Further education

Further education(often abbreviatedFE) in theUnited KingdomandIrelandis additionaleducationto that received atsecondary schoolthat is distinct from thehigher education(HE) offered inuniversitiesand other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications (including those previously known asNVQ/SVQs) through awarding organisations includingCity and Guilds,Edexcel(BTEC) andOCR.FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such asHNC,HND,foundation degreeorPGCE.The colleges are also a large service provider forapprenticeshipswhere most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college.

FE in the United Kingdom is usually a means to attain an intermediate, advanced or follow-up qualification necessary to progress into HE, or to begin a specific career path outside of university education. Further Education is offered to students aged over 16 at colleges of Further Education, through work-based learning, or adult and community learning institutions.

By country

United Kingdom

England

Provision for further education colleges was laid out in sections 41 to 47 of theEducation Act 1944;their role was to offer "full-time and part-time education" and "leisure-time occupation" for persons over compulsory school age.^[1]In the 1960s,A-levelstudents predominantly studied at school rather than colleges (often referred to as "techs" at that time). More types of colleges were introduced over the next decades, and by 1990 colleges took in almost half of A-level students.^[2]

Colleges in England are corporate bodies under theFurther and Higher Education Act 1992,which removed further education colleges from local government control.^[3]Types of college include:

General further education colleges
Sixth form colleges
Tertiary colleges
Land-based colleges(e.g. agricultural specialisms)
Specialist designated colleges (e.g. working men's clubs)
Art, design and performing art colleges

Policies relating to colleges are primarily the responsibility of theDepartment for Education(DfE). Until July 2016, colleges were also covered by theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills(BIS); on the abolition of BIS and formation of theDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy(BEIS), responsibility for FE colleges moved to DfE.^[4]The regulatory body for sixth form colleges was already DfE prior to the 2016 changes.

Following the merger of theEducation Funding Agencyand theSkills Funding Agencyin 2017,^[5]funding for colleges is provided through theEducation and Skills Funding Agency^[6]for all further education students.In 2018/19, colleges’ income totalled £6.5 billion, of which £5.1 billion (78%) was public funding. Most college funding follows the learner. Colleges must attract students, competing with each other and with other types of education and training provider. Colleges can borrow commercially, own assets, employ staff and enter into contracts, and they may make financial surpluses or deficits.^[7]

The Technical and Further Education Act 2017 laid out a framework for aninsolvencyregime for further education colleges known as "Education Administration". This is a form of corporateadministrationadapted to the needs of further education, to be used "where a further education body is unable to pay its debts or is likely to become unable to pay its debts" and intended "to avoid or minimise disruption to the studies of the existing students of the further education body as a whole".^[8]Education administrators were appointed to run Hadlow College and West Kent College in 2019.^[9]

All colleges and FE providers are subject to inspection byOfsted,which monitors the quality of provision in publicly funded institutions in England. Membership organisations for providers include theAssociation of Collegesand theSixth Form Colleges' Association.

In 2020, the government allocated £200 million for repairs and upgrades of FE college buildings, subject to a degree of matched funding by the colleges,^[10]and the Department for Education is allocating this to colleges via the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF).^[11]Sixteen colleges with sites in poor condition have been selected, and detailed proposals were invited for submission before October 2021, for projects which can be completed by December 2024.^[11]

Northern Ireland

Further education in Northern Ireland is provided through seven multi-campus colleges.^[12]Northern Ireland'sDepartment for Employment and Learninghas the responsibility for providing FE in the province.^[13]

Most secondary schools also provide a sixth form scheme whereby a student can choose to attend for two additional years to complete their AS and A-levels.

Scotland

Scotland's further education colleges provide education for those young people who follow a vocational route after the end of compulsory education at age 16. They offer a wide range of vocational qualifications to young people and older adults, including vocational, competency-based qualifications (previously known asSVQs),Higher National CertificatesandHigher National Diplomas.Frequently, the first two years ofhigher education– usually in the form of anHND– are taken in an FE college, followed by attendance at university.

