In a lot of ways, the FE sector saved my teaching career. I found it while wandering the educational landscape like a masterless samurai - a little lost and a lot bruised by my time in challenging schools, alternative provision, adult training and supply.

I was at a point in my career where I was unsure that I even wanted to continue. It’s not an uncommon feeling, as I’m fairly sure that the teacher’s version of the existential crisis comes to us all eventually. I felt untethered, and I was in no way convinced that it was all worth it. Having said that, I did want to eat. So, suspecting that it was only a short stopgap on the way to me slingshotting myself out of the whole damn game, I applied and got a job teaching English (and a whole bunch of other subjects) at my local FE college.

FE is a ‘treasure trove’

If I’m going to be completely honest, before I started working in FE I had very little knowledge of what it was all about. In my mind were a few vague ideas about teaching slightly older kids, possibly in factories or something (so, in that way I was a lot like our politicians). I was completely unprepared for the variety and challenge that the sector brings, and, to my infinite good fortune, it fit me like a glove. The spread of students and courses, the focus on vocational attainment, the slightly different teacher/student dynamic that you find in further education in comparison to anywhere else left me feeling like there was a point to it all. I felt lucky that I had discovered this treasure-trove of an area that rejuvenated my career and allowed me to feel a little less lost in the crazy, madcap world of education.

‘No less difficult’ than schools

But as refreshing as I found it, there are still many similarities with the other educational sectors that I’ve been involved in. The working day is just as relentless, the challenges in regard to engagement and retention are huge, and the pressure for results is the same as just about anywhere else. As someone who has experienced a wide spread of teaching, doing it in FE is no less difficult than doing it anywhere else.

Which is why I find it more than a little troubling when faced with information from David Hughes, AoC chief exec that there is, on average, a £7,000 pay gap on average between schools and colleges. For me, FE offered a change that got me back in the game. But take it from someone who knows: it isn’t seven grand’s worth of difference. With the 3.5 per cent pay rise for (some) teachers in schools being announced while in FE we still continuing with AoC and union negotiations, once again the value (or lack of it) that is placed on the sector it’s thrown into sharp relief.

FE helped me to find the worth in being a teacher again and helps countless students find worth in work and continuing education. In many ways it stands apart but, when it comes to workload, there are more similarities than anything. So why such the glaring discrepancy in what is considered to be fair pay? It’s almost as if there’s the view that we’re not worth it.

Tom Starkey teaches at a college in the North of England