Staff shortages are among “capacity issues” in the post-16 system that will limit the reforms recommended by the government’s curriculum and assessment review.
Review chair Professor Becky Francis told the Association of Colleges annual conference today that “major change” in 16 to 19 education is unlikely to be proposed because resources are “stretched very thin”.
Francis said: “I’ve talked about the issues around teacher and lecturer supply and so forth, and we’re aware that it’s no good trying to engineer a major change if there’s not the implementation on the ground to deliver it”.
So the focus will be on “key issues” rather than recommending major changes that could destabilise the wider system, and avoid reform to parts of the system that are currently “going really well”.
Dilemmas and trade offs
The keynote speech hinted at the potential direction of recommendations, including around the English and maths resit policy, as part of the review’s “rigorously evidenced and data-informed” approach.
Francis said: “As we know, a grade 4 in maths and English is a relatively random indicator.
“Those that just scrape their grade 4 are likely to have significant gaps in their knowledge, but they escape having to retake further, whereas their peers, who just miss their grade 4 must continue to retake, sometimes with very limited success.
“And I guess the key point here is that there are many trade-offs – addressing things often implies putting things in as well, which we want to avoid.”
Francis flagged the resits policy as “a good example” of “a difference between curriculum in theory and curriculum in practice” because there are “constraints on the ground in relation to teacher supply and so forth.”
Flagging the government’s parallel rapid review of level 3 qualifications, Francis told AoC delegates she was working closely with DfE officials to “minimise disruption or mixed messages.”
The level 3 review is expected to clarify the new government’s position on what qualifications should be available to young people following the row over the defunding of applied general qualifications, like BTECs. That review is due to report by the end of next month.
Other FE trends
Feedback from engagement events so far suggest that many in FE value the “diversity of options” available to students.
However, there are concerns about “an ongoing lack of awareness about some routes” such as T Levels, apprenticeships, and other vocational routes.
At the same time, complexity of pathways between level 2 and 3 has also issue raised with the panel.
Staff and student fundraisers and social action volunteers up for this year’s Good for Me Good for FE awards have been announced.
There are 24 teams and individuals on the shortlist this year for the second annual awards recognising exceptional social action efforts in colleges.
The finalists were announced from the main stage of the Association of Colleges annual conference in Birmingham.
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.
There are eight categories, each with three finalists. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in the House of Lords on December 6, hosted by Baroness Barran.
Students Norman Smith from Dudley College, Beth Williamson from Nottingham College and Jack Stone from LSEC are each up for student volunteer of the year.
And staff members Nichola Thomson Dewey from Barnsley College, Rich Williams from Nottingham College and Rob Stevenson from Burton and South Derbyshire College are vying for the staff volunteer of the year award.
Among this year’s judges were the FE Commissioner, Shelagh Legrave, AoC chief executive David Hughes, NCFE chief executive David Gallagher, and the awards patron and former education secretary, Baroness Nicky Morgan.
Lincoln College’s Penny Taylor has been shortlisted for the second year in a row. Taylor won the staff volunteer of the year award last year for her work with local supermarkets and businesses to create a non-means tested foodbank at each of the college’s sites.
Announcing the shortlist, Good for Me Good for FE co-founder and London South East Colleges CEO Sam Parrett, said “standards for this year’s awards were exceptionally high, reflecting the inspirational social action that is taking place at colleges across the country.”
“We are very much looking forward to revealing the winners at the House of Lords on 6 December and celebrating the many exceptional teams and individuals who make our colleges so very special.”
As COP29 kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan, sustainability has moved to the forefront of global discussions, with leaders negotiating how best to fund and formalise climate action.
Yet, while these crucial talks continue on the international stage, it’s worth asking ourselves back in the UK: how well are we preparing the future workforce to face the challenges of a sustainable economy?
Our further education and skills (FES) sector stands in a unique position to play a leading role.
