DRAFT: THE BUILDING PATHWAYS PROJECT
DRAFT Notes of Business and IT Resource Managers Groupthe BP Advocates Workshop held on Friday 17th October 2003Thursday 19th May at Room C303, The Clifton Building, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology Whirlowbook Hall.
Attendance:
Judy Smith Building Pathways Project
David Berry Building Pathways Project
Marienne Ross Building Pathways Project
Ann Goddard Rotherham College of Arts and Technology
Chris Blore School of Business and Finance, Sheffield Hallam University
Judy Smith Building Pathways
Marienne Ross Building Pathways
Graham Holden School of Science and Maths, Sheffield Hallam University
Ian Cooper School of Computing and Management Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University
Neil Stapleton Rother Valley College
Ian Beever Rother Valley College
David Smith Chesterfield College
John Garrett Thomas Rotherham College
Verity Brack The Institute of Life Long Learning, The University of Sheffield
Helen Armitage Thomas Rotherham College
Lynda Kenyon Sheffield College
Andy Barton Sheffield College
Olive Freeman Dearne Valley College
Ali Ghalib Longley Park Sixth Form College
Joan Rudder Sheffield College
Derek Freeborn Northern College
Phil Nelson Longley Park Sixth Form College
Mike Cuthbert Barnsley College
John Brackenbury Barnsley College
Rachel Booth Rotherham College
Apologies:
Joe Clark Sheffield College
Maureen Sullivan Doncaster College
Carolyn Charlesworth Doncaster College
Tracey Davies Barnsley College
Bob Willerton Barnsley College
Clive Woodman School of Business and Finance, Sheffield Hallam University
Janet Lawson The Sheffield College
Nina Parkin Rotherham College of Arts and Technology
Paul Bloor Rother Valley College
Bernard McNicholas Barnsley CollegeJohn Webster Sheffield College
Carole Colvin Doncaster College
Peter Hymans Doncaster College
1. Welcome and Introductions
Judy Smith welcomed members of the group and thanked Ann Goddard for hosting the meeting at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology. Introductions were made around the table.gave background about the Project, where the project was currently and and future aims.
2. Building Pathways ProjectAdvocate Introductions
Each BP Advocate introduced themselves and gave an outline of the activity in their college at present:
Derek Freeborn, Northern College:
Derek gave an overview of a project he was invovledinvolved with which was a mentoring scheme in the college using ex students to come in and give talks to current students.
Joan Rudder, Sheffield College
Joan explained the areas involved with are IT, Business and Leisure across the three colleges. Currently developing foundation degrees across the colleges. Joan has a strategy to work with tutors to target students who currently do not want to progress.
Andy Barton, Sheffield College
Andy gave a background/review of the Sheffield College. It was noted by Andy that many staff in the college are unwareunaware of foundation degrees and they will hopefully be adopting training awareness within the college.
Mike Cuthbert, Barnsley College
Mike explained he has temporarily been coordinating the Aimhigher role in
the college but John Brackenbury would be carrying out both the BP Advocate role and the Aimhigher role. It was reported that there had been a reorganisation of the college whereby the college had been divided into four different colleges.
Rachel Booth, Rotherham College
Rachel explained she was the Curriculum Development Manager for 14-19 her role was to pull together the curriculum. Currently looking at regoranising the team and considering appointments for a BP Advocate.
Olive Freeman, Dearne Valley College
An advocate had been appointed at Dearne Valley College then subsequently left the college. Olive explained that she had already carried out work at the college funded through BP for Travel and Tourism. Worked with Ethnic groups, Mature students and Modern Apprentices. Olive has knowledge of Aimhigher in the college, community and adult education. A new area of Trade Union studies will be starting soon at Dearne Valley. Dearne Valley have strong links with Barnsley and Rotherham.
John Brackenbury, Barnsley College
As explained by Mike Cuthbert, John will be carrying out the role of BP Advocate and Aimhigher Coordinator in the college. Johns areas are Engineering, Construction, Computing, Business, Argiculture and Horticulture. They have previously had good links with Penistone Grammar School, have workbased Learning students and recruiting Modern Apprentices with a scope for progression into HE.
