Government Response to New Challenges, New Chances

LSIS Board Meeting – 8 December 2011 Rob Wye, Chief Executive

Contents

•

Summary of the government response to New Challenges, New Chances

•

Details of the actions for LSIS

Background: New Challenges, New Chances Principles in

Skills for Sustainable Growth

Responses to

New Challenges, New Chances

consultation

New Challenges, New Chances: Skills System Reform Plan: Building a World Class Skills System

Further Education and Skills System Reform Plan – summary

• • • • • Key messages – freedoms and flexibilities; policies set for the lifetime of the Parliament; stability of three year funding Students at the centre of the strategy, priority groups supported through Government funding, and a first class National Careers Service Comprehensive vocational, education and training programmes delivered by the FE and Skills system Further reforms to the strategic infrastructure for the FE and Skills system Stepping up efforts to support further and higher education as a global export

Key elements of the reform programme

Learners are at the heart of the FE and Skills System

• • • • • Future students and employers will be well informed and make good choices about their training Government funding will be focused on learning for young adults, those who need English and Maths skills, those seeking work, and a range of community learning opportunities A system of loans will be introduced which shifts the responsibility for investing in learning to individuals More flexibility for providers within their Adult Skills budget and through a new ‘Innovation Code’ to respond to local learner and employer demand, including training to support SME growth plans Government funding will be concentrated on supporting students where it can have most impact, drawing on the knowledge of local government, LEPs and local labour markets

First-class advice delivered by the National Careers Service

• • • • Launches April 2012 Providing IAG on careers, skills and the labour market • • An online and telephone helpline service A network of organisations providing face to face careers guidance in the community to adults • The capacity to help 700,000 adults face to face each year, up to 1 million telephone advice sessions and 20 million online sessions Will operate to a rigorous, enhanced version of the Matrix Standard Lifelong learning accounts will be introduced alongside the national careers service, with an intention to build learners ’ supported by social media ‘a national community of

Vocational Education and Training Programmes

• • • • • • • • • • Commitment to improve the quality and accessibility of Apprenticeships A new relationship between employers and the state on skills The Growth and Innovation Fund Professional updating for SMEs Improvements in English and Maths for adults Education and training routes and programmes for the unemployed A range of training and retraining opportunities for those aged 24 and over Opening up Higher Vocational Education A universal community learning offer Support for the Justice System

Actions for LSIS

1.

Skills for Life

- Ensure that by September 2012 the

Learning and Skills Improvement Service ’s (LSIS)

continuing professional development programme for Skills for Life teachers prioritises the

most effective pedagogy for teaching English and Maths

. LSIS will support a range of

peer reviews

and

practitioner research

programmes (page 11)

Excellence in Teaching and Learning

• An independent commission on adult education and vocational pedagogy • • • • A focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics A focus on English and Maths and Apprenticeship delivery An independent review of professionalism Bursaries and a development fund to explore new models of delivering Initial Teacher Training (ITT) • A network of expert practitioners in vocational skills

Actions for LSIS

2.

Outstanding Teaching and Learning

- An

independent commission

on adult education and vocational pedagogy be supported by

LSIS

and the Institute for Learning (page 16) This will deliver a clear

sector owned policy

to support outstanding teaching and learning and the full use of the

potential of technology.

3.

HE in FE

-

LSIS

will also lead work to support FE colleges in developing collaborative approaches to delivering HE including progression pathways from

FE to HE

(page 16)

4.

STEM

- Key

STEM

developments include:

LSIS ’s

STEM support service which is aligned with national STEM policies and focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning (page 17)

Actions for LSIS

5.

Initial Teacher Training

- BIS has commissioned

LSIS

to work with the sector and provide development funding for new

models of delivery

(page 16)

6.

