FE needs better support to help post-16s pass maths and English

The government, schools, trade unions, parents and carers all need to work together in a new drive to improve numeracy and literacy skills, says Barry Brooks.

t is a pity that, given all the words that have been written about English and maths skills since the publication of the OECD Report on Adult Skills, the very people being spoken about or represented in the various graphs and tables will not have been able to read the text or understand the statistics.

It is also somewhat ironic that at a time when the government has set out a coherent, holistic set of policies to address these recognised weaknesses, these ambitions have been overshadowed by the report’s findings.

For me, as I am sure for many of you, the recent debate in the House of Commons on adult literacy and numeracy was one of those déjà vu moments we so often experience with education and skills policies.

This time I relived almost identical sessions triggered in 1999 by “A Fresh Start”, Lord Moser’s Report on improving adult literacy and numeracy.

The main difference this time was that the debate was happening against a backdrop of cross-party consensus.

We have all known for some time that there is a continuous stream of young people leaving the compulsory school sector at age 16 without capability and competence in English and maths.

The percentage has remained at or around 40 per cent for over a decade.

Much of the progress has slowed down, not least because funding available to raise the quality and qualifications of teachers for these subjects has all but disappeared.”

We are also aware the vast majority of these young people have not sought to continue their GCSE studies when they enter the education and skills sector and have avoided resits wherever possible.

We also know from the National Institute of Continuing Adult Education’s (Niace) reviews on adult literacy and numeracy that much of the progress has slowed down, not least because funding available to raise the quality and qualifications of teachers for these subjects has all but disappeared.

The evidence was reinforced by the 2011 Skills for Life Survey, which confirmed that while progress had been made at levels one and two in literacy, numeracy progress continued to lag behind and those with the lowest levels of skills showed little or no improvement.

For me, though, the most telling evidence will emerge when the report on the Distanced Travelled or Skills Gain Pilot is published later this year.

The pilot was designed to explore whether a shift away from focusing and funding performance, as measured by qualification success, could be replaced by a more scientific approach to measuring, recording and reporting on progress — hence skills gained and progress made.

What the evaluators found was how far many providers had moved away from the teaching and learning infrastructure developed and funded by the Skills for Life Strategy.

Centres participating in the pilot had developed their own unique approach to improving English and maths and as a consequence there was no consistent, coherent or universal approach to initial assessment, diagnostic assessment or individual learning plans.

In reality, the only remaining legacy of the strategy appeared to be a focus, wherever possible, on securing the qualifications.

The results in the OECD report appear to be most disappointing for the 16 to 24 age group and I fear the FE sector is going to take the brunt of the growing criticism.

At least in the House of Commons debate, Matthew Hancock had the courage and insight to address this directly, by suggesting schools have an important role in stemming the flow of young people leaving school without GCSE A* to C in English.

An enormous stock of young people has already passed through the school system and once again the sector is expected to address the disappointment and shortcomings of those who do not possess A* to C in English and maths.

Many of this year’s intake, unlike their predecessors, will also arrive in the autumn to find a GCSE re-take is a mandatory part of their study programme.

Providers and teachers in the sector will do everything they can to encourage young people to study these subjects, not because of a political imperative or a funding mechanism, but because these skills are essential.

There is there is still enormous disquiet about the government’s solution being the GCSE”

But they need support and employers and trade unions must take more responsibility for ensuring our young people have access to information that helps them better understand these skills are more than “nice-to-haves” — they are “must-haves”.

Parents and carers will always have a role in ensuring they encourage and enable young people to have a realistic understanding of the importance of learning, but without the learners’ belief and trust in what has been done, offered or said to them, nothing can or will change.

The sector supports the need to improve English and maths and wants to make it meaningful and motivational for our young people.

But there is there is still enormous disquiet about the government’s solution being the GCSE, especially a GCSE that we are told is about to become even more “demanding, rigorous and stretching”.

Within both DfE and BIS, there is recognition that not everyone can achieve a GCSE and that is why functional skills have been created and “stepping stone” qualifications have been approved.

There is also a commitment to developing programmes where English and maths are contextualised, as this makes the learning meaningful and relevant to young people.

I understand within DfE there is work planned to see how best to align the GCSE requirements with learner expectation and motivation.

