Bridget Phillipson is at odds with her own department about whether employers will be able to use “up to 50 per cent” of their growth and skills levy contributions on non-apprenticeship training.
Labour pledged to introduce the threshold in opposition under a plan to widen the apprenticeship levy announced by leader Keir Starmer in 2022.
But the figure was missing from the party’s general election manifesto and hasn’t been mentioned by the Department for Education ministerial team since. Sources close to the government told FE Week the threshold had been all but dropped.
Children and families minister Janet Daby told a Westminster Hall debate on apprenticeships last month that the 50 per cent pledge was “currently being reviewed”.
But education secretary Phillipson suggested the threshold was still policy this week during education questions in the House of Commons.
Shadow education minister Neil O’Brien asked: “Before the election, Labour promised to let businesses spend 50 per cent of their apprenticeship levy money on non-apprenticeships, but now ministers say the commitment is under review. Will the secretary of state confirm when the review of her own policy will conclude?”
Phillipson replied: “We remain committed to reforming the failing apprenticeship levy and turning it into a growth and skills levy with up to 50 per cent flexibility for employers, driving new opportunities in growth areas across our country, alongside ensuring that we deliver many more apprenticeship starts for our young people.”
FE Week asked the DfE to confirm Phillipson’s suggestion that the “up to 50 per cent” threshold was still the plan, or whether the education secretary had misspoken, but the department did not provide a straight answer.
Background information was issued instead which only said the “new growth and skills levy-funded offer will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers” and the DfE “will set out more details on the offer in the new year, when Skills England will also publish their report following engagement with employers over the autumn”.
The conflicting messaging has been criticised.
O’Brien said: “This is just the latest example of confusion and chaos in Labour’s education policy.
“With ministers once again saying one thing before the election and another entirely after, the government urgently needs to clarify whether their pledges on apprentices still stand, or if they are just another broken promise.”
Ben Rowland, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, added: “Critically, there was no manifesto commitment on allowing employers to spend up to 50 per cent of their levy on non-apprenticeship provision, a sensible move given that 98 per cent of the programme budget is now spent.
“The government, though, needs to quickly adopt a clear position on all of this, and communicate it to employers, many of whom are increasingly confused about what is happening and their role in skills and productivity.”
Skills England, the DfE’s new arms-length body, has been tasked with implementing the growth and skills levy.
Plans for its design are so far unclear, and no timeline for implementation has been released, but the DfE has said it will involve widening the levy to fund other forms of training, the introduction of shorter apprenticeships, foundation-level apprenticeships and the removal of levy funding for level 7 apprenticeships.
South Yorkshire metro mayor Oliver Coppard says getting national, regional and local agencies to pull in one direction is crucial for his region’s progress
Oliver Coppard believes he’s on the verge of gaining powers that could join the dots between health, employment and education services and make a dent in South Yorkshire’s deep-rooted inequalities.
Any day now, the government is due to publish a devolution white paper that promises to give metro mayors like Coppard “the tools needed to boost economic growth”.
Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have already been promised so-called ‘single funding pots’ from March to replace dozens of separate income streams. South Yorkshire, along with Liverpool City Region, the North East and West Yorkshire combined authorities hope to get theirs in 2026.
And Coppard’s team – buoyed by success in taking the region’s tram system under public control – are already working out how they’re going to spend it.
Oliver Coppard at AMRC Training Centre
Skills on the doorstep
At 43, Coppard is one of England’s youngest metro mayors. He had name recognition locally before being elected in 2022, having stood against the then-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in his Sheffield Hallam constituency at the 2015 general election, losing out by around 2,000 votes.
We meet at his glassy Sheffield office the day before the US election, significant for Coppard who confesses a “love affair with American politics” having interned for Dick Gephardt, then Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, during his University of Leeds politics degree.
He returned in 2012 to volunteer for the Obama campaign, but wasn’t one of the Labour activists campaigning for Kamala Harris that Donald Trump accused of “blatant foreign interference”.
