Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project

1. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Final Quality and Curriculum Managers Dissemination Event Maggie Semple, The Experience Corps – MC for event

2. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Welcome and aims of the event KPMG

3. Aims of the Event • Share good practice and lessons learnt from the WOA project, particularly at a strategic level • Provide an opportunity to hear from and talk to senior managers from pathfinder organisations about the benefits challenges and successes of adopting a WOA • Share practical advice and guidance on embedding Skills for Life into the organisation at a strategic level • Hear the latest research evidence to support an embedded approach to delivering SfL. • Meet representatives from the pathfinder organisations who have interesting stories to tell

4. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Pathfinder Improvement – Data Evidence and project overview Trevor Field, KPMG

5. The Whole Organisation Approach Project • Engaged 35 Pathfinders • Covered a number of sectors and settings • The project has run from September 2004 to March 2007 • A number of valuable lessons and critical success factors have been identified • There are lots of success stories to tell • A website is in place www.woasfl.org • The WOA is now the remit of the Improvement programme.

6. Pathfinder Information. Examples • Overall retention improved or maintained in 70% of the pathfinder colleges • Achievement improved in 70% of the pathfinder colleges • Success rate increased by 22% in one cohort of learners in a pathfinder college • All of the pathfinder colleges who have been inspected have maintained or improved the grade which reflects Skills for Life • A 200% increase in Skills for Life enrolment has been reported by the TUC • Discrete Skills for life provision has risen from 0 to 155 learners in one of our pathfinder prisons

7. Pathfinder Information [Continued] • Success rates have improved by 4% in a voluntary and community pathfinder organisation • Use of the learning centre by employees in a pathfinder employer organisation has increased by over 200% • In a recent ESF inspection a voluntary and community pathfinder received an ‘outstanding’ grade in their Skills for Life provision • Achievement rates in a particular region, where a work based learning pathfinder has adopted the WOA, is more than twice as good as it is in their other 8 regions

8. Improving performance through embedding: what research says to inform practice Sue Grief NRDC

9. Interpretations of the term ‘embedded’ • A widely used term, lots of potential for misunderstanding • Many believe it to mean either one teacher does it all OR lots of team teaching – the effective programmes fitted neither of these extremes • Fully embedded programmes offered an integrated experience for learners, but sometimes included built-in discrete LLN.

10. Recent NRDC studies • Embedded teaching and learning of adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL: Seven case studies • “You wouldn't expect a maths teacher to teach plastering…” Embedding literacy, language and numeracy in post-16 vocational programmes – the impact on learning and achievement

11. NRDC report: “You wouldn’t expect a maths teacher to teach plastering….” • Set out to compare different ways of meeting literacy and numeracy needs within vocational training, not to compare embedded to discrete provision in general • Treated all literacy and numeracy teaching equally, through labelled variously as Skills for Life, key skills or essential skills

12. Embedded research • 1916 learners on 79 vocational courses in 16 organisations in five regions • Vocational programmes at levels 1 (52%) and 2 (48%) in: • Health and social care (26%) • Hair and beauty therapy (18%) • Construction (22%) • Business (14%) • Engineering (20%)

13. Maths/numeracy levels of the learners at initial assessment

14. Literacy/language levels of the learners at initial assessment

15. The findings • Higher retention rates • Higher vocational success rates • Learners report better preparation for future job roles • Higher achievement of literacy/language qualifications • Higher achievement of numeracy qualifications • Less success where vocational teachers have had to take responsibility for LLN teaching

16. Higher retention rate for embedded courses

17. Higher retention rates at different vocational levels

18. Numeracy achievements

19. Literacy achievements

20. But… • Where learners were taught by a vocational teacher taking additional responsibility for Literacy Language and Numeracy; learners were twice as likely to fail in literacy and numeracy qualifications.

21. Vocational teachers • Concern expressed at being asked to teach in areas outside their expertise • A few with dual skills and expertise

22. Learner perspectives… • “It is clear that our key skills teacher knows nothing about our (vocational) course, so then how can they help us make sure we succeed in our course? I mean, that is what we are here for. Our (vocational) teacher tries to help us with our key skills work, but it is clear that they don’t work together”

23. Learner perspectives… • “He comes and sits in with us every week (in the vocational session) – he asks our (vocational) teacher questions, he sees what we need to know, the vocabulary and stuff…then we have our class with him, it feels like he can totally support us.”

