14-19 PARTNERSHIPS: DELIVERING THE ENTITLEMENT
INTRODUCTION
An enhanced role for partnerships
1. Effective collaboration is vital for ensuring the success of the 14-19 reforms. This document is aimed at 14-19 partnerships, that is, the strategic group of institutions planning, commissioning and managing the delivery of 14-19 provision. All areas have locally-determined arrangements that involve various combinations of 14-19 partnerships, often at local authority area and sub-local authority area levels. We believe that partnerships at all levels now need to deepen and broaden their work, and that there needs to be a stronger, single core partnership which is a strategic leader and broker within an area. This core partnership should as a minimum include the local authority, the Learning and Skills Council, providers of all types of learning, providers of Information, Advice and Guidance and local employers.
2. The document recaps the aims and ambitions that underpin the reforms and sets an enhanced mission for partnerships. Significant progress has already been made, but the pace of change must now increase to make a reality of the 14-19 entitlement and a compulsory participation age of 18.
SECTION 1: THE AIMS OF THE 14-19 REFORM PROGRAMME
Reforms designed to drive up participation and achievement
3. The fundamental aim of the 14-19 reforms is to ensure that all young people are prepared for success in life through their education and training. We want to dramatically increase participation and achievement among young people. Currently around 78% of 17 year olds are in education or training. But almost 10% are not in any form of education, training or employment and others are in low-skilled jobs or jobs without training.
4. Our Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets aim to increase the proportion of 19 year olds achieving levels 2 and 3; to increase and widen participation in higher education; and to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). To achieve this, we must make sure that that all young people are fully engaged in the learning programmes they are following, that they have the choice and opportunity to pursue a route that is right for them and that they are fully prepared for life at work.
5. The current offer for 14-19 learning will be expanded to incorporate a new Diploma route, a Foundation Learning Tier of qualifications, new functional skills embedded throughout the system, strengthened GCSEs and A Levels, a significant expansion of Apprenticeships and wider availability of the International Baccalaureate. A revised secondary curriculum will ensure students are well prepared for the 14-19 phase. All of these reforms will be underpinned by a new learning entitlement that will come into effect in 2013, which will mean that all young people must be able to access all new qualifications and curricula. By 2015 we want all young people up to the age of 18 to be participating in learning that will provide a recognised qualification preparing them for life and work.
SECTION 2: MEETING THE CHALLENGE - IMPLICATIONS FOR PARTNERSHIPS
Making the 2013 entitlement a reality
6. The new entitlement will transform opportunity for young people and presents a significant challenge to partnerships. By 2013, partnerships will be required to offer every young person a suitable route that enables them to progress and achieve. Partnerships need to begin preparing now.
7. Arrangements that are currently working well are characterised by an unwavering focus on the needs of all learners. They feature strong leadership, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and a genuine shared commitment of all partners and institutions to a longer-term strategy for the 14-19 phase of learning.
An expansion built on quality – the Gateway process
8. The development of the new Diploma lines is an important component of the expanded offer to learners. We want as many young people as possible to benefit from the new lines as soon as possible, and partnerships must quickly establish, and maintain, a momentum in moving towards the 2013 entitlement. However, there will be no compromise on quality, and consortia will only be approved where they meet the requirements. Through the Gateway process we will ensure capacity is built on the basis of robust and high quality arrangements, ensuring that only those who are really able to deliver to the highest possible standards are providing the Diplomas. Those who are not ready will be able to see what they must do to prepare.
The ambition requires a fundamental shift in partnership working
9. Stronger co-ordination is essential to deliver the required programmes of learning, to ensure that all young people have a genuine choice of high quality options and to achieve a new, collective, responsibility for all learners. Enhanced local authority roles in commissioning and managing provision must play a part. Reforms will have an impact on all institutions, and no single institution or agency, acting alone, can deliver what will be required. Indeed, in some cases, single partnerships may not be in a position to deliver the full entitlement, and will need to extend into partnerships with others across local authority borders.
10. Local authorities have for some time been acting as commissioners of children’s services. They are now commissioners of school places – challenging and supporting the school system to provide a diverse range of high-quality school places which meet the needs and aspirations of the individual parent and child. To commission excellent 14-19 learning, local authorities must build on the skills of user engagement and responsive partnership working which are such vital parts of the commissioning role.
A new and sustained focus on leadership and professional development
11. Strong management and leadership within and between institutions and providers will be crucial to the successful delivery of the reforms. Partnerships will need to consider how they can build on and enhance institutional and collaborative leadership.
12. Delivery of genuinely high quality Diplomas that are relevant to employers will depend on innovative teaching in a wide range of settings, using the latest technologies available, and consistent input from employers on design and delivery. This will make significant demands on the skills and expertise of the workforce. A workforce development strategy should feature in long-term planning, covering the needs of guidance and support workers as well as teachers and other practitioners. Central support will be available for the development of staff delivering new provision.
Area-wide solutions to deliver a high-quality curriculum
13. To accommodate all the options there will need to be a shared approach to timetabling structure between schools, colleges and other institutions. Areas will develop their own tailored solutions, but there is good evidence that block timetabling across the area in half or whole days provides coherence for the learner and enables easier alignment between providers. Where there are questions of viability (for example, in terms of student uptake), partnerships will need to make choices about which institutions are best placed to deliver the appropriate classes or content.
14. Better use of data will also be essential for understanding baseline levels of activity, pockets and hotspots of low engagement, informing future plans and tracking progress.
