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Suffragette musical opens Lola’s eyes to female struggle for vote

An allegorical tale that uses birds to bring to life the story of Emmeline Pankhurst has given Essex college learners a whole new outlook on the struggle for female equality, writes Paul Offord.

Playing a character based on feminist icon Emmeline Pankhurst made musical theatre student Lolo Adaja appreciate how times have changed for women.

The 18-year-old had never even heard of the Suffragettes, who fought for women’s right to vote in the UK in the early 20^th Century, before she read the script for Angry Birds — a musical commissioned by Havering College of Further and Higher Education.

She said: “If I put my hand on my heart, I hadn’t heard of the Suffragettes before this. I was aware of the struggle against slavery, but didn’t know women had to fight so much for their rights.

“I now know that if Emmeline hadn’t campaigned so hard with the Suffragettes, the other girls on the course and I wouldn’t have had a chance to go to college. We would have just been married off young and raised children.”

The play begins in a mythical birdland and features young birds at a failing school, who are inspired by the feminist struggle.

The following plot is loosely based on the struggles of Mrs Pankhurst, leader of the British Suffragettes, and her family and friends. However, they are all birds and the lead character is called Emmeline Peahen.

It was penned by musical theatre composer Dougal Irvine, who rose to fame through musicals Departure Lounge and Britain’s Got Bhangra, as a final project for a class of nine level three learners.

Simon Gray, lecturer in musical theatre, said: “They were a special class so we wanted to do something special for their final project.

“Dougal sat the class down and asked them what issues were important to them. They discussed the portrayal of women in the media and it became clear that something related to feminism would work well.

“There are nine girls in the class and just one boy, so it worked perfectly. He decided if the Suffragettes had been alive today they would be punk rebels, like the Russian feminist group Pussy Riot.

“Then he changed it again by making the characters into rebellious birds, so it was kind of like George Orwell’s story Animal Farm too.”

As well as acting all the parts, the students also directed and choreographed the show under guidance from Mr Gray and Mr Irvine.

The musical featured 25 original songs and lasted for two hours. It was performed five times late last month in the space of a week to packed audiences at the college.

“It has been such a great experience for all of us. At the beginning we were sceptical about someone writing a whole musical for us, but as soon as we saw the script and took on board the subject matter we were so excited,” said Lola.

“I liked the concept Dougal used — as he made it about the struggle for the birds to be allowed to sing, symbolising the struggle for women to be allowed to express themselves.”

The other cast members were Eden Bishop-Jones, aged 17, Lauren Ghost, Louise Hatchard-Dougherty, Ashley Runeckles, Jemma Lord, and Molly Taylorson, and Joanna Hunt, all 18, and Lisa Steel, 20.

“It was so uplifting because there were a lot of young people who came along to see it who probably would never have thought about watching a musical before, but were interested in the subject matter and really enjoyed it,” said Mr Gray.

“It is such a good musical that would appeal to all sorts of people and we would definitely like to perform it again. We would like to film it and I think it could work if we took it to the Edinburgh Festival.”

Mr Irvine said: “I am really happy. It has been a real collaboration between me and the students and they brought a lot of ideas to the table.

“It has been empowering for them to see a show from through creation to production. They were also forthcoming with suggestions on how they could tweak it.”

Main image: Level three musical theatre students perform musical Angry Birds. Inset right: Lola Adaja Pics: Adam Sainsbury

AELP Annual National Conference 2014

Download your free copy of the FE Week 16-page supplement covering AELP Annual Conference 2014 in partnership with OCR.
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Introduction

Apprenticeship reform was always expected to dominate the agenda at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) 2014 annual conference, and that was certainly the case on day one.

It was already clear that, despite his protestations, Skills Minister Matthew Hancock still has a long way to go before he groups such as the AELP on his side, and now they have seen the devil in the detail, it appears the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) support is wavering too. In this supplement, we look in detail at the proposed reforms, crunch some of the numbers and bring you coverage of the growing distance between the CBI and the government on emerging apprenticeship funding policy, an area which has usually seen them united in the past.

