The government needs to decide what FE colleges are for, and the relationship between them and universities. Universities are now starting to offer level 4 and 5 courses as well as higher apprenticeships training. What is going to be the distinction between FE and HE for such courses? Are we moving to a situation where most FE colleges and universities are going to work in partnership or even merge? If level 4 and above courses can be offered by both universities and FE college it does not at seem at all sensible for the relevant funding arrangements for universities and FE colleges to be different.

We need clarity. Universities get much better funding, more freedom from government intervention and more freedom to award qualifications than FE. The reasons why FE and HE are treated so differently needs to be better articulated. Universities have flourished without the same degree of detailed government direction as that faced by FE.

There is a need to appreciate that FE is:

• in some respects less successful at running A level and level 3 Applied General courses than schools and sixth form colleges for 16- to 18-year-olds, although their more adult ‘feel’ is an advantage and they are good for students who for various reasons disliked school (or the school disliked them).
• often more successful than other settings at running courses which relate directly to employers and are good at employing staff who are dual-professionals - teachers who have worked in industry or are still working part-time in industry. Universities tend to veer towards more academic courses and research while FE colleges veer towards on-the-job training - and it is the latter that is generally regarded as best for developing employment skills. 
• as or more successful than other settings in being a hub for the local community, providing lifelong learning opportunities.
• more successful than universities at providing a positive working environment for students who have been unsuccessful at school and need a second chance, including quite a high proportion of those with special needs.
• more flexible than universities. If a student goes to university and cannot cope with a level 4 or 5 course they will probably have to leave. In an FE college, there will be alternative routes available.
• more successful than other settings for adults with work or care commitments who can only attend part-time.

We have moved to a situation where the majority of funding for FE comes from payments for full-time, non-employed 16- to 18-year-olds and this has changed the nature of colleges, which were once focused on day-release, adults and part-timers. Is this what we want?

Barnaby Lennon was head of Trinity School, Croydon and Harrow School, and is chair of governors at the London Academy of Excellence. This is an edited extract from Other People’s Children, published by John Catt Educational