We are proud to share that Leeds City College’s High Needs campus, The Vine, has been recognised for its rebound therapy provision and accredited as a Centre of Excellence in a testament to the outstanding dedication of staff and learners.
The recognition comes during a time of significant strain for the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system across the country and the region, with rising numbers of young people with Education and Health Care Plans and lack of specialist provisions and staffing to deliver appropriate education and care.
Rebound therapy is an intervention that uses specialised trampolines to stimulate movement, balance and sensory benefits. It is part of a tailored provision offered by a handful of other centres as part of the ‘Leeds Local Offer’.
Sarah Simpkins, Deputy Director of SEND and Inclusive Provision at the centre said:
“Rebound therapy continues to play a transformative role in our provision.
“The gentle, rhythmic movement of the trampoline helps many students develop improved muscle tone, body awareness, and balance. For others, the calming sensory experience promotes relaxation, regulation, and reduced anxiety.
“The recognition for The Vine provision shows the power of specialised provisions, where every learner, regardless of complexity, is given the opportunity to thrive.”
In December the Government announced £3 billion in funding to create around 50,000 new specialist SEND places, though policy attention remains broadly on early intervention and localised mainstream school-age places.
Centres like The Vine, offering post-16 bespoke, therapeutic and specialist provision are rarer, however, and demand for specialist post-school age provision remains high from families of SEND children.
The 2025 Budget delivered several announcements with implications for learners, families and the education sector. Colin Booth, Chief Executive of Luminate Education Group, has shared his reflections on some of the key measures impacting education.
“Reiteration of the Youth Guarantee is positive, but we are still waiting for the detail on how it can be delivered at scale. If the aim is to expand opportunity for young people, the Budget needed to go further on the essentials, particularly increased capital investment so colleges can grow their capacity to meet rising demand for technical qualifications. The continued inability of further education colleges to reclaim VAT, where secondary schools are able to, represents a missed opportunity to end a structural inequity and unlock funds that could be reinvested directly into facilities and growth. Colleges will play a central role in delivering on the Government’s skills and growth ambitions, but we need the resources and capital to be able to do so.”
“Raising the minimum wage for apprentices is welcome, especially at a time when living costs remain a real barrier to young people starting and completing their programmes. The decision to fully fund apprenticeships for SMEs hiring under-25s is another positive step that should help widen access and support smaller employers to take on new talent. But pay rises and funding changes alone won’t grow the pipeline. Continued investment into apprenticeships and sufficient resources for colleges to deliver them remain essential if we want more people to access high-quality training and progress into skilled work. We look forward to working with employers and government to ensure these reforms translate into greater opportunity for learners and local communities.”
“The removal of the two-child limit is a significant and positive change for many families across the communities we serve. We see first-hand how child poverty affects young people’s learning, participation and positive progression throughout the education system, in addition to the impact on young parents and adult learners attempting to gain qualifications or retrain. This change will ease the financial pressure on many households, but wider action is still needed to tackle the root causes of hardship and ensure that every learner can access and succeed in education.”
Diana Bird, currently the Principal and CEO at Shipley College, is to succeed Bill Jones in the role. The move follows an earlier announcement that Jones will take over as CEO of the college’s parent organisation, Luminate Education Group, from January – following the retirement of current chief, Colin Booth, at the end of this year.
Bird, who was born and raised in Leeds and has more than 20 years’ experience in further education, is relishing taking up her next challenge – and has a strong vision for the role.
She said: “I’m driven by creating environments where students and colleagues can genuinely thrive. Leeds City College’s values of kindness, aspiration, collaboration, respect, inspiration and celebration of individuality really resonate with me – they are things I try to live through my own leadership.
“I’m very much looking forward to meeting new colleagues from across Luminate Education Group, and to reconnecting with those I have worked with in previous roles.
“The group is entering a period of change within its leadership team. My focus will be to provide steady, values-led leadership through this change, building on the excellent work already underway across the group.”
Bird’s educational career started as an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) tutor, when she taught for two hours a week at her local FE college. That quickly transformed into a full-time role in community based adult education.
She went on to hold a variety of roles – including Lead for Initial Teacher Education, Director of Education and Head of Department for English, maths and ESOL – which included spells in higher education and the voluntary and community sector.
Her heart, however, ‘definitely belongs to FE’ and she says she is excited to be joining Leeds City College (and Luminate) at a time when ‘the sector is finally being recognised by the government as central to economic growth and opportunity’.
She said: “The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper and qualification reforms addressed in the Curriculum and Assessment Review present real opportunities, and as one of the largest education groups in the country, Luminate has a responsibility to help shape the national response.
