InTuition Membership Review Spring 2024

MEMBERSHIP REVIEW

COMING TOGETHER

ETF and SET are ready to transform the Further Education and Skills sector

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS ACTIVITY CARDS

Discuss and apply the Education and Training Foundation’s Professional Standards in a new and innovative way.

Designed to enable and facilitate conversations between teachers and trainers about the ETF’s Professional Standards, these activity cards will help open discussions with your colleagues about professional development and how to excel in your teaching practice.

Choose from the Core pack, containing individual cards for each of the core 20 Professional Standards forTeachers and Trainers, or the Career Stages pack, containing cards for each of the Professional Standards

Early CareerTeacher, ExperiencedTeacher and AdvancedTeacher.

CONTENTS

4 THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Looking at the highlights of a busy 2023, from new member benefits to the second Advanced Teacher Status reaccreditation day

6 LOOKING FORWARD

SET and ETF will unite under one single brand to support the sector. We encourage all members to have a voice and be active in shaping our future brand

9 STUDENT MEMBERSHIP

How our resources help guide students into a career in Further Education and Skills

10 CORPORATE PARTNERS

How more than 50 organisations are making the most of their membership, accessing a wealth of resources and refining skills

12 DATA

Key statistics for 2023 around membership types, events and social media activity

14 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Enabling Further Education and Skills practitioners and leaders to understand their performance, and shaping their CPD needs

JANE GALBRAITH

Changing times

The past year has seen SET continue to develop its offer to members, with exciting plans ahead for the next 12 months

It’s an exciting time here at the Society for Education and Training (SET). Members will know that SET is the membership arm of the Education and Training Foundation, with both organisations supporting the professionalism and workforce development needs of the Further Education (FE) and Skills sector.

This year, the two brands are coming together to cement their position as the go-to professional body for all professionals within our broad and diverse sector. On pages 6 to 8 of this Membership Review you can read more about the brand plans and how our highly valued members can contribute to the consultation; we would urge you to get involved to help shape our thinking.

Our annual Membership Review showcases our membership year and some of the many highlights. In December, we signed up our 50th Corporate Partner, and we are now supporting over 2,000 trainee teachers preparing for their Initial Teacher Education qualification, as well as around 20,000 FE and Skills professionals

from newly qualified teachers to CEOs and principals.

We are, of course, looking forward to continuing to offer our support to our student community as they qualify and to supporting our members’ career development through an enhanced CPD offer, coming in the new membership year.

Our two new benefits of membership, SET Rewards (launched in February) and SET MentorMe (launched in May), have been well received.

We are seeing more members engage with our support too, with high numbers attending our online events, special interest group activities and SET Conference, and using our online resources.

On behalf of the membership team, thank you for being part of our community. Our members will continue to be at the heart of everything we do and we look forward to growing our footprint and your professional profile.

JANE GALBRAITH

Head of membership and accreditation, SET

EDITOR: Nick Martindale

LEAD DESIGNER: David Twardawa

SUB EDITORS: James Hundleby, Amy Beveridge

PICTURE RESEARCHER: Claire Echavarry

PRODUCTION: Jane Easterman

jane.easterman@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6248

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER: John Hilsdon

PRINTED BY Precision Colour Printing, Telford

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

SET members had a busy 2023, with new member benefits and the second Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) reaccreditation day

JAN

SET CONFERENCE

The delayed SET22 Conference was held at The Vox Conference Centre, Birmingham

SET MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING

The board discussed the recent SET Conference and approved the SET membership fees for 2023/24

CORPORATE PARTNERS

3T Global, Solihull College & University Centre, TRN Ltd and United Colleges Group joined as Corporate Partners

FEB

NEW MEMBER BENEFIT

SET Rewards was launched as a new membership benefit, providing a huge range of discounts and savings on products and services

ETF CEO APPOINTMENT

Dr Katerina Kolyva joined ETF as CEO

MAR

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

Our first special interest group event took place, with members gathering online to discuss using action research cycles for professional development

PRACTITIONER ADVISORY GROUP (PAG) MEETING

The first PAG meeting of the year: the group heard from Dr Louise Misselke, Principal, College of FE, The Guernsey Institute, attended workshops on the theory of change and developing SET membership, and met the new ETF CEO

