Excellence through inclusion - Collaboration in action

Evaluation of the pilot project May 2003 to August 2004 message from

CLLR. PHIL DAVIES, Cabinet member for Education and Cultural Service and Chair, Wirral Learning Partnership Board

“One of the key priorities for Wirral Learning Partnership in recent years has been to encourage greater cooperation between schools, colleges and providers of work-based learning.

In 2002 the Partnership published a record of collaborative projects and in 2003 we sponsored an investigation of good practice in this style of curriculum delivery in Wirral.

At the same time the Partnership supported the development of the pilot phase of Excellence Through Inclusion. The ETI pilot project aimed to provide appropriate curriculum options and personal support for pupils who were disaffected and/or at risk of exclusion. The partners who developed the original ideas and supported the pilot phase comprised the Pupil Access Support Service; for Boys; Wirral Metropolitan College; the Laird Foundation; and the Connexions Service; led and co-ordinated by the local authority.

This project received generous support from the Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council and the European Social Fund. We were able to build on what had been learned from the research which WLP had previously sponsored.

This report illustrates the success of the pilot phase both in terms of hard statistics and through the personal stories of some of the trainees. In addition, we have produced a fi lm which allows the voices of some of those concerned with ETI to speak directly to a wider audience. Also included in the fi lm is a commentary on a parallel scheme the “Increased Flexibility Project”.

The project title “Twelve out of Ten” is a phrase used by a teacher from one of the participating schools. These were the “marks” awarded to the ETI project for the work of the ETI Learning Mentors during a project debrief in July 2004. In the same evaluation, the marks for administration and organisation were eleven out of ten, and for the work of the Connexions secondee ten out of ten. Other evaluations from partners were equally positive, if not so succinctly put!

On behalf of the Board and members of Wirral Learning Partnership I would like to extend thanks to all the partners in the ETI project including parents, teachers and trainers and to wish the project well in the delivery phase in 2004-05 and beyond.

But most of all, our best congratulations must go to the young people who, through great efforts often against major obstacles achieved enormous success for themselves through the project.

P.Phil DaviesDavies contents

INTRODUCTION 2

BACKGROUND 4

THE COHORT 7

SCHOOLS 7

PUPILS 8

ENGAGEMENT 10

DISENGAGEMENT 11

QUALIFICATIONS 12

DESTINATIONS 14

COSTS AND FINANCE 16

We built this . . . Excellence through inclusion Collaboration in action

Evaulation of the pilot project May 2003 to August 2004 INTRODUCTION “(The) ETI project seems to have been a saving grace... my daughter has thrived on the ETI.”1

During the academic year 2003-04 two hundred and seven young people took part in a pilot project for disaffected/disengaged/disruptive pupils in Wirral.

Pupils were identifi ed as facing or experiencing exclusion, and/or were referred to the project when their school attendance was at or below 50%.

The extent of personal problems within the group stretched from what was described as “extremely challenging” to “shy and withdrawn”. Some young people displayed signifi cant problems with drugs, alcohol abuse and criminality. Others were normal well-adjusted individuals who, for one reason or another, had lost the knack of fi tting in with mainstream education.

By the end of the pilot project, of the 126 eligible to leave school, 12 entered full time employment, 18 had progressed to full-time education and training, and 47 had been placed into the E2E programme of further vocational education and personal support. That is 61% successfully continuing in education, employment or training which is not far behind the average in Wirral, a remarkable statistic given the nature of the pupil cohort

From the group of 126, 53 achieved at least one GCSE on the scale A – G when the expectation of schools at the start of the year had been that few would have attended suffi ciently regularly to warrant being entered for any examinations. Further, this group gained a total of 97 vocational awards.

Parents, teachers, staff from work-based learning providers, and the young people themselves expressed surprise, delight and pleasure at the progress made.

