Memorandum by the Association of Colleges
(AoC) (HOU 29)
SUMMARY
The Association of Colleges (AoC) is concerned
that local college lecturers are excluded by Government from the
Starter Home Initiative. This is despite the fact that local college
lecturers in many cases work alongside school teachers and that
they teach the majority of 16-19 year olds (675,000 compared with
400,000 in schools). This work with schools will extend as Government's
plans for 14-19 provision come into effect. Local college lecturers'
salaries are significantly lower than those of teachers—by
some £6,000 at the top of the basic scale. In addition, colleges
are disproportionately responsible for providing education and
training to disadvantaged people, with some 25 per cent of local
college students coming from the country's 15 per cent most deprived
wards. Most of these wards are in the large conurbations such
as London and Manchester, where housing costs are disproportionately
high. Colleges across England and Wales are reporting extensive
and growing lecturer shortages, with 90 per cent of colleges with
teaching vacancies and 88 per cent with support staff vacancies.
The latter is particularly problematic for local colleges, since
such staff are often engaged directly in the teaching process.
AoC's latest survey shows that the local college lecturer vacancy
rate is now over twice as high as that for schools. We therefore
recommend that the Committee's Report recommends a change to the
Government's current position.
BASIC FACTS
ON LOCAL
COLLEGES AND
THEIR STAFFING
— Further Education and Sixth Form
Colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland serve more 16-19
year olds than all schools (675,000 compared with 400,000). In
addition colleges provide education and training to 3.5 million
adults.
— 25 per cent of students who attend
local colleges are from the 15 per cent most deprived wards in
England.
— Lecturers in local colleges are paid
considerably lower salaries than school teachers.
Table 1
LECTURERS AND SCHOOL TEACHERS PAY COMPARISON
| Starting Salary
|
| FE | Schools
| Difference |
| £14,581 | £17,595
| -£3014 |
| Salary Progression |
| FE | Schools
| |
| 14 point salary scale |
6 point scale plus threshold payment scale
| |
| Highest Basic Salary |
| FE | Schools
| Difference |
| £26,423 | £32,217
| -£5,794 |
In addition schoolteachers have access to the following extra
salary allowances which are not available to FE lecturers: Management
Allowance (up to £10,275); Recruitment and Retention Allowance
(up to £5,262) and Special Needs Allowance (up to £3,219).
As at September 2002, an AoC survey of member colleges shows
that there were:
— 3,239 teaching staff vacancies in September 2002
compared to 2,600 teaching staff vacancies in September 2001,
representing a 25 per cent increase;
— 4,913 management and support staff vacancies in
2002 compared to 3,400 management and support staff vacancies
in 2001, representing a 44 per cent increase;
— 88 per cent of colleges have support staff vacancies
in 2002 and 48 per cent are experiencing difficulties in retaining
their support staff; and
— in addition, a recent survey by the AoC's London
Regional Office found that 86 per cent of the London local colleges
who responded said that housing costs were a significant factor
in recruiting and retaining their staff and many positions prove
extremely difficult to fill or remain vacant.
Overall, 90 per cent of colleges have teaching staff vacancies
in 2002 and 61 per cent are experiencing difficulties in retaining
their teaching staff. For comparison, there were in January 2002
4,540 school teacher vacancies across all phases—nursery,
primary, secondary and special in a workforce of 437,100, making
a vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent. (DFES data, August 2002). Taking
the closer comparison of secondary school vacancies, there were
a total of 2,450 vacancies, a vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent . In
local colleges, the lecturer workforce, full and part-time is
134,000, making local colleges' vacancy rate 2.4 per cent, or
over double that for schools.
GOVERNMENT'S
POSITION
The Government-sponsored affordable housing schemes have
specifically excluded lecturers in FE Colleges. Sally Keeble MP,
then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department
of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, stated in a letter
dated 22 November 2001 to Tessa Jowell, copied to a local college:
"For the purposes of the SHI (Starter Homes Initiative)
we have defined the priority categories for assistance as teachers,
police, nurses and other essential health staff. The assistance
available for teachers is being targeted on the compulsory education
sector where the most severe recruitment and retention problems
for teachers, which the Initiative aims to alleviate, are being
experienced."
AoC evidence shows that the basis of the Minister's position
is incorrect.
CONCLUSION
AoC is firmly of the belief that lecturers should be included
in affordable housing schemes. The shortfall of local college
staffing is seriously undermining the ability of Colleges to produce
a well-educated and trained population as part of the Government's
lifelong learning agenda.
We hope the committee will include in their report a recommendation
to include local college lecturers and support staff in the Starter
Home Initiative and more generally prioritise such staff in securing
affordable housing.
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