Properly resourced, colleges can dramatically improve the outlook for young people who are not enjoying and often not attending more traditional forms of 14-16 education. A new government must consider them as part of the solution to some of the challenges facing schools and the economy.
Leeds City College’s 14+ Academies offer a different environment and level of support for young people to complete valuable GCSE qualifications while also gaining a vocational element to their studies. The different environment, culture and level of support on offer has proven particularly effective in engaging young people disenfranchised by a more traditional approach to 14-16 education.
And demand for this provision far outstrips supply. Each year, almost 2,000 enquiries compete for the 110 places we can offer. What might the number be nationally?
These high levels of demand are indicative of how traditional 14-16 education is failing to effectively meet the needs of all learners. Our 14+ learners often come from challenging backgrounds, with many having experienced mental health issues, bullying or special educational needs. Parents and carers regularly tell us our 14+ Academies provide an invaluable ‘lifeline’ to children.
Although currently underutilised, further education colleges sit in a unique position to provide more tailored and engaging support to learners whose needs are not being met. They can also support traditional 14-16 education settings by taking on provision that they would otherwise struggle to offer.
Often, the failure of traditional schooling to cater for diverse learner circumstances and needs further disenfranchises those young people. This leads to falling levels of attendance as they progress to increasingly important years of their education. This process can be seriously detrimental.
As well as options to take core GCSE subjects, Leeds City College’s 14+ Academies students also have access to specialist English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) or P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) courses.
2,000 enquiries compete for the 110 places we can offer
Colleges can also offer practical, technical forms of education that are out of reach for traditional 14-16 settings. Through our 14+ Academies, we know that teaching technical skills that young people can see will benefit them in the world of work motivates and empowers students to succeed in subjects that would otherwise not have interested them, like English and maths.
Sometimes, it is the positive experience they encounter when pursuing a technical subject that encourages them into more academic forms of education. Other times, it can be the realisation that maths and English can be a requirement to pursue the technical option they have enjoyed at a higher level.
This impact is so great, in fact, that we frequently witness 14+ Academies students go on to pursue A levels that they would have thought completely out of reach beforehand.
There is general consensus that our education system should better encourage uptake of technical subjects. Likewise, the economic case for more young people to pursue technical subjects to tackle shortages in critical roles across the economy is well understood.
Expanding college-based 14-16 provision could play a significant role in widening the bridge young people cross when travelling from academic to technical education. This could increase the overall number of post-16 students taking up vocational forms of study – and succeeding first time in their English and maths GCSEs.
There is another facet of the economic argument for college-based provision of 14-16 education too. If our 14+ students were not attending the Academies, most would be in Alternative Provision or Pupil Referral Units. Such settings cost taxpayers around twice as much per student as our 14+ Academies and secure far poorer outcomes in the process.
The Association of Colleges is currently working with IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, on a Nuffield-funded research project exploring the offer to and experience of 14 to 16-year-olds in colleges, and what enables them to achieve their full potential and flourish.
Whatever the colour of the incoming government, a review of the funding behind colleges’ capacity to deliver this type of provision could prove incredibly valuable. So too would establishing local pilots to gather detailed data on their impact.
If we are serious about finding ways to improve outcomes for young people whose needs are not met by mainstream school environments, then this is a great place to start.
A single mother who retrained as a carpenter, a life turned around by GP-prescribed learning and a bakery school for unemployed refugees have all won awards at this year’s Festival of Learning.
The festival, run by Learning and Work Institute (L&W), is a long-running annual celebration of adults who have used learning to transform their lives.
Its twelve award winners include both individuals and organisations that highlight how lifelong learning can offer “endless possibilities,” said Stephen Evans, L&W’s chief executive.
He added: “We know from our annual adult participation in learning survey that adults in England have a greater appetite for learning than ever – and that they’re investing billions of pounds’ worth of time and money on their own futures.
“On the eve of the general election, we’re calling on the next government to meet that ambition from individuals with its own higher ambition, achieved by getting employers training, helping people into learning, and building a better, more joined-up skills system.”
The single-mother carpenter
This year’s ‘new directions’ award winner, Shez Grigg, is a single mother who spent a decade working in food retail before turning to a career in carpentry and joinery after studying at Bolton College.
Aged 29, she enrolled on a construction multi-skills course, which she completed alongside a full-time job and caring for her daughter. She went on to gain a level 2 diploma in carpentry and joinery.
Finding a job in the “male-dominated industry” was difficult, but she now has a full-job which has had a “completely transformative” impact on her life.
She said: “I’m constantly challenged and inspired by the work I do, finding fulfilment and pride in every project.
“It’s not only given me a deep sense of purpose, but a good work and life balance, with structured hours that allow me to spend more time with my daughter.”
Paul Eeles, chief executive of award sponsor Skills and Education Group, said the award shows it is “never too late” to try something different and develop new skills.
GP-prescribed learning
A learner who struggled with a “chaotic and unmanageable lifestyle” turned her life around partly thanks to courses prescribed by her GP.
Angie Collard won the ‘return to learning’ award after taking five courses with the Bournemouth Churches Housing Association learning service including personal wellbeing, self-care techniques and chi gong, a meditation technique.
She described herself as a school “drop out” without qualifications, but is now thinking about applying to study at college or university.
Angie added: “Along with having a sense of purpose, my horizons have broadened, and I strongly feel that I am a useful and productive member of my community.”
Other celebrated learners include Susannah Goulding, who won the ‘learning for health’ award for studying art at City Lit after being diagnosed with incurable metastatic cancer.
‘Learning for work’ award winner Wayne Hardman is a former painter decorator who retrained for a site coordinator role in the rail industry after finding himself out of work during the pandemic.
Awards for organisations
Organisations that won awards include Breadwinners, a charity that aims to support refugees and asylum seekers into work through a bakery that sells bread on market stalls and wholesale.
The London and Brighton-based charity, which won the ’employer’ award, says it has helped more than five hundred refugees and young people seeking asylum by providing them with work experience, training and personal mentors.
Similarly, Code Your Future won the ‘learning with technology’ award for helping more than 250 marginalised adults into work through its offer of free technology and soft skills training.
The BEGIN project, set up by Nottingham College, won the ‘president’ award for creating a “one-stop-shop” for English as a Second Language learners which coordinates courses across the city to reduce waiting lists.
Since the election was called, I have emphasised to politicians that adult education and skills development is for all, not just level 3 and above.
The stats are alarming: government has cut investment by £1 billion since 2010; employers are investing 26 per cent less in training per employee than 2005; 17 per cent of adults lack a level 2 qualification; and 9 million have poor essential skills.
Traditional education failed these adults, and the previous government ignored them.
Adult community education (ACE) faces huge challenges. It needs to inspire adults to overcome their fear and anxiety of learning. But despite a 40 per cent austerity budget cut, ACE centres, colleges and institutions still educate over 400,000 learners annually in more than 10,000 venues, with 97 per cent rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. They could do more with government support.
The adults they teach and train often have disrupted educational backgrounds and are just starting to gain qualifications and skills. They lack a voice, so we urge the new government to prioritise education and skills programmes for them.
This renewed focus will soon pay for itself through enhanced productivity, increased economic benefits and improved wellbeing.
However, it’s crucial that a new government avoids the mistakes of its predecessors and develops a robust, lifelong learning strategy that is government-wide, led by a senior minister with cross-government responsibilities, inclusive of all ages and levels, delivered in all settings and underpinned by statute.
It will be easy for new ministers to accept a simple repackaging, but the sector needs more. In that vein, here are five elephant traps to avoid:
A single departmental Lifelong Learning Strategy
Creating a successful lifelong learning strategy is akin to navigating a minefield, with pitfalls created by previous administrations. Treating skills development in isolation is like cooking with only salt – bland and ineffective.
