Stephen Exley
- Director of External Affairs, Villiers Park Educational Trust
Education and skills, policy and comms | Head of PR & Public Affairs @ltegrp | FRSA | Ex @tes @villierspark | Yorkshireman, returned from exile.
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Articles by Stephen Exley
Novus to support Sheffield offenders into jobs through pioneering Connect to Work programme
Prison leavers returning to Sheffield after their release are to be offered specialist support to help them find work and remain in employment with the aim of reducing reoffending in the city, thanks to a pioneering new programme. Novus Transforming Lives has won a contract to deliver employment support to offenders and ex-offenders in Sheffield, as part of the Government’s new Connect to Work programme.
How the ‘Yorkshire model’ is transforming prison education
It’s a universal truth that country music legend Glen Campbell was quick to grasp: there’s nothing that captures a thought, an idea, a feeling, quite as much as a place. Wichita Lineman, Galveston, St Louis Blues; all of these songs are brought to life by the mental association with sights, sounds, and smells of the places which lend them their title. This approach isn’t just applicable to music – it has found its way to the world of policy and politics as well.
Annual report for 2019-20 published
News > Annual report for 2019-20 published 30-06-2021 Villiers Park's new report outlines the charity's activities and impact over the last year sticky by Stephen Exley Category News Topics Governance, strategy Villiers Park has published its Annual Report for 2019-20. It outlines the organisation's activities during this year, including the launch of the Future Leaders programme and how Villiers Park responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. You can read the full report here.
Trinity College Cambridge and Villiers Park launch groundbreaking partnership
Trinity College Cambridge and Villiers Park Educational Trust are delighted to announce a new partnership with the aim of increasing participation in higher education from underrepresented and disadvantaged young people in Hastings. The partnership will focus on working with young people from less advantaged backgrounds in the coastal East Sussex town, an education Opportunity Area with very low levels of participation in higher education.
The Augar Review: What’s missing and why? – FE News
Over the last three years, there have been enough pivots, swivels and pirouettes in ministers’ attitudes to the #Augar review to fill a series of Strictly Come Dancing. The recommendations scattered through its 216 pages have gone from being dismissed as dead on arrival to regarded as the lynchpin of the government’s mission to “build back better”.
The Augar Review: What’s missing and why?
Further Education News The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the #FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork. Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos.
High-profile new trustees join Villiers Park
Villiers Park Educational Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of three high-profile new trustees. Former National Union of Students president Shakira Martin, former shadow education minister Gordon Marsden and senior HE leader Professor Christina Hughes join the board of trustees this month.
Rae Tooth joins University of Winchester board
Our Journal > Rae Tooth joins University of Winchester board 25-08-2020 Villiers' CEO brings experience of achieving 'success for socially disadvantaged and underrepresented groups' sticky by Stephen Exley Category News Topics Higher education, universities, access Villiers Park CEO Rae Tooth has been appointed as a governor of the University of Winchester. The move will strengthen the charity’s growing profile in higher education.
Niace to become Learning and Work Institute as members back merger
Stephen Exley 4th November 2015 at 5:28pm Adult learning body Niace is to merge with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) to form the Learning and Work Institute. The new organisation’s name will be effective from 1 January 2016, after Niace members at today’s annual general meeting in London voted to support the changes, which will also involve a more streamlined governance structure being introduced.
Blame or betterment: Improving regulation and oversight in the FE system
Further Education News The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the #FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork. Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos.
FE colleges in intervention for as long as four years
More than 25 colleges are currently in formal intervention by the further education commissioner, and one of those has been in intervention for more than four years, new research has shown. This comes as the commissioner's team is understood to have resumed its college and intervention activity after that was paused owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Why inconsistency in FE regulation must be addressed
On 22 May 2019, I was sat at the back of a High Court hearing room as a judge dispassionately explained that Hadlow College had insufficient assets readily available to address the “cashflow crisis” which had left it days away from running out of money. As a result of his judgement, Hadlow became the first college to be placed into “education administration”.
'Nothing could have prepared me for this'
“Keep thi’sen calm. Tha’s from Yorkshire.” The T-shirt sported in Lindsey Johnson’s Twitter profile picture aptly summarises this down-to-earth northerner. And Johnson’s positivity, sense of humour and calmness under pressure have never been needed more than in the month since they became a college principal for the first time. In February, Johnson returned to their native Yorkshire to become principal and chief executive of Craven College, the pinnacle of a 26-year career in FE.
