College principal Alun Francis has been appointed as the permanent chair of the government’s Social Mobility Commission.
Francis, who leads Blackpool and the Fylde College, was named deputy chair of the commission in October 2021 and stepped in as interim chair at the start of this year after Britain’s so-called “strictest headteacher” Katharine Birbalsingh from Michaela Community School in London quit.
Francis has been a notable figure in FE, having led Oldham College as principal since 2010, and then moving to head up Blackpool and the Fylde College this year.
He was also made an OBE in the Queen’s New Year 2021 Honours for his services to education.
The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory non-departmental body, sponsored by the Cabinet Office’s Equality Hub, which seeks to “create a country where the circumstances of someone’s birth do not determine their outcomes in life,” according to its website.
The role of chair pays £350 per day and its holder is required to work up to six days a month.
Francis’s appointment was approved minister for women and equalities Kemi Badenoch after a hearing conducted by the women and equalities select committee.
“I am pleased that Alun has now had his position confirmed and can continue with his important work as chair of the commission,” Badenoch said.
“The experience, knowledge and expertise he has gained through his work in education, as well as in the positions he has held at the Social Mobility Commission, will be vital to his work at the SMC as a champion of social mobility across the UK.”
Resham Kotecha and Rob Wilson will now serve as deputy chair on an interim job share basis.
Both Kotecha and Wilson have been working as commissioners at the non-departmental body since September 2022.
Kotecha is currently global head of policy at the Open Data Institute and is on the Government’s Smart Data Council. Wilson is a former MP and is chair of national wheelchair sports charity WheelPower.
Lee Owston has been named as the next national director for education at Ofsted.
The current deputy director for schools and education will take over when Chris Russell retires at the end of the year.
FE Weekreported in September that Russell would retire after 17 years at Ofsted, and two in the national director role.
Owston, who has worked at the watchdog since 2013, temporarily served as national director of education for “several months” earlier this year, Ofsted said.
Since joining the inspectorate as an HMI, he has taken on several roles in the organisation, including as deputy director of schools inspection improvement.
Owston previously worked in senior leadership positions in schools and was a senior adviser for early education and primary schools for a local authority.
He was also a regional director for now defunct education programme The National Strategies, where he contributed to publications on English, phonics and assessment.
Chief inspector Amanda Spielman congratulated Owston, adding that: “I know that this will be a smooth transition given his extensive experience.
“I also want to thank Chris Russell for his substantial contributions in his time at Ofsted, as national director, education, in his leadership of the post-lockdown inspection restart programme, as a regional director and as an inspector.”
The move comes at a time of upheaval for Ofsted, with Spielman also set to leave at the end of the year.
Sir Martyn Oliver has been confirmed as her successor.
Women and girls, including those who may not identify as female but as transgender or non-binary, are on average missing 20 days of education over the course of their college years due to their periods. The equivalent of four academic weeks, this is actually worse than before period equality schemes were put in force.
Our newest piece of research on the subject – the latest instalment in the longest-running research into educational absenteeism and periods in the UK – reveals that the key challenge is no longer one of availability but of access.
It’s without debate that significant progress has been made in making menstrual products more accessible by funding free access to them. In England alone, 99 per cent of secondary schools have ordered their quota of products since the scheme began. But our new statistics highlight issues getting products to girls and keeping girls in lessons.
The reasons for this vary – but a compelling argument can be made that it’s because over half of students (54 per cent) did not find period products freely available in washrooms and a further one in ten did not know if they were available. We need to close this gap between providing colleges with all the products they need and getting them into the hands of the learners who need them.
As providers of these products to colleges, we know from our own data that they have more than enough for their girls. DfE data also shows that colleges are ordering the products. However, the products might not be reaching learners because they are not easily accessible. Well-meaning teams may not realise that limiting access to products effectively stigmatises learners who are forced to ask for them.
We know that in many settings products are being locked away in cupboards. We also know that many girls are too embarrassed to ask for them. This is where we need to take action, ensuring everyone can access the products they need when they need them.
Limiting access to products effectively stigmatises learners
More than half of girls surveyed (52 per cent) are still taking time off college due to their monthly cycle. Worryingly, the number of students who say they are likely to miss college over the next year due to their periods has soared to more than half (52 per cent).
To avoid any disruption to learning caused by periods, it is key to the success of this initiative for girls to be able to access products exactly when and where they need them in a stigma-free way. But beyond that, the most important thing we can do to make a tangible difference is to have open conversations and actively promote the period equality schemes that are available in colleges across the country.
