51¸£Àû

51¸£Àû/2132Ìý May 2024Ìý

University and College Union

Carlow Street, London NW1 7LH, Tel. 020 7756 2500, www.ucu.org.uk

ToÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Branch and local association secretaries

TopicÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Unconfirmed minutes, Further Education Sector Conference, 28 May 2023

ActionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For adoption

Summary ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Minutes of the decisions made by the Special Further Education Sector Conference, 28 May 2023

 

Unconfirmed minutes

FURTHER EDUCATION SECTOR CONFERENCE, Glasgow

28 May 2023

 

1             Opening Business

1.1         Maxine Looby, the Chair, introduced herself, welcomed delegates to the conference, and called the meeting to order.

1.2         The Chair introduced delegates to the people on the top table: Paul Bridge, Head of Further Education; Brian Hamilton, NEC rep for Prison Education and FEC Officer; Alan Scobbie, Head of Constitutional Affairs; Richard McEwan, Vice-Chair of FEC and NEC member; Jo Grady, General Secretary; David Bussell, 51¸£Àû Administrator, minutes.

1.3         The Chair called delegates’ attention to the agenda, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. For the benefit of new and returning delegates, the Chair explained how they can move motions and speak in the debates and set out how the business of FESC would be conducted.

1.4         The Chair gave a shout-out to every college involved in industrial action. She extended this solidarity to Glasgow College and colleagues in Higher Education.

1.5         The Chair asked a favour of delegates: to kindly contribute to vox pop videos being filmed at the conference hall. She encouraged delegates to visit the reception table during the break and see Ed Bailey (Deputy Head of Campaigns) so they can lend their voices to the Respect FE campaign.

 

2             Appointment of tellers

2.1         The appointment of tellers was formally AGREED.

3             Report of the Congress Business Committee (CBC)

3.1         The CBC Vice-Chair, Hazel Raven, introduced herself.

3.2         The CBC Vice-Chair presented the second report of the CBC.

3.3         Hazel noted that a late motion on Ofsted inspections had been ordered onto the agenda as Motion L1.

3.4         Hazel noted the number and range of motions submitted to this year’s conference.

3.5         The Chair thanked Hazel and the rest of the CBC for their hard work.

3.6         The report of the CBC was ADOPTED.

4             Adoption of minutes

4.1         The minutes from Annual FESC, 2 June 2022 (51¸£Àû/2088) were reviewed. The minutes had no matters arising. The minutes were formally ADOPTED.

4.2         The minutes from Special FESC, 1 April 2023 (51¸£Àû/2093) were reviewed. The minutes had no matters arising. The minutes were formally ADOPTED.

3             Report from Paul Bridge, Head of Further Education

3.1         Paul Bridge noted that this was our first in-person conference since 2019. He thanked 51¸£Àû reps for their commitment to union during the pandemic and to supporting their branch members. He wished solidarity to all the FE branches in dispute or taking action.

3.2         Paul spoke about the high level of branch participation in, and the ongoing debate about Respect FE, and industrial action strategy that has taken shape since the very successful Special FESC in April. The biggest campaign in FE for years was in train and 51¸£Àû was set up to launch a hard-hitting industrial action plan in the autumn. Paul thanked branch reps for all their hard work in supporting both local and national campaigns. Paul commented on the work of the FEC to implement the decisions of the Special FESC and the prioritisation of the work in head office. He commented also on how decisions made today would shape the work and support the campaign. Paul referred to the excellent work of 51¸£Àû Wales and 51¸£Àû Northern Ireland and how their campaigns can be instructive to the FE England campaign. Regarding Adult Ed and ESOL, Paul commented 51¸£Àû will continue work hard in support of the manifesto for better recognition, funding and terms and conditions, to secure the best collective outcomes for members.

3.3         Paul talked about the impressive work prison education members were doing despite challenging working conditions and the excellent parliamentary lobbying work that was taking place in this regard and.

3.4         Paul confirmed that FE branch feedback indicated support for regular branch briefings on the national campaign and confirmed these would continue in the autumn as the Respect FE dispute continued to develop. ÌýÌý

3.5         Paul talked about the importance of 51¸£Àû democracy and all the motions at conference. This year we will campaign bigger and bolder, with more action and more winning for members. We will engage members and reps frequently and listen and adapt our campaigns and make sure members are at the heart of what the union does in FE. We can and will improve the working lives of members with an ambitious campaign strategy that we will launch after this conference is concluded.

