case study: Lewisham College

The College operates in a competitive environment and there are four other general FE colleges, four sixth form colleges and many school sixth forms in the area.

In April 2006, the College received an overall grade of ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted. It has four Beacon awards.

www.lewisham.ac.uk

Lewisham College is a large inner-city general further education college on two sites. It enrols some 14,200 learners, with an average age of 29.

The borough, together with its neighbours, Greenwich and Southwark, is among the most economically and socially deprived in London. Most employment is in public sector services.

The London Borough of Lewisham, in south-east London, has a diverse and multicultural population. According to the 2001 census, 248,922 people lived in the borough of whom 66% were White, 12% Black Caribbean, and 9% Black African. 61% were Christian, 4.6% Muslim, 1.7 % Hindu, 1.1% Buddhist, 0.3% Jewish, and 0.2% Sikh.

Working with other agencies

1

The Intervention team (see ‘Engaging with learners and parents/guardians’) is proactive in building relationships with the local Youth Offending Team (www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/yjs/youthoffendingteams), with regular monthly meetings. This has led to the setting up of direct and nominated one-to-one contacts and improved coordination and referrals.

Many residents have recently arrived in the UK. This creates a complex range of needs and many learners who need additional and intense support. There is a relatively high proportion of NEETs.

The ‘London against gun and knife crime’ website (www.london.gov.uk/gangs) dated 2006 states that Lewisham had 263,400 residents with a relatively high proportion of people aged under 20 and a BME population of 34 per cent), of whom Black people were the largest group.

The Lewisham Strategic Partnership’s (www.lewishamstrategicpartnership.org.uk) strategy to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and drug misuse in 2005-8 lists several key priorities, including reducing anti-social behaviour, reducing hate crimes, and reducing the fear of crime on public transport.

In recent years, there have been a number of gang-related incidents, including fatalities, involving learners and/or their relatives.

Some 2,600 learners are aged 16-19, and 600 school learners aged 14-16 attend for work-related learning. 36% of learners live in Lewisham and most of the rest come from other London boroughs. 70% of full-time learners and 52% of all learners are from minority ethnic groups, compared with 34% of the local population in the 2001 census. 7,700 (54%) are male and 6,500 (46%) female.

In April 2006, the College received an overall grade of ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted. It has four Beacon awards.

The College offers a wide range of vocational courses from pre-entry to Level 5 including BTECs, NVQs and Foundation Degrees. Many Skills for Life and ESOL courses are available, including provision for learners with learning difficulties.

There is a growing work-based learning programme that currently includes some 100 apprentices, 800 ‘Train to Gain’ learners and 80 learners on Entry to Employment (E2E) programmes.

The Youth Offending Team spent a day at the College, explaining their role, develop-ing their knowledge of what the College offered, and meeting staff.

The demographic profile of the borough (and hence the learner profile) changes constantly, particularly in the last five years.

case study: Lewisham College

The College set up an ‘Intervention team’ in 2006, prompted by an increase in the number of exclusions. Their aim is to minimise confrontations, improve retention (particularly after a learner has been excluded), reduce exclusions, and improve punctuality and attendance.

Members of the team work on a caseload basis with learners who are in trouble or who have been referred by tutors. They work alongside the Entitlement and Support team and develop and coordinate work with the Youth Offending Team. They facilitate groupwork sessions with a focus on restorative justice for issues such as bullying. Following a gang-related fight on College premises in 2008, members of the Intervention team were able to speak with gang leaders and calm the situation.

Learners carry out research projects on issues that affect them. They are given training in interview techniques, writing questionnaires etc. These projects help to break down negative perceptions and stereotypes that learners may hold.

In the College’s Research Action Pro-gramme (RAP), learners from the Skills Academy and from the 16–19 E2E course, carried out a research project on what could be done to make the College a better working environment, with better relationships and reduced tension. The researchers visited classes to carry out group interviews and discussions. They developed a photo-story about safety and respect, depicting a typical day in college for a male learner and a female learner. This was presented to the Principal, to heads of schools, and to security.

In the ‘Seniors’ scheme, learners who have been in trouble but have learned from the experience are recruited to act as brokers and ambassadors when new conflicts arise. For example, in one incident, the Senior was able to stop a fight, calm the main troublemaker and find the cause of the problem. He was then able to act as negotiator between the learner and the Duty Principal.

Engaging with learners andparents/guardians

2

The College’s strategy in relation to the GGK agenda is to focus on learners at risk and to engage this group via a range of strate-gies managed by the Learner Engagement Coordinator. The College is always seeking creative ways to target ‘harder to reach’ learners.