Coppard says: “I would’ve gone out on the same basis now if I wasn’t mayor, it’s got nothing to do with the Labour Party. It’s just because I care about American politics, and I like campaigning, I like knocking on doors.”
On the doorstep, he admits most people associate him with transport issues, rather than his skills agenda.
Transport plans
This is hardly surprising, given one of Coppard’s most notable achievements has been his combined authority taking control of the Supertram network in March after 27 years, as part of plans for an integrated transport network to connect communities.
The combined authority also recently invested £5 million in school buses to boost capacity because the cost-of-living crisis means “some people can’t afford to get their kids to school”.
But last year it scrapped the Zoom Beyond travel pass launched in 2021, which gave 18 to 21 year olds cheaper bus fares. “We couldn’t sustain it because of the funding challenges that come with the privatised bus market,” he says.
Coppard believes public transport cutbacks are partly to blame for the rise in NEETs (not in education, employment or training) in South Yorkshire.
In 2021, 16 per cent of South Yorkshire’s working-age population had no qualifications compared to 12 per cent nationally, and the region has “a problem” with “very basic level skills and being able to make sure that people can access opportunities”.
Coppard is equally passionate about skills training for those already in work. He believes “that’s one of the big areas where this country has always fallen behind… working with people in work to target those areas where we need to increase productivity”.
The combined authority does this through its skills bank, a public-private investment fund which match-funds employer contributions to skills training.
Oliver Coppard visiting a South Yorkshire school
Coppard says where employers have a “specific training programme that contributes to growth”, South Yorkshire offers to co-fund it.
After being funded for the first four years by South Yorkshire’s local economic partnership, the combined authority took over in 2022 with a £5 million cash injection until 2025.
“For me, that’s a really good example of where devolution gives you those levers,” he says. “But we need to be able to do more. Devolution hasn’t gone far enough in the skills space. This government would hopefully argue the same.”
Going local
When Coppard is given access to a single devolved pot, his skills strategy reveals he wants to set up new community skills hubs to “deliver the next generation of programmes targeted at reducing economic inactivity”.
These will “bring together skills, health and employment support”, requiring “close partnership working with Job Centre Plus, health services and community groups”.
His optimism comes from experience of joining up different systems in the health and work space to improve outcomes for residents. South Yorkshire’s WorkWell, initially launched by Coppard’s predecessor Dan Jarvis in 2018, is now one of 15 pilots each getting £3.5 million for “tailored early-intervention work and health support and assessment, and a single, joined-up gateway to other support services”.
Greater Manchestermayor Andy Burnham
But he is facing some criticism of his proposals.
At a recent combined authority meeting, members expressed concern about Coppard’s pledge for a single point of entry for skills and employment services in South Yorkshire, saying commissioning on a regional level wasn’t local enough.
And there are capacity issues at the combined authority – a report said its “demand for analysis and insight outstrips supply” – which is partly why the implementation plan to deliver the skills strategy, published in spring was delayed by at least four months to January.
Coppard speaks quickly and at times erratically. He is hard to pin down on policy specifics, partly perhaps because of uncertainty about exactly how much he will get from central government under the next devolution deal, and for what.
When asked to explain the difference between his powers and those of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, he pauses to consider how he can best articulate the complexity of the current devolution landscape.
“As a mayor, I struggle with some of this,” he says candidly.
Devolution is a complex issue, but particularly so for the residents of South Yorkshire. Their combined authority was, for its first three years, called Sheffield City Region, but to stop the spotlight shining so brightly on the Steel City as opposed to neighbouring Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham, it was renamed South Yorkshire in 2021.
Oliver Coppard reading a book to a child
Missing money
Unsurprisingly, Coppard gushes enthusiastically about the intentions of the current government. As for the last one, he has a large chip on his shoulder over how South Yorkshire was short-changed in competitive funding allocations.
A £560 million bid for its Bus Service Improvement Plan “didn’t get a single penny”, and with “levelling-up funding in general, we didn’t get the support that we wanted or needed”.
