From Compliance to Confidence: Why does the learner experience matter in FE?

 

In this article, Christine Edwards QTLS explores how Further Education providers can move from a culture of compliance to one of confidence, using quality assurance as a catalyst to embed Maths, English and digital skills in ways that improve the learner experience and equip adults to thrive.

 

“Lesson visits are no longer about proving competence but exploring potential.”
– Kathryn Pogson, Kirklees College (inTuition, Spring 2025)

 

This quote encapsulates a shift that many of us in the sector are trying to model, not just in quality assurance practices, but in how we develop staff to embed core skills that learners need to thrive: Maths, English and digital skills — the foundation of skills development training in the UK.

 

Because when you’re teaching adults who have been failed by education before, the quality of the learner experience matters. And the confidence of the tutor delivering it? That matters too.

Learner experience: Moving from scrutiny to support

 

Across the CPD programmes I’m delivering, particularly those supporting local authority-funded maths and digital development, I see a recurring theme:

Tutors know they’re expected to “embed” English and Maths, and increasingly, digital skills, particularly within functional skills training in the UK. But too many still associate quality assurance with surveillance and tick-boxing.

This isn’t about bad intent. It’s often about legacy systems, ingrained fear of being judged, and a lack of clear narrative around why we observe or “quality assure” at all.

And that needs to change.

As Kathryn Pogson so powerfully puts it, quality assurance should feel like “checking in, not checking up”. It should:

  • Be rooted in trust, not fear
  • Prioritise development, not data
  • Enable growth, not performance anxiety.

 

Core skills are everyone’s responsibility

 

In adult and community education settings, and across adult education and training providers in the UK, the responsibility for Maths, English and digital skills doesn’t sit in one department. It sits with everyone who supports learning.

 

And that’s why quality assurance needs to:

  • Include explicit focus on how tutors are helping learners build confidence in these areas
  • Give tutors the tools and feedback to develop inclusive, contextualised practice
  • Reinforce that embedding core skills isn’t optional, it’s fundamental to delivering a quality experience.

 

In my sessions with new or sessional tutors, I often ask:

“What does quality Maths or English development look like in your context?”

The answers vary, but the point is always the same: it’s got to feel relevant and add value. And supportive QA systems should celebrate that contextuality, not suppress it.

A learner experience lens

 

Let’s flip the narrative.

Instead of asking “Did the tutor meet the standard?”, what if we asked:

  • Did the learner feel safe to make a mistake?
  • Did they use a number, a word, or a digital tool more confidently today than yesterday?
  • Was the task real-world relevant, or could it be?

This is the mindset I bring to the work I do with providers and educators. When working with ESOL tutors, digital facilitators and Maths/English leads within apprenticeship training providers in the UK, we look at quality through the lens of learner empowerment:

  • Can learners talk about their finances with more clarity?
  • Can they spot patterns in data?
  • Can they express themselves more confidently, in writing or speech?
  • Do they feel more connected, more employable, more capable?

This is the real quality conversation.

 

What does learner empowerment look like in practice?

 

Here’s what I’m seeing work across the providers I support:

  • Ungraded observations with a coaching frame — focusing on ‘noticings’ and ‘wonderings’
  • Feedback loops that link directly to CPD opportunities — so development is timely and tailored
  • Shared examples of good practice across Maths, English and digital integration — supporting Maths and English skills for apprentices in the UK and helping tutors feel part of a learning culture
  • Tutor voice in QA processes — because being heard improves buy-in and confidence.

This isn’t about going easy on standards. It’s about raising them, inclusively.

Because confident, reflective tutors don’t need to be monitored. They need to be mentored.

 

Final thought: quality = equity


If we want to tackle exclusion, improve attainment and support the economic growth our sector is being asked to deliver, we need to focus on the right things.

That means:

  • Making Maths, English and digital development feel purposeful — not painful
  • Supporting tutors to take ownership of their role in delivering life skills through external training consultancy for learning providers in the UK

Using QA not as a tool for control, but a mechanism for collective growth.

Inclusion and quality are not opposites. Done right, they’re the same thing.