Skills: Yorkshire lessons for the National Retraining Scheme
Amy Herdman's long-held ambition has been to work in TV production. And 2020 is the year she decided to go for it. After nine years as a media coordinator – "there was a lot of spreadsheet copying and database analysis," she says – she decided to resign to become a freelance TV runner. "TV production has been something I have been particularly interested in for a long time," she says. The move has already paid off.
Tes FE Awards 2020 postponed due to coronavirus
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes Further education awards ceremony to be rearranged in response to Covid-19 outbreak By Stephen Exley 13 March 2020 - 16:53 The Tes FE Awards 2020 ceremony has been postponed in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Williamson: Colleges 'haven't been getting leadership right'
Almost £14 million will be invested in improving leadership and governance across the further education sector. The announcement comes as education secretary Gavin Williamson warned of cases “where colleges haven’t been getting it right”.
Alison Wolf: Why her skills job in Downing Street matters
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes Baroness Wolf has been drafted into the No 10 policy unit - which bodes well for FE, writes Stephen Exley By Stephen Exley 30 January 2020 The party manifestos ahead of the general election were packed with further education and skills.
Apprenticeships: Where they are growing - and shrinking
It’s well established that, following the much-vaunted launch of the apprenticeship levy in 2017, the number of apprenticeship starts dropped significantly. Even though numbers subsequently recovered to some extent, the government was forced to abandon its target of creating 3 million apprenticeships between 2015 and 2020. But where have things improved? And in what parts of the country has the decline in the take-up of apprenticeships been most pronounced?
GCSE maths: is the new post-16 curriculum dead on arrival?
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes The MEI's proposed new GCSE for post-16 students: a game changer, or destined to be forgotten?
Ofsted: College campus grades on cards - but not in 2020
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes Separate grades for college group campuses to be piloted - but changes 'a way off yet', Ofsted's Paul Joyce tells Tes By Stephen Exley 24 January 2020 Ofsted is still looking to introduce campus-level inspection grades for colleges – but...
Apprenticeship levy needs 'stability' not reform, says Coupland
The apprenticeship levy needs “stability” rather than radical reform, according to the chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Jennifer Coupland told Tes that she was not in favour of “changing the scope or nature of what’s funded via the levy”, and argued against rationing any type of provision to avoid funding running out.
GCSE resits: Teaching to the test can hit grades, says Ofsted
Colleges teaching to the test have been a contributing factor behind low GCSE grades in English and maths resits, an Ofsted director has said. When asked about the English and maths resits policy at the launch of Ofsted’s annual report yesterday, national director for education Sean Harford hit out at classes that “are focusing on the exam questions in the first week, as opposed to actually teaching young people the English and maths they need”.
Ofsted: What annual report says on apprenticeships and colleges
The “mismatch” between apprenticeships currently being delivered and the skills needed to grow the economy must be addressed “urgently”, according to Ofsted’s annual report. While the report for 2018-19, published this morning, says that the performance of the FE sector as a whole has remained “static”, it reveals some changes in the overall quality of provision for different provider types.
Ofsted blasts colleges' 'low-level arts and media' courses
Some colleges are still steering too many students on to “superficially attractive” arts and media courses that may not deliver good long-term career prospects, Ofsted’s chief inspector has warned. At the launch of the inspectorate’s annual report for 2018-19 today, Amanda Spielman stressed the importance of thinking “strategically” about skills needed for the economy. She raised concerns about colleges placing too many students on “low-level arts and media qualifications”.
GCSE resits: Another results day, another disappointment
We’ve been here before. Upon reading the GCSE results from the November sitting, you could be forgiven for having a distinct sense of déjà vu. The most important thing to say is: well done to all of the students who saw their overall grade improve. Today’s results from the exam boards show the overall percentage of students who achieved a grade 4 in their GCSE resits has once again dropped, compared with last year.
Ofsted: Routine inspection for 'outstanding' colleges
The exemption from routine Ofsted inspection enjoyed by "outstanding" colleges and providers is due to come to an end in September. All colleges and providers graded "outstanding" by Ofsted will be reinspected in the next five years, under proposals unveiled by the government today. Since 2012, FE providers and schools rated "outstanding" have been exempt from routine inspection.
Exams: City and Guilds chief executive Chris Jones steps down
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes Mr Jones, also chair of Activate Learning, has left the group with immediate effect By Stephen Exley 07 January 2020 The chief executive of the City and Guilds Group is stepping down following 12 years in post.
