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FA pitches in to help the ‘Good for me, Good for FE’ campaign

College students and staff helping to generate £1 million in social value as part of the Good for Me, Good for FE campaign have gained a new ally – the FA.

The English Football Association will be assisting the campaign by training up volunteers for grassroots football using its BT Playmaker scheme.

The free online course, run by the FA and telecoms giant BT, offers training in responding to concussion and cardiac arrests, planning activities that help train players and making football sessions inclusive.

It is hoped the four-and-a-half-hourlong course will give volunteers from the over 100 colleges signed up to the campaign greater opportunities to volunteer locally and work towards that £1 million target.

Jo Maher

Loughborough College principal Jo Maher, who helps organise the Good for Me, Good for FE campaign, says she is “absolutely delighted” to have the FA’s support.

The campaign recognises that football has been “hit hard” during the pandemic as it meant fewer volunteers to keep it running.

So, the FA’s course “gives people the skills to be able to go and volunteer, and increases their confidence in what’s required,” says Maher.

Aside from helping the campaign, sports fan Maher said: “Grassroots football is reliant on the success of our brilliant volunteers across the football family.”

Good for Me, Good for FE, which launched in June, is calculating social value by working out the monetary value of volunteering hours carried out by participants.

The national volunteering manager at the grassroots division of the FA, Paul Findlay, believes there is “great synergy” between BT Playmaker and Good for Me, Good for FE.

“We want to help raise awareness of the benefits of volunteering generally – as well as giving access to a free training programme for anyone interested in supporting community football.”

Two college strikes called off, but 13 more set to go ahead

Strikes at two colleges have been called off after leadership struck a deal to improve staff pay.

But industrial action at 13 other colleges is still set to begin next week after management refused to meet University and College Union demands.

UCU members in 15 colleges across England had voted to walk out in a row about pay earlier this summer. College bosses were given until September to increase staff pay by more than five per cent.

Among them was Sheffield College and City College Plymouth, which have both now found resolutions to end the dispute.

UCU head of further education Andrew Harden said: “Management at both City College Plymouth and Sheffield College have listened to staff and made an offer on pay and working conditions that has been accepted.

“Therefore, these colleges will no longer face the severe disruption of industrial action from Tuesday. We hope other employers take note and come back to the negotiating table.”

The UCU and both colleges were, however, unable to provide details of their pay deals at the time of going to press.

Paul Simpson, the executive director for people at The Sheffield College, said: “We are pleased that this issue has been resolved.

“During the last three years, we have offered pay awards above the sector average, including raising the minimum wage to the level of the foundation living wage, reflecting our commitment to investing in our staff.”

A City College Plymouth spokesperson said: “We are pleased to be able to confirm that we have reached an agreement.”

Up to ten days of strike action at the other 13 colleges will begin next week.

Five colleges will spend ten days on the picket line while eight colleges will initially walk out for three days (see table).

UCU said its members have a mandate for further action and that more waves of strikes are on the cards if employers refuse to meet its demands.

In December 2020, the Association of Colleges recommended colleges give their staff a one per cent pay rise because of the unforeseen and “severe financial pressure” colleges were facing owing to the Covid-19 pandemic that has “forced many into deficit”.

But the offer was still condemned by UCU, Unite the Union, Unison, GMB and the National Education Union.

According to UCU, the pay gap between college and schoolteachers currently stands at £9,000 as staff working in further education have suffered real terms pay cuts of over 30 per cent in the past decade.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “College staff are angry at having had their pay held down whilst workloads increase.

“It is completely unacceptable and is especially insulting after staff have worked so hard throughout the Covid pandemic. College leaders urgently need to come to the negotiating table if they want to avoid facing sustained strike action and severe disruption over the next few months.”

Staff at all affected colleges are taking action over pay, but at City & Islington College, Westminster Kingsway College and the College of North East London, which are all part of the Capital City College Group, the dispute also includes other working conditions.

Spending review: AoC calls for largest ever FE cash boost

The Association of Colleges is making its largest ever call for investment in FE.

