RPA Sheffield GuaranteeStrand 4 Mix & Balance End of Phase 3 Report- March 2012 REPORT

Content

1. Context and Key Focuses for Development Page 2-3

2. Reporting on Progress with the Main Focus Page 4-15

Focus 1 – Development of Progression Pathways in Sheffield and exploring quality of PathwaysFocus 1.1 - Mapping of Progression Pathways offered by current providers Focus 1.2 - Creating new PathwaysFocus 1.3 - Ensuring quality of Progression Pathways & creating Progression Pathways Partnerships PPP groups

Focus 2 - Development of flexible holding programme and flexible mainstream accessFocus 2.1 – Creating the structure of a flexible holding programme (Preparation for Success PfS) that is eligible for recurring mainstream funding.Focus 2.2 – Building capacity and interest of providers to develop and deliver the PfS programme.

3. Overall Strategic Learning Point and Challenges Page 16-17

4. Recommendations Page 18-20

5. Conclusion Page 21

Appendices: Page 22-

Appendix 1- Appendix 21 (not included in this copy)

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1. Context and Key Focuses for Development

National Policy Context:

Compulsory education in England currently ends at 16 years of age. Young people are encouraged to continue in education and training beyond that date, and a majority do so. However, it is possible for young people to leave school at 16 and go straight into jobs without training (JWT), while others may be NEET (not in employment, education or training). In March 2007, the government launched a Green Paper called Raising Expectations (DfES, 2007c), which proposes and subsequently legislated that, from 2015, all young people should be required to participate in some form of education or training until they reach the age of 18. It is important to note, however, that this is not the same as raising the school-leaving age. The education or training could be ‘in a school, college, with a work-based learning provider, or as part of a job’; it could be full-time, ‘or part time if a young person is in full time employment’.

Local Policy Context: Sheffield RPA Plan, Sheffield GuaranteeThrough partnership working Sheffield RPA plan proposes to ensure timely supported access to appropriate learning and training provision enabling seamless transition to adulthood and employment for all 14-19+ year olds.

This will include 1. Close working with Targeted Youth Support to provide an integrated learning and support offer. 2. The development of a virtual team with expertise to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. 3. re defining the learning offer against projected need from Y9 onwards.

The Plan has 6 strands: 1. Strategic Leadership. 2. Planning for the Future. 3. Knowing the Cohort. 4. Mix and Balance. 5. Support to Progress. 6. Awareness and Aspiration..

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Outputs expected from Strand 4 Mix and Balance (Tender Specification)

1. Work with providers to map, connect and promote a coherent and seamless pathway through the curriculum at all levels with agreed progression opportunities/ admissions criteria

2. Work with providers to create flexible provision to provide a guarantee at all times of the year including holding and access programmes

3. Create hub and spoke structures with providers and community based youth teams to work in community settings to offer first steps engagement leading to mainstream

4. Work with providers and curriculum leads to create bridging and ‘half’ level programmes across the provider network; connecting the standard curriculum levels for those needing smaller steps

5. Use an enterprise/entrepreneurial theme to bundle a range of qualifications into a coherent learning programme as an ‘apprenticeship’ to self employment

The potential width of the project was quickly recognised and with the limited resource and timescale of the project in Phase 3 it was agreed to concentrate on setting up the model for implementation for the following September (2012) with the following two Objectives / Focuses to generate the required outputs:

Development of the Quality Progression Pathways in Sheffield

Development of flexible holding programme and flexible mainstream access

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2. Reporting on Progress with the Main Focuses

Focus 1 – Development of Quality Progression Pathways in SheffieldFocus 1.1- Mapping of Progression Pathways offered by current providers

Methodology and Activities:The first step in developing the progression pathways in Sheffield was to find out what is being offered by whom. Three lists of providers ( Futureproof provider list, the Vocational Skills provider list and the Apprenticeship provider list) were merged, resulting in a merged list of 50 providers. See output so far 1.

3 mapping workshops were introduced to start the process in Sept / Oct 2011 over three consecutive Tuesdays. 18 providers were engaged.

The pace of the mapping was slower than expected. The workshops in the main had served the purpose of raising the awareness of providers of RPA. Subsequent to the workshops each of the attended providers was visited to follow up on the details of their provision, what part do they play in the Progression Pathways and explore the potential of their provision moving towards higher level of flexibility, like more start times during the year? See output so far 2.

