The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) new chief has voiced plans to introduce a financial handbook for independent training providers, as part of a pledge to improve partnership working between the agency and the sector.
David Withey, who became ESFA chief executive in August, said the handbook will be an equivalent of the academies trust handbook, and hoped it would aid ITPs in their understanding of funding rules and procedures – essentially acting as their “bible”.
Speaking in Manchester on Tuesday at the Association of Employment and Learning Provider’s autumn conference, Withey said: “One of the things we have been thinking about recently is an ITP handbook, based on the model we have for academies – a financial handbook intended to be the bible that sets out how everything should work in one place.
“That isn’t perfect, but it does bring things together in a single place to be a bit clearer.”
“We have been working with AELP and a number of individual ITPs to work out how we can make that happen because it is probably more complicated in this space.”
Academy trusts must comply with the rules in the academy trust handbook as part of their funding agreements, and contains guidance on the main financial requirements for trusts, scrutiny checks, annual accounts and external audits, and regulation and intervention.
In addition, Withey said he wanted to ensure the funding rules were simpler to understand for providers.
He said he finds some of the frameworks “pretty complex” and added: “A handbook or rules only can truly help people if the rules, frameworks and procedures it encompasses are appropriately simple to understand.”
Furthermore, the ESFA is planning to release an online version of its data analysis tool this month to act as a “data self-assessment toolkit” to help ITPs identify potential data anomalies.
During his speech, Withey voiced ambitions for a better balance between its regulatory work and guidance for providers. “I think it is probably fair to say we are not getting that balance right all of the time,” he said.
“Because, if this is working well, if that balance is balanced, then it means you might discover a funding issue or you might be a bit uncertain about an approach to funding rules, and feel able to come and talk to us about it without fear of consequences.”
He added: “What I ultimately want to achieve is a shift in perspective of the agency to a greater, more supportive partnership.”
Nineteen politicians have held office at the Department for Education in just over a year – with those resigning or booted out in reshuffles entitled to more than £100,000 in severance pay.
Analysis by the Institute for Government shows education had more secretaries of state (four) this year than any other department. Five other departments had three.
FE Week analysis reveals 19 ministers have held one of what was six ministerial posts, reduced to five since September last year.
Ministers are entitled to severance pay no matter how long they serve – providing they don’t get another government position within three weeks.
Our study shows that 10 ministers who resigned or were sacked are due nearly £110,000 in pay-offs.
‘Schools and colleges would be admonished for this’
Ed Reza Schwitzer, associate director at Public First, said: “All the talk from politicians is about civil servants being more efficient and squeezing value out of every pound of taxpayers’ money.
“And yet the government is doing something they would admonish schools and colleges for. A school or college firing senior staff willy nilly, paying them severance, and then doing the same all over again – it would be slapped with a financial notice to improve.”
The pay-outs include £36,000 to four ministers who were axed last week, three of whom only served for 50 days.
It also includes skills minister Alex Burghart who resigned on July 6 over Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher scandal, but was appointed minister for pensions and growth just 10 week later. He was due more than £5,500 severance.
At least three education advisers were also due pay-offs – estimated to be nearly £19,000 each – taking the overall amount potentially paid out to nearly £150,000.
Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said it was “galling that people who have done the job with no outcomes and little evidence of success are getting pay-outs”.
The three shortest serving education secretaries since 1941 are Michelle Donelan (1.5 days), Kit Malthouse (50 days) and James Cleverly (61 days), who all were in post this year.
Bousted said civil servants had been unable to get ministerial direction to guide policy-making.
“Meanwhile chronic problems are getting worse: recruitment and retention, funding, industrial action.”
Schwitzer said civil servants spending hours bringing new ministers up to speed every few weeks was also a “really poor use of time. And then the politician can’t get anything done before they are moved out.”
‘Payments are unjustifiable’
Analysis by Sky News shows that a total of 71 ministers and whips who were either sacked or who resigned this year were eligible to receive up to £709,000.
But ministers can reject pay-outs. Donelan said she turned down the nearly £17,000 severance she was entitled to, after saying earlier that she would have given it to charity if she couldn’t reject it.