It’s simply not enough to blame absenteeism figures on access to products alone. All of us including educators need more education, support and information about periods. That menstruation is still a hidden and unspoken reality for so many is leading to more and more girls to stay away from the classroom. An inclusive ethos demands that we do better for them.
To support this, we have recently launched a podcast, The Blobcast: Free the Period. It comes with resources for educators to give everyone more knowledge about their periods and to instigate open and honest conversations around menstruation. More than that, it tackles these issues in a light-hearted way – an important part of reducing stigma, normalising these conversations and thereby tackling the ongoing taboos around periods.
I am incredibly proud of our work to highlight the issues faced by millions of girls. We remain as passionate and committed as ever to work with governments, local and educators to deploy the necessary measures to ensure that period inequality becomes a thing of the past.
Women and girls cannow access free period products that will ensure their education is uninterrupted. Together, it’s on us to ensure they do. And that’s as much about education as it is about availability.
Derwen College is a further education college with a difference. We’re not just a leading specialist college with big ambitions for our students; we’re also somewhere where the local community visits to shop, eat and even enjoy an overnight stay.
This forward-thinking college for students with a wide variety of special educational needs and disabilities has very few traditional classrooms. Instead, skills are learned and honed in an industry-standard environment, our Marketplace – a complex of shops and eateries which are open to the public seven days a week.
The Marketplace offers learners internal work experience in meaningful, real-life, customer-facing environments. This includes our on-site Orangery Restaurant, Walled Garden Café, garden centre and gift shop, a mini hotel, and a shop, The Vintage Advantage.
This unique setting encapsulates our core ethos of raising learner aspirations. We support students to develop their independence and work-ready skills to progress and contribute to their local community.
For those on study programmes, we offer four different pathways: horticulture, hospitality and food, retail and enterprise, and performing arts. Our students begin their journey learning core skills within their vocational area before progressing to the Marketplace provision to consolidate and further develop their vocational skills.
Our garden centre shop provides work experience for our retail and enterprise students. We sell a range of produce made by our students in hospitality and food such as jams, chutneys, sandwiches, cakes and breads. Outside, we sell an array of plants and flowers at very reasonable prices that our horticulture students have grown, maintained and cared for.
Our Orangery Restaurant and Walled Garden Café are very busy establishments within the week and at weekends. They offer our learners experience of serving customers, working in the kitchen area and back of house. You will also find an abundance of hand-made cakes in the Walled Garden Café, again made by our students.
Our complex of shops and eateries is open to the public seven days a week
Our newest Marketplace venture is our first ever charity shop, The Vintage Advantage. It was opened in 2020 and is a big draw to local shoppers seeking a pre-loved bargain. The Vintage Advantage supports retail and enterprise students to develop their shop skills, including pricing items, stock rotation, visual merchandising and sorting donations.
All of our facilities enable learners to provide a meaningful service to the local community and gain work-based learning opportunities in a real-life setting. We have fantastic support locally and it’s great for our learners to feel part of that community while at college. Customers experience service that is beyond industry standard norms.
Once our learners have gained skills and confidence within our internal work experience placements, they progress into external work experience at the point that is right for them. We have great support for this model from national and local businesses, including Premier Inn, Spar, Co-op, and a range of local shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants.
Earlier this month I was proud to host our graduation ceremony for 2023 leavers. Seeing each student’s journey from when they started at college through to graduating with qualifications, experience and skills in the sector they wish to work in is the best part of my job. We are helping to break down barriers to employment that young people with SEND so often face.
Derwen College is special because where others see a barrier, we see an opportunity. We were recognised at the 2023 nasen Awards, scooping FE Provision of the Year. An amazing achievement for our dedicated team. We strive to support each young person to contribute to society in a positive and purposeful way. We believe that our ethos and popular Marketplace make us unique.
Every college is different and not everyone is necessarily able to host a dedicated Marketplace like ours. However, real-world learning in a customer-facing environment – through college-led enterprises or partnerships with businesses – are possible anywhere. They not only offer vital employment preparation for learners but also a very effective tool to challenge the perceptions that so often hold them back.
Pop in for lunch or a shopping spree. Come stay a night at Hotel 751. I promise it’ll challenge your perceptions of what is possible at your college too.
As I stood at Leeds City College and listened to CEO Colin Booth reflect on my work as chair of Luminate, I felt both deeply embarrassed and pained.
Embarrassed as I’m used to making these tributes for others, and pained as I have had such a long association with West Yorkshire FE and it has been an honour to lead, and hold the confidence of the board, for so many years as chair.
Standing down now is a decision I can thank my past self for: in 2021 I made a speech in which I said chairs should consider eight or nine years a reasonable limit for their tenure. And so, as 2023 and my ninth year at Luminate came into view late last year, I knew it was time for the organisation to continue to move forward without me.
