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Hertfordshire Foundation Learning

LeadsTuesday 29 March 2011

Sue Owen-Evans

Hertfordshire Foundation

Learning Leads Meeting

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Sue Owen-Evans

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Objectives for the day

For participants to: review progress made with FL and

celebrate success explore the opportunities and challenges

presented by developing FL as a pre-apprenticeship pathway

share examples of good practice and take forward approaches and ideas that work

identify key levers that can be used to engage senior leadership teams

harness new FL resources

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A view from the bridge

….but why this bridge?

Sue Owen-Evans

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Current state of play

Emerging national and localmessages

Wolf YPLA

Raising of participation age

SEN Green Paper

Herts CC apprenticeship

strategy

Ofsted

CEIAG

Key messages from YPLA re FL post-16 Greater flexibility generated by:

• Unlisting of Functional Skills• Unlisting of Entry Level 1 (personal progress) offer for LLDD

learners • Weekly funding for learners not ready to take qualifications • Use of non-externally accredited provision where

appropriate• Widening the offer of accredited qualifications beyond QCF

Issues providers need to address• Recognising and responding to prior attainment• Focusing on needs and destinations of learners and using

these to drive the curriculum offer

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16-19 Bursary Scheme

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EMA Developments

823 schools + 16 PRUs who sourced 61 alternative providers

Provision accessed by 10% of Yr 9-11 studentsMore boys than girls, 69% SEN, one third had been excluded

at some point• Quality variable – suggestion for APs to register with DfE and for provision to be QAd by school and evaluated by Ofsted

• Two thirds tailored students’ KS4 curriculum around AP, one third did not. Need to ensure students do not fall behind.

• Home organisations need to define clear success criteria for AP programme from outset

• Information given to AP about students consistently weak – no SEN or behavioural details or levels of literacy and numeracy

• Finding and commissioning AP at its best when supported by LA directory and when LA provides guidance on quality assurance and safe guarding

• Monitoring of attendance good – but home organisations do not track behaviour and attitude. Few schools systematically monitor progress of skills or personal development

• Links usually in place between home institution and AP prior to placement starting – best practice face to face contact between student, parent and provider

• On placement visits vary in frequency, 11 never visited, 13 visited less than once every six month, 11 visited weekly

Ofsted report on alternative provision June 2011

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0

5

10

15

20

25

Dacorum BSS North Herts South East Herts

St Albans & Harpenden

South West Herts

Welwyn, Hatfield & East Herts

UnknownGreenAmberRed

RAG ratings for FL implementation by SAPG

10

14 (14%)

47(46%)30(29%)

11(11%)

RAG ratings for FL implmentation across Herts CC(Schools and joint FE and school provision)

Red

Amber

Green

Unknown

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What has been most successful in supporting and engaging schools?

Targeted, small scale projects that support partnership working and that meet an identified need

Effective use of funding to both generate and grow sustainable provision

Proactive use of the FL co-ordinator role as a focus for advice

Using findings of a student voice questionnaire to highlight curriculum need and drive change

Identifying beacons who lead by example and bring others with them

Building on established FE provision that is well respected and has the buy in of SLT in schools e.g Headstart

Setting up a focused FL Development/FL strategy group with a clear brief

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What difficulties have been encountered when working with

schools?

Uncertainty created by reductions in funding and lack of govt direction with education policy

Profile of some schools which makes it difficult to get a foot in the door

Perception of GCSE as the gold standard by parents and some SLT

Time and cost associated with EV and IV training UTC and studio school developments

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How are you tackling these challenges?

On your tables pick two of the difficulties that have been listed

Share strategies and approaches that you are, or that you will deploy, to find a positive way forward

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What is working well with FE and alternative providers?

Building relationships with key staff in FE and alternative provision

Partnerships that are emerging between FE and schools and schools and training providers

Flexibility that is being built into the FE offer i.e. import/export model, length of programmes, different starting points during the year

Finding and growing alternative provision Using alternative provision to build sustainability

within the schools

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What challenges have emerged when working with FE and alternative providers ?

Funding programmes – rising costs, the movement to cost recovery models as core funding goes

Undoing perceptions that some SLT have about the quality of alternative provision

Transition and progression from pre to post-16, especially for LLDD

Commissioning new providers – finding them, securing quality and value for money

Ensuring that when alternative provision is delivered on-site the culture of the school environment is recognised

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How are you tackling these challenges?

On your tables share strategies and approaches that you are deploying to address: transition and progression procurement of services to get the best deal

Focus of FL work across SAPGs 2011/12• Driving accredited PSD into the curriculum

• Sharing successful approaches to Functional Skills

• Building cost effective, sustainable provision through supporting targeted partnership working that meets an identified gap

• Addressing issues to do with progression

• Developing and monitoring FL as a bridge into apprenticeships

• Harnessing existing networks and meetings to keep the momentum of FL moving forward – some to act as task and finish groups to address key elements such as marketing FL and CEIAG

• Target amber/red providers with support

Next steps

• What two immediate actions will you take from today?

• How would you like to see these FL sessions developing for 2011/12? - Who should attend? - How could the sessions

be structured? - What could the content

cover?