COP29 highlights the urgent need for sustainability across every industry, and it’s clear that we can no longer treat this issue as an optional add-on in education. Instead, sustainability should be present across all subjects.
Tomorrow’s workforce needs more than just an awareness of climate problems; young people need practical skills and the critical thinking ability to succeed in an economy that’s increasingly gearing towards sustainability.
I don’t believe this is just wishful thinking. With COP29 focusing on new targets for climate finance and adaptation strategies, the message is clear: sustainability skills will soon be essential across a wide range of industries, from construction and energy to public services and healthcare.
Nationally, we must shift our thinking, treating sustainability education as a foundation for preparing students both for the job market and the wider world they’ll be stepping into.
This aligns directly with Professor Becky Francis’s curriculum and assessment review, which emphasises the need for themes that cut across disciplines and help students develop a well-rounded approach to solving today’s pressing issues.
For FE institutions, this means rethinking how we bring education for sustainable development (ESD) into the curriculum.
Imagine a curriculum where sustainability is not a stand-alone subject but is integrated across every field. In English, students might explore themes of environmental ethics in literature. In maths, they could work with climate data to hone their statistical and analytical skills. In history, they could explore the environmental impacts of industrialisation.
Sustainability is both a climate target and an important economic strategy
COP29 also reminds us that sustainable development goes far beyond purely environmental concerns; it includes economic resilience and social justice. Talks at COP29 around the Loss and Damage Fund highlight this, recognising the social impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.
Here in the UK, our future workforce should understand that sustainability encompasses broader challenges, such as addressing economic and social inequity.
With substantial government funding being directed towards green research and development, it’s clear that sustainability is both a climate target and an important economic strategy.
For FE students, understanding sustainable business practices, ethical resource use, and circular economy principles will be crucial as industries adapt to meet evolving policies and consumer expectations.
FE colleges can also lead by example. With government investment in public sector sustainability, the sector is in a unique position to model sustainable practices.
By installing energy-efficient technologies, adopting renewable energy sources, and implementing waste reduction measures, campuses can serve as practical examples of sustainability in action.
When students learn in environments that visibly prioritise sustainability, it transforms these principles from abstract ideas into lived practices.
For over 20 years, initiatives like the EAUC’s Green Gown Awards have celebrated achievements in sustainability across education. These awards showcase the meaningful strides that many FE and HE institutions are already making and provide models that others can follow.
COP29 shows the world that climate action and social responsibility aren’t separate from the rest of society, and the same holds true for education.
Embedding sustainability into the heart of the FE curriculum is now essential, not optional.
By approaching it this way, we can create a framework that prepares learners for careers in a greener economy but also instils a lasting sense of responsibility towards building a more equitable, resilient world.
If we want to meet the ambitious goals emerging from COP29, education must be the starting point. By aligning curriculum content, institutional practices, and teaching priorities with sustainability goals, FE institutions can ensure that today’s students are ready to become tomorrow’s responsible and skilled leaders in a world that needs them more than ever.
The minister for skills’ speech at the AoC conference today highlighted an ambitious vision for further education at the heart of the government’s renewed mission-led approach. In my view, her words bring an optimistic energy to our sector which has long advocated for a stronger, clearer role in driving economic and social progress.
This new focus promises to transform the way FE engages with both government and local communities, making it a central player in building a prosperous, skills-rich nation. At the core of this mission-led approach is a vision of opportunity and economic growth for all – a belief that success should reward hard work and enterprise, regardless of background.
This completely aligns with the work we are doing at LSEC, and indeed across the sector. It is recognising the critical role that FE plays, not just in skills development but in generating social value, empowering individuals to achieve their career ambitions and, as a consequence, supporting social mobility.
Colleagues across the sector know how pivotal FE is when it comes to reducing economic disparities, by creating career pathways for all. We know that talent is indeed everywhere – and it was reassuring to hear Jacqui Smith echoing our belief that education and opportunity must exist everywhere too.
