Contact: John Wilkinson, ext 5084

1 Description of the service

1.1 This Best Value Review embraces a cross-cutting thematic approach. As such, it covers aspects of a range of services across Hampshire County Council and links with services provided by others in partnership with Hampshire County Council. The purpose is to ensure that everyone in Hampshire has access to high quality learning (recreational, vocational and academic) and opportunities to develop their skills and abilities.

1.2 Lifelong Learning includes statutory services such as the provision of education of children aged from five to sixteen years and the duty to secure education for children aged three to five years. The previous requirement to produce strategic plans such as the Early Education and Childcare Plan, the Education Development Plan and the Adult Learning Plan has created statutory duties. Such strategic plans are not the focus of this review, rather the manner in which Hampshire County Council brings such work together from across all its departments and partners to create opportunities for Lifelong Learning within a seamless progression.

2 Original scope of the review

On 23 December 2002, the Cabinet agreed the programme of Best Value Reviews for 2003/04, following consultation with departments via the officer Corporate Performance Steering Group, including a cross cutting review of Lifelong Learning. This review will focus on how opportunities are created for lifelong learning, enabling people to develop the skills and abilities they need to contribute to the well being of their families and the community.

3 Team

3.1 The Best Value Review Team has been built upon the existing corporate steering group for Lifelong Learning. This has been meeting for a number of years and has produced useful base material upon which this review take forward. The team has been expanded through securing the involvement of at least one senior officer from each Hampshire County Council Department, ensuring direct communication links into those Departments. The team also includes five elected Members from Education and Recreation & Heritage PRCs, who also form The Members Review Panel. A full list of team members is attached at Appendix 1. The team is served by a Project Board, comprising the Review Leader; a challenge officer; project manager; research, review and support officer; and a corporate support officer.

The core team has been divided into four Task Groups for Children Learning (0-13); Young People Learning (13-19); Adults Learning; Older People Learning. These Task Groups will involve others in their work outside the Best Value Review meetings. A range of external stakeholders have been identified, including schools and learning partnerships in Hampshire. These will provide valuable links for consultation and challenge.

3.2 This review will follow the revised, streamlined Best Value process and focus on areas where there is potential for achieving improvements, avoiding duplication of work already carried out within normal service planning.

4. Creating the `vision'

4.1 The first two meetings of the Best Value Review Team in September and October 2003 were used to help create `the vision'. This work built upon previous work undertaken by the corporate steering group. Five draft `vision' statements for Lifelong Learning were produced which were subsequently reworked by the Project Board into a single draft vision statement. This was then approved with minor alterations by the Review Team. The Team were also asked to consider a draft working vision for the role of Hampshire County Council in Lifelong Learning. In addition the Review Team produced initial `indicators of success' for Lifelong Learning in Hampshire, as well as key change issues to consider in the development of the Review.

4.2 The Group agreed the following wording for the `working vision':-

· "Everyone in Hampshire has access to high quality learning (recreational, vocational and academic) and opportunities to develop their skills and abilities".

· This statement is subject to the group wanting to reconsider at a later stage, whether `skills and abilities' should be replaced by `potential' and the need to build `enjoyment' into the vision.

· It was decided to construct a draft working `vision' for the role of Hampshire County Council in Lifelong Learning was considered. The team agreed that Hampshire County Council's role should include the following:-

- ensuring seamless provision and ease of access

- effective communication and consultation

- developing quality and capacity among service providers

- fostering co-operation between service providers

- plugging gaps and provision

- providing leadership in terms of - co-ordination, direction, support, enabling, planning at a strategic level, empowering

- stewarding

- promoting and advocacy

- optional use of all Hampshire County Council's resources. Issues that would need to be addressed in the course of the review were identified as follows:-

- resource provision and allocation

- effective use of buildings

- availability of funding

- adequate skilled and trained staff

- range of provision, including targeted schemes e.g. family learning and the importance of work place learning

- effective communication and information sharing

- cultural changes including organisational leadership

- access to provision and facilities, including ICT

- partnership working.

5 Approach to phase two of the review

5.1 In order to move forward the BVR of Lifelong Learning, four Task groups have been established as indicated 3.1. Each group is being tasked to survey provision for Lifelong Learning against their strand (Appendix 2). In addition, they will need to relate cross-cutting themes (Appendix 3) against their strand. Throughout this process, key questioning will address challenge, comparison, consultation and competition (although this last `c' is likely to focus on `collaboration' rather than `competition', which can have detrimental implications for service users).

Each meeting of the BV Review Team will address one or more cross-cutting issues on a corporate basis using key inputs from leading members of the wider team. As mentioned in 3.1, there will be a range of external stakeholder groups available for consultation and necessary challenge. Already consultation has begun through the Citizens Panel, the results of which have yet to be fully analysed.

6 Factors to take into account

6.1 The issues surrounding the development of Lifelong Learning are complex and fast moving. This is not a picture that is likely to stay still, but will change for a variety of reasons. For example; the development of 14-19 education will be much influenced by the area (travel to learn) reviews being undertaken by the Local Learning and Skills Council, this in turn has a direct link with the need to increase the industrial/commercial skills base as featured in the Economic Best Value Review. Adult Education is likely to be subject to a major inspection early in the New Year; legislation from the Green Paper "Every Child Matters" will have implications for Lifelong Learning, as does the new draft "Education Strategy" produced by Hampshire County Council. These, and others, will need to be considered for their potential impact.

7 Resource requirements

7.1 This review commenced its preparation in July 2003. The aim is to produce a summary report and improvement plan for the Lifelong Learning Best Value Panel (and possibly also the Education PRC and Recreation & Heritage PRC and for Cabinet in September/October 2004). The completion of Phase 1 of the Review is marked by this report. Phase 2 completion is aiming for April/May 2004 with a Phase 3 report in July 2004. This work will require one meeting per month of the BVR Team, preceded by a meeting of the Project Board and by two meetings of the Task Groups. In addition, the Members Review Panel will need to meet at least three times. In all, for this period, around 150 officer days will need to be allocated to the review. Initial estimates of other costs would be around £5,000.

8 Outputs from the review

8.1 The prime outcome from the review is to be the Hampshire County Council's Strategy for Lifelong Learning, to widen and promote contributions to this area of activity across the Hampshire County Council and within Hampshire. This will incorporate a review of progress and links with the Corporate Strategy and member priorities and emerging community strategies. The summary report and improvement plan to Cabinet will identify service improvements and options in service delivery.