CEO and Group Principal, Milton Keynes College Group
Start date: October 2022
Previous Job: Principal, Milton Keynes College Group
Interesting fact: Sally loves live music, in particular small up-and-coming bands. She has travelled the world to catch brilliant bands in new exciting venues, going as far as Nashville to do it.
Lord Baker
Vice chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships
Interesting fact: Lord Baker collects political caricatures and prints and has written books about them
Colin Butler
Executive Director People and Culture, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
Start date: October 2022
Previous Job: HR lead, Hill & Smith Holdings plc
Interesting fact: Colin became an avid skydiver after successfully completing his first parachute jump to raise funds for charity and has since completed around 20 freefall jumps
As staunch forces in Ukraine continue to fight for the freedom of their country, loved ones who sought sanctuary in the UK live with the fear and uncertainty of what they might one day return home to. Jason Noble finds out just how instrumental Britain’s colleges have been in helping refugees build their home away from home.
“It is always in my heart. It is always in mind. It feels like a double life. I speak to you, I smile but inside…”
Tetiana Udovichenko’s words are deeply personal, yet felt by millions of Ukrainians in the wake of the invasion of Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces.
Some seven million citizens left their home nation to find sanctuary in Europe and abroad, all the while as patriotic loved ones fight each day to repel Russian forces and retake occupied lands.
Since February 24, when the invasion first began, almost 150,000 found that sanctuary in the UK, thanks to the generosity of people welcoming them through the Homes for Ukraine resettlement scheme.
With it has come the dedicated efforts of the country’s colleges to lay on ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) courses, and other learning opportunities to help Ukrainians settle as best they can.
While exact numbers at the country’s further education colleges and sixth forms have not been recorded, a Department for Education survey over the summer found dozens – at least 59 – had enrolled students, either adults or teenagers.
Elvira Koshlata, a Ukrainian student at Preston College
At least seven colleges have recorded more than 100 Ukrainian students on their books.
Many learners are on ESOL courses to get up to speed with English as quickly as possible, but at least 1,200 students are on A-level or other post-GCSE courses.
Elvira Koshlata, 29, arrived from Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second largest city and one of the most heavily bombed regions of the war – in May this year, and was immediately enlisted at Preston College’s four-week ESOL classes in June. She has continued classes this autumn and found work as a hairstylist, as she had been back at home.
“The college for me is like a holiday, I really enjoy my time here,” the 29-year-old says. “When I came here, I was really struggling with the British accent and thought ‘oh my god, how can I order a coffee’. When I came to college everyone was so nice and talked clearly, I got so many tips. I can ask teachers about something not about classes – they can tell me who to answer these questions. I thrive in lessons to be honest.”
At Preston she met Tetiana, also from Kharkiv, and together the pair have formed a strong friendship.
“This organisation makes me feel more safe, I feel very protected,” Tetiana, 40, said. “During lessons we get a lot of useful information. It’s not just about language, it is about practical issues we can possibly have.
“I feel the state cares about me.”
Tetiana Udovichenko, a Ukrainian student at Preston College
That feeling of safety is a natural one given just how terrifying those early days and weeks were at home.
Tetiana says: “It was very stressful. After the first air raid I decided to escape. I was with my daughter and family of her boyfriend. After a very hard night [around a week into the bombing] a lot of people got scared very much. Before that night the Russians didn’t use aviation, they didn’t bomb from aircrafts before this, and a lot of people were scared and decided to save their lives, the same as me.”
That was a train into the western side of the country, but Tetiana wanted to head to the UK where her partner was living. It meant separating from her daughter, who decided to stay with her boyfriend, as well as Tetiana’s two brothers, parents, niece and grandmother, who remained in occupied territories.
That is the moment she describes as her “double life” – living each day in the UK with the constant worry of loved ones at home.
At Exeter College, 26-year-old Ann-Mary Truskavetsa arrived from Lviv with mum Olha, 48. Both are now studying GCSEs, with Olha also working at the college as a learning support assistant.
“The UK is full-on different. It is a good way of different in which you get to explore a lot of things,” Ann-Mary said. “The fact Exeter College was so welcoming, they accepted us from the get-go, which, apart from a distraction from what was happening out there, it gave us a sense of purpose.”