CORPORATE PARTNER

Technical Professionals Ltd joined as a Corporate Partner

ATS REACCREDITATION DAY

The second reaccreditation event for SET ATS holders was held as a hybrid event at Walsall College. This featured sessions on how to develop learners, colleagues and the organisation

INTUITION

INT U I

The spring edition of inTuition looked at the impact of new Digital Functional Skills

APR

The s inTuit impac Funct Quali FE an It Memb

fications on the FE and Skills sector. It also included the Membership Review

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Liverpool ACL and Telford College joined as Corporate Partners

PRACTITIONER ADVISORY GROUP RECRUITMENT

Recruitment for the PAG closed, with 24 new members joining later in the year

MAY

WEBINAR

A webinar looked at how organisations can use EdTech assessment tools for effective exam revision

NEW MEMBER BENEFIT

SET MentorMe launched, a peerto-peer mentoring platform matching mentees with mentors, based on interest, skills and expertise

SET MANAGEMENT BOARD (SMB) MEETING

The group discussed the new ETF strategy, heard a governance update and thanked Jim Crompton FSET, who completed his term of office as SMB chair

2023

JUN

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

SET members joined the online discussion with Ian Lowe from Norwich City FC, which looked at how the wellbeing of 14- to 19-yearold learners can be enhanced

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

The third of our research special interest group events took place online, looking at the topic of using evaluation methods to improve practice

QTLS REVIEW

The Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) application process and eligibility criteria were updated, ready for an August launch

PRACTITIONER ADVISORY GROUP (PAG)

The PAG summer conference took place in London. Attendees joined workshops on the Career Framework and how to get the most from your membership, and heard an update on the new ETF strategy

INTUITION

The summer issue of inTuition explored why the FE and Skills sector needs to think more

JUL

WEBINAR

This explored how we support early career teachers and what we can learn from each other to help retention

STUDENT FOCUS

Our new student engagement campaign launched, supporting those just starting their FE journey

AUG

QTLS APPLICATIONS

The annual QTLS application window opened sector to more about neurodiversity

SEP

WEBINAR

This explored the benefits of mentoring and introducing a mentoring programme to your organisation

SET MANAGEMENT BOARD (SMB) MEETING

In the final meeting of the year, the SMB had a further discussion on the ETF strategy, before its launch in December

INTUITION

NOV

WEBINAR

An exploration into the pedagogical choices and the use cases around virtual and augmented reality for digital teaching, learning and assessment

WEBINAR

This explored the topic of understanding stress and burnout

QTLS APPLICATIONS

The autumn edition of inTuition hit the doormats, with an in-depth look at the impact of ChatGPT on the sector

doormats of

OCT

WEBINAR

This explored how we can promote positive behaviours

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

Our fourth research special interest group event took place online, and looked at how to get the support you need to do practitioner research

DEC

WEBINAR

This looked at how to boost efficiency through wellbeing, including productivity strategies for educators

PRACTITIONER ADVISORY GROUP

We welcomed 24 new members to the PAG

INTUITION

The winter edition of inTuition landed just before Christmas, with continuing professional development a main theme. It also included a dedicated T Levels supplement

Oneunitedbrand

As part of ETF’s new strategy to support everyone working in the Further Education (FE) and Skills sector, SET and ETF are coming together under a single brand. We’d love you to help shape this...

We live in a branded world these days. It’s not just companies like Nike or Apple. Charities and membership organisations are brands too.

Over the months ahead, the Society for Education and Training (SET) is combining forces with the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to create one organisation with a single brand, and name, and we’d love you to be involved. We encourage all members to have a voice and be active in shaping our future brand. We want to work with you, to listen and be responsive to your ideas.

The new organisation plans to support everyone working in the FE and Skills sector by championing the vital role of educators and leaders in transforming the lives of learners aged 14 and over.

ILLUSTRATIONS: SHUTTERSTOCK

With a renewed commitment to working in partnership for the benefit of the sector, the plans set out a bold new ambition for the organisation.

The new strategy, ‘Together we transform’, places sector voices at its heart and reflects the feedback and input from an extensive listening

exercise involving sector organisations and teachers, trainers and leaders from across the FE and Skills sector. ‘Together we transform’ sets out how SET and ETF will deliver positive impacts for the sector through four new strategic goals:

Drive professionalism

We will champion professionalism and grow the evidence base of education and leadership practice, making FE and Skills a rewarding career destination.