What’s more, Coppard, who was director of the regional Remain campaign during the 2016 referendum, says that until 2014, South Yorkshire was one of the country’s biggest recipients of the European Union’s objective-one funding which gave more to “particularly egregiously worse off” areas. But from 2014 to 2020, the government changed the funding formula to “particularly disadvantage” South Yorkshire and Liverpool City region.
While South Yorkshire received €111 per head, the North East got €273 and Tees Valley €300.
He claims that because his region has become more deprived since then, “we would technically be back in objective one funding now if we were still part of the EU”.
South Yorkshire got £38 million over three years from the UK shared prosperity fund (intended to replace EU structural funding), and Coppard claims the last government “promised” to double its share of that to match the money it previously received from the EU. That increase “never materialised” in what Coppard describes as a “political trap” for the incoming Labour government.
“They’d never accounted for any of that money… it just so happened that that coincided with an electoral timetable. Now this government’s having to figure out how to actually fund some of these things where no money was ever set aside.”
Oliver Coppard at Barnsley College
LSIPs from a ‘previous age’
Coppard is equally dismissive of the last government’s attempts to encourage joint working between skills providers, employers and local government players through local skills improvement plans (LSIPs), saying they “feel like a product of a previous age”.
Coppard admits his region has “not always worked hand in glove” across private and public sector institutions.
This is evident in the fractious birth of the combined authority itself; after a deal was signed in 2015, several local authorities pulled out, and both Barnsley and Doncaster backed an alternative proposal for a giant pan-Yorkshire combined authority before the government quashed the idea.
But Coppard claims that in recent years, relationships between key players have “changed quite dramatically”. He wants “more of a connection to the way South Yorkshire works now” as regards LSIPs, to “speak to the wider objectives and approach” that his region is trying to take.
Meanwhile, Skills England is about to start flexing its muscles over mayors, as part of its remit to hold local and national partners to account to ensure pledges made on skills are delivered.
It is not a prospect that Coppard seems to be relishing.
He points to Homes England as an example of a national arms-length agency that works successfully with South Yorkshire, partly because it provides the “capacity and expertise” that his combined authority lacks in planning for the delivery of new homes. But it still “recognises we have a leadership role to play”.
“So working much more on our priorities, rather than being mandated to by a national organisation, has to be the way forward,” Coppard adds.
Skills England will also help oversee South Yorkshire’s growth plans, as part of its work to ensure areas meet the government’s blueprint for its industrial strategy and green prosperity plan.
Coppard is concerned that “if you’ve got national organisations sitting outside of the system, you’re not going to be able to push all those levers to genuinely influence things”.
Angela Foulkes, Sheffield College chief executive
College relationships
But he brightens up when we talk about his relationship with local colleges. He is in “regular conversation” with them about “all sorts of things,” not just skills.
He recently held a roundtable on the local police and crime plan, chaired by David Blunkett and attended by Sheffield College chief executive Angela Foulkes, who “helped us think through some of the challenges for policing and crime when it comes to our colleges”.
He is “lucky” in South Yorkshire because, being a smaller region with a “limited number of colleges”, it is “easier” for him than some other mayors to develop those relationships.
Coppard is keen to build on Sheffield’s reputation as a hub for advanced manufacturing.
He wants more sway over careers advice in schools, to influence pupils to consider professions in sectors like advanced manufacturing that are key to his growth plans.
Plus he wants to expand Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which is “massively oversubscribed”, and use bus reforms to remedy the fact only 1 per cent of the region’s population can access that centre by public transport within 30 minutes.
If all this can be done, Coppard says it will be a “really good example” of what can be achieved through devolution.
“Knitting up this system so people can genuinely access opportunity feels like my challenge, and it’s where I’m proudest to be working.”
Ministers have scrapped a construction T Level due to a “lack of demand”.
The onsite construction T Level, which had 75 completers in its first year and 138 in the next, will take on no further enrolments.
It marks the first case of a T Level getting axed after delivery had already commenced. The course was launched in 2021.
Announcing the decision today alongside its wider level 3 defunding plans, the Department for Education said: “The onsite construction T Level is helping students progress into positive destinations, but will have no further enrolments, due to a lack of overall demand for large qualifications at level 3.”