Members of the Labour group for Stoke council are urging Jonathan Gullis, the former schools minister, to refuse the payment or at least donate to “local good causes”.
“At a time when residents in our city are hit by the cost-of-living crisis – the result of the catastrophic mini-budget introduced by your government in late September – we feel such payments are unjustifiable,” the group said in a letter.
FE Week contacted all 10 ministers due severance. Robin Walker, a former schools minister, confirmed he was entitled to £7,920, but did not say whether he was paid.
Gullis and Kelly Tolhurst, a former schools and children’s minister, said they had not been informed of any details relating to severance pay. The others did not respond.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he hoped short-serving ministers would turn-down pay-outs, which looked “pretty sordid at a time of a school and college funding crisis”.
But the return of experienced campaigners Nick Gibb, likely schools minister, Rob Halfon, likely skills minister, and education secretary Gillian Keegan – a former skills minister – brought hope.
“We now have in place an experienced team of ministers, who we hope will advocate strongly for the education sector … and provide some badly needed stability,” Barton added.
Claire Coutinho has joined as a junior minister.
The statistics
19 MPs have held a DfE ministerial role since September last year
5 Education secretaries in under four months
840 days Average time in office of education secretaries appointed before September 2021
101 days Average time in office of education secretaries appointed after September 2021
1.5 days Michelle Donelan’s time as education secretary
A third of health and science T Level students switched to alternative courses or dropped out of college entirely after their first year following this summer’s exams fiasco.
An FE Week investigation has unearthed the extent of the fallout from the “diabolical” assessments, which were found to have been unfit for purpose by Ofqual following protest from more than 1,110 students.
Devastated students have spoken of how the debacle left them “crushed” and with no other choice but to turn their back on the flagship new qualification.
They faced tough calls on whether to continue with the course, re-take their employer-set project in the hope of a better grade, or switch to alternative courses like A-levels or BTECs. Some (see panel) said they were no longer pursuing their dream job, or now facing “years longer” to reach their goal.
Around 1,600 students started the health and science T Level in 2021, with 1,115 receiving a grade after the first year.
A series of Freedom of Information requests were sent by this publication to all colleges and sixth forms that delivered the course, with data received at the time of publication for just under 1,000 students.
Of those, a third switched to alternative courses or dropped out of college entirely. More than 42 per cent were resitting their employer-set projects.
By comparison, the drop out rate for BTEC health and social care diploma is less than 10 per cent, while the drop-out rate for BTEC diploma in applied science is less than 11 per cent, according to latest government data.
FE Week’s figures also shows that numbers of first year starters for the 2022/23 academic year are down more than 26 per cent on the first year of the course in 2021/22.
The data comes after the exams regulator Ofqual investigated the core exams following complaints by students in the summer who received lower grades than expected, which found that papers were not fit for purpose. The regulator found “question errors, inadequate mark schemes and questions covering areas not explicitly in the specification,” which meant the assessments “do not secure a sufficiently valid or reliable measure of student performance”.
It ruled that the 1,115 first year students should be graded entirely on their employer-set project if that was better than their overall grade, with awarding body NCFE tasked with fixing the problems in time for this year’s exams.
Problems persisting?
At least 11 colleges are not running the course this year while problems are ironed out, the data shows, with at least four of those having switched all of their first years from last year onto different courses this year too.
A spokesperson from Furness College, one of those which opted not to take first years for 2022/23, said: “We took a strategic decision based on information available at the time to pause our T Level health programme until September 2023.
“Our CEIAG [careers education, information advice and guidance] to students is the cornerstone of enrolment and must always be in the best interests of students in terms of their progression and success.”
A spokesperson from Middlesbrough College, another to pause intake for 2022, said at the time of needing to decide about this year’s courses it “did not have sufficient assurance that the problems that arose this summer around examinations would not be repeated”.
They added that the T Level brand “had suffered to the extent that our student numbers in this area were significantly below our expectations and so we felt that running classes would not have represented a prudent allocation of resources”.
