In this series of blogs, Dr Katerina Kolyva, Chief Executive of the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), reports on her visits to Further Education (FE) and Skills providers across the sector. She uncovers the transformational learning opportunities available to students alongside the dedicated professionalism of teachers, trainers and leaders from the wide variety of different providers across the sector.
It may be a grey, rainy day as I walk into Hull College but I am welcomed by vibrancy and colour. The College CEO, Debra Gray, and her Vice Principal Lynette Leith are both part of Hull’s fast road to success. They describe themselves and everyone at the college as the HULLRAISERS and talk about how passion and pride form the fabric of this city.
The context where the college operates is complex. It is in the 4th most deprived local authority in England, 65% of students do not have maths, English or both and 49.4% of all jobs in the area are at risk of automation.
But Debra and Lynette see this as an opportunity for the College to make a difference in their community. And although they have come far from nearly three years of transformation and turnaround, they are clear, ‘they have not finished the work yet’. Their ambition was big and strong and they took a bold and aggressive approach in the right way. As they describe it, they ‘fight for their students’. Following a massive quality and reputation recovery the college is today at the forefront of AI digital engineering with a focus on green skills. And Debra is a gamer…
My visit around the college confirms this commitment to the learners. I speak to a teacher who came herself from the college and talks proudly of how she is now applying what she learned while she uses reflection and peer pressure and support to continuously improve her professional skills. I meet T level students and teachers who use simulation to prepare for job interviews in childcare. Feedback on the T level programme is overwhelmingly positive with teachers telling me how confusing it was in the beginning but how over time and with group development sessions everything started to get clearer. There are big fans of T levels here recognising the flexibility and empowerment that they have benefited from.
As I leave the college, I reflect on what I have learned about how you transform the culture of an organisation. In the case of Debra, she had to focus on purpose, bringing energy and building everyone together while addressing performance across the organisation.