Professionalism

- As part of the legacy of WorldSkills London 2011,

LSIS

will set up a pilot project to create a network of

expert practitioners

in FE in specific vocational fields. This will build excellence in dual professionalism in key industry areas, and will also contribute to the expert training for annual UK Skills competitions and international competitions (page 16)

Relevant and focused learning programmes and qualifications

• • • • • Qualifications will be relevant to employer needs, high quality, simple to understand, and will seek to ‘maximise the benefits of the QCF ’ A stronger sense of ownership over qualifications from businesses There will be a consultation on how businesses can be more fully engaged in qualification design, development and assessment (starting early 2012) Building on Wolf, there will be a consultation on National Occupational Standards to review if they are fit for purpose in a changing labour market A better understanding of how well qualifications Ofqual ’ markets are operating to deliver fit-for-purpose qualifications will be led by

Strategic Governance for a dynamic FE Sector

• • • • • • A shift towards accountability to communities, learners and employers and away from central government The removal of a number of restrictions on college corporations through the Education Act 2011 Colleges to explore evolving organisational and business models based on the needs of their local areas New partnerships could include federations, working closely with employers, UTCs ,GTAs or ATAs Any college considering a major change will undertake a College Structure and Prospects Appraisal BIS will monitor

‘accuracy and usefulness’

of college names and review protecting terminology and titles

Actions for LSIS

7.

Governance

- The recently published AoC Governors ’ Council Foundation Code of Governance provides an excellent basis for the development of good practice in governance. Government will continue to support this work alongside a range of programmes being developed together by

LSIS

, AoC and the 157 Group, as well as follow up work from Baroness Sharp ’s review, to develop a ‘

dynamic resource

’ that can be used to stimulate, encourage and support governors, principals and staff across the sector (page 20)

Freedom and Flexibility for Colleges and Providers

• Government is: streamlining the landscape, simplifying systems and processes and deregulating • The Skills Funding Agency will take further steps to reduce bureaucracy and align its business cycle with providers: – – – –

Whole College View

: an end to end look at the agency ’s system and process in terms of their impact on providers

Annual Provider Survey

: eliciting views on role, operations and communications

Large Employer Programme Pilot

: piloting an outcome based payment system for large employers

Communications Framework

: reducing the quantity and improving the quality • The BIS/DfE FE Reform and Performance Board will coordinate change via a joint action plan

Investing in our priorities through a simplified funding system

• • • FE and skills investment in 2012 13 will be £3.8 billion £3.6 billion will be routed through the Skills Funding Agency (£3.4 billion by 2013 14 and £3.3 billion by 2014-15) Supplemented by £129 million and £398 million respectively provided through FE loans • • The introduction of a single funding methodology for the Adult Skills Budget, a standard ‘rates matrix’ and further rationalisation of the Adult Learner Support funds • A capital investment strategy based on stronger partnerships between colleges, business and industry sectors Clear information on FE loans and an exploration of how employers can take on greater ownership of loans

Quality assurance, transparency and data management

• • • • • The integration of quality comparison information with the new National Careers website, information will be at a more ‘granular’ level The creation of a ‘common information set’ by and for the sector and greater completion of course information available on the National Careers Service website Additional freedoms for providers who achieve high quality, responsive provision Failing provision will continue to be identified by ‘inadequate’ Ofsted ratings, success rates below minimum standards and ‘inadequate’ SFA ratings in financial health or control A reduction in data burdens, re-use of data already held and the collection and sharing of data across the sector

Actions for LSIS

8.

Intervention

- Poor performing colleges will therefore receive an ‘Inadequacy Warning Notice’, giving them limited time to resolve any quality or financial issues, with

support

from the

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

(page 28)

9.

Intervention

- Although relating to a very small number of colleges, there are likely to be cases where persistent poor performance continues and minimum standards are not achieved even after the Warning Notice expires. Colleges will then undertake a Structure and Prospects Appraisal. Intensive support and direction from a

sector-led team

of executive and governor leaders with experience of significant restructuring or innovation in further education will be assigned to the college during the Appraisal. We are working with the sector representative bodies and the

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

to ensure such a team can be deployed (page 28)

Global FE

• UNESCO estimates the number of students in higher education worldwide will grow 150 million to over 260 million by 2025 • Government supporting further and higher education as an export, and making this an explicit element of the growth strategy by: – – – – Building on the World Skills legacy Actively promoting the Education UK Brand Developing a ‘system to system’ model to package together a range of education products and services, depending on what is required by a particular emerging economy; and Focusing on the emerging economies where they have identified the most opportunities • AoC tasked to bring together a working group to develop an FE global strategy