3.6         Paul wished all delegates well and looked forward to the debate and the decisions made by FESC.

3.7         The report from the Head of Further Education was ADOPTED.

4             Report from Steve Sanguine, Honorary Treasurer

4.1         Steve reported on funding for FE and how 51¸£Àû was supporting members in FE. He spoke about the Fighting Fund that had been set up to support members taking industrial action. £900,000 had been ringfenced for FE, of which £766,000 had been paid out already. Another £3 Million will be added to the fund, the amount to be ringfenced yet undecided.

5             Report from Dr Jo Grady, General Secretary

5.1         Jo talked about the enormous effort that goes into running a ballot and thanked everyone for their hard work. She encouraged people to contribute to the campaign and to work their hardest. Change is not a spectator sport.

6             Debate of Motions

6.1         The Chair reminded delegates that the debate of motions is a closed session.

6.2         The Chair explained the rules of debate.

6.3         Branches are encouraged to consider any impact of devolution regarding their motions.

7.           Motion FE1, FE England pay report (FEC), was moved by Paul Bridge as part of the Head of Further Education report as follows:

Conference approves the report on the FE England 2023/24 pay round and notes developments in the 2022/23 round as circulated in 51¸£ÀûBANFE23.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE1 was CARRIED.

Motion FE2 Composite, Further Education Committee, City and Islington College Camden Road, New City College (THC Poplar), South and City of College Birmingham was moved by Sean Vernell:

Notes:

1.    the historic FE ballot result of 87% for action and 51% turn out

2.    the c150 branches to be balloted from September

3.    despite the lack of Thrutext the campaign result was excellent

4.    congratulations to all union staff, the branch reps, the activists to achieve 51% TO and 87% YES.

Believes:

1.    the results reflect an appetite of members to fight on an England-wide basis - for pay, workload and a binding national bargaining agreement

2.    there is a significant appetite amongst members to take national action

3.    due to the intransigence of the employers and government we will need to take nationally coordinated and sustained strike action to win

4.    we need to start to prepare now to follow up the Autumn campaign and lay the groundwork to successfully move to an aggregated ballot in the new year.

Resolves:

1.    to call an England-wide demonstration on one of the initial days of strike action to lobby the DfE

2.    if government/AoC have not conceded to our demands, to prepare for an aggregated ballot starting in January 2024

3.    in any future consultation the FEC will decide what would be a reasonable threshold for branches to reach to move to ballot.

Note from Chair: There is a factual inaccuracy in the motion, in that ThruText was used as planned. Sean admitted the inaccuracy and apologised, saying he would remove it from the motion. Hazel Raven apologised on behalf of CBC that this inaccuracy had not been noticed.

Point of information: Sean asked if members would receive any ThruText training. Jo Grady confirmed that there would be.

Amendment FE2A.1, City and Islington College Camden Road, was moved and seconded formally:

Add:

1.    To set up an England-wide strike committee throughout the duration of the dispute for all those branches involved to discuss strategy and tactics.

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE2A.1 was CARRIED.

Amendment FE2A.2, Merton College, City of Liverpool College (City), was moved by Rolf Frum and seconded formally:

Add

Notes:

1.    the 2016 TU legislation.

Add

Believes:

1.    it is the duty of TUs to oppose this bill and call for its repeal.

2.    it is not the job of TUs to increase this threshold to make it even more difficult to take legal strike action.

Add

Resolves:

1.    in any future consultation the FEC will decide what would be a reasonable threshold for branches to reach to move to ballot.

A vote was taken on the amendment, and the results were as follows:
Votes in favour: 42, Votes against: 29, Registered abstentions: 5.
Thus Amendment FE2A.2 was CARRIED.

Amendment FE2A.3, City of Liverpool College (City), was moved and seconded formally:

Add

Notes

1.    the Eballot success

2.    despite the lack of Thrutext the campaign result was excellent

3.    congratulations to all union staff, the branch reps, the activists to achieve 51% TO and 87% YES

Add

resolves

1.    in light of the wave of strikes across sectors for the FEC to analyse the best ways to make most impact for the next set of continuous or sustained strike action.

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE2A.3 was CARRIED.

Thus the amended Motion FE2 would read as follows:

Notes:

1.    the 2016 TU legislation.

2.    the Eballot success

3.    the historic FE ballot result of 87% for action and 51% turn out

4.    the c150 branches to be balloted from September

5.    congratulations to all union staff, the branch reps, the activists to achieve 51% TO and 87% YES.

