ProgressionExamples of best practice

Contents

Context 4

LeapAheadProgressionChampions 6

CaseStudies

HealthandSocialCare 8

Engineering(casestudy1) 10

MentalHealth 12

CreativeIndustries 14

Rail 16

Literacy 18

Events 20

Engineering(casestudy2) 22

ThecontextThe East Midlands is the third largest region in England.1 It has a very mixed geographical terrain including coastal areas, rural countryside and urban conurbations and is the third most rural region. This brings challenges to enhance opportunities to involve possible learners wherever they live.

When the two Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNS) were set up in 2006, the East Midlands was ‘characterised by a combination of high employment and a predominance of jobs demanding low skills and paying low wages’. So the region recognised the importance of ‘raising skills to enhance economic performance.’ 2

Moreover the key factor to compete in a global market is a higher skills base to support a knowledge-based economy. The East Midlands population of men (19-64) and women (19-59) qualified to level 4 and above is a lower proportion than in the ‘nation as a whole.’ 3

The challenge for the two Lifelong Learning Networks, Leap Ahead and Skills for Sustainable Communities (SSCLLN) was to create opportunities for vocational learners to progress from level 3 qualifications to level 4 Higher Education qualifications. Though the region has a large number of universities and also colleges that provide Higher Education, they are not necessarily in easy reach of all potential learners. Neither do they all offer the types of courses that vocational learners and their employers require. Therefore a critical objective of the LLNs has been to extend the places of learning to more Further Education colleges and to support universities and colleges to create new courses in the priority economic sectors.

This document showcases some of the progression work that has taken place at Leap Ahead and SSCLLN.

1http://www.emda.org.uk/res/default.asp2http://www.emda.org.uk/employmentskills/default.asp?nav=073http://www.emra.gov.uk/files/sor2009full.pdf

ContextContext

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AninnovativeapproachtoprogressionLeap Ahead adopted an innovative approach to the development of Progression Agreements by funding Progression Champions within each partner organisation as well as the two counties private training provider networks.

The Champions were positioned in a number of different disciplines such as within Information Advice and Guidance (IAG), Student Services and Widening Participation and were charged with raising awareness, promoting progression opportunities and enhancing widening participation.

Monthly meetings were held in partner venues with the prime focus of building relationships between partners, communicating progression opportunities and sharing best practice.

One of the key successes of these meetings was the involvement and input from the private sector who were able to share their knowledge and experience as to what employers wanted from skills and progression.

To ensure the Progression Agreements were all produced to the same standard a Progression Agreement Toolkit was developed to support the Champions in their work.

ProgressionProgression

There were many benefits to be gained from this innovative approach:

These were:

This strategic approach brought about a change in attitude towards vocational learners

Partnership working and increased communication links across the LLN membership

Raising awareness of progression opportunities and highlighting the benefits gained from higher level learning

A culture change towards the perception of the content of vocational programmes was achieved

The opportunity to share best practice and increase collaboration in the design of curriculum, development and delivery of vocational courses

Developed and enhanced relationships between Higher Education and feeder colleges and providers.

From this innovative approach the Progression Champion Network has exceeded its target by 30%. The partners have identified strategies to continue with the network which will be one of the underlying legacies towards the sustainability of the work of Leap Ahead.

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HealthandSocialCareImpactofenrichmentactivitiesonlearnerprogression

HealthHealth

9

In 2007/8 the Health and Social Care Department at Regent College, Leicester was funded by the SSCLLN to work with local universities to increase progression opportunities for students. Working with De Montfort University (DMU) a small team of staff from both institutions met to consider DMU requirements and the key skills needed by students to succeed on a degree programme. The following were agreed as the most important:

Detailed understanding of the range of different programmes available

Study skills workshop including how to use the library

Referencing and report writing workshop

University tour

Specialist health science workshop

Importance of work experience and volunteering

Academic support with assignments.

Working together, Regent College was able to modify aspects of the curriculum to provide students with the most suitable underpinning modules and provide DMU tutors with a better understanding of non-standard qualifications. The work led to a formally agreed progression agreement between the two institutions.

Enrichment activities were then planned annually for students from first year courses at level 3 in Health and Social

Care. The activities have been a balance of enhancement activities, which build student confidence and knowledge of Higher Education, alongside specialist workshops that extend student subject knowledge and provide them with access to advanced equipment and facilities.

30 students were expected to take part in the first activity, but the level of student interest was so high that over 60 attended. These activities are now an essential part of the academic year. The activities have been evaluated and reviewed by the staff team each year and student feedback has been consistently positive. A selection of student comments includes:

“Sessions were informative and useful.”