Kateryna Andriukhina, 31, who came to England from Luhansk via Kiev with her daughter, said: “For me, this feeling of being nervous is normal because the country is different and we are just worried about more stress because this is not in the plan. We got used to it. This is what now fills every feeling of every Ukrainian, just worried about family in Ukraine, worried about home, and worried about myself now.”
Nataliia Ponomarenko, 42, who came over from Kremenchuk in May with her son, added: “Of course we were worried. We have family and friends at home in Ukraine, and we read in the news every morning every evening that it doesn’t stop.”
But far from just teaching English to new arrivals, college staff nationwide have been vital in other areas of life too, many laying on extra support beyond just language courses.
Common additions have been free bus passes or subsidised travel, lunch vouchers, and loaned laptops.
Summer ESOL classes for Ukrainian refugees at Exeter College
Rachel Watkins, assistant head for skills development and curriculum lead for ESOL at Preston College, which has 65 Ukrainians on its roll, said: “Built into our curriculum is a lot of employability and work-related topics, [such as] writing CVs here in the UK. So, we are planning all the time for students’ progression, whether it is in the next three or four weeks or the end of the year.”
Keighley College meanwhile is supporting 50 students and helped Ukrainians with Department for Work and Pension support, as well as employability and housing advice.
It was a similar picture at Stratford-upon-Avon College, which has 24 Ukrainian students, and set up an integration course over the summer at the request of the local Welcome Here group which had been supporting refugees.
Alex Blewer, programme manager for English and maths, said it was “very much led by [students] and what they wanted to know”.
He added: “The whole idea is to improve their employability in the UK. A lot of them are highly skilled back home, but, at the moment because of the language, they are doing jobs they can do but are capable of far more.”
Crucially, Ukrainians were immediately given some settlement status so they could access Universal Credit and free education. Students already here were granted visa extensions. But the picture is ever changing, and with it the needs of the learners.
Jo Rusden, deputy head for adult and community at Keighley College, said: “Now what we are finding is suddenly because there has been an escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, we are finding that a lot of students over the last few weeks have been finding it a lot harder.”
Some of the Ukrainian students studying in the UK
For instance, with Guy Fawkes Night having recently passed where the sounds of fireworks in the evenings were prevalent, Jo said some students found the noises difficult reminders of the conflict at home. That became something the college talked about in class to prepare them ahead of the weekend.
Jo continued: “We know that their needs are going to change and adapt. So that might be wellbeing, which we are sourcing from external organisations such as Migration Yorkshire. It’s different when it is just a few months but the conflict is dragging on and on. It is quite difficult for some of our students because a lot of their older family members refuse to leave Ukraine. They are finding that really hard.”
Alex added: “We have been very careful about teaching materials, discussions we have – there are a lot of triggers for some of these people, such as talking about family they have left behind.”
Signposting to housing support is likely to be needed as refugees come to the end of their stints with host families.
A common theme emerging from the colleges – particularly in the ESOL departments – has been the preparedness for responding to such a crisis. It would have been easy for those colleges to have been overwhelmed by the sudden extra numbers, but many have had experience from previous years.
Dawn Griffiths, academy director for ESOL and international English at The Sheffield College, which has about 200 Ukrainian learners, said: “In the ESOL department we are quite used to doing that. We have responded to the Afghanistan crisis, the Syrian crisis. We have been through a number of critical situations like this one was, and we get on board. We say, ‘this is the situation, we are going to have to respond very quickly.’”
Exeter College recalled a phone call from Devon County Council last autumn when the Afghan refugees arrived in which they were asked to put on provision for 87 refugees with just a day’s notice.
Many colleges put on dedicated courses in the summer to help Ukrainians specifically – often non-qualification courses – before enrolling them on the autumn programmes. Those progressing well often move on to GCSE English and maths, while IT skills courses are also helping students.
Olha Truskavetsa, Nataliia Ponomarenko, Kateryna Andriukhina, Ukrainian students at Exeter College
Many have also had groups largely comprising adults with only a handful of teenagers, but Sheffield has about 18 young people aged 16 to 18 who have gone on level 3 courses such as science, business or public services.
Dawn said those students had done “phenomenally well”, with some now eyeing university places or access to higher level courses.
Exeter College has about 300 Ukrainian students, with 33 adult courses running. It employed three new teachers and existing teachers have taken on extra hours too.