Learners already enrolled can still complete their course if they wish, the DfE added.
The decision comes just months after awarding body WJEC Eduqas won a £7.64 million contract to develop and deliver the next generation version of the qualification. City and Guilds designed the original version of the course but did not retender for it.
Popular level 3 qualifications including 44 BTECs that were facing the scrap heap have been given a stay of execution.
Ministers will allow 70 per cent of the courses earmarked for defunding to continue up to 2027, a departure from the previous government, which wanted to clear the decks and axe qualifications that could rival T Levels from this year.
In its outcome for a much-anticipated “short review” of level 3 qualifications, the government confirmed 157 qualifications that were up for the chop will be retained for a time.
There are 57 qualifications in digital, construction and health and science that will now be funded until July 2026.
A further 100 qualifications in engineering, agriculture, business and creative will retain their funding until July 2027.
But plans to defund 94 courses that were due to be lost this year and next will still go ahead.
The amnesty includes many popular applied general qualifications, such as BTECs as well as other level 3 certificates and diplomas. Download the full list here.
In addition, previously proposed funding rules limiting how schools and colleges can combine qualifications and piece together study programmes have been dropped.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “This government is committed to the long-term delivery of T Levels as the best quality technical education option for young people.
“Qualifications are not one-size-fits-all, and we recognise we must take a pragmatic approach. Our ambitious programme must meet the needs of employers and our public services if we are to see our economy flourish.
“We took decisive action as soon as we came into government to ensure the best outcomes for learners and I am thankful to all those who contributed to the pause and review.”
Colleges and schools have been unable to tell prospective students what level 3 courses will be available in September 2025 until now.
It confirms a shift, first revealed by skills minister Jacqui Smith writing for FE Week, that courses overlapping T Levels will retain funding. The previous government insisted on removing funding from overlapping qualifications in the face of significant sector opposition.
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, which leads the Protect Student Choice campaign, said: “We are pleased the campaign’s recommendation not to introduce constraints on combining different types and sizes of qualification will be implemented.”
He added that 13 of the 21 applied general qualifications (AGQs) that the campaign identified as “being essential to retain, will be retained”.
“That means students will continue to benefit from BTEC and other qualifications in key subjects such as applied science, health and social care, IT, and engineering. Although these 13 AGQs (that account for 58,000 16 to 18 enrolments) are only being retained for a further year, we understand that many have a long-term future alongside A-levels and T Levels.”
Watkin added: “More broadly, there is now a clear recognition from ministers that A-levels and T Levels cannot be the only level 3 options available to young people. Today has brought a degree of certainty to the level 3 reform process, and we look forward to working with the government on the implementation of the plans set out today.”
Limited certainty
While ministers claim today’s announcement provide principals and students with some certainty, that might be short-lived.
Shadow education minister Neil O’Brien said: “The sector will heave a sigh of relief that today’s announcement is finally out. But this announcement leaves some huge unanswered questions. The minister says that things will be clear until 2027, which means we’ll be back here again in two years time. We had a pause and a review, we’re now going to have a longer pause and another review. At some point the government will have to decide.”
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Today’s announcement on the outcome of the rapid review of level 3 qualification defunding offers some stability for colleges and students and allows colleges to plan their curriculum offer with confidence for the next couple of years.
“The decision to trust college staff to design learning programmes which combine qualifications, rather than setting rules centrally, signals a welcome shift towards trusting colleges to do the best for their students.”
Three quarters of apprenticeship vacancy adverts block applicants who have not already achieved a grade 4 pass in GCSE English and maths, research has found.
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers analysed 5,440 vacancies and discovered 72 per cent of ads required learners to have a minimum of grade 4/C – known as a standard pass, with a further 4 per cent requiring at least a grade 5 – known as a “strong pass”.
The remaining 24 per cent of adverts either had no specific maths and English requirement or accepted grade 3/D and below.
Ministers have now been urged to use the finding as a wake-up call to end functional skills exit requirements in apprenticeships.
