Leeds FE ‘capacity crisis’ risks leaving poorest behind

A shortage of FE places in Leeds means some of the city’s poorest young people risk being left behind as colleges struggle with a “capacity crisis” caused by rising demand. 

Last month the city’s MP Alex Sobel questioned the government over the shortage, prompting two local college leaders to speak out about rising waiting lists and shortages of teaching space and staff.  

Colin Booth, chief executive officer of Luminate, which runs Leeds City College and Leeds Sixth Form College, told FE Week there is a “capacity crisis” for almost all courses except A-levels. 

The northern city is facing a “perfect storm” of a lack of strategic planning, growing numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds, and a shortage of space for levels 1, 2 and technical education teaching that will most severely impact the poorest, he added. 

Both Booth and Leeds College of Building (LCB) principal and CEO Nikki Davis said their colleges are trying to expand rapidly to meet the demand of a growing post-16 population and avoid waiting lists.

The capacity crisis will add to existing sector concerns such as shrinking budgets for 16 to 18 education and a growing pay gap between FE and school teachers.

How bad is the problem? 

When Sobel submitted a Parliamentary question asking for an estimate of how many young people risk missing out on an FE or training place in Leeds, education minister Janet Daby would only answer that the DfE is “working closely” with Leeds City Council and local providers.

But several courses at Luminate have had waiting lists since May this year, despite the additional places it has created, FE Week understands. 

Leeds City College leased “short-term extra space” in September 2023, enabling it to grow its 16-18 student numbers by 650, to a total of 7,400. 

The college is also considering taking on extra space to boost capacity by another 400 this September as a further “short-term sticking plaster”.

Booth said: “This will take Leeds City College to being full to beyond reasonable capacity for 2024-25 with several hundred students in leased and temporary accommodation.” 

However, this may not be enough as 16- 18-year-old population levels are expected to continue rising until at least 2028, Office of National Statistics projections suggest. 

Booth suggested that the DfE should redirect “unused” allocations from its post-16 capacity capital fund, FE capital transformation fund and levelling up fund to Leeds and other cities where there is a “clear need” for capacity in FE. 

Deprived young people most impacted 

The shortage of FE places for vocational courses is most likely to impact young people from deprived areas, local authority data suggests.

According to a recent Leeds City Council report on children and young people, 35 per cent of 16-year-olds did not achieve qualifications required for them to progress to level 3, but only 26 per cent of local post-16 provision was for level 1 and 2 in 2022 and 2023. 

This rate is higher in more deprived areas of the city, with rates of pupils not achieving grade 9-4 in English and math as high as 49 per cent. 

Numbers of young people classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET) grew by 15 per cent to 800 in the year up to 2023/24, it also revealed. 

The report said the council has submitted an analysis to the Department for Education (DfE) which shows a “post-16 provision deficit”. 

“If the city is not able to significantly increase capacity in post-16 education at level 1, level 2 and for technical education, there will be growing numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training in Leeds,” Booth warned.

“This will have the greatest negative impact on the most economically deprived areas of the city.” 

He pointed out that while more than 60 per cent of young people do not get the GCSE grades to start A-levels, only 3 per cent secure apprenticeships. 

Specialist teaching space shortage 

Davis agreed that there is “absolutely a crisis” for young people looking for a college place in Leeds, based on her experience at LCB. 

The college, which has more than 4,300 students and apprentices, has waiting lists of about 300 students, predominantly for electrical, bricklaying and multi-skills. 

On top of difficulties hiring staff and paying for materials, teaching space is a “major issue” at LCB, Davis said. 

She added: “At the College, we are in the process of trying to create more space to accommodate level 1 and level 2 students across all of our provision. 

“We have had to repurpose space, from one area of construction to another, such as converting classrooms to bricklaying workshops. 

“In addition to this, we are recruiting additional teaching staff, which has always been very difficult against a buoyant construction market and salaries for FE staff.

“Leeds College of Building will do what it can to support and teach young people across Leeds, but this requires quick and decisive action from the Department for Education to address the lack of physical capacity in Leeds.”

Who’s responsible?

A rise in 16–18-year-olds is a well-known national issue, but no single organisation seems to have responsibility for planning ahead in cities like Leeds.

This appears to be split between providers such as colleges, local and mayoral authorities, and the DfE. 

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said “pretty much all the responsibility” for managing student demand has been left to individual institutions, such as Luminate. 

Luminate chief executive Booth accused the DfE of not “checking the data centrally” and called the split responsibility for planning a “fundamental failure of policy and systems” that needs a long-term solution. 

A DfE spokesperson denied suggestions that it doesn’t keep data to track demand, arguing it “closely” monitors capacity in all education sectors, although they refused to explain how they do so. 

They added: “We will work closely with the local authority and providers in the area to ensure that all 16- to 18-year-olds have the opportunity to receive funded education.” 

They also claimed that responsibility for strategic planning of 16-19 education lies with local authorities such as Leeds, although Gravatt countered that this is only “theoretically” the case. 

The DfE does not publish annual estimates of post-16 student numbers in the same way as its national nursery, primary and secondary pupil projections.

However, it collects local data, controls “all of the funding” and has “extensive intervention powers,” Gravatt said. 

On projecting capacity needs, he pointed out that 16-18 education course numbers have “always been difficult” as people move and migrate, course options have grown and GCSE grades are only released shortly before the new academic year – leaving colleges “scrambling”. 

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said it continues to “monitor and respond” to demand for FE places in partnership with “strong and vibrant” post-16 education providers in the city.

“There has been limited funding available to the local authority to support this growth and the rising demand for entry-level, level 1 and level 2 courses despite national funding arrangements, has created additional challenges.

“However, we are working proactively across our post-16 provider forum to identify effective and creative opportunities for expansion.” 

Regardless of who should be ultimately responsible, Luminate’s chief executive is clear that capital funding for extra space is “the only solution available” to meet demand in Leeds.