It is also positive to hear acknowledgment of the significant challenges we are facing as a sector. Smith highlighted that nearly one in eight young people are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), and around nine million adults lack basic literacy, numeracy, or digital skills. These are facts that need to be shared if they are to be effectively addressed.
For too long, the skills landscape has been fragmented, requiring colleges to compete for small funding pots rather than allowing us to collaborate on meeting pressing national needs.
The minister’s recognition of this issue, alongside the announcement of £300 million in additional revenue and capital funding, demonstrates a commitment to making the improvements necessary to reverse our sector’s decline.
FE is positioned at the core of this ambitious agenda
Importantly, funding has also been confirmed to help cover additional national insurance costs, an acknowledgment of the financial strains FE faces.
However, the real ‘meat on the bones’ of this speech was Smith’s focus on the government’s new mission-led approach. And for me, this is what feels different from previous planned reforms.
Outlining three key shifts – a move to support learners more holistically by recognising and addressing the barriers they face; streamlining the complex network of agencies, funding bodies, and organisations involved in skills provision; and a move from competition to coordinated partnership – gives the sense of very positive reform ahead.
Moving beyond the prescriptive measures that have been in place for so long, and instead engaging colleges in the development of policy is for me, critical to the success of the mission we are all striving for.
A more flexible, unified approach, with true collaboration between stakeholders, including colleges, employers and local authorities will lead to more flexible working. This will help us to meet the needs of our communities and have measurable impacts on our local and national economies.
But perhaps most important for me is the acknowledgment of the civic role colleges play – an approach we have been advocating for and leading on for some time. Colleges provide so much more than just education. Our sector is unequivocally mission-based, in the very sense that the minister is talking about.
From what we have heard today, the government’s national mission for growth and opportunity is very much rooted in an ambition to encourage closer working across public services. Encouragingly, FE is positioned at the core of this ambitious agenda.
Working together, we now have a real chance to influence policy and shape the skills system, lleading to prosperity and economic growth in our communities.
Colleges have been given a “crown guarantee” for the local government pension scheme (LGPS) that is expected to lower contribution rates and save them around £30 million, the skills minister has announced.
Jacqui Smith also confirmed that colleges will be included in a public sector subsidy to cover employer national insurance hikes from April – but it’s not yet clear whether this will be fully or partially funded.
The minister made the announcements during her speech at the Association of Colleges conference where she asserted that FE and colleges have too often been “sidelined” by governments, adding that Labour’s ministers will treat colleges “with respect”.
Pensions ‘guarantee’
Since 2013, academies have benefitted from a “guarantee” which ensures that all outstanding LGPS costs are paid to the pension funds in the event of an academy trust closure.
Government guidance states that the guarantee provides an “assurance to LGPS pension fund managers that academies are not ‘high-risk’ employers”.
The Association of Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges Association both called for this policy to be extended to colleges in their respective autumn budget submission.
The AoC outlined how the three college insolvencies declared between 2019 and 2022 – Hadlow College, West Kent and Ashford Colleges and St Mary’s College – have “hit confidence” among scheme administrators and prompted many to increase employer contribution rates by up to five percentage points in the period starting in April 2023.
Every extra percentage point on contribution rates costs £12 million a year across the college sector, the AoC claimed.
The association made the case for an LGPS extension by stating that reclassification of colleges to the public sector in 2022 makes it very unlikely that the government would want to instigate insolvency proceedings in case of college financial failure.
A government guarantee letter like the one DfE issued to academies – which in essence lowers the risk to the pension schemes – would “result in lower contribution rates for colleges, saving them many tens of millions”.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith announced today that the academy guarantee will now be extended to colleges.
She told AoC conference that the Department for Education estimates the “overall value” of that guarantee to the sector is “up to £30 million, freeing up much needed funding to support your work”.
The guarantee will apply to FE colleges, sixth-form colleges and designated institutions set up under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 which are legally obliged to offer their non-teaching employees membership of the LGPS.