The college said it was committed to supporting the qualification in future, once issues had been supported and dealt with.
Shipley College was among those to put new students on alternative level 3 qualifications instead of the T Level this year, adding that “delivery will recommence in ‘23/24 once we are confident the issues have been resolved”.
Other colleges, while continuing to run the course, have seen a big drop in numbers this year. Leeds City College had 50 first years in 2021/22, but just 16 this time around.
Gemma Simmons-Blench, deputy chief executive for curriculum with Luminate Group which runs the college, said it was a “much bigger drop than we could have potentially hoped for, it’s been really disappointing” but was directly in correlation with the problems in the exams because “our recruitment in other T Level areas is really strong”.
She added: “It’s really difficult because we have got students when they started this programme they knew they were on a flagship programme, absolutely flying-high, just feeling really disillusioned.”
Assurances offered
NCFE has signed an enforceable undertaking with Ofqual to deliver improvements in time for the next set of exams, which includes providing statements of assurances for its T Levels confirming action plan measures have been delivered and problems raised in the first-year exams do not remain.
The awarding body said it had reviewed existing processes and rolled out a package of resources to support teaching staff.
But one tutor at a college that has switched all its students on to level 3 equivalents said colleagues still delivering the qualifications at some other establishments were “completely bewildered” on whether they needed to teach their courses differently.
The tutor, who did not wish to be named, said “lecturers are becoming despondent due to the slow nature of change,” and added: “Change must happen soon to bring some confidence back to the brand, but also to the awarding bodies and organisations that have placed the future of healthcare education in massive jeopardy.”
Simmons-Blench added that there remained a “massive fear” of mistakes being repeated this year.
Bucking the trend
Despite the problems, some colleges are bucking the trend and recruiting more students for this year.
MidKent College has 55 first year enrolments this year compared to 28 last year, while Newham College of Further Education has upped its intake from eight to 28.
City College Norwich had five students last year, on the science pathway only, but this year has 45 students – 12 on science and 33 on health.
College principal Jerry White said it opted to run both the health and science T Level and continue the level 3 health and social care BTEC it was already running.
Students aiming for social care careers were directed toward the BTEC this year, while those wanting health careers were advised the T Level suited their needs more.
Jerry White
“We can see distinct pathways, we think we can see a need that isn’t met by the T Level suite as it currently exists and therefore, we want to continue the health and social care BTEC in that regard,” he said.
The college confirmed the issues with the initial exams had not impacted on retention of its first years for this year, with White adding he had confidence last year’s errors would not be repeated.
Simmons-Blench said “fundamentally they are great qualifications,” which “should offer those students really excellent transition and progression routes”.
A spokesperson from the Department for Education said: “In response to the errors in exam papers, grades were re-issued based on students’ project assessments taken as part of their course, with no student being disadvantaged though this process, and IfATE is now reviewing the content of the courses.
“Though we recognise that some students will have switched to other courses, we are working hard to make sure these issues do not happen again.”
‘I felt completely let down’
Students who opted to switch courses have spoken to FE Week of the difficulties they have faced – and continuing impacts the summer issues have had on them.
Meg Longstaff was a student at Hopwood Hall College, with plans to progress onto a mental health nursing course at university after the two-year T Level.
She opted to switch to A-levels for this year after feeling “completely let down” by the exam problems. She continues to work towards her plans to go to university, but is now a year behind her original plans.
“After results day when we came to find the correlation of the average grades being Es and Us across the country, I realised I couldn’t get into university no matter how well I did in the second year due to how the overall grading worked,” the 17-year-old said.
“I now feel much more confident about my future [having switched] but still wish that NCFE would have owned up to the problem at the very start, in order to try and prevent people from having to drop out or swap courses.”
Another student, who did not wish to be named, studied the first year at Fareham College, but stopped after the exams to instead work as a pharmacy dispenser full time. Their original plan had been to progress to university and qualify as a paramedic, and had been encouraged to do the T Level to get there.
Now, their plan has switched to applying for an emergency care assistant role in the next couple of years which would lead to an access course and degree apprenticeship with an ambulance trust to become a paramedic.
