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The Institute for Learning (IfL) and the 157 Group have published a report of the Leading learning seminar they jointly hosted at the Institute of Education on 29 February 2012. The report was launched on 18 May 2012 at a follow-up event, Great teaching and learning in FE, where teachers, learners, senior leaders and managers gathered to share their views about what works in further education and how the future FE learning experience can be improved.

Leading learning and letting go: building expansive learning environments in FE provides an account of the presentations and discussions at the 29 February 2012 seminar, from which the following key themes arose:

• The further education and skills system requires a cultural shift to enable it to improve further the quality of teaching and learning.
• Leaders in further education should make the leading of learning for staff and learners their top strategic priority.
• Good teaching is born of innovation, and this involves a degree of experimentation that is unlikely to happen if an organisation is highly controlling or risk-averse.
• Expansive workplaces encourage teachers and trainers to work creatively as teams taking responsibility for their own professional development, and they facilitate and reward innovation and experimentation in teaching and learning.
• Leadership support for research-informed professional practice and development provides a strong basis for the type of step-change required in teaching and learning.

Toni Fazaeli, chief executive of IfL, said, “When teachers’ professional learning thrives, so too does their students’ learning. Grounded evidence from IfL’s research and practice in FE in England, backed by international research, shows the effectiveness of more inclusive approaches that allow staff to play a far greater role in shaping and delivering their own professional learning and development. Also, when they are empowered and trusted to exercise their professional autonomy to learn collaboratively and deliver improvements in teaching and learning, teachers are more likely to support the strategic goals set by leaders, and so drive organisational success.”

Lynne Sedgmore CBE, executive director of the 157 Group, said, “The roundtable discussions about expansive cultures set a clear direction for how learning can be led to best effect over the coming years and decades. Professional development is a key driver of high-quality teaching and learning, and the development of a growing research base and more networks for teachers and trainers will help create a professional territory beyond organisational boundaries, for the ultimate benefit of teaching professionals, their organisations and their learners.

“I hope that our report and today’s follow-up event will help frame and inspire the debate in future, encouraging a collaborative and inclusive approach to understanding the conditions that enable great teaching and learning to flourish.”

Download Leading learning and letting go: building expansive learning environments in FE (PDF: 1.8MB)