Welcome

SFA

AOSEC - South East Principals Event

Michael KilduffSkills Funding Agency

The vision from the new Government

• Three million apprenticeship starts over the 5 year lifetime of Parliament

• Continue to expect the FE sector to be more responsive to the needs of employers and the economy

Six factors that all colleges should address

• Demographics

• Budget and Spending Review

• The curriculum offer

• Apprenticeships

• Financial health

• Devolution

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

2,60019

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7419

7719

8019

8319

8619

8919

9219

9519

9820

0120

0420

0720

1020

1320

1620

1920

2220

2520

2820

3120

3420

37

Num

ber

of 1

6-18

year

old

s (0

00s)

Mid Year

Estimate Projected

Estimated & projected 16-18 year olds (England)

July 8 Budget

• The Chancellor’s additional Budget

• All departments have been asked for in-year savings – and high level announcement made on 4 June

• Search for savings will continue into the Spending Review

Financial Health Outlook – in summary

SFA analysis shows that 29 out of 242 General FE colleges are rated as ‘Inadequate’ for financial health. In 2009/10, the figure was 15.

11 of the 29 were new cases from the review of financial statements for 2013/14.

2 of the 29 merged with other colleges in April following intervention

New measures of financial health may see increased numbers assessed as ‘Inadequate’ in 2015/16.

37 colleges have consistently been graded as ‘Outstanding’ over the last 4 years.

FE Commissioner

“The gap between the very best colleges and the poorest performers was bigger than I thought…I was shocked to find that some colleges were making basic mistakes such as staff costs being way out for example.”

David Collins at the AoC Conference

November 2014

Localism

• Clear manifesto commitment to work with partners such as local authorities and LEPs

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority leading the way

• Allowing local partners to build ‘priorities and outcomes’ agreements with providers on adult skills

• Maximum simplification of funding

Simplification

• Recognition that there is more work to do on the SFA funding system

• Working with the AoC, the AELP, and partners to further simplify the adult funding system

• Longer term, a programme of wider funding reform will make the system more responsive, clear and simple

The future

• Rise to the challenge of an employer-led system

• Apprenticeships will be an increasingly important programme – everyone should play a part

• Make sure you meet the needs of all your local communities –LEPs and local authorities as well as stakeholders.

• Look hard at the lessons of the FE Commissioner interventions – benchmark your financial management and governance

Questions for Governing Bodies

1. What is the trend in your funding allocations over the last three years and

what factors have affected this?

2. For young people, are you happy with the outcomes and progression for your

students and how do these compare with others?

3. For adults, are you providing support for the right priority groups in the local

community – and are you providing the right outcomes for employers and the

economy?

4. How do you rate your corporation’s financial health – and have you looked at

the lessons from David Collins’ reviews?

The view from the SFA

The number one risk that the SFA will have to manage in the coming years is the deteriorating financial health of the sector that will be delivering the provision we fund.

By focusing our work on apprenticeships, managing providers and employer engagement we can make sure that the SFA is in the best position to support the sector and to deal with increased calls on our intervention capacity.