Laura Grix, ESOL programme leader at Exeter said: “If you are fleeing a war-torn country, your primary aim isn’t to get to an FE college in time for their enrolment. We have to be responsive with what is happening in the community around us rather than being rigid about when they turn up and when we assess them.”
By far the most common words used by college staff to describe their Ukrainian learners are “determined” and “resilient”, which speaks volumes to the efforts they have made since arriving. But how do they look to the future when they do not know how long the war will last at home?
Ann-Mary said: “I would lie if I said I didn’t want to go back. It’s my country, my people, my home, and I don’t want to leave my home.
“In terms of the UK, you have a beautiful country. When I heard of English people in general stereotypes you are cold and reserved – no way, you are actually very heart-warming people who have a big heart. The whole experience I did not expect anything and I got a lot. I don’t know if you could ask for anything more.”
A college group is taking a council to court over its refusal to lift a legally binding agreement that means a closed college site can only be sold for educational purposes.
The covenant placed on Malvern Hills College by Malvern Hills District Council significantly suppresses the sale price of the property for the Warwickshire College Group (WCG).
WCG took over Malvern Hills College, which has delivered courses to adults since 1886, in 2016. But the group shut the college’s doors last year in the face of strong local opposition after falling student numbers made it unviable.
Malvern Hills District Council is part of a consortium that has put together a £1.2 million bid to buy the college site for a newly formed company called Malvern Hills Arts and Community College, which plans to continue the offer of adult education courses.
Back in 2008 the council placed a legal restriction on the Malvern Hills College site through the government’s Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which protects it for further and higher education provision.
The covenant can only be lifted if the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) – as successor to the LSC – determines that there is no “functional need” for a college in Malvern and Malvern Hills District Council is satisfied with that determination.
The ESFA could, however, only review the need for the 16 to 19 provision it funded at the college, not the self-funded leisure courses for adults that the college mainly provided.
Following a “comprehensive review” of Malvern and the neighbouring areas, the ESFA concluded in June 2021 that there was no “functional need” for Malvern Hills College site to deliver ESFA funded 16-to-19 provision.
It is on this basis that WCG is pleading with Malvern Hills District Council to lift the covenant, which would then allow the college group to sell site for maximum value – likely to be housing.
But the district council has so far refused this request.
WCG has now applied for a declaration from the courts that the covenant should be lifted.
FE Week understands that a date for a hearing to decide the outcome will be set in the first quarter of 2023.
Harriett Baldwin, the MP for West Worcestershire, has protested and marched alongside the Save Malvern Hills College group in an effort to save the college over the past two years.
She raised the issue in parliament last month during a debate to mark this year’s Colleges Week and pleaded with the Department for Education to step in to ensure Malvern Hills College site is “preserved in the heart of Malvern” and “rises like a phoenix” like the “community wants”.
Baldwin hit out at the legal action being taken by WCG, saying: “Unfortunately, so far the board seems to have focused on ensuring that it simply gets maximum value for the site and is able to sell it.”
A WCG spokesperson defended the legal challenge.
“WCG has tried for many years to operate a further education college on the site but it has not proved financially viable to do so,” the spokesperson said.
“Despite Ms Baldwin saying that the Malvern community support the need for a college, the low level of enrolments from that community – despite the marketing efforts of WCG – make a college non-viable.
“Following the decision to close the site, which was publicly announced, WCG has a legal duty as a charity to maximise the value of any unused or surplus assets. It has no choice in that.
“WCG is sympathetic to the residents of Malvern backing a college but the offer made by a current community company is not accompanied by any business plan and thus if it failed, as others have, to run a college in Malvern, it will be left as the owners of a site which it can then sell.”
Malvern Hills Arts and Community College’s £1.2 million bid was made up of a £400,000 contribution from Malvern Hills District Council, another £400,000 from Worcestershire County Council, and another £400,000 from local philanthropist Colin Kinnear of the Bransford Trust.
The ESFA made clear that it is not involved in WCG’s legal claim to lift the covenant on Malvern Hills College and has no power to intervene as WCG is an independent organisation.
Almost all universities that offer apprenticeships are delivering quality training, according to exclusive analysis of Ofsted data that could aid new skills minister Robert Halfon’s desire to “rocket boost” degree apprenticeships.
