VCS & FE Partnership Working Survey The Forward Communities project is funded by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) to look at ways of encouraging partnership working between the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and Further Education colleges (FE). This survey is aimed at investigating potential opportunities for partnership working and the prospect of establishing on-going relationships between the two sectors. Please complete this short questionnaire, which should take no more than 10 minutes of your time, by 28 February 2011. In order to accurately monitor responses, if you do not wish to take part, please can you respond in the section at the bottom of the survey. The information you provide will be held by the Forward Communities project and shared with LSIS, if requested, as part of the project monitoring. We will treat your identity in confidence; any summary of the survey findings will be presented as a collective response - we will not disclose individual organisation data. Organisation Name: Organisation Website: General contact email address: 1. What area is served by your organisation? (please select all that apply) East Midlands Wide Derby Derbyshire Leicester Leicestershire Lincoln Lincolnshire Northampton Northamptonshire Nottingham Nottinghamshire Rutland 2. Which best describes the role of your organisation? (please select all that apply) Frontline service delivery Infrastructure Advocacy & campaigning Other (please specify): 3. Does your organisation attend any network meetings where requests for specific training or courses are discussed? Cross-sector network meetings Own sector network meetings Don't attend any network meetings where learning Both needs are discussed Please select all that apply: Local learning partnership Area forums Community learning champions Informal adult learning Community operation groups Neighbourhood management Community learning groups Local/regional PCT Local learning consortium LA adult & community learning BME networks Equality networks Other local authority e.g. jobs and skills groups (please specify): Network discussing training needs for specific groups e.g. mental health, disability, migrants, ex- offenders and lone parents etc (please specify): Other (please specify): 4. Are you aware of the following third sector support organisations? (please select all that apply) East Midlands Learning Support Network East Midlands Learning & Skills Partnership National Learning Alliance Consortia Plus No, but I would be interested to find out more 5. Does your organisation have a current relationship or has your organisation had in the past any relationship with an FE college? Yes, current Yes, previous Never had a relationship with an FE College (go to Q.8) 6. Which FE colleges have you had a relationship with? (please select all that apply) Derbyshire: Chesterfield College Derbyshire: Derby College Leicestershire: Brooksby Melton College Leicestershire: Leicester College Leicestershire: Loughborough College Leicestershire: Stephenson College Leicestershire: South Leicestershire College Lincolnshire: Boston College Lincolnshire: Lincoln College (which also operates Lincolnshire: Grantham College Newark College) Lincolnshire: New Stamford College Northamptonshire: Northampton College Northamptonshire:The Tresham College (which also Nottinghamshire: Castle College covers Rutland) Nottinghamshire: Newark College (which also Nottinghamshire: New College Nottingham operates Lincoln College) Nottinghamshire: North Nottinghamshire College Nottinghamshire: South Nottinghamshire College Nottinghamshire: West Nottinghamshire College Nottinghamshire: Landsmark College (Worksop) Nottinghamshire: Portland College (Mansfield) Other (please specify): 7. Which type of relationship do you have with them? (please select all that apply) Equal partnership for delivery of a project Sub-contracted by a college Sub-contracted to a college Contracted by a college to deliver on their behalf Joint bid with my organisation as the prime/lead Joint bid with college as the prime/lead organisation organisation Buying in training for service users Buying in specific training for workforce development Providing specific training to a college Providing a tutor as a guest lecturer College provides tutors for delivery of courses in College rents rooms for delivery of courses in the your venue community Renting rooms for delivery of college courses for Delivering Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) workforce development for the college as part of college provision Providing a venue for hosting Information Advice and Signposting Guidance (IAG) Advertising college courses Providing a tutor as a consultant Other (please specify): 8. In your organisation's own experience, what are the biggest barriers to engagement with the FE colleges? (please select all that apply) No experience of trying to engage with FE colleges Have not found any particular barriers No response from the college College too slow to respond so opportunity missed Not easy to identify who to talk to with at the college Being passed around college departments Timing of the request does not fit in with the Uncertainty about what the college can and cannot college's timetable fund College willing to engage, but then appropriate Do not feel that the financial incentives provided by funding not available the college are fair Often feel marginalised in allocation of resources Different drivers and strategic aims Lack of understanding about the VCS makes working Often feel that the college cannot offer what is together difficult required to meet the needs of the VCS partner Too much bureaucracy from the FE college makes it Do not feel valued in partnerships prohibitively difficult Perception that the college want to take over rather Lack of trust: for example, after discussing than work in partnership community needs, the college has gone ahead alone Other (please specify): 9. Does your organisation have experience of delivering training or working in partnership to facilitate the delivery of training? Yes, working in partnership to facilitate the delivery Yes, delivering training of training No (go to Q.11) 10. What type and/or level of training? (please select all that apply) Training around statutory requirements eg Health & Safety, Food Hygiene, Safeguarding, Race Equality etc (please specify): Awareness raising around protected characteristics - Definitions within the Equality Act 2010 (please specify): Specialist training eg Health, Environmental, Community Development etc (please specify): Tutor Training (PTTLS/CTTLS) Apprenticeships (16-19 yr olds) Adult Apprenticeships Non-accredited short courses for Adults (19+) Non-accredited short courses for Young People (14 - Non-accredited short coures for Learners with 19 yrs) Learning Difficulties (LLDD) Up to the age of 25 Accredited courses up to Entry level Accredited courses up to Level 1 Accredited courses up to Level 2 Accredited courses up to Level 3 Accredited courses up to Level 4 Accredited courses up to Level 5 Other eg peer management (please specify): 11. Do you have any experience of administering funding for projects or training? Yes (please specify below): No 12. Which system do you use to track service users progression into training? Informal Management information systems Shared system with another organisation (please specify): Other (please specify): Don't track progression 13. Which system do you use to track service users progression into employment? Informal Management information systems Shared system with another organisation (please specify): Other (please specify): Don't track progression 14. Which type of Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) do you offer around training and progression? Informal Formal/training IAG delivered in house Formal IAG brought in to talk to service users Signpost to external IAG Don't offer or signpost to any IAG 15. One of the aims of this project is to identify potential joint working opportunities between the VCS and FE colleges. Would you be interested in investigating ways in which you could work more closely with the FE college sector? (please select all that apply) Developing joint service planning Working together with the college to improve the learning offer to the local community Contracting a college as a delivery partner Ways of working in partnership with FE colleges to deliver training or projects to meet identified community needs Ways of working in partnership with FE colleges to identify joint bid writing opportunities Working in partnership as joint delivery partners on a project Delivering specialist workforce development training to a FE college Opportunities to provide a visiting lecturer delivering specialist training to an FE college Delivering informal training about work related to your organisation (eg healthy eating, mental health, bullying etc) to college staff or students Ways of working together to enhance the development offer to staff and/or volunteers in both sectors (eg via secondment opportunities) Ways the VCS and FE colleges can work together to support learners moving between informal and formal accredited further or higher education (not necessarily within an FE college) Working in partnership to develop a handbook for tutors to use, which promotes working in the VCS as a career choice and/or the benefits associated with volunteering Ways of working in partnership to deliver specialist training to meet workforce development needs Offering rooms to rent for delivery of college courses