Latest news from FE Week

Flipping Women! Telling a new story about female FE leaders

In the corridors of further education institutions, where enlightenment and progress are revered, a beacon of inclusivity shines brightly. Women have ascended to leadership positions with remarkable stride, comprising a formidable 55.6 per cent.

Yet, amid this promising landscape, a critical gap persists—a gap not of representation but of perception. It’s time to transcend mere statistics and delve into the deeper narrative, to challenge the glass ceiling metaphor that still casts shadows over women in leadership. In an era where progress should be measured not just in numbers but in lived experience and stories told, the need to re-narrativise women in leadership echoes louder than ever.

As a doctoral student, I delved into the literature on senior leadership in further education, and encountered a surprising shortage of research, particularly concerning women leaders. The language used in many journal article titles suggested that women were perceived as the minority or disadvantaged group in FE leadership.

Titles such as ‘Managing Further Education: Is it Still Men’s Work?’, ‘Distorted views through the glass ceiling’ and ‘Educational Leadership: Where Are the Women?’ painted a narrative of struggle and under-representation for women in senior positions within FE institutions. Research even as recently as this decade evidences a social construct of further education senior leaders as “white, middle-class and male”.

However, my own experiences and the life histories of my research participants contradicted this narrative. The women leaders I interviewed didn’t see their gender as a barrier to their career progression. Rather, they perceived themselves as senior leaders, navigating their roles with confidence and efficacy.

The data from the Department for Education’s (DfE) workforce survey published in August 2023 painted a more positive picture, showing a significant shift in the gender composition of college senior leaders. The survey revealed that 55 per cent of leaders are now female—a testament to the progress made in achieving greater gender equality within the sector.

While the glass ceiling may no longer be a tangible barrier, perceptions and biases linger

Despite the positive strides, challenges persist. I noted a reluctance of women leaders in my research to share their “whole selves”. For example, while women leaders refrained from emphasising their roles as mothers or referencing their families in relation to their professional commitments, men embraced transparency about their familial responsibilities and were proud to talk about the impact of fatherhood on their leadership.

Indeed, I have reflected on my own reluctance to openly discuss my family commitments in professional settings in the past for fear of being perceived negatively. This highlights the lingering effects of gender stereotypes and biases in the workplace, which may influence how individuals present themselves professionally.

We should be proud of who we are; both our personal and professional identities inform our leadership. I know that being a mother of four daughters has shaped my leadership and my professional identity quite profoundly.

In light of these findings, I advocate for a re-narrativisation of women’s leadership experiences in further education. Amplifying success stories and sharing lived experiences of women leaders – of which there are plenty – can help align perceptions with reality and empower women to be more open about their identities and experiences.

Additionally, there’s a pressing need for updated research to offer a contemporary understanding of women’s leadership in further education, inspiring aspiring leaders to pursue such roles. This is a challenge I personally commit to undertaking, and I urge others to join in.

While my focus here has been on women in acknowledgement of International Women’s Day, it’s crucial to extend our efforts to promote diversity in leadership, including ethnic diversity, individuals who identify outside the gender binary, and those with disabilities or learning differences.

We need to recognise and celebrate the unique perspectives and contributions that individuals of all backgrounds bring to leadership roles. While the glass ceiling may no longer be a tangible barrier for women in further education leadership, perceptions and biases still linger.

By reshaping the narrative surrounding women leaders and fostering a culture of authenticity and inclusivity, we can continue to break down barriers and pave the way for a more equitable future in further education leadership.

WorldSkills UK honours 2024 equity, diversity and inclusion heroes

FE colleges and staff who have advocated for more inclusive curriculums, more ethnically diverse college leadership and better employability for SEND learners have received prestigious awards.

WorldSkills UK has unveiled the winners of its equity, diversity and inclusion heroes awards 2024, at a reception hosted at the Houses of Parliament today.

The awards celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of a select few individuals and organisations who have reduced the stigmas around young people with disabilities and neurodivergence.