In order to meet the purpose of the mapping exercise it was agreed that 4 key areas should be included in the data set of the progression pathways

Range of provision (job market related and interest of Young people), Timing of provision (Flexibility in start throughout the year for an all year Guarantee), Qualifications (this will demonstrate coherence of programmes in the pathway for successful progression and readiness for

transition) including entry requirements at each level. Location and mode of delivery (appropriateness of location of delivery for target group, engagement through outreaching hub and

spokes and e- learning).

At the end of Oct a template was developed in line with these requirements (See output so far 3) and issued to all providers including those who had not attended the mapping workshops to collect the full details of their provision. This resulted in the feedback from 20 providers with full details of their provision in the format of either a full pathways in the organisation or part of a pathway in their organisation but feeding student through to progression in another organisation. See output so far 4.

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It is intended that this set of information will enhance the on-line advice and guidance and application process to help YP to make informed choice of courses they may want to start with, what Progression Pathways they can follow and what HE and employment opportunities these pathways are leading to, or alternatively starting from their career goals or employment areas they can begin to build the Progression Pathways to get there. Additionally it had been recognised that this database can provide an overview on the supply position from the current provider network and can be used to match the demand holistically when identified. See output so far 5.

In March 2012 steps had been taken to put Progression Pathways into Mapping Diagrams (Apprenticeship and school provision yet to be collected and included in the diagrams). See output so far 6. It is intended that Progression Pathway Partnership PPP group meetings (see Focus 1.3) will be created to ensure the accuracy of these diagrams and the information behind them on a continuous basis.

Outputs so far:1. Merged Providers list with the vocational sector(s) they are delivering (Appendix 1). Through this a first draft of a list of top level

sector categories where pathways can be lodged and refined was produced. There were in total 21 sector categories. Appendix 2. (For Output expected 1)

2. A number of providers are responding well in the flexibility agenda with significant review in their Foundation Learning provision for all year round access and in some cases including some January starts up to level 2 and most agreeing to consider starting discrete groups whenever referrals of groups of viable numbers are made. Responses suggested that these can potentially be accommodated at twilight periods during the week when resources are less in demand. (For Output expected 1)

3. Template to collect Progression Pathways information from all providers (Appendix 3). (For Output expected 1)4. The Progression Pathways information collected began to shape up the foundation on which we can identify the groups of

providers supporting each of the Pathways- Appendix 4 (For Output expected 1)5. Aspiration in using the PP information to enhance advice and guidance and application process – appendix 5 (For Output

expected 1)6. Examples of Progression Pathway Mappings – Appendix 6 (For Output expected 1)

Learning Points and Challenges

It was recognised that this list of providers is incomplete but had included the majority of the providers in Sheffield.

There is a number of known providers are still unaware of RPA and indifferent to its implication. There are some providers who think RPA isn’t their concern and therefore have a lack of commitment in providing the information. It is hope that they will be alerted to the fact that this could be a marketing and recruitment mechanism for their provision. Hopefully when the RPA awareness is raised sufficiently the participation will be more complete. This is considered as a major challenge.

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In setting up the basis for the collection of Pathways information two main purposes for the use of the information were:

help YP to make informed choice through knowing the Pathways they are on when they pick up a course and what career pathways prospect it is leading to and how progression can be achieved with the range of information about the providers who are offering the qualifications and with entry requirements at each levels. It was intended that ultimately a feature in providing information on accessibility and availability of places in the pathways throughout the year will be developed.

improve the holistic strategic management of the match and responsiveness of the provision to the interest of YP and workforce need of the economy- local, regional and national.

With these in mind the vision of providing YP, their Parents and guidance personnel with Progression Pathways information including the Employment opportunities was being developed. To realise this, the PP database currently held in a spreadsheet needs to be put in format that can link up with applysheffield, Sheffield interactive, U-explore and HE progression databases. A flow chart is being developed to initiate technical system to support the web links.

There is a cycle of planning in each of provider organisations roughly from November to March/April. We found when we tried to collect information many providers were saying that the information will not be ready until at least about March time. If this collection of information is to take place on an annual updating basis the timing of the collection of information is best planned to fit the providers’ planning cycles. However on this occasion this delay gave us the time to prepare and drive the introduction of flexibility in their provision.

