We are excited to launch our new 1-day Student Digital Health, Literacy & Online Safety Conference on Friday 5 June at the Novotel in Birmingham. 

The digital landscape for our students is shifting faster than ever. From the rise of generative AI to the complexities of online safety and digital wellbeing, Student Services teams are on the frontline.

Why you need to be there:

The AI Outlook: Our keynote from the Head of AI at Jisc will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping student support and digital ethics.

Evidence-Based Insights: Our partners at fluid focus will be sharing research and insights to help us positively shape how students (and staff!) interact with their devices.

The Student Reality: Hear directly from a student panel on the challenges of forming positive digital habits in 2026.

Workshops:  Hosted by experts with real experience.

Networking:  Talk to and learn from others.

Find out more about our latest conference, and book your tickets, here.

We also have a fascinating new NAMSS Online session being co-hosted by our conference sponsors, Fluid Focus –  Beyond Screen Time: What smartphones are really doing to student life and learning – and how staff can respond.  This will be a great introduction to the conference but equally a really valuable stand-alone session to attend:

Smartphones now sit at the centre of student life, shaping attention, wellbeing, social dynamics and learning in ways many institutions are still trying to understand.  In this free online session, NAMSS and Fluid Focus will explore the challenges staff are facing around student phone use and digital habits, and why this is becoming a growing issue for support, safeguarding and student success.  Drawing on the national Smartphones in Education research, led in collaboration with Dr Paul Redmond, we’ll share key findings, challenge some common assumptions, and examine what an effective institutional response can look like in practice.

We’ll also spotlight a number of Fluid Focus FE partners to show how colleges are beginning to respond.

 Building on research led with Dr Paul Redmond; and endorsed by Jonathan Haidt (author of the Anxious Generation).

If you are a named NAMSS member, check your emails for details of how to book this session or, email nicola.hood@namss.ac.uk for the link.

Our Deputy Chair, Joe Baldwin, is running the Manchester Half Marathon on Sunday 31 May to raise money for the Unloc Changemakers Fund. This fund provides micro-grants to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them the resources and support they need to turn their brilliant ideas into real community projects.

Training is well underway and the sponsorship has started to come in. If you would like to donate to this great cause and to motivate Joe in the lead up to the race click here.

🚀 Empowering the Next Generation of Student Services Leaders

We are incredibly proud to officially launch the NAMSS Leadership and Management Development Programme (LMDP)

In an ever-changing FE and HE landscape, leadership in Student Services has never been more vital and the programme has been designed to give all participants an in-depth understanding of key areas of leadership which will support their professional development as Student Services Managers or aspiring leaders. The programme is aimed at staff who are early in their career, keen to develop their knowledge, networks and competencies, and who want to upskill in their career path.

The LMDP will bring together NAMSS members from across the country for sessions that will include taught material, interactive workshops and activities, and in-person engagement. We want the cohort to be able to share and learn from each other’s experiences and institutional approach, as well as learners conducting their own individual research projects and presentations as part of the programme structure.

Coaching, development and mentoring support has been built into the programme design through dedicated 1:1 slots, which will take place with each learner at least twice across the programme length. These sessions will be with Counterculture trainers and/or NAMSS Executive Board members, and are designed to support learners to reflect on the goals they will set for themselves at the cohort launch, and check in on progress for their personal research projects.

The 10-month development journey will cover key content, including:

• History of FE
• Strategic thinking and influencing
• People management and challenging conversations
• Governance and reporting
• Policies and financial literacy
• Quality assurance and measuring impact
• Personal growth and development

Applications are now open and will close on Wednesday 26 March 2026.

Find out more and apply here. 

The All Party Parliamentary Group report lays bare the daunting barriers that prevent far too many young carers and young adult carers from following their ambitions and building their futures.

The report follows a wide-ranging inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers which was supported by Carers Trust as the secretariat for the APPG.

It investigates the finding from the Carers Trust 2023 inquiry that many young carers are missing out on access to higher education, employment and training.

This makes this inquiry incredibly timely in the context of the Government’s ambition for every young person to be earning or learning and following the launch of the Milburn inquiry into youth unemployment.

