Education Leader and ManagerJune 2010

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In this issue Colleges in Wales An international partnership

Changes to contracts Funding for HE in FE

For you personally a YES vote is vital, as it will guarantee your continued access to the very best professional advice, support and representation.

The case for merger has been presented in recent editions of this newsletter (eg see the April issue, pp17–18). Over the past few months my colleagues and I have visited ACM/AMiE college branch meetings across the UK to present the arguments in favour of merger, and we have been warmly welcomed.

Most of you will have voted in the recent general election to appoint a new government. Now you have a further opportunity to vote: in the ballot to approve ACM’s merger with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and to confirm AMiE as the voice of education leaders and managers in both colleges and schools.

AMiE is a partnership between ACM and ATL

elm_june10.indd 1 21/05/2010 14:59

2 Proposed merger between ACM and ATL

If the merger is approved:

1AMiE will become a national section of ATL and will be free to determine policy independently of ATL

1ACM’s reserves will be placed in a restricted fund, so that they can only be used to support the service to leaders and managers

1the AMiE section cannot subsequently be closed unless 75% of AMiE members vote to close it

1casework support for AMiE members will continue to be provided by a network of permanently employed AMiE regional officers

1the subscription rate will reduce by 25% to £198 per annum.

ACM–ATL merger voting timetable This month, June 2010, ACM members will be asked to vote on a formal transfer of ACM to ATL. This will be the final stage in our AMiE partnership and is being recommended by your ACM Council.

Electoral Reform Services Limited (ERS) has been instructed as the Independent Scrutineer to conduct the ballot, which will take place as outlined below:

This transfer is necessary to protect and enhance our services at a time when record numbers of members need our help. To find out more about the transfer and how it will affect you, please visit www.amie.uk.com

Those arguments have been heard and accepted; members understand that merger is vital to securing the future of AMiE and that if the ballot is not successful, the Association will face some difficult choices.

At the beginning of June, each member will receive a notice which proposes that the Association should merge with ATL and offers you the opportunity to vote on that proposal. Accompanying that notice will be a document setting out the proposed transfer of engagements; these detail the full terms under which the merger will take place. These terms have been very carefully negotiated on your behalf by ACM’s National Council, which is recommending them to you and asking you to vote in favour of the merger.

Cover story by Peter Pendle, General Secretary, ACM and National Officer, AMiE

04/06/2010 ERS to distribute voting papers and notice to members

14/06/2010Voting commences

02/07/2010 (5pm)Closing date for voting papers to be returned to ERS

05/07/2010ERS to count voting papers

12/07/2010ERS to present Scrutineer’s report to ACM Chief Executive & General Secretary and inform him of receipt and resolution of any complaint alleging breach of the ballot procedures.

General Secretary to announce result

03/09/2010Content of Scrutineer’s report to be notified to members

Voting begins on 14 June 2010 and your voting paper must be returned by 5pm on 2 July 2010 if it is to count.

Vote YES for merger.

Vote YES!

elm_june10.indd 2 21/05/2010 14:59

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Working together

As we move forward into the choppy financial waters of post-election Britain, it is useful for us to take stock.

The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is clearly seeking an inclusive way forward that involves, at least initially, partnership working as the default position. To reflect this partnership working, ACM/AMiE and its partner ATL have been working together with other education unions in Wales to agree a set of principles around which we can all unite.

Quality The Welsh further education sector can hold its head up proudly for its quality profile. It is recognised as a vibrant, high-quality sector by Estyn and by the WAG. We need to place the continuation of this high quality at the top of our agenda. Learners must have confidence that quality will be universal to all providers within networks and across Wales. There must be no two-tier provision within networks; the quality of learning delivered through external education and training providers must be closely monitored and evaluated.

Protection of choiceIncreased choice may mean increased costs. The expansion of the number and type of courses available to 14–19 learners brought about by the Learning and Skills Measure (www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-legislation/bus-leg-measures/business-legislation-measures-ls.htm), combined with a constant or decreasing cohort of learners, will inevitably lead to learners being more thinly spread across a greater number of courses. This WAG policy steer must be recognised and taken into account by the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills.