Integrate lifelong learning with broader economic and wellbeing plans for a cohesive approach. A lifelong learning strategy should be the responsibility of all government departments and underpin industrial, employment, health and migration strategies.
Ignoring the student voice
We all know the adage that you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Remember it is only the student who does the learning. If they are not on side, the programme will fail. So listen to their voice.
A new government could start with helping with living costs, for example, enabling students on courses below level three to draw down a grant, access maintenance loans, or carry-on claiming universal credit.
Not acknowledging local context and needs
What works in a bustling city won’t necessarily work in rural areas. Too many new programmes were designed in Whitehall. If we are keeping Local Skills Improvement Plans, expand them to cover all adults, not just those at level 3 and above.
Implementation needs to be local and at council ward level, so empower local authorities through statute to lead, because they know their communities best.
Insufficient engagement with those who deliver
Developing policies in an echo chamber is like planning a surprise party for someone without asking what they like – awkward! So don’t forget adult community education. We are out there and know what adults want and need.
Consult not just with businesses, but educators and communities to keep the new strategy grounded in reality and avoid embarrassing surprises.
Centralised control can stifle creativity. Allow educators to design flexible, adaptive programmes that respond to economic changes and technological advancements.
Creating an unfair funding system
Current post-16 budget allocations favour those who did well in school, and the system creates inefficiencies. Lifelong learning should be prioritised to ensure continuous personal and professional growth for all, so fund adult education properly to allow everyone the opportunity to succeed.
The adult skills budget has been reduced by 49 per cent since 2010. Cutting that funding without considering the consequences has led to 7 million fewer qualifications being achieved. The unintended consequences: poor productivity and increased reliance on foreign workers. Adequate funding is crucial to maintain a skilled workforce.
By avoiding these elephant traps, a new government can develop a veritable spend-to-save lifelong learning strategy – and that’s a policy win-win.
Today could mark a shift in the fortunes of the post-16 education and skills sector, with a new Labour government committed to some potentially radical changes, even if there is unlikely to be lots of new investment in the short term.
New ministers will want to move quickly on some things to show that change is happening. They will probably announce some reviews and make some key early decisions (on things like pausing qualifications reform and school and college pay, for instance), while leaving bigger-ticket items until the Autumn when they’ve had time to consider things more fully.
At AoC, we have been working hard to influence the new government, both in public and behind closed doors, to ensure that any policies or reforms introduced work for colleges, their students, employers and communities.
I was pleased to see our ideas reflected in the pledges in many of the manifestos: it’s clear that colleges are viewed as essential anchor institutions by the Labour party and key to the delivery of many of their manifesto commitments in education and beyond.
If they get Skills England right, it should help ensure that the new industrial strategy includes clear implementation plans and investment for the skills and training that are needed to underpin their economic growth ambitions.
In our recent reports, including 100% Opportunity England published in April, we’ve been calling for a new post-16 tertiary system. So it was pleasing to see that Labour has committed to establishing Skills England and setting a new post-16 strategy.
Those would be a great start, but we also need a strong young person’s guarantee, demand-led adult funding and a wide-ranging and forward-looking national review of curriculum and qualifications to help move to an effective, efficient and fair tertiary system.
We’ve tried to help this system thinking in other publications including our 14 in-depth policy papers, a detailed paper published by Work Advance and commissioned by AoC, which explores the role of a new national social partnership body (like Skills England), and proposals for the future of local skills improvement plans (LSIPs).
The case for investing in what colleges can offer is strong
This approach to a post-16 system will take time, but if done well it could lead to streamlined accountability arrangements for colleges and more flexibility for them to meet learner and employer needs.
There are urgent decisions for new ministers to make on their commitment to a pause and review on qualification reform as well as on college pay, which we will be keen to discuss.
More exciting, though, is the prospect of a wider reform of curriculum and assessment. This should be looking to the future and not hamstrung by the past, thinking creatively about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in assessment as well as teaching.
In the autumn, we will publish another important report in partnership with the Bell Foundation, This will focus on what needs to change in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and adult education to ensure all learners have access to the education they need to help them thrive.
