It’s absolutely fantastic to be here, and this year we've got a record number of people at this conference. I think that's a real sign of the state of our sector and the place we are in now. It's not just college people at this conference, and we've got lots and lots of people from colleges, but we've also got lots of the partners and stakeholders from businesses, from government, from major players within other sectors showing us why they find FE so important. We're a popular sector, and people want to work with us - that's fantastic .

I'm really pleased that we've got students with us over the next couple of days. We've got those gaining work experience, but we've also got student governors here learning about the sector and about policy. We've got a leadership programme for students as well, so it's great to have that mix of people here today.

We've got a great line-up of speakers. We've got hot topics on most of the subjects you can think of and a massive number of breakout sessions. I'm confident we're going to have a really fantastic couple of days and I hope you have a great conference.

It feels like we're living in really changing world with lots going on. Whether that's about AI and technology (and you can't read the news without people talking about how that's going to change everything) or the demographic changes, the ageing population or the climate change with COP30 on at the moment or just the changes in attitudes that we're seeing in the younger generation coming through, maybe post-Covid, and so on.

Even within education, as you've heard already, there's so much happening, isn't there?

There's so many challenges facing every single college, whether it's all of the challenges around the white paper, or the situation where college pay is just not good enough which means we're getting even more industrial relations, disputes and difficulties.  We've got the new Ofsted inspections, which is starting as we speak with every college trying to work out how to prepare for that. We've got more devolution in more places and that's bringing in new players and new political parties who have all sorts of views about the sector, although sometimes they are not very well informed about what's needed.

So there are loads of challenges, as well as increasing expectations on our sector, that's how it feels because we are, I think, living through very changing and uncertain times.

I think sometimes, more than anything else, it's the uncertainty that really upsets people and makes it really difficult. And of course, all of this comes after what I've been calling for years, the decade of neglect. A decade of neglect that started in 2010, and apologies if you've heard me talk about this before, but I think it is important to remember what we went through.

It felt like an onslaught, didn't it? It felt like colleges were surviving an onslaught of funding cuts and policies that just didn't work. A decade, I think, in which colleges didn't much more than survive. 

I think colleges actually emerged from that decade much stronger, much more effective, and much more efficient than they ever were before. And as a sector, I think we came through that decade much stronger, more respected, more engaged with government and more central to their  plans.

I think things have started to change in the last few years and particularly in the last year or so. I want to suggest that today we're at a big pivot point as a sector and that's really important.

I think we're moving from that decade of neglect to what I hope, and I truly believe, will be a decade of opportunity, a decade in which colleges can thrive and grow and do more and have bigger impact.

Let me explain what I mean. And I'm sure, over the course of the next two days, you'll tell me whether you agree or not.

First, I want to go back and just describe how that decade of neglect looked to me when I started. I started in 2016. This is my 10th conference as chief executive, and nine years ago, it was really, really clear to me that colleges were just seen as not good enough. That was the phrase that people kept telling me. Colleges just aren't good enough, David, they're second best. We’re not going to listen to you because colleges aren't good enough. And because of that, we had massive funding cuts throughout that decade, particularly on the adult education side. We had rate freezes as well. It's remarkable and astounding that the adult funding rate hasn't increased since 2008. That's an amazing statistic, but it's true. And it's true because we were neglected. We were not understood.

Because of that, learner numbers plummeted, particularly again for adults. All colleges had to go through enormous organisational changes, whether it was mergers or redundancies, or downsizing or shutting down campuses or courses, or just holding back pay.

We were subject in that period to area reviews, sometimes very heavy-handed and clumsy interventions, to college insolvencies by the end of the decade. By 2020, the college sector was a third smaller than it was in 2010.

A third smaller; that's how big the shift was. That's how bad that decade of neglect was. We had no effective voice back in 2016, there were too few people in power who knew about our sector, too few of them who really understood why colleges were important and how colleges worked and too many had just simply not been inside colleges. We weren't being listened to. We had no seat at the table. If you remember, in that period, employers were supposedly in the driving seat and we weren't even in the back seat. We weren't even in the boot. We've been left behind. Schools and universities were getting the funding; we were getting the crumbs off the table if we were lucky.

But our response as a sector since then has been absolutely incredible. Throughout that decade of the neglect, we wanted to be respected. We wanted to be understood. We didn't ask for much, we wanted to be valued for what colleges do and we wanted the impact that colleges have to be understood. We wanted to be taken seriously as a sector. We wanted to take our rightful place alongside schools, universities and others within education. We wanted colleges to be viewed as anchor institutions, delivering great experiences and outcomes for learners, but doing so much more in the community as well. 

So, we worked really hard to be listened to. We worked really hard as individual colleges to make the funding work and the leadership in colleges over that period, I think, was astounding because all of you in every single college made things more efficient. But you didn't just make it more efficient; you made the funding work, but you also improved quality, you improved outcomes for students. You kept that unrelenting focus on students and what matters to them.

You grew the engagement with employers. You showed those values that I think we all hold so dear; those values of inclusion and diversity and respect and tolerance and making sure everybody could succeed in colleges. It was really fantastic leadership in colleges. But as a sector, we also worked together differently. 

We became systems leaders, so college leaders now see themselves as working in a system locally and nationally much more than before, partnering together with other colleges, partnering with other organisations like the NHS and the local authority and the strategic authorities. 

We joined up nationally to present a united front. We ran big campaigns like Love Our Colleges and Colleges Week. We leaned into government. We tried to understand what the government wanted and showed how colleges can deliver on their agenda. We celebrated colleges in ways that we'd not done before, and we started to be proud of our sector much more openly and much more powerfully. I think in that decade we got much better at influencing and partnering with others. We started to propose policy proposals that are starting to come to light now.

Throughout that period, of course, funding was really, really tough. But from around 2020, things started to get a bit better. Now I know that depending on whether you're a big 16 to 19 college or an adult college will influence how you see this.

But for 16 to 19 funding we have seen massive increases in the last five or six years. By the 2026 academic year there will have been more than £3 billion more put in compared to 2019 academic year - that's about 60% increase in that period.

Now it's not enough, but can you imagine what the sector would be like now if that £3 billion had not come in?

So what we need now is the government to do the same for adults, and to start looking at the adult funding, because that decimation of adult funding in 2010 to 2020 was really profound. There has been at least a 50% reduction in real terms in the adult budget, despite the fact that the population has gone up by 10% in that period. So this is a really big problem.

Things started to get better and they've started to put some money into the sector, and in the last year, things have really moved on. I think it's really difficult now not to believe that we're in the driving seat much more than we've ever been before. Colleges are stronger in terms of leadership, in terms of effectiveness. Colleges are viewed as anchor institutions, and colleges are key partners to government and their ambitions.

We're a sector that others want to work with, who want to partner with, who want to be associated with and some other sectors are looking at our sector with envy in ways that you would never have believed 10 years ago. We’ve got lots of seats and lots of tables filled, of course, by many of you. We've got more college leaders now involved directly with government, helping to influence the agenda. Again, that didn't happen a decade or so ago, and there are lots of other indicators. Take the Prime Minister's speech at the Labour Party conference about five or six weeks ago, where he stood up and announced that further education will be a defining cause for this Labour government, a defining cause for the government.

It’s quite a good statement for us to have, and with a target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning – academic, technical or apprenticeships – by age 25, and at least 10% of young people pursuing higher technical education or apprenticeships by age 25 by 2040.

A target, which will require colleges to deliver big parts of it and a target which will bring quite a lot of funding with it as well. So a real opportunity for colleges to grow, I think into a space that we've always wanted to inhabit much more than we do now.

And the white paper itself set a very positive tone around the role of colleges. It described colleges as anchor institutions; we've not heard that before. It sets employers as partners with colleges rather than as customers of colleges. It talked about universities collaborating with colleges locally to set up new pathways.

Again, it’s words, I know, but words that mean a lot with the government behind it. There are lots of other policy proposals as well, which will need colleges to step up and deliver.

I’ve heard quite a few people saying, well, we haven't got the capacity to do that. Well, let's make sure we get the funding to get the capacity to grow over time. And we've got to make sure that we help co-design because the problem we've had for so long is government deciding they want us to do something as a sector and then telling us how to do it. We've got to wrestle that control. We've got to become the designers with government and make sure that the funding is there to deliver.

Let's just have a quick look at those opportunities because I think there are lots.

