The Church of England isn’t trying to infiltrate FE colleges in some secret plan, as suggested by two secularists, writes Nigel Gender

Further education institutions transform lives by preparing people to enter the workplace, go on to further study, retrain or change careers and provide the skilled workforce we need for the future. 

Their importance is affirmed in the Church of England’s recently published vision for FE Vocation, Transformation & Hope, which talks about the ways the Church wants to be more involved in FE colleges. 

Colleges are communities strengthened by staff and students of all faiths and beliefs working and learning together. It is right that our ambitious aim to build a family of Church of England FE colleges should be subject to proper consideration. 

So what’s in it for us? Quite simply, an opportunity to serve, and to meet a genuine need.  

Our experience gives us something distinctive and important to offer – we have been an education provider at a national level for nearly 200 years. 

The Church of England provided a free education some 70 years before the state, and today runs almost 5,000 schools in partnership with local authorities and trusts. We’re also involved with universities and teacher-training institutions.

Of course, we also have much to learn. The Bishop of Durham acknowledged recently that the Church of England itself must become younger and therefore do more to engage with younger people.  

An article in FE Week last week by the National Secular Society rather bizarrely tried to argue that this was part of some secret plan.

On the contrary, we are unapologetic about seeking to engage with and serve a new generation, as this is what we have always done.  

Suggestions that spiritual guidance and support offered by chaplaincies is either unwanted or a niche provision also miss the mark.    

 A recent ComRes poll showed that almost half of adults (44 per cent) say they pray. And one in four people pray regularly (at least once a month) ̶ a number that has increased six percentage points since a pre-pandemic survey.  

Positive responses are even higher in the 18-to-34 age group, with 30 per cent saying they pray regularly, and 34 per cent having watched a broadcast religious service during the pandemic. 

By this measure, the idea that faith has no place in modern society is decidedly pre-pandemic in its worldview, especially among younger age groups. 

Staff and students don’t leave their faith or beliefs at the college gates

Staff and students don’t leave their faith or beliefs at the college gates. They face the same questions about their lives and their purpose as anyone else, encountering grief and loss, joy and success, celebration and mourning. 

So while chaplains will share some ground with counsellors, support officers and others providing pastoral care, they have a unique role in helping students and staff to explore those areas that have a spiritual dimension. 

That’s why we are challenging our own church to engage much more systematically in this sector that educates over 2 million people every year.

This will mean more chaplains working with their FE college and local diocese to offer more coordinated support. 

Colleges have valued the contribution of chaplaincies in providing pastoral support for students, working alongside student services, linking colleges with communities, contributing to curriculum enrichment, religious literacy and to good relations on campus.

Meanwhile, far from constraining what is taught, theological insight can enable a lively and holistic approach to forming the curriculum and the values which underpin it.

Our recommendations are simply about doing more of what we already know works; reaching out to all those who are trying to serve the common good, to tackle injustice and, in the current phrase, to build back better from the pandemic. 

We do so from our profound conviction that everyone is a person of value, made in the image of God, and that society urgently needs that sense of human dignity and worth to be embodied in all our social institutions. 

Among these we count our own church, and are determined that it too will become younger and more diverse.

A landmark judgment has ruled that it is lawful to hold a belief that may offend or shock others, writes Jane Hallas

It is unlikely that Miss Jean Brodie would have cared very much whether she could express her admiration for Mussolini as often as she does in the classic novel by Muriel Spark.

But today college leaders have to be ever mindful of how far they can allow freedom of expression and belief in colleges.

Under Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010, religion or belief is a “protected characteristic”. Section 10 of the Act defines “belief” as any religious or philosophical belief (or a lack of belief). 

But how far can an individual express their own beliefs, before it potentially clashes with someone else’s protected characteristic?

Such philosophical as well as legal conundrums can lead to real challenges in colleges, particularly over employment prospects, discrimination claims, as well as the “no-platforming” of individuals.

Where does free, healthy, open debate in a democratic society end and hate speech  ̶  where people feel marginalised, threatened and afraid  ̶  begin? 

A landmark judgment from the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has now ruled that in a free-thinking and democratic society, it is lawful to hold a belief that may offend or shock others.

In Forstater v CDG Europe, Ms Forstater held the belief that gender is an immutable biological fact; a person is born either male or female.

Previously, in 2010, the EAT had given guidance about the types of belief that should be protected, referring to Article 9 of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which allows freedom of thought, conscience and belief. The EAT’s criteria were that:

• The belief must be genuinely held
• It must be a belief, not an opinion or viewpoint
• It must relate to a “weighty and substantial” aspect of human life and behaviour
• It must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance
• It must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, not be incompatible with human dignity, and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.

