Linking London Development Project Final Report form

Please complete all the boxes, (ensure that the report does not exceed four sides of A4 including the front sheet) then email one copy to Linking London at and post a signed copy to:

Stuart Mitchell, Linking London, 32 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ.

Title of Development Project: / Advice, support and mentoring for part-time learners progressing within the Early Years sector
Name of project leader: / Dr Dena Attar
Role: / Manager of a range of Education courses, including an Early Years Foundation Degree pathway
Title: / Staff Tutor in Education
Email: /
Telephone: / 020 7556 6188
Department: / The OU in London
Head of Department: / Rosemary Mayes
Name and address of institution: / The Open University in London
1-11 Hawley Crescent
London NW1 8NP
Signature of project leader /

Please don’t forget to attach your invoice for your project costs!

1.  Introduction:

In this section please briefly outline the aims of your project whether they were achieved within the time frame set.

Aims of this project:
1.  Supporting students with progression and career pathways within Early Years and Education.
This aim has mainly been met with some work still to be done beyond the original time frame. The overall aim was to help students understand progression pathways both within the OU and more broadly within the Education sector, focussing on Early Years, and make informed choices based on their needs. This aim was broadly met.
Approximately 300 students in two cohorts starting their first Early Years courses in October 2007 (180 students) and February 2008 were sent a “Learning Plan”, produced specifically as part of the project, to complete at the start of their course. They were also asked to send in a review at the end of the course. Associate Lecturers were kept informed about this initiative.
Three “progression” events have been organised for students at a time and place where we could expect maximum attendance. One of these has already taken place (April) and two further events will be run in September using the resources already prepared.
Early Years students trialled a “needs analysis” questionnaire in April, which will be used again in September. As part of the planning and organisation, three student ambassadors were recruited from more advanced courses.
Associate Lecturers researched and collated careers and course information with a focus on likely career and study pathways, which will be made available to students.
2.  To support learners in making a strong start on their qualification pathway, thus improving retention and achievement.
This aim was met within the time frame. Additional workshops were organised and run for two cohorts of students on the first two Early Years courses. These workshops targeted ICT competences and confidence, and academic writing. The ICT workshops were run as drop-ins and were hands-on. Associate Lecturers were also asked to refer students who were identified as particularly in need of this support. The students on this list were contacted by phone.
3.  To establish and build links with employers in order to find more secure work placements for students in need of them.
This aim was met within the time frame but only to a limited extent as there has been little evidence of need. Employers (in most cases, nursery and Childrens Centre managers, nursery head teachers or individuals in equivalent roles) were contacted via students on the more advanced workbased learning Early Years courses. They were informed about this scheme and there were several positive responses. A database of Early Years employers and routes for finding placements and jobs was compiled by an Associate Lecturer. Students were informed of the availability of this scheme and resource. To date, there has been just one enquiry about a placement which was resolved through other means.
4.  To support employers with their role in helping their employees to progress to level 4 and in preparing to carry out their responsibilities in relation to work experience.
This aim was partially met. Employers (in most cases, nursery and Childrens Centre managers, nursery head teachers or individuals in equivalent roles) were contacted via students on the more advanced work-based learning Early Years courses and invited to attend an event explaining how they could support students, and the type of activities students would be carrying out in the workplace. As well as those who attended this event, held in February 2008, a wider group was contacted and consulted on the tasks they undertake in their roles as confirmers of students’ workbased learning evidence. Feedback from this consultation has been passed on to the academic team responsible for revising communications with employers.

5.  Evaluation of project

Please use this section to give a more thorough and detail evaluation of your project, including the set up, ongoing and delivery issues.

Your comments will help us to refine the process, so please give us details about LLN support.

