FE Innovate
Securing a good standard of English and maths is important for improving employability and is associated with better economic performance. Individuals achieving five or more GCSEs at grade 9-4, including maths and English, as their highest qualification are estimated to have lifetime productivity gains worth around £100,000 on average compared to those with below level 2 or no qualifications.
In the West Midlands, for the population of 19-year-olds in 2023, 66.8.% had level 2 English and maths at age 16, rising to 75.8% by 19 since the maths and English Condition of Funding (CoF)policy was introduced in 2014. Comparing to the figures nationally the West Midlands is 2.2% below average so FE Innovate will be working in partnership with colleges to reduce this shortfall in attainment for maths.
In London, the pass rates are above average but there are still pockets of low attainment which need to be addressed which we will also be looking to close. This work is vital to the UK economy and to the lifetime health and financial outcomes of the young people it effects.
FE Innovate@ESP kicks off in September 2025 and is fully funded by the DfE. It aims to increase the confidence and progression of 16–19 maths students, subject to the condition of funding, studying vocational courses in the West Midlands and London. This will be achieved by exposing teachers to evidence-based pedagogies that place the student at the front and centre of the learning experience. One of the key aims is to ensure that no student is left behind, with hard-to-reach disadvantaged, and SEND learners at the top of our priorities. FE Innovate has been fully funded by the DfE.
FE Innovate@ESP is based on mastery approaches using the NCETM and Maths Hubs work, and the groundbreaking Further Education research by the University of Nottingham, conducted as part of the Centres for Excellence in Maths. This research demonstrated an impressive two months’ progression among disadvantaged students in FE Colleges.
We have limited spaces, so if you are a college in London or the West Midlands and would like to sign up, please contact shobhna.fletcher@esp.uk.net.
FE Innovate is led by SHOBHNA FLETCHER
Shobhna has a BSc Hons in Mathematics from the University of London and a Post 16 PGCE from Edge Hill University. She has a keen interest in how maths education impacts on social mobility within the Post-16 and Further Education sector. As Head of Maths in a Further Education College, she has led a maths team and increased the high-grade GCSE maths 16-18 student achievement rate by over 40% using examination preparation techniques. She has since turned her interest to finding out why so many students come to Further Education from school without with the necessary maths skills to achieve basic numeracy in adult life and has worked on both the CfEM project as a Regional Maths Lead and for two years as an FE Maths Specialist at White Rose Education.