James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “The information and case studies that colleges provided was vital in getting this over the line, and DfE officials have worked hard to make this a reality. Extending the LGPS guarantee is a step towards addressing the range of funding inequalities faced by colleges.”
Employer NICs cover worth £100m
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced at last month’s budget that employer national insurance contributions will rise by 1.2 percentage points from April.
The government previously said that public sector bodies will be provided with funding to cover the costs. Smith confirmed today this will include colleges.
AoC chief executive David Hughes said: “I welcome her [Smith’s] announcement on both the LGPS guarantee and national insurance contributions, both of which show that this government wants to support colleges more.
“This will make a huge financial difference to colleges; we estimate that the LGPS guarantee alone will save colleges around £30 million a year, with a lifetime saving of more than half a billion and the NIC funding will be over £100 million per year.”
A West Midlands college group has been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for the second consecutive time.
Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group achieved grade ones across the board in an inspection report published today which lauded staff as “excellent role models” praised leaders’ “passion”.
The group, formed in 2016 through a merger between Newcastle-under-Lyme College and Stafford College, was the first college to receive ‘outstanding’ under Ofsted’s reformed inspection framework in 2019.
Craig Hodgson, principal and CEO of NSCG, said this latest inspection was an “intense week for everyone involved”, adding that his team “wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we did without our students, apprentices, governors, employers and wider civic partners, who gave us their full support throughout, each playing an important part in the final outcome”.
He added: “I am so pleased that Ofsted Inspectors experienced first-hand what I see from our students, apprentices and staff every single day – a warm and welcoming environment where learners are motivated and enthusiastic and staff demonstrate creativity, energy and passion in all that they do.”
At the time of inspection, 6,293 learners aged 16 to 18, 535 adults, 1,003 apprentices and 203 learners with high needs were studying at the college. This includes 600 T Level students.
Inspectors found that NSCG makes a “strong” contribution to meeting skills needs – an area that Ofsted has been judging since 2022.
Leaders and managers have “exceptional links with local employers, universities and regional business groups”, the report said, adding that they “collaborate effectively with partners and are agile in the way they create a challenging curriculum to help learners achieve ambitious career goals”.
Leaders have also developed a curriculum which “strongly reflects the knowledge and skills required in the local skills improvement plan”.
Inspectors found that teachers create “highly supportive, calm and highly aspirational environments in which learners and apprentices thrive”.
Staff are “excellent role models; they are professional, friendly, incredibly supportive and work tirelessly to meet the needs of learners and apprentices”, the report said.
It added: “Teachers demonstrate creativity, energy and passion for their subjects through the wide range of additional activities they include within the curriculum. These experiences inspire learners to produce excellent work.”
Ofsted also found that teachers ensure that learners with additional learning needs “receive the support or adaptations to the curriculum that they need to make substantial progress”.
Learners feel “safe” at NSCG. New students “benefit from exceptional transition arrangements, which swiftly make them feel comfortable and familiar in new surroundings”.
Hodgson said: “A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated and talented staff team for their relentless pursuit of excellence, and for consistently upholding the high standards that make NSCG such a special place to learn and work – I’m delighted that these efforts have once again been recognised by Ofsted.”
Teachers in 32 sixth form colleges have voted to take strike action after the government snubbed them from this year’s school teacher pay award.
Union leaders have not, however, put forward dates for picket lines as they seek “urgent clarification” from the government on whether the £300 million announced at the budget should be spent on pay.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU), which represents 2,500 sixth form college teachers and negotiates their pay as part of the national joint council with the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), ran a strike ballot from September 14 to November 7.
The summer announcement to award a 5.5 per cent pay rise to school teachers in 2024/25 came with £1.2 billion to go towards the cost of teacher and support staff pay rises, which was accessible to schools and sixth form colleges that have converted to academy status.
But ministers decided to offer no funding for pay to the 40 sixth form colleges that have decided to not academise, leaving those colleges to awards pay rises from their own funds.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves did announce an additional £300 million for FE in last month’s budget, but the Department for Education is yet to say how this funding will be distributed or how it can be used.