This report seeks to evaluate the successes of this signifi cant project. Steve Tasker Work-related Learning Ltd. - December 2004

1 Quote from parental questionnaire page 2 CASE STUDY ROBBIE’S TALE 1 “School just wasn’t the thing for me. I got on OK was dead hard but I just read what I had written with the other kids and the staff but I just didn’t and got my head down and did it.” like going to school.” “When I fi nished Year 11 I went on to E2E. The “I liked PE and ICT a bit but didn’t much like Maths people at Cornerstone and the ETI project helped and History and Geography.” me to move on and I ended up getting my CPE booklet and my passport.” “I didn’t seem to have the patience to sit there all day and concentrate. So I just started messing “I was looking out for a placement and around.” Cornerstone said I could go back as a “peer mentor”. “I told my mum I wasn’t happy but she said I should go to school, so we used to argue about “I work with the younger lads helping them with that. I kept going to school but was just messing some of the basic stuff on plastering but I also about and not doing anything and getting into like working with them. You can put something trouble.” in their heads that if you get your head down and crack on you can do OK like I did.” “It got worse about half-way through Year 9 and I talked to my Learning Mentor about it. She knew “I also help organise things like games of footy my Mum and we all kind of agreed that I should with the other sites. We just lost 12 – 2 the other go out of school on placement. I would probably day, but they had a big 40 year-old defender have ended up getting kicked out if it wasn’t for against our striker who was 14 and 4ft-nothing so that. It was great that (High School) I don’t think that was on.” could do something for me.” “Keeping the lads busy is important at dinner “I fi rst started going to Heritage Skills for three times otherwise they start messing about. Some days a week but that scheme closed down.” of the older lads think they can get away with things but you can tell them – don’t waste what “When ETI came along I was out on placement you’ve been doing by getting chucked out now, most days, Jane used to bring me work on Maths just think of all that you’ve done in the last year, and English and stuff and I was able to keep up you don’t want to lose it. with some of my school work that way.” Things are different to what they were when I “I have done some joinery and brickwork but fi rst went on placement two years ago. It’s more mostly I like plastering. It’s good, you can just get organised now.” your head down and crack on with it.” “My E2E placement has just fi nished and “I wasn’t entered for any exams but I got Cornerstone have put me on the payroll as some certifi cates for the work I had done at a learning mentor so I have a real job now. I Cornerstones. I don’t think you need much in the am building up my plastering experience and way of bits of paper in the plastering trade. But I have done some jobs for people I know. It’s the do need more experience.” experience that counts, I think.”

“At the end of the year we had a big do when they “The last two years have been great with ETI and presented all the certifi cates, my Mum and Dad before. I really enjoy the way I’m working now.” were there and my youngest sister. I did a speech to this big hall of people including the Mayor. It

page 3 BACKGROUND “The key question is – do we go with it (ETI) at this late stage, or postpone it until next year and risk the funding going to another project?”2

The Excellence Through Inclusion project (ETI) was developed as a discrete project during 2001. The Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council (GMLSC) gave outline approval for funding for the project in the spring of 2003 and work began on the project in May of that year. 3

A critical decision was taken at that early stage about whether it was possible to introduce a new option for Year 11 pupils at a point when school curriculum plans and programmes for individual pupils had already been set (see above quote).

The project began as collaboration between schools in Wirral and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council through the LEA.

Wirral Metropolitan College and the Laird Foundation, two established providers of work-related learning opportunities for school pupils in Wirral, joined the planning team at an early stage.

Final contract/funding agreements were reached in June/July as the education year drew to an end. Schools in the catchment area4 for the project were informed of the option and encouraged to attend briefi ng meetings and to request places.

While the work on funding and contracts was continuing, schools and work-based learning providers (WBLPs) began a discussion about supply and demand for vocational options.

The project was designed to offer 120 Year11 pupils up to three days per week of vocational training linked to two days in school maintaining basic academic work in (principally) literacy and numeracy. The vision was an integrated learning programme with learning mentor support for each pupil, which would motivate young people to attend and achieve at school and learn and develop on placement.

Suffi cient funds were made available to buy training capacity from WBLPs, to recruit and deploy two Learning Mentors, to secure the secondment of a Personal Adviser from Connexions, and to manage and administer the project through a central unit.