We are also delighted to be here to celebrate Stewart Segal’s first year in office. Last year at this very conference, then-FE Week deputy editor Chris Henwood sat down with Stewart to speak about his vision for his first year. And so this year Chris, now editor, spoke with him again to look back on an eventful first year, and ahead to one of the most important years in the FE sector’s history, with the run-up to the 2015 general election.

We also exclusively spoke to Education and Training Foundation chief executive David Russell about the important role he believes his organisation can play in promoting the work of independent learning providers. At the end of the supplement, we have special expert pieces from six of the highprofile speakers attending this year’s AELP conference, from Education Funding Agency chief executive Peter Lauener to Ofsted’s new FE and skills national director Lorna Fitzjohn.

We hope this special souvenir supplement provides the ideal accompaniment to one of the most important events in the sector’s calendar at a key time for everyone in the FE and training world.

This time next year, it could be all change for the government, and the future of FE has never been more uncertain.

Jack tackles England colleges’ rugby squad

Level one Warrington Collegiate plumbing student Jack Sherratt has been selected for the England colleges’ rugby league squad.

The prop forward, who has also been nominated for the college’s plumbing student of the year award, caught the national selectors’ eye while playing for the North West and Cumbria colleges’ representative team. The 19-year-old trained with the national squad for the first time on May 28 and is set to feature in a tour of Belgium next month.

Jack, who is also a key member of his college’s rugby team, said: “It’s a huge honour to have been selected to play for England.”

Jack’s tutor, Jon Brown, lecturer in plumbing and gas, said: “This is fantastic news. Jack is an exceptional student who has worked hard to ensure that his college work is at the same standard as his sport.”

Steve McCormack, lecturer in rugby league, said: “It’s an amazing experience to play at such a high level. Jack is certainly a talent to watch.”

Picture Caption: Jack Sherratt with plumbing tutor Jon Brown.

Prince gives royal seal of approval to apprenticeships

Prince Andrew said he had been encouraging young people to start an apprenticeship rather than go to university during a visit to Kirklees College.

The prince officially opened the college’s new £74m Huddersfield Centre, which contains nine floors of classrooms and workshops, a gym, training kitchens and restaurant, hair and beauty salons, and a mock air cabin simulator. He told guests he had been “trying to encourage young people to take up the skills challenge by perhaps considering an apprenticeship rather than going to university, at least in the first stage, because having gone to university you come out and then you need to be trained.”
He added: “By going the other way about it you’ve actually got the training and the skill and then you add the education on top.

“It doesn’t really matter which way round you do it,

“But in many respects this country is better set to be able to do it the apprenticeship way first because of the excellence of our FE.”

Picture Caption: From left: Prince Andrew meets level one hairdressing student Shannon Gardner, aged 17, in the college’s new Huddersfield Centre

Getting a kick from training with Portuguese champions

Wigan and Leigh College students received world-class training with table-topping Portuguese football club Benfica.

Learners on the college’s football development programme spent two weeks with the club, which won the European Cup in 1960-61 and 1961-62 and claimed its 33rd domestic league title last season. They were put through their paces by the Benfica coaching staff and played matches against two local teams, which finished drawn, and a side from Gabon, in Africa, which they lost 3-1.

The students also took part in daily lectures and enjoyed a tour of the home of the Primeira Liga club, Estádio da Luz. Sports tutor Carl Wild said: “Benfica is one of Europe’s
leading football teams and to be able to train under their staff was an invaluable experience.”

The trip was funded by the European Union’s Leonardo da Vinci Programme, which arranges overseas work-related experience for FE students.

Picture Caption: From left: Wigan and Leigh College students Harrison Brock, aged 18, Tim Raines, Joe Mapleston, both 17, and Josh Powell, 18, head a ball to each other at Benfica’s training ground.

Journalism students interview Prime Minister

Two journalism students at Harlow College got a major scoop when they interviewed Prime Minister David Cameron.

Elliott Mees and Amina Ahmed, aged 19, who are studying for a National Council for the Training of Journalists diploma in journalism, grilled Mr Cameron on subjects ranging from his views on UKIP to his policies on the national minimum wage when he visited the college.