The Sixth Form College Association last week said that “most” of the £300 million will be “needed to fund the projected increase in the number of students” instead of staff pay.
The NEU has not confirmed whether strike action will actually go ahead.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said today that the £300 million “should properly be spent on staff pay and we are seeking urgent clarification from the DfE that they will confirm that colleges may do so”.
An NEU spokesperson added: “We have written to the education secretary to schedule an urgent meeting to discuss the decision by government to offer an above-inflation pay award to some sixth form colleges and not others. We hope that a successful resolution will be met.
“Should there be no successful outcome the NEU has a strong mandate for strike action. No member wants to be taking strike action but if we are left with no other option a timetable for action will be outlined in due course.”
Risk of a ‘two-tier workforce’
The union’s strike ballot was sent to 40 non-academised colleges. Blackpool sixth form college was later withdrawn as it became an academy after the ballot went out. Out of a 62 per cent turnout, 97 per cent voted in favour of strike action.
Kebede said the government’s “baffling decision” to award the pay rise to some sixth form colleges and not others undermines the sixth form college sector’s national collective bargaining arrangement and “risks the creation of a two-tier workforce”.
“We have been disappointed by the failure of the government to resolve this frankly unnecessary dispute, particularly when we have taken every step to explain the distinctive nature of sixth form colleges relative to the schools sector, and the importance of maintaining the integrity of existing collective bargaining arrangements,” he said.
“NEU sixth form college teachers have shown that they will fight for a fair pay award for all colleges.”
Graham Baird, director of HR services at the SFCA, said: “We agree with the NEU that the government’s decision to exclude sixth form colleges from the funding to increase staff pay is baffling. We also agree that this decision undermines our highly effective system of collective pay bargaining.
“However, we cannot condone strike action being taken in sixth form colleges and we will continue to urge the government to avoid this action by providing the additional funding required to match the pay award made to staff in schools.”
The 32 sixth form colleges that voted in favour of strike:
Aquinas College (Stockport)
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (Eastleigh)
Bolton Sixth Form College
Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College
Cardinal Newman College (Preston)
Christ The King Sixth Form College (Lewisham)
Christ The King Sixth Form College Aquinas
Capital City College – Angel (Islington)
Greenhead College (Huddersfield)
Henley College
Hills Road Sixth Form College (Cambridge)
Holy Cross College (Bury)
Itchen College (Southampton)
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College (Birmingham)
Leyton Sixth Form College
Loreto College (Manchester)
Luton Sixth Form College
Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College (Leeds)
Peter Symonds College (Winchester)
Richard Collyer, The College of (Horsham)
Scarborough Sixth Form College
Shrewsbury Colleges Group
Sir George Monoux College (Walthamstow)
St Brendan’s Sixth Form College (Bristol)
St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College (Kensington)
Younger teenagers studying at further education colleges should be funded equally to their peers in schools and have access to public transport and free school meal subsidies, according to a new report.
College enrolments of 14 to 16-year-olds have surged by nearly a third in four years, but funding inequalities could limit places as demand grows.
Findings of a two-year study, published today by the Association of Colleges (AoC) and IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, have prompted calls for 14-16 cohorts in colleges to be funded at the same rate as their peers in schools. Younger teenagers should also have access to free school meals and subsidised transport in line with their sixth-form-aged peers.
Figures show the number of students aged 14 to 16 studying in colleges has risen gradually since 2020/21 to just over 10,000 last year from a pandemic-low of 7,790 in 2020/21. In 2016/17, there were under 14,500.
Over 150 students were interviewed for the research, alongside 12 former students, 36 teachers, 20 parents and 10 14-16 leads.
Young people include those on alternative provision (AP), some of whom have been excluded from school or disengaged from mainstream education, electively home-educated (EHE) students who attend up to 16 hours per week, and full-time direct entry (DE) students who have chosen to study at college.