As the adult education budget (and therefore most ESOL funding) is devolved to the mayoral combined authorities (MCAs), we have worked with them closely on this report. With Labour mayors in 11 of the 12 MCAs, we are keen to generate a debate about how an enhanced adult budget could support their ambitions for inclusive and fair economic growth.
We know that budgets for public services will be tight in the next few years, but the case for investing in what colleges can offer is strong: for the economic growth Labour has talked so much about, for fairness, and for a more tolerant and inclusive society. We will continue to make that case with the new government.
There has never been a stronger recognition that colleges are essential institutions and need to be nurtured and engaged. I am confident that this government knows that an investment in colleges is a worthwhile one and that in the medium term the funding will come.
The biggest challenge facing our new government is how to kickstart productivity and deliver economic growth. I believe the answer to that challenge lies in rewiring our faulty education system so that all young people can achieve their potential.
That’s why, in September, Greater Manchester will become the first UK city-region to offer a genuine and equal alternative to the university route.
Last year, I set out my vision for a Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (or MBacc) to give all young people a clear line of sight to high-quality jobs. Since then, working with teachers, employers and young people, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has set out to tackle a fundamental imbalance in policy, which has too long neglected technical education.
Here, only a third of young people take the university route. Yet our education system is designed around that minority. Every year, thousands of young people pay the price.
The English Baccalaureate is a case in point. EBacc subjects are geared towards what top universities value, not what our young people and employers need. The last government wanted 90 per cent of pupils to enrol in EBacc by 2025, but only 40 per cent enrolled last year and only one-quarter of 16-year-olds achieved a standard pass in all EBacc subjects.
Meanwhile, the range of GCSEs chosen by students has shrunk and the curriculum has drifted further from the needs of the labour market.
In contrast, the MBacc will guide year nine students to the subjects employers value most. Its seven sector gateways have been designed using local labour market data, with the help of some of our most prestigious employers, to prepare young people for the jobs of the future.
Digital skills will be hard-wired into the MBacc and each gateway will be brought to life by real-world experience of the workplace – built in from day one.
We’ve developed our ambitious plan at a time when educational institutions are feeling beleaguered, battling heroically to do more with less.
Not a single person has said the status quo should remain
Their first battle is with uncertainty. The last government announced plans to defund level 3 applied technical qualifications like BTECs. Labour promised to review that policy, but if they don’t reverse it thousands of young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, will be left with no viable level 3 pathway, adding to the number those not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
On top of this, institutions are navigating an apprenticeship landscape that’s seen a shift away from early-career development towards older workers who already hold higher-level qualifications. And with a growing 16-18 cohort, the technical education system is quite simply running out of places.
Despite, or perhaps because of this backdrop, our MBacc proposals have been welcomed by many teachers and employers alike. There has, of course, been constructive debate around the challenges and opportunities our vision presents and how best to take it forward. But what has struck me most is that not a single person has said the status quo should or can remain.
It’s because these changes are so important and so urgent that I’ve challenged the system to come together to co-develop and roll out the first steps for the new academic year.
Next week, 200 of Greater Manchester’s educators, school, college, university, and careers leaders will come together to share progress and to launch co-developed resources and activities that will be tested with years 9 and 11 in 2024/25.
They’ll be joined by employers, without whom the MBacc would not be possible – including our Employer Integration Board, made up of leaders from the seven gateway sectors.
Ours is a bold shared ambition for our young people. We know it will be challenging to deliver, but this is a moment of maximum opportunity. Devolution has given us new levers to solve our problems, and now a new government has a clear mandate for change and five ambitious national missions that recognise the power of place-based approaches.
I often say that there are young people growing up in Greater Manchester who can see the obvious signs of our thriving economy, but not the way to a job within it. In this, my third term as Mayor, my priority is to build a clear route for them – so everyone can share in our city-region’s success.
England’s largest apprenticeship provider has returned to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating after a turbulent period.