Ben Rowland, AELP chief executive, said the “astonishing” figures show “well-intentioned rules designed to encourage further learning of English and maths are now having the opposite impact – those in most need of support are being blocked from the apprenticeship route because of requirements”.
The Department for Education confirmed it is reviewing English and maths requirements to “ensure they support learners while maintaining high standards”.
It comes against a backdrop of almost one million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
‘Stressful and often irrelevant’
Under current rules, apprentices must achieve level 1 English and maths functional skills qualifications if they are on a level 2 apprenticeship and did not pass the qualifications at GCSE. And, if a similar learner is on a level 3 or higher apprenticeship, they must achieve functional skills at level 2.
Training providers, employers and apprentices have long complained the rule is “almost universally viewed as a barrier to opportunity” within apprenticeships and a “major source of frustration” that contributes to high dropout rates, according to a report published today by AELP.
The group found just over half of the grade 4/C qualification requirements were advertised as “essential”, with the rest saying the grades were “desirable”.
And it concluded the data showed entry requirements for apprenticeships were being tightened to “avoid the stressful and often irrelevant functional skills qualifications that come with learners without English and maths”.
Rowland added: “Given the dire impact on operations, morale and learner mental health caused by functional skills qualifications as an exit requirement, it is not surprising that both employers and providers have responded by seeking to avoid it wherever possible.”
Remove the exit requirement
More than a quarter of young people left school without English and maths GCSE grade 4 last year.
Reformed functional skills qualifications launched in 2019 with revised content and assessment requirements. The aim was to give the qualifications greater credibility with employers.
Functional skills pass rates currently sit at around 75 per cent, down from 84 per cent before the pandemic and before the reformed qualifications were introduced.
No other qualification, such as A Levels and T Levels, have English and maths as an exit requirement. However, 16 to 18-year-old students without a pass in the subjects must work towards them as a condition of their place being funded.
The AELP said the DfE should “require and fund providers to deliver English and maths support to all learners who are not able to demonstrate the required level, including an assessment at the start and end of the apprenticeship to demonstrate progress – but not as an exit requirement for the apprenticeship”.
Apprenticeship standard trailblazer groups should also “consider English and maths requirements for apprenticeships on a standard-by-standard approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, allowing more contextualisation”. This would “ensure that delivery and assessment are more aligned to job roles and skills being tested are meaningful and appropriate to the learner”.
The DfE said: “We are committed to giving young people the skills they need to seize opportunity, no matter what their background is. That is at the heart of our plan for change which will put the economy on firm foundations for growth.
“That’s why we are reviewing the English and maths requirements for apprenticeships to ensure they support learners while maintaining high standards. High-quality apprenticeships are a vital pathway into skilled employment and we want them to be more widely available.”
As the world’s leading lifelong learning company, Pearson is setting the standard in Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), offering the largest portfolio on the market with forty-three HTQs across eight different sectors. Their new BTEC HNC in Photography for England is the first ever in the creative sector and is the only photography HTQ approved by IfATE—an exciting milestone for creative education.
Available to teach in September 2025, this new qualification is designed to nurture creative talent, foster technical skills, and prepare students for higher education or an exciting career in the industry.
A flexible approach to creative careers
At the core of this innovative new qualification lies a transformative idea: empowering aspiring photographers with the tools they need to succeed, while giving them the flexibility to focus on what they love. The course offers an inspiring and informative study programme that stimulates and challenges learners, providing a solid foundation in key photographic techniques, while allowing them to follow their specific areas of interest—whether that’s fashion, documentary, fine art, travel, or digital media.
Real skills for real success
The course is structured to equip learners with the creative, technical, and professional skills essential for success in the photography industry. Students gain a solid understanding of photography’s history and contemporary practices, helping them position their work within a broader narrative. They also develop unique ideas through research and critical evaluation, turning concepts into compelling visual stories.
Technical proficiency is key, with students mastering both traditional and modern techniques to meet professional standards. The programme also covers real-world challenges, preparing students for roles in freelance, team or studio settings, with a focus on client management, business skills and ethics. Finally, students learn to communicate effectively, promoting their work to a range of audiences, from clients to social media followers.