We know that the number of 16 to 19-year-olds will grow over the next four or five years and that's going up with the introduction of V Levels and T Levels. There's a strong likelihood there'll be more young people going into V Level, and T Level routes and growing that number.

I think there's a really good agenda around 16 to 19 growth, and adding to that the government's big target around young people who are not in education, employment or training, we're hoping there might be some announcement on that in the Chancellor's budget next week. There's a big opportunity for colleges to lean into that as well with the funding to support more people and we must get the funding to do that. The apprenticeship changes will be aimed much more at younger people and in kind of apprenticeships that colleges excel at.

The Level 4 and 5 growth will be largely in colleges in collaboration with universities. We've got 29 technical excellence colleges already announced, and that's a bit of a test, isn't it? It's the government giving colleges some revenue to engage with employers to do the curriculum design to make sure that the quality is there to be able to drive young people and adults through Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

There's industrial strategy and workforce plans coming over the next few years, which again will highlight the industries that are going to grow the economy that need the skills that colleges can deliver so big.

There are opportunities to think about growing all of that, but it's not just in economic growth where the opportunities lie. We've been doing some great work with the Home Office on the safer streets agenda. We've been doing a lot of work with the Department for Health and Social Care, on preventative health, which is Wes Streeting’s big idea to reduce pressure on the health service. Colleges have a massive role in those to play as well.

Now, sadly, at the moment, adult education is not on that agenda or that list of opportunities. And we've got to change that because we all know just how important adult learning is in the world in which we live.

Adult learning was decimated over the last decade, and that has to change even though it's going to be really hard. We know that the government has weak finances. We know that they couldn't find the money in the spending review for adults, and we know that investing in young people just instinctively feels good to governments.

I've been in this game a long time, something like 30 years, trying to get adult education on the agenda, and it's always the young people they turn to. I think there are a number of reasons for that and we need to understand why in order to change it.

Most of the people in power think they can remember being 16 and it's just a madness that they think that, but they do so. Or they've got kids who are 16 or coming up to 16, so they prioritise that above all else.

Most of them have never been inside a college as an adult, as a learner, most of them probably don't know people who've been in a college as a learner. They've never had to retrain in the ways that we expecting people to retrain now. They've not got the literacy, numeracy, English language, or digital skills challenges that millions of adults have, so they don't know about the group of adults that we want to help and support.

It's more distant. It's more theoretical. So, we've got to make it much more palpable to them. We've got to get them to understand something that's beyond their personal experience. That's really difficult.

That's why we're launching today a new campaign: Adult Learning Pays. Adult learning pays in all sorts of different ways, so we want to stimulate a discussion and debate. We want to make investment in adults a much higher priority than it's been probably for the last 30 years. 

We want to show that there are big risks if you don't invest in adults. If you don't promote and create a kind of a lifelong learning culture, the obvious big risk is we leave behind millions of adults in this changing world. Millions of adults who won't have the technology and AI skills won't have the green skills that are needed to get into work and stay in work or even to participate in society.

There is a risk that if we leave those people behind all of the community cohesion pressures will get even worse and the productivity problems we've got as a nation will stay stubbornly there forever.

There are big risks if we don't get this right. Today we published some polling on this to get an idea about the attitudes. Our polling was on those challenges of AI and the green skills revolution. We found out, I think, some quite shocking statistics that show how big this challenge is.

60% of people polled are not worried at all about AI or technology changing or taking over their jobs. Even though all those forecasts say a couple of million jobs are going to go, and 6 million jobs are going to be impacted by the green skills changes. Even more concerning is when you look at the differences between different groups of adults. Over half of graduates are concerned, but only a third of non-graduates and the polling also found that people are very unlikely to look to training to be able to cope and change. So only 30% of lower earners think they're going to get into training to be able to deal with and adapt to AI, whereas 50% of higher earners are thinking that.

We've got a mountain to climb in the adult learning space, but I want to finish on a positive note. I truly believe we're at that pivot point as a sector, from neglect to opportunity, from being overlooked to being centre stage, from quite low expectations to quite scarily high expectations.

It’s not that the next decade will be easy, of course, because grasping opportunities, growing, extending, doing more, moving into new areas of work, trying out new markets of learners is really difficult.

So the decade of neglect was really tough, but you know as well as I do that an opportunity decade, is going to be tough as well. It's a big agenda. There's lots of expectations on our sector and often I know it feels like it's just almost impossible just to deliver on today's agenda, let alone all of those new things that are coming.

I think colleges will be stretched. The capacity to grow and develop needs to be built. We need some help along the way, which is why, yes, government, you're expecting our sector to step in, step up, do more and that's fantastic. That's what we've asked for.

But we need your help; we need you, government, to help us. So there's five things I think we need from the government looking forward. The first is that they need to recognise that they're asking for an enormous change programme and we all know that change programmes take time. You can't deliver change overnight, and they need to plan it and manage the change programme effectively.

Second is, they need to work with us from the beginning now and they are on the co-design. They need us in the room, all of you in the room, to help get the details of the policies right, to implement the policies in ways that will work in colleges. That's something that we've not seen very much of in the last 20 odd years.

Third, they need to make sure that the investment comes forward. We've got to have better investment on adult funding on pay, on capital, on capacity, on risk sharing.

Fourth, we need some certainty. We can't implement change if it's not clear that this is for the long term, we've got to get more certainty for the future.

Finally, fifth, we need to try and cut out all of the unhelpful and wasteful competition. We don't want to fight with universities. We don't want to fight with schools and ITPs, we want to work with them. We want to have a space for everyone and we want to know what we're expected to do and to and to deliver.

So, the future is one of great expectations, big leadership challenges. But as leadership challenges go, it's quite exciting.

It's not about cuts, it's not about downsizing, it's not about retrenchment.

It's about growth, it's about doing more, it's about helping more learners, it's about supporting more employers. It's about helping communities become more coherent and tolerant and cohesive. It's a positive agenda. I think we've earned our place at the table, so we now need to show everyone why we deserve it.

We need to grasp the opportunities for every single college. We need to grasp the opportunities for the sector. We need to show what being an anchor institution really means. We need to hold government to account for the support we need from them, and we need to make sure the next decade really is an opportunity decade.

I hope you can join us on that journey.

I am delighted to be here and to be part of what I know will be a really great event over the next couple of days with incredible speakers and opportunities to talk about the enormously important work that you're doing and the real opportunities for the future.

When I spoke to you last year, I talked about the principles that would guide our reform of the post-16 education and skills system. And of course, as you know, we published the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper last month. It sets out our vision for a world-leading skills system, one that breaks down barriers to opportunity for students whilst also serving the needs of employers. A system to support growth across the country and to drive national renewal.

I just want to briefly set out the problem that it was designed to solve, as I think you've been hearing just now, the skills system, of course, is critical to developing the workforce that we need to drive growth, and to deliver our plan to renew the country, building homes and infrastructure, developing green energy, renewing the NHS, responding to and innovating in an increasingly digital world. In doing that, we raise the tax taken for public services and we also transform the lives of many people through the opportunities that learning and development can bring, something which I suspect brought most of us into education and skills in the first place.

But a quarter of job vacancies are still down to skills shortages. That's well-paid work that's going begging. There just aren't enough people with the right qualifications, the right skills to do it. And on top of that, as Skills England has identified, we'll need to an additional 900,000 skilled workers for our chosen priority sectors between now and 2030 and two-thirds of those will require qualifications at Level 4 and above.

At the same time, a staggering 8 and a half million adults in this country lack basic English and maths, with around 7 million falling short on digital skills. Without Level 2 qualifications, they are far more likely to be unemployed. And that's what the White Paper is here to fix.

As you know, getting someone on the right course goes far beyond the certificate, a handshake and a sense of accomplishment. It's the passport to a skilled career, a good job, a high salary, security for your family, and the power to take control of your life. And we owe it to our young people, particularly to get more of them on that right track. Shockingly, more than 800,000 16 to 24-year-olds are not either earning or learning.