24. Learners’ views

25. Implications for Train to Gain? • ‘Spiky profiles’ across vocational and LLN levels • Learners with entry level LLN, going on to achieve appropriate Skills for Life qualifications alongside Level 1 or Level 2 vocational qualifications

26. Features of embedded programmes • The successful embedded programmes showed great variations but all included: • Teamwork between LLN teachers and vocational teachers • Staff understandings, values and beliefs • Aspects of teaching and learning that connect LLN to vocational content • Policies and organisational features at institutional level

27. Team work had been achieved in various ways • Regular shared planning • Team reviews with focus on progress of individual learners • Some access to one another taught sessions for observations/ research purposes • Occasional double staffing/ team teaching

28. What works… • Learners being taught by teachers/trainers with deep knowledge of their subject areas and how to teach it • Teachers/trainers working together positively and collaboratively • An ongoing focus on individual learner progress, and the role of different team members in contributing to learner’s achievements

29. Some practical implications… • Structural and timetabling issues • LLN staff need time to familiarise with a new vocational area • Vocational staff need time to deepen understanding of the role of LLN • Occasional opportunities for team teaching or observation

30. For more information, please visit www.nrdc.org.uk

31. Enhancing the capacity for improvement through peer review Phil Cox Quality Improvement Agency

32. Peer Review and Development A process through which professionals of similar status or standing exercise collective judgements about the quality and standards of provision, as well as shared responsibilities for their improvement.

33. National Peer Referencing Pilots • Groups of colleges working together in using the views of fellow professionals and comparative performance indicators as reference points in assessing and improving the quality of provision within their organisations. • Eight groups of colleges (regional and national) • Duration: January 2006 – March 2007 • External evaluation by QIA

34. Methodology • Benchmarking performance • Validating self-assessment judgements • Identifying strengths / areas for improvement • Sharing / transferring practice • Collective action on underperformance Involving analysis, diagnostics, coaching and feedback - all based on dialogue

35. What (or who) is being reviewed? • Organisational capacity for improvement? • Leadership and management? • Policies or processes? • Teaching or training units? • Service functions? • Individual or team roles – governors, managers, teachers and trainers, business support staff?

36. Strategy Infra -structure Culture Review Subject Strategy Strategy Skills Organisational context

37. Forming Peer Relationships • Previous collaborative relationships? • Same or different levels of performance? • Same or different region? • Same or different sector? • Review focus – organisational or thematic? • Size of group? • External brokerage or support?

38. Critical Success Factors • Confidence and trust in the relationship • Commitment and reliability of participants • Clear protocols • Flexibility and responsiveness • Leadership and management of projects • Commitment of senior staff • Skills and attitudes of reviewers • Organisational capacity

39. Evaluation: Review Team Member • This has been a breath of fresh air for me. • Things I could not see (at my own college) have now • come into much greater focus, and actions that I • needed to take but did not recognise, are now • apparent. • This has been better than any conference or structured • training programme as I now know what I need to do • and I understand how I can start doing this.

40. Evaluation - the AAV • This project seems to have been inspirational and • motivational to the college. It has been of mutual • benefit to the college being reviewed and the colleges • undertaking the reviews. At (this) college there has • been a major impact (following the peer review). It is • too early to judge the impact on learners but the impact • on the college has been significant. The Peer • Referencing Project is a very worthwhile relationship • even though consuming of time and energy.

41. The Future - Sector Context • Self Regulation • Inspection • Framework for Excellence • Pursuing Excellence • QIA Programme Development

42. QIA Programme Development • Supporting Excellence • Train to Gain, Skills for Life • Beacon Innovation Projects • Research Programme • Excellence Gateway • Learning from other sectors

43. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Lunch

44. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Group activity in workshops

45. Group activity in workshops • Self Assessment and embedding Skills for Life • KPMG and Stoke on Trent College • Board Room 6 (7th Floor) • Embedding into session planning, and the learner experience • LSN and Leicester College • Ground Floor Seminar Room • Using and adapting the Skills for Life framework – a tool for planning and developing a Whole Organisation Approach • Tribal CTAD and Rathbone • Lecture Room 1 – Ground Floor (across reception) • Using the Healthcheck • KPMG • Board Room 10 (7th Floor)

46. Whole Organisation Approaches to Delivering Skills for Life – Pathfinder Project Improving quality through a whole organisation approach: Witness session Jan Pennington Rathbone

47. Rathbone – Our Vision and Purpose • Vision • We believe that every young person has the ability to learn, to make progress and to achieve • Purpose • We give young people who are experiencing significant disadvantage the right opportunities to learn and achieve

48. Why did we get involved? • Desire to drive up learner achievement to equip them for training education and employment • North West had poor basic skills achievement across all programmes • We wanted our learners to enjoy learning and see the relevance of Skills for Life within their vocational area • To ensure learning and support met learner needs, identified by assessments

49. Why did we get involved? • Improve our teaching and delivery to make sessions highly participative and not “death by worksheet” • To activate as many learner senses as possible through exciting and new methods of delivery • Begin to deliver Keyskills in preparation for the delivery of apprenticeships • Clarify our expectations for learners with all staff with regard to Skills for Life

50. Interpreting Rathbone National Skills for Life Strategy into a Regional Action Plan