15. As more learners travel away from their main school or college to access different elements of their chosen course, partnerships will need to provide transport that is easy, safe and secure. This will present particular challenges in rural areas, but many are already starting to identify solutions.
Strengthened student support to underpin the reforms
16. We expect that all areas will have an on-line prospectus by this September. However, the current Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) services need to be improved, and requirements will rise substantially as the offer becomes broader and delivery arrangements more complex. IAG will have a key role to play in tackling low levels of participation. To make a reality of the entitlement, intensive support will be required to help some young people re-engage - including effective use of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). In all cases, an area-wide approach will be essential to ensure impartial, high-quality IAG is delivered in a coherent and cost-effective way, building on the prospectus.
17. Most young people will progress well with the support of core services. But a minority have other issues in their lives that need to be addressed, and which cannot be met by these services alone. We are simplifying and reforming targeted services for young people at risk. Funding for Connexions services will be routed through local authorities from 2008, and authorities will be responsible for ensuring that young people have access to a co-ordinated and holistic package of support. Achieving a genuinely shared approach to progression and student support will present significant challenges for many partnerships.
Engaging employers and others in a wider partnership
18. The 14-19 reforms will also change the mix of providers that need to be engaged. Employers, universities, voluntary and community bodies should all become delivery partners, and all areas should be thinking innovatively about who should be involved and what they could bring to the partnership - including, for example, independent schools.
19. Employers can make a serious contribution to supporting young people in learning. Although much of the applied content in Diplomas will be provided by schools and colleges, partnerships should increasingly look to employers to provide work placements and work-related learning in a range of settings, as well as high-quality Apprenticeship places. For many young people, the contact with employers will be their motivation to participate in learning. And many employers will view their involvement as a useful way of attracting and training future employees, though partnerships need to be mindful to make good use of employers’ time and involve them in ways that are not burdensome.
SECTION 3: DELIVERY CHAIN ARRANGEMENTS
Establishing clear roles and responsibilities
20. Currently, local authorities and the LSC share responsibility for overall participation, reducing the numbers of young people who are NEET, and for achieving the Level 2 at age 19 PSA target. Local authorities have legal responsibility for delivering 14-16 provision and until plans to route 16-19 funding through local authorities are implemented, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) remains responsible in law for the allocation of funds and the securing of proper provision for 16-19 year olds. Local authorities already have responsibility for providing overall strategic leadership for 14-19 provision in their areas, and this will help provide stability. When 16-19 funding is routed through local authorities we can further simplify roles and responsibilities, and will be outlining the implications of those plans for 14-19 partnerships in due course.
Targeting funding to support delivery
21. The funding system is an essential lever for securing reform and supporting the collaboration needed at area and provider level. We are publishing a parallel document on the operation of 14-19 funding arrangements. This builds on the outcomes of consultations earlier this year on proposals for the funding of Diplomas at Key Stage 4 within the schools funding review, and the funding of 16-18 learning within the LSC Demand Led System consultation. The guiding principles for these proposals include: learner choices must drive funding allocations; comparable funding will apply to comparable activity; and that funding should operate through a single system wherever possible.
22. Partnerships should plan and use their combined capital funding to support 14-19 reforms and secure the necessary infrastructure. Existing mainstream funds such as Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and LSC capital funding will be the main sources. Area-wide consideration will need to be given to which institutions and facilities require development. In some cases these considerations should stretch between areas, for example, in relation to particular specialist providers.
Achieving strong performance and clear accountability
23. Local areas will have a high level of autonomy to fine-tune the precise details of delivery. This is the right approach for securing arrangements that work and meet the differing needs of specific localities. However, there also needs to be accountability to make sure the aims and expectations of the reform programme are met. Annual Performance Assessments identify strengths and weaknesses in local authorities’ delivery of children’s services and inform Joint Area Reviews. The current Progress Checks help areas evaluate their own performance and highlight areas where extra support might be needed. Work underway to establish measures for school and college Achievement and Attainment Tables is likely to include a responsibility for the home institution over the outcomes for individuals with multiple sites of learning. We will also look at the options for holding consortia to account where appropriate.
SECTION 4: LEARNING FROM EFFECTIVE PRACTICE
Making it all happen: common features of successful arrangements
24. While local areas must determine what works for them, we can point to the following common features that are working in areas already successful in implementing the reforms:
· A high-level 14-19 partnership with a strong core membership. The core would include, for example, the Director of Children’s Services, LSC Partnership Director, Director of Connexions/IAG services for young people, nominated secondary school head, sixth form college/FE college Principal/Chief Executive, independent training providers, and voluntary and community services;
· A strong strategic plan for delivering 14-19 reforms over the whole period leading up to the entitlement in 2013, underpinned by sound analysis and robust data;
· Sharply defined and well-understood roles and lines of accountability within the partnership, within and between consortia, and within and between institutions;
· A thorough understanding of the requirements of the new curriculum and how this differs from previous arrangements. A strong area-wide appetite for new ways of working and breaking down traditional barriers; joint development of facilities, including institutional or departmental mergers and the creation of federations; and a collaborative approach to planning and organising the curriculum;
· Detailed joint assessment of workforce strengths and continuing professional development needs, including shared staffing in key and shortage areas;
· Effective data sharing and tracking of young people and clear thinking on the management and mentoring of students, including excellent arrangements for progression to employment and higher education;