Do I regret making that comment? While I’ll dearly miss everyone, no. I believe that boards need to be refreshed, and new members need to have the chance to progress to vice chair and chair positions. It’s almost about doing yourself out of a job: getting to the point when there is such strength in depth among governors and the executive team means leaving on a high, having played a small part in the journey of an institution that has the lives of many at its heart.
Of course, I’m not stepping away from the FE sector. I remain in post as the chair of the Association of Colleges. In this role, I feel there’s a lot more that can be achieved. As the AoC annual conference approaches, I’ve been reflecting hard on the role FE governance must play – not only in the sector, but across society as whole.
We know that the quality of governance inside our colleges is crucial to the success of our students and our country. From student success and accountability to financial stability and long-term planning, governors and chairs make a real difference to the organisations they serve. Chairs, specifically, are responsible for building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability and ensuring that the board focuses on delivering results and improving the outcomes of learners.
Quality of governance is crucial to students and our country
And as we look ahead to a general election next year (on Halloween, if reports are to be believed), I have three requests of our governing bodies.
First, work more closely with the education eco-system, particularly universities. Reach out to your local universities and build alliances. They are major employers and increasingly looking to their role as entrepreneurial institutions to help economic regeneration, growth and productivity with local and regional footprints. There are opportunities for alliances on educational progression, job opportunities for students, T Level placements, apprenticeships, mentoring and coaching of staff, research, and development.
Second, be opportunistic in the run up the general election. With skills and FE the talk of the political party conferences this year, this is a fantastic time for the sector to work together with one voice. Why not consider playing your part in our ‘extended team’ for AoC’s campaigning and influencing on behalf of the sector. Engage your local councillors, MPs and their staff. Keep abreast of the communications from AoC and weave the key messages into your local communications and when they visit your colleges.
And third, be place leaders and shapers. As system leaders networked with local/mayoral authorities, employers, partners, stakeholders, schools and local communities, you can deploy these connections to best effect across a disconnected education landscape which has been hard-wired to compete. This puts you in a unique place to foster and nurture collaboration to deliver improved outcomes for learners at your college and across your communities.
Finally, if I may, I have a request of the rest of the FE sector too: please recognise your governors for their dedication and hard work in your colleges. They are under-appreciated, under-valued and often misunderstood – barely receiving a mention in Ofsted reports. And yet, they are incredibly accountable for our organisations and vital to our successes.
Corndel have vast experience of working with industry to deliver transformative apprenticeships and focus on addressing some of the most pressing skills gaps in UK business today, having delivered training for 20,000 learners. With the launch of Corndel College London (CCL), we’re spearheading a new era of higher education. But we can’t disrupt the sector alone.
CCL embodies the opportunity afforded by building a higher education organisation from scratch, free from the constraints and burdens of traditional structures. By aligning industry demands with higher education, we will deliver better outcomes for students and employers alike.
Our long-standing relationships with FTSE 100 clients from BP to BUPA has allowed CCL to develop outstanding apprenticeship degree programmes that focus on management, data and tech, in order to deliver the skills that industry needs. These qualifications will instil employees with the knowledge that will help companies thrive, as well as the skills that will shape individuals’ careers.
Understandably, there is growing student and parent desire for a tangible return on investment in education. Our Workplace Training Report shows 79 per cent of 16-to-25s believe degree apprenticeships will become increasingly popular, and not just because students can earn while they learn. Students are seeking options that provide academic knowledge but also practical skills and direct pathways to employment.
Degree apprenticeships offer practical in-job training with increased employment opportunities – a social mobitlity win and a win for the economy. Recent policy announcements of plans to look at degree programmes going forward show government have no missed this fact. The Prime Minister’s campaign to ‘crack down’ on poor value degrees, mentioned in this week’s state opening of parliament, comes with a boost for apprenticeships and a cut in the red tape needed to register for one.
Our goal is to redefine higher education, but we can’t do it alone
Visa’s decision to place a number of its early talent employees on our BSc (Hons) Applied Business Management degree apprenticeship programme is a great example of the value apprenticeship degrees offer and the business community’s faith in them.
We’ll be involving employers at an early stage in the design of our courses, asking them what they are trying to achieve in their businesses, what they are looking for in future graduates and what their pain points and friction points are. We then use this information to create courses that meet the needs of students and their future employers alike. Our goal is to guarantee a trajectory that leads to career success and fulfilment.
Another strategy that has proven successful in our apprenticeship programmes is the incorporation of coaching from industry experts. This personalised approach allows apprentices to integrate industry requirements with their own purpose, desires, skill sets and personal development. By providing guidance from experienced professionals, we empower apprentices to excel in their chosen fields and stand out as exceptional candidates.
The coaching from tutors who have industry experience helps learners to reflect on their learning and to grow personally and professionally, with our coaches combining industry qualification with higher education expertise. This coaching benefits employers, too, as they get to understand how employees are progressing professionally. Line managers get the opportunity to have coaching conversations with the learners, which can help them to develop skills and knowledge themselves.
Our ultimate goal is to redefine the higher education landscape, but we can’t do it alone. In every locality, there are businesses big and small looking to capitalise on this potential, and further education providers are key to meeting their needs. Not only do they understand the qualifications, but they already work with the young people who are most likely to benefit from this new and important pathway to good employment and a strong career. Employers want degree apprentices now, but they also want a secure pipeline of talent for the future, and that talent is in our colleges.
The goal is nothing less than to shift the focus from delivering a generic experience to providing tailored education that meets the specific needs of students and employers. Our initial portfolio of degree apprenticeships is the first step in achieving this vision. We already know we will expand our offer. Colleges should seize the opportunity to join us.
For 27 years, Learning and Work Institute’s Adult Participation in Learning Survey has provided insights on who’s learning and how they learn. With technology becoming integral to how we learn, this year’s survey explores how adults across the UK are using technology to support their learning.
Questions on technology were included as part of Ufi’s ongoing strategic partnership with Learning and Work Institute and the responses, from a representative sample of around 5,000 UK adults, show that technology and learning are deeply entwined. 95 per cent of adults report using technology in their learning across both formal and independent settings.
The benefits of using learning technology are also widely reported with 97 per cent experiencing benefits to learning with digital technology, including benefits that enable learning (e.g. at a convenient time, location, level or pace) and those that aid or enhance learning (e.g. making learning more interesting and engaging, and motivating adults to learn).
As the CEO of Ufi VocTech Trust, whose mission is to support the development and deployment of vocational technology for adult skills development, these results echo the impact we see in the projects we support. Learning technology is being widely used and adults feel the benefits of using it. I’m pleased to see the strength of positive impact reflected in the survey results and I am looking forward to celebrating some of these personal success stories at next year’s Festival of Learning Awards, including our new Learning with Technology Award, for which nominations open today.
However, the data also highlights that there is still much work to be done.
Confidence in using learning technologies remains a barrier to learning. While adults are confident using technology in their daily lives, this confidence reduces when using technology for learning, and drops further still when using technology for work. This drop in confidence is even more evident for adults who may be furthest from learning, as seen in the responses from learners who left school with no GCSEs and for those who are unemployed.
There is still much work to be done
At Ufi we have seen how learning technology can have a huge positive impact on learner confidence and support skills development. As a sector it is crucial that we do what we can to ensure learners have the confidence to use it.
The data also reinforces the importance of using the right learning technology for a given learner group – something we see time and again with the learning technologies our grant funding and investment supports. Crucially, low levels of confidence were reported in using many technologies now commonplace across the skills sector. Fewer than half of the learners in the survey were confident learning with online video (48 per cent), video meetings (39 per cent) or learning platforms (31 per cent).
Technology may be a disruptor that allows us to do things differently, but when addressing the confidence and motivation of learners across a wide spectrum of geographies, subjects and skills, the key to progress remains in empowering people to take ownership of their own learning.
The Adult Participation in Learning Survey provides a valuable picture of the current state of learning and the use of learning technology in the UK. I hope it will also inspire action, bringing the sector together to help ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn throughout their lives, building a future economy and labour market where people aren’t just playing catch up but have the chance to thrive in new industries and sectors.
This cross-sector collaboration is already taking place and is gaining momentum, evident in this years’ Week of VocTech, which begins on Monday. This free programme of events and activities is focused on accelerating the development and adoption of digital technology for vocational learning, teaching and training, and inspiring action to transform the UK skills sector.
I would urge you to explore the programme, get involved and join the movement to get adults learning.
Alongside our research partners behind this COSMO study, we’ve surveyed 11,000 young people who have just taken their A Levels, of whom over 3,000 were studying at either an FE college or a sixth form college. Overall, we found that 44 per cent could be classified as experiencing high psychological distress.
This reinforces the alarming trend that the mental health of the current generation is worse than that of previous generations. We had picked up similar results this time last year, and it’s worrying to see these figures remain stubbornly high, indicating that the pandemic’s effects are anything but short-term. The numbers are also considerably higher than the 35 per cent experiencing high psychological distress at the same age in a similar study carried out in 2017, and the 23 per cent found in a 2007 study.