FundingIn order for networks and institutions to plan and deliver effectively, funding must be stable, predictable, equitable and realistic. ACM/AMiE backs the commitment to move towards a three-year funding cycle. We believe that in order for the 14–19 transformation process to succeed, the post-16 sector requires a national funding formula that promotes collaboration rather than competition. Any proposed changes to the funding system will require early engagement with trade unions; within the context of challenging funding settlements, government expectations for the pace and scale of change must be moderated.

Welsh-medium educationACM/AMiE supports learners’ right to linguistic continuity and progression. We call on the WAG to ensure that all transformation proposals are in accordance with the requirements of the Learning and Skills Measure and the Welsh-medium Education Strategy, which support this right.

Social partnershipThe principles of social partnership must underpin the 14–19 transformation process. This must include the WAG involving trade unions and employers to an equal degree in the development of 14–19 transformation policy.

No compulsory redundanciesThe WAG must establish a workforce adjustment fund of new money to facilitate strategies to avoid compulsory redundancies, including the application of policies for redeployment, voluntary severance and enhanced early retirement schemes. ACM/AMiE has argued consistently that the changes that transformation will bring about should be managed and that, over time, and with appropriate severance schemes, the transformation process can – and should – be delivered without recourse to compulsory redundancies.

The view from Wales

Brian Thornton,AMiE Regional Officer for Wales

Funding must be stable, predictable, equitable and realistic

04/06/2010 ERS to distribute voting papers and notice to members

14/06/2010Voting commences

02/07/2010 (5pm)Closing date for voting papers to be returned to ERS

05/07/2010ERS to count voting papers

12/07/2010ERS to present Scrutineer’s report to ACM Chief Executive & General Secretary and inform him of receipt and resolution of any complaint alleging breach of the ballot procedures.

General Secretary to announce result

03/09/2010Content of Scrutineer’s report to be notified to members

elm_june10.indd 3 21/05/2010 14:59

4

AMiE, in partnership with Harrow College, has been awarded grant funding from the British Council to develop a partnership with the Mikumi Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Tanzania.

The education systems in the UK and Tanzania have a number of similarities, including the current drive in each country to raise the status of vocational education and training. There is a recognition of the need for change if the workforce and the economy are to be able to compete in a global economy where high-level skills are increasingly important.

Project funding The funding, from the British Council’s Education Partnerships in Africa programme, is intended to support the mutual development of vocational education and training in partner countries and colleges.

The project also has the support of the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA), the national body for vocational training in Tanzania. VETA owns a number of VTCs and also accredits a large number of private training centres. It is responsible for designing the curriculum framework and is moving towards competence-based qualifications. Tanzania has a 2% payroll levy that is used to fund VETA and the VTCs. As a result, there is a great deal of interest in the effectiveness of the system – those who are paying the levy are keen to know that their money is being well spent.

A route out of povertyThe partnership focuses on travel and tourism. Tanzania, on the east coast of Africa, is an increasingly popular long-haul destination for European and other holidaymakers with an interest in wildlife and cultural tourism. For Tanzania, this is the third-largest national employment sector after agriculture and construction. Growth of tourism is one of the ways in which

Bob Vesey,Director of Learner Services, Harrow College

An international partnership

There is a recognition of the need for change if the workforce and the economy are to compete in aglobal economy

Learning from each other

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An international partnership

Tanzania will be able to speed up the pace of development and move from its position as the fifth-poorest country in Africa.

Mikumi is a small VTC catering for around 300 students in a range of vocational specialisms, including tourism, hospitality, construction, engineering and computing. Most students live in residential accommodation on campus. It is poorly resourced and there is a compelling need for investment in equipment and other resources.