Each potential learner is interviewed at enrolment to check if they are ‘college ready’ or may need specific support or alternative pathways. Mentor, ‘study buddy’ and volunteer schemes are in place.

Entry to Employment (E2E) programmes include personalised timetables, with a broad range of enrichment activities and support. Thirty-six of thirty-nine E2E learners in the latest cohort progressed to mainstream programmes.

The engagement strategy includes a ‘Learner contribution’ agenda. It is assumed that learners will be involved in College strategy and development. For example, learners are included on interview panels for certain staff posts. The profile of class reps has been raised; they are more visible and attend more forums and discussion groups.

The College sees its work with the police Safer Neighbourhoods team (www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods ) as critical but is considering buying in further support. A police officer came to the College to talk to learners who felt that they were being excessively stopped and searched.

The College liaises with schools to identify learners at risk, with key workers in social services, and with parents/guardians where appropriate.

case study: Lewisham College

Following a number of incidents in the Construction department, a 6-week course is being planned to include sessions on gangs, conflict resolution and building relationships.

A detailed Equality and Diversity Action Plan, involving the entire management and delivery structures of the College, was developed and carried out in 2008–2009.

There is a ‘Whole college’ approach to security. The two sites are linked by a communication network.

There are written policies on bullying prevention and on offensive weapons.

Ensuring that non-learners do not enter the site is an ongoing challenge. There are barriers, with swipe-cards, at the main entrance. Learners must carry colour-coded passes. Swipe data is available to all staff who can therefore check who is on the premises but not attending classes.

The site boundary wall is covered by CCTV and walls have mesh and anti-climb paint.

CCTV showed that, in most incidents, learners had their hoods up. Following the introduction of a ‘Hoods down’ policy, with notices displayed throughout the College, the number of robberies fell by two-thirds.

Security staff report to the senior leader-ship team who attend fortnightly meetings. Feedback and critical incident analyses are discussed, and any actions needed are identified.

Reports on incidents are compiled every six months. The number of incidents fell by 30% in the first year after the Intervention team was set up and the role of Duty Principal was established.

3

A major review of disciplinary procedures was recently completed, in which learners were involved.

Learners are given leaflets on matters including disciplinary procedures, security screening, searches, bullying prevention, and the procedure for safe entry to the College.

The College conducts random security screening and searches. Explanatory leaflets, signed by the principal, are given to all learners.

A Duty Principal is on duty each day, supported by a Deputy. They are responsible for dealing with any incidents and have the power to suspend a learner. The Duty Principal is provided with a manual containing relevant College policies and procedures, pro forma letters, FAQs etc. This is also available online.

Creating a safe environment

As described in the introduction to this case study, Lewisham is a fast-changing community. As a result, many learners feel isolated. The College makes a particular point of providing support and information to these learners, particularly about where they may get help.

There is substantial ESOL provision. Take-up is high and groups are very mixed in terms of ethnic origin. The curriculum focuses on social integration between groups with different languages and ethnicities.

The Drama department has produced a play about how young people, particularly girls, become involved in gangs, which was presented to staff and to learners. The play was taken on tour round local schools.

The Drama department has also set up two Jerry-Springer-style shows, with two panels, one pro-gangs and one anti-gangs, answering questions and stimulating discussion with the audience.

Developing a relevant curriculum

Programmes on conflict resolution and safe relationships are offered. For example, a bespoke 12-week programme was created for health and social care learners.

These programmes promote appropriate behaviours of which learners may not be aware.

case study: Lewisham College

Training staff

There is mandatory training for new staff on disciplinary procedures. New staff are mentored.

Departmental staff can self-assess and ask for training. For example, ESOL and Construction staff were helped to develop lesson plans around specific issues.

Intensive training is given in preparation for the role of Duty Principal, including role-play, shadowing and incident analysis.

Learners say that:• they perceive the College to be a safe environment• it is unlikely that a learner would have a weapon on site, although there have

been incidents in the past• there are GGK problems in the community and that knife-carrying is part of the

community culture, although it is not necessarily directly related to gangs, who are clearly identified by territory

• gang membership starts at around age 13• they are clear about the College’s behavioural expectations and the consequenc-

es of inappropriate behaviours in College. They felt these were fair and that in general they were treated as adults by College staff

• there is a high incidence of ‘stop and search’ en route to College but there is no visible police presence close to or on campus

• they are not convinced that security arches and searches, while good in theory, are an effective deterrent.

Security and safety training is available to all staff.

The Intervention team train staff in managing behaviours, setting boundaries, dealing with low level behavioural issues, setting the right tone, giving positive feedback, and ensuring discipline. Staff value this training which has resulted in noticeable behavioural changes and increased staff confidence.

4