Read the full report here.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has commissioned Ipsos and the Education Policy Institute (EPI) to conduct research on how colleges’ gather data on incoming disadvantaged learners and use it to support their transition. They are particularly interested in use of the DfE’s ‘Get Information about Pupils’ (GIAP) tool to access this information.

As part of the research, Ipsos are interviewing staff at FE and Sixth Form colleges. NAMSS is supporting Ipsos by informing our members of the opportunity to share your experience.

What the study is about:

Topics explored in the research include:

• Approaches taken to access/gather learner data
• How learner data is used
• Views and experiences of the GIAP tool (if applicable)
• Perceived outcomes for colleges and learners

Who it will involve:

One or more staff members from a college can take part.

• Staff supporting disadvantaged learners (e.g. Student Services),
• Senior leaders, or
• Staff managing learner data (e.g. MIS staff).

What it will involve:

• A one-hour online interview in January 2026
• Participation is voluntary with a £50 voucher as a thank-you

How to take part:

• If interested, please email UK-PA-GIAP-Evaluation@ipsos.com with your college name and job title.
• Please note that not all expressions of interest will result in an interview.
• You can find more information on the interview here.

Please note that your participation is entirely voluntary, and you are free to decline or withdraw at any time without needing to provide a reason.

There is also the opportunity to take part in a focus group with 1-2 other members of staff at your college if you would prefer this to an interview.

We are delighted to introduce the second edition of our Behaviour Insights Report. Building on the foundations laid last year, this report continues to provide valuable evidence and practical strategies to support student success across the sector. It also serves an important insights into some of the challenges being navigated across the further education and training landscape, which we hope will help to inform and influence policy makers and leaders, as we continue to spotlight the vital work undertaken by a breadth of student services practitioners within the sector.

The past year has brought new challenges and opportunities, and our collective commitment to understanding behaviour remains as strong as ever. By sharing insights and best practice, we aim to empower colleagues to make informed decisions that enhance the student experience and foster positive outcomes.

In response to these findings, NAMSS has again partnered with behaviour expert Paul Dix and his team at When The Adults Change to explore how relational practice can be harnessed to foster trust, empathy, and high standards within college communities. This collaboration has resulted in a set of actionable insights and recommendations designed to support colleges in embedding relational practices into their culture and policies.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s report. Your expertise and dedication ensure that NAMSS remains at the forefront of promoting effective approaches to student engagement and wellbeing. Together, we can continue to shape environments where every learner has the opportunity to belong, thrive and achieve.

Read the full report here.

The Politics Project FE College Pilot Programme

We are pleased to invite you to take part in a new pilot programme to support Further Education Colleges to get ready for Votes 16.

The Politics Project, in collaboration with the Electoral Commission and the Association of Colleges and NAMSS, will be launching a new package of support aimed at increasing the civic readiness of FE College students

The pilot will include:

– Resources to support students as they register to vote, prepare them for future elections, and consider the role that young people can and should play in politics at all levels.

– Training for staff to deliver democratic education programmes.

– Training and support for communications staff to support student engagement in elections.

– Support to develop College-wide policies on impartiality and engaging with candidates.

We are looking for five colleges to take part in the pilot programme. Each college will receive resources to implement democratic education programming with their students, train staff, and oversee the teaching and learning strategy across the entire college. Each college will choose one staff member who will coordinate the programme, this person will receive consistent support while also providing feedback for future programmes.

If you are interested in taking part in the pilot programme please complete this Interest Form.

As we develop our pilot, we will also be testing some new training materials and resources. If you are unable to be one of our core pilot colleges, but would like to be involved in some of these training opportunities, then please get in touch with Emily Gibson, Head of Education at The Politics Project at emily.gibson@thepoliticsproject.org.uk.

In an age of social media anxiety and digital overload, enrichment shouldn’t be a luxury – it’s how we prepare young people for real life. The FE sector gets this. Now it needs the backing to do it properly.