Lifetime Training was praised by the watchdog in a report published today that revealed achievement rates are up 15 percentage points in just a year amid “substantial” improvements in apprentices’ learning experiences.
The provider has stopped working with multiple national employers that were refusing to release apprentices for off-the-job training, worked “more effectively” with employers to ensure apprentices study the right qualifications, and overseen a “careful” redesign of the curriculum for each apprenticeship.
David Smith, who became chief executive of Lifetime in July 2023, said: “We’ve made significant investments in quality, technology, and most importantly our people since our last inspection and have ambitious plans for the future. This rating, for us, is validation of that work and the progress we have made to date.”
Lifetime, which offers over 40 different apprenticeships to around 20,000 people, had long-held a ‘good’ Ofsted grade but was dropped to ‘requires improvement’ in 2022.
It trains apprentices in industries that historically have had a high attrition rate and have been particularly affected by the recent pandemic, such as hospitality, retail, care, business admin, public services, leisure, and early years.
The previous inspection criticised the provider for a focus on financial performance and starts over quality, as well as a lack of face-to-face teaching, off-the-job training and poor achievement rates.
It is currently engaged in a major clawback dispute worth millions with the Department for Education about overclaimed additional learner support funding, which FE Week understands is nearing its conclusion.
Today’s Ofsted report was full of compliments about Lifetime’s focus on quality improvements since the previous inspection.
It said Lifetime has increased the proportion of training it delivers face-to-face, which was previously mostly online, and pulled away from some employers who were unable to release apprentices for their training.
FE Week understands the firm has exited partnerships with less than 15 businesses (which is less than 5 per cent of its partnership base) but Lifetime wouldn’t name who they were.
The provider was also delivering advanced learner loans to a few hundred adults at the point of their last inspection but has since forfeited that contract to consolidate the business.
One key area of improvement related to Lifetime’s qualification achievement rates, which sat at 35 per cent in 2022/23. Ofsted’s report said the proportion of the provider’s apprenticeship completing and achieving their programme has now increased to half – around the same level as 2018/19.
Inspectors said: “The new leadership team has taken swift and effective actions to improve the quality of apprentices’ education and training. This includes a considerable investment in the development of the learning coaches’ teaching skills. Because of these decisive actions, apprentices’ learning experiences have improved substantially.”
Leaders have also worked more effectively with employers to ensure that apprentices “study the right qualifications, receive timely support, and take part in good quality training during their working hours”.
This has helped to reduce the proportion of apprentices who are taking a break from learning or studying beyond their planned end date by about half, the report said.
Lifetime has also “carefully redesigned the curriculum for each apprenticeship” since the last inspection.
Inspectors found: “They have identified clearly what they want apprentices to know and be able to do when they complete the training. As a result of leaders working more closely with employers, apprentices study content that is current and relevant to their industry.”
There has also been “substantial improvements” to the design and teaching of the English and mathematics functional skills, Ofsted said.
Lucy Auchincloss, partnership development director at Lifetime, said: “We are pleased the inspection team recognised the considerable amount of effort which has been focused on improving learning experiences over the last few years.”
A private equity firm is looking to sell training giant BPP for a reported £2.5 billion.
TDR Capital bought the professional training business for less than £700 million three years ago and has since bolstered the group by acquiring digital apprenticeship providers Estio Training and Firebrand.
London-based TDR, which also backs companies like Asda and David Lloyd, has now appointed bankers from Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley to auction off BPP, FE Week understands.
The Sunday Times, which first reported the plan and quoted the £2.5 billion price tag, said the sale is expected to start after the summer.
BPP trains tens of thousands of people in the UK and abroad each year in a mix of commercial and publicly-funded training courses in areas such as law, accountancy and digital marketing.
It is one of England’s largest apprenticeship providers, ranking in the top five companies that earned the most from the levy in 2021/22 when it received more than £36 million.
Last year, in 2022/23, the BPP group recorded almost 10,000 apprenticeship starts. Most apprentices are on the level 7 accountancy and taxation professional programme.