Elliott Mees said: “Earlier in the day, the headlines were all about Ed Miliband saying he would increase the national minimum wage, so we asked for his thoughts on this.”

Here’s Elliott’s report:

When we were briefed about the visit, all we were told was that it would be a senior cabinet minister.

We didn’t know it would be David Cameron until two hours before he arrived.

We quickly prepared some questions, ranging from his views on UKIP to his policies on the national minimum wage, structuring our questions in such a way as to try and get the most honest answers.

On the subject of UKIP, he said: “It’s been a long and difficult recession but we are coming through it now, although it’s been hard and people are concerned about particular issues. I just hope they will think very carefully come polling day because some of the things that UKIP and their financial backers stand for are pretty unpleasant and divisive and what we need in Britain is the politics of the answer, not the politics of anger.”

Commenting on the national minimum wage, he said: “I support the national minimum wage and I want to see it rise but I think the right thing to do is to leave the decision with the Low Pay Commission as they will look at it very carefully. Interestingly, the latest rise in the minimum wage will happen under this government later this year, taking it from £6.31 to £6.50 an hour, which I really welcome.”

Another aspect of the visit was to take a tour of the new University Technical College, which is opening in September 2014. We asked him what impact it will have for young people in this area.

“It will be a big boost because what we want to have is the very best schools and skills for our young people. Here in Harlow you have some great schools, as well as Harlow College, but to have a new UTC which will address skills shortages will give young people a real boost and a real chance in life. Variety, choice and excellence is what we want to see and I think the UTC will be providing all those things.”

And with that, he was ushered away to another interview, and we were left to ponder the fact that, for one day at least, we were the only two students in the country who had just interviewed the Prime Minister.

Picture Caption: From left: Prime Minister David Cameron is interviewed by journalism students Elliott Mees and Amina Ahmed.

Minister rejects calls to scrap apprenticeship fees at AELP conference

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock has rejected calls for in-kind contributions towards apprenticeships to count as part of employers’ mandatory cash payments.

Mr Hancock re-affirmed his preference for mandatory cash contributions from employers after calls from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) for other elements to be taken into account.

He told delegates at day one (Monday, June 2) of the AELP annual conference that expecting bosses to play a greater role in designing apprenticeship frameworks and asking them to front up a third of the provider costs — with the government paying the rest — would help “deliver the skills employers need for their future”.

The figures are for a pilot employer-led funding model made up of five funding cap levels ranging from £3,000 to £27,000, with further public money, including extra cash for 16 to 18-year-old apprenticeships, potentially pushing the highest cap above £37,000.

But CBI skills director Neil Carberry told delegates that businesses wanted “co-investment not co-payment”, and used social media site Twitter to call for contributions other than cash to count towards the employer’s mandatory share of the cost.

He said: “We need the totality of an employer’s contribution taken into account, not just the cash —especially for the smallest.”

And an AELP spokesperson said: “Imposing mandatory cash contributions for all employers will mean that many employers will not engage with the programme. Contributions of all types should be encouraged and we should value non cash as highly as cash contributions.”

But when pressed on whether in-kind contributions should count, Mr Hancock said: “Of course there are wider costs to taking on apprentices, but those employers pay for what they value and value what they pay for.”

And Professor Alison Wolf, author of the 2011 report on vocational education, seemed to back the government, taking to Twitter to argue that in-kind contributions would be difficult to measure. She said: “Contributions ‘in-kind’, for anything, are almost impossible to audit and very, very easy to list on a form.”

Mr Hancock told delegates: “If we call it co-investment and the substance is exactly the same, then I’m quite happy to take on board that proposition, and we will do a search of all our publications to change the word co-payment to co-investment if that helps.

“But on the substance of it, the reason why I’m such a strong supporter of co-investment is that the benefits of apprenticeships come to the apprentice themselves, to the employers and to the government. Under the existing system, many of the payments that we make to you [providers] are not known about by the employer.

“Many employers don’t know the value of training that you are providing and it’s very hard for us as the government to drive value for money directly because we have to do it through regulation which comes out of the other end of the sausage machine with bureaucracy.”