As people from all education settings scrambled through the pages of the newly published curriculum and assessment review this week, I was delighted to find words like “mandatory Enrichment”,  “strengthen guidance” and “promote effective practice” in the 16-19 section .

Across our settings there are amazing examples of enrichment and personal development opportunities available and a wealth of evidence supporting the positive impact these activities have.  However, the CAR report rightly highlights the “inconsistent” approach to enrichment in the post 16 sector and that non qualification development is variable between colleges.

As a sector we have always valued the additional activity and opportunities we can provide our students. In more recent years the study programme requirements and the 2019 education inspection framework both put emphasis on the importance of personal development which were welcomed by advocates of enrichment, like myself, who fundamentally believe these skills and knowledge development opportunities are essential to student success, retention and positive progression. In fact, I would personally go further and say that enrichment (in its broadest sense) is now essential to address the changing dynamics of the world, the impact of social media and our students’ confidence and wellbeing. It plays a vital moving forward in community cohesion and addressing division.

The CAR report states that the DfE’s expectations in this area have been “deliberately broad” in the past to allow flexibility. But that leads to significant variations in student experience, something we have seen in our NAMSS work supporting the student engagement practitioner network (SEPN).  This network was formed to connect college enrichment staff, who are often unique in their roles, with other likeminded individuals and share ideas for engagement.

We have found varying approaches across the sector. Some colleges strategically approach enrichment by providing budget and resources, quality assurance and tracking and recognising that enrichment happens in many forms. Others are still operating a minimal offer, with limited funding and without the ability to acknowledge the skill development contribution that enrichment makes.

As a sector, we are constantly juggling funding demands and ensuring that we have the right resources to deliver on our programmes. Many college leaders would love to focus more on enrichment but simply have too prioritise other things.

But when you take a strategic and holistic view to the development of students in any college, you will reap countless rewards from improvements in attendance and engagement to more students progressing positively. More than that, when you develop these skills in students and encourage staff to support this as well, you enhance your whole college community. You improve student outcomes, and make your organisation’s culture more vibrant.

The big question now is what this will look like moving forward, and whether we can meet expectations set out for us. The DfE’s response to the CAR discusses extending their current work on a schools’ enrichment framework to FE settings, which is where I get a little nervous.  How many times has a framework originally developed for schools really been fit for purpose in FE?

Schools and colleges operate in very different ways. Enrichment and personal development in colleges is vastly different to schools and any framework for colleges needs to recognise us as a sector and the significant impact we can have on our student’s growth and development to become active global citizens.

The fight for our young people is on in the UK, we need to reskill them to harness the benefits technology brings, whilst also giving them real life skills outside the online world for work, life and wellbeing. Enrichment has the power to make a huge difference to our college and local communities. But let’s watch this space to see if the framework and support (financial or otherwise) allows us to ensure a consistent and impactful approach to enrichment across FE.

Lisa Humphries, Chair of NAMSS

It is our great pleasure to launch the full workshop list and tickets for our first-ever Tutorial Conference.

This in-person event takes place on Tuesday 20 January at the Novotel in Birmingham and offers practical workshops and expert-led discussions designed to provide delegates with really practical ideas, strategies and resources to take back to their own college.   It is also a great chance to meet peers from other organisations who experience the same challenges and understand the issues faced by Tutorial Teams across the UK.  The day is aimed at managers and operational staff responsible for planning, running and measuring the impact of Tutorial Programmes.

Our Keynote is from a Specialist Advisor for Ofsted and they will be talking about inclusion and participation and development in the renewed inspection framework   They will also be answering as many questions as they can from those submitted in advance via the delegates booking form.

Ticket prices:

£85 for named NAMSS members

£110 for colleagues at NAMSS member organisations

£195 for non NAMSS members

Find out more about the Tutorial Conference and book your ticket(s) here.   Please be aware that to complete a booking you will need:

1. To know which workshops each delegate wishes to attend
2. Any questions the delegate would like to ask our Keynotes or the Q&A Panel
3. The full name, contact details, dietary and access requirements of all delegates
4. A payment card (we are unable to send invoices for this event)

We are expecting this to be a very popular event so please secure your place as quickly as you can.