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LSIS Flexibility and Innovation Fund Benchmarking and measuring the impact of additional Learning Support in an FE setting Selby College Introduction The overall outcome of the project is a series of six sets of materials which can be used to support the benchmarking of Additional Support Services by providers. This has been done by taking forward the work that each college delivers in relation to measuring the impact of support for those in receipt of Additional Learning Support. Outcomes A series of six PowerPoint presentations have been produced. The tools can be considered as individual Good Practice Guides which can be used as standalone tools or in combination with one or more of the other five. This allows maximum flexibility. It was decided to use PowerPoint as the format for the tools as this is a type of software which all providers will have access to, and is generally well understood and used by practitioners and managers alike. Each college was responsible for one of the guides: 1) Differences in the models of ALS delivery and measuring the impact of learning support – Selby College 2) How to develop an ALS policy and guidelines (including practices and procedures to improve the tutor/LSA relationship) – York College 3) How the observation of teaching and learning can improve the quality of ALS provision – Wilberforce College 4) Career paths and quality standards within ALS - East Riding College 5) How to improve the measurement and benchmarking of learner voice – North Lindsey College 6) How to monitor the notes of Learning Support Assistants and a quality standard for note- taking – Bradford College Each PowerPoint has a series of hyperlinks, documents and materials attached. The colleges were unable to upload these onto the Excellence Gateway as there is no facility to do this yet (as per advice from Tim Dumbleton-Thomas). It was decided to use the Excellence Gateway Workrooms to store the materials. The Workroom is titled Additional Learning Support and Alex Fraser of LSIS was informed of this and his username requested so that he can access the materials. At this point it seemed prudent to keep the Workroom closed to a broader readership until the materials are launched. Approach The materials produced have been developed throughout the project and have been shared and piloted as appropriate. Whole group meetings were held along with visits and smaller group Page 1 meetings where partner colleges met to discuss particular issues or to share materials/approaches. Activity included: Researching (including peer to peer visits and telephone discussions) Carrying out primary research Sharing findings and then piloting Focus groups involving learners A shared day carrying out shared observation of teaching and learning of Additional Learning Support Further sharing of findings and establishing benchmarks Identifying areas of good practice and areas for improvement The project was characterised by on-going and frank discussion of common ALS related issues and possible resolution of those issues between the colleges. This has been noted as one of the most beneficial aspects of the project by those involved. All tools were piloted or reviewed when piloting was not possible. For example, it was impossible to pilot a new borrowed ALS policy in each of the partner colleges. Instead each colleges ALS policy was reviewed and additional elements were piloted alongside the college’s own approach. A generic glossary of terms was produced to save confusion; the partner colleges used different terms for different roles and so a consensus was achieved and used throughout the materials. The generic glossary is available on the final two pages of each of the PowerPoint presentations. Additional Learning Support Support provided using funding from the funding agency to meet the needs of learners with a learning difficulty and/or a disability, or from support required to access a progression opportunity or employment, or from literacy, numeracy or language support requirements. Additional Learning Support Manager Manages the ALS function including deployment of staff, staff Continuing Professional Development, initial assessment, overview of learner needs and whether these needs can be met (this role is not a „manager‟ in all organisations). Advanced Practitioner A teaching practitioner recognised for excellence in teaching and practice whose role is to lead the support and improvement of the quality of teaching in individuals, teams and the provider as a whole. Learner Student. Learning Support Assistant (Also known as Learning Support Practitioner, Teaching Assistant, Learning Guide etc.) Non- teaching staff involved in the support of learners – not required to be a qualified teacher. Learning Support Tutor Teaching staff supporting learners with learning difficulties and or disabilities, literacy, numeracy or language needs. Page 2 Skills Funding Agency Funds and regulates adult further education and skills training in England. Young People’s Learning Agency Funds and supports the delivery of training and education to all 16 – 19 year olds in England. From April 2012, the YPLA will become part of the Education Funding Agency (EFA). How the tools will be disseminated The materials have been placed in an Excellence Gateway Workroom which will be open to all users of the Gateway. From the beginning of the project all the partner colleges expressed a need for a central point to collect information about Additional Learning Support; the Gateway could be a useful tool for this. However, the materials will need to be categorised in some way to make navigation easier. For example, at the present time it would appear that the oldest materials placed on the Gateway appear at the top of the list. The workroom would support colleagues to access and use the materials appropriately. The workroom will allow feedback and on-going development of the benchmarks as changes in ALS occur. Other dissemination routes ALS – local network groups e.g. Yorkshire and Humberside ALS Managers Network City of York Autism Strategy Group City of York Children and Young People‟s (CAMHS) & Adult Mental Health services City of York High Schools City of York Moving into Adult Life Group City of York SEN/D Strategic Group IfL - We plan to contact IfL and request that the materials are signposted in their „Intuition‟ publication. LSIS Learning Fairs – all the partner colleges are keen to share their experiences and findings at one of the fairs. NADP The National Association of Disability Practitioners http://www.nadp-uk.org/ National Association of Disability Practitioners NORVIC group of 6th form colleges – Learning Support Managers North Lincolnshire LDD/vulnerable Post 16 Providers at our next meeting on 27th April Together Trust Manchester Visits from other organisations e.g. Barnsley College are visiting North Lindsey on 25th April to share best practice. Yorkshire & Humber Equality & Diversity Strategy Group Descriptions of each of the tools Each of the PowerPoint presentations and their associated files have been uploaded on to the Workroom. Each of them is numbered so that it is easy to see which resource is linked to each of the PowerPoint presentations. Selby College - Differences in the models of ALS delivery and measuring the impact of learning support This resource looks at peer reviewed models of delivery in the partner colleges, including identification of common and local issues. This resource includes: Peer review of current measures used by the partner colleges to measure the impact of support A review of key current research, reports and consultations linking to ALS and the impact of support Page 3 A Good Practice Guide which includes: Models of delivery for ALS Impact measures of support (using both quantitative and qualitative methods) York College - How to develop an ALS policy and guidelines (including practices and procedures to improve the tutor/LSA relationship) This resource includes: A consideration of why an ALS policy is required Pointers to writing a good ALS policy A benchmarked ALS policy which has been reviewed by the partner colleges Guidelines and a policy template Wilberforce College - How the observation of teaching and learning can improve the quality of ALS provision This resource aims to inform and assist colleagues to develop their own observation of teaching and learning systems for Additional Learning Support using tried, tested and benchmarked procedures. This resource includes: A toolbox of useful documentation including: generic observation forms for use in class and one to one Guidelines of how to manage the observation process A range of suggestions on additional observation strategies for providers to consider Hints and tips on how to achieve a grade one observation in Additional Learning Support Video clips of Grade 1 Learning Support Assistants at work. The presentation in the workroom does not contain the video clips because there has not been enough space allotted. It is hoped that when the presentation is uploaded onto the Excellence Gateway that the full PowerPoint can be uploaded. East Riding College - Career paths and quality standards within ALS This resource compares a range of factors including: the size of the colleges involved in terms of number of learners; staff to learner ratio; pay scales and staff qualifications. The resource then looks at the training of LSA staff. This resource includes: An ALS staff handbook A sample of “How to” guides Training modules – currently in use Tool boxes providing examples of a range of resources. Some of the resources have the college logos on them as they have been not only piloted but are in use now. North Lindsey College - How to improve the measurement and benchmarking of learner voice This resource reviews the methods of gathering learner voice at each of the partner colleges in order to identify best practice/alternatives for maximising the opportunities to gather learner voice. It then explores benchmarking measures and considers whether they can be developed for ALS learner voice.

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