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Legacy Report 2006 - 2011 2011 Introduction 4 Legacy Contents Innovative Curriculum Development 8 • Construction & High Technology Engineering 10 Report • Health Science, Social Care & Early Years & Education 16 • Business, Sustainable Communities, Creative Arts 20 • Progression Consortia, Hospitality, Catering and Leisure 22 2006 TO 2011 Progression Agreements 26 Employer Engagement & the Working Neighbourhoods Fund 30 Information, Advice, Guidance, Student Support and Staff Development 34 Apprenticeship Progression 40 Appendices and Acknowledgements 43 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Introduction Welcome to the Birmingham, Black Country & Solihull Lifelong Learning Network Legacy Document. We have now come to the end of our agreed HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) funding period and the responsibility now falls to us to handover to our Network partners much of the work which has been undertaken with the Strategic Development Funding since January 2007. Over the last four and a half WITHIN THIS “LEGACY” years, the LLN has been through a number of different processes DOCUMENT, YOU WILL FIND and iterations to both establish MORE INFORMATION ABOUT the credibility of the Network of THESE KEY AREAS: colleges and universities with the wider partnership and to achieve PROGRESSION our outcomes while, at the same • time, adapting to changes in the INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM external environment. DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE • INFORMATION, ADVICE, GUIDANCE PROGRESSION FOR LEARNERS AND STUDENT SUPPORT FOR OVER 1,500 • VOCATIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT Pictured - Back row: Baden Parkin, Patrick Highton, Kevin Moran. LEARNERS Front row: Pam Willock, Cheryl Atwood, Liz McPherson and Heatha Gregory. • 4 INTRODUCTION The structure of the document allows us to illustrate these successes using examples from both our initial four key curriculum and sector areas namely: • Construction & the Built Environment • Health, Social Care, Early Years, Education • Health Science & Medical Technology • High Technology Engineering - and also our 2009-11 curriculum and sector areas, which we developed in funded consortia led by key higher education institutions with further education and private training provider membership:- • Business, Management and Professional Studies • Hospitality, Tourism, Catering and Leisure • Creative Technologies, Media, Art & Design • Environmental Technologies, Regeneration and Sustainable Communities Initially, the LLN started in 2006 as • Progression for over 1500 • Over XX completed innovative a network of FE college and vocational learners into HE curriculum development projects OVER 450 STAFF university contacts operating on a provision across the Network for new or modified courses. The DEVELOPMENT EVENTS ‘voluntary’ basis with a small since 2007/08 via our Network- majority of these projects INVOLVING NEARLY amount of pump-priming funding, wide Progression agreements, including employer involvement, developing a Business Plan guided including over 300 supported by many including Sector Skills by a Steering Committee chaired X0X0 STAFF LLN ‘Additional Student Council involvement and a by Professor Ray Linforth - then Numbers’ (ASNs). significant number are‘embedded’ Deputy Principal of the lead into the institutions and institution University College • Over 10,000 IAG interventions to organisations from which they Birmingham (UCB) – and finally encourage and support vocational evolved (more on the detail and gaining approval for full HEFCE learners into HE, as well as the examples of these projects later). funding in 2007. It’s thanks to distribution of over 30,000 Ray’s vision and support that we targeted publications including • Over XXX staff development have managed not only to build a significant work on progression to events involving nearly XXXX staff, successful organisation but also to higher levels with Apprentices ranging from large conferences to successfully achieve our targets: and those people considering the small seminars relating to F/HE Apprenticeship route. progression issues. 