These are challenging times for the sector, as we await the outcomes of the Review of Adult Vocational Qualifications, the Consultation on Apprenticeship Funding and the Implementation Plan for the Richard Review.

One thing is certain — English and maths will remain essential whatever policies are in place and the sector will, as always, rise to these challenges and remain relentless in its commitment to improving standards and increasing opportunities.

Barry Brooks, Strategic Adviser to the Tribal Board

If employers are from Mars and young people are from Venus… better literacy can bring them into same orbit

Young people need to learn from employers why they need better literacy skills to thrive in the workplace, says Sally Melvin

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report’s findings are concerning and paint an unfortunate picture of the reality facing today’s young people.

Being fully literate is surely the right of every young person, to enable them to take a full and useful part in society throughout their adult lives.

As a society, we must work together to address the shortcomings of our education system and ensure all students leave school with a sufficient grasp of English.

According to some businesses, employers are from Mars and young people are from Venus.”

But literacy is about more than learning to read and write.

Being able to communicate effectively, speak articulately in front of a variety of audiences, work well alongside others and interpret information are all important skills that young people should be learning.

These are skills which make one literate in the work place.

With almost one million 16-24-year-olds currently unemployed, I believe that equipping students with a full range of literacy skills that are linked to their employability must be an integral part of their education.

According to some businesses, employers are from Mars and young people are from Venus.

How do we bring them into the same orbit?

Research shows there is a direct link between the social aspects of a child’s life and their confidence and level of aspiration.

How do we increase young peoples’ confidence and raise their aspirations for their future?

Teaching literacy skills is very important, but in isolation this is not enough.

To achieve a better understanding on both sides, we need to bring these two groups together.

Young people need to spend time with adults from the world of work, in order to put the literacy skills they are learning into a real life context.

This would give them better understanding of how important literacy is for their future.

The National Literacy Trust runs a programme called Words for Work which seeks to do just that.

Its aim is to improve young people’s literacy skills and increase their understanding of the world of work.

The key to the success of the project is the involvement of volunteers from the local business community.

The volunteers work in partnership with students, providing advice and acting as role models during a series of shared tasks.

Evaluation of the programme shows this kind of intervention can have a really positive effect on the young people involved.

According to the teachers, over 90 per cent of the students improved their literacy skills.

The students’ understanding of the use of literacy skills in the workplace doubled and 80 per cent of young people felt they now understood the skills they need to get the job they want.

Everyone agrees schools and FE colleges should teach their students the literacy skills they will need to function fully as adults.

I believe alongside this, they must provide opportunities for students to experience and prepare for the workplace.

Sally Melvin, senior programme manager at the National Literacy Trust

Maths and English

Download your free copy of the FE Week 16-page special on maths and English education and policy in FE, sponsored by Tribal.

Click here to download (16 mb)

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Introduction

Numeracy and literacy levels are apparently at crisis point among young adults and the FE sector has been ordered by the government to pick up the pieces.

A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed England and Ireland to be lagging behind much of the rest of the world for these key skills.

Now all post-16-year-olds who fail to secure a C grade at GCSE will have to carry on studying the subjects, so colleges must figure out how they are going to teach all the extra learners.

The question of how we should reverse decades of maths and English decline has become the topic of passionate debate in the House of Commons and provoked widespread discourse among the general public and media.

The government hopes to achieve this through new maths and English GCSEs, the details of which have now been spelled out by Ofqual. But many senior figures in FE have expressed concern about these being enforced upon colleges.

They fear the sector is already having to shoulder too much blame for national numeracy and literacy failings and take on the brunt of responsibility for turning things around.

This is why FE Week thought the time was right to publish a 16 page supplement, providing extensive coverage on one of the most important issues the sector has had to get to grips with in generations.

We have started with reports on the new GCSEs and FE teaching enhancement programmes (p.3).

This is followed with a comparison of the merits of traditional and technology-driven teaching (p. 4 and p.5).

We then look at GCSEs and functional skills qualifications (p.6 and p.7) and have published a series of informed comment pieces from our panel of experts (p.10, p.11 and p.12).

Next, is a report on the OECD’s findings on literacy and numeracy (p.13), then MPs who took part in the debate on numeracy and literacy update us with their views.

Don’t forget, as always, you can let us know your opinion on the FE Week website, or tweet us @FEWeek.

