Clare Howard, Chief Executive of Natspec, reacted to the result of the general election by welcoming the Labour government and emphasising the importance of including specialist FE for learners with SEND into new policies across education, health and social care:
“I look forward to working with new MPs and ministers on Labour’s manifesto commitments for education. There are also implications for specialist FE relating to commitments on health and social care, and it will be important to emphasise the role of our colleges across different sectors. It is clear that the Labour party values further education and I hope that new ministers take note of what the sector has been saying about the issues that need to be addressed.
There are clear links between specialist colleges and the headline policies such as the introduction of Skills England, devolving more funding to the combined authorities, the commitment to pause and review qualification reform, and promises to increase the workforce in education, health and social care. It is therefore essential that new ministers understand the role that our colleges can play, and I urge them to invest relatively small sums to support it.
For example, there is an urgent need for capital funding to build high quality facilities for students with EHCPs, as specialist colleges have been excluded from investment since 2013, and modest investment into staffing is required to help create effective transitions and partnerships between schools, colleges, employers and care providers.
I hope that there can be closer links between the briefs of the ministers for Skills and Children and Families. On skills, specialist colleges are in a unique position to attract investment from employers and contribute to closing the disability employment gap, and our vision for SEND in FE can provide a basis for our work with the new Children and Families Minister. I urge ministers to address some of the serious issues for specialist FE that have emerged as a result of financial pressures on the system, and take note of our published position on what an inclusive FE system looks like.
Working together with the new government, Natspec and its colleges can create a fairer, high quality system for SEND in FE which will equip all young people with the skills, knowledge, behaviours and attitudes to gain and sustain employment, participate in their communities, and live healthily and independently.”