Katie Stafford

Research Bio

I am currently studying towards a PhD in Education, focusing on the effects of FE and social policy on students and how that impacts on the day to day work in colleges. My research aligns closely with my personal interests in college leadership and the impact of government policy.

My curiosity for this research grew from seeing the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on students. Particularly, the increase in the numbers of students needing wellbeing and mental health support. I can see that as a college, we are playing an increasing role in providing the support for these issues in order to ensure that students are able to access and achieve their qualifications.

The workload of curriculum middle managers has been cited within the FE academic literature over a long period of time yet remains an unsolved sector level problem. My own experience across a number of colleges is that curriculum managers provide a substantial amount of much needed support to learners which is not yet quantified or captured at sector level. Whilst individual colleges continually invest in the support for students and help curriculum managers manage their workload, the issues are endemic; requiring further government investment and a cross sector approach.

My research therefore aims to illuminate the everyday challenges of curriculum managers workload. The research aims to gain a better understanding of how their workload is impacted by the factors within the FE system and wider government social policy. Particularly, how curriculum managers mitigate the effects of these systems to positively impact on the educational outcomes of students.

Through my research, I hope to support the existing case for increased funding for Further Education colleges. I also wish to increase support for curriculum managers to ensure that that they develop the tools to navigate a challenging but rewarding role.

Call for action

For the purposes of the research, I wish to distribute a survey and conduct interviews with curriculum and senior managers that work in 16-18 Study Programmes in General Further Education colleges in England. If you would like your college to be involved in the survey, please contact me by email.

Contact information

Email Katie Stafford