And that represents a wholly unacceptable waste of opportunity for young people and their contribution for our country, and that's why we will deliver the Youth guarantee for 18 to 21-year-olds to access training and apprenticeship or help to find work and we've taken the first steps to deliver this through the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer areas, with 8 mayoral strategic authorities leading those trailblazers across England testing innovative ways to identify young people at risk of becoming NEET then matching them up to training or to job opportunities, recognising sometimes the particular hurdles that they need to overcome. But we're now going further.
As the Chancellor announced, the Youth Guarantee will include a targeted backstop where unemployed young people who've been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be provided with guaranteed paid work, and we'll shortly provide further details about that, including the eligibility criteria. But of course we need to prevent young people from dropping out of education and training in the first place and that's why we're also developing a package of prevention measures, including better data sharing to identify and track young people's progression to prevent them falling out of education and training in the first place.

We know that that transition from school to post-16 is important and we'll improve it, being clear about the responsibility for schools to support good destinations, giving your colleges a vital role in getting more young people ready for their next steps at 18, and here we plan to pilot automatic enrolment at a local college or further education provider for those without a place.

The lifelong power of good skills education is why my ministerial role now sits across two departments, the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions. Working from DWP means that I can better link skills and opportunities to the labour market and to the midlife workers who also stand to gain from the chance to upskill or to reskill, and that repositioning of skills demonstrates this government's commitment to building a joined up system agile enough to meet the economy's changing demands and able to steer unemployed people towards training for high demand industries.

The Prime Minister knows that skills training lies at the root of our country's future success. He called further education a defining cause of this government in his 2025 Labour Party Conference speech. Banishing the sectors Cinderella status is about better investment, raising quality and aspiration for what it for what you can deliver.

We're backing you with an extra £800 million of post-16 funding for the next financial year and by 2028 this will have risen to an extra £1.2 billion a year.

And we know that there's excellent work going on in colleges across the country, but we need to harness that to drive, the cutting edge curricula and teaching linked to new partnerships with employers. And that's the role of our technical excellence colleges, the first launched in August.

With more plans for the growth driving sectors named in the industrial strategy, the investment and the designation raises the profile of skills we really need and drives improvement across the system, so this investment maintains real terms for student funding for the next academic year, in line with the demographic increase of 16 to 19-year-olds, helping you to recruit and retain expert teachers in high value subjects. But at the same time we will bolster the quality of teaching with new training and professional development to drive up FE standards in every part of the country, and we'll establish a career long professional development pathway for FE teachers rooted in evidence and best practise. We'll continue to offer teacher training bursaries of up to £31,000 for priority subjects like maths, and we'll continue to provide the targeted retention payments of up to £6000 for early career teachers that we introduced last year. Nearly 6000 people received those payments in the last academic year.

At a wider system level, we need a more collaborative and coherent post-16 system with closer working between further education and higher education, and I want to thank the AoC for the work that you're leading with Universities UK on that challenge to support that. We will ensure consistent regulation of courses from level 4 onwards. We'll consult on including breakpoints in degree programmes that will help to enable more FE and HE providers to come together to deliver the higher level qualifications that meet priority economic needs and open up more opportunities that support people to thrive in work and life. 

All of this will help further and higher education deliver the Prime Minister's bold new target that two-thirds of young people gain higher level qualifications, which for the first time includes higher technical qualifications and apprenticeships, as well as degrees. We want this to translate into far more skills qualifications at Levels 4 and 5 delivered in collaboration with universities and funded by the lifelong learning entitlement.

In the skills white paper, we also set out our plans for qualifications, which were reflected in the work and reflected the work of the curriculum and assessment review. There is much further to go to improve quality, coherence and consistency of qualifications so that all young people can be clear about the route for them to their chosen ambition and confidence about the quality and currency of the qualifications they choose.

So we'll simplify the landscape with three clear routes for 16 to 18-year-olds at Level 3. A Levels and T Levels will be joined by new V Levels, a third option for vocational study. They will allow students to explore different sectors before specialising, but can be confident that they're learning the skills that employers have determined are needed for the occupations that they want to progress to.

And crucially, V Levels will provide the transferable skills that employers look for in young candidates. The skills white paper and the curriculum review both also affirm the government's continued commitment to delivering T Levels as the main technical offer for students who know the career area that they want to pursue and want that as their study programme.

Many people have argued to me that T levels need to develop further before decisions are made about alternatives, but we are seeing that development. T Levels are offering fantastic progression outcomes. T Level learners are more likely to work or study in the field of their T Level after completion than learners on comparable Level 3 qualifications. We have made changes to assessment and industrial placements to ensure that they are deliverable and will continue this work.

So where the T Level exists, we believe that it is the right option for students who have decided to specialised in that vocational area. which is why funding for large qualifications in T Level areas will be withdrawn from next year. However, all qualifications in non-T Level areas will remain funded until V Levels and additional T Levels are introduced to replace them. And following feedback from the sector, we're retaining more of these qualifications than anticipated or previously announced. We'll also simplify Level 2 qualifications with two pathways that provide clear progression. A one-year further study pathway to prepare students for Level 3 courses and a two-year occupational pathway to prepare students for employment.

Both of those will include tailored employability and enrichment, as well as English and maths tuition, because as you know, around a third of Year 11 pupils don't achieve grade 4 in their English or maths GCSE, and too few later achieve this minimum standard via the resets process. To open up opportunity, you've strongly made the case that we must find better ways to support their attainment while they're still in full-time education, as I say, that's the case you've made strongly to me and to the curriculum and assessment review and that's why we will be introducing a new Level 1 stepping stone qualification to provide an interim goal and to consolidate English and maths so that students can then advance to GCSE Level the following year, once they're ready to retake the exams. We want providers to help students to get as far as they can, I know that's what you want as well, whilst they're at college, rather than the GCSE pass being all or nothing, and we'll therefore make changes to the current accountability framework to recognise your efforts to progress students towards Level 2.

We're consulting about these changes to both Levels 2 and 3, you've got until the 12th of January to have your say, but also officials from the department are on hand today to discuss these changes. So please make the most of them. You can find them in hall three at the end of this session.

The conference website refers to this time as being the era of devolution. I'm glad that's recognised because skills devolution is not a passing phase. It's a positive movement, a direction of travel because the best decisions are taken by the best-informed people. And the best-informed people on local skills needs are those local partners, employers and education providers like yourselves. You advocate for students so that they can leave education to start good local employment and a bright future.

Local skills improvement plans are all about bringing employers, strategic authorities, higher education, further education and independent training providers together to solve local skills challenges. And I'm delighted that the second phase of LSIPs is now here. With a stronger role for strategic authorities this morning, we're publishing new statutory guidance to support local plans development and implementation and Skills England CEOs, Tessa Griffiths and Sarah McLean will tell you more about our expectations for the new Level 6 this afternoon. But for now, I'd like to thank you for all your involvement thus far and recognise your work on the new round of plans, your insight and expertise, your willingness to work alongside other partners remains vital to their success and I look forward to hearing exciting developments in the West Midlands LSIP later this morning when I meet with representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, the Combined Authority businesses and further and higher education.

Beyond formal engagement like LSIPs, I know that FE colleges make a massive contribution to their communities. You act as opportunity engines, educating young and not so young, a mix of abilities and approaches to education, you deliver enormous economic and social value, and this government firmly backs your work, so I want to end by thanking everybody here who puts so much into helping students to succeed, your dedication can be seen in every qualification past, every placement completed. Every time a young person finds their learning style, the right course and ultimately their route to success.

Opening the door to their talents to show them what they're good at is the best of what you do, and in doing that you change lives and you change our country for the better. Thank you.

Lead organisation: Pearson

Speakers:

• Deidre Williams, Director - VQ Portfolio Management, Pearson

• Julie Kapsalis, Principal and Chief Executive, NESCOT

• Keith Smith, Chief Executive, HRUC

• Jo Ricketts, Deputy Principal, Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College

• Lisa Capper MBE, Principal and Chief Executive, Sandwell College

Hosted by Pearson, this session summarised and explored 500+ pages of policy, including the The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 - GOV.UK, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, and the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Key takeaways:

• The introduction of V Levels means that post-16 students will be provided with a broader vocational option.

• The reforms propose new Level 2 pathways, with clear routes for occupational and further study progression, and enhanced support for English and maths.

• The rollout of these qualifications will occur between 2027 and 2030, with a phased approach and ongoing consultation.

The White Paper and qualification reform is a pivotal moment for our sector, and your voices matter, so please take the time to respond to the Department for Education’s consultation by the 12 January. Your feedback will help shape the future of vocational education. Together, we can ensure these reforms work for learners, employers and communities.

