A long-running national hair salon that trains hundreds of apprentices every year has been upgraded to Ofsted ‘outstanding’.
Francesco Group, which was founded over 50 years ago and began delivering training 35 years ago, scored top marks across the board in a report published today following an inspection last month.
Inspectors said the training delivered to 237 current level 2 and 3 apprentices across three academies in Birmingham, Poole and Stafford “exceeds the apprenticeship requirements” and enables trainees to become “highly skilled hairdressers”.
Francesco Group runs 37 hair salons across England and previously obtained a grade two rating at its last inspection in 2018. The firm delivers apprenticeships under the name FG Apprenticeships.
Managing director Ben Dellicompagni and director of operations Andrea Owen told FE Week they were “truly delighted” at the grade one outcome after “no stone was left unturned” during inspection week.
“It is a real credit to everyone involved that we achieved outstanding grades across the board, we are beyond proud,” they said.
The report praised teachers for using “highly effective” effective teaching strategies such as recapping previous learning, quizzes, group discussions to assess what apprentices know and remember.
“Educators demonstrate new techniques effectively before supporting apprentices in practising new haircuts on mannequins. They consistently correct and challenge apprentices to work with increasing focus and precision,” Ofsted said.
Inspectors also noted that many apprentices who complete their apprenticeship achieve merit and distinction grades.
The watchdog also heaped praise onto Francesco Group leaders for creating an “ambitious curriculum that exceeds the apprenticeship requirements”.
For example, apprentices studying level 2 hairdressing learn a portfolio of precise haircuts that, when combined, create complex creative styles. “This is in addition to those mandated in the apprenticeship,” inspectors found.
Apprentices were found to quickly become helpful in the salon due to an “effectively structured curriculum”. Those on the level 2 hairdressing professional standard learn basic colouring techniques and simple cuts so they can deliver basic services under supervision.
“At the end of their apprenticeship, apprentices attend a finishing school that helps them further develop fluency in their knowledge and skills, preparing them successfully for their next steps,” the report added.
Inspectors said apprentices had high attendance, “exemplary” behaviour and dedication to their studies, demonstrating an “excellent standard” of hairdressing.
Almost all apprentices move on to successful careers in hairdressing, Ofsted found.
During the inspection, Ofsted applauded learners entering internal competitions such as the foil Olympics and apprentices being taught how to deal with negative feedback or client compliments.
Inspectors also noted Francesco Group’s “appropriate” quality assurance processes such as analysing attendance and achievement data and listening to feedback from apprentices and employers.
The watchdog’s report also highlighted an effective governance board to support improvement in the hairdressing apprenticeships. One example of which was when governors challenged leaders about the benefits and disadvantages of using an external onboarding team to recruit apprentices.
“As a result, leaders are supported in making the right choices for their provision,” the report added.
Dellicompagni and Owen said: “At FG Apprenticeships our teams across our three academies in Birmingham, Poole and Stafford work so hard to achieve the very best outcomes for our apprentices and their employers and the inspection team experienced first-hand the incredible passion we have in creating future talent for the amazing hairdressing industry.”
Tranter is currently CEO of multi-academy trust EdAct.
She has also served as a panel member on the National Child Safeguarding Practice Panel since 2018 and is an expert member of Ofsted’s reference group for behaviour and attendance.
The government has not said whether she will continue in her existing roles alongside her work with Ofqual. She will be paid £55,000 a year for a time commitment of two days a week.
Bridget Phillipson
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who appointed Tranter following an “open recruitment competition and assessment process”, said she “brings over three decades of invaluable experience in education, from the classroom to senior leadership, combined with a deep understanding of wider system improvement”.
“Her proven track record of fostering excellence and fairness in education makes her the ideal leader to guide Ofqual in maintaining the integrity of our qualifications and ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.
“I would also like to extend my thanks to Frances for her dedication and leadership as interim chair over the past year. Her steady guidance has been instrumental in maintaining Ofqual’s vital work.”
