Only half of college leaders in the Birmingham and Solihull, and Tees Valley, areas were happy with the government’s area review process, according to a new evaluation report.
Department for Education data shows dissatisfaction was highest among college representatives, with half unhappy compared with just one in 17 of other representatives polled.
Follow-up interviews suggested college representatives from Birmingham and Solihull and Tees Valley were most unhappy if they disliked the proposals for their local area, whereas those who were most content were those who liked the options for their own college.
Strengths and weaknesses
The evaluation report, commissioned by the DfE in July 2016 to identify strengths and weaknesses in the process, showed most steering-group respondents considered their involvement in the first wave to be a challenge.
The biggest issues cited were the lack of lead-in time to understand the policy and the underdevelopment of the guidance at that point in time.
Many interviewees said it was frustrating that the needs of learners and local businesses had not been considered in the same level of detail as financial issues.
Overcapacity
However, the report acknowledges that most accepted there was a need for a review, as both areas had at least one college that faced significant financial issues; in Tees Valley, representatives understood that fewer young people coming through school was likely to lead to duplication in provision and overcapacity.
The first wave of area reviews, which included Birmingham and Solihull, and Tees Valley, started in September 2015, with the final reports published in November 2016.
Of the 11 recommendations in the Birmingham and Solihull area review, the steering group proposed merging four colleges into two larger institutions, while calling for four colleges to remain as standalones.
In Tees Valley, of the seven recommendations, it was proposed that two colleges remained standalone, while six colleges should merge to form three new institutions. Two colleges had already merged prior to the area review to form a single college.
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