Archived decisions

      Hampshire County Council Strategy for Education

      Maximising life opportunities through education

      Introduction

      This document focuses on Hampshire County Council's education vision and principles as the Local Education Authority for Hampshire. It sets out the values and goals that the County Council aspires to in its work and partnerships with children, parents, pupils, adult learners, education providers, public, private and voluntary organisations and the wider community.

      Underpinning everything in this brief document is a web site which brings together all the Education strategies and policies.

      The results of successive MORI surveys of the residents of Hampshire support this vision. These consistently identify education as a service of major importance to the community's priorities, and indicate a high level of satisfaction with the provision.

      Education in the 21st Century cannot be delivered by one organisation in isolation from others. Much of the work to meet the educational needs of the communities of Hampshire relies on a partnership approach. This is emphasised in this document. As a partner, the County Council seeks high standards from everyone who shares responsibilities for education and learning within the community of Hampshire.

      In line with the Hampshire County Council corporate strategy, this document places a focus on supporting areas of relative deprivation, some of these in small pockets in otherwise affluent areas. Likewise the County Council is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for everyone, where rights, respects and responsibilities are recognised, regardless of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

      The County Council, operating within a strong national education framework, seeks to interpret and adapt national legislation and guidance in ways best suited to local circumstances. Again, this increasingly demands effective partnerships with a wide range of organisations.

      Comprehensive and inclusive education with a focus on the learner

      A range of learning opportunities through a balanced and creative curriculum

      Recognising different learning styles

      The role of schools

      A focus on the learner

      Hampshire County Council has a vision of a comprehensive and inclusive education system in which every learner, whatever their special needs and abilities:

      - is given appropriate support to access education fully

      - is accorded equal worth and protected from harm

      - enjoys learning

      - is equipped with the values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to live life to the full.

      Education in Hampshire, for all age groups, will offer a balanced and creative curriculum. This will be challenging and have breadth and depth, accommodating different learning styles. It will offer opportunities in sport and the arts alongside academic disciplines. It will develop learners' understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens and members of their communities.

      Individuals learn in many different ways and effective learning takes place in diverse environments. The County Council, working in partnership with other education providers, will create a range of learning opportunities to meet individual needs.

      Local schools serve their local communities and each has a distinctive ethos which we celebrate. Schools will work in partnership with each other, and with other organisations, sharing facilities, good practice and expertise for the benefit of their pupils and the wider community. In this way, Hampshire schools, developing the extended school concepts, will be part of a network of school and community facilities where every child, with varying levels of support depending on their needs, can find their niche and achieve their full potential.

      Within this environment, education in Hampshire should enable learners to develop as self respecting, creative, skilled, motivated and emotionally literate individuals. These will be people who enjoy learning, are able to communicate effectively, behave responsibly and play a full part in society.

      Education resources for the Hampshire community

      Buildings and Landscapes

      Resources for Education

      On behalf of the community of Hampshire,

      the County Council administers the Local Education Authority's budget, and therefore the budgets of schools and some other publicly funded education providers. The County Council will endeavour to allocate these resources to ensure the best outcome for the community as a whole. This will include consideration of the particular needs of areas of relative deprivation, and of rural communities, and of the role extended schools can play in serving the needs of their communities.

      Well designed and maintained buildings and surroundings contribute to effective learning and provide good community facilities. Drawing on a range of funding opportunities as well as its own resources, the County Council will work to support the development and effective management of high quality buildings and their surrounding landscapes.

      Preventing social exclusion

      High quality education for all children

      School accountability

      School co-operation and collaboration

      Valuing professional and personal development

      Workforce and work-life balance

      The County Council will work to co-ordinate its resource use as effectively as possible to ensure the wellbeing of children and families. Multi-agency services will support all children in the community according to their needs, and work intensively with the most vulnerable to prevent social exclusion. At the heart of their communities, schools and other education providers have an important role to play to achieve this and to offer their communities access to support and facilities.

      The County Council and Schools

      Hampshire County Council has a joint responsibility with schools to enable all Hampshire's children to access education of the highest quality and to protect children from harm. This will include appropriate provision for pupils whose needs must be met in special ways. Working in partnership with governors and headteachers, the County Council will support self-managing schools, provide leadership and set strategic direction and the policy framework.

      Schools and other education providers funded by the County Council will be held accountable by the County Council for the quality of the service they provide. Schools are also accountable to their parents through their governors, and to the Secretary of State for Education through the Ofsted inspection system. The aim is for these accountabilities to complement each other to ensure all education providers are effective and highly valued by their local communities.

      The County Council will seek the most effective ways of working with schools, and of enabling schools to work together. This will ensure that best practice in all aspects of education provision is identified, validated, and disseminated effectively. The County Council will strive to overcome barriers and to influence legislation to enhance this partnership.

      School and County Council staff, governors, elected members and volunteers are highly valued and vital to the delivery of this strategy. The County Council recognises that continuous professional and personal development of its whole workforce is at the heart of every learning community.

      Staff within partner organisations will share development needs with us, and as multi-agency work develops, so joint training of professional staff from partner organisations with school and County Council staff will develop.

      Headteachers, teachers, support staff and others involved in school life need to enjoy learning and helping others to learn. Striking the right balance in the school and County Council workforce to ensure reasonable workloads will be a very important task.

      The County Council and the wider education community

      Good education for the whole community

      Early years education

      Family learning

      Young people

      Post-16 and adult education

      People develop their knowledge, understanding and skills throughout life, before and after school age, and at different times and places in the community, workplace, college or home.

      The funding for education administered by the County Council is one of a number of significant sources of public and private funding available to the Hampshire community for education and learning. This emphasises the importance of all education providers working in partnership to provide high quality education though the people best placed to deliver it. By offering complementary provision they can maximise the impact excellent education and learning can have in improving the social and economic prospects of individuals and communities.

      The County Council will continue to recognise the vital importance of high quality early years education and childcare in preventing social exclusion and maximising life chances. The County Council will work with schools and other providers to enable all children and their families to access these opportunities.

      Family Learning will continue to be an important part of this work particularly in helping people to develop basic literacy and numeracy, IT skills, and a healthy lifestyle.

      The County Council is committed to providing opportunities for young people to challenge themselves and to find education that suits their learning styles and needs. For the 14-19 age group, the County Council will encourage effective links between schools, Further Education, 6th form colleges and employers to offer access to work related and vocational courses, linking with the Local Learning and Skills Council. The Youth Service and Connexions will ensure that challenging opportunities and support services, including careers information, advice and guidance, are available to young people.

      Post-16 and adult education is delivered through a network of providers, commissioned by the Local Learning and Skills Council (LLSC). The County Council will work with the LLSC to develop a collaborative approach to provision that avoids duplication and provides a wide range of opportunities. The County Council will continue to support programmes for adult learning, sports and arts developments, childcare, recreational activity and the use of school facilities by local community groups.

      Summary

      This strategy summarises what the County Council does in partnership with other providers to provide education opportunities for people in Hampshire. Education is not just about academic achievement and preparation for adult life; it helps communities to be safe, and economically viable. Education is not just about what happens at school: it is a lifelong process. Within this broad vision, individuals matter. The County Council wants everyone in Hampshire to benefit from education throughout their lives.