In its submission to Treasury ahead of next month’s spending review and autumn budget, the AoC argues for a 50 per cent increase in total revenue spending on further education and skills. This would mean that in 2024/25, the sector’s revenue budget will have increased to £11.8 billion from today’s £7.9 billion.

The spending review will provide all government departments with their spending parameters for the next three years.

For its capital proposals, the AoC wants to see spending increase by £605 million, to £813 million in 2024/25.

In a letter to the chancellor, AoC chief executive David Hughes states: “This is one of so many letters you will receive asking for a boost in funding… I would ask you to view our asks as investments which will give you, the public finances, people and businesses returns which will help pay for other public services.”

Proposals within the AoC’s near 6,000-word submission cut across three priority areas: closing skills gaps, addressing lost learning and inequalities, and reaching a net-zero carbon economy.

“Rebuilding the country and meeting the challenges of the future is going to require determined action on long-standing inequalities across the education system, rising to the challenges posed by climate change and recognising that without colleges, levelling up will remain merely a slogan,” Hughes said.

College wonks have capitalised on the first multi-year spending review since 2015, arguing for an annual five per cent increase in both adult skills and 16-to-18 education budgets for the next three years. This would take the 16-to-18 base rate from £4,188 today to £4,848 in 2024/25.

Other proposals include a new £150 million climate action capital budget to fund colleges’ green estates plans, grants and loans for living costs to support the government’s lifelong learning agenda, and raiding the “unused university restructuring budget” to create a small, new college restructuring fund.

On apprenticeships, the AoC is calling for the government to take greater control, more incentives to encourage employers to prioritise new job entrants over existing workers, “weighted” funding for practical and growth sectors and for built-in progression incentives from other programmes, such as Kickstart and traineeships. The apprenticeship levy, though, should be maintained at its current level.

Whitehall departments, including the Department for Education, have been asked to find at least five per cent in savings, prompting alarm about the possibility of funding cuts, rather than increases.

Individuals and organisations have until 5pm on September 30 to submit a spending review submission to the Treasury. The full AoC submission can be found online.

‘I have no time for snobbery in education’ – Keir Starmer

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has set out his vision for education and training.

Ahead of the Labour Party’s annual conference, which begins in Brighton this weekend, the leader of the opposition has published an essay outlining his vision the country under a Labour government.

Ready for the future of work

Starmer says UK education policy is “currently failing to prepare pupils for the future workplace”, citing evidence from coverage of research by Learning and Work Institute and Worldskills UK on digital skills shortages.

City & Guilds chief executive Kirstie Donnelly’s warnings, published in FE Week in February 2020, on the damaging impacts of skills gaps on productivity, the UK’s poor productivity performance among the G7 and “worrying” decline in social mobility are used by Starmer to justify action.

One solution offered is a “New Deal for Working People” which Starmer says he will bring in to law in his first 100 days as prime minister and would “provide security and opportunities for people across the country, with improved conditions, quality jobs, training and better pay”.

‘Exciting’ vocational education routes

In a section lamenting differences in attainment and opportunities for people from independent school backgrounds and state school backgrounds, Starmer takes aim at the academic and vocational education divide saying: “I have no time for those who say that when it comes to poorer children, we should stick to the hard, vocational skills.

“No well-off family would ever consider denying their own children these experiences – so why should we not demand the same for the 90 per cent of British children who do not attend independent school?”

Without much detail, Starmer calls for vocational education routes to be “far more exciting, accessible and rewarding” and says that an education vision under a Labour government “cannot just mean a narrow focus on university education”.

Starmer is set to address the Labour Party’s annual conference in Brighton at midday on Wednesday 29 September.

Revealed: Second wave of providers and colleges chosen for WorldSkills UK’s Centre of Excellence

The first private training providers to take part in WorldSkills UK’s Centre of Excellence programme have been named.

