Benefits
Realisation of the objectives set out in our proposition will have benefits for learners and employers, for providers and their staff, and for government. These are summarised below.
Benefits for learners and employers and communities
Self regulation places the needs of learners, employers and communities at the heart of the FE system.
- Learners, employers and communities will have more influence on the nature of educational and training provision and how it is delivered. A more individualised / bespoke approach to the delivery of education, training and qualifications will result.
- Learners, employers and communities will be more actively engaged in the planning, review and development processes of providers, including self assessment. The needs of learners, employers and communities will be more effectively represented at the system level through representative ‘consumer’ voice groups.
- Learners, employers and communities will feel confident that they can raise issues of concern and that these will be addressed professionally through comprehensive complaints procedures at both the provider and system levels.
- Learners, employers and communities will benefit from more systematic approaches to tackling under-performance within the sector. No part of the FE sector will be able to operate below minimum performance standards. Learners, employers and communities will benefit from single measures to raise the reputation and performance of the FE sector.
- Learners, employers and communities will benefit from measures aimed at reducing bureaucracy within further education and releasing teaching, training and other practitioners to focus on front-line duties. A reduction in bureaucracy should also ensure that more funding is directed to front-line services.
- Learners, employers and communities will benefit through governing bodies having more flexibility in determining their own composition within the terms of the Instrument and Articles of Government.
Benefits for providers (governors, principals and directors)
- Providers should expect greater autonomy in the running of their businesses, including greater flexibility and control in planning their own provision to meet local needs. Resulting from this, there will be more opportunity to develop innovative solutions to the sector’s skills requirements and greater flexibility/control in how these are met.
- Providers will be given more discretion in developing their own approaches to organisational review and development, including self assessment, in ways which are responsive to their own business development needs; a mission-driven approach to quality improvement.
- Providers should benefit from the drive to promote collaborative working that underpins the proposed model of self regulation. They will be able to benchmark performance, share practice and seek collaborative support for improvement through systems of peer review and development. They will be encouraged to collaborate through federations, partnerships and trusts to deliver education and training to address gaps or shortcomings in local provision.
- Providers should expect a more direct influence over the strategies and programmes for supporting improvement in the sector. Improvement support will be more focussed and responsive to organisational needs. Support for innovation will also be encouraged.
- Providers should experience over time a simplification of the regulatory landscape, a streamlining of the information demands made by government and external agencies and as a result, more resources going to the frontline services. They should also benefit from more light touch, proportionate systems of external inspection, targeted at eliminating underperformance.
- Providers will benefit from the establishment of the Single Voice to support and represent the system-wide needs of the FE sector on regulatory matters, including self regulation.
Benefits for FE Workforce (managers and practitioners)
- The FE Workforce will benefit from the increased public confidence and trust that self regulation places on the professional capabilities of those working in the FE sector.
- The FE Workforce will benefit from less bureaucracy and more time to focus on teaching, training and other front-line services.
- The FE Workforce will benefit from the opportunity to challenge, learn and gain support from other peers through more collaborative models of review and development.
- The FE Workforce will benefit from a sector-owned national improvement strategy with a strong emphasis on continuous professional development of staff.
- The FE Workforce will benefit from more flexible opportunities to develop innovative solutions to local skills requirements and how these are met.
- The FE Workforce will benefit from single measures to improve the reputation of the FE sector.
Benefits for Government
Self regulation will enable a new set of accountability relationships with providers that will benefit government in the following ways:
- The Single Voice will offer an effective opportunity for strategic dialogue between the sector and government on regulatory matters.
- The Single Voice will help providers to interpret and respond to national priorities and shape the national support programmes that will be used to enhance the capacity for self regulation and self improvement within the sector.
- Providers will take full responsibility, individually and collectively for improving performance within the sector, including targeted measures for improving underperformance. The sector’s capacity for self improvement will be enhanced.
- Self regulation will ensure that the needs of learners, employers and communities are placed at the heart of the FE system. It will support the personalisation of learning, progress towards the Leitch ambitions and Government ambitions for community and social cohesion.
- Through the registration of their representative bodies with the Single Voice, providers will be committed to the aims and objectives of self regulation and demonstrate this through adherence to agreed codes of conduct and performance standards. Self regulation will prioritise the elimination of underperformance.
- Self regulation will streamline regulatory processes and reduce the level of regulation undertaken by external agencies. This should ensure the more efficient and effective use of public funds.
Government should expect a radical but manageable approach to the development of self regulation within the FE system. The phased approach offered in this proposition should be capable of meeting these expectations.