Ofqual announces detail of new maths and English GCSEs

Ofqual has published full details of the new maths and English GCSEs which will be introduced from 2015.

In a report published today, the qualifications watchdog confirmed there will be a new grading scale that uses the numbers 1 to 9 to identify levels of performance, with 9 being the top level.

Maths, English language and English literature will all be assessed by exams, without coursework.

There will be no tiering of papers for English language and literature, but higher and lower level papers will be retained for maths.

Most exams will only be sat in the summer, apart from limited cases with English language and maths where students who were 16 on the preceding August 31 will be able to take them in November.

Ofqual’s chief regulator Glenys Stacey explained why the grading system had been changed.

She said: “For many people, the move away from traditional grades, A, B, C and so on, may be hard to understand. But it is important. The new qualifications will be significantly different and we need to signal this clearly.”

In a public consultation on the new GCSEs, the Association of Colleges (AoC) raised concern about students who failed to achieve a C grade at English and maths, simply being forced to resit the same exam in FE.

It said there should be pre-GCSE stepping-stone qualifications and a better link between functional skills and GCSEs — which it claimed would make it easier for post-16 students to gradually improve up to GCSE level.

The AoC also disapproved of plans to scrap coursework and base the assessment entirely on end-of-course exams.

It stated: “We are concerned a return to fully linear GCSEs with 100 per cent end assessment by external examination will not suit some young people.

“Research shows that end assessment favours boys, while continuous assessment and coursework favours girls.”

The AoC also raised concern that students with special needs could struggle to cope with high pressure exam situations.

The government also confirmed on October 28 that the new maths and English GCSEs would be incorporated into apprenticeships instead of functional skills from 2017.

Roger Francis, from vocational training firm Creative Learning Partners Ltd, raised concern this would rule out many less academic young people.

He said: “If the new GCSEs become the only standard for future apprentices, then there is a serious danger that thousands of young people who simply cannot cope with the rigours of an academic course will be disadvantaged and unable to complete an apprenticeship.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers also commented in its submission to the GCSE consultation.

It stated: “They [the reformed maths and English GCSEs] must be flexible enough to meet the needs of learners in work-based settings, where high quality programmes such as apprenticeships and traineeships are not linked to the academic year.”

Government must not ‘tie hands’ of college staff who want to help struggling 49pc

The FE sector wants to play a key role in improving literacy and numeracy levels, but it could be undermined by restrictive government policies, according to Joy Mercer

No one doubts how important English and maths are to leading a productive life as an employer, employee, parent or citizen.

Governments have launched countless initiatives to ensure everybody leaves education with the necessary English and maths skills.

However, in the 14 years since the Moser Report, which found that 20 per cent of adults lacked functional literacy and numeracy skills, 49 per cent of young people are still leaving school at 16 without 5 A*-C GCSEs, including English and maths.

A survey published this year by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills showed that 24 per cent of adults (8.1 million people) lack functional numeracy skills and 15 per cent (5.1 million people) lack functional literacy skills.

The recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report concluded England has below average literacy and numeracy levels.

This puts us in the Championship not the Premier League — which is better than the USA, Spain and France, but well below the Scandinavian countries, Japan and South Korea.

The fact that colleges pick up the baton after nearly 11 years of school-based education is demonstrated in the numbers.

In 2010/11, there were around 400,000 students taking basic maths and English and a further 134,000 at level two.

The government must listen to the advice of college staff and unleash the enthusiasm.”

The focus on English and maths will become even stronger from 2014, as English and maths become compulsory for all students aged 16 to 18.

Yet, the government has not asked schools to alert students to the changes post-16, nor has it encouraged employers to beat the drum of English and maths to prospective young employees.

Ofsted insists on portraying achievement of GCSE maths and English qualifications by 18-year olds in colleges as dismal, when colleges have focused on functional skills achievement to give young people success rather than failure.

The GCSE reform plan is designed to raise the standards and will also result in the withdrawal of the old qualification.

The reform of GCSEs maths and English must have functionality to ensure they are based on evidence of how maths and English skills are both developed as concepts and retained in practical applications.

The recent announcement of £9m of bursaries to support the best graduates to teach English, maths and students with disabilities or learning difficulties and enter the post-16 teaching workforce is welcome.

However it is only available for pre-service training.