London-based Firebrand Training and Kent-based JTL have been included in the second wave of the project, alongside 15 colleges, where staff will receive 60 hours of training in techniques used to train WorldSkills UK competitors.

Ben Hansford, managing director of Firebrand’s apprenticeship provision, said being part of the centre “strengthens our commitment to reskilling the UK in much-needed digital competencies,” with digital being their specialist area.

“We’re looking forward to building upon our already highly-valued training methods and work towards our vision of closing the growing digital skills gap.”

Independent and employer providers were first invited to apply for the Centre of Excellence when applications for its second wave opened in June.

The 15 colleges selected alongside the two private providers are made up of six English colleges, one Scottish, two Welsh, and a consortium of six Northern Irish colleges (see table below).

When the programme launched last year, 20 colleges were selected to be taught by high performance skills coaches – who also train WorldSkills UK competitors.

JTL’s director of learning and innovation Liam Sammon said it was an “extra level of honour” to be picked.

Five of their tutors will work directly with their assigned WorldSkills UK high performance coach, who will “equip them with the knowledge and skills to support their fellow teachers with a range of skills, practices, and methods to embed excellence into teaching practice and improve the learner experience”.

Colleges ‘excited to be chosen’

English colleges to be chosen in this second wave include Weston College, Oldham College and Blackpool and the Fylde College.

Weston’s principal Paul Philips said the “prestigious upskilling opportunity for staff” the centre provides “will mean learners can learn the very best practices in order to prepare them for success in the world of work”.

The centre was launched last year by WorldSkills UK, with £1.5 million from awarding body NCFE.

Digital masterclasses, featuring sessions with training managers from other countries, have also been run as part of the three-year pilot project.

Oldham College’s principal Alun Francis said his college is “proud” to accepted into this second wave, calling it “another significant step in our work to deliver world-class skills provision”.

The centre will “enable our staff to equip the next generation of talent to the very best standards and sharing their new-found skills with colleagues and learners across every course and industry sector”.

Blackpool’s head of 16 to 19 provision Philip Grant said they were “delighted to receive a world-class skills boost after being selected for the elite Centre of Excellence”.

“This will help amplify the quality and delivery of our technical and professional training and allow us to transfer the expertise and knowledge gained, through sharing international best practice, direct to our students.”

Centre of Excellence ‘hugely oversubscribed,’ says WorldSkills UK

WorldSkills UK’s chief executive Neil Bentley-Gockmann said the Centre of Excellence programme is “going through the gears,” having proven to be “hugely oversubscribed”.

This new wave of participants for the centre “means that we are now supporting young people the length and breadth of the UK”.

Providers chosen for the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence second wave
Blackpool and the Fylde College
City of Glasgow College
Coleg Cambria
Firebrand Training (London)
Gower College (Swansea)
JTL
New College Durham
Northern Ireland consortium of six colleges
Oldham College
Solihull College and University Centre
Waltham Forest College
Weston College

ESFA fires warning shot to colleges over related party transactions

Colleges have been told to improve their reporting of related party transactions after the Education and Skills Funding Agency found cases where conflicts had not been properly declared.

In a letter to accounting officers today, the ESFA’s interim chief executive John Edwards warned college bosses the issue is “key” to ensuring public confidence in the sector.

He said in a “minority of cases”, it “hasn’t been clear from the disclosure itself that the process for managing potential conflicts of interest had been fully observed”.

For example, “individuals with an interest not always completely stepping aside from the awarding of contracts”.

While Edwards does not name the specific cases, he stated that in some instances the ESFA has had to run “further checks”.

Colleges must disclose any transactions with organisations and individuals they have a close association with in their financial statements every year.

One case of non-disclosure the ESFA might be referring to is Hull College, which partnered with a firm called 8-Bit Symphony to run its first ever music event in 2019. 8-Bit Symphony was co-founded by the college’s executive director for marketing and innovation, who was also the husband of the then-chief executive of the college. The contract was not declared in the college’s 2018/19 accounts.