“Due to the T Level my plans have been put on hold for a few years,” they said. “I still feel the same about my career aspirations and want to do the same thing, but I am disappointed at how it’s going to take me years longer.”
What is happening with the review?
The DfE has confirmed that the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is continuing to review the health and science T Level content, and said that students that started in 2021 or 2022 are studying the current version of the content.
That review is to confirm the breadth and depth of the outline content and qualification specification, according to IfATE, with findings to be published in early 2023 and any resulting changes to be signposted accordingly.
A high-profile troubleshooter sent in by ministers to save failing colleges has resigned after becoming embroiled in a race row – but declared he is “not a racist”.
Andrew Baird, one of the government’s national leaders of governance who chairs two colleges, shared a meme in a Conservative WhatsApp group for the Surrey area about Rishi Sunak after his appointment as prime minister.
The image showed Larry the Downing Street cat walking away from Number 10 with a speech bubble saying “I’m off. Don’t want to risk being in a curry”, Baird told FE Week. Sunak is the first Asian prime minister of the UK.
Baird said he thought the meme was “extremely funny at the time”, but several members in the chat took offence to the message and reported him to the Conservative HQ. He was then suspended by the party.
Baird resigned as chair of the East Surrey Conservative Association on Friday and told FE Week today that he has also resigned as a national leader of governance and as chair of both Brooklands College and Orbital South Colleges.
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said his organisation was “appalled” by Baird’s remarks. He added that the colleges were “right to distance themselves from this individual” as “discrimination has no place anywhere in the further education sector”.
I am not a racist. I guess it’s to do with age or something
But Baird believes the “extreme” reaction to his message has been “ridiculous” and the situation was “blown up out of proportion” by the “wokerati”.
“I think it’s actually quite outrageous that a jokey post on a private Whatsapp group gets put in the public domain and then it leads to all this,” he said. “It is just nonsense.”
Baird told FE Week that the group had 71 members.
He added: “I think I regret not thinking twice before posting something which I consider to be humorous. I didn’t consider it racist in any way. I am not a racist. I guess it’s to do with age or something.”
Baird said resigning from his college governance positions was the “right thing to do” so he does not bring their reputations into disrepute.
But he warned that the situation has led to the “detriment of colleges if I’m being perfectly honest”.
Baird was awarded an MBE for his services to further education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours earlier this year.
He became a governor of East Surrey College in 2008 before becoming chair in 2016. He led the college through a merger with John Ruskin College in 2019, at which point it became known as Orbital South Colleges.
In the same year he was appointed as one of the Department for Education’s national leaders of governance – a group of consultants led by the FE Commissioner who take home £350 a day if they are sent into struggling colleges to help turn them around.
He was parachuted into Hadlow College in 2019 after financial irregularities were exposed and ultimately led to it becoming the first college to ever go insolvent.
Orbital South Colleges and Brooklands College confirmed they have accepted Baird’s resignation.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said the meme was posted to a “private WhatsApp group, not an official Conservative Party WhatsApp Group”, adding that the matter is “currently under review”.
The architect of Labour’s proposed apprenticeship reforms, Lord Blunkett, has distanced himself from the party’s pledge to use half of levy funding on other training, saying further “dialogue” is needed to get the flexibility right.
However, the party’s shadow education secretary has confirmed that major levy reform will be a manifesto pledge for the next election.
At September’s party conference following leader Keir Starmer’s keynote address, Labour announced plans to widen the levy so that it could be used more flexibly, saying more details would be published in a report by the former education secretary under Tony Blair, David Blunkett, now the party’s chair of the Council of Skills Advisers.
A press release at the time said the levy would be known as the ‘growth and skills levy’, and explained that “under this, firms will be able to spend up to 50 per cent of their levy contributions, including currently unspent money, on non-apprenticeship training, with at least 50 per cent being reserved for apprenticeships to preserve existing provision”.
Sector leaders raised concern at the time about whether this new system would leave enough funding for small and medium-sized employers to use.