While DE student numbers have remained similar between 2016/17 and 2023/23, students joining through the AP route have declined by 68 per cent over that period. EHE students enrolling at colleges has doubled.
The overall number of providers with five or more 14-16 students on all routes dropped considerably from 179 in 2016/17 to 111 in 2023/24.
Funding inequity
Despite this growth, funding limitations threaten the viability of this provision. The AoC has called for better local planning and funding parity between school-based and college-based 14-16 provision, including support for transport and free school meals to “ensure equal access”.
Direct entry students aged under 16 at college are funded at the lower 16-18 rate by the government. This means a school would receive the key stage 4 base rate of £5,995 per student, whereas a college receives £4,843 based on 2024 rates.
“There is inequity in funding between mainstream and college-based key stage 4 provision. Access to any funding for addressing vital additional support needs, travel and free school meals is limited or not available,” the report states.
For “expensive” AP provision, researchers said schools and local authorities can be hesitant to fund places before they are filled. However, colleges said it wasn’t “financially viable” to run AP provision without a planned cohort, which is challenging because teaching can start at any point in the year.
AoC’s director of education policy, Cath Sezen, explained that while AP funding can be higher for colleges than in schools, “groups are small by design as the students often need a lot of support.”
Trends over the last five years revealed that over half of college-based 14-16 year olds were consistently from the two most deprived quintiles.
Just over half (55 per cent) of 14-16 students in colleges studied at level 2 in 2020/21, up from 35 per cent in 2016/17. Over that period, the proportion of students studying at level 1 and entry level declined from 63 per cent to 43 per cent.
Going from ‘the problem’ to ‘the best’
Students interviewed for the report said it gave them life skills and an interest in technical subjects.
One student told researchers: “School was just horrible for me. I need to be on my feet doing things and so when it got to the breaks, I would just be like charging around and then I’d get put in isolation … [Going to college] I went from being the problem to being of the best just like that.”
The report found at least 75 per cent or more learners transitioned to post-16 education each year between 2016/17 and 2020/21.
Most progressed to level 2 courses, while around 20 per cent consistently progressed to level 3.
The percentage of students progressing into apprenticeships slightly declined from 10 per cent in 2016/17, dipping in the subsequent years, but rose again to 9 per cent in 2020/21.
Researchers also called for further research into tracking student destinations and outcomes over time to develop a better understanding of the impact of college-based 14 to 16 provision.
A former pupil referral unit student, who studied English, maths and a sport qualification at college, commented: “Being at college is a lot better than mainstream. I don’t think I’ve been this good in [education] since, like, primary. My mum said that she’s realised like a difference in my behaviour and how I am just as a person.”
For nearly 30 years the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education, previously known as the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes, have been the closest thing the sector has to a pinnacle of national recognition.
Applications for this year’s round of prizes have just opened. Organisers hope FE colleges will no longer be under-represented among its illustrious winners.
Nichola Tasker (pictured), the new chief executive of the Royal Anniversary Trust, the organisation behind the Queen Elizabeth Prizes, said: “Universities and colleges are the powerhouses of this country yet the work they do is not recognised widely enough. These prizes provide a platform to shine a light on their invaluable contributions.”
For the uninitiated, prizes are awarded to around 20 FE and HE institutions every two years. No rule that says a certain number must go to colleges. All applicants are judged blind and on their own merits.
Tasker’s job is to protect the prize’s prestige, fiercely resisting any temptation to make changes that could diminish their status.
She joined the trust last November after a decade at English Heritage, most recently running sites including Stonehenge. While new to education, Tasker’s previous roles have given her a keen appreciation for England’s skills base in craft industries.
A big part of what holds the prize up as being the “most prestigious honour” is the gruelling selection process.
Honours system
The journey to a Queen Elizabeth Prize win involves rigorous vetting, peer reviews and input from industry stakeholders and even government departments.
