As the lights went down, the screen lit up and the music started to open the Natspec national conference, student DJ Callum Smith had a moment of stage fright and had to move to the back of the stage to compose himself. Callum, who is paraplegic, profoundly deaf and has learning difficulties, displayed remarkable courage and calmness under pressure as he came back to his DJ decks, put on a stunning performance and delivered a welcome speech using BSL to the 300 delegates in the room. He brought the house down and received a standing ovation.
This ability to deal with pressure, bounce back, overcome obstacles and find the motivation to keep going and succeed despite everything became the conference theme for the next two days.
Delegates displayed a similar positive response. It would have been easy for them to come to Stratford-upon-Avon and wallow in problems, after coming out of the pandemic and then being faced with funding cuts, staffing shortages, blockages in the SEND system, the energy crisis, a lack of facilities or grant aid, late placements, local councils unable or unwilling to pay high needs funding, and much more besides. Instead, they focussed on sharing and networking, remaining positive and tackling the challenges together.
Here are some of the strategies I saw people using and discussing – I hope all of them will provide motivation for everyone in the sector to keep going, whatever they are faced with.
First, focussing on a clear purpose to our work, and the courage and resilience that can emerge as a result. Callum set the tone for this, re-focussing himself beautifully. Our first keynote speaker, Phil Packer, who suffered devastating spinal injuries whilst on tour with the Army, and went on to raise millions for charity, told delegates how a firm sense of purpose and duty kept him going, and was a common factor in both his military and charitable careers.
Second, searching for new, improved, or innovative ways of working will be central to overcoming the challenges. The “quality in cash-strapped times” workshop showed how invention is sometimes born of necessity. In the quality improvement keynote session, college staff shared their different projects and how innovation has contributed to improving the quality of provision and impacted on their learners. We also celebrated our Innovation Award winners who were presented with their trophies during the conference dinner and congratulated Hedley’s College, the first winner of our “Innovator of the Year” award.
Linked to this is collaboration: conference was filled with people sharing their ideas, listening and learning from each other, and developing new relationships. One delegate told me they were delighted by the “unexpected, exciting opportunities to connect” and another said she was “blown away” by the willingness of people to share their resources. The policy session on day 2, which began with a supportive message from Minister Claire Coutinho, went on to discuss many of the funding and systemic issues faced by specialist FE. These won’t be solved without collaboration, understanding and a listening, non-adversarial approach. The “Better Together” workshop highlighted the benefits of a GFE-specialist college partnership. The challenge for delegates will be take the collaborative atmosphere of conference into new relationships with LAs and other organisations locally. A team effort and a supportive, inclusive approach has the potential to resolve some of the most difficult issues.
Next, to overcome barriers successfully it’s necessary to fail a few times first. Many of the workshops showcased resources or projects that took many months to develop and included several false starts or wrong turns. Hopefully the conference inspired delegates to try out different approaches and learn from those that fail. Purposeful reflection and a solid feedback loop from things that don’t go so well is critical to future success.
Finally, we won’t get anywhere without authenticity. All the students involved in conference kept us all firmly rooted; their input was joyous, raw and real. After Callum’s inspirational opener, we were uplifted by three more student speakers and in the evening we were entertained by the energetic Derwen Dance Crew, an emotional dance from National Star’s Jack Reeve, the “Cerebal Palsy warrior”, and an elevating final set from Yanick from Ascent College. The student hospitality volunteers from the Hive College, Coleg Elidyr, Ascent College and Landmarks College, with all their skills and good humour on display, delighted everyone. All the students involved in conference reminded delegates of why they do what they do and inspired them to keep on doing it.
It was a privilege to spend time with the dedicated, talented professionals in the specialist FE system at the Natspec conference. They have the skills to use all these tools – a sense of purpose, collaboration, innovation, willingness to learn from failure and authenticity. As we move into an uncertain future, we will need them all.