AoC joins further education sector’s social action initiative, 'Good For Me, Good For FE'

AoC is urging every college across the country to join the sector’s community action initiative – Good for Me Good for FE.

With 140 colleges already signed up to the campaign, over £2m of social value has been collectively generated over the past year, as well as 118,000 volunteering hours, £157,000 in fundraising and 99,000 items collected for foodbanks.

AoC is now joining the campaign as a strategic partner and will be encouraging any college not yet engaged to get on board and help reach the ambitious new target of £4m of social value. This will ensure even more local communities benefit from collective and coordinated community action.

Good for Me Good for FE captures the social value of the fantastic volunteering and fundraising activity that college staff and students regularly undertake. As Anchor Institutions, colleges are a central part of their community, and this campaign celebrates their hugely positive impact.

The initiative was launched in July 2021 by three founding colleges – London South East Colleges, Loughborough College and East Coast College. They were then joined by 140 colleges across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The campaign is also supported by a several corporate partners and charities including NCFE, The FA, NAVCA, Scouts, SLQ Sports Leaders and the Mental Health Foundation. NCFE has committed funding to help grow, develop and sustain the successful initiative and in the coming months further partners will be announced.

Chief Executive of AoC, David Hughes, says:

“Colleges transform lives and strengthen communities, every day, in every part of the country. Further education is a special sector, rooted in supporting others, which is why I am proud for the Association of Colleges to be part of the Good For Me Good For FE initiative.

“I hope that this will serve as a helpful reminder to politicians, journalists and local communities the dedication, commitment and brilliance of college staff. The impact the initiative has already had is awe inspiring and we’re looking forward to helping it go even further.”

Dr Sam Parrett, Group Principal and CEO of London & South East Education Group adds:

“The sector’s response to Good for Me Good for FE has been fantastic – and we are delighted that the AoC is now joining us as a partner.

“We all know the important role colleges play in their communities and the value that staff and students provide through a wide range of voluntary and fundraising activities. GfMGfFE not only captures this contribution but is helping us to demonstrate the true impact of FE, which goes far beyond just the delivery of qualifications.

“With the support of the AoC and our other partners, we look forward to developing this campaign further, generating even more social value and supporting communities across the UK at what is a difficult time financially for so many people.”

The impact of the campaign is measured in monetary terms via London South East Colleges’ social value calculator. This system has been developed using the National TOMS framework, independently verified by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) and the Social Value Portal.

Managing the initiative for London South East Colleges, Andrew Cox, Group Director of Strategic Growth and Partnerships, adds:

“It has been amazing to see the huge amount of sector support for Good for Me Good for FE. So many colleges are working really hard to encourage staff and students to get involved with social action projects, volunteering and fundraising – and then sending this data to us.

“This is enabling us to collate everyone’s efforts and calculate the amount of social value we are collectively generating. Having smashed our original £1m in less than a year, we are well on track to reach our next target of £4m.

“Having the AoC join us is a real boost for the initiative. We will be attending the AoC conference next month and hope to sign any other colleges up that may be thinking about getting involved!”

For more information about Good for Me Good for FE and how to get involved, visit: www.goodformegoodforfe.co.uk