“It was nice to have first hand experience of meeting lecturers and having questions answered face-to-face.”

“The visit to De Montfort University was informative and consolidated my decision making.”

Undergraduate enrolments on to Health and Social Care programmes at De Montfort University from Regent College increased in 2009 from an annual average of between 2 and 4 students to 11 students. De Montfort University are now providing funding to continue the work. They have extended the scheme internally across a wider number of subject areas and are working with a number of other colleges.

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EmployersandLeapAheaddevelopprogressionroutes

EngineeringEngineering

11

This project is the development of a partnership which provides a clear progression pathway for engineering technicians. The scheme is being developed jointly by Leap Ahead and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). It takes advantage of the new engineering technician grade that has recently been approved by the IMechE. This grade can be gained by people who have an accredited level 3 qualification in engineering and are working at the appropriate level.

Progression to being a chartered engineer demands a masters in engineering (MEng) level and students working at the appropriate level. This has led to the development of more accredited courses at level 3 and above. The work is being supported by a wide range of employers who are interested in progressing their apprentices and developing their workforce. IMechE’s well established links with employers has enabled them to act as a link between industry and academia, and the accreditation of the academic pathways by the IMechE means that it will meet both academic and industry needs.

Leap Ahead’s involvement has been in assisting Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in accrediting their level 3 courses. This began by helping the IMechE

understand the structure and nature of level 3 courses, how the level 3 courses are constructed and quality assured. This should allow the IMechE to engage with block accreditation. Once a course has been accredited at one HEI it can be accredited at the remaining HEIs in the Leap Ahead network that currently offer the course.

The project has been lead by Castle College Nottingham who have been funded by Leap Ahead to “buy out staff” to complete the necessary work for the college and its mechanical engineering courses to gain accreditation with the IMechE. The courses at Castle College have been approved and work is being completed in getting the level 3 mechanical engineering courses approved at a number of Further Education Colleges (FECs) within the Leap Ahead network.

The next step is to help HEIs gain accreditation for their foundation degrees and degrees in mechanical engineering. The work in this area is currently ongoing with a number of courses being accredited including the Open University’s new courses in this subject area.

The partnership has provided a clear vocational, academic and professional pathway to a master’s level qualification and a high level professional qualification.

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Providingprogressionopportunitiesforspecialiststaff

MentalHealthMentalH

ealth

13

St. Andrew’s Hospital, a Registered Charity providing specialist mental health services and employing over 2,700 staff, entered into a collaborative partnership with the University of Northampton and SSCLLN in 2009 to develop two credit based programmes that would support staff development needs. The two programmes were for different groups of staff, Healthcare Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, but both aimed at developing skills and enabling progression.

Healthcare Assistants: This group of staff had little or no experience of specialist mental health. There was no provision for specialist in-patient skills for medium secure services and it became evident from quality assurance processes and serious incidents that the Healthcare Assistants required further development. Utilising a blended learning approach the 1-2 modular course was created to provide on-going development for clinical staff. St. Andrew’s Hospital employs over 800 unqualified Healthcare Assistants and it is anticipated that a minimum of 20-30 staff per year will enrol on this programme.

Nurse Practitioners: This programme was developed to help staff deliver safe, evidence-informed practice, as many of them had little experience of working within a specialist mental health environment. What was required was an extensive 5-6

module programme that had a strong emphasis on learning in a clinical setting and covered:

Risk

Relational skills

Legal frameworks

Physical healthcare

Therapeutic relationships and milieu

Clinical leadership

St. Andrew’s Hospital employs over 600 registered nurses and it is anticipated that this programme will be seen as core training embedded into their developmental reviews. A minimum of 15 staff per year are expected to enrol on the programme.

The University and St. Andrews worked together to develop training modules and regular meetings were held to monitor progress and provide support. The establishment of a strong partnership has been key in ensuring that developed modules conform to university standards and meet quality assurance systems. Staff from St. Andrew’s Hospital are planning to deliver the modules for the level 4 programme and although initial delivery of the level 6 programme will be by staff from the University of Northampton, it is envisaged that following training, St. Andrew’s staff will be able to deliver the majority of the modules.12

Successfultransitionfromcreativeartsgraduatetoworkinginthecreativeindustries

CreativeIndustriesCreativeIndustries

15

Many creative arts graduates struggle to enter the world of work as regular employment opportunities are often scarce and the pattern of employment is diverse with freelance and micro-businesses featuring strongly. Dan Lamoon and Jonny Prest who had successfully achieved this transition and established their company, From Dusk 2 Dawn (FD2D), were funded by the SSCLLN to chart the journey that they had taken and provide a best practice tool kit.

