Policy

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The 157 Group exists to serve its members and to be at the leading edge of the sector more widely on three levels:

  • thought leadership – setting out visionary, challenging and radical agendas for how things might be done differently, and better, into the future
  • practice improvement – enabling our members to work together to derive experience and knowledge, and to spread good practice for the benefit of all learners and employers
  • policy influence – using the experience of our members to directly inform the views of government and policy makers, government bodies and agencies, academics and other influencers of opinion.

We focus on

  • improvement and innovation in vocational teaching and learning and the development of the curriculum
  • strategic influence and economic impact within localities
  • employer engagement and advocacy which contributes to economic growth.

The role of FE Colleges

We recognise that Further Education Colleges are driving many new initiatives, such as the development of UTCs and studio schools, the creation of Traineeships and the expansion of Apprenticeships. They are the provider of choice for vocationally-based education in a wide range of employment sectors, and aim to be the providers of choice for LEPs. However, we also understand that significant change is needed to transform colleges into even more highly responsive providers and effective strategic partners for skills and economic regeneration, nationally and locally We are keen to lead such change by example.

We believe

  • the primary function of a College is to contribute to the growth of its local economy, through strategic links with the local business community and by improving the life chances of learners
  • large, diverse FE Colleges offer an unparalleled opportunity to do this most effectively through economies of scale, collaboration and levels of local influence
  • Colleges which focus relentlessly on the quality of teaching and learning and on the needs of businesses and learners are ultimately the most successful
  • Colleges will best achieve success by establishing strategic relationships with employers in order to become an integral player and strategic partner in the provision of local IAG, education and training
  • an effective and responsive curriculum is based on consistent, high-quality provision, that poor quality provision must be swiftly and firmly tackled and that high quality will drive increased demand
  • outstanding teaching and learning can be achieved by employing dual professionals who inspire confidence in learners and in the local business community and enabling them to be innovative in, and accountable for, their own performance
  • those colleges that have built their credibility with the economic community and LEPs will have a long term future by demonstrating the contribution they make
  • successful colleges rely upon excellent leadership
  • colleges make an especially useful contribution to social mobility through the provision of aspirational education and training
  • the success of colleges is best judged by their impact on the destinations of and distance travelled by learners and by the return on investment they can demonstrate to the local economic community.

Vocational education

Broad based vocational education is valuable in its own right and ‘right’ for many people in a way that traditional ‘academic’ education may not be. 16-19 study programmes, proposed Tech levels, the development of Traineeships and proposed changes to apprenticeship programmes should contribute to a raising of the status of vocational education.

The key tenets are:

  • 14-19 vocational education provides progression into apprenticeships, work and/or further learning
  • improving English and Maths is a key element of all education and training programmes
  • there is a breadth of routes that allow flexibility with stepping stones and progression pathways for all learners to achieve success
  • early access to vocational pathways promotes increased achievement
  • all 14-19 year olds have experience in the work place or in a real work environment, and the opportunity to experience applied as well as theoretical learning
  • new qualifications and frameworks should be co-designed with employers and the sector
  • success is measured by progression and destination and by the development of employability skills
  • the FE sector’s contribution to Higher Education is recognised, and encouraged to grow
  • teachers are appropriately qualified and, as dual professionals, demonstrate vocational knowledge as well as pedagogical ability
  • regulated high quality and personalised careers education and IAG should be provided for all young people.

Working with employers

Recent work has set out an approach to redefining and enhancing employer needs and demonstrated that successful colleges have employability at their heart. If employers are to become more engaged with the provision of education and training, we must seek to develop a truly ‘two-way street’.

157 Group colleges embrace this approach by

  • defining, designing and embedding employability skills within the curriculum and programmes of study, taking account of employers’ and employer organisations’ needs and expectations
  • working with Sector Skill Councils and other employer groups to design qualifications and apprenticeship frameworks
  • using the flexibilities provided by Government to respond to employers’ needs
  • supporting employers in their bids to the Employer Ownership Pilots
  • supporting government and DWP to ensure 18-21 year olds should not find unemployment more financially rewarding than studying
  • ensuring Traineeships and other appropriate vocational curricula are available for those aged 16-24 and that these programmes are a route to apprenticeships and/or further or higher education and work.

We believe that the nature of our relationships with employers and their representative bodies should go even further, and concentrate on strategic advocacy. Where relationships are at their best, Colleges (often as consortia) are active participants in the work of LEPs and Chambers of Commerce, and we advocate a far greater level of involvement in the future.

Our relationship with key stakeholders

We believe that FE Colleges can successfully achieve economic and community impact by establishing a mature relationship with government, employers, LEPs and other key stakeholders which

  • clarifies the role that large FE Colleges play in developing learner skills and achieving economic impact and growth
  • supports the promotion of that impact and growth as a partnership between Colleges, employers and other stakeholders
  • listens and responds to the concerns of policymakers and works in partnership with them
  • supports the premise that aspiration to a high-quality vocationally-focused pathway through education should be a right for all learners
  • develops policy in a way which makes use of the expertise of the sector and looks to FE Colleges to use this expertise to test and implement new initiatives
  • recognises that excellent leadership is empowered and enhanced by local autonomy and extended freedom from centralised control
  • acknowledges that FE Colleges themselves are major employers and investors in their local communities and businesses in their own right
  • holds FE Colleges to account for their impact upon the local economy and local wellbeing.