Students are mainly in the 16–19 age range, with some part-time training programmes for adults from the local community. Students are very highly motivated and keen to learn. They recognise that a good education provides a potentially important route out of poverty and into development – both for them and for Tanzania as a whole. As a consequence, they are fully engaged and always well prepared for their classes.

Partnership aimsStaff from Harrow College visited the Mikumi VTC in February this year and participated in a programme that included the introduction of an ‘enterprise passport’ that will be piloted in both Harrow and Mikumi.

The programme will also look at:

1how the partner institutions develop and manage their vocational curriculum

1strategies to improve quality in the design and delivery of active learning

1related professional development for staff.

There are challenges that students and teachers in Tanzania have in common with those involved in vocational learning in England. One is that employer engagement is a key part of their programme but in practical terms is difficult to secure. Work placements can be as difficult to find in Tanzania as they are in the UK. There is, however, a recognition that employer engagement is critical to the success of vocational learning.

The partnership offers opportunities for each of the participating colleges to enrich the curriculum with an improved understanding of internationalism and the globalisation of the economy. As we are preparing college-leavers to work for employers that are increasingly operating in a global marketplace, it is important that our college graduates enhance their chance of succeeding in work, whether in employment or in their own business.

Sharing good practiceOne of the intended project outcomes is the development and production of a good practice guide to curriculum and professional development in vocational learning. AMiE has a significant role to play in this: learning from each of the two colleges involved in the project, AMiE will develop a publication to add to its portfolio of professional good practice guides.

Students recognise that a good education provides an important route out of poverty … for them and for Tanzania as a whole

Learning from each otherStudents at Mikumi are highly motivated

elm_june10.indd 5 21/05/2010 14:59

6

We all know how much restructuring goes on in the education sector. Not surprisingly then, at AMiE we are often asked about its impact on the employment contract. More specifically, our members ask: ‘Can my contract be changed?’

The answer very much depends upon the circumstances. The express terms of your contract (generally the written ones) cannot normally be changed without your agreement. Similarly, incorporated terms, such as those coming from a pay settlement, normally change only when a collective agreement has been renegotiated.

But some contracts will have terms that allow for change or flexibility, such as those saying where and when work is performed, and what is done. This can itself lead to disagreement.

Of course, contracts will change over time as new methods of working evolve.

Adopting a new working practice, even if no formal agreement to the change has been recorded, alters the employment contract itself. Indeed, in law there is often a presumption that if contractual work changes and the employee continues working without protest, then there has been agreement to the change.

The status of your job description deserves a special mention. It is not normal for your job description to be incorporated into your contract of employment (the contract will say so if it has been). This gives the employer flexibility to alter your duties, so long as the effect does not make your job significantly different and does not impact on the other contractual terms. 

So can an employer simply change your contract? If you do not agree to the change, the short answer is no. To make a change to an express term (such as hours, holidays, salary, etc.) without your consent, the employer would have to terminate your current contract with notice, following all the established procedures, and then offer you different terms in a new contract for the new post.

David Green, Director of Employment Services, AMiE

The express terms of your contract cannot normally be changed without your agreement

Can your contract be changed?

Employment matters

changed?

elm_june10.indd 6 21/05/2010 14:59

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Faced with the alternative of unemployment, most people would have little choice but to accept the new contract. However, if by terminating your original contract, you believed your employer had acted unfairly, you may be able to make a complaint of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal (even if you accepted the new contract). In deciding if the employer had acted unfairly or not, the tribunal would consider whether the employer’s reasons for the change amounted to a fair reason for your dismissal or not; and if so, that the employer acted reasonably in dismissing you for that reason.

If there is any likelihood that your contract will be varied, it is good practice for the employer to consult fully with AMiE and yourself. As such, it is advisable not to agree to any change without first contacting your AMiE regional officer.

But what if the change is forced through? If your employer simply imposes a change without your consent, this will be a breach of contract. You can continue working under protest, and, if the matter cannot be resolved internally, and if you suffer any financial loss as a result, you can take legal action, either at a county court or other civil court. If your employment is terminated, you can claim breach of contract at an employment tribunal (as well, perhaps, as a claim for unfair dismissal).