The accolades were supported by sponsors such as by the Skills and Education Group, UVAC, and FE Week.

One of the winners was North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, which won the skills competition advocate for developing a supported internship programme for SEND learners. The initiative has enabled 65 per cent of 20 interns to obtain part-time or full-time work in the last two years.

Meanwhile, Louise Gaskin (pictured above) from North East Surrey College of Technology (NESCOT) took home the gong for inclusive skills development. This was due to her pivotal role in guiding students participating in the WorldSkills UK digital media production competition and her advocacy for a more inclusive curriculum in FE.

Milton Keynes College Group head of people development & EDI Arvind Kaushal won the pioneer award at the ceremony for his work as programme lead for the DfE-funded equality & diversity programme #BAMEintoLeadership. Judges found he was also instrumental in delivering professional development to thousands of educators in over 85 countries through the #LDeduchat series.

“We are not in these jobs to win awards, but it is fantastic to have people recognise the work that we at MK Group are undertaking, it shows the importance of these programmes in helping all young people to succeed,” said Kaushal.

Haris Jarvid, a degree apprentice with Lloyds Banking Group, who won the Rising Star award said: “Today has been amazing, I didn’t expect to win at all. Lloyds Bank has been so supportive of not only my apprenticeship journey, but the wider diversity agenda. I hope events like this show that organisations really need to start including diversity as a key factor in business planning, it delivers value for all, staff, customers and the wider community.”

Ben Blackledge, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, congratulated the winners.

He said: “Your achievements in driving change to ensure all the young people you work with have the opportunity to succeed through apprenticeships and technical education is truly inspiring.

“At WorldSkills UK, we are proud to provide a platform for celebrating those making a significant difference. By working together, we can advocate for real change across the sector, creating inclusive opportunities that give all young people the chance for success in work and life.”

Charlotte Nichols MP, who sponsored the event at the Houses of Parliament, said: “Congratulations to this year’s winners of the WorldSkills UK EDI Heroes Awards. It was fantastic to support these awards and come together to celebrate the finalists and winners for the first time at the Houses of Parliament.”

See the full list of winners below:

Budget 2024: AEB deals for 3 county councils

Three more areas of England are to gain control of their adult education budgets in devolution deals announced in the chancellor’s budget – but there was no new investment for FE.

Jeremy Hunt’s budget was heavy on tax cuts – except for VAT for colleges – but light on public spending, with no further revenue funding to help colleges and providers deal with rising pressures.

He also announced a “public sector productivity plan” aimed at making public services including education more efficient, but did not detail how this would affect schools and colleges.

Hunt did however confirm that three county councils Surrey, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire will gain control of their adult education budgets under level two devolution deals.

Further details were also published about North East Combined Mayoral Authority (NEMCA)’s level four deal, which will join the West Midlands and Greater Manchester as a “trailblazer” devolved authority with an estimated adult education budget of about £60 million per year.

Level two deals are offered to county councils or combined authorities that do not have a directly elected mayor.

Cornwall and Lancashire have already agreed level two deals which are due to go live in 2025.

The deals will offer control over adult education, the UK shared prosperity fund, and require the councils to use “local labour market intelligence” to support local skills improvement plans alongside local employers.

It takes the number of areas with actual devolution or with deals to 22, of which 10 are established and two have mayoral elections in May 2024 – East Midlands and York North Yorkshire.

Association of Colleges deputy chief executive Julian Gravatt said devolution covers 41 per cent of the English population and 62 per cent of the adult skills budget.

‘Own goal’ on VAT college exemption

Aside from the devolution deals there were no new announcements for FE and skills despite the chancellor repeating the government’s pledge to build a “high-skill economy”.

Chief executive of the AoC David Hughes said Hunt “missed another opportunity”.

He added: “There is a simple reality, that the prime minister’s economic priorities cannot be achieved without a boost in investment in skills.”

Colleges have repeatedly called for the government to scrap “unfair” tax rules requiring colleges to pay VAT. But Hunt chose to ignore the pleas yet again.

