I am a Business Tutor and Course Leader at West Lancashire College which is a division of one of the largest FE providers in the UK. Whilst part of a national group, WLC is a small FE college at the heart of a community in the North West of England, Skelmersdale. I became a teacher…
Category: Noticeboard
Teaching and Learning Scholar: Chantal Brown
Place of work: Sandwell College, Role: Lecturer in Foundation Learning I have supported young people with SEND in a variety of roles for over 15 years. My background is in media/drama and as well as teaching, I have been a project manager for a government funded community initiative and designed bespoke programmes of education for…
Resources of Hope

Share your resources and your thoughts!Dear students, teachers, educationalists, researchers and the local and wider community, We hope you are keeping well and safe in what is a unprecedented time. We are aware that many will be self-isolating and with the current lock-down, home will be your haven. In these times when a lot…
Transformative teaching and learning in further education: summative report

Transforming Lives Report In July, we completed and had published a summative report that gathers together the findings of the research so far undertaken. With a Foreword by Angela Rayner, the Shadow Education Secretary, the report turns a spotlight onto the powerful and important work that further education colleges do. We wanted to focus on…
Restore fairness to Further Education

Now is the time to use the power of government to restore fairness for further education. As all who work in colleges know, since 2009 further education has been subjected to cut after cut –and these cuts have gone far beyond anything endured by other sectors of education. In effect,these cuts have hurt the communities…
Transforming Lives Survey

This research aims to continue to develop understanding and to provide evidence of how the Further Education (FE) sector is vital in transforming lives and communities in 21st Century Britain. This second phase of the study adds robust evidence collated in stage one of the research and in doing so continues to provide learners and…
Breaking the Triple Lock: Further education and transformative teaching and learning

Vicky Duckworth and Rob Smith We have drawn on the UCU Further Education in England: Transforming Lives & Communities research project data to develop a distinctive, theorised conceptualisation of transformative teaching and learning (TTL). The interconnection between teaching and learning resonates with the Transforming Lives research – firstly, by including teachers, it emphasises their role…
Poetry and creativity as a tool for consciousness raising

Below are poems – penned a number of years ago – I continue to draw upon them in my lessons to stimulate discussion and encourage learners to shape their ideas and emotions through language and creativity. The poems and the themes that arise from them still resonate as dialogic resources in the classes I teach. Creativity…
Happy Women’s Day
Happy Women’s Day Inspiring women share their stories. Their journeys gives hope Follow the link below to listen to their stories
RaPAL article: Literacy and empowerment
Following our RaPAL Keynote the paper is now published. RaPAL have kindly agreed to allow access to the journal which has some great articles that link research with practice in meaningful ways.. Our article based on the UCU FE Transforming Lives and Communities project “Adult Literacy: Further Education as a space for resistance’ is availablr…