Ninety-three universities have racked up almost 100,000 apprenticeship starts between them since 2018 – three quarters of which are level 6 or 7 (degree-level) apprenticeships.
Of those, 40 universities have received a full inspection from Ofsted and 35, or 88 per cent, have been judged ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, according to figures crunched by Apprenticeship Data Insights.
An additional 26 have received an early monitoring visit from the education watchdog and 25, or 96 per cent, have received ‘significant’ or ‘reasonable’ progress scores.
In comparison, 64 per cent and 76 per cent of independent training providers and colleges were given Ofsted’s top two grades in the past year respectively.
The figures could act as evidence to back up the government’s goal of ramping up the number degree apprenticeships in England, which are mostly delivered by universities.
Last year then-joint HE and FE minister Michelle Donelan ordered universities to set “ambitious targets” to boost the proportion of students studying degree apprenticeships, which have soared in popularity since their launch in 2015.
“I want every university to be holding degree apprenticeships”, she said, adding that financial incentives for universities were being considered to meet this goal.
New skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister Robert Halfon is arguably the biggest advocate of degree apprenticeships. He told a Lords committee this week his “two favourite words in the English language” are “degree” and “apprenticeships”.
He previously said he would like to see 50 per cent of university students enrolled on degree apprenticeships.
Halfon told FE Week: “We’ve seen the popularity of degree apprenticeships grow and grow. We want to further accelerate this growth further and I would like to see all higher education providers consider offering them.”
Ofsted has always inspected provision from levels 2 to 5, including in universities, but was only handed powers to inspect degree level apprenticeships only in May 2021.
The powers came after chief inspector Amanda Spielman voiced concern multiple times that some universities were getting away with offering level 6 and 7 apprenticeships which are simply “repackaged graduate schemes”.
Mandy Crawford-Lee, chief executive of the University Vocational Awards Council, said she is happy that the majority of universities have come out with top grades and applauded the government’s ambition to grow degree apprenticeships.
But she said there are a number of barriers in place that could prevent further growth of university apprenticeship provision.
She said one of the biggest issues relates to the viability of some funding bands for degree apprenticeships which do not reflect the true cost of delivery.
Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of the University Alliance, added that “burdensome regulation” from multiple agencies, of which Ofsted is just one, is “currently holding back universities and employers from scaling up and widening the higher and degree apprenticeships offer”.
“It is high time to revisit the way this innovative provision is assessed and regulated,” she added.
Wilson called on Halfon to “act now and rationalise the regulation of degree apprenticeships” to ensure that this “win,win,win provision can be turbo-boosted to benefit students, industry and the economy”.
Previous research has highlighted social mobility issues for degree apprenticeships.
Analysis published by the Sutton Trust in 2020, a social mobility foundation, found that young apprentices from deprived areas have been “crowded out” since the introduction of the levy as they made up 6 per cent of degree level apprentices in 2018/19, falling from 9 per cent in 2016/17.
It indicates that this type of provision, initially introduced to help disadvantaged learners access university degrees, is not working as intended.
Former skills minister Anne Milton and her successor Gillian Keegan, who is now education secretary, have both said fears of a “middle-class grab” on apprenticeships are “valid”, particularly when it comes to degree apprenticeships.
Peter Lampl, founder and chair of the Sutton Trust, said: “In order to address the woeful supply of degree level apprenticeships, it’s absolutely imperative that universities and employers work together to engineer a step change in the supply of apprenticeships, with more targeted at disadvantaged youngsters.”
John Blake, director for fair access and participation at the Office for Students, said the higher education regulator will continue to encourage “universities and colleges to continue to monitor and review their degree apprenticeship courses to ensure they are meeting our regulatory requirements and are providing students with positive outcomes”.
The disadvantage gap at A-level is the widest since it was introduced six years ago, new data reveals.
Provisional A-level data published today shows the gap in average point scores between disadvantaged and wealthier pupils sits at 5.08.
This compares to 4.52 when teacher grades were awarded in 2020-21 and 4.88 in 2018-19, when exams were last sat.
New Ofqual data also reveals far more students needed access arrangements – additional exam support – this year. The number approved for GCSE and A-level exams rose by 25 per cent since 2018-19, up from 404,600 to 512,085.
This is largely driven by requests for 25 per cent extra time in exams, which rose by 30 per cent in that timeframe.
