Specialist FE belongs in Burnham’s Britain

Andy Burnham believes in a place-based delivery model. Natspec has argued against place-based inclusion.

We are using the same phrase to mean two different things; we mean setting and he means geography. Once that distinction is clear, our positions are much closer than they first appear – but if we are to understand each other, one of us will need to shift our language – and I doubt it will be Andy Burnham.

‘Place’ has both positive and negative connotations. Nobody wants to be ‘put in their place’ or told to ‘know your place’. But having a ‘place at the table’, seeing things ‘fall into place’, and feeling part of a place are essential to wellbeing and growth – personal, organisational, economic and communal.

Natspec has challenged the concept of ‘place-based inclusion’ because it prioritises setting over access to appropriate expertise, a mutually supportive peer group and learner preference. We argue that inclusion isn’t about place (setting) or the preserve of mainstream.

It is wrong to expect everyone to thrive in the same type of school or college. Above all, inclusion is a sense of belonging, feeling valued and heard, and not being overlooked or drowned out by louder voices or other priorities.

That same sense of belonging and agency sits at the heart of Burnham’s “Manchesterism” and the politics of place, with its emphasis on community connection and bottom-up growth. This is a much broader understanding of ‘place’ than the one currently dominating the inclusion debate, and it is one that Natspec feels much more comfortable to sign up to.

This creates a timely opportunity for us to work with new ministers on a richer, more meaningful understanding of inclusion – one shaped by young people’s experiences, aspirations, sense of belonging and voice.

It is an opportunity for specialist colleges to show that belonging, connection and place are already at the heart of their work.

Within college, individualised programmes help learners feel valued and achieve their goals; they form deep and lasting friendships, sometimes for the first time; and they experience a profound sense of being in a place that is right for them.

Beyond the college gates, learners contribute visibly and meaningfully through local projects, volunteering, engagement with community issues, work-based training and disability awareness training for local businesses.

The new politics of place, devolution and local accountability also creates a wider opportunity for specialist FE. Burnham sees place-based development as a route to growth: giving local areas the power, responsibility and funding to shape their futures, rather than relying on short-term, centrally imposed solutions.

Meanwhile, Natspec has long argued for an inclusive system in which specialist colleges are recognised as essential partners in education and the wider economy.

Both these positions see colleges as outward-looking, collaborative partners, like that proposed in a recent Centre for Young Lives report.

The report says that education should pivot away from competition and towards community development, and argues for education settings to be held accountable for how well they collaborate and contribute to communities.

Rather than a narrow set of (largely academic) performance measures, it proposes a much broader accountability framework covering attendance, exclusions, inclusion of learners with SEND, NEET rates, employer engagement, wellbeing, safety, and economic participation.

Devolution gives specialist colleges a chance to cement their place as valued local and regional partners, including as hubs of specialist expertise supporting mainstream providers across groups of local authorities.

Treloar’s disability employment report in Hampshire, produced as part of the Local Skills Improvement Plan, shows what contributing to regional planning can look like.

As devolved bodies are judged on social and economic outcomes, specialist colleges should be recognised for their contribution to employment, independence and reduced long-term reliance on public services. In fact, specialist colleges are already a microcosm of Burnham’s place-based collaboration – they work across employers, housing, social care, health and community organisations around the needs and aspirations of young people.

It is disappointing that this contribution is too often overlooked, with specialist colleges excluded from policies and programmes because of their legal status.

Our challenge is not to abandon our position, but to explain it more clearly. With this in mind, Natspec will no longer be resisting ‘place-based inclusion’ but instead working with government, mayoral authorities and local partners on a concept of inclusion that sits comfortably within place-based politics.

A positive version of place-based inclusion would see all partners across education, health, care, employment and community life working together.

Ministers, mayoral authorities and local partners would design specialist FE into systems from the outset, not treat it as an exception, an afterthought or a distant placement of last resort. Everyone would recognise that an inclusive place is not one where every young person follows the same route, but one where they can access the support, expertise and opportunities they need to belong, progress and contribute.

If the new politics of place is about giving communities power to shape better futures, specialist colleges must be supported to take their rightful place as essential civic and economic partners.