Simon Connell: The man on a mission to make a success of UTCs
“It’s a little bit David against Goliath,” says Simon Connell, flashing a hint of a smile. He is reflecting on his role as chief executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust. Connell took on the role at the helm at the organisation behind the university technical colleges (UTC) programme last summer. And he’s certainly not had a straightforward first few months in the job.
Liverpool: How it ripped up the adult education rulebook
There’s been a wave of first dates in Liverpool in the last few weeks. Libraries and community centres across the borough of Halton have hosted a dozen meetings between nervous people who have never met before. In each pair is one person who can’t read. This group includes young mums who, having seen their children go to school, want to do something different with their lives. There are people who have been in care and had a negative experience of education.
Kim Kardashian West: An unlikely poster girl for apprenticeships
She has hundreds of millions of social media followers. She has a host of products tied to her name, from cosmetics to emojis, and an estimated personal wealth of more than $370 million. Kim Kardashian West may have failed in her mission to “break the internet” with an infamous magazine cover back in 2014, but since then she has become one of the most influential celebrities in the world.
LISTEN: The 12 Days of Christmas - teacher style
It’s a festive fusion that celebrates all that’s joyous about Christmas. Start with a classic Christmas song, add the creative genius of teachers – and throw in a performance by one of education’s best-known musical talents. The result is a new interpretation of The 12 Days of Christmas, with alternative, classroom-based lyrics crowdsourced by teachers on Twitter.
'Red wall': Tory success in the North could benefit colleges
Jobs My jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Downloads Saved resources Author dashboard Add resource My shop Tes Elements Community Courses Access courses News Magazine Subscriptions Payments About us My products Tes for schools Work for Tes Conservatives breached the 'red wall'.
Marsden and Milton lose seats in general election
Former skills minister Anne Milton and her opposite number Gordon Marsden have both lost their seats in the House of Commons in the general election. As the Conservatives raced to a strong overall majority, shadow FE minister Mr Marsden lost the Blackpool South seat he had held for Labour since 1997. Tory candidate Scott Benton picked up 49.6 per cent of the vote, with Mr Marsden finishing second with 38.3 per cent. Ms Milton lost the Guildford seat she had held for the Tories since 2005.
Apprenticeship levy: why radical surgery is needed
When you look at the hard facts, it’s hard not to conclude that the apprenticeship levy has been a policy disaster. This is the subtext behind parts of all three of the main parties’ manifestos, all of which implicitly or explicitly propose surgery of some kind. The Liberal Democrats would expand the apprenticeship levy into a wider “skills and training levy” – with 25 per cent of the funds raised going into a “social mobility fund” targeted at areas with the greatest skill needs.
Election 2019: 'FE needs a vision, not just extra cash'
Make no mistake: further education and skills are centre stage in the general election campaign. Given that Labour and the Liberal Democrats have helped to establish separate commissions on adult education and lifelong learning to develop policy ideas, it was perhaps no surprise that both parties have offered visions involving substantial change to the status quo.
Conservative manifesto pledges £3bn for 'national skills fund'
A “national skills fund” worth £3 billion over the course of the next parliament is included in the Conservative Party’s manifesto. The prime minister unveiled the party's manifesto for the 2019 general election today in Telford. The party revealed that it would “take the first steps towards a Right to Retrain with £3 billion for a new national skills fund”. A Conservative government would invest £600 million a year into the fund, which it insists is “new funding on top of existing skills funding”.
Why college leaders must learn to embrace failure
“A man of genius makes no mistakes,” writes James Joyce in Ulysses. “His errors are volitional and are the portals to discovery.” In the context of running a college – a high-pressure job with the livelihoods of hundreds of staff, the prospects of thousands of students and millions of pounds of funding in your hands – this quote feels somewhat frivolous. But the meaning behind it – that everyone makes mistakes, but only the most successful fully learn from them – is as relevant in FE as anywhere.
Ofsted like ‘sword of Damocles’ for struggling colleges
Ofsted is like a “sword of Damocles for a college in intervention”, a senior college leader has claimed. Addressing a session on “balancing oversight, support and intervention” at the Association of Colleges’ annual conference, Andrew Cropley hit out at the consequences of the watchdog giving a “publicly-pronounced verdict of a previous regime” for remaining staff.
