In January last year, I started this insight into my views
with a posting titled ‘A new blog, for the New Year’. As we’re now knee deep in
2017, I’d like to begin this posting with the title ‘New opportunities for this
New Year’.
As many of you will already be aware, I’m a person who’s
glass is always half full. I believe that positivity in all we do helps to drive
us forward, build aspiration and help us realise our goals. But I don’t think
that I’m being unnecessarily optimistic when I say this year holds real promise
for the FE sector at large, and also for East Kent College and Canterbury
College.
But why this optimism, I hear you cry. After years of cuts
as austerity budget after austerity budget have been levied upon the sector, it
doesn’t necessarily seem rational to be so positive, surely? And yet I am, and
this is why.
The FE sector is full of buoyancy. There’s little doubt that
it’s a service built of passionate people, but just recently I’ve been seeing
commitment, and drive within the sector, which are unparalleled. The manner in
which so many within our sector leapt to its defence, in such a rational, analytical
manner when we were attacked in a TES
opinion piece for failing to help disadvantaged students, was truly
heartening. And I’m seeing a greater drive to ensure no-one’s nicking our
lunch, while as a sector we perform with greater professionalism than ever
before. No-one could badge us as some kind of unloved Cinderella sector
anymore.
I’m also seeing greater movements within our Government to
help drive the skills agenda, and promote technical learning as a real option
for our young people. There seems to be a greater commitment from our
politicians to ensure that FE is no longer subject to the educational
prejudices of the past; a realisation, if you will, that while the well-trod
pathway through University is good, it simply isn’t the answer for everyone.
And of course, we’ve seen figures such as Sir Michael
Wilshaw leaving office. Sir Michael never truly understood FE, and never seemed
to care for it. His unrelenting attacks while in office were nothing but
unhelpful, for a part of the educational framework which delivers so much, for
so many students.
On a more local level, we’ve hit the ground running in 2017,
working toward the proposed merger between East Kent College and Canterbury
College. This will ensure that we are collectively delivering an immense range
of opportunities for the 17,000 students who attend our colleges.
So set against that backdrop, why wouldn’t I be positive
about what this year’s going to bring? We live in a land of opportunity in FE,
and locally at our colleges. We live in a world where our passion, commitment
and relentless drive to ensure the best outcome for our students, delivers us
the opportunity to really change our communities for the better. And it is just
this opportunity that I am seeing all around me in 2017. So happy New Year; I
know it’s going to be a great one.