Why can’t training of new college teachers reflect the in-service model favoured by the government, such as Teach First and Schools Direct?

Colleges will make this work and they have common timetable slots so all students who need it can access maths and English provision and are organising programmes to upskill all their staff.

But they also report large classes, some reluctant students and a desperate need for more qualified and able teachers.

The government must listen to the advice of college staff and unleash the enthusiasm they have to give young people and adults a second chance.

Ministers must not tie their hands behind their backs through poorly targeted bursary schemes, punitive performance measures and expenditure on spare spaces in new academies and free schools when this resource could be channeled into improving the life chances of the 49 per cent.

Joy Mercer, director of policy for the Association of Colleges

More employers wanted as college governors say AoC

The Association of Colleges’ Governors’ Council wants more employers at board level, but rejected bringing back diversity quotas.

It has published the results of a review, called Creating Excellence in College Governance, which looked at how the performance of college governors could be improved.

The review was carried out by education and management adviser Dr Sue Pember, previously a senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). She talked through her key findings with FE Week and said more governors from the business community were needed to reflect the closer links colleges of today had with employers.

“The unique thing about colleges is that they already have links to employers through apprenticeships and they should build on these links,” said Dr Pember.

“Employers also bring to the table a different mindset, for example when it comes to managing budgets and monitoring risk.”

She said there were three possible ways of getting more businessmen and women to become governors.

The first, which is already used by some FE institutions, involves inviting employers involved with apprenticeship schemes to sit on college advisory boards. Another way is for colleges to contact the largest employers in their areas and invite them to submit candidates to become governors.

But Dr Pember said the review steered clear of representation quotas for employers. She said the same of gender, race or ethnicity quotas.

She said a report published in July this year by BIS had already warned of a lack of diversity on boards and addressed the issue by calling on colleges to “refresh” board membership. It stated: “There has … been some criticism of an over-representation of older white males on governing bodies. Colleges need to ensure diversity of gender, ethnicity, age and disability.”

Dr Pember said: “Colleges need flexibility to refresh their boards, so their governors can reflect their teaching priorities, for example the sectors they offer apprenticeship courses in. Also, they may need to reflect the ethnic make-up of their staff, students and the surrounding area.

“Quotas could have the opposite effect of restricting who they can take on. There were quotas back in the 1990s, but that didn’t work.”

It comes after Business Secretary Vince Cable warned large private UK firms in April he would consider introducing quotas to force more women onto their boards of governors.

Dr Pember said college governors were now more important than they had ever been.

She said: “This government has given colleges much more freedom. They no longer have local arms of the Learning and Skills Council/Skills Funding Agency or local authorities looking over their shoulders every five minutes to check what they are doing, which is for the best.

“However, that places much greater responsibility on the shoulders of governors to hold their colleges to account and say when something isn’t being done right.”

Dr Pember said college funding arrangements could be confusing for governors as cash and monitoring quidelines could come from three sources — the Skills Funding Agency, Education Funding Agency and Higher Funding Education Council.

Having two different government departments — the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills — responsible for FE policies could also be a problem, she said.

She said: “We understand different agencies and departments are needed to reflect their differing priorities, and they have agreed to draw up a clear and comprehensive framework to ensure governors understand how the system works.” Skills Minister Matthew Hancock welcomed the report.

He said: “I want to see these recommendations taken forward as swiftly as possible. Strongly governed colleges will mean we have an education system that is agile, rigorous and responsive.”

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What’s the future of college governance?

FE Week webinar in partnership with the AoC, 5-6pm Wednesday November 6, 2013

Join the editor of FE Week, Nick Linford, AoC Governance Advisor, Dr Susan Pember and AoC Chair, Carole Stott to discuss the report and what the future of college governance might look like.

 Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/878994856

Exclusive: SFA ‘should scrap’ funding data deadline

More than four in every five FE data staff believe the funding data return for the 2013/14 academic year due this week should be abandoned after delays hit the Skills Funding Agency funding software, an exclusive FE poll has suggested.

No fewer than 165 data staff of the 200 who answered the survey said the return (known as R03) should be scrapped, while 135 (68 per cent) feared their data would not be error-free in time for Wednesday’s 6pm deadline.

The FE Week survey was posted on the information authority Feconnect forum as well as and the CMIS-Network, a Jiscmail email discussion group, this morning and attracted 200 responses in a just a few hours.