Hughes said: “College budgets and staff will benefit a little from the national insurance cut, but in a tax-cutting budget, the chancellor has missed the opportunity to scrap the unfair VAT rules imposed on colleges. That simple and fair move would have injected £210 million into colleges to help meet students’ needs.”

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the budget “failed to support” schools, colleges and those they serve.

She added: “The chancellor has instead focused on a desperate attempt to secure short-term political gain by cutting taxes as a pre-election sweetener.”

Public spending plans could lead to £380m adult skills cut

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that government spending plans, which include cutting the employee national insurance rate from eight per cent to six per cent from April 2024, are likely to mean 2.3 per cent a year cuts to non-protected budgets.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, estimates that the government’s spending plans could therefore mean a “further £380 million cut” to adult skills in England.

He said: “Taxes should always be as low as possible, but high-quality public services are essential for growth too. The government’s public spending plans could mean a further £380 million cut to adult skills in England – already £1 billion lower than in 2010 – and cutting off an engine of growth.”

Budget 2024: Business leaders call for LSIP funding extension

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has urged the government to commit to fund business-led local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) to “at least” 2028.

The appeal forms part of the chambers’ submission to today’s spring budget, which comes alongside a report evaluating the success and teething issues of chamber-led LSIPs.

The BCC says it is seeking an extension of the funding, which expires in 2025, to provide English businesses with more long-term certainty about skills training in their area and to keep LSIPs business led.

“We need the LSIPs to stay business-led, and to remain a key part of the government’s long-term skills strategy,” said Jane Gratton, BCC deputy director of public policy.

“Without that commitment – the hard work already achieved risks being undermined.”

A small business owner in BCC’s evaluation report added: “For businesses seeking long-term certainty and planning, the March 2025 deadline of LSIP funding falls short. We should think beyond short-term solutions.”

First proposed in the FE white paper in January 2021, LSIPs aim to make colleges and training providers align the courses they offer to local employers’ needs.

Last summer, three-year LSIPs were published for all 38 areas of England. Funding worth £20.9 million was made available to employer representative bodies – £550,000 each – to develop, implement and review the plans.

In November, the Department for Education also doled out £165 million from the local skills improvement fund (LSIF) to colleges, supported in most cases by a chamber of commerce. The chambers of commerce are the designated employer representative body leading 32 out of the 38 LSIPs across England.

The LSIF fund was split across two financial years; £80 million was made available for the 2023/24 financial year, split equally between revenue and capital. In 2024-25, £85 million is for capital only.

The BCC published a report last week evaluating evidence from 21 of the 32 chamber-led local skills improvement plans, which identified concerns from participants over “short-term funding” and the bureaucracy involved in drawing up LSIPs.

“Participants across chambers, industries, and local agencies expressed worry that short-term funding and policies, particularly related to business engagement, hampered efforts to improve local skills,” the report said.

LSIPS: a chance to change, or a chance missed?

It also found “frustration” from stakeholders that funding was “mostly” linked to larger, nationally accredited qualifications despite many LSIPs identifying a need for flexible, bespoke training.

“The research found some frustrations with the limited scope of the plans themselves,” it added. “As the plans were intended by the Department of Education to focus on specific technical skills, at a local level, many chambers found themselves in receipt of employer feedback that they could not act upon.”

Some organisations found barriers around “bureaucratic complexities and overlapping jurisdictions with other agencies and institutions”.

“Differing priorities among chambers, local authorities, and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) sometimes resulted in varied approaches to skills development, hindering cohesive planning,” the report said.

Gratton added: “There is now a real sense among businesses that they play their part in the skill system.

“This is about a partnership approach and hopefully LSIPs have enabled training providers to hear from and engage with more businesses to help them shape their provision.

“We absolutely need an industrial strategy that underpinned by a skill strategy and LSIPs can be feeding in all of this real granular data around skills needs.”

Five ways to support students to engage in elections

Voter Registration Week has arrived and we’re encouraging colleges from across the further education sector to support their students to register to vote.