‘An exciting time’
Tranter said she was “delighted to join Ofqual and eager to work with the chief regulator, the team and the board to drive reforms that create opportunities for young people through our qualifications system.
“It’s an exciting time to lead the board through a period of change and progress.”
The week Debra Gray became principal of Hull College was one of the toughest of her life. Hull was one of the most challenged colleges in the country and she was its eighth principal in three years. Then Gray discovered her mum was dying.
The way she led the college out of crisis came to define the ethos of her team – affectionately known as the Hullraisers because they made it their mission to raise the college’s prospects.
But on that first day, in April 2022, morale was at rock bottom.
Hull was put under government intervention in 2016, the same year it generated a pre-tax deficit of £9.3 million. Two years later it required a £54 million government bailout, believed at the time to be the highest ever paid to an English college.
Hundreds of jobs were slashed, and two campuses (in Harrogate and Goole) were axed.
Gray had watched the mess unfold from across the River Humber while leading Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education.
She arrived just after Hull received a second consecutive Ofsted judgement of ‘requires improvement’ and says she was “surprised there were any staff left”.
Hull College, – home of the Hullraisers
Friends in need
Gray’s mum was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer that same week and within two months, the “fighting fit, fierce” 68 year old went from being “perfectly normal” to “bedridden”. She died that September.
But from the outset, Gray’s leadership team “wrapped around me to enable me still to do my job”. She says: “This college saved my life – I needed the distraction”.
She was upfront with staff about her challenges at home and at work and believes this “made it easier for them to offer condolences and see if I needed anything, which I thought was super”.
She adds: “People mopped me up, then I’d walk the floors. The best medicine for anything is knowing you’re doing something really well.”
At the time, Hull’s policy was to provide five days of bereavement leave – but that leave is now being extended to 15 to 20 days.
Other leave policies, such as end-of-life care and supporting staff who have had a miscarriage or need fertility treatment, are also being upgraded to “best in class”.
Gray tells me: “We should be there for our staff when the shit hits the fan. I don’t want to compete with other colleges. I want to compete with the best [companies] in the world.”
Hull’s marketing director, Kirstie Cawley, appreciated this flexible approach when her daughter, Amelie, 18, was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome last year, and she was allowed to start work later each day.
Cawley says: “Debs and the college have been there to support me, so I can support my daughter. It’s a very real thing, that sense of teamwork and camaraderie. The term ‘Hullraisers’ evolved from the way we work together.”
That’s why (on Gray’s insistence) this article is not just about the principal but about the entire Hullraiser team, who Gray says “try really hard not to operate on the basis of rank and hierarchy”.
The Hullraisers explaining how the college culture has changed
Pay rises at last
Meanwhile, high leadership churn prior to Gray’s appointment meant there was “very little organisational memory” for the leader to draw from.
The first year was spent “trying not to trip up over the things we found that we had no idea about because there was nobody left from previous teams to tell us”.
Staff had not had a pay award for 10 years, and staff costs had been slashed from 78 per cent of income in 2015-16 to 70 per cent in 2021-22.
Gray knew they needed consistent pay awards and she has “followed through on that every year since”.
The rises weren’t huge but financial prudence reaped dividends.
In 2022-23 the Education and Skills Funding Agency judged Hull’s financial health was ‘outstanding’, and it went from generating a deficit of £2.3 million in 2021-22 to a £975,000 surplus.
This year, Hull emerged from intervention and Gray believes the college is “nothing like” it was three years ago.
Hull College principal Debra Gray
Office makeover
Because she is one of the most colourful personalities in FE, Gray felt Hull’s overwhelming grey and purple décor made it feel “massively unloved”.
And she wanted to make her “terrible corporate office” more welcoming because “it’s scary enough being invited to the principal’s office. You may as well be comfy when you come in”.
The thrifty Gray bought sofas from Ikea because “it’s not like they’ll get a lot of wear and tear, and this is public money”.
And her Star Trek and Star Wars memorabilia and intergalactic feature wall reflect how she has “no doubt” that if aliens landed, she’d be “straight on their ship – they’d need to take me, I’d be useful”.
Hullraisers and Hull College cleaners Betty and Bernie
Nobody comes in hungry
When I arrive, I’m introduced to cleaners Betty and Bernie, who have both worked at the college for 21 years.
Betty, 57, admits sometimes the pair “get into trouble for laughing because we’re a bit loud – everybody knows us”.
And they sometimes get students offering to help them empty the bins.
“It’s home from home here; nobody ignores you,” she says.
But it was different three years ago, when “you didn’t know if you were going to have a job, morale was so low”.
They both rave about the free breakfasts Gray introduced for staff and students in 2022. Free lunch options (soup and a roll or salad) are now being planned, and Gray is also considering introducing “reasonably healthy” free snacks, such as popcorn, because she’s “not having anybody coming in hungry”.
This conviction is rooted in her own memories of being a college student who “couldn’t afford to eat”. Sheffield College’s cleaners and caterers “looked after” her.
She was “utterly clueless” upon starting there, having grown up with “dad and brothers in and out of prison”, and tells me: “The best predictions anybody had of me was pregnant and on the council house list at 16.
“But my lecturers gave me a fighting chance. They looked past the way I presented myself and saw something else in me.”
Although she “ballsed up” her A Levels in physics, biology and chemistry, she returned to take criminology. Aged 24, Gray taught in a men’s prison for which she “took some hassle” but “really enjoyed”.
“If you can deal with prison, you can deal with anything an FE college throws at you,” she says.
Hull College
Crumbling buildings
One of the biggest challenges the Hullraisers face is the state of their buildings. Most date from the 1950s and fall under government condition categories C (major defects or not operating as intended) or D (life expired or serious risk of failure).
When Gray started, the college didn’t have a bid team to apply for government capital investment, and intervention prevented it from borrowing money. Gino Tommasi, vice principal of finance and corporate services, said that since then they have tried to access the “very niche and limited” government capital funding pots but to no avail.
“We’ve been very upfront with the DfE that we need some cash – the answer is no!” Gray says.
“So we are trying our best to cosmetically upgrade at least”.
The revamp is being done “on an absolute shoestring, being from Yorkshire, I’m so tight I only breathe in”.
So, “tired” purples were replaced with greens, vibrant Hull-themed murals, and funky wallpaper patterns, which Gray bought from B&Q for £9.99 a roll. After being quoted £30,000 each for breakout booths for her reception area, she bought some via Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace for “under a grand a pop.”
A feature wall is adorned with an inspiring quote from one of the “state of the nation” speeches Gray delivers to staff five times a year.
“Our students are fighters, they are resilient, they are incredibly bright, and they care deeply about their people, their city and their future,” it reads.
“Together, we are the Hullraisers. Fearless and driven. Ready to succeed. Ready to rise!”
It was important for Gray that when learners walk into college, they “know they’re in Hull”. So a cityscape wraps around the reception, complementing the plethora of Hull puns that catch your eye across the campus, such as “we’re incredihull!”
The fact the new lecture theatre gives its speakers angel wings is “whimsy”, Gray admits, “but you can’t take yourself too seriously in this business”.
“There are lots of Instagrammable moments that students can throw out on their socials,” she adds.
Debra Gray with “whimsy” angel wings on the podium of Hull College lecture theatre
Captain’s log
Gray wants students to embrace technology. So the college’s digi-den has been bolstered from 20 machines to 78 because “digital poverty is a real thing”, and there is a Minecraft zone with Minecraft wallpaper. The college’s e-sports provision is thriving, with Gray being a “big gamer” herself who enjoys watching her students play.