In all breach of contract cases, it is very important to make your objections known at an early stage. If you do continue working under protest, then you must pursue your grievance, because to simply work on without any active protest could result in you affirming the change.

If your contract is breached in a fundamental way (normally a serious breach where the employer no longer feels bound by the original contract), you may feel it necessary to resign. You are then entitled to claim unfair ‘constructive’ dismissal at an employment tribunal. Even so, if the dismissal was deemed ‘constructive’, it still has to be unfair for you to be successful, and claims of this nature are usually very difficult to win.

The best advice I can give members is to contact their regional officer at the first hint of any proposed change. They are all experienced negotiators and understand the law.

Change itself is rarely wanted by those affected, and sometimes it can be difficult to swallow. But you have rights, and with other AMiE members you can stick together and make a stand. In such cases your first response should be clear: ‘If you want this change, where is the carrot?’

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Can your contract be changed?

Employment matters

changed?

elm_june10.indd 7 21/05/2010 14:59

8 National curriculum tests8

The SATs boycottATL/AMiE did not join the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) in balloting for a boycott of Key Stage 2 national curriculum SATs tests.

RecklessWe believe (along with the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers) that abolishing SATs is reckless and will increase workload, and that the issue is much more complex. In fact, we believe it is not the tests themselves that do the damage.

If you use the data from a small number of tests in limited aspects of English and maths to rank schools’ performance (and by implication their effectiveness overall), to measure teachers’ capabilities, and as a basis for inspection decisions by Ofsted – to name but a few of the many purposes to which the data are put – then those tests become high stakes for everyone involved.

Pernicious effectsThat’s when pernicious effects are seen at classroom level. For example:

1research commissioned during the Cambridge Primary Review1 quantified the time taken in preparing for and practising tests

1ATL’s own research2 has explored the detrimental impact on the curriculum of the attention given to literacy, numeracy and science

1other studies have shown the differential impact of tests on the performance and attitudes of higher- and lower-achieving pupils.

Of course, removing the tests would mean that children themselves would not be put through this demoralising and demotivating rigmarole – an issue which was highlighted once again in impassioned speeches at ATL’s annual conference in March. But replacing the SATs with teacher assessment, with data still used for the same high-stakes purposes, could increase the burden on pupils, as teachers continue to test, or to set up activities which can provide incontrovertible evidence to support their (now nationally measured) professional judgements.

ATL proposals So, instead of threatening industrial action, we have developed our own proposals for assessment. ATL’s position statement, Assessing to learn: teachers at the heart of assessment,3 draws on other countries’ systems. It proposes:

1a combination of teacher-led formative assessment

1national banks of tests used for summative purposes when teachers judge that learners are ready

1sample testing to meet national monitoring needs.

Nansi Ellis, Head of Education Policy and Research, ATL

1 Harlen, W (2007) Cambridge Primary Review – Interim Report: The quality of learning: assessment alternatives for primary education, University of Bristol (copyright University of Cambridge).

2 Webb, R and Vulliamy, G (2006) Coming full circle: The impact of New Labour’s education policies on primary school teachers’ work, ATL.

3 Available at: www.atl.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/policies/assessing-to-learn.asp

4 Subject to change: new thinking on the curriculum (ATL, 2007), available at: www.atl.org.uk/publications-and-resources/research-publications/national-curriculum.asp

elm_june10.indd 8 21/05/2010 14:59

National curriculum tests

The SATs boycott

The key is professional leadership of the assessment system, so that it supports teaching and engages learners, rather than narrowing the focus of both. A professional accountability system would ensure that schools are held to account for things that matter, rather than things that can be tested. We have made those points to successive secretaries of state, as well as putting the evidence into submissions to the Education and Skills Select Committee (in our response in June 2007 to the inquiry into testing and assessment) and in the assessment chapter of the ATL curriculum book.4

And changes have been made:

1An expert group on assessment was set up by government.