When asked by FE Week at last week’s launch event at Lambeth College whether that figure had come from the council’s proposals, Lord Blunkett said: “No, we didn’t recommend that, we recommended that we should reshape it to provide flexibility.”
He added that “there is dialogue to be had with whoever wrote the bit that went out alongside Keir’s speech to get it right, because we have got to get that right”.
Following further questions from FE Week as to whether the 50 per cent split remained a policy commitment, Lord Blunkett later added: “There is complete unity of purpose and alignment on the need to reform the levy, to provide much greater flexibility, and to target both younger learners and those at entry level into apprenticeships.
“The statement put out separately to Keir Starmer’s conference speech was an indicative indication, not a policy commitment. The exact way in which flexibility will be applied will be part of the further policy development.”
Tom Richmond, director of think tank EDSK and a former advisor to government skills ministers, cautioned that politicians who wish to reform the levy “should be wary of arbitrary funding splits that do little to encourage employers to invest more in skills and training”.
He agreed with Lord Blunkett that levy reform offers an opportunity to rethink its purpose, but warned that “extra flexibility for levy-paying employers could easily result in more funding being spent on older and existing employees as well as further rebadging of current training provision as ‘apprenticeships’. This would mean even less funding being available in future for smaller businesses and new recruits, which would be a terrible outcome”.
Labour’s report compiled more than 20 recommendations spanning from early years to adult education, aimed at boosting economic recovery and tackling skills gaps, with the party leadership set to decide what measures it will take forward.
Among some of the other headline recommendations were proposals to bring back the education maintenance allowance (EMA) as well as individual learner accounts, further devolution of decision making and spending powers, and establishing a National Skills Taskforce (NST) bringing together key industry players to drive long-term planning and ensure devolved decisions meet national objectives too.
When asked at the launch event which of the proposals will most likely make it into the party’s next election manifesto, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed the levy reform and NST would be among those.
She said: “I think personally on early years and childcare it is clear we do need a childcare system that supports parents to work but also gives our children a great start in life. We set out the first steps towards that at the party conference around breakfast clubs for every primary school child in England.
“We are also clear that we do need to see apprenticeship levy reform, and Keir spoke about that as well, about the importance of there being great flexibility in making sure that we allow people to upskill and retrain throughout their lives.
“What David’s report says about the National Skills Taskforce we will take forward as Skills England, so bringing together government, business, trade unions, and experts working across government in order to harness that national mission that we need to see around skills.”
Teaching about politics and citizenship can be complicated and an overwhelming prospect for trainee teachers. UK Parliament’s free learning resources and unique teacher training opportunities are designed to help with this teaching journey. They offer teachers creative ways to grow their own knowledge of UK Parliament and prepare students to understand and engage with the work that happens there.
1. Improve your subject knowledge through eCPD
UK Parliament offers free online eCPD modules that teachers can work through at their own pace at a time that suits them. After completion, you’ll receive a certificate of participation, signed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.
Modules are delivered by an experienced member of UK Parliament’s Teacher Training team and will give you a detailed understanding of why the different functions at Parliament exist and the roles of the people who work there. Each module takes approximately an hour to complete and uses video, articles and activities to deepen your understanding of the individual topics.
You’ll come away with a digital resource pack and ideas for embedding what you have learnt into your teaching practice. There are currently six modules available, from ‘Understanding UK Parliament and Government’ to more focussed topics like ‘How Select Committees Work’.
2. Join a bespoke teacher trainee workshop for hands-on training
UK Parliament’s Teacher Training team works with Primary, Secondary and Further Education training providers to deliver private Teacher Training workshops for your group. Training providers can choose from a variety of training options, such as an onsite workshop and tour of the Palace of Westminster, tailored online sessions, or workshops delivered directly at your training centre.
These workshops equip trainee teachers with the tools needed to inspire active citizenship in young leaners and are integrated with PGCE, BEd, ITT, Scottish PGDE and equivalent qualifications.