After graduation the journey started for the two entrepreneurs with a range of experiences of freelance working and full-time employment. They were able to build up key experiences of:

How to network and create longstanding contacts

Time management

How to operate a small business

How to apply business models and theories

Overcoming inexperience

Together they used their knowledge and experience to set up the Leicestershire-based arts and culture magazine, From Dusk 2 Dawn. The magazine and website are now successfully established in

Leicestershire, supporting the creative community by communicating what is happening locally. The publication is free to the public and there are three issues of 10,000 copies produced each year. The company has now also expanded as a design and marketing company.

The founders wanted to give new graduates a real life example of business practice through case studies and personal experiences. The business tool kit that they developed describes the methods and skills that are required on the path to success. It presents a rounded overview that demonstrates all aspects of entrepreneurship in the creative industry with techniques on how to communicate and gain opportunities. It does not aim to offer all the answers, but show the first steps towards realising ideas and aspirations, and give direction on paths that can be taken. The tool kit also features a number of case studies of people who have contributed to the magazine in different creative capacities.

The tool kit is being disseminated through a number of routes, including FD2D and SSCLLN contacts. In addition first year students at De Montfort Business School have the opportunity to work in creative marketing projects and access the tool kit.14

Bridgingthegapwiththerailindustry

RailIndustryRailIndustry

17

Leap Ahead have worked in partnership with Union Learn Representatives in the Rail Industry to develop a programme to bridge the gap in progression from level 3 to level 4 higher level learning. This development meets Leap Ahead’s mission to raise levels of employer engagement with vocational Higher Education and to increase the number of learners entering vocational Higher Education programmes.

By drawing upon Leap Ahead partner expertise in the development of a Lifelong Learning Award, the programme allowed learners to utilise their learning experiences, and through the support of their Union Learning Representative build their confidence by engaging in higher level learning.

The 60 credit award at levels 3 and 4 consisted of:

APEL - learning that has taken place in the workplace

Additional bridging modules focussing upon the development of study skills to manage the demands of higher level learning

A negotiated project at level 4

Leap Ahead identified a partner who had considerable experience and strength in delivering accredited workplace learning. The University of Derby therefore developed the bite sized learning modules through its ‘Learning through Work’ programme.

The key objective of the programme was for the learners to progress into higher level learning that would take account of their experience and make the journey a manageable and enjoyable one.

Through this method of delivery, East Midlands Trains were able to open up the opportunity both locally and nationally. A cohort of learners were chosen from a wide range of backgrounds, job roles and large geographical spread, which in this field was extremely new and pioneering. It was evident from the beginning that this programme had some clear strengths to offer the learners who were progressing into Higher Education.

The benefits of the Leap Ahead developed programme for the individual learner identified a clearer access route into Higher Education. The organisation also saw a benefit of increasing staff skill levels, commitment and motivation.

Feedback from the learners indicated that they found the programme challenging in that the learning required more independent learning skills and proved very different from the other programmes undertaken. However they all agreed that this programme was an excellent stepping stone into Higher Education for all learners especially those with few or no qualifications. They felt that other Union Learn learners would benefit from engaging with this programme.

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Academicliteracytoolkittosupportstudenttransition

LiteracyLiteracy

19

Feedback from students on first year undergraduate programmes at De Montfort University (DMU) had shown that they consistently lacked confidence in their capability to meet academic literacy requirements, and a significant number of students were finding the transition to Higher Education challenging.

To overcome this issue DMU has worked with Further Education partners to develop a tool kit of materials that could be embedded into a level 3 programme. The tool kit covers a number of topics:

Approaches to learning

Learning preferences

Self-evaluation

Help-seeking and independent learning

Academic writing

Organising ideas

Critical thinking

Line of reasoning

Reflective writing

Writing style

Grammar/punctuation/spelling

Academic reading

Planning research

Selecting resources

Evaluating resources

Reading strategies/managing reading

Extracting key information and ideas

Recording information and ideas

The academic literacy tool kit was piloted in 2009 with existing level 3 programmes. DMU have also worked with John Leggott College in Lincolnshire to prepare for students who had studied the new Advanced Diploma. They focused on students from the Business Administration Diploma and the Society, Health and Development Diploma.

