Item 6

Departmental Statements of Commitment to Lifelong Learning

Education

The Education Department is totally committed to the concept of Lifelong Learning. Through its structures, it has developed a strong practical and philosophical framework which underpinned the Strategy for Education "Maximising life opportunities through education" and has been influential in the development of the Corporate Strategy for Lifelong Learning. This commitment is exhibited in ongoing examples of learning from the early years, through schools, transition to post 16 education and the world of work and into adult education. It will help underpin the developing work with Social Services in securing learning and life opportunities for all children which are healthy, safe, enjoyable and have positive outcomes, as part of the Children Act as it is implemented.

The Department is committed to the continuous professional development of all its staff; officers and support staff, teachers and assistants. It fully supports Hampshire as a `learning authority' and will seek to reinforce this idea through its branch training and development programmes and through support for both the Hampshire Learning Centre and the Hampshire Teaching and Leadership College.

Recreation and Heritage

Culture and Lifelong Learning

Culture is all that gives shape and meaning to our lives. We take part in cultural activities for enjoyment but, in the process, we also learn about the things that are important to us. Cultural experiences - reading a book, playing a sport, going to a rock concert, walking a footpath, visiting a museum or art gallery - contain countless opportunities for learning about ourselves and the things we value.

"Enjoying Hampshire" - the county's Cultural Strategy - recognises this crucial link between culture and learning. It identifies the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities as one of the key aims of the cultural services in Hampshire. The cultural strategy and the strategy for lifelong learning occupy fertile common ground. The Recreation and Heritage services of Hampshire County Council are therefore enthusiastic partners in the lifelong learning strategy.

PBRS

Property, Business and Regulatory Services is committed to Lifelong Learning. Through the breadth of services it offers the residents of Hampshire, the Department will:

· provide premises of quality, adaptability and suitability to meet changing learning needs

· work with schools and other partners to improve the availability and accessibility of learning destinations throughout the county

· ensure the Council's buildings offer safe and secure learning environments.

· support the availability of premises for learning by all ages, from pre-schools, youth centres, discovery centres and extended schools.

· provide advice on consumer issues to public and business, promoting consumer learning and encouraging people to become informed confident consumers

· provide advice and support to vulnerable residents in Hampshire, particularly in relation to `rogue traders', to allow them to maintain an independent lifestyle

· maximise learning potential through aggregated purchasing arrangements

· encourage pupils to eat well by making school meals an integral part of the learning experience

Property Business and Regulatory Services supports continuous development of all its staff, and aims to promote a culture of personal development to encourage excellence in design and service delivery. Examples of learning `best practice' are shared throughout the Department through regular meetings of its Continuous Learning Improvement Group. The Department has positively embraced the Cabinet priority of improving education skills by developing and launching a modern apprenticeship scheme, with opportunities being provided for young people across a range of disciplines.

Chief Executive's Department

The Chief Executive's department wholeheartedly endorses the principles and actions proposed in the Corporate Lifelong Learning Strategy. The department strives to uphold these principles in terms of providing learning opportunities for staff and by ensuring that the principles and actions to support the development and delivery lifelong learning is reflected in the Corporate Strategy key aims and objectives.

The County Council's role in the promotion of economic, social and environmental well being by the development of Community Strategies, though a partnership approach with Local Strategic Partnerships, also reflects the need to recognise the value of lifelong learning.

Economic Development

The Economic Development Office (EDO) supports the vision for Lifelong Learning in Hampshire, that:-

"Everyone in Hampshire should have access to high quality learning opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities".

As part of this support, the EDO wishes to express its commitment to the Strategy as a partnership unit within the County Council, in terms of both external work on workforce development and (internally) in seeking to foster a culture of lifelong learning within its own staff.

Role of the Economic Development Office within the Corporate Lifelong Learning Strategy

The Economic Development Office agrees to:-

· Support the Strategy and Implementation Plan

· Continue to co-ordinate delivery of the skills objective within the Best Value Economic Prosperity Improvement Plan

· Seek to improve links between business and mainstream learning providers (in partnership with the Education Dept)

· Reinforce the culture of learning amongst its own staff

· Look at how learning opportunities can be exploited within existing and future EDO project

· Ensure there are links between the planned Hantsweb Business Portal and relevant lifelong learning pages.

Social Services

Social Services will contribute to the delivery of Hampshire County Council's vision for lifelong learning by:

· promoting re-ablement and independent living wherever possible for vulnerable people

· leading the Council's work on producing the Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plan, the purpose of which is to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefit and to increase the number of disabled people in the workforce. This will include supporting people to receive training and qualifications to enable this to happen.

· providing services with a significant `lifelong learning' component, including: rehabilitative services that help people gain or regain skills lost through illness or disability such as stroke or sensory loss.

· implementing the Social Care Commission's minimum standards relating to staffing levels and the qualifications that the staff group must possess.

· re-confirming the Department's commitment to the continued learning and development of all its employees and maintaining Investors in People status

· providing support for professional training including: Post-Qualifying Child Care Awards (PQCCA), PQ1 CCA Mental Health, Approved Social Worker (ASW), National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) and the new 3-year degree programme, which will be sponsored by the Department

Environment Department Commitment to Lifelong Learning

The Environment Department recognises the enhanced value to the wider community by making a positive commitment to support Lifelong Learning objectives. It will therefore work in partnership with the Education Department to:

· Develop existing and new learning programmes and opportunities that promote environmental awareness and sustainable lifestyles to the public, employers and other training organisations.

· Investigate and work with partners to promote and improve accessibility to learning centres through local transport services and facilities.

· Implement learning initiatives to improve staff development and recruitment.

County Treasurer's

The County Treasurer's department has a commitment to developing staff and recognises the Lifelong Learning strategy as a valuable approach to its ongoing learning and development programmes. Continuous development is progressed through a range of learning opportunities including vocational programmes, management development and wider awareness sessions including our popular lunchtime learning sessions. We strive to achieve this through our performance development process which encourages ongoing dialogue with staff about their development needs and aspirations to enable the department to plan and deliver good quality learning opportunities.

Corporate Communications Team

The Corporate Communications Team is committed to promoting Hampshire's vision for lifelong learning as part of its support for the County Council's overarching aim of "developing quality of life for everyone".

Through the use of its Citizen's Panel it has helped to gather research on learning and literacy which has underpinned the review and will also help to ensure the "voice of the learner" continues to be heard in the future as part of seeking continuous feedback on services.

Corporate Communications pledges its support for the Lifelong Learning Strategy through its proactive media relations and through the provision of information to both staff and the public. The team is committed to bringing to life examples of learning and promoting the opportunity to learn across all the Council's services. Whether it is in a child's early years or in lessons at school, in adult education, the world of work, or through cultural experiences and recreational activities, information is the key to enabling access to learning for all. The Corporate Communications Team understands and embraces its important part to play in helping to unlock those opportunities.