Education secretary Gavin Williamson must take action to combat the severe effect that the pandemic has had on teaching and learning in colleges, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Further Education and Lifelong Learning has said. 

In a letter to the education secretary, chair of the APPG Peter Aldous, along with fellow members Lord Blunkett, Baroness Garden of Frognal, Stephen Farry and Emma Hardy, set out the three vital actions needed from government to avoid a lost generation and ensure that colleges have the resources they need to aid the Covid recovery. 

Their letter comes a week after the Education Policy Institute think tank called on the government to extend the 16-19 Tuition Fund and extend 16-19 courses for an additional year where needed to help learners make up for learning time lost due to the coronavirus. 

The APPG’s letter calls for:

1. A reversal of the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s decision to claw back adult education budget funding from institutions that have not met 90 per cent of delivery targets for the 2020-21 academic year. Instead, the Department for Education should take a business case approach, allowing colleges to set out where and why they haven’t been able to deliver 90 per cent of their AEB provision, and for concessions to be made on a case-by-case basis.
2. Students leaving college to get a fully funded extra year of study if they need it. This would be through a simple, flexible fund, as set out by Association of Colleges’ education recovery plan and the EPI’s education and resilience report.
3. Providing colleges with targeted support for the most disadvantaged learners through a 16-19 student premium, just like the pupil premium in schools - so more students who need it can benefit from support tailored to their needs. 

Need to know: The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill

EPI: Extend courses by a year to make up for lost time

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill: The sector reacts

This week, the government set out its vision for further education in the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill. However, in the letter, the MPs say shorter-term decisions are crucial to support the government’s overarching goals on skills reform, delivering what young people and adult learners deserve and ecomonic recovery.

Covid catch-up: Supporting FE colleges

The letter says: “As an APPG, we have been encouraged by the government’s ambitions for the further education sector, as set out in the recent Skills for Jobs White Paper, and we will be paying close attention to the recently published Skills and Post-16 Education Bill as it progresses through Parliament.

“Taking these steps will help to ensure that colleges are able to combat the severe effects that the pandemic has had on teaching and learning. They will also support the government’s overarching goals on skills reform, deliver what young people and adult learners deserve, and, in addition, have clear and obvious economic and social impacts in the years to come.”