Waltham Forest College and Capital City College Group win partnership bid for Professional Development pilot

The partnership is one of 22 winning bids chosen to take part in a £9.5 million government pilot to bolster teacher training in further education (@WFCTweets, @capitalcitycg).

World-class further education is essential if we are to meet England’s skills needs and ensure that everyone is empowered to succeed. The FEPDG pilot has been designed to support the commitment made in the Skills for Jobs White Paper to strengthen the professional development of teachers working in the sector to boost teaching practices and so that young people and adults receive top class education and training. This is important because evidence shows that the quality of teaching is the single biggest driver of student outcomes.  

The FEPDG pilot supports groups of Further Education (FE) providers to develop collaborative approaches for teacher professional development and to share good practice that already exists within the sector.

Waltham Forest College is leading on a successful collaborative bid in partnership with Capital City College Group. The development project will focus on subject specific professional development to improve the quality of curriculum design and teaching, learning and assessment, helping colleges to further develop a world class workforce ready to deliver the skills needed for future generations.

Janet Gardner, Principal and CEO of Waltham Forest College said: 

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Capital City College Group on this important pilot that will help to further develop the skills of our valuable workforce. I welcome the recognition and support for the Further Education Sector with this much needed boost, developing expertise in higher level technical skills and specialisms which will further support economic recovery and support a world class workforce, preparing students to compete in a global market.”

The £9.5m pilot will run throughout 2021/22 and the pilot has been designed to support the commitment made in the Skills for Jobs White Paper to strengthen the professional development of teachers working in the sector to boost teaching practices and so that young people and adults receive top class education and training. The pilot will strengthen professional development in key areas of need and test approaches that could be extended to other providers in future. Evidence and resources created through projects will be shared with other FE providers in order to maximise reach and to make sure the sector as a whole benefits from the pilot.

Kurt Hintz, Executive Principal of Capital City College Group said:

“We are delighted to join Waltham Forest College in this project. Our teams are really excited to be collaborating with their peers and partnerships like these show how joined up the London Further Education sector can be in when given the opportunity.”