Here’s what I’ve been up to since then:

29th- Press and Public Affairs training day- thanks to everyone who organised the day, it was really useful.

30th- I was in Bristol for the South West officers network day. First one we have had and it was great! I hope all the officers found it useful- we are going to be having officers network days in every region throughout the year so keep an eye on the FE Zone for more information www.officeronline.co.uk/fe

31st- I was in Leicester for a productive meeting with the National Institute for Adults in Continuing Education (NIACE)

1st- much needed catch-up day in HQ

2nd- British Youth Council (BYC) Annual General meeting with Joe Rooney. We submitted motions on campaigning to increase child benefit, which passed, and on setting up a No Platform policy which unfortunately didn’t- although they did extend their equal opportunities policy to cover all external events that members of BYC attend.

4th- I was in HQ today for the National RAG week steering group meeting organised by Sam Lebens- this looks like its going to be great thing for unions to be roll out this year, so if you’d like to get involved please contact Sam on sam.lebens@nus.org.uk - he’s written a blog about it as well

5th- spent the day working in HQ

6th- Campaigns Launch! It felt like we had been building up to it for so long I was glad the day was here. The event went brilliantly (apart from my powerpoint skills which leave much to be desired!). I was only there in the afternoon because in the morning I had a Ministerial Standing Group meeting with Bill Rammell and leaders from across the FE sector. I’ve added the speech I gave at the campaigns launch at the bottom of this blog. I’m SO excited about this year’s FE campaign. The first campaign pack, which is called Access Denied: Fighting Course Cuts, should be with unions now and it will be on the FE Zone asap. Let me know what you think of the pack and any thoughts/ideas/questions you have about the FE campaign - ellie.russell@nus.org.uk

7th- campaigns launch for externals in the evening- another brilliant event!

8th- NEC meeting- this is the motion, which Wes and I submitted which I’m please to say, passed unanimously:

Not a soft approach to scrapping “soft” A-levels

This NEC notes:

1. In an article in The Times on Wednesday 23rd August, Professor Malcolm Grant, the Head of the Russell Group suggested that A Level students should drop ‘soft’ subjects in order to gain access to Russell Group institutions.

2. That some institutions, such as Cambridge University, have gone so far as to name those A-levels they consider as ‘soft’ and to prejudice applications which do not contain enough ‘traditional’ A-levels.

3. NUS has policy to support the 50% target and greater numbers of students being able to access higher education

This NEC believes:

1. This year the number of students taking A-levels has increased and the number of students gaining higher grades has also increased

2. Further Education gives students a chance to gain wide ranging skills that will help them progress in to future employment and access higher education

3. Students have the right to choose the subjects they study at college according to their ability, interest and future plans.

4. Every student should have the right to access higher education and chose a university based on the right course and institution for the individual

5. There is a lack of esteem between academic and vocational subjects in all sectors of the education system and whilst differences must be acknowledged, misunderstanding and crude interpretations around parity must be challenged.

This NEC further believes:

1. That any restriction on subjects that count towards admission to university is yet another barrier to students entering the higher education system and is completely unacceptable, particularly when students already face the deterrent of huge financial burden with the introduction of top-up fees

2. Students from non-traditional students can be more likely to study those subjects which have been dubbed “soft”

3. NUS should continue to campaign for reform of the 14-19 curriculum

This NEC resolves:

1. To add our calls to those condemning any move on the part of the Russell Group or any University to no longer consider certain subjects during the admissions process to university

2. Write a letter to the Russell Group expressing our concern over their recent comments

Continue to campaign for reform of the 14-19 curriculum to ensure parity of esteem between vocational and academic subjects and fairer access to education for all students

Hope you have a good week

X

2006 Campaigns Launch Speech

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you’ve been enjoying the day so far. I’ve only just arrived because I’ve been at a meeting in London with the Minister for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning and leaders from across the FE sector. I’m hoping your going to like what I have to say now a bit more than some of them did.

If you’ll indulge me for a minute I’d like to take you back this time last year when I was launching NUS’ FE Development Survey. The cold hard facts from our research showed that the state of FE representation looked frankly, pretty dire: pitiful block grants, limited or no staff support, a lack of representation on college committees and hardly any clubs and societies.