Improve teaching and learning

We will ensure consistency in learner experience by setting clear competences and conduct required to enter and maintain professional status within FE and Skills.

Champion inclusion

We will tackle inequalities in the FE and Skills workforce, supporting routes to employment and career development by providing lifelong learning to all.

Enable sector change

We will convene sector change and respond to FE and Skills workforce needs by working in partnership.

‘TOGETHER WE TRANSFORM’ SETS OUT HOW SET AND ETF WILL DELIVER POSITIVE IMPACTS FOR THE SECTOR

“I want this to be a movement that the entire sector talks about,” says Dr Katerina Kolyva, CEO of ETF. “The strategy sets a bold new ambition for SET and ETF by putting the sector first and working in partnership to drive forward professionalism. It will enable us to work collaboratively to build professional identity and practice for all those working in and leading FE and Skills in the country.”

What is a brand?

A brand is much more than just a name or a logo. Our brand is the space we occupy in people’s minds: our profile and reputation.

The foundations of a strong brand are a clear explanation of who we are and what we stand for. Why we exist, what we deliver, and how we’ll do it. This is commonly summarised by a vision or purpose, mission and values.

These foundations are brought to life via a visual identity and tone of voice – our style of language and the words we choose.

A visual identity is made up of a logo and social media icon, fonts, colours, photography, illustrations and graphic devices. Together they project a brand’s unique personality. In fact, you should be able to put your thumb over the logo and still recognise the brand.

A brand should be aligned with an organisation’s strategy to help deliver it by reaching out to inspire and engage people. It should also run through the whole organisation, from products and services to culture and behaviour, all forms of communication and future innovation.

Why is a brand important?

A strong brand makes sure people have heard of us and know what we stand for and can offer.

Every single contact you have with an organisation helps to inform your perception of who it is, what it says and what it does.

If you have a good experience in a shop as a customer, you will associate good customer service with the company – it will, for you, become part of the brand.

A company seeks to make sure that through training of staff, consistent

A STRONG BRAND MAKES SURE PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF US AND KNOW WHAT WE STAND FOR

communications internally and externally, good products and so on, it reinforces the kind of image it wants its customers to have. It’s the same for us.

Have your say

We would like to involve as many members as possible in creating a united brand we can all be proud of. A brand with a common sense of purpose, pride and commitment. We are committed to listening to your views and will be conducting research to inform the new brand this spring.

Once we have initial concepts ready, we will be conducting an online survey and running some online focus groups. If you’d like to be involved, please email your details to membership@ etfoundation.co.uk.

Our new brand partner

At the end of last year, we went through a formal selection process to find a brand partner, and appointed an agency called Studio Texture. It helps brands that do good be great. They have lots of experience of working across the charity sector and with membership organisations like the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

“We’re really excited to be working with SET members and ETF to create a new brand over the months ahead,” says Stuart Youngs, founder and creative director. “One brand everyone can rally behind to unite the whole FE and Skills workforce and inspire a movement.”

ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any ideas or questions about the brand development project, please contact membership@etfoundation.co.uk

FIND OUT MORE

If you’d like to find out more about branding, we recommend the CharityComms free best practice guide to branding, Brand 360.

SET supports a community of 2,260 student members studying for a teacher training qualification. At the start of the membership year in 2023, the team began work on a campaign designed to engage this cohort of members at the outset of their careers.

In July, the student engagement campaign was ready to launch, offering student members exclusive digital guides that showcase the resources and tools available to them through SET membership, and detailing the roadmap of support that SET offers at every stage of their further education journey.

Peter Letch MSET joined SET as a student member to complement his initial teacher training (ITT). “Being able to have access to resources and the Professional Standards meant that I could refer to vital information as soon as I needed it,” he says.

“While training, my lesson observations were scored against the Professional Standards, and my feedback was always cross-referenced with the standards that needed improving in that lesson so that I would become more wellrounded in my approaches.

“I decided to continue my membership after completing my ITT by upgrading to full membership and applying for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS). This will allow me to develop

journey

Student members can access resources and tools designed to guide them through their learning and into a career in Further Education and Skills

4

The number of student touchpoints in a typical 12-month journey

2,260

The number of student members

professionally, access CPD and progress to Advanced Teacher Status (ATS). The most valuable asset of being a SET member is having industry-recognised professional status that demonstrates my competencies to all colleagues and employers.”

