This September, like every September, 16- to 18-year-olds will be setting out on their college studies towards careers as the doctors, tree surgeons, digital designers, childcare assistants, teachers, research scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs of the future. They hold the keys to their future and ours. But, unlike other years, the experiences these young people will have had in the past three to four months will be unusual, to say the least

You don’t need me to tell you that this year is a year like no other. For young people who have turned 16 in the past 10 months, it has meant Year 11 cut short; no exams, no prom, barely time for a leavers’ assembly and the opportunity to leave with a signed shirt. Each young person will have had their own individual lockdown experience before embarking on post-16 study in September; some will have been socialising online, taking the opportunity to sleep in, playing sport, volunteering.

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Model of resourcing

By September, some might have been on holiday. Others will have been supporting parents/carers with childcare for siblings, supporting elderly relatives, been self-isolating or lost someone they cared about. Whatever their individual experience, what all these young people will have in common is that they will have been out of formal education for nearly six months by the time the new term starts. And at the moment, none of us can be quite sure what that new term will look like.

Even with the relaxation of social distancing, colleges will be planning for a variety of different scenarios including local and national lockdowns. Colleges will have one-way systems, timetables to ensure groups are kept together and blended learning opportunities. They will have to rethink enrolment, induction and getting-to-know-you activities, enrichment and work placements in a time of economic uncertainty. English and maths delivery which normally mixes students from vocational groups to meet individual literacy and numeracy needs will have to be reconfigured.  Most colleges I am speaking to at the moment have plan A, B and C depending on what the government advice will be in late August/early September.

It is with this in mind that AoC configured its asks of government for young people. 

Supporting colleges

Every young person (16 to 18) has a confirmed high-quality education or training place, funded to meet their needs and the learning they have lost. Funding needs to be flexible enough to allow students to start throughout the year and to support colleges adapting to the “new normal”.

This can be achieved through a college-based national tutoring scheme, re-engagement and catch-up programme funded through a £375 premium per enrolment of students who have yet to achieve good grades in English and maths; a targeted one-off grant to support delayed assessments from summer 2020; one-off grant funding for social distancing adaptations; extending High Needs Funding for final year students by 5 per cent.

It is crucial that every young person has a confirmed and sustained place in education and training from September. For young people who have been out of education for such a long time and despite contact from both home schools and colleges this will be more difficult than normal.  Schools and colleges will need to work together to ensure that every young person is contacted, given appropriate advice and guidance and that this is followed up throughout September and into October and November. Colleges will need to keep recruiting and yet we know that students who enrol later in the term are more likely to struggle. They will need support to achieve their potential.

All young people will have missed out on learning, even if they have engaged online. Year 11s moving into post 16, in particular, may have had little or no teaching in nearly 6 months. We know that extended breaks in learning impact on progress and for the most disadvantaged students this is particularly true.

A national picture of college data tells us that 70 per cent of students who have to retake English and or maths at college because they have yet to achieve a grade 4 or above in these key subjects come from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Colleges will need to prioritise this lost learning to ensure that young people have the English and maths skills they need for successful lives and employment. They might want to deliver smaller group activities, invest in digital software, ensure attendance through texts, calls and 1:1 meetings.

There will be students who will need to return to college in September when they didn’t expect to do so. Some of the most vulnerable students with a high level of need and education, health and care plans (EHCP) may need to be supported to stay in college a little longer than expected in order to ensure they have progression to a suitable job or independent living. Other students will need to return to complete assessments cut short in March to ensure they are competent in their chosen career path.

Really importantly, students and their parents or carers will want to be assured that colleges are safe in order that they attend, feel comfortable, make friends and learn. Colleges are large organisations, bustling with students. To keep everyone safe will mean rethinking canteens and café areas, adaptations to reception desks, setting up hand sanitisers, more regular cleaning throughout the day. It may also mean greater investment in well-being and mental health support to ensure that students thrive.

This September, like no other September, college students deserve to have the best opportunity to start afresh and succeed. Colleges will do everything in their power to ensure this. But will the government respond?

Catherine Sezen is a senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges