The colleges and adult learning providers chosen to take part in a £9.5 million government pilot to bolster teacher training in further education have been named.
FE professional development grant pilots will run in 2021/22 and fund “collaborative sector-led initiatives to improve professional development” in the sector.
The pilots, which involve a lead provider and partner colleges in different areas of the country, will focus on strengthening staff’s skills and confidence in using technology, as well as subject-specific development to improve curriculum design and teaching, learning, and assessment.
There will also be “tailored” support for the sector’s new and inexperienced teachers to help career progression and aid retention.
The money forms part of the government’s promise in January’s Skills for Jobs white paper to take spending on the sector workforce to £65 million in this academic year.
Skills minister Alex Burghart said: “I’m delighted to announce today’s grant awards, which will help providers and teaching staff access top-quality professional development, so they can become ever more brilliant educators and trainers.
“The path to good jobs starts with good teachers. That’s why we’re funding FE providers to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills they need.
“As we build back better, this is a great time to start a career in FE teaching, and use real industry experience to help people skill up and progress.”
The lead providers and their partners are as follows:
Priority theme 1: workforce capability and confidence to use technology effectively in education
These providers will lead on activities to support workforce capability and confidence to use technology effectively in education.
Tyne Coast College – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Itchen Sixth Form College
Activity area includes:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support
Norfolk County Council Adult Learning – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Buckinghamshire Council
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Adult Community Learning Essex
- Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service
- Hull Training and Adult Education
- Luton Borough Council – Luton Adult Learning
- North Lincolnshire Council Adult Education and Community Learning
- Southend Adult Community College
- Thurrock Council – Thurrock Adult Community College
- Wiltshire Council
Activity areas include:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support
- evidence-based training and CPD to improve practice
- the development of online and blended pedagogy
City College Plymouth – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Plymouth City Council
- Achievement Training Ltd
Activity areas include:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support
- evidence-based training and CPD to improve practice
South Thames Colleges Group – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Croydon College
- Haringey Sixth Form College
- City of Portsmouth College
Activity areas include:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support
- evidence-based training and CPD to improve practice
- the development of online and blended pedagogy
Gateshead Council – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Gateshead College
Activity areas include:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support
- evidence-based training and CPD to improve practice
- the development of online and blended pedagogy
Priority theme 2: subject-specific professional development
These providers will lead on activities to support subject-specific professional development.
Middlesbrough College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Newcastle College
- Newcastle Sixth Form College
- John Leggot Sixth Form College
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Burnley College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Blackburn College
- Lancaster and Morecambe College
- Preston’s College
- Myerscough College
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Waltham Forest College – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Capital City College Group
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Derby City Council – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service
- Workers Educational Association
- Nottinghamshire County Council
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Wigan and Leigh College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Hopwood Hall College
- St Helens College
- Stoke College
- Education Partnership North East
- Newcastle College Group
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
West Suffolk College Group – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Suffolk New College
- Inspire Education Group
Activity areas include:
- evidence-based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy
- the application and adaption of generic pedagogic practices to specific subject areas
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Leeds College of Building – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Bradford College
- Calderdale College
- Kirklees College
- Luminate Education Group
- Shipley College
- Wakefield College
- Askham Bryan College
Activity area includes:
- collaborative peer-to-peer support and subject networks
Priority theme 3: supporting new or inexperience teachers
These providers will lead on activities to support new or inexperienced teachers.
Activate Learning – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Barnet and Southgate College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Cirencester College – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Shrewsbury Colleges Group
Activity areas include:
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Derby College – lead provider
Partner provider:
- Nottingham College
Activity areas include:
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Bridgwater and Taunton College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- South Devon College
- Cornwall College Group
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Northampton College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- West Herts College Group
- Moulton College
- Stoke-on-Trent-College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Kendal College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- NCG
- Lakes College
- Furness College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Wakefield College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Chesterfield College
- Lincoln College
- Nottingham College
- Wigan and Leigh College
Activity areas:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Barnsley College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Access to Music Ltd
- Bournemouth & Poole College
- City of Bristol College
- Nelson & Colne College Group
- Oaklands College
- Runshaw College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
Harlow College – lead provider
Partner providers:
- Chelmsford College
- Colchester Institute
- New City College
- South Essex College
- Writtle University College
- The Sixth Form College, Colchester
- USP College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
East Kent College Group – lead provider
Partner providers:
- The Sheffield College
- Bradford College
Activity areas include:
- covering the cost of additional teacher time to provide intensive support such as paired teaching, work shadowing and reduced workload
- core induction programmes covering key areas of practice essential for new or inexperienced teachers to develop
- support for newly qualified teachers to broaden their experience of face-to-face teaching plus strengthen skills and confidence to undertake classroom and in-person delivery
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