AoC supports Children's Commissioner report on the college sector

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: “I am so pleased to see the Children’s Commissioner shine a light on the extensive role colleges play in providing great pastoral support to their students. The work they do recognises the mental health, poverty and wellbeing needs of their diverse body of students.

"I am also very pleased to see this report published during Colleges Week 2026. It's a week in which we celebrate the fantastic work of colleges and the impacts they have in helping people realise their ambitions and aspirations.

“The barriers facing the college sector are well known to all across further education, but often fail to register in wider policy circles, so it’s heartening to see this report set them out so explicitly. Colleges are consistently asked to do more with less, and despite immense funding and resource pressures, they offer strong support young people from all backgrounds, no matter what their circumstances.

“I agree with the findings and recommendations set out in the report; colleges across the country already do an incredible job. But with adequate funding, affordable student transport, data sharing for school to college transition, and a sharp focus on national data and evidence gathering on college students, they could do so much more to ensure every young person has a successful transition to adulthood.”