Exclusive

BETTER TOGETHER

More than 50 organisations have now signed up as SET Corporate Partners, and are benefiting from professional development and making the most out of their membership

We were delighted to welcome our 50th Corporate Partner on board in late 2023 – York College.

Last year we were also joined by 3T Global, Liverpool ACL, Solihull College & University Centre, Technical Professionals Limited, Telford College, TRN Ltd and United Colleges Group. Across these 50 partners, we support over 3,600 SET members working across the Further Education and Skills sector.

Over the past 12 months we’ve also introduced launch events as we welcome onboard new Corporate Partners. These events explain the value of SET membership to employees, how to access the range of benefits on offer and where SET can support.

Corporate partnership with SET/ETF allows organisations to show both their staff and the wider sector that they’re committed to professional development. Every Corporate Partner is supported by a dedicated ETF relationship manager, who works with the organisation to support their development needs and teaching standards, ensuring they make the most of their SET membership and provide opportunities for their staff to be the best they can be.

One organisation already seeing the benefits is Skills for Security. “Those who come to learn with us are here because they want to be tomorrow’s engineers,” says Jon Ansty, head of quality. “They want to learn a skilled trade, and refine

their skills and technical abilities. This is why we continue to work with our staff to push their abilities.

“We’re now seeing this push reflected positively in our staff. Those who come and work with us come straight from the tools, so while they’ve got the technical competency, they may not have the required level of teaching experience. We develop them as teachers in the first instance and now, thanks to their exposure to SET/ETF combined with our ongoing development journey, I’ve got staff wanting to do their QTLS. All I can say is that it’s working.”

Telford College is another example. “We have made great strides in investing in the professional development of our staff and are delighted to join SET as a Corporate Partner,” says Caroline Bastow, head of quality and learning, teaching and assessment. “Supporting our staff to be the best they can be will have the greatest impact in providing a high-quality learning experience for our students.

“The partnership will provide the college with a wealth of resources to support the professionalism within the profession and we look forward to being key members of the communities of practice.”

You can find more information on the SET website or get in touch if you think your organisation would benefit from joining as a Corporate Partner

3,600

The number of people benefiting from SET membership as a result of corporate partnerships

50

The number of corporate partnerships currently in place, following the addition of York College

SET/ETF CORPORATE PARTNERS 2023-24

3T Global

Babington

Barnet and Southgate College

Barnsley College

Bridgwater and Taunton College

Brockenhurst College

Buckinghamshire College Group

Capita Education & Learning

Capital City College Group

City College Plymouth

Defence Medical Services Whittington (MOD)

Derby College

East Kent College Group (EKC)

Ginger Nut Training

Guernsey College of Further Education

Halesowen College

HCRG Care Group

Highlands College, Jersey

Hull College

JET2

Kirklees College

Lambeth College

Liverpool ACL

Loughborough College

Nacro

New City College Group (NCC)

New Directions College (Reading

Borough Council)

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Nottingham College

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Petroc

Preston College

Redbridge Institute, Community Learning and Skills

SecuriGroup

Skills for Security

Solihull College & University Centre

South & City College Birmingham

Springfield Training

Technical Professionals Limited

Telford College

The Sheffield College

The Teach and Travel Company

TRN (Train) Ltd

United Colleges Group

University College Birmingham

Walsall College

Waltham Forest College

West London College Group

West Suffolk College

York College

In numbers

An insight into some of the key statistics for 2023 around membership types, enquiries, events and social media activity

MEMBERSHIP

SET membership now stands at 23,000

Here’s how it breaks down:

Fellow: 3%

Member: 75%

Associate: 3%

Affiliate: 10%

Student: 9%

EVENTS

SET Conference: 1

SET webinars: 8

SET special interest group events: 5

Total attendees at SET events: 862

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Last year our customer service team handled a staggering

29,116 enquiries:

17,186 by email

11,930 by phone

The busiest months were JANUARY (QTLS)and MARCH (SET renewals)

