Archived decisions

Headings

Description of what is wanted

Name:

Lifelong Learning; a cross cutting review involving all Departments of the County Council.

Purpose:

To review how opportunities are created for Lifelong Learning, enabling people to develop the skills and abilities they need to contribute to the wellbeing of their families and the community.

The review challenged Hampshire County Council functions and considered whether the authority should stop undertaking and supporting non statutory services; whether it should just maintain the `status quo'; whether it should be the main provider of services; outsource all services or engage more strongly in partnership working (Options Report 26 May 2004).

Current performance

Evidence in the review showed that the County Council is highly committed to Lifelong Learning. The major philosophical and practical standpoints within the work link directly to three of the members priorities and address all of the County Council's strategic aims.

The review findings suggested that the expectation of the public is that Hampshire County Council should take a lead and co-ordination role in this work. It was considered that as many of the services for learning that Hampshire County Council provides are statutory functions or core duties, it would be very difficult, complex and ineffective to manage as outsourced provision. Lifelong learning is a complex arrangement of inter related networks and services, spanning work well beyond the County Council's capacity to deliver. The agreed outcome of `partnership working supporting a mixed economy of provision' recognised this reality. Partnership will help to ensure that the County Council's resources, in this regard, can be fully optimised, and that the value added factor delivered through partnerships, through pooled or shared resources, brings significant benefits.

Proposed improvements and how they will be achieved

From the outset of the review, the desired outcome was to produce a corporate Lifelong Learning Strategy, and this has been achieved.

The Lifelong Learning Strategy is structured under six main outcomes or aims. These state that Hampshire County Council will:

- Foster co-operation and partnership in Lifelong Learning between service providers for the benefit of all learners.

- Seek to ensure that opportunities for Lifelong Learning are continuous and progressive with seamless provision and ease of access to learning.

- Take a strong leadership role in Lifelong Learning.

- Develop effective communication and consultation processes with regard to Lifelong Learning.

- Give commitment to the development of high quality services in Lifelong Learning and seek to increase capacity in conjunction with partners.

- Work with its partners to maximise and secure appropriate resources for Lifelong Learning and to optimise their use.

The aims are translated into 20 objectives and supported by 116 actions, some of which are already taking place, others are featured in the Improvement Plan.

Conclusion

The scope of this review has been wide, its substance complex and difficult to manage. It represents a bold attempt to draw together a wide and disparate range of initiatives, engaging a large number of both internal and external providers. The Best Value Review Team started from a clean sheet and generally were not aware of the scale or diversity of activities and provision for Lifelong Learning in Hampshire. They were genuinely surprised and encouraged by what they found. However, there was real concern that such important developments had not been brought together, nor been made known to a wider public.

The Best Value Review for Lifelong Learning has started the process of bringing such work together and identifying means for its more effective publicity. The Strategy for Lifelong Learning highlights the main directions of development for the County Council. It orders and illuminates the key issues for Lifelong Learning and lists as many actions as reasonable, to inform the County Council and the public of the activities in place or being developed. The list of related plans and strategies at the end of each section provide a useful base for cross-referencing.

Overall, the Best Value Review and Strategy for Lifelong Learning provides a clear route by which Hampshire County Council can establish its legitimacy as a `Learning Authority'.