2024 is going to be an important year for students to use their voice, with local, regional and national elections all taking place in the next few months. Currently, only 16 per cent of young people between the ages of 16 and 18 are registered to vote, and colleges are key to helping young people get onto the electoral register.

This year, students will face some unique challenges around election time that, as educators, you can support them to navigate. For many, they will need the media literacy skills to follow fast-moving current affairs on social media, with the increasing prevalence of AI-generated disinformation. They will also need the skills to engage in critical discussion and debate as the election period gets into full swing.

Many will be voting for the first time, and we have a great opportunity to support them to be informed and equipped to cast their first vote, setting them on the path to be lifelong voters.

Supporting elections is a crucial role for colleges, ensuring young people are kept well informed and are prepared to be active citizens both within their college community and beyond.

Further Education Zone

To support colleges to engage their students in the election, we have created a new Further Education Zone on the Democracy Classroom platform. Developed by The Politics Project, sponsored by National Association of Managers in Student Services (NAMSS) and supported by the Association of Colleges (AoC), the toolkit pulls together content from organisations across the education and democracy sectors. It contains a range of non-partisan resources and guidance on how to organise election hustings, run voter registration drives, promote discussion and bring democracy to life.

We know that supporting young people to engage in elections can be a daunting task, especially with all the other pressures on time and resources.

Below are five activities you can do that make a huge difference to support your students to engage in the election.

Share information

Use template emails to support students to register to vote, learn about the election and signpost to out-of-college opportunities.

Raise awareness

Use a range of posters, flyers and digital displays to support students to learn about the election as they walk around college.

Run a voter registration drive

Support all of your students to get on to the electoral register (young people can register from 16 in England and Northern Ireland and from 14 in Scotland and Wales). You could do this through auto enrolment which integrates registration into a student’s enrolment process when they join college. We are also able to offer in-person support to run a registration drive through our Exploring Elections Programme. Not sure where to start? You can book a free training session here.

Integrate the election into teaching and learning

Use a variety of resources designed for colleges to support your students to learn about politics, democracy and elections.

Run or direct students to a local hustings event

Support your students to meet and learn about their local candidates. Our hustings map will be coming out soon!

If you are looking for training, support and resources please don’t hesitate to book a quick call with The Politics Project team and we will be happy to direct you to the support you need.

Treasury announces £3k top-up for 13 ‘growth sector’ apprenticeships

Thirteen specially selected apprenticeships will receive a £3,000 per-apprentice funding boost from April, the Treasury has announced.

This is part of a two-year £50 million pilot for certain apprenticeships in what Treasury ministers deem are “growth sectors” and will mean some apprenticeships will attract up to £30,000 per apprentice.

The chosen standards include laboratory technician, science manufacturing technician and machining technician. See the table below for the full list.

The extra cash will come on top of usual funding bands but training providers will need to deliver a minimum of 15 starts to access it.

Using apprenticeship starts numbers from 2022/23, the top-ups would cost at least £6.7 million per year from the growth fund pilot. It’s not yet been announced what the remaining pilot funding will be spent on.

It means some apprenticeships, such as pipe welder, electrical power networks engineer and machining technician could attract up to £30,000 per apprentice from April including the £3,000 growth pilot top-up.

The Treasury has said it expects the boost will fund capital investments in these sectors, which are typically not eligible for government funding.

Further guidance is expected later this month.

‘Not just colleges’

Gareth Davies, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said in a written statement to Parliament today: “The pilot will boost funding for eligible providers delivering 13 high-value advanced manufacturing and engineering, green and life sciences apprenticeship standards.”

This comes ahead of this Wednesday’s spring budget as part of a package of measures announced this morning for the manufacturing industry.

Simon Ashworth, director of policy at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) said: “Although the pilot of 13 initial standards in phase one is quite narrow, what is encouraging is that capital investment is being supported as part of this pilot funding – and is open to all provider types and not just colleges.

“This is something AELP have been calling for and we are pleased this has been recognised by DfE and HMT. ITPs deliver the majority of apprenticeships, so we welcome this agnostic approach to extra funding to support growing additional capacity in the apprenticeship programmes.”