It is believed to be the first time a mandatory cash contribution will have been required from apprentice employers. It comes two years after a review of apprenticeships by former BBC Dragons’ Den investor Doug Richard recommended an employer-led system.

However, the government has not revealed how it will pay its share with the results of the latest consultation, which ended on May 1, proposing a PAYE or credit account system yet to be published.

But Mr Carberry told the conference the system had to be right for all businesses, big and small.

He said: “We want the right frameworks, they have to be relevant, particularly in apprenticeships’ case. We want the right structure, they have to be flexible, you have to live with the fact that businesses need to do business as well as change people for the long term. They have got to come at the right cost, and for us that has to mean co-investment, not co-payment.

“We are comfortable as an organisation with the idea that companies contribute to the apprenticeships they run, but that has to come on the basis that it makes sense to a company and co-investment has to be the principle we use.”

High stakes in principal’s sirloin ‘thank you’ meal

City College Norwich principal Corrienne Peasgood pulled on chef whites to cook dinner for staff who raised £15,000 for the student hardship fund through trekking up
mountains.

Ms Peasgood and eight other members of the college management team prepared chargrilled watermelon with crispy bacon, sirloin beef, and rhubarb crumble sorbet for 80 guests. A further seven college managers were front-of-house service waiting on the tables, supported by 14 level one and two professional cookery students.

The dinner in the college’s Debut Restaurant was a chance to thank 26 members of staff from the college for completing sponsored treks up Ben Nevis, in Scotland, Scafell Pike, in England, and Mount Snowdon, in Wales in aid of the college’s student hardship fund.

Ms Peasgood said: “It was brilliant for the college management team to go outside our comfort zone and prepare this meal.”

Has your principal, managing director, or leader got their hands dirty in the kitchen or workplace. Email the pictures into campus@feweek.co.uk to get them featured.

Picture Caption: Principal Corrienne Peasgood grilling sirloin

Election countdown brings AELP call for more joined-up policy on youth unemployment

Greater integration of government policy on youth unemployment is among the priorities for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) as outlined in its updated manifesto, released today.

The document, out on the first day of the AELP’s two-day annual conference in London, takes stock of priorities and outlines key areas of sector debate in the run-up to next year’s general election.

It calls for increased flexibility and more joined-up working between the departments for work and pensions, education and business, innovation and skills on initiatives such as work programmes, support for troubled families, work choice, traineeships and apprenticeships.

The manifesto says: “The 1m unemployed young people must have access to the highest quality support including real work experience with real employers and success should be measured by getting them into sustainable employment.

“There are many programmes to support unemployed young people including traineeships and the youth contract. We will continue to push for more flexibility in delivery and more integration of programmes.”

Employment Minister Esther McVey and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock are expected to address the conference, at Hammersmith Novotel, today with Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne due to speak tomorrow.

Stewart Segal, AELP chief executive, (pictured) said: “As the economy begins to grow, we have to keep the focus on employment and skills.

“People with low skills need support to ensure they can be part of the drive for growth and traineeships and apprenticeships will be vital to delivering the higher skills we need to sustain that growth. Training providers will be a key part of that solution.

“Skills and employment providers engage with employers across the country on a daily basis and the AELP national conference will illustrate why we are in a position to put forward positive policy recommendations which will benefit both individuals and employers.”

The event, chaired by broadcaster and former political editor Cathy Newman, will review a number of issues such as careers information for young people, the development of traineeships and apprenticeship reforms.

Mr Segal said: “The conference is a great opportunity to hear the views of training providers and their employers about the impact of the apprenticeship changes.

“Many employers have expressed real concerns about some elements of the reforms and we hope this will be an opportunity to explore solutions. We have already recommended radical approaches which are based on giving employers real choices.”

The conference is also due to host a debate on apprenticeship reforms tomorrow when Jason Holt, of the Holts jewellery group and author of the original government review of apprenticeships, will offer his views on how reform proposals have developed.

The event is further expected to hear from Graham Stuart, chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, about ongoing concerns surrounding the quality of careers advice offered to pupils in England’s schools.