1Report cards exploring broader measures are being piloted.

1Sample testing will be used in science from this year.

1Schools have access to single level tests, Assessing Pupil Progress materials and other ‘assessment for learning’ approaches.

1Continuing professional development for teachers in assessment is becoming more of a priority.

We may not like the detail of all of these things, and the direction may change under the new government. ATL/AMiE will need to consider how to take forward our arguments.

Further information is available at: www.atl.org.uk/sats

AMiE is the leading trade union and professional association for leaders and managers in colleges and schools. 

Our servicesOur services include:

1representation, help and advice on all employment matters. Our casework service is recognised as simply the best offered by any trade union

1publications and best practice guides on curriculum and management issues

1policy influence in political circles

1education news updates

1pensions advice, including information leaflets on important topics such as improving your pension prospects

1good deals on insurance and many other services and products.

Our membershipWe welcome college managers at all levels in further education colleges, sixth form colleges and adult education provision; school headteachers, deputy headteachers, bursars and heads of department. We also have many members in national organisations, training organisations and other areas of the education sector, including higher education.

To join AMiETo join AMiE, call 01858 411 541, visit our website www.amie.uk.com or email membership@amie.uk.com AMiE is a partnership between the Association for College Management (ACM) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)

AMiE

member-get-member campaign 2010

With this issue of ELM you will have received the ‘Member-get-member’ campaign literature.

If you need more forms, please contact us on 01858 461110 or download copies from the website: www.amie.uk.com (there is a

link to the application form in the ‘Join ACM/AMiE’ section on the home page).

The campaign ends on 30 September 2010, so please pass on the information to your colleagues

as soon as possible. Don’t forget to indicate your name and voucher choice in the

box on the application form.

elm_june10.indd 9 21/05/2010 14:59

10

In recent years, higher education (HE) has been one of the unsung success stories of further education (FE) colleges in England. In addition to providing 34% of all entrants onto HE programmes, 170,000 (10%) of all HE students are enrolled on courses within FE colleges. Colleges are not only major suppliers of students to universities; they are significant deliverers of university-level courses within an increasingly differentiated pattern of HE.

The HE provided in colleges is broadly distinctive from that within universities, with college students being more likely to be over 25, to study part-time, and to come from areas with low participation rates. HE students in FE colleges are more likely to be studying foundation degrees (FDs) and sub-degree programmes, such as HNCs and HNDs.

FE colleges that offer HE courses do so in partnership with universities. They, along with universities, are funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and are either directly funded by HEFCE or indirectly funded through collaborative arrangements with a partner university. Colleges which are directly funded (of which there are 124) can exert much greater control over their destiny, since their relationship is directly with HEFCE, although they normally pay for validation services from a partner university. Colleges in receipt of indirect funds are normally top-sliced by the university for the services they provide, and can be vulnerable to changes in funding levels resulting from their university partner’s decisions.

John Dishman,Director of Academic Quality and Enhancement,Leeds Metropolitan University

College funding

HEFCE’s March 2010 announcement of the funding allocations for HE in England showed a reduction in cash terms of £573 million. A large proportion of this is due to the bringing forward of capital developments planned for 2010/11 into 2008/9. However, it still represents an overall reduction in funding for teaching of 0.4% at a time when inflation rates are running at about 3%.

Taken as a whole, the FE sector institutions in receipt of direct funding saw an increase of 2.2% in the 2010/11 allocation round. However, this global increase masks a reality of mixed fortunes, since 57 the 124 colleges funded by HEFCE have had their funding cut, with 19 colleges facing cuts of 5% or more. There have been some significant winners too in this funding round, though their growth comes at the expense of other institutions.