Announcing the growth pilot in the autumn statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the pilot was to test “ways to increase the number of apprentices in engineering and other key growth areas where there are shortages.”

The Treasury said the £3,000 payments are intended for course equipment, machinery and other capital expenses.

Further eligibility criteria for training providers is expected later this month.

Five north east colleges set to strike this month

Staff at five colleges in the north east will strike later this month over a pay dispute with college group Education Training Collective (ETC).

Staff at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy and Redcar and Cleveland College voted to take to the picket lines on March 20 and 21 after rejecting their employer’s pay offer for 2022/23.

The dispute is over the 22/23 pay award of 3 per cent, with an additional 1 per cent from May 2023.

Members rejected the offer after union officials declared it did not include any improvement on pay and was limited to an extra two “wellbeing days” and additional points on the lecturer and course leader pay scales starting on August 1, 2024.

The ETC said the group’s financial position “does not allow” for a higher pay offer and that the award is higher than the Association of Colleges 2022/23 recommendation of 2.5 per cent. It has though offered a 6.5 per cent pay award for 2023/24 in line with the AoC recommendation.

The University and College Union (UCU) said it will open a new strike ballot this week (March 6) if the ETC does not settle the dispute. If the ballot succeeds, staff will continue industrial action for a further six months.

Workers at Stockton Riverside College will picket on the morning of March 20 and Redcar and Cleveland College will strike the morning of March 21.

The strikes come after 79 per cent of UCU members voted for the strikes in two weeks’ time. Turnout was 64 per cent.

UCU regional support official Chris Robinson said: ‘Since we won our original strike ballot last September management has not put one extra penny on the table to resolve this dispute. If ETC is really serious about ending this dispute, it will get back around the table and put up a serious offer. If it fails to do so the college group will face further disruption.’

Almost 50 jobs at risk as college seeks £1m savings

A spokesperson for the Education Training Collective said: “We are disappointed to learn that the University and College Union members have voted to strike relating to this ongoing dispute. There is a continuing desire to bring this dispute to a resolution, however the group’s financial position – as shared in committee meetings with trade unions – does not allow for further percentage increases to consolidated pay.

“Unfortunately, to date, we have not been able to find a mutually agreeable solution on our pay offer of 3 per cent from 1st August 2022, which was then increased by an additional 1 per cent from May 2023. This was higher than the Association of Colleges’ recommendation.

“For 2023/24, we have already tabled a further offer, which, in line with Association of Colleges guidance, passes on, in full, the additional funding outlined by the Department for Education to our staff members. That offer is a 6.5 per cent across the board pay increase, and this was implemented, in the interim, for all staff from 1st October 2023. We have since strengthened this offer with additional benefits such as the two consolidated well-being days and improvements to lecturer and course leader pay scales from August 2024.

“In effect, this means, that between August 2022 and October 2023, ETC pay scales have been uplifted by 10.5 percentage points. Our pay rates compare favourably to other local colleges.”

DfE rapped by watchdog as 1 in 4 FOI responses late

The Department for Education has been ordered to respond more quickly to freedom of information (FOI) requests or face enforcement action, after admitting to missing the deadline in up to a quarter of cases.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has rapped the department for a “declining level of performance overall in terms of the timeliness of its responses to requests for information” since 2019.

National statistics show the DfE responded to less than 80 per cent of requests within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

In November last year, the DfE told the ICO that it was responding to “just 75 per cent of requests within the required time limit”. One response “was reported as being more than 12 months overdue at January 2024”.

The department has until the end of May to comply with recommendations from the ICO. Failure to do so could result in an enforcement notice.

It is not the first time the DfE has been reprimanded by the ICO. In 2020, the watchdog found the department broke data protection laws in the way it handles pupil data, following an investigation that revealed widespread failures.

And in 2022, it was reprimanded over a “serious breach” of data protection law which allowed a firm providing age verification for gambling companies access to the personal information of millions of young people.

