When you meet a new principal for the first time, there is always something to learn. About the person who has just taken over that particular college, of course – their background, priorities and perspectives.
But from that also comes other learning. As the new principal sets out where they see their new college going, their unique perspective allows for a new viewpoint on issues I have covered 100 times before. One recent college visit was a case in point.
The new principal, a newcomer to FE and to the Scottish sector, was only a few months into the job. There was plenty to discuss – from the college, which I had not visited in a few years, to the area, which he has called home his entire life, and current challenges to FE in general and the institution in particular.
Background: 'Parity of esteem? Education and skills don't compare'
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News: Call to use Ofsted rating to enforce Baker clause
It was when we started talking about what he saw as the core purpose of the college that things got really interesting. A college of this scale, he said, had to ensure it flexibly catered for the growth areas of its regional economy. Colleges also, crucially, had to be local; they have a heritage as places where students will have seen their siblings and parents study.
To me, that is a crucial point both when considering recruitment and attainment – but it is as important when we talk about that age-old “parity of esteem”. I have said before I don’t believe in that concept at all – while I think further education should be seen as of equal value to academic routes, it is not, and never should be, the same.
The college needs to be seen. People who go to the college, enjoy their time there and thrive, have to be seen by other prospective students. The easiest way for that to happen, of course, is through family connections. But in the absence of that, there is another logical way – and one that many institutions already use successfully: bringing your students into schools.
The Baker Clause is meant to ensure colleges in England have access to learners in schools to ensure they are aware of vocational options. But aside from the fact we know that many schools do not yet open their doors in that way, I also think it is about much more than careers advice.
Embracing the community
For FE to be visible, it doesn’t need to be – and fact shouldn’t be – limited to careers talks. It could just as well, and as effectively, be about a much less formal involvement of students across the two institution types. Students, could, for example, come into the local primary school to help with reading. Or, with their lecturers, help with a science project at a secondary school in the catchment area.
I have seen that work on countless occasions – and have even been involved myself. In the 16 years since I left school, I have been back for careers talks, but also to help in English and social science classes, countless times. I have spent hours sitting in front of 12-year-olds, carefully pronouncing the German "kennen" (to know) and the Scottish "ken", "loch" (German for hole) and "loch" as in Loch Lomond, and "henne" (German for, well, hen) and hen – you get the idea – to show the similarities between the two languages.
I have helped slightly older children write basic news reports and chatted about life in another country. I have seen how easy it is, even for someone relatively boring, to enthuse a group of children with a story that starts right where they are now and took me where I wanted to be. Imagine how straightforward it would be for a group of young engineering students. Or dancers. Or patisserie students.
It requires communication, and a willingness at the chalkface, as well as at leadership level, to work together. But it doesn’t cost a great deal of money; just the cost of a lunch for a group of local headteachers, or hiring a coach to take a class of primary pupils to see the college Christmas pantomime. It's a small price to pay to establish your college at the heart of the community it serves.