Having done two master’s degrees (in criminal justice and leadership), she is now finishing off her doctorate in education exploring “Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution” – a topic she can “bore people to death on”.
Gray embraces AI for all sorts of day-to-day tasks. The college runs free AI academies for local businesses, staff and students. Moreover, popping government reports into ChatGPT for executive summaries has saved her “hours and hours”.
The AI-assisted ESOl learners’ journey mural
Hull also boasts a mural in which AI tools enabled its ESOL learners to communicate their “heartbreaking” journeys to this country.
“People think AI is just about cheating and safety risks, it isn’t. It’s about creativity and storytelling.”
But one thing Gray never uses AI for is writing the weekly “captain’s log” message she sends to staff. She says: “This has to be my voice because “authentic leadership is crucial.”
That leadership has helped steer the college from being in the bottom 5 per cent in the country for attainment in 2022 to “bang average”. Now, Gray has her sights set on being “among the best in the world”.
Attendance is at least 15 per cent up since 2022 to the “high eighties”, and Ofsted last year rated the college ‘good’ with outstanding features.
Gray admits challenges remain, and “sometimes it feels for all of us, we’re more social workers than we are educators”.
View over the city from Hull College rooftop
But she says the fact Hull’s students come from the fourth most deprived area in England is “not a reason to excuse under-performance”, and “the very reason you need to be better than the next college down the road or in fact, any college anywhere”.
She adds: “Because our kids are fighters, that’s what they learn. You put that person in Whitehall, in Downing Street, or in the FTSE 100, then the world starts to change. And that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? To change the world.”
The government claims 5,000 apprentices will be fast-tracked onto building sites each year by 2028 thanks to a new network of training centres. But can training time be halved without cutting corners? Josh Mellor investigates
With a pledge of 1.5 million new homes to be completed by the end of this parliament, Labour has set the building trade a huge target.
Key to the plan’s success is using block-release, whereby apprentices attend training hubs for weeks at a time to develop skills, instead of off-the-job college learning one day a week.
The National House Building Council (NHBC), a building insurance and warranty provider with a construction skills training arm, said block release recently helped its level 2 bricklaying apprentices qualify in 14 months, instead of the 24-month typical duration assigned to it by trailblazer employers that created the programme.
A target of 5,000 additional apprentice places per year by 2028 is a big increase on current construction completion levels, which was around 24,000 last year, including 11,400 at Level 2.
Multi-skills hubs
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) estimates the UK needs 250,000 new construction workers by 2028.
NHBC plans to spend £100 million opening 12 ‘multi-skills training hubs’, expanding on the block release model it established at four centres opened since it became an apprenticeship training provider in 2020.
The centres, which focus on bricklaying and ground work, mimic construction sites. They are open to the elements, portable cabins are used for office space, and apprentices are required to start “shifts” early.
Meanwhile, the CITB, an arms-length public body that funds training, qualifications and apprenticeships through a levy that raises £200 million per year from businesses, will provide up to £40 million, bringing the training centre total to 32.
In collaboration with NHBC it plans to open centres in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, and Lichfield, Staffs, but the locations of other training centres are yet to be confirmed.
FE Week understands they will be targeted in areas where local training providers struggle to meet demand for construction workers.
CITB wants to work in “partnership” with existing providers and employers and has no plans to use its own long-established National Construction College sites in Kent, Norfolk and Scotland.
Additional flexibilities
Despite the critical importance of construction workers in achieving Labour’s 1.5 million new homes pledge, the Department for Education told FE Week it will not invest in the new training centres.
Skills England will help by identifying areas “that need construction workers the most” to ensure employers and businesses have access to “high-quality apprenticeship training”, DfE promised.
Officials are also exploring “additional flexibilities” to help workers qualify faster, such as shorter duration apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors.
Do ‘fast-track’ claims stand up?
NHBC said using block-release meant it could condense teaching time, and the new training hubs will provide a more realistic environment than many colleges can offer.