‘Substantial number’ of OfS non-compliance cases

Edwards’ letter also warned colleges to check their compliance with Office for Students conditions of registration after finding a “substantial number” of issues in 2019/20.

He said: “Colleges that are registered with OfS are required to comply with their conditions of registration, including the requirements of the OfS accounts direction.

“This includes some requirements over and above those required by the ESFA.

“We have found that for the year 2019 to 2020 a substantial number of registered colleges had not fully complied with these requirements. I expect that colleges will fulfil all requirements of the OfS accounts direction for the year 2020 to 2021.”

You can read the letter in full here.

Ofsted to review tutoring reforms

Ofsted will carry out an independent review of the government’s tutoring reforms.

The watchdog has been commissioned by ministers to review the catch-up policy. It will investigate how the scheme is working on the ground through research visits, evidence from inspections and “other methods”.

The review will look “assess the progress and, where possible, the effectiveness of the government’s education recovery plans”.

Ofsted’s review of tutoring will cover both schools and 16 to 19 provision, and will consider the “overall quality” of tutoring whether it is provided directly or through the National Tutoring Programme and 16 to 19 tuition fund.

The review is being launched in addition to an independent evaluation of the 16 to 19 tuition fund, which will measure the scheme’s impact on attainment and explore how it could be improved in future years.

Ofsted’s findings of will be published in summer 2022 and summer 2023.

Tutoring review to look how students are selected

The review of tutoring will also consider how well schools and 16 to 19 providers “integrate” tutoring into their curriculum planning and delivery, its effect on the overall quality of education, and the likelihood that it will help children catch up”.

Ofsted will also consider the rationale for selecting particular learners for tutoring, and the selection criteria for recruiting tutors.

The review will also look at how much time and resources schools and providers use on managing and monitoring tuition, and whether this detracts from other activities or leads to “any other unforeseen consequences”.

Inspectors will also look at whether students receiving tutoring “still have access to the whole curriculum”, and if not, what they are missing.

During the review, Ofsted will visit a sample of schools and 16 to 19 providers that are taking a “range of different tutoring routes”, and carry out interviews, focus groups and observations of tutoring.

Inspectors will also interview leaders of a “small number” of NTP tuition partners, and survey parents and students.

I have sometimes felt I am just a money generator for college

A “bums on seats” mentality in FE can result in more focus on spreadsheets than on human relationships, writes Jason Boucher

Although I have been a teacher of sorts for 19 years, I have only been in FE since 2016. What a journey it has been.

A military man beforehand, I bring a particular perspective to the meaning of teamwork and leadership.

From my experience of numerous senior leadership teams (SLTs) in FE, they could learn quite a bit from the Royal Air Force.

When you step into a leadership role in colleges, the institution will generally expect a level 3 or even a level 5 management qualification, plus a certain level of experience. However, theory is only one side of the very complicated skill of leadership. The job requires a deep emotional intelligence.

A major issue is that people are not assets to be used and then thrown away. Yet I have seen many college staff burn out because of the demands placed on them.

In my first year in FE, I had 80 level 1 students, 40 level 2 students, and a class of 20 level 3 students. Many reading this will recognise the huge academic load alone for a teacher with that many students.

It gets harder when you include all of the other responsibilities expected of a lecturer, such as course admin, discipline, pastoral work and helping with employability skills and work experience.

I found it incredibly hard and sometimes in the past I had little support. If I had done all of the above, I would not have made it away from my desk.

One of the major pressures on me was the “bums on seats” mentality, which in some colleges can seem to matter more to management than anything else. In some colleges, I have felt I am just a money generator for my institution.

As long as my dots kept moving in the right direction across the management Excel spreadsheet, they were happy – but there was too little interest in the personal costs to staff.

There was too little interest in the personal costs to staff

In short, the best SLTs care more about their staff.

In the Army at Sandhurst, they foster the concept of servant leadership. Their philosophy is: how can you lead your men if you have not learnt how best to serve your men? The best SLTs take this approach.

