Sir Michael Wilshaw, asked
whether the Further Education sector could be considered “fit for purpose”.
(Ofsted: 4: 2012 cited in Cannicott. S: 11: nd) He
concluded that there were significant challenges with the quality of teaching
and governance but did not attempt to define what a college’s core purpose
should be. Yet looking at the characteristics of the school leavers enrolled at
colleges, it is evident that colleges are well positioned to be drivers of
social mobility, particularly when it comes to working with school leavers.
More than 850,000 16-18 year olds attended a college in 2012. (Cannicott.
S: 12: nd) I will be focusing on how my placement college: Brook House
Sixth Form college has attempted to, through a selection of policies, to widen
participation and inclusion, and how this may have encouraged personal
development, economic growth and community regeneration.
Background
Bsix college is
based in the London Borough of Hackney, which is the second most deprived
borough in the country and the fourth most diverse in London with over 100
languages being spoken. Despite this information, Hackney has gone through a
lot of developments. The
most telling statistic of change, however, is that in 2006 32% of residents
were educated to degree level whereas now the figure is 48%, at the London
average but well above the national average of 34%. This transformation,
fuelled by an influx of young graduates, is most rapid and most visible in Clapton,
the home area of BSix. This rapid change has also has a direct effect on areas
as ‘murder mile’ (as was) on the Lower Clapton Road, has been a deterrent for some young people and their parents. After a serious
reputational, educational and financial crisis in 2007-09 the College has
stabilised at 1520-50 full-time students. The student cohort reflects the
diversity of East London. The biggest groups are Black African (31%), White
(19%) and African Caribbean (9%). The gender breakdown is 60% female and 40%
male. 65% of students receive some form of financial support from the College.
Widening participation and inclusion
Bsix aims to
encourage young people from diverse backgrounds: ethnicity, socio-economic, home language, gender, special needs, disability,
and giftedness to continue and aim higher through education. Education is seen
as something to aid learners to progress and achieve in life and for this
reason, they particularly focus on low achievers and learners from
disadvantaged backgrounds. This is reflected in their (lack of) entry
requirements, which are generally, lower than other colleges I compared them to
in Hackney. As a result, BSix offer a wide range of courses at all levels from
entry to advance.
Additionally,
they attract earners from a wide range of ethic backgrounds, which provides for
a celebratory and anti-discriminatory atmosphere: "The college provides a harmonious and stimulating learning
environment in which students feel safe and happy. The cultural diversity of
the students gives the college its distinctive character and is celebrated
widely" (Ofsted: 2013)
Partnership with secondary schools and
universities
According to the
Bsix website, I could see that the college is in partnership with a number of
local secondary schools and Russell group universities, which provides learners
with a gateway into further and higher education as well as attracting learners
from ethnic minority backgrounds. To name a few:
Tawhid Boys School (private muslim school), Petchy
Academy, Canterbury Christ Church University and University of Oxford. Bsix
also works with them to enable students to visit the universities and get a
taste of university life and higher education as well receiving expertise in
certain subject areas. This gives learners a steadier pathway into higher
education and enables them to really explore their chosen area of study. As a
result BSix was 2011 winner for the outstanding provider of the year and later
won a TES FE award.
Student Voice
Despite still being in the process of being
perfected, the college attempts to involve students within the management of
the college through its programme of Learning Advocates (similar to student
representatives). They are trained to observe
lessons and to judge the quality of what we offer. They have also spoken at
many conferences to leaders in schools and sixth form colleges. This coupled with student surveys offer the college an opportunity to
critically reflect on its inner workings. Ofsted state: "Inspection by students who are trained
thoroughly to carry out the role, has been introduced and makes a valuable
contribution to reviews of the quality of provision." (2013)
References
Brook House Sixth Form College Website. Last
viewed 18th June 2014. Access online: www.bsix.ac.uk
Bsix (2014) Background Information for Applicants
Available online. Access: www.bsix.ac.uk
Cannicott. S with Kempton. J and
McDaniel. S (nd) Smarter
Accountability in Further Education. Last viewed June 20th 2014.
Access online: http://www.centreforum.org/assets/pubs/smarter-accountability-web.pdf
Ofsted (2013) Brook House Sixth Form College Ofsted Report.
Last viewed June 16th 2014. Access online:
Ofsted
(2012) The report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s
Services and Skills: Learning and skills, p.4. In Cannicott.
S with Kempton. J and McDaniel. S (nd) Smarter Accountability in Further Education. Last viewed June 20th
2014. Access online: http://www.centreforum.org/assets/pubs/smarter-accountability-web.pdf