Another disadvantage gap widens
The A-level disadvantage gap reflects the same trends at secondary and primary – where the gap widened to its largest in 10 years.
The A-level gap was 5.02 in 2017-18, before narrowing slightly during the pandemic and widening again when formal exams were brought back last year.
The Sutton Trust said the gap is largely being driven by poorer pupils with higher prior attainment at GCSE falling behind their classmates.
They said this has “concerning implications for widening access to the most selective universities and driving social mobility”.
The Department for Education said the disadvantage gap has recently narrowed slightly for A* grades, but is still wider than pre-pandemic.
Meanwhile, the proportion of entries awarded A* decreased across nearly all institution types compared to 2020-21 – with private schools observing the largest drop of 11.1 percentage points.
The exception is sixth form colleges, where the proportions of A* grades has remained level with last year.
Meanwhile, the average A-level result for poorer children in 2021-22 was C+ compared to B for non-disadvantaged. In 2018-19, this was C for poorer students against C+ for everyone else.
A DfE spokesperson said they know the pandemic has “particularly affected older pupils’ education which is why it is so important we continue to do all we can to help pupils to catch up”.
The catch up programme sits alongside “targeted investment for areas of the country where outcomes are weakest as we continue work to drive up standards for pupils in every corner of the country”.
Around a quarter of staff at the Department for Education and one sixth of Ofsted employees could strike after a vote in favour of “major industrial action” across the civil service.
It means inspections, certain regulatory services and support for leaders could be disrupted in the coming months.
On Thursday, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which represents junior civil servants, announced the threshold for action had been met in 126 workplaces.
Unless “substantial proposals” are received from government, the union said its National Executive Committee would agree a programme of “sustained action” at its meeting on November 18.
Action “involving all members” in the areas which meet the legal requirements “would be called to have the maximum effect, including coordinated action with other unions”.
Since 2016, unions have had to show 50 per cent turnout and 40 per cent support among voting members for action to be legal. The turnout threshold was met at the DfE and Ofsted, but not at exams regulator Ofqual.
The threshold was also met at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, though the quango only had 14 members of staff entitled to vote.
And the Office for Students, the higher education regulator, recorded the highest turnout of all civil service education bodies at 71per cent. 88 per cent of those voted in favour of industrial action.
The overall average vote in favour of strikes over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms was 86.2 per cent – the highest in the union’s history.
Employees in several other organisations that have work with providers – such as the Disclosures and Barring Service – will also take part in the walkouts.
It is not yet known when walkouts will take place. The PCS said members taking action would receive “significant financial support” from the union.
Over 1,800 DfE employees could join strike
At the DfE, 911 staff, or 88 per cent of the 1,031 employees who cast a vote in the ballot were in favour of industrial action. The 1,816 PCS members at the department equate to 24 per cent of its total workforce.
Of the 161 Ofsted employees who voted, 88 per cent were in favour. In total, 291 staff members – 16 per cent of the inspectorate’s workforce – were entitled to vote.
It is not known how many PCS members who work at Ofsted are FE inspectors, or how many of those at the DfE work on policy and support. Both bodies declined to comment.
Research from the Institute for Government shows average public sector earnings in July were 4 per cent lower in real terms than 15 years ago.
The PCS is calling for a cost of living increase of 10 per cent, holiday entitlement of at least 35 days and London weighting of at least £5,000.
A government spokesperson said: “We regret this decision and remain in regular discussion with unions and staff.
“As the public would expect, we have plans in place to keep essential services running and minimise any potential disruption if strikes do go ahead.”
A charity that has provided adult and community education in West Sussex for ten years has suddenly ceased operations this evening.
In a statement, Aspire Sussex announced that it was unable to continue trading due to “the devasting impact of the combination of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis on its operations”.
Aspire received Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funding under a subcontracting arrangement with West Sussex County Council.
Uncertainty over future contracts and a “significant” funding clawback when the ESFA changed its delivery threshold during the pandemic, also hampered Aspire’s finances, according to sources.
The statement adds that Aspire exhausted its reserves during the Covid 19 lockdowns in order to maintain its services for its most vulnerable learners. And the current cost of living crisis is “directly impacting availability of additional financial income and those able to pay for the cost of their courses”.
Provision ranged from specialist courses for adults with learning disabilities, ESOL from pre-entry to level 2, functional skills and GCSEs in English and maths, as well as family learning programmes and courses in understanding climate change, young people’s mental health and basic digital skills.
Students come from across the county, including the constituencies of the education secretary Gillian Keegan, the MP for Chichester, and the minister for schools Nick Gibb, the MP for Bognor Regis.
FE Week understands that between 1,200 and 1,300 students were enrolled at the time of closure.
It’s not yet known what arrangements are in place to relocate those students. However a WSCC spokesperson told FE Week the council will be “working closely and in partnership with Aspire Sussex, the administrators and the ESFA to support learners.’
Most of the charity’s staff were let go today but a small number will continue for the next few days to support communication to students, which is being carefully tailored for ESOL and vulnerable students. This includes 128 teaching staff and 64 operational and management staff.
The charity’s chair, Norman Boyland, said: “This is a deeply sad day for the provision of adult education to the residents of West Sussex, particularly those most vulnerable in our communities who we support.
“On behalf of the trustees, I would simply just like to say thank you to all our learners who we have had the pleasure of teaching, to our partners, and to the many staff and tutors who have provided first class training on behalf of Aspire Sussex over the last ten years.”
Aspire Sussex was established by West Sussex County Council in 2012 as part of a movement led by ministers in the coalition government to deliver adult education provision through charities, rather than local authorities.
Aspire received around £3 million per year from WSCC for adult education and community learning as its sole subcontractor.
A WSCC spokesperson said the council has “provided significant resource, technical advice, and additional financial support to Aspire Sussex during this time and in response to Aspire’s requests.
“As recipients of ESFA funding West Sussex County Council review the adult learning contract on an annual basis. Plans will be made for a future sustainable adult learning programme to meet the needs of our communities in West Sussex and to help them to fulfil their potential.”
During the pandemic, the Education and Skills Funding Agency told adult education providers they must deliver at least 90 per cent of their 2020-21 grant funding in order to receive full funding, with providers liable for clawback for under-delivery.
The WSCC’s subcontracting policy states that “if a subcontractor’s under delivery were to result in the ESFA clawing back funds from WSCC, the value of the ESFA clawback would be passed on to the subcontractor in full.”
While the value of the clawback has not been disclosed, it is understood to have had a significant knock-on impact on Aspire’s finances. It was this, alongside a “curtailed” ability to recover due to the cost of living crisis that forced trustees to close the organisation.
In the post-pandemic world, colleges need vision to transform, and the leadership provided by senior teams and governing bodies is under the spotlight like never before. With the joint threats of recession, inequality, labour shortages and inflation amid ongoing political chaos, the need to raise skill levels to transform the UK workforce only adds pressure to the cooker.
The Covid pandemic presented challenges to which most educational leaders adapted heroically. Many forward-looking colleges had already introduced alternative learning methodologies and were well placed to deal with the obstacles to learning presented by lockdowns. But many had not responded and continue not to do so. These colleges must urgently develop their leadership to establish a clear vision for the next crisis – which is already here.
I was fortunate to spend much of the pandemic in British Columbia, witnessing first-hand my daughter’s experience of remote teaching in the provincial capital, Victoria. The traditional learning environment was almost instantly substituted for Google Classroom, email and phone contact with teachers and chat rooms on a plethora of social media platforms. The pandemic presented huge social challenges, but teaching, learning and assessment continued.
My research has made it clear that across our education sector, the picture is mixed, ranging from seamless continuity to near-abandonment of learning altogether. In many cases it was clear that senior leaders and their governors had not fully understood the rapidly changing pre-pandemic environment and its impact on learning. It was more than just fortitude that enabled some colleges to flex their provision and keep the show on the road. So why are some colleges failing to transform and meet the needs of their communities?
Too many of our colleges are typified by inertia
In outstanding colleges, the harmony of educational leadership provided by management and their governing bodies works hugely to a college’s advantage. In others, governing bodies charged with overseeing the educational character and performance of the college lack the skills needed to respond to an ever-changing educational world.
Most colleges have recognised the need to transform, including their leadership and learning methodologies, but mechanisms must be established to enable stakeholders and communities to demand more from underperforming colleges. Those who should be establishing that clear vision are too often not capable of doing so.
In the best colleges, governors have a wealth of educational experience and the knowledge to contribute to the establishment of a clear vision and supporting strategies. These are complemented by corporate areas of expertise, including finance and HR, to support the development of the institution. The college then must be held accountable for the leadership and vision, and how this meets the needs of its local community.