5 All of this information PROGRESSION FOR OVER 1500 and selected aspects of the LLN’s work will be VOCATIONAL LEARNERS INTO HE ‘embedded’ through the PROVISION VIA OUR NETWORK-WIDE website ‘Progression to HE Network’, which has been PROGRESSION AGREEMENTS’ funded for hosting and maintenance purposes for the next 12 months (to July 2012) at www.progressiontohenetwork.org.uk www.progressiontohenetwork.org.uk As well as publishing this Legacy Therefore, before we finish in Additionally, we have completed a document as a reminder and July 2011, we have made sure ‘Handover Pack’ giving the most up-to-date contact details for HE OVER 50 illustration of what we’ve done that all our Progression over the last four years, we are Agreements signed between & FE Admissions Tutors and COMPLETED really keen to leave a practical universities and further Curriculum Leaders/Tutors for all legacy of our work to be carried education colleges are up to date of our Curriculum/Sector areas. INNOVATIVE into the next 12 months and and valid in terms of the The document also contains all beyond - a period which is going signatories, the routes and the the Information, Advice and CURRICULUM to be really uncertain for ‘sending’ and ‘receiving’ Guidance (IAG) contacts in both DEVELOPMENT vocational learners - young, older, programmes e.g. terminology HE and FE institutions (including college-based or in the workplace such as Edexcel BTEC Extended Admissions, Student PROJECTS FOR - who may be considering Diplomas under the new Support/Services and Marketing progression into HE via Qualifications and Credit staff who are aware of the NEW OR MODIFIED university or other Framework (QCF) and any systems and processes around COURSES higher education and changes in module/credit value LLN progression agreements, skills routes. ≥ in HE. ready for when the LLN Central Team now longer exists. This document will be available as an annex to the Legacy publication OVER 12,000 IAG INTERVENTIONS and also on a ‘pen drive’ issued TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT VOCATIONAL prior to the LLN Central Team LEARNERS INTO HE finishing in July 2011. 6 INTRODUCTION We sincerely hope that elements progression/agreements, drive different models of of the Network will carry on so we hope lessons learned FE/HE delivery and without the LLN Central Team’s from this will continue. The progression which will input. We know for example that initiative and drive from these address some of the LLN that least two of the Priority posts are continuing in some of sustainability issues and also Working Groups (PWGs) -the the partner institutions as this low aspirations and higher skills Health Science, Health, Social document is being written in issues in this sub-region. Some Care and Early Years and the April 2011. elements of this framework will Environmental Technologies, Also with additional funding be showcased at the LLN’s Good luck and many Regeneration and Sustainable from Working Neighbourhoods Summer Conference on 23rd Communities groups, have Funding in Birmingham with the June in West Bromwich. thanks for all your help indicated that they intend to City Council, we’ve achieved The changes to the external and support. continue meeting and working much around the ‘part-time’ & environment referred to above together after the HEFCE- higher skills agenda for people are now with us – the outcomes funded life of the LLN. in employment. If partners can of the Browne Review of In 2010/11, we part-funded posts engage private sector employers higher education, the THANK in some partner HEIs, which in continuing to drive this type of Coalition Government’s YOU Acknowledgements: enable numbers of learners initiative, it may be that both response to that in the In particular, we’d like to thank using progression agreements to Greater Birmingham and the context of the 2010 Professor Ray Linforth, identified, monitored and Black Country, the Local Comprehensive Spending Principal and Chief Executive, tracked into and through Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) Review, public sector funding University College Birmingham; higher education and we may want to replicate such settlements and a ‘Strategy for Professor Paul Simpson, hope this practice will initiatives using Regional Growth’. We hope many of our Deputy Principal UCB as, continue in institutions to Growth Fund monies in the partners in all sectors will respectively, Chairs of the LLN enable them to report on future. continue to survive and thrive in Steering Committee 2006-09 and their widening participation Additionally, in the Black order to champion the cause of 2009-11; (WP) strategies and Access Country, the Partnership for progression for vocational and Professor Caroline Gipps, agreements. We also part- Learning’s FE/HE Advisory learners and widening Vice-Chancellor, funded Progression Agreement Group and Black Country Higher participation in general; in the The University of Wolverhampton Champion posts in a number of Level Skills Framework meantime we leave you to ‘take and Chair of the LLN’s Network FECs which helped promote continues to help to pilot and the baton forward’. Council. THE DISTRIBUTION OF OVER 30,000 TARGETED PUBLICATIONS Lifelong Learning Network Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin 7 Innovative Curriculum Development Network members agreed in Progression Working Group Lead The purpose of these Progression their Business Plan submitted Working Groups was to: Construction University of Wolverhampton