Contact: Melanie Saunders, Education Officer (Secondary/Post-16), ext 6364

1 Background to current situation

1.1 Following increasing emphasis on the need to reform post-14 education and training through a series of education white papers from 2001 onwards, The National Working Group on 14-19 Reform, chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson made its final report in October 2004. The report based on the concept of, "inclusiveness, challenge, quality and choice," formed the basis for Hampshire's "Strategy for Developing 14-19 Education and Training as a Single Phase," which was written jointly with the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Connexions and with a working party which included secondary headteachers and college principals as well as work-based training providers.

1.2 The strategy document was the first to be jointly written in this way and was sent to all schools and colleges in February 2005, accompanied by a detailed and time-limited action plan. The action plan included a commitment to a joint LA/LSC appointment to take forward 14-19 activity and this appointment was duly made with effect from 1 January 2006. The timing of this jointly funded appointment co-incided with the publication of the DfES "14-19 Implementation Plan" which sets out what must be achieved by LAs, LSCs and by schools, colleges and training providers by 2008 when the first specialised diplomas come on line. Considerable progress has been made in the months since January but the pace of change in this area is rapid and increasing and much remains to be done if all students in the identified age range in Hampshire schools and colleges are to access the specified entitlement to appropriate and engaging 14-19 education and training from 2008 onwards.

2 A vision for 14-19 education and training

2.1 The five outcomes expressed in Every Child Matters and in The Children Act are addressed through all aspects of the work of a Children's Services Directorate. However, the 14-19 agenda has the potential to make a fundamental impact on all five outcomes for all children and young people in Hampshire and should be regarded as a key strategy in reducing the risk of failure. Achievement at 16 and participation post-16 are of particular concern for Children Looked After and more flexible and inclusive pathways through KS4 and into KS5 are a fundamental part of addressing this.

2.2 It is the stated aim of this government that, by 2013, 90% of nineteen year olds will still be in education or employment with training. This is an ambitious target, but if achieved, it would mean that we had reduced by two thirds, the number of young people who cease to be engaged in education with the potential to make a positive contribution to their communities and to society. Economic well-being is best served by achievement at school and a pathway for every young person into employment which is flexible and enjoyable for adult life.

2.3 The behaviour of children in school and of young people in society is directly affected by levels of engagement and the sense of an exciting and successful future being within grasp. It is the responsibility of every secondary school to see, as its core purpose, the provision of challenging, appropriate and engaging pathways through KS4 and onto further education or employment with training.

2.4 There are an increasing number of courses currently available at entry, foundation, intermediate and advanced level which students can access regardless of their age. Courses are assessed in a range of ways and many incorporate direct experience of the workplace and opportunities to study at more than one institution. The focus on employability through developing personal learning and thinking skills and functional skills in English, mathematics and ICT, represent a response to the stated requirements of employers. The new specialised diplomas will offer students a new way to learn and provide employers and higher education with the knowledge, skills and capabilities needed to make the country more competitive. The "learning Outcomes" of the new diplomas result from a working partnership between education, employers and universities who have already reached broad agreement on what the first five diplomas will cover. The provision for shortened key stages and fast tracking mean that 14-19 has the potential to provide the right course, at the right level, with appropriate progression rotes for every single young person. "A growing sense of momentum is building within schools and colleges who are keen to get on with delivering reforms. The Diplomas will offer students a real alternative to the traditional route and it is extremely encouraging that every single area of the country has already expressed an interest in offering the Diplomas when they are ready for teaching in 2008."

2.5 If the LA responds to this agenda, it is a route to addressing disaffection and the sense of failure which afflicts many young people at an increasingly early stage of their school career. It is also a response to the need to challenge the most able and keep all of our young people in education or employment with training until they are at least nineteen and have acquired the skills for flexible employment throughout adulthood. If this strategy is successful, many of the aims of The Children Act will be achieved by it.

2.6 No single institution will be able to deliver a full curriculum of GCSE and A Level subjects as well as all 14 lines of the specialised diploma. It is, therefore, of vital importance that schools, colleges, Education Centres and training providers work together in local groups to ensure that this area entitlement is available to all young people in Hampshire. As Jim Knight, Minister for Schools, stated, " this is an exciting time for education. The first Diplomas are really taking shape and they provide a vision of the future of learning for 14-19 year olds." The County Council must take seriously its role as the lead organisation with responsibility for engaging the Learning and Skills Council, Connexions and all the institutions in a local area in delivering the entitlement to achievement and progress for every young person through school and into further education or employment.