There has been increasing debate and media coverage over freedom of speech in relation to the issues of gender identity and gender fluidity.

In Ms Forstater’s case, her fixed-term contract was not renewed after she publicised on social media her belief that a trans woman is not in reality a woman.

She also said that while a person can identify as another sex and ask other people to go along with that choice, and can change their legal sex, this does not change their actual, biological sex. 

Such postings attracted complaints.

Ms Forstater brought her claim on the basis that she had been discriminated against because of her beliefs. She lost at the Employment Tribunal stage and appealed. 

The Employment Appeal Tribunal noted that freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, which cannot exist without pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness.

It didn’t think it was for the court to look into the validity of a person’s belief and felt that the state should essentially stay out of such arguments and instead look to make sure there was tolerance on both sides.

Beliefs that upset or shocked others are capable of being protected in a liberal society

Beliefs that were an affront to ECHR principles, such as propagating Nazism or hateful speech against minorities, were not protected.

But beliefs that upset or shocked others are capable of being protected in a liberal society and are capable of respect in a democratic society.

This includes what have been called “gender critical” beliefs.

The ruling essentially underlined the importance of the right to express a belief that is contrary to someone else’s belief and which they find offensive.

It is important to note that this case doesn’t give people freedom to harass or discriminate against members of the transgender community.

College leaders must still ensure that they do not tolerate such actions in the workplace.

However, the court emphasises freedom of speech and belief. For these reasons, it is worth reviewing any relevant training or policies to check they are compatible with this ruling.

Students will expect to access all the information about their future options in one place online, writes Katie Bell

This week, the education select committee recommended that schools be limited to a ‘requires improvement’ grade if they do not allow training providers to speak to learners.

It’s an effort to ensure they are in line with the Baker clause, which exists to enable colleges and training providers to go into schools to tell them about vocational and technical courses and apprenticeships. 

At UCAS we know that young people are increasingly interested in these routes. The number of higher and degree apprenticeship starts (those at level 4 or above) has risen from 39,300 in 2018-19 to 51,400 in 2020-21, according to government data. They now make up more than three in ten starts across all apprenticeships. 

We also know these numbers will climb, as the boom over the past decade in children entering primary and secondary education is about to hit post-16 education.   

The number of 18-year-olds in the UK is set to increase consistently over the next ten years, and by 2025 we forecast there will be one million applicants globally applying for higher education in the UK.  

As the 18-year-old population grows, so will the competition for these opportunities. It is only right that these students are able to assess their options in a way that ensures they make the right decision for themselves.  

Last month we published Where Next? Improving the Journey to Becoming an Apprentice, the latest in our “Where Next?” series examining the student journey. It showed that of those looking to apply to higher education in 2022, half are interested in receiving information about apprenticeships.  

The most common apprenticeship areas of interest are engineering, computer sciences and architecture, building and planning. They are also more likely to be from geographical areas with the least participation in higher education. 

The report also highlighted the challenges faced by students when exploring these opportunities. For undergraduate routes, students are able to go to a central digital location, view engaging content and compare various opportunities like-for-like.  

However, the experience for students exploring apprenticeships is not comparable. Only around a quarter (26 per cent) of those interested in apprenticeships told us they found it very or somewhat easy to find information about apprenticeships, compared to almost three-quarters (73 per cent) looking at university options.  

But the challenges in understanding these opportunities start even earlier. Of a self-reported sample, only around one-third of students reported receiving their legal entitlement to information from apprenticeship providers or FE colleges, despite the Baker clause.  

As Ofsted were warned again this week, our report indicates that students are not receiving information about the full range of options available to them. 

We also see evidence that students don’t understand the potential value of apprenticeships. Students report that they viewed a university degree as most prestigious and more likely to lead to a good job.  

Again, this underlines the importance of students being able to understand and assess their options fully, and the value they provide. 

So we now have a clear ambition to act as a “digital Baker clause”. We want to provide comprehensive information, advice and content tools to help students make informed and aspirational post-secondary choices. 

Students will expect to be able to access information about these in a single location

That’s why we’ve launched the UCAS Hub.

We know teachers and advisers are working hard to inform students about their options (we work with over 4,000 directly every single day) and we know how complex this maze can be.  

And those pathways are continuously changing. Through the Skills for Jobs white paper, and subsequent Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, the government plans to bolster higher technical qualifications at levels 4 and 5.  

Students will expect to be able to access information about these in a single location.  

Apprenticeships listed on the “career finder” tool of the UCAS site have already been viewed over 1.2 million times in the past 12 months.  

We want our service to be as strong for would-be apprentices as it is for prospective undergraduates, bringing true parity to the student journey.