We were also advised that we should avoid any duplicate in the collection of information from providers with applyshefield. That means we shall collect information once from providers. There is imminently a change from applyshefield to UCAs arrangement. This could be a challenge to achieve in this transition period.

Focus 1.2- Creating New Pathways

Methodology and Activities:

In the attempt to create a new Pathway in Enterprise the Sheffield College and a number of other providers had been approached either through specially arranged meetings or through the presentations in the mapping workshops.

Two specific directions had been promoted:One is on a discrete pathway with Enterprise related qualifications. Providers were encouraged to look at delivery of the full pathways with the different levels or offer part of the pathway and feed learners through to other progression partners.

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The other was to use enterprise modules to enhance other vocational or academic programmes.

The shape of an Enterprise Pathway has emerged with a group of providers supporting it. The Sheffield College has the full pathway from E3 to L3 and is offering flexible multi starts in the year up to level 2- See Output so far 7. There are other providers like NACRO, A4E, SWFC and SUFC who are delivering or developing enterprise modules in support of the Enterprise Pathway.

One unexpected development in the enterprise pathway is the ‘Pathway to Self-employment in Art’ which is intended to help Art students to prepare themselves as freelance artists, a traditionally popular career route for Arts graduates. This is being explored with providers like Art in the Park or A Mind Apart including approaches in social enterprise. (See out so far 8)

Extended Pathway in Sports for the engagement stage had also been explored to benefit from the high profile of the forthcoming Olympic Games. The providers supporting the mainstream sports and leisure pathway were invited to consider the extension of the Pathways in the outreach and engagement provision using the Olympic theme to lead into the mainstream sport and leisure pathway.

FT pre apprenticeship programmes had also been encouraged with some providers. An approach to encourage all vocational pathway groups under Sheffield Guarantee to have a pre Apprenticeship provision to lead to Apprenticeship in that sector was explored. A model of a FT one-year pre-apprenticeship scheme developed by Derby CC had been used as a reference. See output so far 9.

Outputs so far:

7. The full details of Enterprise Pathways offered by the Sheffield College- Appendix 7 (For Output expected 5)8. Summary of Enterprise and Volunteering opportunities offered by Art in the Park – Appendix 8. (For Output expected 5)9. The model of a scheme in pre-apprenticeship originally developed by Derby is being explored with a number of providers –

Appendix 9 (For Output expected 5)

Learning Points and Challenges

The Enterprise Pathway established by the Sheffield College was developed and delivered under the framework of the National Enterprise Academy and with some support from ERDF.

The bundling of enterprise provision into a pathway had led to other new pathway developments in Art and Sport.It was recognised that since the enterprise elements in various forms are often strong motivators for learning an increasing number of providers are using enterprise to support innovative and dynamic learning in different vocational contexts.

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Providers who are keen to take on the development of new pathways were asking if development time can be made available.

Focus 1.3 – Ensuring quality of Progression Pathways & creating Progression Pathways Partnerships PPP groups

Methodology and Activities:

As a result of the first part of the provider mapping exercise the group of providers that are supporting a particular pathway were identified. It was intended that these groups will be encouraged and supported to establish as Progression Pathways Partnerships PPPs with a brief to Ensure curriculum continuity on the Progression Pathway in sharing the qualifications used / curriculum contents both in the feeder

partner and receiving partner, identifying and addressing gaps and overlaps. Identify support need to ensure and manage successful transition. Improve the quality of the progression pathway through partnership working. Clarify entry requirements at each level and develop potential COMPACT arrangements. Facilitate and actively support access to and progression on the pathway of Vulnerable Young People VYP groups.

It was intended that these groups will be facilitated initially to establish the understanding of the purpose and suggested structure of the partnerships. Eventually it is hope that they will be self-running to contribute to the continuous improvement of the quality of and potential innovation in the Progression Pathways.

In February / March 2012 over four consecutive Tuesdays some of key Progression Pathway Partnership groups were invited to a meeting to consider a suggested agenda for collectively taking ownership and responsibility in supporting the delivery of the Pathway, defining and continuously improving the quality of the Progression Pathway. See output so far 10. This first round of meetings involved 11 key sector pathways and the response from the providers had been very positive and a range of key messages were raised. See output so far 11.

The concept of a quality framework under Sheffield Guarantee to support the delivery of the progression pathways was explored with providers in the Partnerships meetings. An initial list of the criteria for a quality Progression Pathway was developed through the first round of PPP meetings. See output so far 12. These criteria will be further developed and will be the focus of discussion in the next round of PPP meeting in May.

Outputs so far:

10. Letter of invitation and timetable for the Sector Progression Pathways meetings– Appendix 10 (For Output expected 4)8

11. Key messages from the PPP meetings – Appendix 11 (For Output expected 4)12. Initial list of quality criteria for Progression Pathways – Appendix 12 (For Output expected 4)

Learning Points and Challenges

Although there were tremendous interest and enthusiasm in joining these PPP groups there were some concerns about the number of PPP groups and the demand on staff time in engaging in that many groups, some of which could be attended by the same person. It was explained that it was the intention of the project to condense the number of Progression Pathways Groups into related sectors / employment areas to facilitate the movement of learner from one pathway to a related pathway. In doing so the number of the PPP groups and hence the number of meetings will be reduced.

In terms of demand of staff time it was suggested by some providers that these meeting should take place in twilight to allow attendance of relevant staff without disruption to their daytime activities, and at a central location where it is easy for people to get to.

The notion of the set of PPP groups will become self-running was intended for it to be a sustainable solution but it will be a challenge dependent on the commitment and effectiveness of the partnership between providers.

There were also concerns about how the suggested framework for the quality of the Progression Pathways under Sheffield Guarantee will play out. Potential duplication with the mainstream quality framework and any over-regulating and over-monitoring adding unnecessary bureaucracy should be avoided.

Focus 2- Development of flexible holding programme and flexible mainstream access

The two focuses of this strand are the two sides of the same coin. In the implementation of RPA and the developing Sheffield Guarantee if a young person is not in one of the mainstream Progression Pathways (currently called NEETs) they should be in some kind of provision that will offer them support to continuous personal development, learning and training until they are 18. See outputs so far 13. That provision should be full time and fit in with a certain other criteria that the government is currently consulting on. This Focus 2 of Strand 4 is designed to explore such a provision not only in the structure and content of the provision but also how it can be delivered with the support of mainstream funding and how providers can be steered, engaged and supported to participate in its development and delivery initially in a pilot and leading to the full formal implementation eventually.

Principles and specifications in the design of such a provision in addition to the latest stated requirement of RPA:

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The need to keep YP in the mainstream Pathways proactively by targeting support to those who are at risk of dropping out. For those who are assessed to have sufficient need to have to move out of a mainstream Pathway there is a process of managed

move through which one of the major options is this provision if there is no other mainstream pathway available and / or appropriate.

The provision should be designed with the intention to support these YP to move back into the mainstream Pathways as soon as possible by encouraging the mainstream Pathways to be more flexible in terms of start time which means more start times during the year. This provision will therefore need to be flexible in itself and able to hold YP until the next start of the chosen mainstream Pathways for re-entry. This holding programme will also hope to serve the purpose of accumulating the interests and numbers in a particular provision until an acceptable critical mass is achieved to enable the new course to become viable when in-filling is no longer possible.

The provision needs to be full time with the delivery of qualifications that fit prevailing funding criteria. The design will need to start from the premise that the provision will be perceived and accepted by young people as something

they will find interesting and useful to engage in, not just because they have to do so because the education world says so or they are bound by the law to do so. It should also be designed to prepare them well to re-enter into the Progression Pathways successfully with the necessary skills, motivation and support in mind.

For those YP who are already out of the system there needs to be an additional form of outreaching strategy to provide the stepping stones for them to regain access to the mainstream.

To be successful the provision is relying on sufficient IAG and targeted support for the wider cohort and support help for the various specific vulnerable groups.

Focus 2.1 – Creating the structure of a flexible holding programme (Preparation for Success PfS) that is eligible for recurring mainstream funding

Methodology and Activities:

The need to create such a provision was discussed in the series of Mapping Workshops with providers in Oct / Nov 2011. A draft of the potential structure of the programme was used in the discussion. The programme was provisionally called Preparation for Success PfS . See outputs so far 14. The above specification was the result of the discussions and the 7 elements of the programmes were confirmed through the mapping workshops.

Preparation for Success Programme Framework

1. Qualification Base 2. Skills Builders

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3. Outreach Taster4. Volunteering / Enterprise5. Widening Horizon / Enterprise6. Work Experience / Enterprise experience in self employment7. Bridging skill sets for Success

Subsequently the underpinning of enterprise was added to three of the elements and the structure had evolved into stages with time scale where the ‘outreach taster’ element will be the first in the process to start engaging those YP who are still lodged in the communities. The ‘bridging the skills set’ element will be at the end when the destination course was identified. The course team of the destination course will assess the YP’s readiness and identify skill sets if any that are still missing and signpost provision to bridge them. See outputs so far 15.

As the development and creation of the programme progressed three YP focus groups were planned and used to provide YP’s feedback on the acceptability and attractiveness of what is being proposed in the project and more specifically in the structure of the Preparation for Success programme. The response to the structure had been very positive with a range of key feedback messages, (See outputs so far 16) especially in the Widening Horizon element where YP can drive with support where they want to visit and the types of activities they want to involved in. They are also very positive about the possibility that they can be trained to apply and hold a PT job where interestingly the notion is that they want to spend the money they earn themselves rather than that from their parents or from sources like EMA in the past.

With the intention to have a model of the programme ready by end of March to be piloted from September in the lead- in year 2012-13 to test it effectiveness the following had taken place to get the proposed structure ready:

Qualification Base to build FT personalised programme

With a number of significant providers already using NOCN qualifications (QCF) to support their programme in Sheffield the Yorkshire and Humber Team of NOCN was approached and invited to provide support to our design and delivery of the Preparation for Success PfS Programme. It was emphasised that although NOCN had been engaged it is not the only qualifications framework for providers to deliver on the PfS. If providers are already involved in the delivery of QCF qualifications from other qualification frameworks like NCFE, City & Guild, ASDAN, Arts Award and others they can use them to put together the FT programme.

After a period of consultation with and support from NOCN it was established that the different suites of qualifications in NOCN like

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Skills Towards Enabling Progression (Step-UP) (14+) (QCF) Functional Skills Self Employment and Enterprise (QCF) Volunteering and Community (QCF) Developing Skills for Employment (14+) (QCF)

with QCF qualifications at levels E3 to L3 and in the different sizes of Award, Certificate and Diploma will be able to accommodate the flexibility and funding needs of the PfS programme across all the elements ( 2 to 6) on the above list. See outputs so far 17.

The way PfS will work as a personalised programme for the individual YP is that they will be working with a Provider to whom they have been referred. The Provider who is running the programme will plan the personalised FT programme with the YP. Different proportions of the 6 elements (2 to 7 on the above list) in PfS will be pulled to put together the FT personalised programme for the young person according to their needs (not all 6 elements have to be used) and to be delivered within the period they have to get to the start of their destination mainstream course.

A guidance chart on how to fit the qualifications with the different size into a FT programme to meet the individual timescale needs of the YP was developed. See outputs so far 18.

Discussions are already taking place in the provision of a central framework for providers who may not be ready yet ahead of September to deliver using the NOCN framework to be able to do so. There is also potentially a framework to support some providers who are unable to access mainstream funding yet to do so.in the delivery of the PfS programme.

There had also been efforts in putting together Volunteering and Widening Horizon opportunities for 16-18 year olds. It is intended that a menu of such opportunities with qualifications behind them will be developed so that providers who cannot offer these opportunities themselves can access them independently. The concept of hubs of such opportunities is being shared with some of the potential providers. Similar effort needs to be made in the work experience element and support could be drawn from existing employer engagement structure in the system.

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Outputs so far:

13. The Wrap Around support that drives and prepares YP to re-engage and re-enter the mainstream Pathways for progression- Appendix 13 (For Output expected 2)

14. Draft structure of the Preparation for Success programme for discussion – Appendix 14 (For Output expected 2)15. Preparation for Success Modelling I: Stages - Appendix 15 (For Output expected 2)16. Key messages from the 3 YP focus groups – Appendix 16 (For Output expected 2)17. Preparation for Success Modelling II: NOCN Qualification suites – Appendix 17 (For Output expected 2)18. Preparation for Success Modelling III: Fitting Qualifications into FT programme – Appendix 18 (For Output expected 2)

Learning Points and Challenges

The creation of a sustainable flexible holding programme to meet the requirements of an all year guarantee is an ambitious expedition. It was a very positive move to establish at the very beginning the principles and specifications of the programme framework we are looking for. That guided the development of the first draft of the model for Preparation for Success.

The important relationship between the mainstream Progression Pathways development (Focus 1) and the creation of the Flexible holding programme was not to be neglected to ensure the smooth transition between the two are properly supported both in curriculum continuity terms as well as in learning and learner support terms. In the light of the diminishing connections resource the tracking of these YP and the provision of IAG and career advice was a concern and a particular challenge in the implementation of this programme.

The engagement of NOCN as the support to the building of the FT Flexible programme that is eligible for mainstream funding proved to be very useful. It was revealed that the proposed structure of the Preparation for Success in the main can be funded under the current mainstream Foundation Learning rules and we now enjoy the secured knowledge that at least the NOCN qualification suites can offered the building blocks that are QCF recognised to help make the FT funded programme a reality. Other similar QCF recognised qualification framework can be used if Providers prefer.

The only element that may have difficulty in fitting a QCF qualification behind is the widening horizon element. With the intention to allow YP to drive the programme of activities the possibility to achieve a planned qualification behind it is not high. It is intended in the design that this will be the element that attracts the YP most. We hope the introduction of an enterprise dimension may make fitting a qualification behind it easier. Although there are a good number of such opportunities that are free but there will still be a need for a sensible budget for this element for travelling, fees and other forms of subsistence, etc.

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Focus 2.2 – Building capacity and interest of providers to develop and deliver the PfS programme.

Methodology and Activities:

In order to support the delivery of Preparation for Success PfS framework there is a need to engage a group of providers who are interested to participate in the pilot to get ready by September working with either NOCN or other qualification framework to become a delivery centre of QCF qualifications. At the end of January 2012 the Yorkshire and Humber team of NOCN put on a Progression Pathways event at Source, Meadow Hall. With the agreement of the NOCN Team the RPA project was able to partly use the event to further raise the awareness of a key group of providers in the Progression Pathways development and particularly the creation of the Preparation for Success Framework. There were 29 attendees with more than 10 non-school providers. Early signs of training needs of providers who may be interested in the delivery in the pilot year were identified. It is intended that programme for support will be developed and delivered to those who may be engaged in the delivery in the pilot year between April and August of 2012. It was suggested and agreed that the current model of a city wide umbrellas NOCN centre used by My City Learning can be accessed to allow those providers who may not be ready yet ahead of September to start delivering without individual registration as a centre.

In February / March all providers were encouraged to develop Outreach Tasters that reflects their vocational specialism and demonstrate in an engaging way what it is like when they join their provision. This will need to be delivered with QCF qualifications behind them and will become part of the FT programme when YP are engaged. This is part of the Hub and Spoke strategy to reach YP who are still inactive in the Communities. The delivery of these tasters will be planned with the Community Assemblies to deliver to the most strategic locations in the relevant communities in capturing NEETS. An NOCN Award template for the Outreach Taster had been developed (See outputs so far 19) and will be shared with provider when they express an interest in involving in the delivery of PfS in its pilot year..

Providers can express an interest in delivering the FT programme on their own if they assessed that they can provide all the 7 elements of the PfS programme structure. If there are any difficulties in dealing with some particular elements of the above list providers were advised to come together as partnership groups with a lead provider in each group acting as the fund accessing body for the group. A draft full time PfS programme template had also been developed. See Outputs so far 20.

Support will be provided both by central project team as well as from the NOCN team to complete their individual programme templates including both the Outreach Taster and the FT programme templates. A NOCN PT Work Preparation Programme is currently being put together..

Outputs so far:

19. NOCN Outreach Taster Template – Appendix 19 (For Output expected 3)14

20. PfS FT Programme Builder- Appendix 20 (For Output expected 2)

Learning Points and Challenges

While most providers will be able to provide Skills Building like functional, social skills and others as part of their programme it was suggested that there is a need to look at independent provision of intensive skills top-up provision and Catch–up clinics.

The provision of Volunteering Opportunities in the City for 16-18 was explored. It was pointed out by some volunteering co-ordinators that the provision for this age group is less available because of the insurance and duty of care involved. The providers are generally less confident that YP of this age group will be able to deliver the volunteering work their organisation requires. However, through the exploration a number of providers have expressed keen interest in developing volunteering opportunities for this age group and making them qualifications based. The idea of Volunteering Hubs is beginning to emerge. In a number of occasions the question of whether there is any funding for this kind of development was asked.

Although most providers will find the Work Experience element less a problem a central menu of such opportunities will still be useful for those who have not got such opportunities in their portfolio of offers.

In general however providers will need support to move their delivery from non-qualification based to qualification- based.

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Overall Strategic Learning Points and Challenges

Strategically, providers are beginning to recognise 1. the effect of the demographics and the competition for the decreasing numbers of 14-19 especially at Level 3, where the increasing

number of Academies will further stretch the share of the market at that level. This means growth can only come from Foundation Learning up to and including level 2. Also in line with Government priorities there are increasing numbers of providers moving into the development and delivery of enterprise education and curriculum (including related apprenticeships). Although the promotion of apprenticeship by the government is going strong the apprenticeship route is still suffering from the shortage of timely apprenticeship placements.

2. the increasing emphasis placed in the progression of young people in their Learning and Training Pathways and in how these Pathways lead to their career goals of a quality job that can contribute to the local economy. This means that increasing numbers of providers are moving their marketing to ‘Pathways to Employment’ based strategies. There is however a recognition that we need to address the interest of young people in the engagement stage and steer them to join the Pathways leading to jobs and meeting the workforce needs of the economy. There is an increasing effort to encourage and support YP to create their own business as a valid career option.

Both of these dovetail well with the two key focuses of this strand of the Sheffield RPA Plan.

It had become clear through the progress of the project that the revolving door syndrome of NEETs was created by

A consistent number of YP joining the NEETs cohorts throughout the year while every effort had been made to bring them back to mainstream;

the short term funding format and short interventions where the end points are not linking up with the start points of the mainstream provision;

in general most intervention programmes were delivered without the progression in mind; and the mainstream providers due to pressure on performance are reluctance to take on any YP any time outside the beginning part of

the academic year .

It is intended that the proposed FT flexible holding programme if piloted successfully will address and further evolve to change all these.

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Most of the apprenticeship providers are running roll-on roll-off short pre-apprenticeship programmes to prepare YP to start apprenticeships. Not all of these YP are able to move on to start an apprenticeship after they have completed these pre-apprenticeship programmes. For many of those who are ready but waiting for a placement the pre-apprenticeship programmes are often used to occupy them until such a placement becomes available. There are also many YP while they are waiting for an apprenticeship placement they enrol on a mainstream provision as a temporary arrangement. Once the placement becomes available they will drop out from the mainstream provision resulting in a negative impact on the performance of the particular mainstream course. All these further confirm the need to include the pre-apprenticeship option in the framework of the flexible holding programme.

An effective strategic and holistic overview of the provider offers will help to drive, shape and strengthen the providers’ network to match supply and demand responsively. From the quality of Progression Pathways supported by the Providers Partnerships it was suggested that the quality of the Provider Network as a whole based on its continuous ability to match and stimulate demands will be the next to develop under the Sheffield Guarantee framework.

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Recommendations

Recommendations related to Focus 1.1 Mapping of Progression Pathways offered by current providers

Scope and complete Progression Pathways Mapping including Apprenticeship provision, VSP and school based post 16 provision Promote and raise awareness of all providers of the benefits of engaging in the provision of Progression Pathways information

from their organisation, especially the engagement, recruitment and marketing potential of the database and its linkages with other existing on-line facilities

Engage formal technical support / advice on web linkages to progress the development of the placing of the Progression Pathways information in the on-line systems. This may lead to having to purchase external software development

Reduce the number of Progression Pathways PP categories into related sector / employment areas. These groupings and PPP group arrangements will facilitate learners moving from one pathway to a different but related one in the same or similar employment sector(s).

It was emphasised by the PPP groups that for all pathways the development and provision of transferrable skills must be included in the earlier parts of the Pathways

Recommendations related to Focus 1.2 Creating New Pathways

Seek providers’ support and cooperation in the development of new Pathways and explore provision of resource and funding to incentivise relevant curriculum teams

Continue the building of the ‘Self Employment in Art’ pathway to be embedded in the full Enterprise Pathway Continue the building of Sport extension Pathways maximising the use of the Olympic theme to engage and progress into the

Sports and Leisure related Pathways Explore the integration of the pre-apprenticeship dimension in all vocational pathways.

Recommendations related to Focus 1.3 Ensuring quality of Progression Pathways & creating Progression Pathways Partnerships PPP groups

Promote and raise awareness of RPA and outcomes of the Sheffield Phase 3 RPA project and engage more provider to participate in the continuing mapping exercise

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Introduce another round of Progression Pathway Partnership meetings but with a revised and reduced number of groupings that link to key sets of related sectors or employment areas in May.

Work with PPP groups to define and further evolve the quality criteria for Progression Pathways.

Recommendations related to Focus 2.1 Creating the structure of a flexible holding programme (Preparation for Success PfS) that is eligible for recurring mainstream funding

Move forward with the agreed structure of the PfS with the integration of enterprise and pre-apprenticeship dimensions and prepare to test its effectiveness in the pilot year 2012-13.

Develop the individual elements of the PfS programme further by creating the central services of Intensive Functional skill Top-up unit and Catch-up unit.

Engage the commitment of the mainstream curriculum teams to deliver the assessment and signposting of the ‘Bridging the skill set’ element.

Work with relevant providers to generate the menu of qualification based Volunteering and Widening Horizon opportunities including the sector based Opportunity Hubs.

Explore new and link up with existing source of work experience opportunities and establish qualification based activities Develop a sustainable infrastructure to support the delivery of the PfS programme including the provision of tracking, IAG and

Career guidance. Create standard processes and documentation in initial assessment, admission, enrolment, Individual Learning planning and

monitoring and progression planning, etc. for the PfS programme.

Recommendations related to Focus 2.2 Building capacity and interest of providers to develop and deliver the PfS programme

Start the process of recruiting a small number of providers to deliver the PfS Programme and design with the support of the NOCN team a training programme to prepare them to be ready for delivery in September 2012.

Use the developed Outreach Taster and FT programme Templates to help the identified set of providers to firm up their programme content.

In the recruitment process it will be desirable that the group of providers will have a variety of vocational and support specialisms. The resulting range of PfS programmes in the City will be asked to consider a co-ordinated stagger start approach to enable the

flexibility of an all year start in Sheffield.

General Recommendations:

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Strengthening Local Provider Network As part of the Sheffield Guarantee to ensure that there is an effective Provider Network (working together in supporting the PPs) to

deliver the identified and expressed interests of Young People and ultimately the needs of the employers and local economy. Develop and establish standard and common processes and paper work like common initial assessment, ILP and sharing of good

practice. Provide CPDs resource and opportunities for development for anticipated changes in existing curriculum or in new curriculum to

meet emerging needs.

Develop a proposed infrastructure including management and co-ordination of the programme including the provision of IAG, Career and other services to support the delivery of PfS during the pilot / lead-in year 2012-13. A proposed action plan had been produced. See Appendix 21.

Recruit and support providers or groups of providers to participate in the pilot / lead in year delivery of the PfS, including access to mainstream funding.

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Conclusion

Development of Progression Pathways and their necessary flexibility are beginning to make an impact in providers’ planning. The potential use of the Progression Pathways information for strategic management of matching supply with demand is significant and it will also help the nurturing of the providers network to ensure the range, volume and quality of the supply side are appropriate and matching consistently.

The recognition of the important linkages between disengagement, re-engagement and access to mainstream pathways is demonstrated by the enthusiasm of the providers in participating in the Progression Pathways Partnership meetings. The quality of the Progression Pathways is at the verge of being defined and it is intended that it will be further refined and promoted in the future in the Progression Pathway Partnership PPP groups under the framework of the Sheffield Guarantee and supported by a sustainable strategy.

The design and development of the flexible holding programme specifically for the implementation of RPA had offered the City a tremendous opportunity to examine these important linkages collectively and test out what is possible to help those who are not engaged and at risk of disengaging. The model of the holding programme has been developed with the support of providers and approval of YP as an attractive option and is now ready to go into implementation in the pilot / lead-in year 2012-13.

In order to benefit fully from the implementation of RPA the City needs to capitalise and build on this momentum.

Appendices:

Full details of the report including the appendices will be available mid April (after Easter) from Suky Nahal at suky.nahal@sheffield.gov.uk

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