Most worryingly, those in the most deprived parts of the country were 11 percentage points more likely to say they are still waiting for the support they applied for, at 39 per cent compared to 28 per cent of those in the most affluent areas. And when it comes to specialist services, those in the most deprived areas were more than twice as likely to have not received support as the most affluent.
This stark divide has the potential to store up long-term negative consequences for disadvantaged young people’s life chances. In particular, we know they are also more than twice as likely to be persistently absent from education than their better-off peers, with mental health problems known to be a key driver of the increasing absences. Young people are missing education and falling behind because they’re not getting the mental health support they need.
The mental health crisis is the result of a long-term trend which has accelerated in recent years. There are a number of factors behind it. These include increased social media use and growing pressure on young people to get top grades to secure highly-competitive opportunities for university places, apprenticeships and jobs.
Young people are not getting the support they need
But most importantly, the pandemic has hit this generation of young people hard. Stuck at home at crucial times in their development, they suffered personally, socially and academically, missing important milestones and opportunities and having to make up for lost learning.
To begin to improve this situation, we need laser-like focus on improving mental health services in the most deprived areas. It’s completely unacceptable that young people in disadvantaged areas are the most likely to struggle to access the support they need when they need it. This can only create further issues down the line, for them and our communities.
College budgets are stretched as it is, so we are calling for sustainable and well-funded support for young people experiencing mental health issues both in college and in the community to fill the gap in provision. Preventative and early intervention services will be key to help address challenges at an earlier stage.
Furthermore, we know that bullying can be an aggravating factor for mental health. Our study shows that one-quarter of participants have reported being bullied over the past 12 months. Colleges should also implement well-evidenced anti-bullying programmes, with bullying training offered to teachers and lecturers, senior leaders and mental health practitioners who work in these settings.
There’s no simple or quick solution, and it could be years before we truly understand the full impact of the pressures faced by today’s young people. But a renewed focus on improving access to services – particularly for those currently missing out – could go a long way to ensuring their futures are not blighted by the challenges of the past few years. It will also stem the tide of new problems arising, ensuring future cohorts of young people experience more positive mental health outcomes.
Two new members have been appointed to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s (IfATE) board.
Mark McClennon and Jane Hadfield will join the board as non-executive members making up a 12-strong membership at the apprenticeships quango, the government announced today.
The appointments follow the resignation of one board member who flagged a “potential” conflict of interest as her company was awarded a Department for Education skills bootcamp contract.
Both McClennon and Hadfield will serve a five-year term from November 1. They will be paid £15,000 per year for an estimated two days work per month, equating to £625 per day.
Hadfield is the national lead for apprenticeships and talent for care with NHS England. She is also the employer co-chair of St Martin’s Group, a representative of employers and awarding organisations who support employer-led skills training.
She has also chaired numerous IfATE’s employer-led trailblazer groups for health and science, including the T Level employer panel for health.
Hadfield said: “The cornerstone for IfATE is employer leadership, using our insights to ensure training is agile for current and future skills needs, and I will continue to amplify their views.
“I am delighted to have this opportunity and though we have achieved a lot, there is more to do to ensure we have the sustainable, world class system we aspire to.”
McClennon started as chair of IfATE’s digital route panel in January 2019 and helped to develop the institute’s equity, diversity and inclusion strategy. He is also chief information officer at Burberry.
He was awarded an MBE for services to further education and apprenticeships in June this year.
“It has been a great privilege supporting IfATE’s employer led reforms, which are transforming apprenticeships and technical education for the better and making sure we keep pace with the economy’s fast evolving digital and wider skills needs,” McClennon said.
“This world class skills system that we are building has to work for everyone and I’m committed to making sure people from all backgrounds reap the benefits. I relish the opportunity to take all this to the next level as a board member.”
IfATE chair Baroness Ruby McGregor Smith said: “Jane and Mark are outstanding examples of employers who have helped IfATE transform the skills system for the better. I’m delighted that they have been appointed to the board and am really looking forward to working with them.”
Meanwhile, Dayle Bayliss has stepped down after the end of her three-year term.
Jessica Leigh Jones has also left the board to mitigate a potential conflict of interest with her company iungo solutions, which was recently awarded a DfE contract to provide skills bootcamps. Leigh Jones was reappointed to the IfATE board in June 2023 and was supposed to serve in the position for four more years.
An IfATE spokesperson said: “As Jessica is the CEO, a director and shareholder, there will be financial gain. She and DfE made us aware of the contract award and potential conflict of interest and it was mutually agreed she would step down.”
Baroness McGregor Smith said: “We would like to thank Jessica and Dayle for their valued contributions. We wish them the best for the future.”
