Contact: Melanie Saunders, Education Officer (Secondary/Post-16), 01962 846364, e-mail: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report outlines the development of a strategic document jointly produced by Hampshire County Council as the Local Education Authority (LEA) and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The strategy represents a coherent local response to the extensive national debate concerning the 14-19 age range which has generated a White Paper in 2001, a Green Paper in 2003 and the establishment of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform chaired by Mike Tomlinson (formerly Chief Inspector of Schools), which made their final report in October 2004.

1.2 The 14-19 Strategy supports aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximising life opportunities) and aim 3 (achieving economic prosperity) by increasing the opportunity for young people to achieve the equivalent of 5+ A*-C GCSE grades by the time they complete their formal education, increasing the number of young people who remain in education and training until at least the age of 19 and ensuring that 14-19 education and training is given a work related context.

2 Background to the development of a joint strategy

2.1 In July 2003 the national Working Group on 14-19 Reform made its first progress report. In November, Hampshire LEA set up a working party in partnership with the local LSC. Along with LEA and LSC officers, membership of the working party included Connexions, Fareport Training, the local learning partnership, two secondary headteachers, two college principals and a special school Advanced Skills Teacher (AST).

2.2 The purpose of the Hampshire working party was threefold:

· To produce a strategy for 14-19 education and training which prepared schools and colleges for the recommendations which Tomlinson would make in his interim report.

· To provide a coherent response to the three area reviews of 14-19 education and training which the LSC were conducting in Hampshire.

· To offer unified and considered leadership to schools and colleges in managing a learning phase which would, in most cases, carry learners across at least two different institutions with two different planning and funding bodies.

2.3 The working party met on several occasions through the winter and spring of 2003/2004. A draft strategy, divided into the main areas of which 14-19 planning will need to take account, was then written. In addition to the strategy document itself, a number of appendices to aid institutions in planning were either written by group members or identified as necessary inclusions in the published final strategy.

3 Strategy scope and content

3.1 The document acknowledges the shared responsibility of the LEA and the LSC for developing policy aimed at raising attainment and participation in education and training by young people in the 14-19 age range.

3.2 Education and training are essential for the social and economic well-being of Hampshire. Both parties recognise that, in order to promote the interests and needs of learners and respond to the skills demands of employers, strategic planning bodies and the providers of education and training must work in partnership. Tomlinson states that; "I hope we have got past the point where any institution feels it can provide, by itself, all the learning needs for young people aged 14-19."

3.3 The strategy (appendix 1) outlines commonly agreed practices and approaches to a range of issues which impact on the later secondary years and post-16 education. It also addresses the continuing government focus on the need for education to have a vocational as well as an academic focus. From September 2004 there has been a statutory requirement for schools to include work related learning (WRL) within the curriculum for all young people at Key Stage 4.

3.4 The strategy stresses the entitlement to a range of courses which allow learners to make informed choices about their interests, needs and aspirations for the future. There is a requirement for providers to respond to the needs of individual students in planning and delivering a flexible curriculum which recognises and supports different learning styles, allowing young people to achieve their potential as learners, citizens and members of their communities.

3.5 Such flexible and individual learning arrangements have been developing within the most effective consortia within Hampshire for some time. Several 11-19 consortia currently operate, which include schools and local colleges. In order to develop the entitlement of every learner to appropriate courses at the right level through to the age of 19, it will be necessary for all schools and colleges to form effective partnerships that work at the same level. These partnerships will be characterised by timely and impartial progression advice and guidance for learners and co-operative and flexible course planning by providers.

4 Participation and consultation

4.1 An initial draft of the strategy was shared with the working party and then circulated within the LEA and the LSC for feedback. Comment was also sought from Connexions, from the Hampshire Teachers' Liaison Panel (TLP) and from both the School and Lifelong Learning Branch Secondary Standing Committees. A consultation draft was dispatched simultaneously by the LEA to secondary schools and by the LSC to colleges and training providers at the end of June 2004. The document was accompanied by a joint letter from both the County Education Officer and the Chief Executive of the LSC.

4.2 The overall response from both schools and colleges has been positive, although the majority of the comment was general rather than specific. All comments received from providers have been considered when producing the attached second draft of the strategy document. It is intended that the strategy be published and distributed across Hampshire early in the new year to providers of education.

5 Action planning

5.1 Although the main function of the strategy is to provide guidance for schools and determine a philosophical position in response to Tomlinson's recommendations, clearly some action is necessary if it is to impact upon the educational standards and opportunities available to the young people of Hampshire. When the strategy is published in its final form, it will be accompanied by a series of planned actions with deadlines and success criteria.

5.2 The majority of these actions fall either within the remit of strategic bodies such as the LEA, the LSC and Connexions or within that of the providers themselves. This action plan is not yet complete, as achieving commitment to action by a range of different bodies requires lengthy consultation which is still taking place. The plan will be available to Members, on request, by the end of January 2005.

5.3 There is some excellent collaborative practice in Hampshire and some schools and colleges make good use of the flexible working arrangements at KS4, which have developed over recent years. Therefore, the actions required by them to deliver the 14-19 strategy are few. Others, however, will need to make considerable changes to their current working practices and have some way to go before a flexible curriculum, personalised for the needs of individual learners, is available to all their students. The closer working of the LEA with the LSC and Connexions will be important in challenging these schools and colleges to take the necessary action.

6 Future working

6.1 The production of a joint strategy to address the 14-19 agenda has generated interest in other LEA and LSC areas and has laid the foundations for more effective partnership between the two main education planning and funding bodies in Hampshire. Inspection of 14-19 provision across the area by Ofsted is to be expected in the future and a coherent response to the challenges of this age range begins with a joint strategy.

6.2 Termly meetings of senior LEA and LSC officers take place with agreed agendas and schools and colleges are perceiving an increasing unanimity of response on areas of shared concern, for example school sixth forms. We are moving towards protocols which will facilitate the better sharing of information between schools and colleges and between the LEA and the LSC.

7 Legal implications

7.1 None.

8 Financial implications

8.1 There are no financial implications for the County Council although individual institutions may incur additional expense in delivering college-based courses.

9 Personnel implications

9.1 This strategy reflects the national agenda on 14-19 education and training. In Hampshire, the TLP received an early draft of the strategy and schools and colleges have been invited to respond to the draft. It is anticipated that any changes to working conditions which individual schools and colleges may propose as a response this strategy would be the subject of negotiation within the individual institution.

10 Impact assessment

10.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified. The purpose of establishing a coherent approach to 14-19 education and training across Hampshire, is to extend the opportunities available to all learners within this age range regardless of ethnicity, gender, disability, learning, social or behavioural difficulty or religion and irrespective of where in the county they live.

11 Crime prevention issues

11.1 The impact on crime and disorder has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified. The purpose of the 14-19 strategy is to engage learners in education and training until at least the age of 19 and reduce the disaffection engendered by inappropriate curriculum provision.

12 Views of the Local County Councillor

12.1 This is a county-wide strategy and, as such, the views of individual councillors have not been sought.

Recommendations

1 That the Executive Member gives his support to the Strategy for developing 14-19 education and training as a single phase and to its distribution across secondary schools, colleges and training providers in Hampshire.

2 That the Executive Member gives his support to the continued development of partnership working between the LEA, the LSC and Connexions.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None.