3 Achieving the vision

3.1 It is tempting to dwell on the many and varied barriers which exist to good partnership working 14-19. Some of these barriers are real and have often resulted from government policy, these include the local competition generated by league tables, historic differences engendered when some schools became Grant Maintained and differentials in funding between schools and colleges and through other short-term initiatives such as EAZs. Other genuine barriers such as distance to travel and the cost of collaboration also need to be addressed as do some of the less tangible concerns such as those over trust and historic dispute between neighbouring schools. However, the majority of these are possible to address and the arrival of a new headteacher or college principal with a fresh view on a local situation, often demonstrates that barriers can be tackled if there is a positive will to do so. There are excellent case studies, also, which show how groups of schools have worked together in an area and sought local solutions to difficulties.

3.2 Within Hampshire there are 71 secondary schools, nine of which have sixth forms, and fifteen post-16 colleges as well as a range of training providers. During the first half of 2006, these have all agreed to grouping into nine consortia for the purposes of considering a reasonable travel-to-learn area, although some schools consider themselves to belong to more than one consortium. The appointment of the 14-19 Partnerships Inspector/Adviser from January 2006 has been very effective in building on the good foundations of the established links with colleges and the LSC. It has also provided additional drive and clarity to the consortium arrangements which is necessary if the local authority is to be accountable for ensuring that there is an area entitlement.

3.3 The first task is to define a travel-to-learn area as the distance that a student can reasonably be expected to travel to access courses of his/her choice. This is different in different areas and should be defined by time, for example 20 minutes for a 14 year old and 40 minutes for a 17 year old, rather than distance which may be short but congested in a built-up area. Each travel-to-learn area contains a number of schools and at least one college plus provision of some work-based learning. Within such a consortium, existing provision must be mapped to identify what courses students can currently access and where the gaps in provision are likely to be. Securing the agreement of all participating institutions to joint planning to fill those gaps as the remaining specialist diplomas come on line from 2008 onwards is the next major task for a consortium and such brokering activity requires co-ordination and a clear understanding of the implications of such choices.

3.4 The introduction of a series of progress checks, commencing in October 2006, for LAs and LSCs to ensure readiness for 2008 make it clear that the lead responsibility for ensuring appropriate provision and commissioning to fill and gaps lies with the LA working with its partners. This activity will lead, by September 2007, to the production of an Area Prospectus for Hampshire as a whole and for each area so that students, parents and institutions know what is on offer where. The key to this is both a coherent and supportive core curriculum which prepares students to make these choices and impartial, well-informed advice and guidance. The maintenance of the Area Prospectus and accurate data on participation and progression will both require additional ICT time and expertise which, it is anticipated, will be funded from the DfES short-term grant.

3.5 Increased Flexibility Partnerships were established with small amounts of money being paid through the LSC to colleges to help fund some pre-16 provision for schools to access. In most areas this has been fairly small scale and, whilst welcome, has benefited small numbers of students. In addition, in some areas, particularly where schools are 11-16, as in Hampshire, a culture of dependency has developed. Although there has been a will to work together and some partnerships have been effective, the colleges held the money and they have been in control of what was offered, when and to what students and in many cases schools have either fitted in or missed out. In addition, since the sums have been so small, colleges have incurred considerable additional expense and have been unable to develop structures to deal with the different pressures generated by having small cohorts of 14-16 year olds on-site part-time. Many schools have been content for colleges to do this work and to take off their hands small numbers of , frequently disaffected, students. As we go forward into a time when around 40% of KS4 students will be studying courses beyond those traditionally offered by schools this must move beyond this dependency and become a proper partnership of equals for the benefit of all local learners. Both the LSC and the LA have received funding from the DfES to support consortia development of 14-19 courses. The LSC have targeted funding on specific criteria, the LA has, in the first instance and with the agreement of the Schools Forum, attached £60 to every student in KS4. In addition, consortia will receive some funding from this Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to support the release of a member of staff to co-ordinate 14-19 planning and delivery. It is intended that schools pool these sources of funding to provide each consortium with a significant fund to take this work forward.

3.6 If schools are to offer courses such as Engineering, Construction or Health and Social Care, there are implications for staffing, budgets and school buildings.