DfE ‘taking action’

The ICO acknowledged the DfE is “taking action” to improve the speed of FOI responses, and reported that senior level interest in FOIA “has had a positive impact on its performance recently”.

The department now offers new training on the freedom of information act for staff.

The age profile of requests where responses are overdue “isn’t high overall, although one response was reported as being more than 12 months overdue at January 2024”.

ICO staff have engaged with DfE officials about the “underlying reasons for its failure to lift its overall response rate to an acceptable and sustained level of compliance”.

“Improvements have been made as outlined above and early data from 2024 has seen performance creep up to 81 per cent.

“Given the timeliness issues DfE has experienced over what is now a prolonged period, however, it’s clear that DfE’s request handling practices does not consistently conform to [the government’s code of practice].”

Warren Seddon, ICO director of freedom of information and transparency, said transparency was “fundamental to our democracy. Information delayed is information denied, and people have the legal right to promptly receive information they’re entitled to”.

“The commissioner has been clear that public sector leaders should take transparency seriously. Where organisations fail to do this we will take enforcement action so people’s information rights are upheld.”

Jo Grady re-elected as UCU general secretary

Jo Grady has been re-elected to serve a second term as general secretary of the University and Colleges Union (UCU).

Grady won in the third round of voting. King’s College London law professor Ewan McGaughey narrowly missed out on the top job, losing by just 182 votes.

17,131 valid votes were cast out of 114,310 eligible UCU member voters – a turnout of just 15.1 per cent. Grady was elected with 7,758 votes to McGaughey’s 7,576.

University of Leeds widening participation officer Vicky Blake came third and Liverpool John Moores University senior education lecturer Saira Weiner came in last.

Grady, a former employment relations lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said: “I want to thank every member who has voted to endorse my strategy for our union’s future.

“We have achieved so much in the past five years, including further education’s biggest pay award in a decade and the greatest pension win in UK trade union history.

“But there is still much to do. Under my leadership, UCU will continue to be a fighting union that will stand up for education. We need a fair funding settlement for higher education and binding national bargaining in further education. I look forward to working with our incredible members to push employers and government to invest in our sector’s staff and students.”

Grady has committed to push for “enforceable” national deals on pay and terms and conditions in further education colleges. She has also pledged to strengthen UCU branches in colleges and prison education and “tackle casualisation” in adult education.

Her second term begins officially on August 1.

The remaining election results, for vice-president, national executive committee and trustee are expected to be announced on March 5.

Picket lines with FE members

UCU members at numerous colleges across the country have been striking in the last year, most recently last month at Capital City College Group about pay disputes and workload.

Grady said at the time she “need[s] to be on picket lines with our further education members”, and that “our members need, and they deserve my full attention”.

Colleges have accepted pay deals of up to 10 per cent for teaching staff for the 2023/24 academic year. It comes after the Association of Colleges advised colleges to use the government’s £200 million of 16-19 funding to award a 6.5 per cent pay rise to FE staff, the same as schoolteachers.

The union has faced internal disputes recently, with UCU staff escalating a row over pay with bosses.

And last year Grady agreed a £22,000 settlement in a legal dispute over potentially libellous tweets.

UCU review into racism

The union today has also accepted an independent review of racism at UCU.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Unite Black members’ group claim “institutional failings” are affecting UCU staff.

Unite, who represent UCU staff, alleged that Black staff are disproportionately targeted for punitive action under internal procedures – 45 per cent of all UCU cases handled by Unite had an element of race discrimination.

“Firstly, it is Black staff who have to engage on a daily basis with the senior management team who have overseen the aforementioned failings,” said Unite UCU.

“Secondly, the exclusion of staff from an independent investigation called into question of the employer’s public response to the racism crisis.”

A UCU spokesperson said: “UCU is currently sourcing an external independent party to conduct a review examining issues raised by the black members’ standing committee and our black staff. We are already acting to address concerns raised by staff in a number of ways, including through training and support for progression, and will continue to put anti-racism at the heart of our agenda for members.”