Key achievements
The two key achievements of this project have been firstly, the involvement of Associate Lecturers to an unprecedented extent in exploring new ways to provide students with the extra support needed for them to progress. Associate Lecturers were involved early on in planning meetings and in generating initiatives. They have been involved in running events for students and employers, in research and in collating resources, and in evaluations. This has given them invaluable opportunities to expand their roles, develop more knowledge of students’ needs, and develop their own knowledge of progression pathways. The experience the project gave to some ALs had for the first time, for instance, in working with students in hands-on ICT workshops, has influenced their approach to supporting students more generally and is likely to benefit their teaching in future. Sample comments from the first ICT workshop:
I have found these workshops to be very helpful to me and would attend more if there are any
-I feel this course was well needed as I was very lost. It’s been so helpful as it enabled me to have a full understanding to access lots of things that are going to help me with my course
-the workshop was great the tutors really helpful
-enjoyed session, very helpful 2 quick hours
Secondly, the project provided many opportunities for students to communicate their needs and communicate with students across courses. The events which included a mix of students as well as Associate Lecturers from different courses were particularly appreciated and got very good feedback.
Twenty students provided feedback on the April progression event, and 15 said it had helped them choose their next course.
Delivery issues
As the project progressed some planned activities were dropped (e.g. writing workshops) as we could not anticipate good enough attendance. Other activities were introduced or the timing and delivery were adapted to ensure they met students’ needs better. For instance, a number of students were identified to the project by ALs as not using online resources and in need of extra support with ICT. Some of these students came to the ICT workshops but most did not. The list from ALs enabled a tutor to contact 17 students directly by phone to discuss their problems (if any) which was a worthwhile alternative strategy.
The timing of activities was constrained by course timetables and Associate Lecturer commitments. In practice there were not many opportunities to run additional events and workshops.
The production of resources for students on careers and study pathways, by a team of Associate Lecturers who are not working at a single site, has been the most difficult aspect to co-ordinate. The original aim of sending complete sets of resources to all students was not fulfilled as it could not be justified, and instead all students were sent a summary explaining what was available to them and would be sent on request.

6.  Summary/Conclusion

In this section please summarise your project, outlining why your project did/didn’t succeed, what lessons you learnt from completing the project, how the bid money from Linking London went towards your project and how you intend to disseminate the results of your project.

The Early Years project has been very successful overall particularly in providing students with well timed support in relation to retention and progression, and in expanding the role of Associate Lecturers. The successes of the project have been due to the active participation of students and tutors. It helped that we were able to make some modifications to the original plans, as the team learned more about ways to reach these cohorts of distance-learning students on work-based courses who are often a hard to reach group. The disparate aspects of the project were also unified as far as possible for more effective communication.
The main lessons from the project have been:
(1) its importance as professional development for Associate Lecturers, as it is through their involvement that any improved provision and outcomes can be made sustainable in the future. While the number of students who were directly involved in events and workshops was relatively small (about 60 so far, with about 50 more expected to participate in September) the whole tutorial team were involved in planning and delivering activities and resources, to various extents.
(2) the value of providing face to face events for students, tutors and other Early Years practitioners and employers to meet, which were much more open-ended than standard tutorials and gave students themselves (including ambassadors) a strong voice. The feedback and evaluations from these events were extremely positive. These events provided a sense of community, worth and professional “belonging” which can otherwise be difficult to achieve for these students.
The least successful elements were where we originally identified a need but did not find much take-up from students.
(1)  In one case, the provision of writing workshops, tutors are still certain the need exists but expecting students to self-identify and opt in was not a productive strategy. Instead tutors have recommended incorporating this type of support into more general provision so that it’s easier for students to access it.
(2)  Placements. We have now produced general resources for supporting students with placement difficulties but there has not been much need to resolve individual problems. It is likely that any such needs will be so geographically specific that it would be difficult to match enquirers to offers. The general resource we now have is of wider relevance and we will continue to use it.
The bid money was mainly used to fund the additional work taken on by Associate Lecturers in running and attending events and workshops and producing resources. Staff Tutor and Faculty Co-ordinator time was used for planning and co-ordinating. Smaller sums were used for student ambassadors to prepare for and attend a progression event, and for room hire and catering for two events.
Dissemination plans:
(1)  A report with attached resources will be available to all tutors on Early Years courses to Linking London by the end of August 2008.
(2)  A meeting at the OU London Regional Centre, provisionally booked for October 23rd, 5.30 to 8 pm. An earlier date has been impractical due to room/tutor unavailability. It is planned to combine this with the information-sharing with employers which was part of the February 2008 event. The meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss project outcomes and how to continue and embed the most useful aspects.
The meeting will be open to Early Years tutors, continuing students from the previous 2 cohorts which were involved in the project, Regional OU advisory staff, and external partners, both via Linking London and via workbased learning students and previous sector-based contacts.

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Development Project Final Report

LINKING LONDON Lifelong Learning Network.

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