Plea for equality on sixth-forms

The head of the Association of Colleges (AoC) has called on Education Secretary Michael Gove to ensure schools opening a new sixth form have good or outstanding Ofsted grades.

Martin Doel, the association’s chief executive, wrote to Mr Gove saying that as colleges needed either of Ofsted’s two top gradings to take on 14 to 16-year-olds, the same should apply to schools and academies that wanted to open sixth forms.

Mr Doel said that since the appointments of Mr Gove and Sir Michael Wilshaw as head of Ofsted, the education sector had been “absolutely clear” that neither would accept anything less than good or outstanding.

He added: “AoC’s FE, sixth-form and specialist college members welcome this stance and are working hard to ensure they meet these high standards.”

 Schools and colleges should be on an equal footing”

He argued this was reflected in the policy that a college wishing to enrol 14 to 16-year-olds full time would require a good or outstanding Ofsted grade. If it had been deemed satisfactory (Ofsted’s former grade three rating) before September 2012, it would have to have shown consistent improvement in success rates between 2008 and 2011.

David Igoe, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said Mr Doel’s suggestion was “logical and fair”.

However, he said that Ofsted grades should not be the primary consideration.

“Clearly we would want equality of treatment . . . [but] the important criteria and limiting hurdle for any institution wishing to expand its provision should be whether there is a need for that expansion in the first place,” he said.

Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the suggestion.

He said: “Saying schools should be in a robust state seems to be a reasonable approach to take — schools and colleges should be on an equal footing.”

A Department for Education spokesperson told FE Week they would not expect proposals for new sixth forms to be approved if there was any doubt on standards.

They added: “Ministers are considering whether any changes need to be made to the approval process for a range of school changes, including the addition of a sixth form.”

Let’s have balance at the top, says FE

The lack of female politicians responsible for FE has been criticised following a mini-reshuffle.

The departure of Karen Buck, junior Shadow Minister for education, will leave no women in senior posts affecting the FE sector in either the Government or Opposition.

Ms Buck, who spoke at the Assocation of Colleges annual conference in November, is becoming parliamentary private secretary to Ed Miliband, will be replaced by Tristram Hunt, who will join Stephen Twigg, Chuka Ummuna and Gordon Marsden in the Shadow jobs for Business and Education, opposite the Coalition’s Michael Gove, David Laws, Vince Cable and Matthew Hancock.

Lynne Sedgmore, 157 Group executive director, said: “It is disappointing that the political leadership for our sector is 100 per cent male.

“The Government and the Opposition should model their rhetoric of the importance of women in senior positions.”

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Brian Lightman said: “Like everyone, we would like to see more women in ministerial positions and I am sure all political parties are making every effort to ensure more women MPs take on roles of increasing responsibility.”

I think in this day and age it’s very unfortunate not to have a balanced group at the top level”

The comments come just a week after Business Secretary Vince Cable challenged businesses to increase the number of women on their boards.

He wrote to seven FTSE 100 companies with no female representation on their boards, warning that if companies did not increase diversity at the top level, the government would consider implementing quotas.

Only two FTSE 100 companies have female chief executives  and 22 per cent of MPs are women, while 41 per cent of FE college principals are women, according to the Association of Colleges.

Sally Dicketts, chair of the Women’s Leadership Network, said: “I think in this day and age it’s very unfortunate not to have a balanced group at the top level.

“There may be very talented men on both sides of the political divide commenting on and making decisions on FE, but staff and students in the sector are at least 50 per cent women. They do need to be represented.”

A spokesperson for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: “We need high profile women as role models and it’s a shame that neither the Government nor Opposition have seen fit to ensure there is a woman MP in any of the key FE posts.”

A spokesperson for University and College Union said: “It is… disheartening that none of the parties has any women in their main FE education teams.”

The Labour Party defended its shadow team, pointing to women in more junior positions.

A party spokesperson said: “With Sharon Hodgson, Lisa Nandy, Bev Hughes, Maggie Jones and Bryony Worthington representing the Shadow education team in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, coupled with Shabana Mahmood and Dianne Hayter in the Shadow Business, Innovation and Skills team, Labour has strong representation from women in the education and skills sector.”

No one from the Government was available for comment.

New president for colleges’ association

The Association of Colleges has named Yorkshire principal Michele Sutton OBE as its new president (pictured).

The Bradford College boss is due to take up the association role at the beginning of August when current president Maggie Galliers CBE steps down.

“I am delighted to have been elected and look forward to taking up the post as the sixth association president in August,” said Mrs Sutton.

“I’m passionate about the value that further education colleges — whatever their size or type — bring to individuals, communities, business and the wider economy.

We all look forward to working with Michele as president.”

“We have to continually develop the college offer and I’m looking forward to building on the work of previous presidents in vigorously promoting the sector, representing it to government and agencies, and communicating member issues and policy priorities back into the association.”

Mrs Sutton has been at the helm of Bradford College since August 2004.

Before joining Bradford College, she was principal of Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale and before that was vice principal of City College, Manchester.

She began her career as a lecturer in business studies at Handsworth College — now City College Birmingham — in 1981 and left 14 years later having risen to the post of vice principal.

Mrs Sutton is chair of the Leeds City Regional Skills Network and also the West Yorkshire Colleges Consortium.

She was appointed an OBE for services to FE and community cohesion in July 2009.

Martin Doel, association chief executive, said: “We all look forward to working with Michele as president.