Believes:

1.    the results reflect an appetite of members to fight on an England-wide basis - for pay, workload and a binding national bargaining agreement

2.    there is a significant appetite amongst members to take national action

3.    due to the intransigence of the employers and government we will need to take nationally coordinated and sustained strike action to win

4.    we need to start to prepare now to follow up the Autumn campaign and lay the groundwork to successfully move to an aggregated ballot in the new year.

5.    it is the duty of TUs to oppose this bill and call for its repeal.

6.    it is not the job of TUs to increase this threshold to make it even more difficult to take legal strike action.

Resolves:

1.    to call an England-wide demonstration on one of the initial days of strike action to lobby the DfE

2.    if government/AoC have not conceded to our demands, to prepare for an aggregated ballot starting in January 2024

3.    in any future consultation the FEC will decide what would be a reasonable threshold for branches to reach to move to ballot.

4.    To set up an England-wide strike committee throughout the duration of the dispute for all those branches involved to discuss strategy and tactics.

5.    in light of the wave of strikes across sectors for the FEC to analyse the best ways to make most impact for the next set of continuous or sustained strike action.

6.    in any future consultation the FEC will decide what would be a reasonable threshold for branches to reach to move to ballot.

A vote was taken on the amended motion, and the results were as follows:
Votes in favour: 41, Votes against: 34, Registered abstentions: 4.
Thus the substantive Motion FE2 was CARRIED.

Motion FE3, Levelling up FE, City and Islington College (Camden Road), was moved Richard McEwan and seconded formally:

Conference notes:

1.    the reclassification of FE as part of the public sector

2.    the disparity of pay and conditions agreements across the FE sector.

Conference believes that:

a.    the reclassification of FE provides an opportunity to fight for parity with schools over pay, conditions and a nationally binding bargaining framework

b.    a nationally binding bargaining framework agreement would be a step towards the levelling up of the sector

c.    now FE is classified as public sector then we must at least have the same bargaining agreements as schools.

Conference resolves:

                                     i.        Call on 51¸£Àû to publicise amongst members why a nationally binding bargaining framework agreement is key to levelling up the sector.

Amendment FE3A.1, New City College (THC Poplar), South and City College Birmingham, was moved by Richard McEwan and seconded formally:

Add:

Believes D, E and F:

d.    the government/employers will not voluntarily implement an England-wide binding bargaining agreement

e.    they will only do so when they see members are prepared to take strike action to force them to implement an agreement

f.     not having a binding England-wide bargaining agreement in place must not be a reason to delay action or preparations for action to achieve this goal.

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE3A.1 was CARRIED.

Thus the amended Motion FE3 would read as follows:

Conference notes:

1.    the reclassification of FE as part of the public sector

2.    the disparity of pay and conditions agreements across the FE sector.

Conference believes that:

a.    the reclassification of FE provides an opportunity to fight for parity with schools over pay, conditions and a nationally binding bargaining framework

b.    a nationally binding bargaining framework agreement would be a step towards the levelling up of the sector

c.    now FE is classified as public sector then we must at least have the same bargaining agreements as schools.

d.    the government/employers will not voluntarily implement an England-wide binding bargaining agreement

e.    they will only do so when they see members are prepared to take strike action to force them to implement an agreement

f.     not having a binding England-wide bargaining agreement in place must not be a reason to delay action or preparations for action to achieve this goal.

Conference resolves:

                                    ii.        Call on 51¸£Àû to publicise amongst members why a nationally binding bargaining framework agreement is key to levelling up the sector.

A vote was taken on the amended motion. Substantive Motion FE3 was CARRIED.

Motion FE4, Campaign for parity with sixth form colleges, The Manchester College, was moved and seconded by Chris Jones, NPTC College Group: Ìý

FESC notes:

1.    6th form colleges and colleges in Wales have national agreements way more favourable than FE.

2.    students at 6th form college are taught by a teachers on more money with fewer teaching hours.

3.    it still should be an aspiration of all FE colleges to have nationally agreed terms and conditions through national bargaining.

4.    the teaching staff in FE must be treated fairly.

5.    this resolution is to extend the Respect FE agenda.

FESC resolves:

a.    that 51¸£Àû start a national campaign, including advertising, that brings FE to the fore because of its essential role in training young people for work in this era of skills shortages.

b.    to launch a campaign to lobby parliament and the DFE

c.    colleagues to write to MPs including the Education Secretary to ask for FE to be better funded, staff to be treated fairly and given conditions of employment the same as those in 6th form colleges.

Amendment FE4A.1, City of Liverpool College (Arts Mullberry) was moved by Chris Harvey, City of Liverpool College, and seconded formally:

FESC notes:

add to 4. after fairly " and to have pay parity"

add to 5. after agenda "for national bargaining"

FESC resolves:

insert " bargaining " in a. in between national campaign

add to b. at the end after DFE " to address and highlight the crisis in recruitment of specialised staff, the loss of experienced teachers, and the critical shortage of teachers to teach the needs of a skilled workforce"

 

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE4A.1 was CARRIED.

Amendment FE4A.2, City of Liverpool College (Roscoe) was moved by Chris Harvey, and seconded formally:

add

d.    parity of pay between the sectors has been campaigned on before during the time of the IFL and 51¸£Àû should renew that call again

add

                                    ii.        create a fact sheet for campaigning in branches for parity of pay for the Post 16 sectors

                                   iii.        to send more solidarity messages to NEU comrades in their struggle for better pay.

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE4A.2 was CARRIED.

Thus the amended Motion FE4 would read as follows:

FESC notes:

1.    6th form colleges and colleges in Wales have national agreements way more favourable than FE.

2.    students at 6th form college are taught by a teachers on more money with fewer teaching hours.

3.    it still should be an aspiration of all FE colleges to have nationally agreed terms and conditions through national bargaining.

4.    the teaching staff in FE must be treated fairly and to have pay parity.

5.    this resolution is to extend the Respect FE agenda for national bargaining.

FESC resolves:

a.    that 51¸£Àû start a national bargaining campaign, including advertising, that brings FE to the fore because of its essential role in training young people for work in this era of skills shortages.

b.    to launch a campaign to lobby parliament and the DFE to address and highlight the crisis in recruitment of specialised staff, the loss of experienced teachers, and the critical shortage of teachers to teach the needs of a skilled workforce.

c.    colleagues to write to MPs including the Education Secretary to ask for FE to be better funded, staff to be treated fairly and given conditions of employment the same as those in 6th form colleges.

A vote was taken on the amended motion. Substantive Motion FE4 was CARRIED.

Motion FE5, Workloads – Yorkshire and Humberside FE Sector Regional Committee, was moved by Lubna Kahn and seconded by Julianna Ojinnaka:

FESC:

1.    notes 51¸£Àû's work on workloads and overloading of staff

2.    believes that excessive workloads are a major concern of 51¸£Àû members

3.    welcomes the inclusion of workloads in the FE pay claim for 2023-24.

FESC calls upon FEC to:

a.    address the workload and other problems attached to student attendance monitoring, behaviour monitoring and supporting vulnerable 14-19 year olds and related pastoral work as well as chasing work

b.    develop campaign materials for use at branch level to support branches in campaigning to reduce excessive workloads

c.    encourage and promote trade union education in contractual matters related to workloads, so that FE staff, especially new staff, hourly paid and part time staff are informed of employment rights

d.    include awareness of equality issues in campaign materials around workloads

e.    recognise that some teaching roles eg subject leaders are expected to take on extra responsibilities without enough remission.

Amendment FE5A.1, City of Liverpool College (Roscoe) was moved by Liz Webster, and seconded formally:

add

4.    Workload and pay are linked; as pay has declined, workload has increased

add

f.     that FE negotiators seek agreement with the unions, similar to the previous Working Regulations, with the AoC so that workload can be reduced urgently

g.    in any future AoC consultation that the FE negotiators refer any decent offer on pay and workload to the FEC first and foremost for analysis

A vote was taken on the amendment. Amendment FE5A.1 was CARRIED.

Thus the amended Motion FE5 would read as follows:

FESC:

1.    notes 51¸£Àû's work on workloads and overloading of staff

2.    believes that excessive workloads are a major concern of 51¸£Àû members

3.    welcomes the inclusion of workloads in the FE pay claim for 2023-24.

4.    Workload and pay are linked; as pay has declined, workload has increased

FESC calls upon FEC to:

a.    address the workload and other problems attached to student attendance monitoring, behaviour monitoring and supporting vulnerable 14-19 year olds and related pastoral work as well as chasing work

b.    develop campaign materials for use at branch level to support branches in campaigning to reduce excessive workloads

c.    encourage and promote trade union education in contractual matters related to workloads, so that FE staff, especially new staff, hourly paid and part time staff are informed of employment rights

d.    include awareness of equality issues in campaign materials around workloads

e.    recognise that some teaching roles eg subject leaders are expected to take on extra responsibilities without enough remission.

f.     that FE negotiators seek agreement with the unions, similar to the previous Working Regulations, with the AoC so that workload can be reduced urgently

g.    in any future AoC consultation that the FE negotiators refer any decent offer on pay and workload to the FEC first and foremost for analysis

A vote was taken on the amended motion. Substantive Motion FE5 was CARRIED.

Motion FE6, Counting the costs of casualisation in further, adult and prison education bargaining – Anti-casualisation Commitee, was moved by Cecily Blyther, ACC and Petroc, and seconded by David Hunter:

This Conference notes that the 51¸£Àû Survey Report Counting the costs of Casualisation published in 2019 reported Staff on insecure contracts working in further, adult and prison education are holding down multiple jobs and visiting food banks in an effort to makes ends meet

Conference believes that the 'Cost of Living Crisis' and the 'Covid Pandemic' will have made the situation of casualised staff even worse

Conference calls on the 51¸£Àû to undertake a new survey of casualised staff in further, adult and prison education as a matter of urgency with a view to publishing that report prior to next year's FE Sector Conference.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE6 was CARRIED.

Motion FE7, Disabled members and casualised contracts in further/adult/prison education – Disabled Members Standing Committee was moved by Kevin Dawes, and seconded by Cecily Blyther:

Conference notes:

1.    60% of FE colleges use zero-hours contracts to deliver teaching

2.    51¸£Àû research found that staff on insecure contracts in FE are holding down multiple jobs and visiting food banks. The pandemic exacerbated this situation

3.    our members are in a cost-of-living crisis, yet the disability pay gap widened (TUC 2022) and 51¸£Àû research found that 72% of staff on insecure contracts in FE said they struggled to even exist.

Conference believes:

a.    the lack of reasonable adjustments is endemic in precarious employment

b.    this is exacerbated by the lack of agreement about what a 'reasonable adjustment' is under the Equality Act

Conference calls on the 51¸£Àû to:

                                     i.        undertake research on the current state of play post Covid

                                    ii.        link the findings with our other equalities strands

                                   iii.        ensure that disabled members are fully represented in 51¸£Àû campaigns about casualised working.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE7 was CARRIED.

Motion FE8, FE campaign for establishing long covid as a disability – Disabled Members’ Standing Committee was moved by Pat Roche, and seconded by Kevin Dawes:

Conference notes:

1.    2022 Employment Tribunal decision in the case of Burke v Turning Point Scotland (2021) that long covid satisfies the test for a disability

2.    TUC's campaign to get long covid recognised as such

3.    EHRC does not automatically class long covid as a disability

4.    the number of young people completing apprenticeships in 2020 fell by nearly 1/3 and the number starting them fell by 46%.

Conference believes:

a.    a pilot survey in FE should be undertaken

b.    Long Covid should be classed as a disability.

Conference calls on the 51¸£Àû to:

                                     i.        collate evidence of how long covid affects our members in FE

                                    ii.        link this work with the Joint Protocol and model agreements with employers

                                   iii.        organise a joint conference with sibling unions, to publish our findings and launch a campaign to persuade employers to recognise the real impact of Long Covid.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE8 was CARRIED.

Motion FE9, Maternity/paternity rights in the FE sector – Women Members’ Standing Committee, was moved by Pat Roche, and seconded by Regine Pilling:

There is huge variation in maternity, paternity and parental leave policies across FE. As educators we understand the importance of stability and security to young people. Yet many maternity policies provide such poor pay that women are forced back to work before they want to. Many paternity policies only provide the legal minimum. Shared parental leave policies are still not promoted within FE which would provide members with equal opportunities.

Moreover, when children are unwell it disproportionately falls on woman to take time off and care for that child. However, in many colleges this ends up being taken as unpaid leave or as holiday.

FESC calls on 51¸£Àû to:

1.    carry out research on the variation within parental leave policies.

2.    provide information on best cases as branch resources to help negotiate new policies.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE9 was CARRIED.

Motion FE10, Impact of cost of living crisis on FE Blank members’ mental health – Black Members’ Standing Committee, was moved by Juliana Ojinakka, and seconded by Lubna Khan:

Conference notes:

1.    a clear link between racism, low pay and mental health

2.    as inflation increases, Black members in FE face more hardship

3.    Black members in FE are usually in low paid work, on casualised, precarious and zero-hour contracts

4.    their ethnic background, age, gender, disability and immigration status make them more vulnerable to cost-of-living crisis.

5.    'People Like Us' research shows that Black People are paid 84% of their white counterparts.

6.    Black Members in FE experience widespread indirect workplace discrimination

7.    some are treated differently because they come from continents with different degrees

8.    this all impacts FE Black members' mental health.

Conference undertakes to:

a.    provide a culturally suited, easily/readily accessible talking therapy to protect the mental health of Black members, outside of their workplace

b.    compel the government to publish data on the disproportionate impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Black people.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE10 was CARRIED.

Motion FE11, Supporting trans and non-binary people in FE – LGBT+ Members’ Standing Committee, was moved by Peter Evans, and seconded formally:

Conference notes that:

1.    under 18s attend FE colleges for well-being support including disaffection with schools

2.    SRE curricula is subject to anti-LGBT+ pressure

3.    LGBT+ young people can already find school environments difficult

4.    draft change in NHS guidance away from gender-affirming care for under 18s.

Conference further notes that:

a.    hormone blockers can be important for young trans and non-binary people

b.    draft NHS guidance identifies social transition (self-identity) as a psychological issue that warrants medical / psychological intervention rather than self-declaration ().

Conference believes that:

                                     i.        FE should be a supportive place for exploring LGBT+ identity

                                    ii.        FE colleges provision should be fully LGBT+ inclusive.

Conference resolves to:

A.   support and defend self-determination

B.   continue to advocate for under 18s to be free to self-identify as LGBT+

C.   oppose change away from gender-affirming care for under 18s in the NHS

D.   provide resources for branches to push for LGBT+ inclusion in FE.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE11 was CARRIED.

Motion FE12, LGBT+ in FE – LGBT+ Members’ Standing Committee, was moved by Peter Evans, and seconded formally:

Conference believes that:

1.    FE colleges should be welcoming and supportive places for all LGBT+ people

2.    FE is a unique place for people to find and express non-normative identities

3.    many curricula areas operate from a hetero and cis normative basis

4.    a number of LGBT+ learners attend FE colleges and benefit from support from FE staff

5.    there is little research into the experiences of LGBT+ staff and learners.

Conference resolves to:

a.    support branches in promoting LGBT+ equality in FE

b.    undertake a survey about LGBT+ experiences and issues in FE

c.    launch a resourced week of LGBT+ liberation activity in FE in line with the 51¸£Àû LGBT+ charter focused on evidence from the FE LGBT+ survey

d.    develop guidance about how curricula in FE can be LGBT+ inclusive

e.    engage with national FE sector organisations to develop LGBT+ work across all FE provision.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE12 was CARRIED.

Motion FE13, Attendance monitoring in FE – Yorkshire and Humberside FE Sector Regional Committee, was moved, and seconded formally by Lubna Khan:

Conference notes that:

1.    young people are now required to remain in education until the age of 18

2.    this has fundamentally changed the nature of FE without significant improvements in funding or management culture

3.    attendance in schools and colleges has fallen off since Covid leading to national concern on this issue

4.    attendance is a safeguarding issue

5.    in schools, there are dedicated staff to manage non-attendance while in FE this falls on already overworked teaching and pastoral staff, often with punitive consequences when they are not successful

6.    young people face complex barriers to accessing education such as poverty, mental health issues and caring responsibilities.

Conference calls on FEC to:

a.    campaign for colleges to remove the unreasonable expectations from teaching staff that they must be solely responsible for students' attendance.

b.    lobby government to properly resource and support the recruitment of specialist staff to support attendance and access to education.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion FE13 was CARRIED.

Motion L1, Ofsted inspections must go – Trafford College Group, was moved, and seconded formally:

On behalf of 51¸£Àû, Conference sends condolences to the friends, family and students of Ruth Perry.

Conference believes:

1.    professional educators should be able to work in a supportive and developmental environment that encourages values of collaboration, knowledge exchange and consensus building

2.    there is no place in education for bullying, intimidation, and fear

3.    Ofsted inspections are the cause of great harm and danger to all who work in FE.

Conference resolves to:

1.    call for the abolition of Ofsted inspections in FE

2.     campaign for a root and branch review of the Ofsted inspection methodology and practice, and call for a risk assessment of the current inspection regime

3.    lobby the UK government and work with sister unions to secure our aims

4.    identify alternative models of inspection based on collaboration and developmental approaches

5.    support branches and members as part of this campaign.

A vote was taken on the motion. Motion L1 was CARRIED.

7          Closing Business

7.1     The Chair thanked delegates for attending.

The meeting closed.