June 2001

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RAISING STANDARDS IN POST 16 LEARNING
Avril Willis Director of Quality and Standards
National Learning & Skills Council

Avril Willis, Director of Quality and Standards of the national Learning and Skills Council, led the ACM June seminar on Raising Standards in Post-16 Learning. What follows is a summary of Avril’s presentation.

Avril began by emphasising the commitment of the LSC to work in partnership with colleges – “their wealth of experience is vital to the LSC project”. “All learners have the right to high quality learning,” asserts the Secretary of State’s remit letter to the LSC. The responsibility for raising standards must lie with institutions themselves. It is not something that the LSC can do. But the LSC will offer providers the necessary infrastructure and support.

Colleges can look back on some very favourable achievements. Over the past five years FE colleges have increased student numbers by 70%. Thus participation has been substantially widened to include more students many of whom are dealing with multiple disadvantage. In this challenging context achievement rates have risen slightly and retention rates have remained steady.

However other statistics are more sobering and express the size of the challenge before us. Only 56% of 16 – 18 year olds who start a learning programme, achieve their qualification; the figure for learners over the age of 18 is 51%. These aggregated figures conceal considerable variations between colleges. A high number of disadvantaged students is sometimes cited by colleges as a reason for their poor results. However there is no overall correlation, claims Avril Willis, between poorly performing colleges and a high percentage of disadvantaged students. Average retention rates vary between 77% and 99%; average achievement between 34% and 96%. The aim of the LSC is to tackle both the bottom and middle ranges of these figures.

Thus every provider should deliver high quality learning which:

  • meets learners’, employers’ and community needs

  • leads to high retention and achievement rates

  • is delivered by competent and qualified staff

  • offers equality of access

  • provides a safe supportive environment

  • is well managed and well led

  • delivers value for money

But we are not there yet. The present position is one where there is:

  • need for more consistencyi

  • nspection/re-inspection are one of the main drivers of raising standards

  • self-assessment is working well in some places, but that needs to be more widespread

  • need for clear accountability and responsibility – subcontractors

  • need for higher standards – too much is only satisfactory

  • some occupational sectors are worse than others (such as care and construction)

Avril outlined the basic strategies the LSC will use to achieve its quality goals. These will embed a culture of continuous improvement through:

  • self assessment

  • target setting

  • development planning

  • benchmarking

  • inspection

Central to promoting improvement and good practice will be the work of the Learning and Skills Development Agency, good practice reports, benchmarking information, and the standards fund. £160m has been earmarked for the standards fund for the coming year.

Not all post 16 institutions are at the same starting point. An early priority for the LSC is to support those providers where self-assessment and external inspection are less developed, such as adult and community learning, and UfI.

The first provider reviews by local LSCs – of quality, finance, health and safety - will begin in June. This first stage is a pilot process looking at TEC and FEFC providers only. Ministers are known to be very keen on this process and it will be taken very seriously. Provider reviews will be conducted at the highest level and colleges should expect their local Executive Directors to be present, round the table with senior management looking at all available data, benchmarking data, achievement data etc. A (draft) provider review document has gone out to local LSCs. Providers are welcome to a copy if they request one, but it will not be published until it is in its final form.

The new mandatory qualification (from September 2001) for new entrants to further education teaching is another important instrument for raising the quality of delivery. Comparable proposals will be brought forward for those delivering work-based learning. These will build on the DfEE’s work developing practitioner skills and qualifications.

Finally customer feedback will be a key instrument for monitoring quality and improvements in delivery standards. Local LSCs will survey employers; the national LSC will survey a sample of 6000 learners; all providers will be expected to produce a statement of expectations and responsibilities.

Finally, last, but as Avril said, by no means least a major training programme is under development to equip LSC staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver these commitments.

Nadine Cartner
Education Officer