A Values-Driven Journey into Further Education
Sam turns a commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive workplace into a successful management career in a further education college.
"I believe deeply in what we do in FE. We have the power to transform lives."
Sam Coles
Moving into further education
My journey into further education (FE) began almost by accident. I had always worked in the voluntary and public sectors and had very little awareness of the range of roles that colleges offered.
After moving cities, what mattered most to me was finding a role connected to social justice and meaningful impact.
Taking an administrator role in a college involved a change in pay for me, but it opened the door to a sector I would stay in for over twenty years.
Growing into the sector
As part of my role, I set up a small resources centre. My chartered librarian qualification soon led me into the college’s library service, and from there, my desire to promote work on equality pulled me into equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work.
Today, I work as a middle manager in a General FE college, specialising in EDI.
Identity as a lens for my work
My experiences have shaped my work deeply.
I am part of the community of lesbian, gay and bisexual staff in FE and in my college. I also live with a long‑term mental health condition and was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which helped explain many years of self-criticism, anxiety and low self‑esteem. I also had a disabled relative in long‑stay institutional care.
All of these have given me a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. When I entered FE, Section 28 had only just been repealed, and LGBT inclusion was still unfamiliar to many colleagues. I found myself challenging entrenched heteronormativity and cisnormativity, while navigating my own journey of coming out in my early thirties, even while in a civil partnership, to living with more openness and authenticity.
Being ‘out’ was not always easy. However, my experiences strengthened my resolve to help make FE a place where people are genuinely seen, understood and valued.
Learning the value of being seen
I’ve always believed that representation in FE matters. As a student I often felt like a misfit, unable to relate to staff. A visible role model would have meant everything. Today, through my training work and involvement with students, I’m continually reminded of how powerful representation can be.
Students have told me explicitly that it feels good to hear someone speak openly about identities and experiences that mirror their own. Impact can sometimes be subtle but is evident if you look closely at the quiet changes in confidence, behaviour or connection.
Support that enables growth
When I first started my current role, the college was early in its EDI journey, but there was a genuine desire for change, and that possibility excited me.
A supportive and inclusive workplace is utterly fundamental. My leadership team leads with care, integrity and a commitment to doing better.
Staff networks are also pivotal. Being part of our disability network helped me feel understood and supported, especially during my ADHD diagnosis. Equally important are colleagues who don’t share my identity but choose to stand with me, using their influence positively, seeking to understand lived experiences, being consciously inclusive through language and behaviour or facilitating training sessions. Their actions often help create some of the most meaningful shifts in our culture.
Living with ADHD, anxiety and self‑doubt
One of my greatest ongoing challenges is whether I’m doing a good job or making a difference. For me, ADHD amplifies this with anxiety, dips in self-esteem, and periods of feeling overloaded or paralysed.
Support gets me through. My line manager understands my ways of working. Talking things through, utilising my college’s employee assistance programmes, and stepping back and keeping the bigger picture in view helps me recalibrate.
Become part of something bigger
I believe deeply in what we do in FE. We have the power to transform lives. The goosebumps I feel when hearing students’ stories — that’s what keeps me here.
Colleges do more than deliver qualifications. In my role, I can influence change: pushing for a more inclusive FE system, constructively challenging intolerance and divisive narratives, and supporting people to become caring, proactive individuals.
FE needs your voice; and your presence might be the thing that makes someone else feel they belong.