“In the post 16 education and skills white paper, the government committed to ‘a specialist and prestigious further education system that delivers high quality education and training for all.’ The funding rate announced yesterday does not align with this ambition, nor does it support the government’s previous commitment to improving the financial stability of the sector.
“The money that has been given to this part of the sector is being spread extremely thinly because student numbers are growing. The paltry 0.5% increase in the learner rate next year means that colleges and school sixth forms will be seeing a real terms cut in the amount per student that they receive. The commitment in the white paper of a guaranteed college place in reserve for all 16 year olds will also increase student numbers. It does not appear that this has been accounted for in the new funding rate, and therefore resources will be stretched even further.
“This funding rate also means colleges are likely to struggle to afford staff pay awards, something that risks exacerbating the gap in earnings between FE teachers and their counterparts in secondary schools. It is this same workforce that will be expected to deliver qualifications reform and ultimately educate and train the workforce of the future, something the government knows is crucial to boosting economic growth.
“If this is to happen, colleges must have the resources they need to deliver high quality programmes of study, including being able to employ skilled teachers to oversee this. The government has got to see this as an investment in the future, and not something that can be done on the cheap.”