4 Personnel issues

4.1 If 40% of 14-16 year olds will be studying Specialist Diplomas by 2013 then 40% of current school staff will be teaching them. If that is not the case then schools will either be massively overstaffed or dealing with comprehensive redundancies and challenging recruitment issues. The delivery of this vision requires reciprocal arrangements between schools and between schools and colleges so that, within a travel-to-learn area, each school contains the expertise to deliver one or more of the diploma lines lies. If that is not the case and all students studying specialist diplomas go to college then school budgets and staffing will reduce accordingly and schools will lose control over the progress and attainment of significant sections of their KS4 cohort. The local authority should be providing staff training for schools in two specific areas. Firstly, for individual teaching staff to be able to deliver the practical and applied courses in their own, or other, subject areas, for example Creative and Media, Sport and Leisure, Business Administration and Finance, all of which are planned diploma lines. Secondly, for senior staff to plan timetables and select courses with neighbouring institutions which support entitlement and encourage 14-19 progression at the right level.

4.2 The capacity of the workforce to deliver the requirements of 14-19 and the support provided by the LA is a fundamental aspect of the DfES progress checks. The SSAT and QCA are already working on this but Hampshire has always sought to develop local solutions and HTLC is will be working with 14-19 specialist staff to develop such a programme of training and support.

5 Financial implications

5.1 In recent years, funding to support 14-16 flexibility has been in small, short-term pockets of money. In 2006/7 The Dedicated Schools Grant recognised, for the first time, the significant extra costs of collaboration. The DfES have now set up a specific task group to look at how school budgets can adapt in order to reflect the different costs of courses 14-16 and of area collaboration. The findings of this group will affect the formula for the future funding of KS4 in schools.

5.2 In addition, a short-term Standards Fund Grant will be paid to each local authority for two financial years; `06/'07 and `07/'08 in order to build local administrative and logistical capacity to deliver 14-19 partnerships and area entitlement. This grant will be useful in developing further and at greater pace, the work begun with the publication of the 14-19 Strategy and the appointment of the Inspector/Adviser for 14-19 Partnerships. Local consortia need help to identify local need and work together to plan and implement the curriculum changes required and to overcome any barriers which may exist to local collaboration.

5.3 There will be a need for considerable local focus as each consortium develops but an overall pattern across Hampshire as a whole is an important part of entitlement. Identifying gaps, commissioning provision and ensuring that students can access the full entitlement lies within the remit of the LA.. This is a complex area of work which involves a wide range of partners both within the County Council and outside of it and it must be achieved within a fairly tight timescale. A coherent approach which ensures that all areas of the county develop a partnership approach to delivery 14-19 which benefits all young people is an important principle. However, the financial, logistical and environmental constraints of transport within a large shire county should not be underestimated.

6 Data

6.1 The local authority collects and analyses a wide range of data on the performance and progress of students in the compulsory years of education. Post-16, great deal of data is also collected and analysed but some of this is in the ownership of individual college corporations, some with the LSC and some with Connexions. In addition, if students progress into post-16 education or training, they acquire a new UPN (Unique Pupil Number). All of this makes it difficult to track individual student progress from KS4 to KS5, although the new LAT (Learner Achievement Tracker) currently being piloted may address this in the fullness of time. However, the comparison of the relative student by student performance of one post-16 institution with another, particularly when one is a school and one a college, remains problematic. If concerns about quality assurance and confidence in students accessing courses at more than one institution are to be addressed, this needs to be tackled as a national and as a local priority.

6.2 In addition, the DfES Progress Checks require considerable data input on a range of factors concerning participation, progression and achievement, not all of which is collected or maintained by the LA.. A data sharing group across the LA, LSC and Connexions has met for the first time to begin to establish what data is already available and identify what additional information will be needed in the future.

7 Facilities

7.1 College facilities to deliver vocational courses are, in general, better than those which it is possible to site in schools. However, in recent years, a range of factors have combined to provide schools with the potential to deliver at least some of the diploma lines on their own sites. The majority of Hampshire schools have specialist status and the County Council has been pro-active in promoting an area-wide view of specialisms so that there is a range within a local area. As schools develop as specialist schools they not only acquire considerable teaching expertise within the subject area but enhanced capital investment also means that the specialist facilities are often of a very high standard. Several of the diploma lines lend themselves to existing specialisms such as ICT, engineering, creative and media, business administration and sport and leisure.