I hope you’ll agree that we’ve come a long way in a year. The further education white paper, which NUS heavily influenced, has produced real wins for representation and learner voice. Students’ unions in the FE sector have always been at the mercy of the ethos of their institution or the whim of senior management but now modes of representation are being set up from the classroom to the cabinet room, allowing students to have a say on everything from the design and delivery of their course to national policy that affects their every day lives.

The challenge for the FE campaign this year, is to silence the cynics and embed learner voice by ensuring that we have in place a national learner panel, training and development for course representatives, two student governors on every corporation, new standards for student staff liaison officers and that every college has an active learner engagement strategy. It’s a challenge we’re looking forward to meeting and winning with your help.

The FE campaign has three other priority areas for this year, which I hope will engage officers and grassroot activists and allow them to influence national and local issues. The first is course cuts.

The further education sector provides new opportunities and chances for millions of learners of diverse ages and backgrounds. But this access to opportunity and widening participation is under increasing threat. Adult learning is facing a funding crisis, with courses expected close and an increase in course fees which the Department for Education and Skills predicts will result in 200,000 lost adult learner places. Along with that, many colleges are cutting their A-level provision, forcing students to complete their courses at different colleges or schools in the local area. Our Access Denied: Fighting Course cuts campaign pack has the tools and materials you need to fight course cuts in your colleges and challenge current government policy on FE. The FE campaign has also joined forces with trade unions and organisations in the FE sector to influence the comprehensive spending review and ensure that future students aren’t denied access to education.

Now it might sound a bit odd at first but our second campaign is on canteens.

I know you all got involved in your unions for different reasons, for some of you it might have been a course closure, or seeing students facing prejudice and discrimination on your campuses’. Well for me, it was soggy chips and overpriced tomato ketchup in my college canteen. Like mine, the majority of colleges have private catering contracts, which often means poor quality food for high prices and no opportunity for students to influence what is being sold. We are aiming to help students’ unions campaign against the increasing privatisation of their college services, fight for lower prices, healthier, better quality food, improved social space, and negotiate new catering contracts with their colleges. But most importantly this campaign will allow students’ unions to engage their members on an issue that affects and probably irritates every student in their college.

The third priority this year is another issue that affects a huge number of students: travel.

The word “choice” appears in the FE white paper 25 times. But for all these good intentions, the poor practice of local authorities is meaning that many students have to restrict their choice of college due to the increasing costs of travel. Students outside London have no entitlement to financial help for their travel. So if a student wants to study the right course for them and the best college for them outside of their locality, if their lucky they might receive a tiny subsidy, which has an age limit. A number of local authorities have made cuts to local transport services and raised the costs of travel passes, meaning that the poorest students in those areas are the worst affected. The FE campaign will be helping students influence travel arrangements in their local area particularly at the start of councils new financial year around January and lobbying for the Government to implement a national transport strategy.

I hope that every students’ union will be able to get actively involved in every part of this years campaign and that’s the most important message I want to give you today: we need YOU to make this all happen.

We’ll be out there in your colleges, helping you develop your students’ unions and build engaging local campaigns that fit into the national priorities. In partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Leadership we’ll be running a series of training events for student officers and governors to give you the skills you need to be leaders of learner voice in your colleges and on a national level, including a leadership conference in December that will bring together students and leaders from the FE sector for speeches, debates and workshops. My biggest priority this year is making sure your voice is heard loud and clear.

Now I know many of you from HE unions will be wondering what all of this has got to do with you. Well if you believe in collectivism and a strong student movement it’s got everything to do with you.

This year the FE Campaign will be working to ensure that FE students remain key to our vision for the student movement - a 5 million-strong team that can use its size to influence the national agenda and change students' lives, and by consequence the wider world, for the better.

But size is not our only strength. It's also our diversity, and never is this so brutally laid bare as when you walk into your local college.

And so I call upon you all in the HE sector to work with your local colleges and your franchise colleges empowering students to embrace their unions both locally and nationally.

This is our chance to create a strong movement and better future all in one.

Thank you.

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