We were pleased to welcome Councillor Helen Hayden from Leeds City Council to officially open Leeds City College’s new Leeds Dock campus.
Initially offering around 250 places to learners, Leeds Dock campus will help meet the growing demand for skilled health and social care professionals across the region, while making some of the college’s more popular courses accessible to even more students.
Cllr Hayden said: “It’s fantastic to see investment into new education facilities that will help more young people access high-quality education and training here in Leeds.
“This new campus is a welcome addition, creating more opportunities for students to gain the knowledge, skills and experience they need to build rewarding careers, while helping to meet the needs of local employers.”
Investing in opportunities for young people
Leeds City College, part of Luminate Education Group, received an £8 million Government grant to support the expansion of post-16 education provision across Leeds.
The investment aims to create more opportunities for young people to access education and training, while helping to address the increasing number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Diana Bird, Executive Principal at Leeds City College, said: “It’s wonderful to officially open our Leeds Dock campus. Health and social care professionals play such an important role in our communities, and we’re proud to be creating more opportunities for young people to pursue a career in the sector.”
Bill Jones, CEO of Luminate Education Group, added: “Investing in high-quality education facilities provides our young people with the best learning environment possible.
“The opening of Leeds Dock campus reflects our commitment to expanding access to education and training, ensuring more young people have the opportunity to develop their skills and progress into employment.”
Supporting the future of health and social care
The opening marks another step in the college’s commitment to providing high-quality, career-focused education that responds to the needs of students, employers and the wider community.
It also supports wider government ambitions to strengthen technical and vocational education and aligns with the West Yorkshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), which identifies health and social care as a priority sector for tackling skills shortages and supporting regional economic growth.
Chris Thornton, Director of Inclusive Provision and SEND, Luminate Education Group
For hundreds of thousands of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the education system is not just about learning – it shapes their independence, confidence, and future opportunities. Yet too often, the outcomes they achieve do not reflect their potential.
Nationally, more children and young people than ever are being identified as needing support. Over 638,000 now have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) – an 11% rise from January 2024 to January 2025 – and more than 1.6 million pupils are identified as needing SEND support. At the same time, local authorities are facing mounting financial pressure, with many operating significant deficits linked to SEND provision.
Taken together, this paints a picture of a system at a tipping point. Demand is rising rapidly, expectations are increasing, yet outcomes for too many young people remain far from where they should be. If reforms are to deliver on their promise, success cannot be measured by plans alone, but by what young people go on to achieve after education.
The White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, alongside the Putting Children and Young People First consultation, sets out a vision for a more consistent and inclusive system, with earlier intervention and better preparation for adulthood. These reforms recognise the inclusive practices of further education providers and include a commitment to expanding supported internships, alongside more tailored one-to-one support for learners with SEND. By creating clearer pathways into employment and training, the government aims to better support young people with SEND, who are currently around 80% more likely to be NEET than their peers.
Yet just 4.8% of people with SEND move into sustained paid employment nationally. Too many leave education without a clear, supported pathway into work, making supported internships one of the clearest ways to bridge that gap.
Across our group, we see the impact daily. At Keighley College, Dylan Worsnop joined with a goal to follow in his father’s footsteps as a welder. Through his supported internship with Acorn Stairlifts, he developed the skills and confidence to thrive, ultimately securing a full-time role.
Stuart Aveyard, a former Leeds City College student, exemplifies how persistence and ongoing support make a difference. Over several years, he developed skills through a range of placements. When his initial internship did not lead directly to employment, he did not give up – and neither did the support around him. With continued guidance from job coaches, he progressed into a second internship, built his independence, and ultimately secured full-time employment, where he remains today.
At Harrogate College, four students were placed with Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and Harrogate Integrated Facilities through DFN Project SEARCH. They rotate across departments such as IT, equipment services, and groundskeeping, gaining real-world skills with close tutor support.
Yet nationally, only 9 – 10% of young people with EHCPs access supported internships, and just one in four remain in employment a year later – highlighting the need for structured support beyond the internship itself. The system has historically focused on what is taught academically, rather than helping them prepare for adulthood, employment, independence and becoming part of the wider community. Such skills must be embedded from an earlier stage. Preparation for adulthood – including employment, independence, and community inclusion – must be embedded from an earlier stage.
Supported internships should not be a niche offer but a central pillar of a system genuinely focused on outcomes. This requires sustained investment, stronger employer partnerships, and recognition that support should not end the moment a young person secures a job. Employers also benefit – supported interns bring with them a strong work ethic, fresh perspectives, and tangible value.
As National Supported Internship Day highlights, the model works. The challenge now is to scale it so that for young people with SEND, employment becomes a genuine expectation, not the exception.
Leeds City College welcomed Hilary Benn MP to its Printworks campus as part of T Levels Week, with students sharing how their studies are helping them build the skills, confidence and experience needed for their future careers.
