with guidance and support with the adviser encouraging the college to work through the provider readiness assessment and then she supported the creation of an Operation Strategy for Transition so that the college could be confident it would ready deliver to switch from frameworks to standards. As a consequence of the adviser’s support, senior manager’s in Fast Forward have been actively investigating options and costings so that the whole team can be made fully aware and share that information confidently with employers. They are now engaging with and surveying employers, will be revising and producing new marketing material and will also be creating a concise communication strategy. Staff have also been encouraged to make contact with relevant employer groups (e.g. Cogent) and access the ASSP employer facing resources (e.g. Babington Business College Employer Guides).

Impact on provision and future plans: There has been a strong appetite from senior management and a keen interest in engaging with the reforms but this is now coupled with an increasing awareness of the need to engage with employers in a very different type of relationship as well as making sure they undertake robust planning and financial modelling. The college has been able to move from a position where they were unsure of what steps to take to one where they have been able to financially model the most important vocational areas for delivery. They have applied to be an assessment organisation for Digital Technology and have identified six areas that will be priorities going forward. These are Health, Early Years, Digital Technology, Business Administration, Financial and Education & Training. As result of discussions with Cogent, they have also decided not to deliver the Lab Technician standard, an area they had initially thought might be possible but to focus on their areas of strength in the first instance. Going forward they plan to access additional help from ASSP through the suite of resources for staff CPD and would also really  value further support of the quality and type supplied to date, to help work through a solution centred approach and keep the momentum.

March 2016