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Further education professional development grants pilot: project summaries and resources

Published 29 June 2022

Applies to England

The programme was split into 3 priority themes:

• workforce capability and confidence to use technology effectively in education

• subject-specific professional development

• supporting new and inexperienced teachers

Workforce capability and confidence to use technology effectively in education

These providers led on activities to support workforce capability and confidence to use technology effectively in education.

Tyne Coast College - lead provider

Project summary: Tyne Coast College and partners introduced ‘Digital Influencers’ to role model and work with teachers to build confidence and competence. Digital Influencers have developed and delivered a programme of synchronous bite-sized learning sessions designed to raise awareness of digital tools and provide examples of how the tools can be used practically with students

For more information and resources, visit the Tyne Coast College FEPDG website.

Partner provider:

• Itchen Sixth Form College

Norfolk County Council Adult Learning - lead provider

Project summary: The Adult Community Education Digital Leaders project has influenced staff and impacted learners through the ground-breaking delivery of evidence-based research and professional development that transforms the quality of online, blended, and synchronous teaching, learning and support for learners.

For more information and resources, visit ACE Digital Leaders Holex.

Partner providers:

• Buckinghamshire Council
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• Adult Community Learning Essex
• Hull Training and Adult Education
• Luton Borough Council – Luton Adult Learning
• North Lincolnshire Council Adult Education and Community Learning
• Southend Adult Community College
• Thurrock Council – Thurrock Adult Community College
• Wiltshire Council

City College Plymouth - lead provider

Project summary: City College Plymouth and partners developed an online training and resource hub along with knowledge-exchange opportunities for FE staff, devoted to better understanding barriers to student and digital wellbeing. Created through a diverse city-wide partnership of FE organisations, the project will increase FE workforce capability and confidence to use digital technology and support FE sector education recovery.

For more information and resources, visit the Barriers to Life website.

Partner providers:

• Plymouth City Council
• Achievement Training Ltd

South Thames Colleges Group - lead provider

Project summary: ‘My Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA) Coach’ is a ‘Digital Pedagogy Coach’ (DPC) online coaching platform, aimed at supporting and developing teacher capability and confidence to more effectively use technology. The DPC provides teachers with access to an AI powered chatbot and professional community to improve the quality of digital pedagogy.

For more information and resources, visit the My TLA Coach website.

Partner providers:

• Croydon College
• City of Portsmouth College

Gateshead Council - lead provider

Project summary: The project has supported staff digitally and built on the skills of more competent staff to enhance digital delivery of teaching, learning and assessment. Working together with Google Vitalize to train staff to be Google educators, this has enabled staff to effectively use all tools that form the Google education suite.

For more information and resources, visit the Gateshead Learning Skills FEPDG website.

Partner provider:

• Gateshead College

Subject-specific professional development

These providers led on activities to support subject-specific professional development.

Middlesbrough College - lead provider

Project summary: Middlesbrough College and partners provided subject specific training and CPD focused on improving vocational teachers’ subject knowledge and pedagogy through learning collaboratively and across colleges in joint practice development groups, through World Skills UK Training and by training expert practitioners in coaching skills to drive effective practice through peer interactions and mentoring.

For more information and resources, visit Subject Pedagogy FEPDG – by Middlesbrough College.

Partner providers:

• Newcastle College
• Newcastle Sixth Form College
• John Leggott Sixth Form College

Burnley College - lead provider

Project summary: The project developed level 4 and 5 subject and pedagogic content knowledge of teaching staff within colleges through the establishment of subject-specific professional development networks aligned with Lancashire’s priority economic sectors to improve the quality of technical and professional curriculum design, teaching, learning and assessment.

For more information and resources, visit the Lancashire Colleges website.

Partner providers:

• Blackburn College
• Lancaster and Morecambe College
• Preston’s College
• Myerscough College

Waltham Forest College - lead provider

Project summary: The project created evidence based approaches to improve subject knowledge and pedagogy by building on best practice via specialisms and strengths. The project has supported teachers to gain skills to adapt and apply generic practices to specific areas and established a durable peer-to-peer support and subject network model.

For more information and resources, visit the Waltham Forest College website.

Partner provider:

• Capital City College Group

Derby City Council - lead provider

Project summary: The project created opportunities for tutors to engage in a goal specific programme of subject or industry updating. Tutors have engaged in mentor supervised ‘supported experiments’ and other forms of subject specialist support, linked to industry requirements and current pedagogical principles.

For more information and resources, email DALSenquiries@derby.gov.uk.

Partner providers:

• Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service
• Workers Educational Association
• Nottinghamshire County Council

Wigan and Leigh College - lead provider

Project summary: The project focused on supporting dual professionals to improve subject and pedagogic content knowledge in order to improve the quality of curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.

For more information and resources, view Wigan & Leigh College’s end of project e-book.

Partner providers:

• Hopwood Hall College
• St Helens College
• Stoke College
• Education Partnership North East
• Newcastle College Group

West Suffolk College Group - lead provider

Project summary: West Suffolk College and partners provided industry or subject updating opportunities and action research projects for staff.  This enabled continuous professional development that was student focussed promoting learning, improvement, and subject knowledge in key sectors of their regional economy.