A timescale of activities was drawn up and staff from DMU have trained college staff on how to embed the academic literacy programme into the level 3 Diploma courses. Students will also attend a day event at DMU and take part in a number of activities where they will experience the type of work that they would be involved in on a degree programme. The academic literacy tool kit will be embedded into the second year of the level 3 Diplomas from September 2010.

The process of jointly developing the programme and the training of staff in the college has helped to forge closer links between the two institutions. Staff from the college have gained a valuable insight into the skills students need to succeed on a degree programme and methods of embedding the tool kit into a full-time level 3 programme.

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EventSafetyManagementDiploma

EventsEvents

21

Leap Ahead has supported the development of a groundbreaking diploma in Events Safety Management delivered by the University of Derby in partnership with Capita Symonds’ Leisure Safety Group. The benefits of this business and academic partnership are up to date learning in the industry and deep educational input. The diploma is delivered through e-learning giving the students the opportunity to learn at a time that is convenient to their work.

The 60 credit University level Diploma covers:

Event safety management

Events legislation, including corporate manslaughter

Events crisis communication

The diploma is the outcome of a series of business breakfasts organised by Leap Ahead. The organisations represented demanded a full diploma, to test the knowledge thoroughly, something that could then be built upon and used as progression into a full degree.

The students learn how to prepare, plan and implement a crisis communication plan which includes management of PR and reputation management in the event of an emergency. They also use flash-based design and layered Ordnance Survey maps to plan a fully costed festival in Roundhay Park, incorporating contextualised video clips looking at behaviours such as crowd movement. This footage was taken at festivals around the country as well as at the London Marathon.

Over 100 students have undertaken the diploma, since it began in September 2008, all of whom work in the Events Industry. They have a range of different educational backgrounds and job roles including the emergency services, conference organisers and events safety managers, with an age spectrum spanning between 23 and 56 years old, and the most experienced learner having worked in the industry for 33 years.

Learner feedback has been excellent. Dave Morgan, Estates Manager, Roundhay Park said “The course is a must for all those involved in the Event Management Industry no matter how experienced you are, you will find the course challenging, thought provoking and sometimes it may stretch you enough to take you out of your comfort zone. The course is run with expertise and enthusiasm and best of all its enjoyable.”

A further 60 credit diploma funded by Leap Ahead supporting students in the seamless integration of the BS8901 Events Management standard into their business, was launched in March 2010 at the University of Derby. This diploma has achieved the accolade gaining the London 2012 Olympic ‘Inspire Mark’.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “This new course is encouraging Events Management professionals in the region to fulfill their potential. I am proud that with the help of partners such as the University of Derby we are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation.”20

SupportinglearnerprogressionfromAdvancedApprenticeshipsinEngineeringtoHigherEducation

EngineeringEngineering

23

Loughborough College delivers Advanced Engineering Apprenticeships to numbers of apprentices in the local area. There is the opportunity for those who successfully complete their Advanced Apprenticeship to progress on to higher level programmes, but in keeping with the national pattern, only a small percentage take up this opportunity. There are a number of reasons for this, many centred round an impression from apprentices that Higher Education is not for them.

Recent research carried out at Lincoln College showed that 50% of Engineering Apprentices who saw higher level qualifications as important for their career progression, and were considering starting a Higher Education programme, still had concerns over how they would cope with higher level study and in particular, how they would combine working with study. In addition, higher level programmes in Engineering do have a requirement for advanced levels of mathematics which can act as a barrier to progression.

To enable progression, Loughborough College, supported by SSCLLN set up a progression strategy to encourage more apprentices to consider Higher Education

and prepare potential students for higher level study.

The key features of the strategy were to:

Run an information event for all current first and second year Level 3 Engineering Apprentices to de-mystify Higher Education and provide them with essential facts

Establish a progression agreement between the Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering and HNCs in Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough College. This agreement would set out the details of the offer to students such as guaranteed places, guaranteed interviews and to give borderline students the opportunity to submit a piece of work or to attend an interview on tutor recommendation

Plan and carry out enhancement activities to provide a taste of Higher Education

Develop a maths bridging module to cover specific areas of mathematics required to succeed at HNC level. The module would be delivered to students in the summer before they started their Higher Education programme.

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www.leapahead.ac.uk www.le.ac.uk/ssclln

This publication aims to share with you examples of good practice, embedding progression for vocational learners in the East Midlands. This includes unique agreements between Colleges and Universities, learner activities and modifications to courses.

Other publications include

· Information Advice and Guidance (IAG)

· Employer Responsive Curriculum