Lead organisation: Activate Learning

Speakers:

• Matt Clack, Extended Realities Development Manager, Activate Learning

• Matt Beck, Director of Blended and Online Learning, Blended Learning Consortium, Heart of Worcestershire College

• Marc Challans, Group Head of Learning Environments, Activate Learning

Activate Learning’s (AL) Matt Clack discussed the process and philosophy the Activate XR team use in developing educational XR. From idea generation, selection and rejection to matching XR tech to ideas and learning needs, Matt shared a simple “Game Design Document” framework to facilitate in-house XR development.

Matt Beck from the Blended Learning Consortium (BLC) then talked about how the consortium brings together over 160 institutions and over 10 years of experience to create industry-leading digital resources. This collaborative community empowers learning providers with innovative tools, like the XR catalogue, to enhance teaching and learning and digital experiences. He also explained how the BLC membership provides access to cutting-edge content, expert support, and a thriving network, helping institutions stay ahead in digital education.

Using insight gained from multi-site, multi-headset, multi-asset deployment of VR over several years, Marc Challans then shared the lessons learned around VR use in education, including IT/network considerations, service and device tracking, device management and kiosk software, and dealing with Meta Horizon Managed Services.

Lead organisation: The Education Training Collective

Speakers:

• Sarah Johnson, College Principal, Redcar and Cleveland College, The Education Training Collective

• Alys Tregear, Director of Student Experience and Wellbeing, The Education Training Collective

• Rebecca Cadden, College Principal, Stockton and Riverside College, The Education Training Collective

The Education Training Collective (Etc.) outlined how the Etc. (comprising Redcar and Cleveland College, Stockton Riverside College, Bede Sixth Form, NETA Training, and Innersummit) has driven significant improvement in attendance and wellbeing across the college group.

Speakers shared its strategic framework, highlighting collaboration with local authorities, robust attendance policies, and data-led interventions focusing on supporting students to attend. The approach emphasises senior leadership accountability and proactive engagement with parents and stakeholders.

The session detailed the development of a trauma-informed culture, embedding professional curiosity, staff training, and consistent practice grounded in clarity, support, and connection. The model promotes a “high support, high challenge” ethos through restorative practices and early interventions.

The implementation of a range of strategies, consistently high expectations, visible attendance messaging, progress monitoring, and targeted support for vulnerable learners have driven year-on-year improvements. Attendance for both 16–18 and 19+ learners show a sustained upward trend, evidencing impact through marginal gains.

The session concluded that embedding trauma-informed leadership, relentless attention to context and detail are critical to sustaining positive behaviour and attendance outcomes across the group.

Lead organisation: Cambridge Regional College and St. Neots Initiative

Speakers:

• Kate da Costa, Deputy Principal Curriculum Development, Cambridge Regional College

• Nick Hayward, Group Director MIS, Data and Performance, Cambridge Regional College

• Alex Hughes, Founder, Citizen Hub

The Citizen Hub is redefining how communities and colleges work together to unlock opportunity. This session explored how a forward-thinking community interest company, in partnership with Cambridge Regional College and Bedford College Group, has built a shared model for skills, employment, health and social inclusion in St Neots, a growing market town without a job centre or FE college.

Rather than competing, colleges collaborate within the hub, sharing referrals, co-designing training and embedding advice and learning within a trusted civic space. The result is a system where citizens can walk in for a conversation and leave connected to opportunity.

Delegates heard how this approach has driven over 2,000 residents through the door, with 700+ referrals into skills or employment. It also received national recognition including BBC’s The One Show and The Times. The Citizen Hub model shows that when education partners join forces with communities, charities and employers, participation becomes a lived experience, not a policy ambition. It’s now being replicated in new areas across the UK, proving that local collaboration can drive inclusive growth and reimagine what careers support means for the places people actually live.

Lead organisation: Capel Manor College

Speakers:

• Heather Marks, Deputy Principal, Capel Manor College

• Jess Berry, Assistant Principal, Capel Manor College

• Stuart Barlow, Land-based Consultant, Abingdon and Witney College

This session explored how resilience-centred learning can transform attendance, engagement and learner confidence, particularly for 16 to 18-year-olds who have faced adversity or disrupted education. Drawing on doctoral research and leadership experience, the discussion introduced a practical framework grounded in Michael Ungar’s ecological model of resilience, focusing on the interplay between emotional safety, learner agency, and purpose.

Key takeaways included the importance of “connecting before correcting” and creating emotionally safe learning spaces where students feel seen, supported, and capable of success. Attendees examined how trauma-aware and nature-connected learning environments can foster self-regulation, motivation and belonging leading to academic and personal growth.

The hands-on advice centred on three tools:

1. Resilience walkthrough tool: a reflective framework for identifying protective and risk factors across curriculum design.
2. Curriculum diagnostic prompts: guiding staff to embed resilience, learner voice and agency into everyday teaching.
3. Inclusive planning resources: supporting teams to co-design learning with students, not just for them.

The session concluded that resilience isn’t taught, it’s co-constructed through relationships, relevance and reflection. By embedding this mindset, colleges can help learners move from surviving to thriving, shaping a stronger, more compassionate FE sector.

Lead organisation: Solihull College and University Centre

Speakers:

• Grace Wynne Willson, Student EDI and Enrichment Manager/Quality Coach, Solihull College and University Centre

• Sam Bansal, Lecturer/Student Enrichment Co-ordinator, Solihull College and University Centre

This breakout session was led by Solihull College and University Centre and detailed how they implemented a college-wide initiative to reshape curriculum planning in a way that ensures all voices are heard and reflected.

In response to student feedback calling for greater diversity and representation within the curriculum, the session shared how they engaged both staff and students through training and the creation of inclusive teaching resources that prioritise voice, choice and identity.

Grace and Sam were able to draw on personal experiences and professional interests to deliver and achieve this work and shared some key mechanisms to ensure change is lasting. These include:

• staff training and providing safe spaces for discussion and learning for leaders

• importance of student voice and helping students make meaningful change

• a whole college approach by making it a strategic priority and visible commitment from leadership team

• resources and toolkits for teachers that are accessible and functional.

In terms of how this project made an impact and its sustainability, Sam and Grace have seen improved student experience – because seeing themselves reflected in the curriculum boosts student engagement – staff development and increased confidence levels, involvement in quality processes across the college, and increased celebration of inclusive practice.

Lead organisation: Department for Education

Speakers:

• Polly Harrow, Assistant Principal, Kirklees College and DfE Student Support Champion for FE

• Lis Hoyte, Director, Lis Hoyte Consultancy

This session explored the importance of equipping young people with the values needed to build healthy relationships, and the urgent need to challenge harmful stereotypes early. There is now a sharper focus on encouraging boys to identify positive role models, and a growing recognition that colleges are not just places of learning but places where attitudes and behaviours are shaped.

The Relationship Sex Education (RSE) Toolkit, co-created by Association of Colleges, National Association for Managers of Student Services, Kirklees College and Gateshead College, for the post-16 sector is a practical and bold response, and the work undertaken so far has been strengthened by educators across the sector who have contributed to its development. The initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to tackling violence against women and has the potential to become a catalyst for change across the country.

Polly noted a growing cynicism around reporting incidents to the police, driven by fears that cases will not be treated with sufficient urgency. The harm of social media was also highlighted, with algorithms amplifying misogynistic content, including material from the manosphere and other online sources. Increasingly, harmful content is being presented as entertainment.

She also expressed that the next steps that college leaders should take include reviewing the RSE/PSHE offer, identifying training and resource needs, incorporating student voice into planning, and embedding RSE across the curriculum.

Lead organisation: Association of Colleges

Speakers:

• Nina Chorzelewski (Chair), Policy Manager, Association of Colleges

• Katherine Emms, Education and Policy Senior Researcher, Edge Foundation

• Jonathan Ledger, Skills and Professional Bodies Specialist, Department of Business and Trade

• John Beaty, Principal and Chief Executive, Burton and South Derbyshire College

• Jee Hang Lee, President and CEO, Association of Community College Trustees

The session focused on developing an international offer and building sustainable partnerships, with the panel sharing examples of successful collaboration and strategies for overcoming challenges in international work. 

Nina Chorzelewski highlighted the range of international work in colleges, which ranges from student mobility programmes for domestic students, recruitment of international students to study on both bespoke programmes and within the home offer, and also delivery of transnational education. 