For more information and resources, visit Teaching Innovation.

Partner providers:

• Suffolk New College
• Inspire Education Group

Leeds College of Building - lead provider

Project summary: A project to improve subject and pedagogic content knowledge to increase the quality of curriculum design and introduce new teaching practices through a collaborative approach of engagement between FE and employers in West and North Yorkshire.

For more information and resources visit FE Catalyst Learning website.

Partner providers:

• Bradford College
• Calderdale College
• Kirklees College
• Luminate Education Group
• Shipley College
• Wakefield College
• Askham Bryan College

Supporting new or inexperienced teachers

These providers  led on activities to support new or inexperienced teachers.

Activate Learning - lead provider

Project summary: Project MAGNET  aimed to drive improvements in workforce development through reducing timetables, high-quality mentoring and developing COVID-responsive FE teacher-training resources. In collaboration with the Research College Group, the project also aimed to offer a practice review to inform a draft of an early career framework for the post-16 sector.

For more information and resources, visit The MAGNET project.

Partner provider:

• Barnet and Southgate College

Cirencester College - lead provider

Project summary: The project was conducted in 2 phases. A quantifying research phase and the creation of a framework model for training and supporting new teachers that can be adopted by any FE provider, including accompanying theme templates.

For more information and resources visit the New Teacher Support Course.

Partner provider:

• Shrewsbury Colleges Group

Derby College - lead provider

Project summary: The project aims to build a distinct FE teacher identity by designing and implementing an effective core induction programme (CIP) for new or inexperienced teachers that effectively supports and develops, incorporating face-to face training and mentoring to enhance pedagogical content knowledge, behaviour strategies, formative assessment practice, well-being, and mental health practices.

For more information and resources, visit DCG FE Early Career Framework webpage .

Partner provider:

• Nottingham College

Bridgwater and Taunton College - lead provider

Project summary: The purpose of the project was to create an onboarding platform for transitioning teachers and teachers new to teaching in FE to give them an online induction to welcome them to the college and its systems along with online resources development sessions and access to mentors to support their induction into FE.

For more information and resources, contact FEPDG@btc.ac.uk.

Partner providers:

• South Devon College
• Cornwall College Group

Northampton College - lead provider

Project summary: An intensive induction and support programme for new and inexperienced teachers, separate and additional from any teacher training course, including skills audits against the DfE Teachers’ Standards and the subsequent development and delivery of teacher improvement modules. It also established communities of practice to share ideas and resources.

For more information and resources, visit the Northampton College FE Professional Development Group.

Partner providers:

• West Herts College Group
• Moulton College
• Stoke-on-Trent-College

Kendal College - lead provider

Project summary: The project provided tailored support and professional development to aid career progression and improve teacher retention. New teachers formed collaborative groups with peers from their own college and other FE institutions to form small groups to jointly identify teaching techniques to develop.

For more information and resources, contact fepdgtpilot@kendal.ac.uk.

Partner providers:

• NCG
• Lakes College
• Furness College

Wakefield College - lead provider

Project summary: Through the project, the colleges  developed and strengthened their initial induction activities, and provided a progressive and supportive programme covering the essentials of teaching for new teachers, including access to an experienced and outstanding mentor.

For more information and resources, visit supporting new teachers website.

Partner providers:

• Chesterfield College
• Lincoln College
• Nottingham College
• Wigan and Leigh College

Barnsley College - lead provider

Project summary: Barnsley College and partners created a CPD and mentoring model with a focus on supporting quality staff to stay, progress and flourish. Activity areas including access to mentors or coaches, bespoke evidence-based resources, peer or supported collaboration and enhanced, targeted intense longer CPD. Tiered approach to guarantee alignment with existing CPD or NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) induction programmes.

For more information and resources, contact DfEProject@barnsley.ac.uk.

Partner providers:

• Access to Music Ltd
• Bournemouth & Poole College
• City of Bristol College
• Nelson & Colne College Group
• Oaklands College
• Runshaw College

Harlow College - lead provider

Project summary: The project concentrated on providing mentoring support and professional development via a toolkit which includes learning, teaching, and assessment (LTA) strategies, including digital development and growth mindset, support of a trained mentor advanced practitioner (AP) and access to grants for subject specific CPD.

For more information and resources, visit Harlow College’s Teaching Project webpage.

Partner providers:

• Chelmsford College
• Colchester Institute
• New City College
• South Essex College
• The Sixth Form College, Colchester
• USP College

East Kent College Group - lead provider

Project summary: The project had two main elements: the development of Leaders of People & Learning programme focusing on supporting leaders to create a learning culture, to effectively evaluate their curriculum and support staff who require improvement in their teaching practice. Inexperienced teachers received individualised programmes of personal development through a remission and support package to navigate the changing requirements of online teaching.

For more information and resources, visit EKC Group - project resources.

Partner providers:

• The Sheffield College
• Bradford College