In the RAF, the officers had to be accustomed to dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity. This made us flexible and adaptable to circumstances and open-minded in dealing with the reality of situations.

The best SLTs make an effort to understand their staff and be flexible and adaptable enough to see each of them as different. One size does not fit all.

But there remains a system-wide problem in FE. With tighter government accountability measures, Ofsted and funding pressures, a “project manager” type mentality has sprung up, with a business-focused drive for performance outcomes – what you might call managerialism.

It is important for a college to be financially stable, and under these pressures it must be really difficult to be a college principal right now.

It must be really difficult to be a college principal right now

But we risk losing the human elements of our work at times. The result can be a loss of trust among staff in an SLT, and a feeling that they are not trusted in turn.

We could counter this with leadership qualifications that are a package of developing people skills. This could include much more training in emotional intelligence, motivation, wellbeing and how to get the very best out of people.

There are also great books out there such as Fish! by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen, which look at institutional morale.

This book shows us that, in the best places to work, bosses create a person-focused culture built on empowerment and trust.

Management is about how to move dots. But leadership empowers and inspires.

Train students and staff in mental health to maximise awareness in college

Mental ill-health can affect people of all ages but young adults and students are particularly vulnerable. In January 2021, the Association of Colleges published its comprehensive ‘Mental Health & Colleges’ report which made for difficult reading as it revealed:

90% of colleges are seeing an increase in students diagnosed with mental health conditions
85% of colleges are seeing a significant number of students with undiagnosed mental health difficulties
94% of colleges have students who have attempted suicide in the last 12 months

Furthermore, the report showed that staff are also impacted by mental health issues, revealing 65% of colleges had seen an increase in staff asking for support with mental health. The reasons cited were returning to work after the pandemic, managing an existing mental health condition, workload, worry for friends and family caring responsibilities.

It is clear, therefore, that if Further Education facilities want to raise mental health awareness effectively, both students and staff should receive appropriate training.

“We know that colleges work hard on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all their students,” says Richard Caulfield, AoC Area Director and National Lead for Mental Health. “We also know that the staff themselves can benefit from training and support in this area. After working with Active IQ for many years, this Mental Health Awareness course for both staff and students, taken alongside additional support and resources, will help to embed this knowledge into college life.”

Supporting Staff

“Mental health issues are on the rise within the college environment,” continues Richard. “Therefore, it is vital that staff are aware of how to respond to students and colleagues who they feel are at risk of suicide and have the confidence and language to know what to do.”

In addition to offering its qualifications, Active IQ joined forces with the AoC to run a series of three webinars for staff. Initially offered during the AoC’s Mental Health Awareness Week, the webinars are freely available to all colleges wishing to listen in.

The first session focused on preparing colleagues to give support to students who may be feeling suicidal. They were given practical advice on preventative measures and how to spot the signs early.
The second session focused on Social Prescribing. Staff were able to find out about sign posting learners with personal, social or emotional issues to other support services.
The third session focused on trauma. It discussed the link between trauma and mental health problems and how to help someone who has experienced a traumatic event in the short and long term.

“Our aim in producing the webinar series was to support college staff with their own mental health and address any challenges they were encountering, at home and socially, as well as in the workplace,” says Andy Gilbert-Dunnings, Active IQ Qualification Development Manager. “There is rightly an emphasis on adults and teaching staff to look out for the students in their care, but many will benefit from addressing their own mental health,” says Andy. “Our webinar series provided an opportunity for teaching staff to reflect and remember to care for themselves.”

This stance of supporting teachers not only promotes good mental health for college staff but also increases awareness of how and why mental health can be impacted and offers practical tips and signposting guidance that staff can use for themselves, their colleagues or their students.

Peer Power

Bishop Burton College in Beverley, East Yorkshire, wanted to put all its students through mental health awareness training and ran an initial pilot with a cohort of 300 students to test its impact. Mike Ridley, Head of Department – General Further Education at Bishop Burton wanted to open the conversation around mental health and also encourage students to stay alert to anyone in their peer group who might need some help.