Navigating the AI debate
AI’s impact on the creative industries is undeniable, and the photography world is no exception. Pearson has made AI a key part of this qualification, guiding students on how to use technology responsibly while maintaining originality and artistry. With the rise of AI-generated art, the course ensures students are aware of both the potential and the ethical considerations of emerging technologies.
Built by industry experts, backed by authentic voices
Pearson collaborated with leading industry experts, including the UK Black Female Photographers Community (UKBFTOG), to ensure the qualification is inclusive and reflective of modern needs. Jemella Ukaegbu, founder of UKBFTOG, commented: “This qualification is exactly the type of support that opens doors for those who need it.”
Award-winning photographer Monika S. Jakubowska added, “It’s vital to develop qualifications that are relevant today and equip learners with the skills to thrive in the competitive photography industry.”
Shaping creative futures together
Fiona Ross, Pearson subject lead for the qualification, highlighted the depth of collaboration involved in developing the course: “It has been exciting to talk to such a wide range of educators and industry specialists across the world to ensure this new qualification is fit for purpose. I am always grateful for the expertise of industry professionals, which helps us shape not just relevant but stimulating qualifications to support the student journey.”
Pearson’s new BTEC HNC in Photography for England provides educators with the tools to inspire and nurture creative talent, offering a curriculum that blends the essentials of professional practice with the flexibility to encourage unique expression. From mastering fundamental skills to navigating the implications of AI, this qualification has everything that aspiring photographers need to thrive.
A Cheshire-based specialist college that was caught up in last year’s RAAC scandal has scored top marks from education inspectors.
Royal College Manchester, which is part of Seashell Trust, was graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for each judgment in a report published today following a full inspection last month.
The 69-learner college improved from ‘good’ because of “exceptional education, care and support” from “highly qualified, experienced, caring and nurturing staff”. Learners at the college are aged 16 to 25 and have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), some with complex health needs.
Inspectors reported teaching and care staff “work expertly together” on a curriculum that develops “substantial new knowledge and skills” as well as learners’ independence, physical health and wellbeing.
Education quality, learner behaviour, personal development, high needs provision and leadership and management were all found to be ‘outstanding’.
Learners develop their teamwork and social skills through “extensive” enrichment activities that include rock band, cycling, residential trips and horticultural projects.
Ofsted praised leaders’ monitoring of learner progress and “wide variety” of training on offer to teaching and therapeutic staff, including trauma-informed care and empathetic language.
Teaching staff were commended for their “excellent range of teaching and support techniques” in meeting learners’ individual needs.
“As a result, learners, including those with the most complex needs, have full access to the curriculum. They are not disadvantaged by their SEND,” the report said.
Clare Sefton, college principal, said: “This exceptional achievement is a testament to the dedication, hard work and passion of our staff, students and the entire college community.
“We are incredibly proud of this recognition and will continue to build on our successes to ensure the highest standards of education and care for all those we support.”
Royal College Manchester was one of a handful of post-16 colleges that had to move students last year due to RAAC. Its status as an independent specialist meant it was ineligible for government funding to repair the crumbly concrete.
The college moved students to its old 1950s school building in September 2023 which leaders said “isn’t fit for purpose and was due to be demolished”. The college has spent £1 million over the past year to refurb the old site and plans to move into a new purpose-built building, a development which is costing £29.3 million in total, in 2026.
The government has removed end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) from the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) to “remove dual regulation”.
EPAOs and training providers were merged into a single register in August 2023.
For the past year, when an assessment organisation received recognition for a standard from Ofqual or the Office for Students – their external quality assurance (EQA) provider – they have automatically been placed onto APAR as an approved EPAO.
However, the associated conditions of acceptance for APAR differed from the terms EPAOs have to pass for external quality assurance, which caused unnecessary regulatory burden.
The DfE told FE Week it made the “operational change” to remove EPAOs from APAR today to address this.