There were several perceived advantages of this approach – ■ WBLPs would have one central contract rather than a multitude of small contracts with individual schools ■ Pupils would have access to personal support in addition to that provided by teachers and existing school-based learning mentors ■ Schools were relieved of most of the administrative and management tasks associated with collaborative curriculum projects and would thus be enabled to concentrate on educational issues ■ Advice and guidance on progression could be integrated into the programmes for individuals

2 Quote from e-mail correspondence between WMBC manager and consultant 3 For a more detailed description of the project planning and start-up see the interim evaluation produced in January 2004. 4 The catchment area for the project was West and South Wirral, areas outside North/East centres of signifi cant urban deprivation. See the interim evaluation for more detail. page 4 ■ The existence of central management/ administration was also seen as bringing some coherence into the patchwork of ad-hoc arrangements between schools and WBLPs.

The project was successful, to a greater or lesser degree, against all these expectations.

During the pilot phase, the range of WBLPs was extended through contracts with new WBLPs and by using existing school- provider links. A successful partnership was established with the following work-based Hairdressing practice training providers and college – Cornerstone (Building and Construction) Laird Foundation (Engineering and Construction) Michael John (Hairdressing) QTS (Motor Vehicle and Construction) Wirral Metropolitan College (Sport, Travel and Tourism, Catering, Hairdressing) One additional link failed on basic health and safety grounds.

Through agreement with Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council (GMLSC) and other partners the project was extended to take a cohort of Year 10 pupils from January 2004.

The development of a funding package between schools and GMLSC during the spring and early summer of 2004 meant that the pilot project was able to develop into a full delivery phase from September 2004.

As at January 2005 the project consists of -

25 Year 11 pupils who began the scheme as Year 10 pupils in 2003-04 84 Year 11 pupils who started in September 2004 for a one-year programme 101 Year 10 pupils who joined in September 2004 for a two-year programme.

Cornerstone, Michael John and QTS provide the work-based learning opportunities for the 2004-05 cohort.

At the time of this evaluation, work has already begun to assemble a funding package to enable the project to continue into 2005-06 and beyond.

page 5 CASE STUDY 2 CASE STUDY TWO – “Z” Z is a 15-year-old male who attended a computers and reported that he actually enjoyed special school in Wirral. working in the CAD/CAM class.

He attended a WBLP for two and a half days a He was made to feel comfortable by the tutor week and concentrated on engineering skills. He who chatted to the class and informed them that spent some time in the construction skills area he, the tutor, had been at a secondary school but did not enjoy it. He appeared to fi nd change where Z had once been a pupil. In conversation diffi cult and initially lacked confi dence. at a later date, this was the fi rst thing that Z mentioned about the CAD/CAM class. He was studying for his GCSE in maths and was expected to get a grade D; he was also expected On 14 July 2004 the Learning Mentor made the to obtain a certifi cate of achievement in English. following notes –

The learning mentor maintained contact with Z “Z phoned me to tell me that he had obtained and noted that although in September he had an apprenticeship with a national utility seemed very anxious and shy, by February he had company, subject to a satisfactory medical, which matured into a young man who could talk clearly should pose absolutely no problems for him. I and comprehensively about his chosen area of congratulated him warmly and wished him all interest. A lot of this had been achieved through the best for his future career.” positive feedback from the trainers and through support and encouragement from the Learning Mentor.

In particular, his school was very supportive and a teacher has visited him regularly throughout the year. He had gained considerable experience in the various engineering procedures and was now able to hold an informed discussion with his tutors.

Z expressed a desire to get a Modern Apprenticeship, but was concerned that his lack of GCSEs would be a problem. He was also concerned about the aptitude tests he would be required to take at an upcoming interview. The Learning Mentor agreed to do some research and fi nd some samples so that he could become more confi dent. (Some were found on the Internet and passed on to Z).

Although not very keen on change, he moved into the CAD/CAM area. Initially, he was very wary of moving into a new area and having to meet and deal with a new tutor. However, he was able to make the transition into a classroom with

page 6 THE PILOT PHASE COHORT “(ETI was an) opportunity to participate in an innovative pilot addressing issues that concern our organisation”5 Schools The following schools participated in the pilot project

SCHOOL TYPE Bebington High School All-ability Clare Mount School Special All-ability Kilgarth School Special Meadowside School Special Pupil Access and Support Service Pupil Referral Unit Pensby High School for Boys All-ability Pensby High School for Girls All-ability Plessington Catholic High School Technology College All-ability Prenton High School for Girls All-ability Rock Ferry High School All-ability All-ability West Kirby Grammar School for Girls Grammar Wirral Grammar School for Boys Grammar Wirral Hospitals School Special

Those areas of Wirral with the most deprived communities fell outside the geography of the pilot project (but are now included in the full delivery phase from September 2004). This was a deliberate decision to target resources into areas where problems were signifi cant for individual families and schools but on a smaller scale in terms of whole communities and was linked to the ESF funding requirements

The range of types of school refl ects the rich diversity of educational provision in the Wirral which makes the borough a microcosm of education organisation across England.

5 Quote from response to Quality Questionnaire to WBLP staff.

page 7 Pupils Participation pattern by age and origin AGE GRAMMAR/ALL ABILITY SPECIAL PRU Year 10 Boys 31 6 0 Year 11Boys 87 29 25 Year 10 Girls 15 0 0 Year 11Girls 25 10 7

The preponderance of boys in the “disaffected/disruptive” group in Key Stage 4 is refl ected in these fi gures and goes some way to explain the 3 – 1 ratio of boys/girls on the programme.

However, although all options were open to boys and girls, the pattern of provision within the project was biased towards those vocational areas which are stereo-typically “male” options.

It was true of the pilot phase, and remains true in the current delivery phase, that there is a bias towards male stereo-typical options and a lack of choice for girls in stereotypical female vocational areas in the ETI programme. Action is currently being taken to try to increase the options which are attractive to girls for the 2005/06 year

Demand from schools is for places for boys, but the pattern of provision may go some way to control or shape that demand.

Participation pattern in 2003-04 by days in work-based learning6 AGE ONE DAY TWO DAYS THREE DAYS FOUR DAYS FIVE DAYS Year 10 B 9 25 8 4 2 Year 10 G 0 10 5 0 0 Yr 10 9 35 13 4 2 Year 11 B 50 9 44 12 8 Year 11 G 20 5 21 1 2 Year 11 70 13 65 13 10

Special schools contributed to the large numbers in the “ONE DAY” category above as these schools engaged in vocational taster options.

The different patterns of attendance were a challenge to providers. Target setting and progress tracking is complicated when a workshop group has some pupils spending three-times more hours than others.

The greatest number of vocational certifi cates were achieved by pupils attending for two or three days. Additional days (up to four or fi ve per week) did not generate proportionally greater achievements.

In other areas of Merseyside, systems operate more closely with Pupil Referral Units to provide fi ve days of vocational and core subject studies where pupils transfer schools. This has not proved popular with Wirral schools where schools prefer to maintain a link with pupils despite the timetable complications.

6 Figures refl ect that a number of young people changed their pattern of attendance and will have been recorded more than once in this analysis page 8 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY THREE - “A” 3 A is a 16 year old student who was referred to Saturday, having a day off in the week”. ETI after problems in school. She rejected the “I indicated to her that she did in fact have many school rules and school attitudes which she transferable skills that she should be careful to considered to be “petty”. highlight in an application. She had worked on Initially, she joined the ETI programme to attend reception, dealing with clients both on the phone college to study health and social care but shortly and in person. She had recorded appointments after starting that course, it became apparent and liaised with stylists where a stylist was that she did not enjoy it and wanted to look required to complete a certain procedure at another career area. She transferred to a which a trainee was not competent to do. She hairdressing training school where she attended had handled cash when taking payments for 3 days a week. Although not initially interested hairdressing services. She had learned a lot about in hairdressing, she made a total success of the customer service and how to make sure that a course and was the fi rst student to achieve a NVQ client’s needs were identifi ed and met and also Level 1 in hairdressing. She subsequently went on how to attend to client comfort and health and to do cutting and hair lightening with supervision safety. from the stylist. She appears to be very talented I also pointed out to her that she had acquired a and her learning mentor allowed her to cut her great deal of confi dence in the past year. hair. The interview ended as the car journey fi nished Mentor notes record a conversation which and we reached our destination. occurred while the mentor was driving A to an interview to obtain a hairdressing placement I reminded client A that it was normal at her as part of progression planning. (The pattern age to try out different careers and that she of training when working towards a Level 2 in had acquired a lot of transferable skills over the hairdressing is that the trainee completes 4 days past year, which would stand her in good stead, in a salon, including Saturday and one day at whatever career she chose.” college learning the more technical aspects of the trade). A is currently working in retail and is waiting for entry to a pre-nursing course “While driving A to the interview, she confi ded that she no longer wanted to do hairdressing as a career and had sent off for an application form for a travel agent and also for a job with the Council. She stated that she had good IT skills although she had not done that subject at GCSE level. She reminded me that hairdressing had not been her fi rst choice and although she had made a success of her year, she had been having doubts over the past few months”.

“She felt that she was not really interested in hairdressing and was not enthusiastic about the hours commonly worked in the hairdressing industry, such as one late night a week and every

page 9 ENGAGEMENT “I tell the staff - it’s no use complaining about the kids being diffi cult. Of course they’re diffi cult. If they weren’t diffi cult they wouldn’t be here. Deal with it...”7

Young people initially engaged with the project through links with their home- school teachers or school support staff, the ETI learning mentors, and the WBLPs.

Once referred into the project the young people were regarded as engaged if one of the above links was “live”. This distinction proved rather subtle for contract compliance where some partners expected a clearer defi nition of “in training” or “in school”. Some of the young people in the project led fairly chaotic lives and signifi cant time was involved in maintaining contact through home visits and work “on the street”. Pipework There was signifi cant movement on and off and within the scheme, a feature which became obvious from the fi rst week of the fi rst term. Approximately 30 pupils who had been registered for ETI at the end of Year 10 (July 2003) did not appear on the project in September (or subsequently).

Other pupils quickly appeared to fi ll the places although many were committed for two days rather than the anticipated three-day level. Demonstrating the fl exibility and risk-taking which was a feature of the pilot phase, it was decided to allow pupil numbers to grow. The capacity indicator became the number of training days occupied rather than the number of “benefi ciaries” (to use the ESF terminology). WBLPs accepted this change even though the higher number of individuals in the programme placed a strain on workshop organisation and record keeping.

7 Interview with WBLP manager, ST 2.12.04 page 10 DISENGAGEMENT Pupils left the scheme for a variety of reasons –

■ They were “rested” by their school if new learning experiences became overwhelming ■ They were taken back into school if behaviour/attitude problems became unacceptable in the WBL setting ■ They were suspended (usually temporarily) by WBLPs ■ Home/family/social circumstances forced them into different patterns ■ Interpersonal confl icts prevented positive use of learning opportunities ■ ETI as a privilege was withdrawn by the school ■ They simply “went AWOL”. Huge amounts of time and effort were spent by school and ETI staff to keep pupils engaged with the programme.

ETI Learning Mentors made home visits in order to get pupils out of bed in the morning on more than a few occasions. Taking pupils to work by car and “hand-holding” (sometimes literally) was often used where young people lacked motivation and/or self-confi dence. This was justifi ed on the basis that once a regular pattern of attendance was established support could be reduced as pupils became more self-reliant. For some this was a process which had to be repeated on several occasions. The case studies in this report illustrate some of these issues.

However, considering the nature of the cohort, the project maintained a high level of engagement. Seventy percent of Year 11 ETI trainees were engaged with the project for more than 25 weeks, ten percent were engaged for between 12 and 25 weeks, and ten percent left after four to twelve weeks.

Many of these pupils were re-introduced to the programme on more than one occasion, some returning to familiar WBLPs, others being introduced to alternatives.

A signifi cant number of these changes were about crisis management by concerned professionals on behalf of their charges or explosive reactions by pupils themselves.

The supposedly administrative task of tracking who was in the programme at any one time became an issue of judgement rather than record. This is not easy to capture in attendance statistics for contract purposes.

WBLPs displayed incredible levels of tolerance of challenging behaviour as young people tested every boundary. Generally speaking, only when behaviour became dangerous or criminal were sanctions imposed.

Despite all the above problems, for a large number of young people the ETI project represented a stable and productive element in their lives.

page 11 QUALIFICATIONS ETI attracted pupils who were at risk of exclusion, those who were non-attenders, disruptive, disengaged, and those simply failing to meet their potential. For many the ETI route was taken because all other options had been exhausted. Schools were unsure if ETI pupils would have ever been entered for examinations and were reluctant to make anything other than the most tentative predictions of likely exam success.

This diffi culty is summed up in the following paraphrase – “How can I predict GCSE grades when all I know for sure is that we think they’re quite bright but we have only seen them three times since Year 9”

Nevertheless, work by school staff and ETI mentors led to signifi cant numbers being entered for GCSE examinations and 53 awards at A-G being achieved by 30+ pupils.

In vocational studies 31 ETI pupils were successful in a range of achievements including

■ 12 City and Guilds Level 1 Progression Awards in Applied Engineering Principles with Distinction ■ 4 of the above at Credit level and one Pass ■ 24 NVQ Level One Awards in Hairdressing (Reception, Shampoo and Condition, etc) ■ 6 GNVQ Intermediate Awards (Pass, Merit and Distinction) WBLPs cooperated with the ETI unit Turning the corner . . . to match the programme objective of rewarding and encouraging small steps. This led to the 200+ pupils receiving more than 800 separate internal awards for achievement.

page 12 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY FOUR “P” 4 P is a 15 year-old female from a care home P improved in leaps and bounds before the end within the Wirral area. of the course. She was interviewed and accepted on to a NVQ Level 2 course to start in September At fi rst P settled to her course very well and she 2004 attended a WBLP for both life skills and an NVQ Level 1 in Hairdressing. P was quiet right from the Learning Mentor notes in July record – start but seemed to gain in confi dence over time “At the end of her course she celebrated her 16th as she experienced new things. As she gained Birthday and had a wonderful day with the other confi dence she started to talk to her ETI learning young people on the course. She had a cake, mentor about sitting her mock exams at school. candles, a card and a few presents from tutors, young people, and her learning mentor. She had However, some time into the programme things photographs taken and was smiling all day. It started to go wrong for P and she began to miss was good to see her smiling after the pain that days at her WBLP. Adults working with P became she has experienced in her young life. She will concerned about what appeared to be examples now be working towards her NVQ Level 2...She of alcohol abuse. has turned herself around and if she works to Concerned adults continued to work with P improve herself this year as she did last she can and P started to attend on a more regular basis. only progress to a successful future.” A friend started attending on the same day enabling her to feel less vulnerable. She started to settle down and work well. She started to deal with her problems, improved daily and her appearance was observed to change. Her confi dence started to grow and she started concentrating on developing her skills.

At a special awards evening she presented the Mayor and other staff (including her Learning Mentor) with bouquets of fl owers, which would have been thought impossible a few months before.

page 13 DESTINATIONS Twelve pupils moved from ETI directly to employment in the following sectors -

■ Construction 4 ■ Garage/MV 2 ■ Engineering 1 ■ Retail 1 ■ Warehouse 1 ■ Horticulture 1 ■ Hairdressing 1 ■ Food production 1

