Leading the way

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Faced with such a challenging landscape, it can seem surprising that there is little in the way of a formal professional standards framework for leaders in further education (FE). They’re dealing with ever-changing policy and fluctuating expectations of students, and all the while trying to build a team of talented and resilient teachers and support staff.

In September 2022, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) set out to change this with the launch of new Professional Standards for Leaders in the FE and training sector. There are four sets of standards aimed at different stages of individuals’ career journeys: aspiring leaders; middle leaders; senior leaders; and CEOs or Principals. The launch came on the back of an update to the overall ETF Professional Standards for teachers and trainers earlier in the year, and it is intended to make it easier for staff to understand what they need to do to progress into leadership.

“There was nothing in the FE sector that was up to date for managers and leaders, so we started to draft something,” explains Anju Virdee, national head of leadership development at the ETF. There was a sense that funding was directed towards teaching staff or senior leaders, or that many assume an FE leadership role without prior management experience or training.

There was also a lack of understanding of what was expected of leaders in FE and the training they might need to succeed. Research into FE leadership by the University of Portsmouth found that only 49 per cent of respondents were in possession of a management qualification.

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“We convened senior leaders in the sector in 2020 to think about what our common language and expectations would be,” says Virdee. “Surveys, evidence and research all showed that there was a case for having professional standards for managers and leaders. We need to develop a talent pipeline to support leaders in a high turnover market with constant policy changes to provide the adaptive leadership we need.”

The ETF is now working with five ‘early adopter’ colleges to trial the standards within real settings, and this number will expand with a second wave of settings later in 2023.

The standards deliberately align with leadership development programmes available from the ETF, so staff can pursue training that fits with their individual career path. The intention is that the standards can be used both on an individual and collective level, supporting individuals’ personal development, but also building resilient and transparent career pipelines within FE settings or groups of institutions.

With a large number of college leaders getting ready for retirement, building continuity is crucial to the future of the sector.