Colleges which receive their funding for HE students via their partner(s) will be at the mercy of the university concerned. At a time of unprecedented demand for HE places (UCAS figures show that the demand for student places is up by 22.2% for 2010 entry), there will be a temptation for universities to withdraw funding to college partners in order to increase student places on their own campuses.

Furthermore, the incentive for colleges to offer FDs has been affected by the reduction in the premium funding that these courses attracted. FDs attracted a 10% uplift in funding, which is being phased out. This funding was overwhelmingly given to the FE sector, as it was the FE sector which led the way in meeting government targets for the expansion of FDs.

There will be a temptation for universities to withdraw funding to college partners

Funding for HE in FE

elm_june10.indd 10 21/05/2010 14:59

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College funding

Recent research by LSIS shows that colleges with small amounts of HE provision may well withdraw from offering HE, since it is often mission driven and unprofitable. Such colleges may consider it necessary to focus on traditional FE courses, thereby reducing opportunities to access HE and to widen and increase participation. Given the unprecedented demand for HE places, those colleges which continue to offer HE provision are likely to fill places with comparatively well-qualified applicants. Thus, applicants with lower levels of qualifications who would have made the cut in previous years are likely to lose out. So often these are people from less privileged backgrounds – just those whom the Widening Participation agenda of the last decade or so has hoped to lift into HE.

Staff in colleges who aspire to be involved in HE, or those currently teaching on HE programmes, may well suffer adversely from such a diminution of HE in the FE sector. Even if a college decides to retain an HE portfolio, there is likely to be less of this teaching to go round.

Colleges may seek to focus on their core role of work-centred vocational education; they are well placed to do so. However, former polytechnics with expertise in higher vocational education will be seeking opportunities to diversify into this area of activity.

Looking to the future, it is all too likely that this year’s funding settlement is only the beginning and that there will be fiercer cutbacks to come. Many in the HE sector do not see the 2010/11 allocation as the end of the story but as likely to herald further reductions in funding to come. Ten years of expansion in HE opportunities will come to an end. A new government may well be content with less ambitious targets for participation in HE.

elm_june10.indd 11 21/05/2010 14:59

12

Part 4 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gave local authorities (LAs) and the Secretary of State intervention powers to tackle underperforming schools. These powers included issuing a ‘Warning Notice’, when it was felt that a school was underperforming.

Since their introduction, very few warning notices have been issued, leading the Secretary of State to feel that the system was not working effectively. The argument is that there has been too much focus on ‘special measures’ and ‘significant improvement’ areas, rather than on underperformance itself.

As a result, this area has now been tightened up under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 in respect of: pay and conditions; and performance standards and safety.

Pay and conditionsThe new Act introduces a system of teachers’ pay and conditions warning notices, which allows LAs or the Secretary of State to issue a notice to a governing body of a maintained school where it has failed to comply – or failed to secure compliance by the headteacher – with the provisions relating to pay and conditions (including those provisions stipulated in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document that is sent to schools annually by the Department for Children, Schools and Families).

Underperforming schools

Yvonne Fleming, National Officer for School Leadership, AMiE

Heads and governing bodies should be meticulous about reviewing regulations

Warning notices for underperforming schools

elm_june10.indd 12 21/05/2010 15:00

Performance standards and safetyEqually, where a school has performance standards issues, for example it is felt to be coasting, or there are safety issues, then a warning notice can be issued. This will be done in writing and there is a right of reply by both the governing body and the LA where appropriate – that is where the notice has been issued by the Secretary of State. This should be done within ten working days.

Compliance issuesIn both cases, this leads to a compliance period, during which the governing body must either ensure that any outstanding provisions are put into force or that it has made successful representations to the LA or the Secretary of State citing reasons why this should not be the case. If neither is done, then the school will become liable for intervention.

Intervention could include:

1LA to appoint additional governors (not possible if the Secretary of State has already done so)

1LA to provide for the governing body to consist of interim executive members or an interim executive board

1LA to use its power to suspend the right to a delegated budget

1Secretary of State to appoint additional governors

1Secretary of State to provide for the governing body to consist of interim executive members.