“My focus will be to ensure the college supports the group to play a strong, confident role in these conversations.
“I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to be an ambassador for the college and to nurture really strong partnerships that expand opportunities for individuals, businesses and communities.
“One of the things that most attracted me to this role is that I will have responsibility for teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) at executive level. I believe that every student deserves the very best experience we can give them and outstanding TLA is at the heart of that.”
Jones, who has been the college’s executive principal and group deputy CEO since 2015, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming Diana, who demonstrated a clear vision for the future of the college during our rigorous interview process, to the Luminate family.
“As a passionate advocate for FE with a wealth of experience, we are certain she will help guide the college as it rises to the challenges – and opportunities – that lie ahead.
“We are confident she has all the attributes needed, working in collaboration with our campus principals and industry partners, to align our vision and culture with Leeds and the region’s ambitious growth plans to ensure we are producing students equipped with the skills our employers need.”
Luminate Education Group teaches more than 30,000 students across its three FE colleges, and also has two sixth form colleges and two higher education institutions.
The group maintained its ‘Good’ Ofsted rating following its latest inspection earlier this year.
We have been awarded the first Bronze as part of a pilot project to develop a pathway for the Race Equality Charter (REC) to small and specialist institutions and research institutes.
The award comes as the pilot programme concludes its initial two-year phase and the Race Equality Charter celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025. The achievement represents a significant milestone in efforts to support these groups of higher education providers and research institutes with their ambitions to advance equality in their contexts.
Anne Mwangi, Head of the Race Equality Charter at Advance HE, said: “We are thrilled to be ending this pilot phase with our group’s first Bronze award.
“REC Bronze is recognition of an institution’s robust foundation for eliminating racial inequalities, developing inclusive cultures and moving from commitment to sustainable and integrated bold and ambitious action.
“Advance HE looks forward to supporting Luminate Education Group as it progresses its action plans to advance race equality and celebrating all members of this cohort submitting in November 2025 and March 2026 as they receive their outcomes.”
An empowering chance to reflect – and act
Dr Jo Tyssen, our Group Director of HE Quality and Standards – Leeds Conservatoire and University Centre Leeds, added: “This Race Equality Charter application has been an ambition for a number of years and follows University Centre Leeds’ engagement with Advance HE as part of the REC SSRI Design Group in 2023. This then expanded to include Leeds Conservatoire with University Centre Leeds in the Race Equality Charter for small and specialist institutions and research institutes pilot.
“It has been a collaborative and empowering journey with Advance HE. We viewed it as a real opportunity for an honest self-assessment and a bold commitment to action, addressing the root causes of race inequality to drive meaningful change.
“We are incredibly honoured by this achievement, and to be the first from the pilot (including college-based HE provider) to achieve REC Bronze is something we are so proud of.
“I cannot thank Advance HE enough for their support in working with members to provide this opportunity and for the recognition of the work that providers such as us contribute to race equity and the HE sector as a whole.”
The Race Equality Charter’s mission is to improve the representation, experience, progression and success of racially minoritised staff and students within higher education. It provides a rigorous framework through which institutions work to critically reflect and act on institutional and cultural barriers.
Manufacturers from across Yorkshire assembled in Keighley recently to celebrate the opening of a new apprenticeship training centre that could be key to bolstering the local industry’s fortunes.
The official opening of the Keighley College Technical Engineering Centre (TEC) represented the culmination of a shared commitment between the college, Keighley Towns Fund and Bradford Council to give our rightly celebrated manufacturing sector a shot in the arm.
Yorkshire has long been a manufacturing heartland and continues to punch well above its weight in terms of the expertise and specialisms of its firms. And here in the Keighley district, in everything from precision engineering to advanced fabrication, we are home to some of the most innovative and resilient businesses in the region.
Manufacturing is also one of our most important employment sectors, with a 2023 report by Bradford Council noting that the sector accounted for 5,000 local jobs, representing 13.5% of the workforce – significantly above the national average.
Even in these febrile economic times, this industry is well placed to grow – but only if educators, businesses and local authorities work together to ensure the current skills gaps, which are holding it back, are tackled.
Apprenticeships, especially in advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, will be key to achieving this. As John Harrison, Apprenticeship Manager at Fives Landis, told us at the opening: “Apprentices for us are the lifeblood of the business.” It is a sentiment that is shared by so many of our partners.
Kelly-Marie McAllister, Group Director of Apprenticeships at Luminate Education Group
So we made sure local businesses and their apprenticeship needs were at the forefront of our minds as we pulled together plans for this new engineering centre, and designed it in consultation with them. Purpose-built to train up to 120 apprentices at a time, the TEC has been kitted out with industry-standard equipment and facilities – including a full engineering workshop and future technologies lab – to equip those learners with the real-world skills the sector urgently needs.