During the visit, Mr Benn toured the campus and met with students to hear first-hand about their experiences of studying T Levels, including their industry placements and ambitions for the future.
The visit was an opportunity to showcase how T Levels are helping students take their next steps towards employment or further study, while supporting the skills needs of employers across Leeds and the wider region.
Building skills and confidence for the future
Speaking about his visit, Mr Benn said: “I really enjoyed meeting the students and hearing first-hand about the difference T Levels have made to their lives and the opportunities they’ve opened up for them.
“What really stood out was their confidence, the way in which they spoke and their sense of direction for the future. It’s clear just how much they’ve gained from studying a T Level at Leeds City College.
“We’ve got an important job to do in raising awareness of T Levels and helping more people understand the opportunities they offer.”
Equivalent to three A levels, T Levels are two-year qualifications that combine classroom learning with an industry placement.
Designed in collaboration with employers, they give students the opportunity to develop practical skills, gain valuable workplace experience and prepare for their chosen careers.
Creating opportunities through industry experience
T Levels continue to grow in popularity across Luminate Education Group, with enrolments increasing from 149 students in 2021/22 to 653 in 2026/27.
Gemma Simmons-Blench, Deputy CEO of Luminate Education Group, said: “T Levels play a vital role in addressing skills needs across Leeds and the wider region, and we couldn’t be prouder of our students and everything they’re achieving.
“Employer partnerships are at the heart of making T Levels a success. Our students are gaining invaluable industry experience, developing practical skills and building the confidence they need to take their next steps into employment or further study.”
The visit took place during T Levels Week, a national celebration recognising the achievements of T Level students and highlighting the opportunities these qualifications offer young people and employers.
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.
For too long, academic and technical education have been treated as separate routes. Yet we should not expect young people to choose between them at an early age. That divide does not reflect what young people need or what employers value.
The Government’s proposals to expand technical education for 14- to 16-year-olds are a step in the right direction. Giving young people access to high-quality vocational learning can widen opportunities and connect education more effectively to the needs of the workforce.
But we should be more ambitious.
Rather than creating a stronger technical route alongside an academic route, we should use this opportunity to rethink the architecture of education itself, creating an integrated tertiary system in which academic knowledge, technical capability, vocational learning and practical experience combine.
Schools, colleges, universities and employers are often incentivised to operate in isolation. Building an ecosystem with a shared ambition will allow for seamless progression between education, training and employment, with strong regional accountability.
We also need to challenge long-standing assumptions. Technical education should not be seen as the only option for practical learners, or those who have not thrived in mainstream education. Equally, those who pursue an academic route should not miss out on practical opportunities.
Employers increasingly need people who can combine different types of skills. Engineers need mathematical and theoretical knowledge, health professionals need academic knowledge and practical competence, and designers need theory, creativity and technical capability. Modern work is increasingly interdisciplinary, yet our education system still asks young people to make artificially binary choices.
Skills England’s 2026 Annual Skills Report shows that more than a quarter of job vacancies are hard to fill due to skill shortages. This highlights the importance of developing the transferable skills that enable young people to succeed in the workplace – from communication and teamwork to problem-solving and adaptability.
It also underlines the need for an education system built around the workforce of the future, where academic, technical, vocational and occupational learning are complementary. The ambition should be about progression, not just pathways, where young people can move between these routes without being labelled or trapped by a choice they made at 14 or 16.
The new V Levels policy by Skills England is encouraging as it creates greater scope for learners to blend academic and vocational learning, allowing combinations of qualifications that better reflect individual interests. We now have the opportunity to embed that principle across the wider education landscape, so qualifications become components of one system.
We need clear, mapped progression routes to higher apprenticeships, university and employment, ensuring that every stage of learning connects meaningfully.
Nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET), highlighting the need for education providers and employers to work together to smooth the transition from education to the workplace.
At Leeds City College, our 14+ Academies, which offer a direct-entry option for young people in Years 10 and 11, provide an opportunity to build connections early by creating an environment where real-world and employability skills sit alongside academic learning.
Universities must be part of the conversation too, working closely with FE providers to widen access and remove barriers to learning. Our strategic alliance with Leeds Beckett University, alongside our own HE provision at University Centre Leeds and Leeds Conservatoire, is based on that ambition: retaining our distinctive identities and strengths while deliberately designing provision, progression and collaboration so that learners experience a coherent educational journey rather than institutional silos.
This matters because skills needs vary across different areas. A successful tertiary system should reflect local economies and communities, with employers helping shape the provision and local businesses and institutions all working together to help young people progress.
The economy doesn’t need more technical education at the expense of academic education. It needs people with the right blend of knowledge and skills.
We should stop asking which route a young person is on and start asking whether the system is giving them the tools they require to progress. If we get this right, the reforms could help accelerate the building of an integrated tertiary skills ecosystem that our young people, employers and region need.
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.
