The Education and Training Foundation and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 award four new Technical Teaching Fellowships

Four celebrated Further Education (FE) and Training sector teachers were today awarded prestigious Technical Teaching Fellowships from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Fellowships are awarded to outstanding practitioners who are recognised for their high impact teaching practice and the delivery of effective outcomes for learners. The 2020/2021 Technical Teaching Fellows are:

• Dr Lynda Broomhead (Petroc College)
• Chris Fairclough (Lakes College, National College for Nuclear)
• Shell Fearn (North Hertfordshire College)
• Nicholas Hart (Sheffield College)

Each Fellow is expected to share their expertise and learning across the sector as part of the award with an aim of supporting quality improvement in technical teaching and learning.

The ETF and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 launched the Technical Teaching Fellowship programme in June 2018 with the aim of celebrating, developing and disseminating exceptional practice in technical teaching. This is to support and empower the industrial and technical expertise of individuals, who support the progression of learners to higher levels of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) study and employment in industry sectors where there is a recognised skill shortage.

The Award Celebration took place at The Royal Society in London with addresses from Nigel Williams, Secretary of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, David Russell, CEO at the ETF) and Cerian Ayres, National Head of Technical Education at the ETF. The first Technical Teaching Fellows, James Michael Maltby, Plumpton College, and Steve Mariadas, Exeter College, awarded in January 2019, also presented at the event on the impact of their Fellowships which end in July 2020.

Nigel Williams, Secretary of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, said:

“Education and training in science, technology and engineering are vital to building the skilled workforce needed to tackle the Grand Challenges outlined in the UK’s Industrial Strategy. These fellowships will help raise standards of teaching in Further Education and thus inspire the next generation of British innovators who will develop the emerging technologies that are transforming the world economy.”

David Russell, Chief Executive Officer at the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“Everyone at the Education and Training Foundation would like to congratulate the four expert teachers on being awarded their Technical Teaching Fellowships. They will be a benefit to Further Education by being at the forefront of improving technical education in the sector.

“Through developing opportunities for further improvement in technical education and training while encouraging and leading on collaborations between industry and FE providers, the Fellows will assist in learner advancement.”

Cerian Ayres, National Head of Technical Education at the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“Congratulations to the Technical Teaching Fellowship awardees. Their applications and supporting statements were testament to the quality of the technical teaching and learning that each of them facilitate. The new Fellows all showcased fantastic support to diverse groups of learners and colleagues as well as strong collaborative partnerships with employers and key stakeholders.

“I look forward to supporting the Technical Teaching Fellows to share their knowledge, skills, and insights widely with FE sector colleagues to maximise reach, engagement and impact.”

The Technical Teaching Fellowship is a prestigious award only granted to applicants who have met the high standards required by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 selection panel.

As new Technical Teaching Fellows, the four awardees will:

• receive an award of £5,000 – £15,000 to support knowledge transfer activity and to ensure remission time is guaranteed
• develop “Pathways to Impact”- knowledge transfer activity action plans, to maximise the benefit of their Fellowships
• attend two one-day developmental workshops over the academic year 2020/2021
• be allocated a programme mentor to support them for the duration of the programme
• be expected to disseminate their work at national conferences in January and July 2021
• contribute to the delivery of a final report, written to engage and motivate technical education in their area of practice.

The Fellowships will commence in the 2020/21 academic year. The awardees will also be made Fellows of the Society for Education and Training and will be awarded a year’s free membership during their participation in the programme.