Training apprentices at dedicated sites is a model already used by the engineering and manufacturing sectors, with teaching delivered by training associations that are typically co-owned by several companies.
NHBC says bricklaying is the construction skill that can be completed quickest.
It trains level 2 bricklaying apprentices within 14 to 18 months and level three in 14 to 16 months, compared to typical durations of 24 months and 18 months respectively specified by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
Responding to questions about whether “halving” apprenticeship durations is realistic, Roger Morton, NHBC’s director of change and training hubs, said many training providers tell him their apprentices take “significantly longer” to qualify that IfATE’s targets.
But NHBC aims to deliver ground worker level 2 apprenticeships in 14 to 16 months and Morton is confident it can reduce that time to 12 to 13 months.
Carpentry is “programmed” for 14 to 16 months but the full challenges will not be fully understood “until we start delivery”, he said.
Confident in prior success
Morton, who spent 25 years in the Royal Engineers, added: “We know from evidence this week that 14 months is what we can achieve [for bricklayers].
“We’re confident we can reduce the times in ground working and carpentry as well, because it’s about the model we have – intensive training in site conditions.
“It’s very different to more traditional provision, and that does make a big difference in discipline and the behaviour as people progress through.”
NHBC is currently graded ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted, although a recent monitoring report found ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas.
It also had an achievement rate of 38.5 per cent from 140 apprentice starts in 2022-23.
CITB, which had an achievement rate of 60 per cent in 2022-23, said the centres it planned to fund would also use the block release model.
It added: “We’d be looking at delivery of ground work and potentially scaffolding and plant operations – in these instances, you couldn’t reduce the course length by half, but it would be possible to reduce the average duration.”
Quality fears
Graham Hasting-Evans, chief executive of training charity NOCN Group, questioned whether “pushing people through” quickly risked undermining the quality of apprentices who qualify.
He said: “They’re not doing it for long enough – like when you drive a car you pass your test, but you’re still sort of learning and getting more confidence.”
In a joint statement, CITB and the DfE said the quality of fast-track training can remain high as long as providers offer “good links between onsite and offsite training, excellent mentoring and employer support”.
Morton said quality is “at the heart” of everything NHBC delivers, given its role in providing insurance and warranty protection for newly built homes.
He said the external assessment system means training standards are maintained, and NHBC has extensive experience recognising poor housebuilding skills from its central business – guaranteeing build quality in new homes.
A CITB spokesperson said faster completions wouldn’t be “the right thing” for every apprentice and added it would prioritise the “needs of the apprentice and the employer”.
College students and staff were recognised for their exceptional volunteering and social action efforts earlier today at the second annual Good for Me Good for FE awards.
Good for Me Good for FE was launched in 2021. It is now a network of nearly 150 college and charity partners coordinating and calculating the value of staff and student volunteering and community fundraising.
Winners were announced at an afternoon tea ceremony in the House of Lords, hosted by Baroness Barran.
This year’s awards, sponsored by NCFE, handed out 10 awards to college staff and students for the “incredible impact” of their volunteering efforts, including the collection of hundreds of thousands of items for food banks.
The nine-strong judging panel included FE commissioner Shelagh Legrave, former Activate Learning CEO Dame Sally Dicketts and Baroness Nicky Morgan.
The prestigious overall winner award was jointly presented to Suzanne Richards from Walsall College and Aimee Garratt from Dudley College for their resilience and transformative fundraising initiatives after tragically losing family members. Richards and Garratt were also handed the Individual Fundraiser of the Year award.
Garrett founded charity Ronnie and Friends after the death of her baby son to raise over £24,000 for a second bereavement suite at Russell’s Hall Hospital.
“In June 2022, I was dealt the worst card I think a mother would ever be dealt. I lost my little boy but I turned my pain into a purpose,” Garrett said after accepting her award.