Guidance cannot be specific, as each case will be different, depending on the reason for the warning notice and whether it has been sent from either the LA or the Secretary of State (or the Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning in the case of Wales).

Underperforming schools

Warning notices from the LAIf the warning notice has been issued by the LA, it would indicate a breakdown in the normal communication channels between the LA and its school. Therefore, steps must be taken to call a meeting with the LA school link and/or school improvement partner (SIP) and the governing body, to draw up a targeted action plan which provides solutions to the issues highlighted in the warning notice.

Warning notices from the Secretary of StateIf the notice has come from the Secretary of State, the first step will be for the LA to give a written response (including any response from the governing body with whom they should have been in communication on the issue) within ten working days. This may include reasons why a notice should not be issued. If these reasons are accepted, then the warning notice will be removed. If not, then the Secretary of State can still direct them to continue, in which case the LA and governing body will need to come up with an action plan.

Robust processesHeads and governing bodies should be meticulous about reviewing on an annual basis that they are meeting the regulations on pay and conditions. The AMiE helpline or regional officer could be a port of call for any member if they feel that there is an issue, or they could seek help from their LA link. Performance is a more difficult issue, given the changing Ofsted goalposts.

Schools can avoid getting a warning notice in the first place by:

1ensuring that robust processes and procedures are in place

1making sure that an up-to-date evidence base is always at hand by way of the school self-evaluation form

1working closely with SIPs, especially in terms of brokering targeted support when issues do arise.

Warning notices for underperforming schools

13

elm_june10.indd 13 21/05/2010 15:00

14

Succession planning

The Advisory Group for Succession Planning at the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services, of which AMiE is a member, has just completed the first stage of its work.

The advisory group has been reviewing and putting into action a number of initiatives aimed at highlighting the need for schools and local authorities to manage the issue of a large number of existing school leaders coming up to retirement over the next ten years.

A lot has already been done.

1The National Professional Qualification for Headship has been reviewed and a more bespoke course produced.

1There are ongoing support mechanisms for those who are new or aspiring to leadership, ranging from conferences to individual mentoring schemes.

1Extensive work has been done with governors’ associations, including the production of e-resources and a planning toolkit, as well as conferences and workshops.

1A specific strategy has focused on diversity and equality, with a number of initiatives aimed at black and minority ethnic groups. These include specific events aimed at Asian women, as well as an Ofsted shadowing scheme for aspiring leaders. Currently there is also ongoing research into the career progression experiences of disabled teachers who aspire to headship, with a final report due in spring 2011.

1More than 800 participants are benefiting from targeted funding in regions where locally tailored support programmes for aspiring leaders have been set up.

1A project to ensure local authority engagement in the process of succession planning has just ended.

1Work with faith schools and organisations has identified areas for action.

The advisory group has now agreed to move forward into specifically engaging with schools on the issue of succession planning. The idea is to encourage groups or clusters of schools to engage in more systematic succession planning and to embed this into school activities.

It is proposed that the National College will:

1discuss with local authorities building this work into existing clusters

1identify cluster groups who are already engaged in joint continuing professional development and leadership projects, and will work alongside them to push this forward

1target Leadership Partner and Training Schools (schools tasked to provide help and support to other schools) as organisations to help push forward the work on succession planning

1build on its existing programmes, especially in areas such as middle leadership

1make links to accredited chains, which have gone through the process of meeting government standards in terms of running more than one school, to develop a support package in this area

1encourage academy engagement with existing local solutions, work with specific chains of academies, and develop regional or sub-regional support for stand-alone academies across sponsors

1consider developing a kitemarking system for groups of schools that engage in succession planning

1provide publications, resources and support materials for all those engaged in succession planning

1identify a small group to oversee this work.

AMiE will refine and amend these proposals over the coming months. We will emphasise the need for the National College to work with government to overcome the issues that exist which deter potential leaders from taking that step – not least pay, conditions, work overload and punishing accountability frameworks. It will also be important to bear in mind the cuts in public spending at national and local level, which may curtail both existing and future plans.

