Association of Colleges

No cuts but no cure: FE’s funding dilemma post spending review

The chancellor avoided cuts and boosted 16-18 funding – a rare relief for colleges. But with adult skills, apprenticeships, and staff pay still overlooked, the sector’s biggest challenges remain unresolved

FE’s reputation on the line: learning from Weston governance failures

The damning FE commissioner report on Weston College revealed shocking lack of transparency in senior pay and governance. For an FE sector built on public trust, this must never happen again

AoC calls for new skills body and awarding powers for colleges

The AoC’s proposal appears to echo Labour’s pledge to set up Skills England, a “taskforce” which would ensure accountability for skills spending

Ellisha Soanes, the AoC’s EDI guru

The AoC’s consultant on equality, diversity and inclusion believes many colleges still need to put their words into action when it comes to really championing diversity. Ellisha Soanes, the Association of College’s consultant on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), believes that many colleges are “just paying lip service” to the issue with their policies, and […]

From prisoner to prison reformer – one student’s amazing transformation

Kamali Stevens jumped up and punched the air in delight when he was announced as the winner of the higher education student of the year award at this year’s Association of Colleges annual conference. The 41-year-old’s elation at that moment was understandable. He had undergone an incredible journey from prisoner to prison reformer, after being […]

Jeff Greenidge, director for diversity, AoC

Jeff Greenidge tells Jess Staufenberg why encouraging non-racists to be more vocal about their opposition to racism is the crucial next step for the sector Just over a year ago, the first ever “director for diversity” was appointed by the Association of Colleges and the Education and Training Foundation – Jeff Greenidge. The former languages […]

Diary: Behind the scenes at the AoC conference

Diversity and climate change were the big topics of the event in Birmingham, writes Philippa Alway After two years of Zoom meetings, being able to come together in person for Association of College’s annual conference was pretty special. In the time apart, colleges have shown the vital role they play in their communities and truly stepped […]

Love Our Colleges Week re-convenes ahead of the comprehensive spending review

Following the first national Colleges Week last October, the Association of Colleges has held a further week of activities to raise awareness of funding cuts and cost increases in the sector. This smaller-scale campaign was boosted most visibly on Twitter, with many principles and senior leaders using the social media platform to share their passion […]

Revealed: The 16 members of the ‘College of the Future’ commission

The 16 people that will form an independent commission to set out a “new vision” for colleges in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been revealed. The commission on the “College of the Future” will be chaired by Sir Ian Diamond, chair of Edinburgh College’s management board, and also features BBC broadcaster Steph McGovern, […]