After taking over Estio Training, BPP appointed current Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ chair Nichola Hay as its director of apprenticeship strategy and policy.
BPP, which also runs a law school called BPP University, was founded in 1976. It was bought by Vanta Education in 2009 until TDR acquired the business in 2021.
Last year, BPP also acquired the Digital Marketing Institute training company, and this year it bought Buttercups Training, which offers programmes for pharmacists and hospital support staff.
A new combined authority has bowed to pressure from the WEA and its learners by continuing an adult education grant it initially planned to scrap.
Earlier this year the adult education charity threatened legal action, and mobilised its learners in protest, against the “shocking and devastating” decision by the North East Combined Authority (NECA) to refuse a guaranteed annual adult education budget (AEB) contract.
Despite its long-standing grant-funded provision in the area, the fledgling combined authority initially told the WEA it would have to bid for a contract alongside private sector providers, placing 70 jobs and 1,600 learning places at risk.
WEA’s campaign appears to have paid off, with NECA now providing WEA with a one-year extension to “minimise disruption for our communities,” according to reports.
Simon Parkinson, general secretary and CEO of WEA, hopes he can convince NECA to accept his organisation as eligible for grant funding for future years, as is the case in other combined authority areas.
“We recognise that no funding is guaranteed beyond the end of the [transition] year, nevertheless we also understand that the situation will be kept under review,” he said.
NECA was officially formed in May with the election of its first mayor, Labour’s Kim McGuinness.
McGuinness’ cabinet met on June 11 and agreed to a £2.5 million transition fund to continue grant funding five providers that “currently operate in the region” but did not meet all the grant criteria, for one year.
Cabinet papers did not name the WEA but stated: “A specific representation from a specialist designated institution who operate [sic] in the region has been received, highlighting a potential reduction in community learning provision.
“A number of residents have also submitted representations expressing concern over potentially losing provision that is currently delivered by the institution and a petition has been submitted to the mayor. The institution have [sic] put forward a case to be recommended as an ‘in scope’ grant-funded provider.”
The papers confirm the representations “informed the recommendation” for the transition deal.
A combined authority spokesperson told BBC North East it had “listened to the views of learners, providers and stakeholders”.
WEA is legally a designated institution, a specific category of further education institutions defined in law. The designated institutions were reclassified as public sector organisations alongside colleges by the Office for National Statistics in November 2022. Other designated institutions include London’s City Lit, The Mary Ward Centre and Fircroft College in Birmingham.
Qasim Hussain begins a two-year term as NUS’ vice president (further education) today. He tells Shane Chowen that supporting his peers ignited a passion for student politics
With much of the country alight with anticipation of a new government, Qasim Hussain has been far more concerned with the day-to-day issues his fellow students at Leeds City College face.
But today, the 19-year-old will swap campaigning on local issues such as college mental health services and creating societies for non-English speaking students, to get ready to face off against ministers in a brand new government.
If this week’s general election goes as expected, an incoming Labour government will be faced with a softly-spoken new NUS vice president for further education who is on top of his brief and on top of his arguments to win for students.
His two-year term in post begins on Monday, taking over from Bernie Savage who is off to train as a primary school teacher.
Our interview takes place in the canteen at Leeds City College’s Printworks campus, one of many sites frequented by Hussain in his current role as students’ union (SU) president.
Amid the hustle and bustle of, mostly staff at this point, preparing to end the college year, our chat comes to a brief pause when he reveals he was starting primary school in 2009 when I was elected to the NUS office he’s about to take. (Reader – I needed a minute).
Education long-Covid
Hussain is among the so-called ‘Covid-generation’ of young people whose formative secondary education years were thrown into the organised chaos that was last-minute online learning and teacher-assessed exams.
Some of that, although not obvious to him at the time, worked in his favour.