Richards lost her son Joel, father Pat and brother Adrian in the 2015 Tunisian terrorist attacks. She set up charity Smile for Joel and raised £35,000 to support bereaved families.
Special recognition was also given to London South East Colleges’ Wellbeing Wednesday Lunches, which won the Project of the Year award. In partnership with Bromley Council’s loneliness initiative, the college offers free meals to local residents.
The Inspirational Role Model of the Year award went to Abigail Daly from City College Plymouth for her advocacy for SEND inclusivity.
Meanwhile, Southern Regional College won Team/College Fundraiser of the Year for raising £13,500 for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.
Nottingham College’s Rich Williams won the Outstanding Long-Service Award for Volunteering for his long-term community leadership and committing over 1000 hours every year to volunteer with the Scouts, leading the Duke of Edinburgh programme and expanding youth programmes in Staffordshire.
Burton and South Derbyshire College’s Rob Stevenson is a first responder and veteran advocate, which judges awarded him the Staff Volunteer of the Year.
Judges commended Beth Williams from Nottingham College for spending 900 hours supporting youth and offenders and awarded her Student Volunteer of the Year.
Speaking at the event, Dr Sam Parrett CBE, co-founder of Good for Me Good for FE and Group CEO of London South East Colleges said: “These awards showcase the incredible impact of the FE sector in supporting its communities and generating social value. The contributions of our students and staff are a powerful reminder of the difference we can make together.
“Thank you so much to everyone who has helped make this event possible, including Baroness Barren for hosting us, our sponsors, judges and colleges – as well as our amazing finalists and winners.
“Congratulations to you all. The stories we have heard today are truly inspiring, and we are delighted to celebrate and honour your achievements in this beautiful setting.”
The proposed closure of adult education centres has prompted a backlash for cash-strapped local authorities.
Cornwall Council, which takes control of a near-£11 million adult education budget next year under a devolution deal, is proposing to close seven of its 17 adult education centres, FE Week understands.
Most of the 2,250 learners using the centres take low-level skills courses in IT, English, maths and English as a second language, or community learning courses such as arts and media.
The centres earmarked for closure are in the western and eastern ends of the county, some in towns with no other adult education options and hours from other centres by public transport.
A petition opposing the closure of a centre in Penzance gathered 720 signatures in three weeks.
‘Poorly thought out’
Meanwhile in Kent, the proposed closure of Gravesend’s Victoria Centre prompted a Labour borough councillor to call the Conservative county council leader’s decision “irrational” and “poorly thought out”.
Kent County Council is considering closing or moving seven of its 17 centres, which serve about 8,000 learners each year, in response to adult education funding rule changes which place a greater emphasis on “work skills and careers” over leisure and repeat learner courses.
Both local authorities face critical financial pressures after years of cuts to government grant funding – Cornwall is predicting a budget gap of £67 million next year while Kent has a £111 million target for cuts and “savings” this year.
Last week Cornwall Council said the seven centres facing the axe were in deficit and learner numbers – which include 225 enrolled students served by 39 teachers and staff – “have not recovered as quickly as hoped” post-pandemic.
The council told FE Week a council board of governors would consider closures this month.
Cornwall Council will take control of £10.9 million in regional adult education and skills spending from August.
‘Further education deserts’
Liberal Democrat MP Ben Maguire, who represents North Cornwall, said he was “shocked” by the proposals which will see one of the county’s most remote areas lose two centres.
He said the move risked turning his constituency into a “further education desert” for adults who want to improve their qualification levels, or who have special needs.
Steve Yates, a teacher at the Penzance centre, said staff understand the projected saving from closure was rent that the council pays to itself as the building’s owner.
He added: “The centre helps learners improve their job skills, communication, maths and English. A lot of them progress into higher education and the elderly certainly build up their skills in IT classes given that everything is now going online.”
The council’s Labour group leader Kate Ewert, who attended university after completing an access to higher education course at one of the centres, called the proposals a “kick in the teeth and short termism of the highest order”.
