How FE drama students are bringing stately homes to life
Foundation degrees meet the need for academia mixed with work experience, says Kate Hilpern
Published: 03 May 2007
If you've visited a stately home or heritage site recently, you may have got an eyeful of rather more than formal gardens and antique furniture. The trend towards historical re-enactments is growing fast. And while its aim is to portray life as it would have been in these sites' heyday, for foundation degree theatre studies students at Park Lane College Leeds it's also a chance to get some quality work experience.
"Lotherton Hall in Leeds and Castle Howard in York love our students performing there because visitors enjoy seeing characters from the past come to life," says Vivienne Razavilar, head of creative arts at Park Lane College. "Meanwhile, our students get the challenge of having to research the characters and staying in character even after the performance. Most importantly of all, they get a taste of real-life acting work."
Since foundation degrees were introduced in 2000, they have attempted to respond to the need for higher-education level qualifications that balance academic understanding with vocational experience and career relevance. The idea is that because the courses are designed in partnership with employers, students finish courses genuinely ready for work. If they're already in work - which, in fact, the majority are - the idea is that they are able to swiftly progress within their current role.
"I've not only had input into the curriculum of the foundation degree in retail management at Canterbury College, but I've had ongoing consultation with tutors, and even done a lecture myself," says Adam Bateman, stores director for Fenwick in Canterbury. "It means that the course is directly relevant to our workplace, and our employees who go on it have a chance to really shine in our organisation."
Other employers are also impressed. "One of our employees is doing a foundation degree in lean manufacturing at Cornwall College and although he only recently started it, he's already applying what he's learning and is definitely more motivated at work," says Mike Pritchard, commercial director at Arcol in Cornwall. "I truly believe that without training opportunities like this, we would become just another statistic of a failed manufacturing company."
Students are also singing the praises of foundation degrees. At South Tyneside College, for example, applied music practice students couldn't believe their luck when they got to perform in the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of their work experience.
Meanwhile, Jason Fry, 24, who completed a foundation degree in hospitality management at Plymouth College in 2004, is now running his own restaurant. "The course seemed like the best way to further my knowledge of the sector and get good work experience. A lot of restaurants close in the first year of business and I think the reason ours is going so well is largely down to what I learned on the course," he says.
John Widdowson, principal of New College Durham, believes foundation degrees could not fit more perfectly with Lord Leitch's recent review of skills. "He wants more adults to be better qualified and more employers to take responsibility for training their workforce, so the foundation degrees couldn't be better timed," he says.
A further benefit of foundation degrees, he says, is that they have the ability to bring people back into education who would otherwise not be there. After all, both the entry criteria and delivery of teaching is flexible.
"I was attracted to the foundation degree in accounting at Lambeth College because it gave me the chance to study part time and continue with my job as a church administrator," says Elaine Peters, a 41-year-old mother of two. "An honours degree seemed a bit daunting, but I liked the idea that with the foundation degree, I could top it up at a later date if I chose."
Indeed, while foundation degrees are a qualification in their own right, of those who complete the two-year course (longer if it is taken part-time), almost a third choose to do one further year's study to gain an honours degree. Peters was awarded a first-class honours degree last year.
While there are already 61,000 students studying over 1,700 foundation degrees, ranging from surf science to garden design, the numbers are set to expand even more rapidly later this year, when colleges look likely to be able to provide foundation degrees independently. Currently, there is a requirement for them to validate foundation degrees via a university, but the Further Education and Training Bill - which is currently making good progress through parliament - proposes that colleges should be able to award their own.
"The fact that colleges want these powers is not a statement that the current situation isn't working," stresses Widdowson. "Quite the opposite, in fact. We want to be able to offer more and this power would make it simpler for us to do that."
Peter Knight, formerly vice chancellor of UCE, adds, "If the foundation degree is to develop further, it must be seen as a collaborative programme with local employers. It is perfectly natural, right and proper that the key organisations in leading that collaboration are FE colleges. After all, they are truly local institutions in a way that universities are not and never should be."
Bill Rammell, Minister of State for FE, HE and lifelong learning, agrees. "Many FE colleges provide superb foundation degree courses. There are excellent examples of strong partnerships with employers which are making a real difference to the learners and communities they serve. There is no reason why the best colleges need the support of a university to validate their programmes. The high-quality of their provision shows they are perfectly capable of doing it for themselves. By granting some of the best FE colleges the power to award foundation degrees we will enable these institutions to respond more quickly and effectively to employers' needs."