Ali Ghalib, Longley Park Sixth Form College
Ali has been appointed as the BP Advocate and Aimhigher Coordinator for the college. Ali is Head of Psychology. Project working on are mostly level 3 students. Ali reported that 35% of the learners at the college are from Black and Ethnic Miniorities.
Lynda Kenyon, Sheffield College
Lynda explained she had been liaising with staff in key areas focusing on Health and Social Care and Early Years. Lynda has been making links with Fine Arts area.
3. BP Action Plans
Judy gave the advocates background to the funding from Aimhigher and the plans to aim to carry the project on through a Lifelong Learning Network. Judy explained some of the action plans had completed and are working towards:
Work carried out on a database of HE/FE had been delayed, the project had employed someone to complete it. The database will be made available on the BP Website.
Promotion of level 3 progression BP had focused on Business and Computing over the last year. Judy explained about the successful projects; Student Ambassadors and Computing students project with Hallam Volunteers. Both projects had been very succesful. Another area promoting progression routes based from the research carried out three years ago which looked at five curriculum areas. The project had been given more funding to look at pathways for apprentices. A subsantial amount of money was used to produce a CD Rom for progression of Apprentices in Engineering and Construction at the suggestion of partners in the project. There will be 1000 CD Roms available to send out in June and would be looking at ways to diseminate these.
Access; previously involved with P4P community adult learners developed a Valuing Learning Project. Also had developed a Fast Forward programme no college at present delivering it although it is hoped that Chesterfield and Doncaster may. When validated has to be 12 weeks maximum with 8 units, 4 study skills research.
HE/FE staff meetings; continue run and are always useful. The Access to HE group has run in different forms. Health and Social Care Group/Early years has always proved to be a very useful group. NHS Trusts, Confederation and NHSU (although now disbanded) are members of this group as well as HE/FE members. Business and Computing group has had mixed attendance over the past year as with Engineering and Construction also.
New areas been involved with this year have been the CoVES in the region these being:
Hospitality and Catering
Engineering Manufacturing
Health and Social Care
Sport and Leisure
Other CoVES are being introduced but the project has had no involvement to date:
Motor Vehicle
Early Years
Business Management
Digital
Project is involved with Guidance together with the Open University had a previous project around guidance but came to an agreement to work with the OU to run a Social Care event. Have agreed to run similar seminars with the success of the Social Care seminar in the areas of Engineering, Computing, IT. Richard Kemp has a remit to develop guidance network throughout South Yorkshire and holds regular meetings.
Judy gave the Advocates information on the funding for each college. The funding had only been intially until March 2006 but will be reprofiled until July 2006. It is hopeful the project will get funding after July 2006. Judy explained the work of the advocates will be to implement and embed the project in the colleges. Would like to make the role succesful and work for the benefits of the students.
There will be a sharepoint system available from mid June. A website address will be distributed to all the advocates and others in the partnership. Each member of the sharepoint will get a logon code and access rights. The purpose of the site will be to access information such as relevant documents and to share information with members.
Judy explained that the project would be hoping to do a careers event with the Cultural Industries quarter.
Derek Freeborn explained they have a mentoring scheme which targets particular groups of students who may need support such as; Lone Parents,
people with disabilites and learning difficulties. The mentors are ex students.
Longely Park and Thomas Rotherham College commented that a mentoring programme they had tried to get up and running with SHU had fallen through.
Judy asked the advocates to give some thought to staff development sessions within their college.
It was requested that each advocate complete and return the montioring form for an interim report mechanism to Aimhigher.
Each advocate to give thought to ideas for disementation of the CD Rom.
The group clairifed the areas they are involved with and a grid was produced as attached.