“The trainers were knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate about their subject. The session offered opportunities for interaction and it is great to know resources (both printed and digital) are available to support future teaching. I left today’s session feeling inspired.” – University of Roehampton
The workshops explore:
How UK Parliament works and ways students can engage with its work
Curriculum links to UK Parliament
Free resources and training opportunities offered by the UK Parliament Education and Engagement Team.
More information about the teacher training workshops can be found on UK Parliament’s website.
3. Get to know the history of the UK Parliament buildings
Venture deep into the heart of the Palace of Westminster without having to travel. Taking a free, 45-minute online guided tour is a great way of discovering the different areas of UK Parliament you will be teaching your student’s about, and the significant events that have happened – and still happen – within its walls.
During the live online guided tour, an experienced member of UK Parliament’s staff will guide you through the chambers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, where you’ll have seen parliamentary debates unfold. You’ll also see the magnificent ceiling of Central Lobby, and medieval Westminster Hall with its connections to historical moments including the Lying-in-State of monarchs and Prime Ministers.
There’s also time for questions, so make sure you have a notepad handy for the optional Q&A session at the end. Currently, talks are running on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through to January 2023.
4. Visit UK Parliament in person for an unforgettable experience
A visit to UK Parliament is a truly unique experience and there are a variety of ways you can do it.
The 90-minute expert-led guided tour is a great way to explore the buildings and discover the fascinating history and heritage of the Palace of Westminster. On the tour you will find out about the work of UK Parliament and hear a few interesting stories from the knowledgeable guides who know these buildings inside out. You will also hear more about the key events that shaped our democracy. The guided tour option is very popular so it’s best to book a guided tour in advance.
If you prefer to explore at your own pace, you can take a self-guided multimedia tour. You’ll be provided with a multimedia device which will guide you through the buildings and reveal hidden details you may otherwise overlook. You can stop and marvel at the history, art and architecture and make your way through famous rooms like the chambers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, Westminster Hall, and much more.
5. Join the UK Parliament Teacher Network for free events, teaching resources and more…
UK Parliament works closely with the teaching community to develop free curricula-linked resources, and plan new teacher training events. Sign up to be a member of the UK Parliament Teacher Network if you are keen to take advantage of these opportunities throughout your teaching career. The network also offers teachers a space to share teaching ideas with network members across the UK.
A quick tip: If you sign up to the UK Parliament Teacher Network, keep an eye out for updates in the January 2023 newsletter related to Teachers’ Institute. This hugely popular immersive three-day training experience at UK Parliament is fully funded (all travel, accommodation and most meal costs are covered) and open to all teachers across the UK who want to grow their confidence in teaching about democracy and active citizenship.
“The course was excellent – a fantastic introduction to Parliament with practical advice to make it real and meaningful for my students and my school. The programme personalised the work of Parliament and demonstrated how to make democracy accessible to young people across the UK.” Teacher Ambassador, 2018
Teachers’ Institute is a unique opportunity to hear directly from Members and colleagues working in key roles across UK Parliament, and network with teachers from across the UK. Since its launch in 2006, the programme has trained more than 1,200 teachers from all parts of the UK, giving them skills and knowledge of UK Parliament to share with their students and colleagues.
Other ways to keep up to date with what’s on offer from UK Parliament
Further education leaders and teachers know they need to be aware of the experiences of young people from minoritised ethnic groups to ensure a safe and supportive environment for all. The sector has come a long way, but the Student Commission on Racial Justice report shows there’s further to go.
Negative stereotyping means that young people from minoritised ethnic groups are disadvantaged from the start of education. Our findings show a double standard in the way students are viewed by peers and staff. Groups of black students, for example, are more likely to be seen as gangs or hooligans while their white peers are viewed more favourably as a group of friends or “squad”.
As a young black teen, Mahad was followed by security while out in shopping centres with friends of the same ethnicity. He can’t help but feel like there is “a negative assumption purely based on the way we look”, an experience replicated around the country, including in education settings.
However, this negative stereotyping can be tackled. Our report found that students who regularly learn about diversity view their school or college environment as more supportive and tolerant. Those who might otherwise resort to stereotypes, on the other hand, learn to value diversity. Therefore, one of our report’s recommendations is that respect for racial and ethnic diversity should be taught more often and in detail.