Key insights from the British Council TNE in TVET report, presented by Kat Emms, focussed on the sector’s untapped potential in TNE and stressed that effective transnational education relies on strong partnerships, contextualisation, and mutual learning to expand global access to high-quality vocational education.

Jonathan Ledger from DBT identified the ASEAN area as an emerging market for developing commercial opportunities, and emphasised the need to diversify messaging beyond domestic audiences and tailor approaches to specific countries and relevant skills requirements. 

John Beaty from Burton and South Derbyshire College discussed the benefits of international work for the college, including CPD opportunities available for staff working with partner colleges. He highlighted the importance of weaving international work throughout the whole college strategy and having international specialists to embed internationalisation through the whole college offer. 

Jee Hang Lee, from Association of Community College Trustees, offered a US perspective and emphasised the important of strong leadership and strategy when creating international opportunities, as well as stating that strong employer links strengthen global exchange programmes and are critical in ensuring that students are effective global citizens.

Lead organisation: Jisc

Speaker:

• Michael Webb, Director of AI, Jisc

This session focussed on how artificial intelligence (AI) is already part of everyday life in colleges, shaping how students learn, how staff work and how institutions run. The challenge now is using it in ways that are purposeful, responsible and sustainable. It introduced Jisc’s new strategic framework for AI, built around three key areas: skills and knowledge, technology and governance, all underpinned by data maturity.

Delegates heard that students are increasingly concerned about AI’s impact on employability, with 10% of respondents in a Jisc/Prospects survey already changing career plans because of AI, and that recruitment processes have been reshaped by AI, as candidates using the same tools often produce similar applications, creating a risk of losing individuality.

Staff perceptions reveal mixed views: while many believe AI guidance exists, it is poorly communicated, and ethical concerns around bias, transparency, and sustainability remain. At the same time, staff are using AI to save time, boost creativity, and improve engagement.

Building capability requires a structured approach, including assessing current skills, understanding AI’s role in different areas, and creating clear, practical guidance for staff and students. Strengths and weaknesses are evident: there is strong willingness to engage and good practice in staff development, but gaps remain in consistent training, meeting discipline-specific AI skill needs, and moving beyond short-term, reactive strategies toward long-term planning for future AI-driven skills.

Lead organisation: Association of Colleges

Speakers:

• Dr. Jan Eichorn, Partner, d|part think tank for political participation

• Billie Dunne, Education and Engagement Manager, The Electoral Commission

• Harriet Andrews, Director, The Politics Project

• Amira Campbell, President, National Union of Students

• Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager, Association of Colleges

This breakout session was led by Association of Colleges and policy experts who detailed the policy reform and research surrounding votes at 16 and the steps that need to be taken to prepare our students for this.

In review of the research and statistics on voting at 16, panellists shared promising findings, including: increased lifelong voting habit formation, increased trust in politics and satisfaction with democracy, younger voters report incorrect info at higher rates than older voters, 72% of young people think they should learn more about politics, and 80% of those who heard about politics at college in the last year feel confident about what they have learned.

Panellists shared some key mechanisms to ensure colleges support and foster informed voting. These include:

• linking lowered voting age with providing robust citizenship education could significantly increase voting participation

• prioritising voting habit formation by helping colleges overcome the barrier of impartiality in delivering democratic education

• identify sources of political information/discussion, how they impact student voting experiences, and how to foster important conversations about political involvement both inside and outside of the classroom.

Votes at 16 is a pivotal moment for the sector, and your voices matter, so please take the time to engage with the following resources/projects: 

• Signing the AoC Charter for Student Engagement and providing case studies.

• Encouraging students to join the Electoral Commission’s Youth Voice Network

• Incorporating the Electoral Commission’s Welcome to Your Vote Week (9 March – 15 March 2026) into college programming.

• Join as a pilot college or the programme board at The Politics Project to support development of policies and strategies across all of the key areas in democratic education: contact at emily@thepoliticsproject.org.uk.

• Explore Democracy Classroom resources such as How to Hold a Hustings.

Lead organisation: BMet

Speakers:

• Pat Carvalho, AoC President, Principal and CEO, Birmingham Metropolitan College
• Janet Gardner, Principal and CEO, Waltham Forest College
• Tony Medhurst, Principal and CEO, Hertford Regional College
• Jacqueline Carman, Principal, Halesowen College
• Laurence Frewin, Principal and CEO, South Devon College
• Stephen Davis, CEO and Group Principal, United Colleges Group
• Jason Lancaster, Principal and CEO, Northampton College

This session explored a new FE socio-economic impact framework, designed to help colleges demonstrate their contribution to social mobility, skills development and economic growth at a local level. The framework, created by a group of principals and AoC president, Pat Carvalho, offers themed metrics that colleges can tailor geographically and to the stakeholders they need to influence – from local communities and employers to the Treasury and wider government. Colleges shared how they are already using different data sources to evidence impact, including work-placement hours, environmental impact, and mental health support. Speakers also reflected on the need for colleges to “tell their story” more confidently.

Key takeaways:

• The value of presenting data accessibly through infographics, case studies or interactive reports to bring the impact to life.
• The benefit of colleges sharing good practice with each other and learning how other sectors effectively demonstrate their impact.
• The variety of potential audiences for key facts, for example staff or local residents.

Lead organisation: Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and The Middlesbrough College Group

Speakers:

• Katie Luxton, Senior Programme Manager, Education Endowment Foundation

• Lucy Jones, Head of Teaching and Learning, The Middlesbrough College Group

Building a culture of continuous professional development (CPD) works best when leadership and staff collaborate to engage, unite and reflect together. Leaders can create space for practitioners to help shape PD, encourage shared problem-solving, and provide guidance throughout the process. Bringing teams together around common values and goals is key – clarifying what is being implemented, how it will happen, and why it matters helps everyone feel invested. Monitoring progress can be framed as a tool for learning rather than accountability. Finally, ongoing reflection ensures PD remains responsive and effective.

The KEEP Framework underpins effective PD design and delivery. It combines four principles:

• Knowledge: introduce new material in a manageable volume and sequence learning to build on prior knowledge and skills.

• Engagement: engage practitioners through credible sources, goal setting and recognition of progress.

• Execution: offer structured opportunities for skill development via instruction, modelling, rehearsal, feedback and social support.

• Practice: embed repeated, purposeful practice with prompts, planning and self-monitoring.
  

In the session, Katie and Lucy explained the importance of carefully considering evidence-informed content for your PD, and starting with approaches supported by robust research, assessing transferability to your context, and making balanced decisions by weighing evidence strength against practical realities. They advised colleges to avoid bias toward familiar or popular ideas, and instead, critically appraise whether the content will drive meaningful change.

Lead organisation: EKC Group

Speakers:

• Lucy Mcleod, CEO, EKC Group

• Nick Holbrook-Sutcliffe, Assistant CEO, Education, EKC Group

• Charles Buchanan, Chair of Governors, EKC Group

Achieving strong outcomes is about more than data, it’s about creating a curriculum that inspires ambition and builds resilience. At EKC Group, we’ve rethought Level 1 provision, moving away from a model that can, too often, be an end point. Instead, we introduced a two-year Level 2 pathway, giving learners time to develop confidence, wider skills, and employability alongside core subjects. This approach embeds cultural capital, social action, wellbeing and digital skills, so students feel a sense of belonging and future readiness.

The results speak for themselves: achievement at Level 2 for those with a Level 1 starting point has risen dramatically, and retention has improved significantly year on year. But the journey wasn’t perfect, we learned hard lessons about pacing, support and balancing ambition with accessibility.

If you couldn’t attend the session, we’d love to share more. Come and visit EKC Group, see our model in action, and learn from both our successes and mistakes. Together, we can build approaches that keep learners engaged, ambitious, and equipped for lifelong success. Please get in touch, we’re always keen to collaborate and exchange ideas.

Lead organisation: Further Education Commission

Speakers:

• Francesca Elgie, Head of Teaching and Learning, Middlesbrough College

• Emma James, Group Curriculum Director – Maths, New City College London

• Shelagh Legrave, Further Education Commissioner

• Helena Crow, Department for Education, Head of 16-19 English and Maths Policy

• Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager, Association of Colleges

• Pauline Hagen, Further Education Adviser - FEC

• Sally Challis-Manning, Further Education Adviser - FEC

Delivered by a team from the further education commission, Association of Colleges (AoC), Department for Education (DfE) and leaders from New City College London and Middlesbrough College, the session explored early findings from FEC-led research into effective practice in the delivery of post-16 English and maths. Framed by current policy priorities and national performance data, the DfE outlined the context, emphasising the importance of improving progress and raising attainment in English and maths for 16 to 19-year-olds without a Level 2. Using the latest available data, the AoC illustrated how statistical analysis highlighted progress trends for learners starting at GCSE grades 2 and 3, celebrating incremental gains whilst highlighting persistent challenges.