“Naturally, students spend more time with their peers than our staff do and are therefore better placed to notice things among people of their own age. We had a number of students identify mental health problems among their friends and within themselves after studying the qualification: they stepped forwards and sought help as a direct result of their training.”

Building resilience for life – and work

Mike believes mental health awareness is important to building students’ resilience to support their ability to study and succeed both socially and at work. The college has seen improvements in academic performance among those who studied the qualification and attendance has also improved at Bishop Burton College.

“Many students have told me they found the qualification useful in terms of resilience training and helping them understand how to deal with their emotions. The skills they have learned have helped them stop things spiralling, keep their emotions in check and become grounded again,” says Mike.

As a direct result of the mental health awareness course, one student told their parents that they were suffering from serious mental health issues and wanted support. “They recognised and related to several indicators during their training that made them realise that something was not right,” says Mike. “They spoke up and sought help which just goes to show the effectiveness and impact of the training.”

Making time for mental health

Mike ringfenced the study time for the qualification by timetabling additional learning goals sessions. “We added a one-hour learning goal session each week and also utilised some of the group tutorial sessions to help students cover the syllabus,” he explains. “The format of the qualification and its assessments are accessible and easy to follow and our students had no problem getting through the modules.”

Active IQ helped Mike adapt and integrate the qualification into college life. “The support from Active IQ is second-to-none and they fully understand our goals as a college to deliver relevant qualifications that will not just enhance knowledge but also boost life skills and employability potential.”

Testing the waters

Before taking the plunge and signing up 308 students to the programme, Mike asked a few members of staff to undertake the training. After excellent feedback from these colleagues, he ran the pilot last academic year. It proved so successful that this academic year, the Level 2 Award in Mental Health Awareness is being rolled out to the majority of the curriculum areas at the college as well as being incorporated into the curriculum.

A sensitive qualification, managed well

The content of the qualification is accessible to young people giving information and insight into mental health without being too frightening or hard hitting. Bishop Burton adapted a few elements to suit its lower-ability learners enabling them to learn the core principles and gain a good base level understanding of mental health.

Mike likes the fact the qualification is active, not passive. Students aren’t sat in a session simply watching: they are engaging in a two-way process with tasks to complete, research to undertake and activities to do – especially in the Mental Health First Aid sections. All key elements are true-to-life, making the content resonate and relatable.

“This is a sensitive qualification, but Active IQ presents and manages it in a really good way,” says Mike.

Keeping mental health top of mind

“Mental health issues among students are not going away anytime soon,” says Mike. “If anything, they could become worse for those students who have had no exams and lack experience in managing the stress and pressure these bring. We need to do all we can to support young adults with their mental health as they study and prepare to start work or progress into Higher Education.

“The Active IQ Level 2 Award in Mental Health Awareness stands out from the majority of qualifications that comprise off-the-shelf generic materials. It captures the imagination of learners and has made a significant impact on a lot of our students. I believe everyone can gain from having these skills and knowledge. What they learn today they will carry for the rest of their life.”

Active IQ Level 2 Award in Mental Health Awareness

The Award comprises two units.

Unit One: Mental Health Awareness is extensive and enables learners to:

Define and understand mental health
Understand mental health disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, addiction and substance abuse, bereavement and self-harm
Identify common signs, signals and misconceptions surrounding mental health
Identify common treatments and interventions used to manage mental health and mental ill health
Recognise stigma and discrimination in relation to mental ill health
Understand the main risk factors associated with mental ill health
Understand common treatments and interventions used to manage mental ill health
Understand the support and advice available for mental ill health

Unit Two: Mental Health First Aid is a practical unit enabling learners to:

Recognise the signs of mental ill health
Provide initial help to a person experiencing mental ill health
Escalate situations when a person may be at risk of harm to themselves or others
Offer mental health first aid for specific mental health disorders
Listen and communicate in a non-judgmental way
Signpost appropriate sources of help
Promote good mental health

See more here