28 June 2011

Modernising Education Structures Favoured by Colleges

Two independent, highly radical reports on education structures in Wales find broad favour with colleges.

In an Assembly debate the Education Minister accepted key recommendations put forward by the independent report on the structure of education services in Wales.  More central direction from the Welsh Government is expected to follow and formalised regional consortia, including local government and colleges, will in future be expected to plan education services more efficiently for 14-19 year old learners.

Alongside the Report on education structures, the consultation period on the review of FE colleges’ governance arrangements has just closed.  The purpose of the governance review was to ‘future proof’ governance structures so that they fit with the emerging new structures of post-16 education and training in Wales with a strong emphasis on collaboration and partnership. Among the review’s radical proposals is the establishment of a new social enterprise-type model of governance for further education colleges.

Chief Executive of ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, John Graystone, said: “Colleges have been anticipating the Minister’s response to the Report on education structures and have been pressing ahead with plans for achieving more efficiencies whilst maintaining high quality delivery.

“I am pleased that the Report recognises that FE colleges are keen to collaborate with others for the benefit of learners and that it notes the determination within the FE sector to develop more opportunities for learning through the medium of Welsh.

“Colleges have been working with an increasingly wide range of partners over recent years to raise quality through making savings through sharing services with others in order to protect and improve front line education services.”

Sharing services alone will not, however, achieve the required savings. The report on education services recommends a review of the method of funding 16-19 education in order to tackle curriculum choice, unproductive competition between providers, surplus places in schools, and making the best use of capital resources. In addition, it expects more colleges to merge.

John Graystone continued: “A ColegauCymru survey on shared services shows colleges have each saved more than £100,000 per year. But the survey concludes that bigger savings can be introduced only as a result of structural changes – be they mergers or as part of the transformation agenda or restructuring.

“Colleges are pressing ahead with this agenda. A number of college-college mergers have taken place over recent years and more are under discussion. If all potential mergers currently under discussion take place by the projected date of 2013, the number of FE colleges and FE institutions, over a period of seven years, will have fallen from 25 to 15.”

The Report on educational structures commends further education colleges for achieving beyond the Welsh Government’s quality targets. In the main, the Report concentrates on 14-19 education, but significantly it also notes that FE colleges provide for a wider range of learning than that covered by the proposed regional consortia. It states that colleges’ post-19 provision, including its tailor-made programmes for industry, must be maintained.

The FE governance review likewise recognises the diverse nature of FE colleges’ provision and its wide ranging community of learners and stakeholders. In order to maximise representation and ownership of FE colleges, the governance review has boldly recommended establishing colleges as social enterprises.

John Graystone continued: “ColegauCymru broadly supports the highly radical changes proposed by the governance review, including establishing colleges as social enterprises.

“However, it is a radical model. Implementation of the new arrangements will require careful planning and preparation. It might be useful to pilot the proposed new model of governance in certain areas to ensure that it does not lead to increased costs and bureaucracy, a slowing down in responsiveness or a reduction in entrepreneurialism. Regional or sub-regional approaches should also be explored.”

John Graystone concluded: “I am delighted that both independent reports have recognised Wales’ colleges as high quality institutions that work hard to deliver value for money for the benefit of individual learners and the economy as a whole.

“Colleges recognise the need to work collaboratively with others to achieve greater efficiency, to maintain high quality and to offer choice to learners. That is the agenda we are pursuing and we are committed to continuing the pursuit of that goal.”

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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 8384 or 07968 771913.
Notes to editors:

1. ColegauCymru / CollegesWales was previously known as fforwm. It is a national educational charity that represents all 21 further education (FE) colleges and institutions in Wales. Its mission is to raise the profile of further education with key decision-makers to improve opportunities for learners in Wales. For further information about ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, and the colleges it represents, visit www.colegaucymru.ac.uk or www.collegeswales.ac.uk
2. ColegauCymru’s response to the consultation on the Independent Review of the Governance Arrangements of Further Education Institutions (the Humphreys Report) is available from http://www.collegeswales.ac.uk/consultation_responses-23.aspx
3. The Independent Task and Finish Group Report on The Structure of Education Services in Wales was commissioned by Leighton Andrews AM, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, in autumn 2010. The report was made public by the Minister on 29 March 2011, together with a Ministerial Statement. Further information on the Task and Finish Group, its remit and responses to its consultation are available from: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/wagreviews/educationservicesreview/?lang=en
4. A National Assembly for Wales debate on the Structure of Education Services in Wales took place on 28 June 2011.