With £3m of funding from Keighley Towns Fund, this project reflects a serious commitment to skills and growth in the area and opens at a fitting time – with our college celebrating its 200th anniversary and local manufacturing being championed by the recently re-launched Keighley Made group. The centre is also opening when there is renewed support, at governmental level, for vocational education and training.
One of the biggest challenges for the sector, however, is getting enough new skilled people to join the workforce pool each year to keep the momentum going. A recent Gi Group UK article, summing up a July 2025 Skills England report, lays out the scale of that challenge in stark terms – pointing out that currently: “Nearly 49,000 vacancies remain unfilled, with 42% of these classed as skills-shortage vacancies. This figure has risen sharply from 29% in 2017, revealing a growing gap between the skills employers need and the skills available in the labour market.”
That is why our new engineering centre in Keighley matters: it is a direct investment into our workforce and the productivity and long-term success of local businesses. It will help us get more of our young people into engaging, meaningful work while ensuring our key local businesses have access to the talent pipeline they rely on.
For employers like Ex-Pressed Steel Panels Ltd, the benefits are clear. Managing Director Michael McColgan said: “This centre allows us to recruit more apprentices and get them into college to study what we need them to learn – what manufacturers and engineers need. The biggest positive effect the centre will have on the region is that it allows local people to train local people to work locally.”
The opening of the TEC also sends out a clear, and really important, message that positive things are happening in the district – which should, in turn, attract further investment. As Chair of Keighley Towns Fund, Tim Rogers, put it: “Through skills growth, we can show investors that Keighley is a sustainable and prosperous place.” This can hopefully also inspire educators and local authorities in other areas to push for similar, potentially transformational, projects.
Manufacturing is the backbone of Keighley, and indeed much of West Yorkshire’s economy. But it’s not just our heritage – it’s our future. With initiatives like this, we are taking bold steps to ensure that its future is bright.
We’ll leave the final thoughts to one of our former apprentices – Managing Director at Fives Landis, Phil Jenkins, who trained at the college nearly quarter of a century ago. He told us: “I really think that this area has a lot to offer for manufacturing and, for me, to sustain the future of Britain we need to invest in manufacturing and industry. To see this happening in our area is a really, really great thing.”
Kelly-Marie McAllister is Group Director of Apprenticeships at Keighley College’s parent organisation, Luminate Education Group.
We’re pleased to share a programme of professional development opportunities designed for educators, leaders, and practitioners across the FE community. These sessions focus on practical strategies, innovative ideas, and collaborative approaches that support high-quality practice – particularly for teams working with SEND and neurodiverse learners.
All sessions are delivered online via Zoom, and a joining link will be sent to participants once they have registered.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your knowledge, enhance your curriculum design, or develop more inclusive and impactful career pathways, we hope you’ll join us for one or more of these events.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions: Strengthening Practice Across the FE Community
Our CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions are designed to provide colleagues across the FE sector with focused, evidence-based training that enhances inclusive practice, curriculum design, and learner support.
CPD Session 4
Leading the Local Approach to Job Coach Development: Luminate’s Regional Job Coach Network
29 January 2026 – 3.30-4.30pm via Zoom
This session will explore how colleges can lead a regional approach to job coach development – drawing on Luminate’s successful establishment of a collaborative, multi-provider Job Coach Network. We’ll share insights into securing local authority funding, elevating the job coach role, and creating a professional forum that amplifies good practice and collective voice across the sector.
Communities of Practice (CoP) Series: Effective Careers Guidance & Information for SEND Learners
Alongside our CPD sessions, we will also host a three-part Communities of Practice series focused on strengthening CEIAG for SEND learners. These sessions are designed to help teams reflect, collaborate, and enhance their approaches across all aspects of careers guidance.
CoP Session 3
Supporting SEND Students to Achieve Positive Destinations
20 January 2026 – 3.30-4.30pm via Zoom
In this session, we’ll look at how Labour Market Information (LMI), partnership signposting, and employer engagement can guide learners towards meaningful next steps. We’ll highlight Luminate approaches to enhancing encounters and improving the planning of future pathways.
Places for all sessions can be booked through theEducation and Training Foundation (ETF)website. You will be asked to create a free ETF account if you don’t already have one.
The Centres for Excellence in SEND initiative is part of the Universal SEND Services programme, which provides sector-led support to leaders, managers and practitioners to create a step change in inclusive teaching and learning. To access resources and find out more about upcoming activities and support, visit the CfESEND area of the ETF website.