The best way to do this is by involving students with personal experience of racial discrimination or by inviting in speakers who can share their perspectives. Through experiential learning and student-led discussions addressing sensitive topics, we can increase confidence and help students to influence outcomes that affect their education and lives.
Some teachers are afraid to use the word racism
Self-reflection and self-representation are also crucial to push teachers and students to take responsibility for producing shifts in student experiences. At our colleges we implemented the recommendation to embed a diverse range of cultural events and celebrations by introducing student co-ordinated culture days. Students thoroughly enjoyed the event – and Hanan and Naffi said they allowed everyone to gain a new perspective on the lives of their peers and colleagues.
It’s about making everyone, staff and students, feel respected and acknowledged. Students from minoritised ethnic groups can often feel that their identities are ignored or suppressed – as Maltiti says, “we are supposed to fit into a place that has no space for our culture” – and it can make college feel like an isolating place. Instead, educating each other about our traditions and beliefs and celebrating each other’s differences can enrich college life and foster a sense of belonging.
But all this won’t have the impact it could have if teachers aren’t better trained and supported to tackle race-based incidents. A key issue from our peer research was that some teachers ignore discrimination because they may not be confident enough to do something about it. This can appear as though they do not take racism seriously.
Often, racist abuse is presented as humour or “banter”. Many of the young people who took part in the commission’s research have been made fun of for having darker skin. When they challenge this, perpetrators often dismiss it as “just a joke” and accuse their victims of over-reacting. Some teachers are afraid even to use the word racism. But by “hovering around the topic”, as Alyshah says, “they can’t directly address it”.
This needs to change. Training on how to use positive reinforcement for tolerant and respectful behaviours can be helpful. Seeing teachers confidently respond to instances of racist abuse in the classroom and to reinforce tolerant and respectful behaviours will encourage students to do the same.
In our increasingly diverse and multicultural society, we must find ways of incorporating diversity into the student experience to foster inclusion and encourage student dialogue. It’s time to end the cycle that perpetuates race as disadvantage.
As I write, thousands of learners are preparing for their exams… for the second, fourth or even sixth time. The record is nine.
Yes, it’s GCSE resit time. The students have seen all of the maths before. It’s just that they couldn’t do it all. So they have to do it again… and again… until they reach the heady heights of a grade 4.
The resilience and tenacity of learners and staff are admirable. While outcomes may be low (as of June 2022, only 17 per cent of maths resitters gained grade 4 or higher), it is 100 per cent success for everyone who makes the grade. That qualification will open doors that they don’t even realise are shut.
According to Eddie Playfair’s analysis of the Summer 2022 outcomes for the Association of Colleges, the pandemic is still working its way through, adding to the pressure on colleges. So while 90 per cent of resitters are college-based, entry numbers were down in June for both post-16 learners and adults, meaning more pressure and higher numbers from this September. And while 47.2 per cent of adults (19-plus) achieved grade 4 or higher, only 15.2 per cent of about 100,000 16 to 18-year-olds did, perpetuating the pressure.
And to make matters worse, analysis by Chris Briggs for Pearson shows an increase in the numbers of 17 and 18-year-olds not achieving grade 4 over the past two years – with the additional inference that the further a learner gets from their first sitting, the less likely they are to gain the elusive grade.
So what to do about it?
Professional development
It may be late for this season, but there are a number of initiatives and interventions in the post-16 arena that could have a big impact before the next round of exams. There are free courses and conferences a-plenty.
Attending – even hosting – such professional development opportunities is key to success. Last week’s attenders to the Capital City College Group maths and English conference heard from Mariusz Zurawski about his Ezone tools and Baber Hafiz on the use of Dr Frost resources to name just two of a range of inspiring sessions – many from college practitioners themselves.
Research
There are also many opportunities to get involved in research. Right now, if you have a good idea in FE that can be delivered in the north, then consider applying for a Shine award
From maths hubs and action research sets to practitioner groups, and from the ETF to the MEI (which has just launched a new programme of professional development for FE), there is so much on offer for GCSE resits, not least some large research trials going on with the 5RS revision year approach, which I am leading on.