But at present it is unclear how real accountability works in practice. As a result, some colleges continue to lack direction and fail to meet the needs of learners, contributing to the very disadvantage and inequality most leaders aim to reduce.
Our ever-changing political, social, economic and technological environment demands that colleges establish a clear vision involving innovation and determined leadership. Digital learning alone requires colleges to adopt transformed teaching skills, flexible estates, and new approaches to pedagogy and student support.
To the outside world these changes seem blindingly obvious. But too frequently college leaders remain in post despite under-performance and governors stay far longer than the guidance recommends. Even when what’s needed seems obvious to the leaders and governors in those colleges, a lack of know-how ensures they continue to change little, nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century.
As a result, in spite of Department for Education and Association of Colleges guidance on leadership vision and accountability for meeting learners’ needs, too many of our colleges are typified by inertia and poor-quality learning. This is leading to increased disadvantage and inequality.
In this context, government proposals for elite colleges make sense. In these pages last week, Ian Pryce was right to say investment in our existing colleges is a better bet, but unless there is radical transformation in the training and accountability of governors, the underperformance of a few will continue to justify the lack of faith in the many.
The top-line priority of the government’s skills policy is progression into work. And with the appointment of Gillian Keegan MP as secretary of state, we can expect this to be further underlined. As a minister, Keegan took forward the Skills for Jobs white paper. Its likely employment outcomes will continue to be her priority.
This is understandable; As the cost-of-living crisis bites, steady employment becomes more important than ever. But a vocational qualification is not the answer for everyone.
The cost-of-living crisis will hurt us all, but its impact on those who are already most disadvantaged will be harder still, and it will be felt in various ways. Adult community learning is a lifeline for many people in disadvantaged communities. While it’s not a panacea, its promotion of, and support for, community learning is crucial in strained economic times. As a means of supporting individuals and communities to take back control over what matters to them, it is hugely empowering.
We know that cost is already a common barrier to learning, and additional pressures associated with the cost-of-living crisis including childcare and transport will put courses beyond the reach of many more. In addition, working extra hours to ensure you can feed the family – and the meter – will leave no spare time for learning.
But a focus on qualifications for employment alone could worsen matters. Direct progression into work is simply not a realistic prospect for all. Progression into a job or a Level 3 might take time and require incremental steps.
Adult learning that supports direct progression into work will not help those outside the workforce through illness or disability, or because they are full-time parent or carers, or because they have retired (including those below pensionable age). The crisis has severe impacts on all of these groups. Yet they might be excluded from learning opportunities that could improve their wellbeing, life skills, and support them to make a positive contribution to their communities. But help with practical day-to-day activities, such as personal budgeting and healthy cooking and eating, can contribute to coping better in difficult times.
A focus on qualifications for employment alone could worsen matters
As other forms of social connection and personal fulfilment are constrained by severe lack of disposable income, adult learning provides a means of keeping active, making friends and overcoming social isolation. This aspect is also crucial in terms of improved mental health and wellbeing, which bring their own economic benefits.
The WEA’s recently published Impact of Adult Learning report shows short courses can have a transformative effect. Our strategy is to deliver a mixed curriculum of learning for life, learning for work and learning that builds communities. And we want to see cross-party efforts to support that, by creating a national policy framework, which promotes community learning for those who need it most.
Building on Keegan’s Skills for Jobs and David Blunkett’s Learning and skills for economic recovery, social cohesion and a more equal Britain report published last week, we urge both main parties to adopt a more rounded national strategy that captures the wider outcomes of adult learning – employment certainly, but also health and connection with community.
While there is financial support available for learners on low incomes, this is not well promoted or known. The Department for Education should fund a national campaign to promote adult education courses of all types, especially aimed at those individuals and groups hardest hit by the Covid and cost-of-living crises.
Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, has indicated an extremely tough spending round lies ahead. But reducing spending on adult learning and skills would be a false economy. No budget is safe, but Keegan must convince the treasury that the return on investment in adult education – in terms of productivity and associated costs from improvements in wellbeing – outweigh any supposed efficiency savings.
In the hard times ahead, the right support for adult education can help communities, not just to survive, but to lay the groundwork for rebuilding.