Winners are signed off by the prime minister before being recommended to the King. Technically, Tasker explains, the prizes are part of the UK’s formal honours system.
But that isn’t where royal involvement ends.
The trust announces the winners at a reception at St James’s Palace. There is then a gala dinner at London’s Guildhall, which features ceremonial trumpeters, a parade of winners donning academic garb. And the event is traditionally closed by the King’s Piper.
The Queen awarding the prize to Hopwood Hall College in 2023
Winners do need to watch their wine intake though (which was supplied at the last dinner by Plumpton College). The next morning they attend an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace to be awarded their gold-leaf certificate and silver medallion, usually by the monarch.
The trust changed the name of the awards recently from the Queen’s Anniversary Prize to the Queen Elizabeth Prize to honour the late Queen, who founded them.
The pomp, gowns and grand ceremonies are all “essential” not just to underscore the prestige of the prizes, but to level the playing field between universities, more used to such finery, and colleges.
The prize is a rare occasion where colleges and universities are recognised on an equal footing. Tasker said: “The institutions may differ but the impact they make is no less significant.
“You could look at it and say, this is really elitist. We make no bones about wanting to give two days of making our winners feel really special and really proud. We want you to have a brilliant time and take that feeling of pride back to your communities,” she said.
Colleges under-represented
Tasker laughs as she recounts a debate among trustees over the decision to continue awarding silver prizes as precious metal prices rise. “Silver is an investment… it’s something winners proudly display for decades.”
Another benefit of the prize over other sector awards is the enduring benefits reported by winners, from securing funding boosts to influencing policy.
Weston College, which won the prize for its special education needs (SEND) provision in 2017, told the trust it “gave them a seat at the table” to reach policymakers and share their approach on the national stage.
While the prize covers both higher and further education, there has been an intentional drive for more applications from colleges.
According to Tasker, out of the 149 further and higher education institutions that have won awards, 59 have been colleges. Seven colleges won awards in the 2023 round, which was a record.
“Colleges are so quick to respond to local needs,” she says, recalling visits to colleges with close links to significant local industries, from maritime studies at City College Plymouth to space engineering at Loughborough College.
One barrier, Tasker notes, lies in FE colleges’ hesitation to apply, assuming that the prize may lean towards universities. “But that’s far from true,” Tasker emphasises, noting that a third of applications already come from colleges and her goal is to see that grow. To this end, the trust has embarked on outreach efforts, including webinars, creating a buddy system with past college winners, and even deploying Tasker and her team to colleges that have never applied before.
Other types of further education providers, like independent training providers, can be part of a consortium or partnership bid, but the lead applicant needs to be a college.
Tasker’s top tips
Getting the award is tough and can take multiple attempts, Tasker explains. Applicants have to put forward their best-evidenced case against four criteria: quality and excellence, innovation and distinctiveness, impact and benefit to the college, and impact and benefit to the wider world.
“You get 10 pages to tell us your story, you organise it around those four criteria, and that’s it,” Tasker explained.
Judges are wary of glossy highly-designed documents, and have rejected applications relying too heavily on video content. This avoids, in Tasker’s words, a “publishing arms race” where applicants spend to get noticed.
Applications are then judged by three independent “readers” which creates the longlist. Next, the trust confers with professional bodies, named industry partners and government departments to vouch for the applicant.
What matters is the story applicants tell, and the evidence they have to back it up.
Tasker recommends colleges first carefully consider when to apply. “There’s a sweet spot when a project has developed enough to show impact data but hasn’t yet become common practice.”
Next, colleges have to prove tangible impacts on their institution and wider community.
Colleges should also line up external partners they think could be contacted to verify their claims, Tasker advised.
For those who don’t succeed first time, Tasker encourages persistence. Some past winners have applied multiple times, revising their submissions as their projects grew and accumulated more impact data. Chichester College won for its furniture-making and craft skills provision after multiple attempts, Tasker said.
Applications for the next round of prizes are open now and close on March 28.