Judy provided an overview of the Building Pathways Project and , of its aims and initiatives to date for the members of the group:
· Modern Apprentices: Building Pathways were involved in a research project with EKOS Consulting to review the position of progression into HE for MAs and met with selected curriculum groups in the summer to collate research for the Project. The Director of Widening Participation from the LSC is promoting. Building Pathways saying BP will be can be a vehicle for promoting progression to HE for Modern Apprentices in South Yorkshire. The progression of MAs to HE through IT/Business programmes is very small.
· BP are currently looking to develop ideas in FE/HE curriculum groups and in particular in Business and IT.
· BP Project workers are looking at developing new Aaccess routes in three areas of the project/level 3 vocational learners/MAs issues/Barriers progression.
3. Review of local provision in Business and ICT and identification of possible Projects
· Verity Brack, The Institute of Life Long Learning, The University of Sheffield:
Verity gave an overview of their programme which is studied by students who are aged 21 and over. The degree is a BSc Combined Studies degree, students take seven subject tracks one being an IT track. The degree is fairly new - , one thing they do look at is any progression from colleges. The part time course normally takes six years although can take five years ( therefore the degree has to be studied in a minimum of five years to a maximum nine years). When looking at progression from colleges they would look individually at the student and would depend on how well they would cope with the study their written work would have to be of a good standard. An Aaccess programme is also run.
· Ian Cooper, The School of Computing and Management Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University:
CMS are working with West Notts College are working with CMS looking at foundation degrees in the IT area. Their Sandwich Degree havehas more and more students who are local and have decided to move to the foundation degree. The foundation degree runs for two years at the end of which two years students can sit an exam. There are 125 students currently on the foundation degree and it is proving popular with students from FE colleges. Ian recently visited Norton Centre at Sheffield College, and received a lot of interest in the course. The Foundation degree has a top up year beyond enabling students to get a BSc. S, studied full time it takes three years, part time for - five years. They have recruited as many students on the Foundation Degree as on HND. Would possibly look into Modern Apprentices.
· Neil Stapleton, Rother Valley College:
Run a a BTEC Nnational Ddiploma in IT, have Access mainly around Health and Social Care, although felt it could be extended. Currently run the National Certificate and NVQs, Secretarial, CLAITliat, /Cliat+ also look at various opportunities as they arise. Sell training to industry i.e. Workforce Development. Do not have any MAs on IT.
· Graham Holden, The School of Science and Maths, Sheffield Hallam University:
The school at present is in transition to one of the new Faculties in SHUof faculties, and courses are being changed and revalidated. Have a traditional Business and IT degree course which has very good retention. The course is "very hands on" and students have a lot of contact with tutors early on. Business students will come onto the course. The course re-named Business and Technology in 1995. They do not get many students from local colleges just traditional learners through from UCAS, although take students in from other courses.
· Top Up: There are discussions being held around top up, RCAT run HNC in Business and Technology perhaps could look at that and see how map against SHU programme.
Ø Action: BP to consider sSetting up meeting with? to discuss further .
· David Smith, Chesterfield College:
Have developed a Foundation Degree in partnership with The School of Computing and Management Sciences and The School of Business and Finance, Sheffield Hallam University. The course - "Business and Information Technology" designed to work with students currently working in call centres in Dearne Valley who will be coming to SHU for their top up year. They will be part time. Vocational students will be doing AS Business now as , students do not like the AVCE course as it has no progression within it and difficult to meet assessment requirements.. S Do sell HND as a progression route and at present have 80 students as in the past may have been 40.
· John Garrett, Thomas Rotherham College:
Their 16-19 students follow AS, A2 and AVCE in business areas. 19+ students have 2000 adults taking IT courses. Have a large percentage of students gto into HE a lot have Excellence Challenge. They have a Microsoft Academy. going through MOSS. The Creative and Ddigital industry project through SYFEC, are looking at shortage of IT technicians. Schools and Colleges are looking to recruit trainees to work for them, Schools and Magna they put through training - colleges in Rotherham are involved. . and there is a need to develop a skills and training programme for these. All Rotherham colleges involved in these discussions
· Ian Beever, Rother Valley College: