In this week’s TES Further, Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations at Holex, gives us her top tips on how to negotiate and excel during the process of FE and skills devolution (article free for subscribers). So far, 11 areas are covered by a skills deal; by 2018, funding will have been transferred to nine of them. Within two years, she writes, approximately half the available adult education budget for England will be delivered through a different funding system.

So how can you thrive in the devolution revolution? Among Sue’s tips are being proactive, and researching how devolution could affect your area by establishing where the ownership of the localism agenda resides. You can also participate in governance processes, and converse with stakeholders to develop a grand communications plan.

TES FE exclusive

TES journalist Julia Belgutay reveals that the Education and Training Foundation is considering introducing an advanced qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS) status for FE lecturers. The proposed advanced status would be aimed at experienced teaching staff at the pinnacle of their professional ability.

In a guest editorial (TES FE editor Stephen Exley is away), Andy Forbes, principal of the College of Haringey, writes that FE is not the cause of the high number of English and maths legacy GCSE resits expected this summer. He says that we need to recognise the heroic efforts made in colleges to repair the damage done by the defective schools system. This year about 200,000 students without the requisite grades have been shared between FE colleges.

Simply ELATT-ed

This week TES columnist Sarah Simons has visited the TES FE Awards triple-winners ELATT Connected Learning in Hackney (article free for subscribers). ELATT Connected Learning won the employer engagement and training provider of the year awards, as well as the overall FE provider of the year title this year - making it the first independent training provider to do so. The secret to its success? Friendship, warmth and camaraderie, as well as an ability to enable people to flourish.

Sarah has also written her guest column, in which she admits to frustration at the ever-evolving digital landscape that FE colleges must occupy. However, she writes, FE teachers need to make the effort to carry on learning, to build on initial skills and be part of the exciting ed tech revolution.

FErret

This week FErret has been wondering who will be replacing Martin Doel at the helm of the Association of Colleges (AoC). The question has certainly taken a little longer than expected to answer. This, FErret believes, might be down to the AoC’s epic wishlist. They want “an exceptional leader to take the college sector’s agenda forward” and someone with “a passion for enriching lives through learning, a track record of success and the capability to influence at a national level”. Here’s hoping they find the right candidate soon...

Tips for the top

Nikki Gilbey, head of learning (land-based) at Chichester College, tells us why those who aspire to senior leadership shouldn’t rush to climb the ladder (article free for subscribers). The prospect of becoming a senior leader can be somewhat daunting, she writes, but the challenge is motivating and also quite exciting.

Finally, Katy Parkinson, the founder and director of Sound Training, writes that knowing how to decode new words - such as “trysneochronologimentious” (don’t worry, it’s a made-up one) - is beneficial for young learners and adults. The technique of breaking down words is crucial for evolving reading and comprehension, she says - and could be useful for English teachers as they prepare for a tsunami of GCSE resits this summer.

All this and much, much more in this week’s TES Further.

This week’s TES magazine is available in all good newsagents. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. TES Further Education subscription packages are available here.

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