When his 2021 teacher-assessed GCSE results were released, grade inflation meant his first-choice sixth-form college was oversubscribed. By the time the college told him, the day before enrolment, he had already rejected an offer to stay on at his school’s sixth form, so was left with his final choice of leaving his hometown of Bradford for Leeds City College.
But even contemplating those post-school education options was nearly off the table altogether as Hussain was suspended twice in secondary school and at times struggled to balance his education with caring for his disabled father.
He openly admits to “very nearly becoming one of the rising number of NEET (not in education, employment or training) young people”.
Hussain’s first few years at secondary school were a struggle. He recalls being bullied on the council estate where he lived from age 11 and lashed out at school, where he was first placed in the bottom set, and had “no clear plan” for his future.
An illness on a visit over one Christmas to Pakistan, where he was born, delayed his return to his year 8 studies and his school kicked him out for several months. Later he was placed in the school’s exclusion unit for getting into a fight.
It was being faced with “primary school maths work” in the exclusion unit where “something clicked”.
“I thought, what am I doing? This isn’t me. Clearly, I’ve messed up. I acknowledged what went wrong and how I could improve. And honestly from there, for the rest of year 8 and going into year 9, I was improving my behaviour, improving the people I’m with and then improving my grades.”
In year 9 he was in “mid-table” sets for his classes. Maths, to his surprise, became his strongest subject, which he says was because “it was a subject I hated the most but got to understand how important it is in day-to-day life”. History and geography also helped him to “become invested in my curriculum”.
A lot of learners now in their first or second years are quite constrained and keep themselves to themselves
Getting his place at Leeds City College was an opportunity for even more reinvention. There were closer FE colleges he could have chosen, but he wanted out of Bradford where he felt there was a risk of “being around the wrong people again”.
“I knew, I’m going to go to college in Leeds and I’m going to become someone different. Fresh start. New book. Probably the best decision I’ve ever made, really.”
Hussain at Leeds City College Printworks campus
As head of the students’ union at Luminate Education Group (which runs Leeds City College), Hussain sees the impact of “traumatic Covid experiences” among students he represents, with details that were easy to overlook amid the noise at the time around exams and grading algorithms.
“People lost interaction with their teachers and their peers…people lost loved ones. It’s evident if you ask colleges; a lot of learners now in their first or second years are quite constrained and keep themselves to themselves. That’s probably because they’ve lost that period where they would have socially thrived.”
He tells how the college has put in place services for younger students presenting more severe behaviour issues, which he knows, as a governor alongside his role as president, “isn’t always financially positive for the college”.
Stepping up to lead
It was partly seeing the impact of Covid on his peers that put him on the path to student leadership. His first step was becoming a course rep, where issues included long queues in the canteen (“everyone’s lunch hours were timetabled at the same time”).
But it was “giving something back for students having a rough time” and wanting to “get involved in something outside of the curriculum” that inspired him to take the next step and stand for election with the students’ union.
“I wanted to learn more about the college, the processes, how it worked. Plus handling local college issues like wi-fi and canteen prices. But a lot of students felt like they didn’t have a voice. I wanted to be that voice.”
Hussain recalls being encouraged by teachers and support staff at the college, and hesitantly admits that his passion for representing students overtook his interest in his A Levels.
The gearshift from first to second-year student, the SU role and caring for his father at home took its toll, to the point where Hussain began to “fear” for his mental health.
“I got a bit behind on coursework deadlines, lost motivation and didn’t feel like attending any more.”
A sociology lecturer intervened, and Hussain again tried to knuckle down. It was the realisation that university could wait, if he really wanted to go, and that he was “probably more interested in student politics” that helped him regain his focus, but perhaps not in the direction his teachers were expecting.
“I understood what went wrong for me and I just wouldn’t want that to happen for others. I knew that further education is so broad, and students are ambitious, but they might fall into the same traps where they get demotivated, lose focus and feel like it’s over for them. But it isn’t.”
Leeds City College is one of just a handful of colleges in England where the role of students’ union president is a full-time paid sabbatical post.
He won the election, seeing off six other candidates, winning over 3,000 votes, and took office after passing his A Levels.
Tackling loneliness
Hussain honed in on student loneliness as one of his priorities and sought to bolster the SU’s student societies offer. He knew mental health and loneliness were particular issues among the college’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) community, so set up dedicated groups for Arabic and French-speaking students with limited budgets to organise trips and activities.
“We wanted to make sure our SU team is accessible to those least likely to come and talk to us. We’re not going to offer mental health support ourselves because we’re not qualified, but we can make sure that enrichment is taking place.”
There was “only one case” in his presidential term where he recalls his SU team falling out with college management.
As the death toll in Gaza started to rapidly escalate following Israel’s response to the attacks on October 7, Hussain found himself between the college “having to stay in the middle” and students demanding a more pro-Palestine stance.
“The situation in Gaza is affecting so many young people right now. Social media is so accessible so it’s constantly on young people’s phones.
“When things were getting worse, we felt that we had to put up a statement in solidarity with our students; that we understand how they’re feeling and to make sure there was support and space for them.”
Hussain says the college made its own statement, but it was criticised by some learners for being “too neutral”.
“As you can imagine, like loads of businesses, colleges, obviously, for reasons, have to kind of stay in the middle. So they can’t say ‘we support Palestine’ because it seems there can be consequences of that if it’s taken the wrong way. And in a college you really need to make sure you’re representing the views of everyone because there’s going to be different feelings about it.”
His SU set up a Students United for Palestine Society, which is now their biggest student-led society by far with 225 members.
“When we opened that space, students felt like they could talk about the issue safely. At first we had to kind of understand the college’s position a bit more; they explained it to us and we understood. I wouldn’t say we were in disagreement. We issued our own statement, which was a slightly different view.”
Reconnecting NUS with FE
Hussain speaking at NUS’ liberation conference
Going to college board meetings was “one of the scariest things I went into” but now he’s coming to the end of his term as a student governor, Hussain’s grasp of college finances puts him in good stead in his upcoming campaigns on education funding.
Hussain decided to stand for NUS vice president after getting “really excited” spending a day at an event with other FE student leaders last year. At one time, it would have been an NUS event that brought them together, but NUS’ presence in the FE sector has gradually dwindled in the last few years as it wrestles with its own financial issues.
The event was the Festival of Student Governance, organised by youth leadership charity Unloc and hosted by the Association of Colleges.
When the Conservatives dramatically cut ties with NUS in 2022 over antisemitism allegations, an FE Week investigation found there already wasn’t any meaningful engagement between them on FE issues.
NUS’ abandonment of the student leadership space in FE has left the union “disconnected” and “inaccessible”, Hussain’s manifesto said. He wants to “rebuild confidence and trust” in NUS among its FE members when he takes office on Monday.
Part of that will be a seat at the table in discussion about the sector’s future. Hussain says he’s “inspired” by the idea of working with organisations such as the Association of Colleges “to bring college leaders, staff and students together to talk about what FE might look like in years to come”.
‘No to more austerity’
Hussain is not a fan of Rishi Sunak’s idea for a modern form of national service, compelling 18 year olds to take part in community volunteering or military service.
Youth services have had funding taken away, teachers are losing their jobs
Hussain says if Sunak had consulted with young people before announcing the policy, the prime minister would have had better ideas to get his desired outcome.
“You need to understand what students want. Yes there’s a huge lack of skills in the UK. That’s your fault! Apprenticeships are not funded properly, FE is not funded properly. Youth services have had funding taken away, teachers are losing their jobs.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer also shouldn’t expect an easy ride if he moves into Number 10 on Friday.
“Young people tend to vote Labour, and young people’s voices need to be central to Labour’s plans for further education, whether that’s on the curriculum or what to do about the Advanced British Standard. And we need to be there to say no to more austerity.
“What students need, and I’m talking about further education specifically, they want to be confident in their leaders, they want to come to college, to learn the course, have enrichment, and have an enjoyable time. It’s not too much to ask, is it?”