7.2 The amount of devolved capital which schools have had has increased in recent years and for the last two financial years the local authority has used a small amount of its retained capital to support schools who wish to develop or adapt existing facilities to deliver more practical options at KS4. In order to access this money, schools have to show that the new facilities will benefit at lest one other institution in their area whose students will be able to access them. Running alongside this agenda is the issue of falling school rolls across many areas of the county and the requirement to impact upon the increasing surplus spaces shown by available data and forecasting. Making a virtue of necessity by converting classrooms into spaces suitable for the delivery of vocational qualifications attracts funding for the removal of surplus spaces and provides high quality facilities for small cohorts of students to study non-traditional subjects within their own school. If a strategic view of such activity is taken, it is possible to envisage students moving between schools to access their entitlement to specialist diplomas as well as between schools and colleges.

8 Personal Development Learning (PDL)

8.1 The 14-19 landscape is an increasingly complex one for students, schools and colleges and for employers. It is, therefore, important that impartial and well-informed advice and guidance is available to all students as they come towards the end of KS3 and prepare for KS4. With more schools running a shortened KS3 and looking to fast-track able students, readiness for KS4, at whatever age needs to ensure that the right course at the right level with appropriate progression routes is identified. The ability of students to reflect upon and be involved in planning their own learning is one of the aims of a good personal development curriculum and schools seek to marry external advice and guidance with the development of personal skills and social responsibility so that students make informed life choices. The engagement of Connexions and the Youth Service within the LA is an essential part of progressing this agenda.

8.2 Work Related Learning in schools is also part of PDL and it is the entitlement of every KS4 student to learn about work and through work so that their studies may be placed in context. PDL also incorporates enterprise learning which is as much about creative and flexible approaches to problem solving and entrepreneurial skills as it is about business. A sound and supportive PDL curriculum should help students to develop personal and employability skills so that they are actively involved in their learning and in preparing for adult life. It is a fundamental part of the 14-19 phase and provides the necessary support mechanism for students as they move between key stages and make decisions about their future.

9 Accountability

9.1 The 2005 education White Paper places the duty on the Local Authority in relation to 14-16 year olds and the LSC in relation to 16-19 year olds to ensure that there is sufficient provision in each local area. However, the same White Paper gives the lead responsibility to LAs who must give clear strategic direction across the whole of the 14-19 phase. The 14-19 Implementation Plan re-iterates this local accountability and the role of the LA as an integrator of services. It also makes clear that the intention is to place a duty on schools to ensure that the young people on their roll have access to all the diplomas available locally. The expectation is that the LA will engage with key partners, specifically the LSC and Connexions, to establish a series of local 14-19 partnerships or consortia consisting of schools, colleges and work-based learning providers. These partnerships will seek local solutions to local delivery issues such as governance arrangements, a shared curriculum framework, transport, behaviour management, data transfer and complaints procedures.

9.2 Whilst each area will require different solutions to different local issues, this should be within the overarching 14-19 strategy of the entire county council area. In the end, it is the local authority which is accountable for the outcomes achieved by all young people at 19 and at 24 for those with special educational needs. It is important, therefore, that the county-wide vision of entitlement and progression as laid out in the "Strategy for 14-19 Education and Training as a Single Phase" is enacted through centrally co-ordinated, locally focussed delivery.

10 The way ahead

10.1 The national message from Jim Knight is that, "There is a lot to do between now and 2008 but we are well placed to do it," the same is true within Hampshire. The county has some outstanding schools and the largest proportion of beacon colleges in the country. A well-established network of Education Business Partnerships operates beneath the umbrella of Partnership Network and Hampshire was the first local authority area to publish a jointly written 14-19 strategy with the local LSC, supported by an agreed action plan. Following on from this, the appointment of the Inspector/Adviser for 14-19 Partnerships has allowed considerable preparatory work to go ahead in establishing clear local partnerships, although in some areas of the county historic differences mean that this remains a challenge with much local diplomacy still required. The opportunity to appoint three 14-19 consultants as short-term project workers to work closely with schools on curriculum planning, identifying gaps in provision, staff development and seeking locally focussed solutions, comes at an ideal time.

10.2 Work has begun in preparation for the Area Prospectus and each of the nine consortia has registered an expression of interest, through the LA, to enter the Gateway process to teach some of the first five specialised diplomas. By 2013, the landscape 14-19 will be very different so that our most able students are engaged and motivated to achieve their best and those who do not wish to pursue academic pathways have access to appropriate routes to further learning and career development which command equal respect regardless of where in Hampshire they live.