Prison Education Service: Conservatives unveil reform plans
Tories also announce election pledges to increase hours worked by prisoners and create workshops By Stephen Exley 19 November 2019 The Conservatives have announced plans to create a dedicated Prison Education Service focused on work-based training and skills. The policy is part of a programme of prison reform which the party says will “give better chances to offenders once they have been released, double the number of prisoners in employment six weeks after release and reduce reoffending”.
Newcastle and Stafford College Group rated outstanding by Ofsted
Newcastle and Stafford College Group has become the first college to be rated outstanding under the new Ofsted framework. The group, being inspected for the first time since it was created through a merger, was given Ofsted’s top grade in every single category of inspection. The college, which operates from two campuses in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford, has more than 6,000 young people, adults and apprentices on its books.
College pay: UCU threatens strikes over 'breach of faith'
Colleges could face strike action in the new year after the University and College Union (UCU) accused employers of a “breach of faith” over pay. The union met with the Association of Colleges (AoC), which represents FE colleges in pay negotiations, today. It described a 1 per cent pay offer tabled by the AoC on behalf of its members as “derisory”. The government announced an extra £400 million of funding for colleges in August and UCU said it was time for colleges to prioritise staff.
Young people aged 16-18 'treated like second-class citizens'
Casting off the shackles of school after completing your GCSEs should be an exhilarating, liberating moment. Whether you choose to study in a college or sixth form or move into an apprenticeship, this is the phase of education in which young people start to exercise choice, pursue their interests and ambitions and start to shape their careers. So why are young people between the ages of 16 and 18 treated like second-class citizens?
Make sure repeated GCSE resits don't harm health, says report
The government must ensure that “repeated GCSE resits do not adversely affect young people’s wellbeing”, a new report claims. Students taking vocational qualifications are more likely to have poor health outcomes over the long term than those taking academic courses, according to a new report by the Education Policy Institute.
Don't pitch FE against HE in election, says policy expert
Political parties should be wary of pitching the FE and HE sectors against one another in a battle for funding, a policy expert has warned. Former government adviser Professor Andy Westwood, now vice-dean for social responsibility at the University of Manchester, predicted that the recommendations of the Augar review – which called for a fundamental rebalancing of post-16 funding – would be unlikely to figure prominently in the party manifestos.
College funding: Which subjects will get £120m boost?
Additional 16-19 funding will be targeted at maths, science and vocational subjects, the Department for Education has announced. The £400 million college funding package announced by chancellor Sajid Javid in August included £120 million for “expensive but crucial subjects”. Today the Department confirmed which subjects this change would apply to in 2020-21.
'Poor leadership and governance' behind UTC failures
A highly critical report on university technical colleges (UTCs) by the National Audit Office (NAO) did not give a “fair assessment” of the programme, according to Simon Connell. The chief executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust , the organisation behind the UTC movement, described the report as painting a ”glass half empty” picture.
Profile: Stella Mbubaegbu to retire from Highbury College
By any standards, Stella Mbubaegbu has had a good innings at Highbury College. “When I think about it, somebody born when I came to the college would now be funded as a 19-plus adult,” she says, laughing. But 2019-20 will be the final year with Mbubaegbu at the helm of Highbury, as she prepares to retire at the end of the academic year. And it’s certainly been an eventful tenure since she arrived in 2001. There have been plenty of highs. In 2008, she was made a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List.
Highbury College principal Stella Mbubaegbu to retire
A college principal criticised for claiming £150,000 in expenses will retire at the end of the academic year – but insisted her decision has “absolutely nothing to do with” the case. Stella Mbubaegbu, principal and chief executive of Highbury College in Portsmouth since 2001, will stand down on 31 July 2020. She told Tes she had given “my energy and my life to FE” over more than three decades working in the sector, and that she had informed the college’s governors of her plans this summer.
GCSE resits: 'Too many students are being failed by the system'
It’s a debate that provokes strong views and polarises opinions – and the latest government document is only going to harden the extreme views on both sides. No, I’m not talking about Brexit and the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. I’m talking about the thorny issue of GCSE resits – and the latest data released by the Department for Education.
'Erasmus+ changes lives. Don't let students miss out'
“Today it is more critical than ever that the United Kingdom continues to build its reputation as a connected, attractive and trusted partner, a force for good in the world.” These words were spoken by Christopher Rodrigues, chair of the British Council, this year. With Brexit still unresolved, it is important to remember that – whatever the outcome for the political and economic ties – our place in Europe is about people: sharing, understanding and exchange.
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