Early findings from research to date identified key drivers of success: strong leadership, investment in quality improvement, and continuous professional development. Effective practice is rooted in diagnostic assessment, vocational alignment, and effective staff-student relationships, supported by learner-centred digital platforms and the value of having teacher-examiner resources. Engagement strategies focus on early intervention, pastoral support, and confidence building, particularly for vulnerable learners, alongside collaborative roles for tutors and support staff.

Case studies from colleges demonstrated practical solutions, including an emphasis on the structure of study programmes, robust staff-student relationships and a clear pedagogical focus.

The session concluded with next steps, including publishing a guide to effective practice in early 2026, together with an ambition to create English and maths professional networks to support and encourage sustained improvement.

For further information: contact FEC.Operations@education.gov.uk

Lead organisation: The College Collective, established by The KWP Ltd and the Association of Colleges

Speakers:

• Alison Maynard, Deputy Principal, New College Durham

• Fiona Matthews, Group Curriculum Director, New City College

• Dr Kate Webb, Managing Director, The KWP Ltd

• Miranda Gay, Group Head of Safeguarding, New City College

The College Collective, led by The KWP Ltd and the Association of Colleges, is reshaping professional development in FE. It is a growing movement of colleges that share expertise through a structured, peer-led consultancy model. At its core is a simple idea: every college has something of value to offer and something of value to learn.

Middle leaders are trained and accredited as AoC associate experts through the Institute of Leadership and are recognised through the Chartered Institution for FE – a ground-breaking pilot now fully embedded in the programme. Experts provide support to other colleges, while also developing their own skills and confidence through real consultancy experience.

New College Durham and New City College showed how this model delivers genuine impact in areas such as maths and behaviour through tailored mentoring, fresh external perspectives and structured challenge. This has helped leaders make evidence-informed decisions and created faster solutions to persistent issues.

Staff gain consultancy opportunities and ongoing learning through action learning sets and webinars. This broadens thinking, builds confidence and brings tested ideas straight back into their own teams.

Personally, participants described reduced isolation, particularly for middle leaders. The collective provides honest peer support and the chance to learn alongside colleagues who truly understand the realities of FE. Those wishing to learn more can contact natalie.gee@aoc.co.uk

Lead organisation: Markus, Hull College, Kendal College, United Colleges Group

Speakers:

• Andy Duffy, Co-Founder and Head of Product, Markus

• Mark Hyde, Chief Learning Strategist and Pedagogy Lead, Markus

This session explored how Markus is transforming English and maths assessment by delivering instant, pedagogy-aligned AI marking, freeing teachers to act on insight, not admin.

Andy and Mark walked delegates through the full assessment journey: starting with initial assessments for accurate level-setting, followed by the starting point assessment (their take on diagnostics), all built in partnership with educators. They then introduced full-scale mocks, where colleges can run large-scale exams with learners receiving feedback before leaving the room. This enables teachers to plan responsive lessons the very next day.

They showcased self-assessment, where students practise specific exam skills with targeted feedback, and previewed Living Colour, a research-led feature that gives learners autonomy to choose culturally relevant themes, boosting engagement and confidence.

At the heart of Markus is a simple but powerful goal: to solve some of education’s biggest logistical challenges while offering teachers and students a clear, intuitive platform that delivers the data and tools that make the greatest impact. In a world rushing to adopt AI, Markus made the case for using it well, with control, alignment to pedagogy, and deep respect for the educator’s role.

Lead organisation: Plumpton College, South Devon College and South Gloucestershire & Stroud College

Speakers:

• Scott McCue, Director of Education Pathways and Foundation Learning, Plumpton College

• James McCauley, Head of Faculty, Sixth Form and High School, South Devon College

• Thomas Beer, Headteacher, SGS Create, South Gloucestershire & Stroud College

Focussing on 14-16 delivery, this session provided leaders with practical strategies that result in a sustainable provision, the creation of an inclusive and cohesive culture and improve that all important engagement of young people. Key takeaways include:

Funding: be explicit about what your provision can and cannot provide, particularly in terms of SEND support and explain the reasons behind this. There is no additional/ high-needs funding for students receiving Elective Home Education (EHE), so ensure they know this.

Attendance: do not only report percentages but the number of days and lessons missed. Consider how early you are identifying patterns and specific students. Appropriate actions can be taken based on a ‘can’t attend’ vs ‘won’t attend’ approach. Personalised communications and getting to know the student/s are key.

TLA: consistently implemented Teaching and Learning frameworks for staff, adaptive practice and teaching beyond the qualification are key – as well as choosing the right qualification for these students. In lessons you could take a I-do we-do you-do approach.

Transition: information and data are key. This informs so much including level of support, level of curriculum offer and student suitability. Interview with integrity, be open and honest about policies, procedures and the offer on the table, alongside any conditions.

Relational approaches: consider what allows students to maintain individuality at the same time as feeling part of a community. Run staff CPD on responses to specific situations and encourage staff to be curious. Train for initial behaviours, staff response, follow up and how to reset. Collaboration with parents/guardians and recognising small wins and achievements can go a long way.

Lead organisation: North Hertfordshire College

Speakers:

• Nina Clutton, Head of School, Health and Education, North Hertfordshire College

• Cheryl Hall, Deputy Head of School, North Hertfordshire College

Hosted by colleagues from North Hertfordshire College, this session discussed the partnership they have with East and North Hertfordshire Foundation Trust to help tackle local workforce shortages head-on.

The strong collaboration between the college and the NHS is delivering high-impact T Level placements, with real-world career pathways for learners. This is working in tandem with NHS recruitment and retention teams to build a sustainable pathway into healthcare, encouraging them to stay in the NHS and building on a resilient NHS for the future.

Nina and Cheryl spoke about the state of the art facilities, structured placements, and employer-led masterclasses which are transforming student outcomes and workforce readiness. There were some excellent examples of the support provided to students, including interview training, shadowing on wards, first-hand experience doing clinical work. They also work with Forget-Me-Not, a dementia volunteer service which allows students to gain unique skills working with complex health needs.

Having an established model was really important to provide a framework for partners to work from and created a partnership with shared goals and visions. It has maximum impact because it prepares students for careers, not just for the job. The ‘triple model approach’ includes:

1. Community and volunteering engagement
2. Care academy participation
3. Bespoke industry placements

Lead organisation: Wirral Met College

Speakers:

• Ste Bailey, Director of Specialist Provision & Support, Wirral Met College
• Henry Cottier, Head of Department, Prep for Life & Supported Internships, Wirral Met College
• Sarah Bailey, Consultant Occupational Therapist & Sensory Integration Practitioner

Hosted by Wirral Met college, this session gave an overview of how the college worked with an occupational therapist to create a state-of-the-art independent living suite designed to meet the neurodiverse and sensory processing needs. 

Sensory differences can activate internal “alarm systems”, pushing learners into a protective state where learning becomes difficult. For some, heightened sensitivity to noise or movement can feel overwhelming; others may find simple tasks like standing up or speaking challenging. These experiences are often misunderstood because every learner has unique sensory needs. Developing brains require safe, supportive spaces where these protective alarms are not constantly triggered.

Phase one at Wirral Met College focused on creating an independent living suite designed to support diverse learner needs. This included high sensory affordances and aspirational design features, such as accessible kitchen layouts and sensory-aware spaces with retreat areas integrated into classrooms. RGB lighting was incorporated to allow colour adjustments for improved information processing.

Phase two focused on maximising impact through further staff training and consultation, introducing an emotional and sensory regulation curriculum that promotes empowerment, independence, and co-regulation as a right, while removing shame and guilt and adapting environments to individual needs.

As a result, students are better able to regulate emotions and sensory responses, feel empowered through a deeper understanding of their sensory profiles, while staff gain confidence in guiding and supporting learners and deliver skills in ways that students can access effectively.