Wales

Further education inWalesis provided through:

Further education in Wales comes under the remit of theWelsh Assembly Government.Funding came fromEducation and Learning Walesfrom 2000 until 2006, when that organisation was merged with the Assembly.

Republic of Ireland

Further education in theRepublic of Irelandis similar to that offered in the UK. Typical areas includeapprenticeshipsand other vocational qualifications in many disciplines, such as childcare, farming, retail, and tourism. The many types of further education awards are known asPost Leaving Certificates.

Further education has expanded immensely in recent years,^[when?]helped by the institutions and their relationships with their communities.Quality and Qualifications Ireland(QQI), which was established in November 2012,^[14]is the regulator for FE qualifications.

References

^"Education Act 1944, Part 2, Chapter 4".Retrieved11 March2022.
^Smithers, Alan (October 1993)."Changing Colleges: Further Education in the Market Place"(PDF).alansmithers.Council for Industry and Higher Education.p. 19.Retrieved8 January2021.
^"Further and Higher Education Act 1992".Oxford Reference.Retrieved8 January2021.
^Robertson, Alix (14 July 2016)."Department for Education taking over FE, skills and higher education".FE Week.Retrieved19 August2019.
^"New agency to provide joined-up education and skills funding".gov.uk.Retrieved25 April2018.
^"Education and Skills Funding Agency".gov.uk.Retrieved25 April2018.
^"Financial sustainability of colleges in England – National Audit Office (NAO) Report".National Audit Office.16 September 2020.Retrieved1 January2022.
^"Technical and Further Education Act 2017"(PDF).Retrieved11 January2019.
^"Takeover spells end of Kent colleges administration".BBC News.17 August 2020.Retrieved1 January2022.
^Camden, Billy (28 June 2020)."Government to 'fast track' £200m of £1.5bn capital budget to refurbish colleges".FE Week.Retrieved17 August2021.
^^a ^bDepartment for Education,"Further Education Capital Transformation Fund: Guidance for applicants for stage 2"(PDF).July 2021.Retrieved17 August2021.
^"Further Education (FE) Colleges".nidirect.18 December 2015.Retrieved9 January2021.
^"Further Education".nidirect.13 November 2015.Retrieved9 January2021.
^"Minister Quinn merges educational agencies to establish QQI".Retrieved15 November2012.

External links

[1] "Education Act 1944, Part 2, Chapter 4".Retrieved11 March2022.

[2] Smithers, Alan (October 1993)."Changing Colleges: Further Education in the Market Place"(PDF).alansmithers.Council for Industry and Higher Education.p. 19.Retrieved8 January2021.

[3] "Further and Higher Education Act 1992".Oxford Reference.Retrieved8 January2021.

[4] Robertson, Alix (14 July 2016)."Department for Education taking over FE, skills and higher education".FE Week.Retrieved19 August2019.

[5] "New agency to provide joined-up education and skills funding".gov.uk.Retrieved25 April2018.

[6] "Education and Skills Funding Agency".gov.uk.Retrieved25 April2018.

[7] "Financial sustainability of colleges in England – National Audit Office (NAO) Report".National Audit Office.16 September 2020.Retrieved1 January2022.

[8] "Technical and Further Education Act 2017"(PDF).Retrieved11 January2019.

[9] "Takeover spells end of Kent colleges administration".BBC News.17 August 2020.Retrieved1 January2022.

[10] Camden, Billy (28 June 2020)."Government to 'fast track' £200m of £1.5bn capital budget to refurbish colleges".FE Week.Retrieved17 August2021.

[:0-11] Department for Education,"Further Education Capital Transformation Fund: Guidance for applicants for stage 2"(PDF).July 2021.Retrieved17 August2021.

[12] "Further Education (FE) Colleges".nidirect.18 December 2015.Retrieved9 January2021.

[13] "Further Education".nidirect.13 November 2015.Retrieved9 January2021.

[14] "Minister Quinn merges educational agencies to establish QQI".Retrieved15 November2012.

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