Read all about it
A good professional development library is invaluable. Jo Morgan’s A Compendium of Mathematical Methods, Ed Southall’sYes, But Why?, Jemma Sherwood’s Subject Knowledge Enhancement – Number and Algebra, Peter Mattock’s Visible Maths, and Craig Barton’s How I Wish I Had Taught Maths and Reflect, Expect, Check and Explain are all indispensable.
There’s also a wonderful array of maths blogs, and you’ll find them all with ease if you get on to Twitter, where the maths community is collaborative, supportive and encouraging. Jo Morgan recently tweeted a link to resit resources as she acknowledged the current exam pressures. One of Jo’s ideas is one you could roll out on Monday: an exam-day breakfast maths warm-up so that learners can get their maths head on.
There are many other Tweeps and members of the maths Twitterati who will help you, too many for a list. Maybe follow me and see who I follow.
And finally, most great solutions come from within an organisation. So talk and listen to your colleagues. Because remember, remember: if it looks, feels and sounds like the maths they’ve had before then you’ll simply get the same result. So get innovating together.
As a college with a long history of 14-16 provision, we have always recognised the value of offering high-quality vocational choices to younger students. We know from experience that some people are much better suited to more practical styles of learning.
As Professor Alison Wolf highlighted in her review of vocational education in 2013, studying a vocational pathway can also improve academic achievement for some learners – which is something we see evidenced in our college.
Many young people achieve success at college after years of perceived failure. The wholly academic and exam-focused nature of schools does not suit every learner and defining “success”within these narrow parameters means that many will fall outside them.
Offering alternative routes at 14 can allow some young learners to view success differently from an earlier age, increasing their self-confidence, self-belief and aspiration.
We were one of the first to apply when FE colleges were given the opportunity in 2013 to directly recruit and enrol this age group.
We set up London’s first hospitality career college as well as a full-time 14-16 provision, which offered several vocational specialties alongside core academic GCSEs.
Our vision for 14-16 direct-entry provision was an aspirational vocational hub for young people who were motivated by practical learning and focused on a career pathway into a specific industry.
The reality, however, was that it became a provision for children who would otherwise have faced exclusion, or an alternative to home schooling before reaching the point of exclusion.
Studying a vocational pathway can also improve academic achievement
This meant a disproportionate number of young people were coming to us with learning and behavioural issues and we were having to operate more like one of our alternative provisions. Although we have experience in this area, we didn’t want it to be the primary purpose of our 14-16 centre.
But what was clear was the positive effect that this practical model of education was having on many of the students. Their motivation for learning increased and their confidence grew as they recognised their abilities in different areas and progressed on to higher levels.
So, while our ambition for a high-achieving provision that competed with mainstream schools in the league tables wasn’t realised, what was clear was the importance of such alternative routes for some 14- to 16-year-olds.
We therefore had to adapt and re-focus. The result has been to revert to a hybrid model, more like the old “increased flexibility programmes”, but working as a form of outreach in close partnership with local mainstream schools.
Fourteen- to 16-year-olds attend our alternative curriculum college two days a week to study vocational programmes, including hair and beauty, multi-skills and motor vehicle. Their other three days are spent at their schools studying for key GCSEs.
We are seeing success in real terms. Students know they must attend well to keep their place, and engagement is high. Last year 96 per cent of year 11 learners progressed on to full-time courses at college, 30 per cent of which were apprenticeships.
Overall outcomes are better with the school being able to focus on core GCSE, while we deliver the vocational aspects – rather than us having to do it all in two short years.
This model has also reduced mainstream exclusions and reflects the benefits that come from genuine partnership working between schools and colleges.
Reaching this point hasn’t been straightforward, but we’ve learned from experience. This provision is now absolutely meeting the needs of these specific learners.
I therefore welcome the Association of Colleges/University College London research project that will explore 14-16 provision in FE. It is essential to build up a better picture of what motivates these young people and how we can all work together to improve their outcomes.