“Our aim is to ensure all colleges are supported in their efforts to become even more successful and I am certain she will bring great expertise and energy to the role.”

Mrs Galliers said: “I’m delighted Michele will be my successor.

“As president-elect 2013-14, she brings extensive experience to the role and a real passion for the sector.

“She will be a great ambassador for colleges and I look forward to working with her during our handover period.”

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Guild given ministerial green light

Plans for a new FE body to support the sector have been given the go-ahead.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills confirmed funding, excluding VAT, of £18.8m for August to April next year and the same figure again for 2014-15 to develop the FE Guild.

David Hughes, independent chair of the guild’s development steering group and chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, welcomed the funding.

He said the sector now had a “unique opportunity” to “shape” the organisation which will provide training and set professional standards across the sector.

“Our implementation plan reflects what people have told us from across the whole sector, recognises the past successes and looks forward to the ambitions we all share for professional staff and organisations delivering great learning,” said Mr Hughes.

 The Guild will provide a real one stop focus for leadership, management and governance.”

“Our proposal best fits what is needed to deliver the professionalism and ongoing improvement of the entire workforce that will continually improve learner outcomes and experience.”

He said the group — which is yet to be officially named — would now be able to recruit a chief executive before its launch, due to take place in August.

“We will now establish the new organisation, agree its priorities, design new arrangements to ensure it engages with, listens to and meets the needs of providers, practitioners, learners and employers as customers, and then deliver what the sector needs,” added Mr Hughes.

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “The new guild, with an overarching remit around professionalism, embracing qualifications, standards, teaching and learning research, continuous professional development and enabling networks of providers will provide a real one stop focus for leadership, management and governance.”

The proposal to form a guild was first put forward by ministers in 2011 and a small project team with a steering group with representation from the sector issued a consultation document at the end of January.

Following consultation, the group produced an implementation plan at the end of last month.

The plan sparked controversy with the National Union of Students for proposing there be no learner representation on the board of the guild.

Nevertheless, the body will be set up as a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity with board members from organisations including the AoC, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, the Third Sector National Learning Alliance, and the Association of Adult Education and Training Organisations (which operates under the name of HOLEX), said a guild spokesperson.

She added that the board would develop the body’s vision and mission around the five themes of improving learner experience and outcomes, enhancing the reputation of the sector, developing provider good practice, making the sector an attractive place to join and work and promoting and championing equality and diversity across the sector.

All sweet at FE Week

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Sleep-out in icy weather raises funds for Crisis

A sponsored sleep-out in a Hampshire college raised more than £1,000 for Crisis. the national charity for single homeless people.

Thirty students and four staff at Barton Peveril College spent the night on campus outside in sub-zero temperatures with only boxes, bags and blankets for shelter.

The event was organised by the student committee.

Committee president Harry Spicer said: “No one here can imagine doing this every day. We’re well aware that our experience was a very tame version of a harsh reality and that we were fuelled by the energy and adrenalin of it all.

“I think it’s given us all the ability to empathise more, but we still don’t really understand what it’s like to be homeless.”

After packing up their cardboard village, the hardy volunteers collected donations from staff and students to boost the £1,000 already raised through sponsorship.

Featured image caption: Students Olivia Millward and Holly Pearson on the sleep–out

We keep it simple – but it works

Rochdale Sixth Form College was graded outstanding in its first Ofsted inspection. It’s good news in a borough that doesn’t always make the headlines for the right reasons, says Julian Appleyard

Rochdale Sixth Form College opened in September 2010 to address underachievement in the area. For many years young people had opted to travel out of the borough and the challenge was to convince the people of Rochdale that a first-class academic institution specialising in A-level education could be established that would allow students to progress to higher education.

Progression had traditionally been low – in its report “Degrees of Success”,  the Sutton Trust had Rochdale in the bottom three authorities for young people progressing to higher education.

The college has come a long way in three years. We have tried to keep a simple mantra of high expectations , an exclusive focus on individual one-to-one work in and outside of the classroom and a relentless focus on the core business of teaching and learning. It sounds very cliched when put like that, but we simply have processes that ensure no student gets left behind.

Precise tracking, powerful intervention and an unstinting belief in the ability of our students have been critical. Our approach to teaching and learning is one that has not been initiative-led. We essentially are happy for our staff to focus upon lessons that ensure every  student makes progress in an environment where pace and active participation are non-negotiables.

The one-to -one approach is a central feature. The context of Rochdale Sixth Form College is such that there are only seven sixth-form colleges that have less qualified students. We work in a community where our largest partner school is in the tenth most deprived ward in the country.

It is easy to talk about the challenges of financial poverty and poverty of aspiration, but this is our reality. Our approach to teaching and learning has been such that we have ensured that these have been no barrier to achievement. My staff appreciate and understand this; when I recruit I ensure that they are rooted in the moral dimension of our work. It means being ambitious and aspirational for our young people.

As principal, it has been a tough journey to build a college, create an ethos and challenge preconceived ideas and low expectations. Of that there is no doubt.

However,  the value the college has added from a modest level of prior attainment is something that has seen young people in Rochdale grasp greater life chances. Our town has been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent months. I hope that that the recognition and endorsement by Ofsted gives the young people and their parents the primary and secondary schools in the borough the confidence and trust as we move to the next stage of our development.

Julian Appleyard, principal Rochdale Sixth Form College