Providers have been left with just eight working days to install and remedy any errors after delays in supplying the new funding information system (Fis) software.

Yet almost half (42 per cent) of data management staff said their organisation had so far failed to even install the Fis software, with the figure rising to 85 per cent for local authorities (29 out of 34 survey respondents).

The new internet-based Fis is part of a wider agency data collections and funding transformation programme (DCFT), which has been developed to comply with the Cabinet Office’s new digital strategy, which includes using a range of both large and small software development companies.

An agency spokesperson said: “We expect to deliver significant benefits from the delivery of the DCFT through the use of our current supply chain and small and medium sized enterprises in full alignment with the Cabinet Office guidelines.

“However, this complex programme has had some difficulties in implementation and we are sorry that this has resulted in frustration and concern for many colleges and other providers. We are committed to ensuring all providers can make accurate data returns, recognising that key funding and allocations calculations are based on them.”

But responses to the survey have suggested the installation problem relates to firewalls that providers use to protect against malicious cyber-attacks — Fis draws down information from the internet continuously, but would be blocked, and unable to function with a firewall.

As part of the DCFT, providers have also been waiting for a learning aims reference system (Lars) with qualification funding values, but the agency spokesperson said it was still “in development” and would not comment on when it would be ready.

However, she added: “All of the reference data that would have been viewed through Lars is available now in Fis and through the Fis export database.”

Meanwhile, following related letters of complaint to the agency from the Association of Colleges and the 157 Group, Junior Shadow Education Minister Rushanara Ali has now written to Skills Minister Matthew Hancock branding the software delays “excessive” and “unacceptable”.

She wrote: “While this software change has been planned for two years, the delays are excessive and the danger now is that enrolments will not be calculated properly and funding lost for FE colleges.”

She demanded Mr Hancock explained what measures he intended “to take in order to see off any resultant disruption for the FE sector and their funding streams”.

She added: “I would also ask you provide an explanation as to why this software change, now two years in the making, has produced such unacceptable delays.”

The agency has now set up a dedicated ‘payments and data’ page on its website — http://tinyurl.com/pm7z6h5 — to provide updates on the situation.

The website says the agency “recognises the technical issues related to the new data collections system mean some of you have found it difficult to calculate your current funding position,” but that “payments will continue to be made and are not affected by these technical issues”.

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Editorial : Funding system says no

Our survey, and the comments posted online, should leave the Skills Funding Agency and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock in no doubt as to the seriousness of their replacement software problem.

Colleges and other providers have been put in a position, through no fault of their own, where it seems many will fail to submit valid data for the first quarter of 2013/14.

And that could happen even if they manage to resolve firewall issues and successfully install the funding software given how little time there is before deadline to correct potentially tens of thousands of errors.

But the submission deadline, however frustrating for data staff, is a sideshow.

Fis and Lars may be new silly names, and they may have been in development for two years, but they are not new tools.

The real scandal is that providers have not been able to revert back to the 2012/13 version of the funding software (Lis), which ironically included 2013/14 ‘shadow funding’ reports.

And while the agency is no longer willing to say when Lars for 2013/14 will be available, its predecessor for 2012/13 (Lara) remains languishing online and unloved.

Surely the agency knew of the complexity associated with implementing the Cabinet Office digital strategy requirements at the same time as new funding systems for both young people and adults?

Nick Linford, editor

Support for agency chief in cancer fight

Warm tributes have been paid to Skills Funding Agency chief executive Kim Thorneywork after it was announced she was stepping back to concentrate on her fight with breast cancer.

The agency’s chief operating officer, Paul McGuire, emailed FE sector figures late last month with news that an interim chief executive was being looked for while Mrs Thorneywork was away.

“Kim has been poorly over the last few months. She now has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has started treatment,” he said.

“Although over the last few months Kim has remained as our chief executive, and has been in constant contact, she now feels that she needs to concentrate on getting better.”

Mrs Thorneywork, a chemistry graduate and mother-of-one, was appointed agency chief executive in July last year, replacing Geoff Russell.

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “We were very sorry to hear of Kim’s illness.

“Kim has always worked closely with the provider network and in her role as chief executive she has built on the principles of partnership and transparency.