Lead organisation: Brooklands Technical College

Speakers:

• Melissa Drayson, Director of Governance, Brooklands Technical College
• Christine Stretesky, Head of Corporate Governance and Policy, Education Partnership North East

Building on the context of the FE sectoral changes driven by legislative reforms, accountability frameworks and structural shifts the session explored how boards must navigate these changes alongside continued and emerging risks such as funding pressures, workforce challenges and student wellbeing. Recognising the need to balance change and the core function of governance, the workshop was presented with twelve questions to explore and provide practical solutions. While many participants felt remuneration of chairs and/or governors was not an answer, some tips and suggestions for furthering the impact of governance include:

• Talk more about the benefits of being a governor and the impacts governors have
• Create space for strategic discussions through the use of committees
• Ensure the right membership into each committee
• Review what can be delegated to committees, including the approval of policies
• Maintain open discussion with the executive on key issues and risks (what keeps them up at night)
• Remember the importance of triangulation – use link visits and meetings with students and staff
• Shadow senior leadership as a way to make contact with students and staff
• Map the diversity of the board being mindful of how you are defining ‘diverse’
• Don’t be weighed down by regulatory requirements to the detriment of impact
• Use AI to develop training materials including podcasts which can be listened to in a governor’s own time
• Develop and look for consistent practice within the sector

Lead organisation: Mindful Education

Speakers:

• Mark Mckenna, Managing Director, Mindful Education
• Jenny Craig, Principal and CEO, Buckinghamshire College Group
• Robin Webber-Jones, Executive Director of Curriculum, Bedford College Group
• Lindsey Smith, Assistant Principal – Apprenticeships, Nottingham College

This session explored the importance of making learning more inclusive and how technology can be shaped to become holistic and personalised for apprentices. Mark shared examples of how someone that may have an impairment may struggle to understand a website page and feedback of apprentice’s experiences using their accessible technology. He highlighted that during the Autumn 2024 term Mindful Education conducted a survey of past and current learners on the accessibility and inclusivity of their learning experience.

Mark continued to discuss accessible technology for ESOL learners and how it has shown the potential to transform the learning experience of non-native English speakers. A Mindful Education virtual learning environment (VLE), for  example, offers access to interactive transcripts, and more than 100 studies highlight that video captions improve comprehension of, attention to, and recall from video content. 

There were also examples of implementing inclusive technology, the Mindful Education team collaborated with accessibility specialists, Zoonou to identify ways to improve accessibility across their VLEs. Therefore, learners now benefit from a much more inclusive learning experience.

Lead organisation: Association of Colleges

Speakers:

• Julian Gravatt, Deputy chief executive, AoC
• Sinead O'Sullivan, Director FE Oversight, DfE
• Peter Clark, Assistant Director. 16-19 Funding, DfE
• Catherine Hayes, Head of Adult Funding, DfE

With the Chancellor presenting a budget to Parliament next week, the focus in the college funding session was on some immediate issues. Officials confirmed that no decision would be taken on 16-18 in year growth until DfE has the data. There is interest in the fact that more 18-year-olds are, again, staying in further education. The department is working up plans to distribute capital funding promptly but final condition survey results won't be available until summer 2026 so the existing formula may continue for a year. Current adult skills budget plans for 2026-27 involve five new integrated settlements for established mayors and 7 new devolved budgets ranging from Hull and East Yorkshire to Devon and Torbay.

Key takeaways include:

• 16-19 funding per student in colleges averages £7,532 in the 2025/26 academic year.
• The £800 million increase in the 16-18 budget in the 2026-27 financial year consolidates the £190 million announced in May 2025 so the effective increase on a like-for-like basis is £610 million.
• Extra funding has been used mainly for pay. Three in four colleges spend more than 65% of their income on staff costs.

Lead organisation: Sustainable Energy First

Speakers:

• Alex Wilson, Senior Consultant, Sustainable Energy First

This breakout session was led by Sustainable Energy First representative Alex Wilson who detailed how further education colleges can take meaningful, affordable steps toward achieving net zero. Sustainable Energy First has been pivotal in promoting accessibility to affordable green energy options. They are sponsors of the The Sustainable Energy First Award for Education for Sustainable Development Beacon Award which has encourages colleges to expand their green initiatives actions such as embedding sustainability into the curriculum and involving students into college sustainability strategy development.

In review of innovation amongst green energy offerings, the session shared changes that are making green energy procurement more affordable as well as advanced, including: traceability of power to specific renewable generators, half-hour tracking of green energy generation, import export, exemption from some renewable energy taxes, and contractual simplicity.

Sustainable Energy First also shared some key takeaways on the topic of energy billing and auditing. These include:

• One in five utilities bills contain an error

• 2-4% of spend can be recovered

• The need to invest in an energy supply chain audit

For more insight into sustainable options towards achieving net zero, please review the services offered by Sustainable Energy First, including bureau management, renewable energy and carbon trading, site infrastructure, compliance and net zero, and revenue recovery.

Lead organisation: Pearson

Speakers:

• Les Hopper, Product Director, Pearson

• Holly Hunt, Learning Technologist Team Leader, Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT)

• Daniel Fairbairn, Group Executive Director – Technology, The Windsor Forest Colleges Group

• David Railton, Customer Director, Faculty AI

This session explored the evolving role of learning and skills in an AI-driven world, focussing on how students and staff are already engaging with emerging technologies. Speakers reflected on the opportunities and challenges of operating as digitally-focused organisations in a rapidly changing landscape. A range of themes were covered, including how to navigate the key changes resulting from AI implementation, staying connected with employers to understand shifting skills demands, the importance of leadership at every level, creating safe spaces for students and staff to experiment and develop core digital skills. Colleges shared examples from safeguarding to curriculum design and co-authored modules on AI ethics and bias. Insights from Pearson’s School and College report 2025 were also discussed, highlighting current student perspectives of AI.

Key takeaways:

• Embedding AI within the curriculum, with explicit teaching where helpful, to build confidence and core employability skills.

• Developing guard-railed tools that meet the needs of education rather than business.

• A focus on connection, confidence and curriculum design to support meaningful digital transformation.

It is such a privilege to be here with so many passionate and dedicated college professionals. It's been so brilliant over the last few hours, seeing old friends and connecting with new colleagues. So thanks so much for inviting us, and we're really delighted to be here.

I'm Tessa Griffiths. I'm the co-Chief Executive of Skills England. This is my colleague and job share partner of 18 years, Sarah McLean, we're incredibly proud of Skills England, and we're incredibly proud to job share the CEO role. Believe it or not, this is actually the first time we've ever done a speech together. So I hope that's a compliment to you, but also you can give us your feedback later on how it's gone.

We just want to say from the outset that we really value the Association of Colleges as a key partner for Skills England. Colleges really are at the heart of the skills system. Coming and talking to you, visiting your colleges over the last few weeks and months has taught Sarah and me more about how things work in practice than we could ever have anticipated. We're so grateful to those of you who have given up time to spend time with us and share your views. Thank you very much for that. In particular, we're really delighted that on the Skills England board, we have two of your members, Dr Fazal Dad from Blackburn College and Zoe Lewis from Middlesbrough College Group. Both have a wealth of experience, and they're so generous with their time, both on the board, but also with the wider Skills England team.

We're delighted today that we're launching our Local Skills Improvement Plan guidance, and Sarah is going to say a little bit more about that in a moment, but before handing over, I just wanted to say a little bit about our vision in Skills England.

We've got a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a step change in the skills system.

We're passionate about skills, and we're also passionate about Skills England's vision, which is better skills for better jobs. How can we give everyone the opportunity to succeed in life and work, and how can we help the economy to grow?

We're making this vision a reality in three ways. First, we're harnessing data more effectively to generate a deep understanding of workforce demand.

Second, we're simplifying the system and improving access to skills so businesses can get the people into skills, skills jobs faster and learners can more easily navigate the options open to them.

And third, we're mobilizing partners to co-create solutions that meet national, regional, regional and local workforce needs. And to date, we've engaged with hundreds of stakeholders to understand the skills gaps and what we need to do to fill them.

I'm going to hand over to Sarah now, but I just want to reiterate what others have already said earlier in the day. We've got a golden opportunity together, probably the best in years, for colleges to help shape the national skills agenda. We've got the post-16 white paper now, and we are here to listen, to understand your priorities and challenges and to work together to build the skill system of the future.

And now, over to Sarah. Thanks, Tessa, this is really fun doing a double act, but you're doing so great, maybe you should just carry on.

Thank you very much AoC for inviting us to be part of today. It's really a privilege to be here, and it's lovely to be here in the West Midlands, in Birmingham, our head office is in Coventry, just down the road, so if anybody wants to pop in. Please do, it would be great to see you all. So the first thing I wanted to talk about, I’ve got two things to cover briefly you'd be pleased to hear, the first is LSIPs and thinking about things through that local lens. So as the Minister said earlier, our new statutory guidance has been published this morning, which is very good news for us, and hopefully for a system sets out a clear road map for LSIPs, what's expected and how to collaborate to deliver the best possible outcomes for learners, employers and communities.

So please do take a look at the guidance. It's a great read, I promise. And thanks to David and others at AoC for making sure that we got it right, helping us to draft it and get it right. For colleges, your insights and actions will really help to make the difference between local plans that meet local needs and those that don't. So for us, we really, truly believe that delivering meaningful change starts with local leadership. You know your communities best, how to support those local people, close those skills gaps and unlock potential. But none of this can happen in isolation. That's where Skills England comes in.

We're working to ensure that national, regional and local priorities all stack up so that what is set out in the industrial strategy and the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper make sense and aligns with regional and local skills plans. That's why we have a regions team to really understand what makes each area tick in terms of skills. The 39 LSIP areas each have very different flavours, as you will know, but there are common themes throughout them.

So Skills England has overall responsibility and oversight of the LSIP program, I’m not sure that everybody was aware of that. So Skills England has that oversight, and we work closely with employer representative bodies and strategic authorities to build a shared real time picture of national and local skills needs supported by a really regular two way flow of information. If you haven't seen our local skills dashboard and interactive map, do check it out.

So the second phase of LSIPs is now underway, and new plans are being developed across the country to shape local skills priorities through to 2029.

We need your expertise on their development to make sure they're a success, we want to think about four areas together with you. The first is around identifying skills needs in your areas and specific changes needed to drive better outcomes, whether that's for example, around inward investment projects or large infrastructure projects where there's a need for skills at scale and in a short period of time. Secondly, reviewing and actively considering the most appropriate programs to address those needs.

Thirdly, thinking about how to make the most of employer networks, including SMEs, which we know sometimes can be take more time and effort to engage new businesses in the development and delivery of skills provision that enhances learners practical experience and therefore their employability. And finally, work collaboratively with other providers, including other FE colleges in your area, but also HE and universities to ensure that we have really good join up.

We know that FE colleges are the heart of local skills ecosystems. You are on the front-line of transforming lives, forging strong partnerships with businesses and building ever closer ties with providers and universities. So we'd like to say thank you for the work that you've already done on the first cycle of LSIPs, and urge you to get involved in the second.

So the second area I just want to cover very briefly is around this co-creation of solutions. We've listened to feedback that the ways in which we engage with stakeholders on skills could be better. So we all know the skills system needs to be simpler, more agile and shaped by experts, people like you. It's only then that it will support a skilled workforce in a way that is genuinely deliverable.

As we develop at Skills England and update occupational standards, we're shifting to an approach that brings together colleges, training providers, employers, regulatory bodies, awarding organizations and others within expert groups and occupational standards of course form the bedrock of apprenticeships, T Levels, other vocational qualifications, HTQs, and will form the basis of the new V Levels that will sit alongside A Levels and T Levels.

We want to work more closely with AoC members. You have such a wealth of knowledge and experience, we know you have vital delivery expertise of what really works, and know your students and local context better than anyone. If the current system is not working for you and your local businesses, then it needs to change. So we're looking forward to collaborating with AoC further, for example, example, by meeting your curriculum and strategy group so that we can share and get early feedback from you on our plans.

I’m going to hand back to Tessa now.

So Skills England: what have we done so far? Where are we? I'm proud to say we're fully operational. We're evidence led, and we're generating tangible results. We've helped to shape the national policy agenda, informing the development of the Growth and Skills Levy and priority apprenticeship units. We've driven innovation and training, supporting new foundation apprenticeships and shorter apprenticeships, while advising on the Lifelong Learning entitlement priority areas. And we're strengthening local delivery, overseeing publication of all LSIP annual progress reports and the guidance today that Sarah talked about, our chair, Phil Smith, convenes quarterly meetings with mayoral strategic authorities, and we're establishing a place based subgroup to strengthen collaboration with local areas.

Added to that, we've made good progress in co-developing and delivering sector skills packages in key industrial strategy areas, construction, defence, engineering and digital working closely with other government departments and sector bodies. Our efforts are focused on aligning training with industry demands.

All of this is underpinned by improved labour market intelligence, and that's helping to establish Skills England as the authoritative voice on current and future skills needs. We've published significant new evidence through three major reports, which I hope you've had a chance to have a look at, including our most recent, recent assessment of priority skills to 2030 report identifies skills gaps and starts to forecast employment trends.

All of the analysis we do is, of course, developed in collaboration with other government departments and sector bodies and others, and is directly feeding into that policy making process. For example, our evidence is supporting the work of the labour market evidence group, which Skills England has played an instrumental role in establishing this group brings together the devolved administrations, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Migration Advisory Committee and industrial strategy Advisory Council. Its aim is to join up workforce planning across the whole of the UK and consider how we can improve our domestic pipeline and thereby reduce our reliance on migration in key sectors of the economy.

We're also working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's office for clean energy jobs, with the Department of Education, of course, on 16 to 19 education, the development of V Levels and many other areas. And of course, we work hand in glove with the Department for Business and Trade, with our chair and member of the industrial strategy Advisory Council.

Skills England is now part of the Department of Work and Pensions, and that is making it much easier for us to work very closely together on pathways into jobs, labour market analysis and how we get more young people into work, as the minister talked about earlier on, our final thought is about innovation.

It's clear to all of us that the world of work is changing. The mega trends that are affecting the labour market, especially technological developments like AI, are transformational, and change is happening at an unprecedented pace in some sectors. And some of you may have seen the head of Google talking about this just today, we need to work together with employers to future proof our skills system in order to deliver the skilled workforce needed in the coming decades. At Skills England, we're trying to understand these trends, but also practically support employers to upskill their workforce.

We recently published a report in partnership with Royal Holloway University of London on the AI skills needed for the UK workforce, that found that a major barrier to the adoption of AI was poor employer understanding, particularly amongst SMEs, of what AI skills are and what their staff need to have. So alongside our report, we developed some free to use tools to help businesses assess their skills needs and connect with the right training.

We're also working with the leading tech companies, Google, IBM, Microsoft and others, to support a major new government industry partnership to help upskill 7.5 million UK workers in AI, it's a close collaboration with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and it's ambitious, but it's a really great example of how we can achieve more by working together, harnessing the advantages of both the public and the private sector.

So in closing, I hope you agree we've achieved a lot in a relatively small space of time, but there is so much more, so much more to do. As we said earlier, you are central to skills thinking. Colleges have an absolutely vital role to play alongside Skills England, all our other partners in transforming this system and delivering the bold vision set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, we believe we're entering a new age of genuine co-creation with joined up thinking across FE and he better relationships than ever with employers and stronger national and local skills planning. It's going to be an exciting journey, and we look forward to taking it with you. Thanks very much.

Dr Shaid Mahmood, Chair of Association of Colleges and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Durham University, announced the 2025/26 Beacon award finalists on the main stage this afternoon.

The AoC Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Activate Learning
• Derwen College

The Bell Foundation Award for Excellence in ESOL

• Oldham College
• The City of Liverpool College
• Slough and Langley College (Windsor Forest Colleges Group)
  

The British Council Award for Excellence in International Work

• Lincoln College
• Blackburn College
• Coleg Cambria

The Careers & Enterprise Company Award for Excellence in Careers and Enterprise

• Cambridge Regional College
• The College Methyr Tydfil 
• West Thames College

The City & Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers

• Glasgow Clyde College
• North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College 
• Barnsley College

The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning

• Harlow College 
• Hugh Baird College
• Chesterfield College Group

The Jisc Award for Effective Use of Digital Technology in FE

• Cardiff and Vale College
• Activate Learning  
• NPTC Group of Colleges

The RCU Award for Support for Students

• Coleg y Cymoedd
• Hugh Baird College
• Loughborough College Group

The Sustainable Energy First Award for Education for Sustainable Development

• New City College
• Nottingham College 
• South Eastern Regional College