School leadership

Yvonne Fleming, National Officer for School Leadership, AMiE

If you have any views on this subject which you would like me to feed into the advisory group, please email: yvonnefleming@amie.uk.com

elm_june10.indd 14 21/05/2010 15:00

Succession planning

COnTACT THE EdITOrnadine Cartnernadinecartner@amie.uk.comTel 020 7254 1445

If you would like to contribute an article, book review or letter, or if you would like to see pictures of your students on the cover of ELM, please send these to the editor.

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elm_june10.indd 15 21/05/2010 15:00

16 The last word

Fans of the American sitcom Frasier may remember an episode in which the Crane brothers, Frasier and Niles, Harvard-educated and eminent professionals, fetch up at night school studying motor vehicle maintenance.

The brothers anticipate being the class stars that they have always been, but it turns out that neither of them has any aptitude or talent for motor vehicle maintenance. They are the lowest achievers in their class. Unable to drop out – their father and girlfriend respectively are so proud that they are taking the course – they begin to behave badly and disrupt the class, until they are eventually kicked off the course, having achieved nothing.

The episode makes a nice point about academic and vocational learning. It’s a neat and comical inversion of a more common story, but it points to the same truth: when a learning programme is wrong for a particular student’s aptitudes, aspirations and interests, that student will neither learn effectively nor progress.

That is why it is important that the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is revised and restructured to include a range of pathways for 14–19 student learning and progression that cover the full spectrum of student need. At present there are four pathways within the NQF: the Diploma; A levels/GCSEs; Apprenticeships; and Foundation Learning. The latter is offered only at entry level and level 1. The three remaining pathways cover the needs of significant sections of learners, but entirely overlook learners whose needs are best addressed on a specialist technical/vocational course with a broad base. The A level/GCSE route is too academic for these students, the Diploma route too broad, and Apprenticeships too work-focused.

We know this population of learners is huge – many thousands of students are studying BTEC courses. And we have the learning programmes for these students – they just aren’t included as a pathway in the NQF. Over many years, hundreds of teachers and curriculum managers in colleges have expressed to me the value to their students of BTEC National and BTEC First courses.

Equally importantly, these programmes enjoy the respect of employers and higher education (HE) admissions tutors.

The technical/vocational programmes enjoyed by many students and offered by awarding bodies such as Edexcel and City & Guilds belong in a separate framework, the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), where all vocational qualifications will be positioned, on a stand-alone basis. Acceptance onto the QCF is necessary to secure public funding.

AMiE believes there should be a pathway within the NQF for young learners who need a course with a specific technical/vocational focus with a broad base.

For students, we need:

1a pathway that motivates and supports learners with these aptitudes, interests and aspirations

1a pathway that guides the progression of these learners towards HE (including HE in FE), further training and employment

1opportunities that inspire young people who are not in education, employment or training (the so-called ‘NEETs’), that respond to their particular interests while attending to their general education (the demands of Diploma programmes are too great for this purpose).

For the national economy, we need to:

1exploit the considerable potential of the technical and vocational pathway for securing progress in the take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM subjects)

1develop a skilled workforce for emerging low-carbon and green industries

1develop the occupational licence to practise.

One way forward might be to build the technical/vocational pathway on the NQF’s foundation learning pathway, which at present extends only across entry level and level 1.

Now that we have a different government and newly appointed ministers, the Association will shortly be making our case in the strongest possible terms. If you would like to contribute your ideas to our formal paper, please email me: nadinecartner@acm.uk.com

Edited and designed by thingswedo (www.thingswedo.com) Illustration (page 11) by Keith Sparrow Printed by Blackmore Ltd, Shaftesbury. © ACM 2010. All rights reserved.

Nadine Cartner, Director of Policy, AMiE

elm_june10.indd 16 21/05/2010 15:00