“We will continue to work closely with the agency in Kim’s absence.”

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Our thoughts are with Kim and her family at this difficult time and we send them our best wishes.

“I know Kim will miss the hurly-burly of work with the sector — and we will miss her — but I also know that she’s a fighter and at this time she needs to focus her energy on her health and on her family.”

Mrs Thorneywork began her career as a science teacher in Walsall. Her last
teaching post was as a deputy headteacher in a technology college. In 2003, she entered local government as a school improvement inspector.

In 2006, Mrs Thorneywork joined the Learning and Skills Council as area director for Coventry and Warwickshire.

At the launch of the agency in 2010, she became senior account director for the West Midlands, with a portfolio of 33 FE colleges and more than 160 training organisations.

In May the following year she was appointed executive director of delivery, leading agency work on funding policy, investment and provider performance.

Mike Hopkins, chair of the Principals’ Professional Council and Middlesbrough/Gateshead College Federation chief executive, said: “Kim has been an excellent chief executive of the agency ensuring stability for the organisation while at the same time having to make significant change as a result of austerity.”

He added: “She has worked with great integrity and skill, balancing her commitment as a chief executive of a government agency while ensuring that senior civil servants and ministers received honest, evidence-based analysis, even when the message was not comfortable for them.”

Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, said: “Kim is in the thoughts and prayers of the 157 Group members and they have asked me to send their warmest regards for a speedy recovery.

“We have the highest regard for her work and her support for colleges. We hope Kim will now be able to concentrate on her health and wellbeing — that is what matters most at times such as this.”

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “I would like to wish Kim well and will be thinking of her throughout this difficult time.

“I have immense respect for her and the outstanding leadership she has shown during her time as chief executive of the agency. I hope that we will be able to work together again soon.”

An agency spokesperson said: “Everyone at the agency sends Kim their best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.”

The agency’s Mr McGuire added that it was hoped arrangements for interim cover would be announced “shortly”.

 

AoC stands firm over unqualified lecturers

The Association of Colleges (AoC) maintained its support for allowing member colleges to recruit unqualified lecturers, despite some college principals and other senior leaders joining a campaign to reverse the government policy.

The Further Education Teachers’ (England) Regulations 2007 requirement for teaching qualifications was scrapped under legislation published by the government in August.

The AoC has told FE Week it is standing by the reforms, despite widespread criticism from politicians and sector heads in the last week.

An AoC spokesperson said: “It is appropriate that the type and level of qualification for different staff should be determined by the college.

“Like universities, colleges can be trusted to appoint the right staff and support their professional development to meet the changing needs of learners.”

Deregulation was heavily criticised in a letter sent by senior FE figures to the Daily Telegraph, ahead of a debate in the House of Commons over whether teachers should be qualified.

They stated: “We believe standards in FE, as well as in schools, are threatened by the absence of a national policy for trained and qualified teachers and trainers.

“The government’s role is to safeguard standards of education for young people, and having well-trained and highly-qualified teachers in schools and further education colleges is vital for doing this.”

The letter was signed by Toni Fazaeli, chief executive of the Institute for Learning, Joe Vinson, vice president FE of the National Union of Students, Professor Chris Husbands, director of the Institute of Education, and Alison Boulton, chief executive of the Association of National Specialist Colleges.

Also Maria Chambers, vice-chair of Natspec and principal of Beaumont College, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Sue Crowley, chair of the Institute for Learning, Stephen Grix, chief executive of MidKent College, and Paula Jones, chief executive of Learning South West.

Other people to sign included Stella Mbubaegbu, principal of Highbury College, Penny Petch, head of teaching and learning development at Chelmsford College, Marion Plant, principal of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, Sue Rimmer, principal of South Thames College, and Kathryn Rudd, chair of Natspec and principal of National Star College.

In the Commons debate on October 30, Nic Dakin, Labour MP for Scunthorpe, said: “All my experience tells me there are only two things that really matter in running schools and colleges — the quality of leadership and the quality of teaching and learning.

“A profession has proper structures for training, qualifications and professional development. That is the framework that delivers high-quality individuals.”

But Education Secretary Michael Gove insisted the quality of teaching would be maintained through tougher standards enforced by Ofsted.

He said: “We got rid of the fuzzy standards that used to prevail under the previous government and we have drawn up new, professional standards.”