SOCIAL MEDIA

TOTAL SET FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS: 7,579

FACEBOOK POSTS: 260

TOTAL SET X (TWITTER) FOLLOWERS: 4,856

X POSTS: 309

SPECIAL INTEREST DIGESTS

Our special interest digests have proved extremely popular. Here’s how the different topics fared in attracting members:

EdTech and digital skills

4,144

English and ESOL

3,918

Health and wellbeing

5,186

Improving your practice

5,459

Leadership and governance

4,231

Learner motivations and behaviour

6,837

Maths

3,030

Offender learning

1,201

Practitioner research

3,342 Prevent 1,749

Professional development

9,299

SEND

4,890

T Levels

1,542

Technical and vocational education

4,621

RAISE YOUR GAME

ETF’s Professional Standards enable Further Education (FE) and Skills practitioners to assess their performance and inspire learning

“W’re delighted that the Professional Standards from the Education and Training Foundation [ETF] have been beneficial for so many teachers, trainers, leaders and managers across the FE and Skills sector. The self-assessment tool in particular has been instrumental for practitioners, enabling them to underpin their practice with the standards, further supporting their professional development and transforming the lives of millions of learners,” says Dr Vikki Smith, executive director of education and standards at ETF.

A wealth of experience and knowledge has been pooled from our sector stakeholders, as well as insights from academic researchers and experts with experience in setting and developing the updated Professional Standards. We have also sought feedback from our

IT PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE STAFF FEEL CONFIDENT AND WHERE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF CPD IS REQUIRED

membership groups (e.g. the Practitioner Advisory Group) to test the efficacy of our statements with the whole sector.

We have a number of tools to support teachers/trainers and leaders to engage

with the Professional Standards. These resources include, but are not limited to, a self-assessment tool, activity cards, audio descriptions, CPD mapping tools, posters, flyers, and usage guidelines.

The most popular tool is the selfassessment tool for teachers and trainers, which launched in June 2022. Since its launch, there have been over 10,000 self-assessments completed.

The Professional Standards activity cards have been designed to enable and facilitate conversations between teachers and trainers about the Professional Standards. The Core pack contains cards for each of the core 20 Professional Standards, along with activity cards suggesting how they might be used to support colleagues.

The Career Stages pack contains cards for each of the Professional Standards at

the defined career stages (early career teacher, experienced teacher and advanced teacher) along with activity cards. Both packs are designed to help open discussions with colleagues about professional development and how to excel in your teaching practice. You can find out more on the ETF website.

There are many good examples of where the Professional Standards have been embedded into the DNA of an organisation – for example, at Walsall College, all staff are required to self-assess against the Professional Standards every year to inform workforce development plans.

Both East Surrey College (Orbital College Group) and The Guernsey Institute have woven the Professional Standards into their appraisal process,

PROFESSIONAL STAN DARDS MEMBERSHIP REVIEW

TOOLS FOR IMPROVEMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL AVERAGE SCORES

PERCEIVED STRENGTHS

Promote and support positive learner behaviour, attitude and wellbeing (PS13)

Value and champion delivery, equality of opportunity, inclusion and social equity (PS5)

Inspire, motivate and raise aspirations of learners by communicating high expectations and a passion for learning (PS3)

PERCEIVED AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Promote and embed education for sustainable development (ESD) across learning and working practices (PS2)

Develop enrichment and progression opportunities for learners through collaboration with employers, higher education and/ or community groups (PS20)

and Kirklees College has included the Professional Standards within its SPARC (scheme for promotion of academic and research collaboration) programme. This is where staff are required to self-assess against the standards and make a pledge (related to their professional development).

“For staff themselves, reflecting against the Professional Standards forms part of their professional action plan moving forward,” says Sarah Cattell, workforce development and innovation manager, Walsall College. “For the organisation, it provides an overview of where staff feel confident and where further development of CPD is required, informing a CPD plan that aligns with organisational needs.”

Critically review and apply your knowledge of educational research, pedagogy and assessment to develop evidenceinformed practice (PS9)

THANK YOU

You are part of a fantastic community of teachers, trainers and leaders that we hope will continue to grow.

If you are enjoying your membership, recommend us to a colleague within your professional network and help SET become truly representative of the Further Education and Skills sector.

We couldn’t do what we do without the support of each and every one of you, and we’re looking forward to another exciting and rewarding year ahead.