page 14 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY ONE – “X” 5 Before attending the ETI Project, X was X was able to sit his exams despite the constantly being suspended from school due expectation that he would have been excluded to his erratic behavior. on a permanent basis if he had remained in mainstream education. He gained a G in On arriving at his Work Based Learning Provider English Foundation, an E in Physical Education, (WBLP) in the Autumn term 2003, he played F in English Foundation, F in English Literature up for a while but then settled. By October, X’s Syllabus A Foundation, X in D&T:Res Mat Tech Tier attendance and punctuality report was excellent, F, and a G in Maths CTR marked int assess (FND). his behaviour, attitude and effort were “good” and motivation was “satisfactory”. During that X progressed on to a 16+ vocational training time he made a CD rack, a table, a towel rail and a programme in plumbing. wooden toolbox in joinery. Mentor contact has been maintained on X started to stay off towards the end of December a reducing basis since X completed the ETI and although attempts were made to visit him programme. His Learning Mentor reports that he at home the Learning Mentor could not make is still toying with the idea of joining the army but contact until after the Christmas break. He said is grateful for the chance that the ETI programme that he was becoming less motivated over the gave him to attain his plumbing skills and that Christmas period as he felt that the older student he feels these will stay with him even if he fi nally who had now arrived were monopolising the does decide to go into the army. tutor’s time and that he felt he was now not learning anything.

In January X started to attend school as he should have been doing since September but one of his teachers reported that X was in danger of being permanently excluded. Teachers said it seemed that he was only going into school to “wind up” the staff and that this would probably end up in him being excluded for good and having an impact on his permanent record. Despite advice from the mentor about modifying his behaviour he was ultimately excluded from school.

X maintained his contact with the ETI project and transferred to a different WBLP. He started to work well and his tutor remarked that he was “exceptional” for his age. He also remarked how quickly that he had picked up the skills and could carry out instructions and grasp the manual work straight away. There appeared a real change in X in a very short space of time. During a home visit, comments were passed by his mother about how he noticeably he had changed and that it was “a pleasure to be in the same room as him”.

page 15 COSTS AND FINANCE Overall the cost of the pilot project was £406,650. This fi gure includes : ■ Startup costs (May 2003-August 2003) ■ Recruitment and training of the ETI team (August 2003 – October 2003) ■ Delivery costs for the project (September 2003 – July 2004) ■ Running costs for the ETI team and central administration (September 2003 – August 2004) ■ Project management and contract compliance

Considerable resources were invested prior to the start of the project in the design, consultation, bid preparation and contract negotiation. Similarly, in the Autumn term of 2004 audits of output/outcome information and fi nance were a signifi cant resource issue for what was then the ETI delivery phase team.

Of total expenditure approx. 45% went on direct pupil provision in payments to WBLPs, approx. 45% was used to provide support (ETI Learning Monitors) and central administration and management and other costs accounted for the remaining 10%.

Relating costs to pupils is diffi cult as planned and actual attendance patterns varied considerably. However, during the life of the pilot project 5,654 days of off-school vocational provision were used by pupils. This represents £72 per pupil-day, that is £2,805 a year if the pupil attends 1 day per week for the school year, if all expenditure is included.

The total cost of this type of provision can only be calculated by adding to the above fi gures the cost of provision of in-school education for the other part of the week for each ETI pupil. This is beyond the brief for this report but is an important calculation if such provision is to become a regular part of the Key Stage 4 entitlement.

page 16 OPERATIONAL PLAN 2003/04 “The Wirral Learning Partnership is working together to establish and sustain a culture of lifelong learning that enables all members of the Wirral community to reach their full potential.” Partnership Board Members 2003/04

Birkenhead 6th Form College

Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership

Greater Merseyside Learning & Skills Council

Jobcentre Plus

TUC

Wirral Association of Secondary Heads

Wirral Investment Network

Wirral Learning Providers Network

Wirral Metropolitan College

Wirral Voluntary Sector Training Network

WMBC Education & Cultural Services

Chair: Cllr Phil Davies, Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning

Vice Chair: Roger Cracknell, Principal, Sixth Form College

WLP Coordinator: Nicola Reilly Wirral Education Centre, Acre Lane, Bromborough, Wirral, CH62 7BZ Tel: 0151 346 6615 Fax: 0151 346 6607 Email: [email protected] Image Source: Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Wirral Learning Partnership WEC, Acre Lane Bromborough CH62 7BZ tel: 0151 346 6501 • fax 0151 346 6607