She said: “These proposed closures will disproportionately affect those adult learners who are unable to travel or who may have limited internet connectivity.
“Recently, the Conservative-led Council in Cornwall declared with great triumph that Cornwall had devolved adult education from government to Cornwall Council – within months they are closing centres down.
In recent years the council has been allocated around £2.9 million for adult education, split between community learning and skills, with a further £6 million allocated to local colleges.
‘Alternative’ provision available
Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder with responsibility for adult education, said: “The financial challenges facing all local authorities mean we simply cannot keep providing a service if we are losing money, especially when we can maintain access to courses through alternative delivery methods.
“Many people now prefer to access education online, and there are alternative providers available, as well as the remaining centres which will continue to operate as normal.
“This is not a case of reducing our offering, it is about delivering it in the most cost-effective way to ensure we are providing the very best value for money.”
Sue Pember, policy director at adult education network Holex, said the challenges facing Cornwall “stem from the broader financial pressures on county and local authority funding”.
“Due to these financial constraints, councils nationwide are being asked to review spending across all services, not just adult education,” she added.
Interesting fact: Kelly loves travelling with the family around Europe watching her 14 year old son race motocross and competing at an international level
Beth Curtis
Vice Principal – Business Development, Riseholme College
Start date: August 2024
Previous Job: Interim Group Vice Principal Strategy and Business Development, TEC Partnership
Interesting fact: Beth visited over 25 countries on a year-long round-the-world trip in her twenties
When I walked into Strode College to take up my first principalship in 2022, I was acutely aware of the challenging financial landscape that FE colleges operate in, especially small rural colleges.
What I wasn’t prepared for was a historical traineeship sub-contracting issue to be revealed in my first week. We were facing a year-long investigation, culminating in a multi-million-pound deficit and immediately placing us in intervention.
We worked hard to address this, collaborating with the department for education (DfE) and the further education commissioner (FEC) to stabilise cash flow and significantly boost capital investment.
For our stakeholders, we wanted it to be business as usual. Throughout the process, we grew student numbers, improved outcomes and increased local engagement – a testament to our success.
Ultimately though, it became clear that joining forces with another college would be the only way to secure a stable future for our students, staff and community.
Our decision to merge was rooted in our absolute commitment to securing the future of Strode College. So, rather than focus on the word ‘merger’, which felt daunting, we looked on the process as a strategic means to safeguard our fantastic provision.
Interested colleges were invited to submit an expression of interest, but only one was taken forward. I am confident that the resulting partnership with Bridgwater & Taunton College is the best possible way forward for our whole college community.
Here are some of the lessons we learned along the way.
Embracing change and being transparent
During times of institutional change, staff stability becomes more important than ever. Their dedication drives our students’ success.
So it was critical for us to be open and transparent about the process. We had frequent and honest conversations with all our stakeholders – including our board, staff and students. We held regular meetings, explained the challenges we were facing and were consistent with our messaging.
This was not just about communicating our merger plan, but about engaging our community in the process and actively listening (and responding) to their concerns.
Commitment to inclusion
Our aim post-merger is not only to preserve our central role for our community but to strengthen it. Listening to our stakeholders’ insights was therefore crucial to making decisions about our future and carrying forward the unique and valued aspects of our college culture.
Reassuring our community that their support systems would not just continue but would grow stronger in the merged institution (with improved capital funding and access to specialist skills and resources) wasn’t just about what we were saying, but how.
To that end, we ensured our comms were inclusive and genuinely reflective of the care we have for all our members of our community.
Finding the right partner
The key, of course, was to find a like-minded partner with aligned values. We focused on identifying a college with a similar commitment to student success, inclusion and community enrichment.
These shared values gave us reassurance that our priorities would remain intact when we become part of a larger college group. We will retain our culture, vision and ethos in the new group structure, with local accountability via a local governing body.
Better still, each institution will bring complementary strengths to the table. Joining forces with Bridgwater & Taunton College will strengthen FE provision across the region, creating more career-focused progression routes, apprenticeships and other employment opportunities.
This will enable Strode College to invest in pedagogical innovation and further enhance the student experience by expanding our enrichment programmes. This will create more opportunities for personal and academic growth.
We also have a well-established reputation for high-quality delivery at A Level and Level 3. Combining this expertise with Bridgwater & Taunton College’s strengths (stakeholder partnerships, apprenticeship delivery and national policy engagement) is an exciting prospect for us all.
Opportunities for growth
For many colleges, a merger may feel like the last-resort option. To other college leaders facing similar situations, I would say this: your resilience will undoubtedly be tested by the process, but it can lead to a stronger future for everyone involved.
Transparency, staff engagement, inclusion and alignment of values are essential to protecting what matters most: the wellbeing of our current students, prospective students, staff and wider community.
My whole career has been one spectacular downward trajectory. Rather than soaring ever upwards, I have plummeted Icarus-like into the depths more than once – at least in terms of salary. I have done so happily and willingly because the life of an ordinary teacher is where the action is as far as I can see.
I like to think that’s where I’m able to make the most difference, but it has made a difference for me too, one I didn’t think much about at the time.
Recently, a colleague sat next to me in the staffroom with urgency. “’Dave, this might apply to you too,” he said. The sense of discovery in his voice felt like he was sharing some arcane secret, unrolling a tattered treasure map or uttering some long-hidden spell.
Since then, others in our staffroom have found themselves discussing this too. It’s opened a fair few eyes. So allow me to share it with you too.
I well understand that pensions are a field into which even wizened teachers fear to tread. I am no financial advisor and my money nous would make a piggybank blush. It’s a complicated field and my grasp of it is shallow.
The contribution goes out at source, I long imagined, so I can just ignore it and it will all work out fine in the end. As the end approaches (for my work life, if not my life’s work), I realise the 27 years I’ve spent thinking like that might not have been wise.
You know all those messages you get telling you to check your pension statement? I am now learning that maybe you actually should.
If you are as long in the tooth and lengthy in service as I am, your pension will be split into two parts and two pots.
There is the newer system based on a career-average calculation. It’s a pretty simple system. At the most basic level, the more you pay in, the more you get out. You just need to remember that you can pay more in if you can afford it.
The older pot, on the other hand, is based on a final-salary scheme. This is where you might well have problems if you have had a topsy-turvy career like mine.
Not doing this could cost you tens of thousands of pounds
The final-salary scheme, probably the more lucrative of your two pension pots if you’re of my advanced age, takes for its calculations an average from the best three years of salary you have had over the past ten.
But what happens if your best three years were more than ten years ago, say if you decided to step down from management for a final quiet decade?
Simple. You lose the higher three years. The old salary falls off the tail of your relevant period and no longer counts. In terms of your pension, it might as well have never happened.
Your lower later salary becomes the one that will be used instead, which could cost you tens of thousands of pounds. Do I have your attention now?
What if I told you there is a way to save those higher-paid years if you act quickly enough?
All you have to do is opt out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for a single month. Doing so will lock in the higher three-year salary so long as those three years fell within the decade before you opted out.
They will then be used for a hypothetical calculation of your final salary, even if you keep on teaching for another ten years. You lose a single month’s contribution but gain tens of thousands in pension.
In other words, you pay less and gain more. That’s a bargain. It’s also a no-brainer. You’ve earned it, so ensure it’s locked in.
I don’t know if I’ve managed to make pensions exciting. If I’ve encouraged you to check your pension statement, that’s enough.
If not exciting exactly, there is someone who can make pensions accessible. David Fountain is the teacher- expert on all this. Visit his website, and if you’re on Facebook, join his ‘Teacher Pensions – Teacher to Teacher (UK)’ private group.
Trust me, future you will thank you. You’re welcome.