“This change is merely an operational one to remove dual regulation, whereby EPAOs have to be approved by the relevant external quality assurance provider (e.g. Ofqual) for a given standard, so we don’t need to maintain in DfE a separate register or approval process for EPAOs,” the department said.
“This therefore further simplifies the apprenticeship system for users.”
DfE added that the change will not affect the delivery arrangements for EPA.
To deliver apprenticeships, EPAOs continue to require approval in the usual way from the organisation providing the EQA for the relevant standard, and providers and employers can continue to use the ‘find an apprenticeship’ service to help them select an EPAO.
Simon Ashworth, Association of Employment and Learning Providers deputy CEO and director of policy, said: “The removal of end point assessment organisations from the apprenticeship provider and assessment register is a logical step forward, given EPAOs already need to be approved elsewhere with a higher threshold.”
Rob Nitsch, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, added: “Regulatory burden is a key issue for our members and addressing it is a leading priority for the federation. We absolutely welcome the focus on reducing it and this step.”
If we are going to meet the UK’s climate and nature targets, we must put the voices of young people at the heart of the conversation. They are the ones who will be impacted the most by the climate and biodiversity crises but can often feel powerless in making change.
To combat this at East Norfolk College, students are given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in our ‘Climate Action Plan’ and ‘Wilding’ projects, as part of the Green Schools Revolution (GSR) programme.
Through the department for education’s 2022 climate change and sustainability strategy, all education settings were advised to have a climate action plan (CAP) in place from 2025. Working with GSR, students at East Norfolk College have been put at the heart of this process.
Students have taken what they have learned through CAP and applied it to other areas. For example, the college’s debating club considered a proposition that international organisations need more power to address climate change, and our student forum often considers innovative ideas in support of climate change, such as increasing use of public transport.
This work is a perfect example of youth-led initiatives having real-world impact, with a letter to local council leaders resulting in new cycling and road improvements scheduled for parts of Great Yarmouth next year.
Bringing together experiences from environmental science, law, politics, economics and business lessons, students are using their knowledge to debate important real-world issues.
As they head into the world of work, they are armed with skills in leadership, creativity, idea pitching, collaboration and innovation alongside the experience of positively benefiting their local community.
Their enthusiasm and passion has shifted the college’s attitude to tackling our emissions too. While we are supporting students in their green missions, we have to walk the walk in our own impact and emissions.
So we are embracing as much solar power as we can afford and bringing students and teachers together to understand how we can accelerate the move towards being more carbon-neutral.
Notably, biodiversity loss can often be overlooked among the noise of the climate crisis, but this is a dual challenge we face and they need to be dealt with together. Through the Wildling programme, we are seeking to rewild 30 per cent of our grounds by 2030, in line with the government’s own 30×30 targets.
This having a direct positive impact on our natural environment and on wellbeing
Students can get first-hand experience in helping nature to recover through working on our allotment and greenhouse and leading conversations on food production and new farming methods.
Social media can often create climate anxiety. However, together as a community we can use opportunities working on projects to highlight viable environmental careers and what we can do as individuals to make a difference for future generations.
It is not just students that benefit from this work but teachers too. Youth-led initiatives encourage great enthusiasm and participation as the satisfaction they give makes students feel rewarded.
For teachers who are passionate about tackling the climate and nature crises, such programmes offer an avenue to take action that is not readily available through the current curriculum.
It is also exciting for students and teachers to come together to try new things and experiences, whether that’s new fruit or vegetables grown in our allotment or using natural dyes from plants we have grown in art projects.
Not only is this having a direct positive impact on the natural environment surrounding the college but also on students’ wellbeing. Being around nature can have a positive impact on mental health, reducing stress and anxiety, while promoting a sense of purpose, belonging and connection to the environment.
Inspiring young people to get involved with the CAP and Wilding programmes has directly led to benefits for students in the college, but also for our wider community.
As the government’s curriculum and assessment review is underway, youth-led initiatives must be seen as an invaluable tool for having a real-world impact for young people, teachers and most importantly the planet.