Not everyone is in favour, however. "Foundation degrees are promoted on the DfES website as higher-education qualifications and I think they must do what they say on the label, which ultimately means universities must be involved," says Pam Tatlow, chief executive of CMU, the Modern Universities Group.
The student
When Ronicah Matende, 41, arrived in England from Zimbabwe in her 30s, she had a keen interest in health and social care. "My sister had died of AIDS and I had been working with people living with HIV/AIDS," she says.
With no formal qualifications in this subject area, she decided to apply for the foundation degree in health and social care at Leeds Thomas Danby College. "While I had learned a lot in my work in Zimbabwe, I had limited knowledge around certain issues, which stopped me progressing. I didn't want that to happen here."
"I liked the sound of the foundation degree because I knew I didn't want to do a purely academic course," she adds.
Matende admits that having been out of the education system for over 20 years, studying was a struggle at first. "But the tutors were brilliant at providing any extra help we needed. There was never an expectation that we'd done a lot of education. They looked at each of us as an individual with a goal, and they made it their job to work out how they could help us meet that goal."
The fact that she was able to transfer what she was learning almost immediately into her part-time job as a care worker helped her motivation, she adds.
Matende has now completed her foundation degree and is following a BSc Honours programme, after which she plans to work with people with HIV/AIDs. "I want to make sure people have the support they need."
The tutor
Rob Gale runs the foundation degree in adventure recreation management at Craven College in Skipton, North Yorkshire. "There has been a massive growth in the outdoors industry, but there is a real lack of structured qualifications," he says.
The outdoors industry, he explains, covers everything from canoeing to wilderness therapy.
The foundation degree is an ideal qualification because it has an industry-based knowledge stream and a practical component, he says. "So students wind up with the much-needed qualification they need from the relevant professional body, as well as practical experience."
Students fall into three categories: school leavers, mature people who fancy working in the industry or people already working in an outdoors centre of some type. "The two-year course with industrial placements in between the teaching enable them to build up the experience they need either to present themselves to the industry or to progress from where they currently are."
Many students, he adds, decide to follow the honours degree pathway by studying for one further year.
One of the problems with the outdoors industry, says Gale, is that jobs don't tend to be advertised much. "This course enables people to get out there and find out what and where the jobs are."
The employer
"While there are plenty of degrees in sports science, sports studies and leisure management, they don't quite fit our needs as an employer," says Susan Bennett, physical activity strategy co-ordinator for Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
"These degrees are great for people who want to work with highly motivated individuals like sports people, but our employees often find themselves working with sedentary, socially isolated and unmotivated people - such as cardiac rehab patients and people with obesity."
To this end, Bennett worked with staff at Newcastle College to help develop a foundation degree in physical activity and health-related exercise. The graduates, she says, are work-ready the moment they step out of college.
Bennett also ensures that all students get a chance to undertake a work placement with them. "It means they get hands-on experience with the kinds of people they'll be working with if they come to work for us after the degree, so they know exactly what to expect," she explains.
The students on the foundation degree fall into two groups - school leavers or more mature people, who may have been out of education for some time. "Even if they don't come to work with us, they wind up with a qualification that is far more appropriate for jobs that aim to fulfil the government's health agenda," says Bennett.
The college
Myerscough College in Preston, Lancashire, has been involved in foundation degrees since their inception seven years ago and now offers 22 courses ranging from water sports and garden design to waste management.
"In fact, in 2003, we took the decision to convert our entire portfolio of HNCs and HNDs into foundation degrees because of the strength of the workplace component that they offer," says Joe Lamont (pictured), director of curriculum. "The balance of this practical, vocational element and the academic aspect are second to none in terms of making students employable, and they also give the student a real motivational push right from the beginning. This can be really important, particularly when you're talking about people who may have been out of the education system for a long time and may be easily daunted when they begin courses."
One of Myerscough College's most popular foundation degrees is motorsports. "With these more unusual ones, you often get people saying what's the point of them since there's no real industry. But often, our students are snapped up by employers, for example when they're spotted giving pit-lane support at races as part of their work experience."
Other foundation degrees, such as waste management, tend to appeal less to school leavers and more to people already employed in the industry, he says. "What's great about these types of courses, which we run part-time, is that they have industry-body certification - in this case, by the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management."
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