We had two extremely useful and quite different focus group meetings today and have two more planned for tomorrow (Tuesday) in Birmingham. I will try and capture some of the debate in later posts .....which, given the wide ranging discussions, will be quite a challenge!! We did send a copy of a discussion document to attendees and a couple of people suggested that I make it more readily available across the sector as soon as we can. We will do this later this week, with some other discussion papers, but in the interim I have posted it below. As always we are very happy to hear any views you might have.
FE Guild – Discussion Document – Number 1 – FE Guild purpose & remit
This document is intended
to stimulate discussion about the potential purpose and remit for the FE Guild.
It provides some information, some ideas and sets out some of the key questions
which are apparent at the outset of the project. The aim is that the discussion
and debate will help refine the ideas and options and help develop the
consultation paper. which needs to go out early in the New Year.
Preamble
1.
We are not starting with
a blank sheet in terms of the ideas and options for the purpose and remit of
the guild. There a number of reference points for our thinking within our
sector:
•
The Lord Lingfield review
•
The history of
organisations which have operated in this space over recent years, including
LSIS, CEL, QIA and IfL, as well as the many Government-led organisational
approaches such as the Standards Unit
•
The AoC/AELP contract bid
to undertake the FE Guild development phase.
•
The BIS Grant letter to
AoC which contained a list of areas to be considered.
2.
There are also some
important reference points from other sectors where organisations exist with
similar purposes and remits. The project team will be looking at a number of
organisations that represent specialist professional areas to learn as much as
we can from their experiences. There are a number of common themes which are
emerging from the early work which the project team have carried out and these
are covered in this paper.
What should be the purpose of the FE Guild?
3.
Based on the Lord
Lingfield review, the BIS prospectus and the AoC/AELP submission etc, is there
a consensus that the overall purpose of the FE Guild could be something along
the lines of:
To support and enhance the development,
qualification and recognition of the professionalism of the sector workforce,
and the leadership and governance of the providers
There is a question about
whether it should also focus on the outcomes of a professional workforce in
terms of the learner experience and in meeting labour market needs.
4.
Following on from this we
could look at key elements, initially covered in the ‘triangle’ of remit produced to support the AoC/AELP bid, supported by
many sector stakeholders, and further developed during discussions/meetings
prior to the start of the contract, which covered:
Teaching and Learning
•
Defines Competencies (SSC)
•
Endorses qualifications
(SSC)
•
Co-ordinates response to
McLoughlin Review
•
Develops Covenant (Lingfield)
•
Identifies CPD best
practice
Leadership and Governance Development:
•
Sponsors and commissions
Courses
•
Identifies Skills gaps
•
Commissions development
programmes
Professional (non-teaching) development:
• Facilitates professional development with industry for lecturers /
teachers
• Develops communities of practice and scholarly endeavours for VET
sector
• Commissions research to inform professional development and
improved teaching
Key Questions 1: Does this cover the essential
elements of a potential purpose and remit?
Is anything vital missing? Should anything be excluded?
Aspiration for the Guild – what might it look a few
years downstream?
5.
We are keen to encourage people in
the sector to think about the medium and longer terms aspirations for the
guild; what do we want the guild to achieve over that time? This is a bit
difficult as we haven’t yet decided on the purpose and remit of the Guild, so
this is really more a stab in the dark, but maybe by just thinking of where we
might want to get to will help formulate the purpose of the Guild. Do the following generic high level
aspirations sound right?
•
A body which is
recognised internally and externally as the expert voice and advocate on
workforce development and qualifications for the sector.
•
Can show real sector
ownership and direction by achieving outputs and successes widely accepted and
acclaimed by the sector and stakeholders as valuable and contributing to the
reputation and professionalism of the sector and most importantly the learner
experience.
•
Has a robust, clear,
flexible and fit for purpose set of qualifications and standards for new
entrants to the sector as well as continuous professional development.
•
Can show significant
increased engagement across the sector in leadership, management and governance
development programmes, which lead to measurable individual and organisation
improvements.
•
Is recognised by
Government and other key stakeholders as being effective, making a real
difference and offering good value for money.
•
Has helped to enhance the
reputation of the sector with public and private sector employers by enhancing
the professional reputation and currency of the workforce.
•
When measured against
current reviews, eg Lord Lingfield, McLoughlin, and future developments is able to show that their aspirations
have been reflected in the position the new body has reached.
•
Dependant on the final
remit, has shown improvements across the sector in areas such as equality and
diversity, STEM provision etc.
.
Key Questions 2: Are these the right sort of aspirations? Do
they describe the organisation we want to develop? Are they realistic and measurable? Is
anything critical missing? Should any come out as not really being
aspirational? Do they help to define the way ahead?
What might an FE Guild
mission or vision look like?
6.
From the work the project team has
already carried out there is some sense of what a potential mission might look
like for the guild. This does in some ways put the ’cart before the horse’, but
in order to stimulate a response and with a bit of judicious plagiarism we have
put together some possible mission statements. We will of course approach this
through the consultation process to get more of a bottom up view.
·
We are the advocate and voice of the FE Sector profession, a
champion of our professional interests, a respected partner to the broader FE
Sector and a body that works in the learner interest.
·
We enhance the reputation and understanding of the FE profession
and the professionalism of our members through the provision of world-class
structures for the delivery of learning in the FE sector. We do this by
providing advice on standards and qualifications, knowledge building and
sharing, leadership development, research, excellent governance, conduct and
ethics.
7.
As well as a mission, the
guild might want to have a vision, so another stab at something for people to
respond to and refine:
To be at the heart of a
FE sector profession that is widely respected for its professionalism and
diversity, attracting the brightest people and where organisations, government,
society and the learner understand the value of what we do. A profession that:
·
has a reputation for, and is built on, best practice, ethical
standards, research, practitioner and academic leadership
·
makes an important contribution to society through our ability
to build dialogue and trust, and is recognised for this contribution
·
is dynamic, collaborative and networked, reflecting the
diversity of the sector and the pace of technological change.
Key Questions 3: Do these reflect your views
on what the guild is about? Can you provide other words which might describe
the organisation better? Is it helpful to include these sorts of options in the
consultation process, or leave them out?
What might the FE Guild do?
8.
There is inevitably a long
list of potential functions and activities which the guild might want to be
engaged in. The following list is some of the more commonly stated potential
functions:
·
promote the values of
effective delivery of learning
·
learn from and supporting
improvement in learning provision
·
maintain ethics and values
Set and enhance first-class national standards of professionalism
to ensure excellence in the FE sector by:
·
developing a set of
nationally agreed standards for FE staff to attain
·
developing a set of
guidelines for continuous professional development of FE staff
·
providing frameworks for
standards to be tested and achievement rewarded
Identify evidence of what works in FE learning provision and share
best practice by:
·
providing access to a body
of knowledge that is informed by evidence-based research and best practice
·
continuing to develop an
understanding of the evolving learning delivery methodologies
Support the education and professional development of FE Staff by:
·
developing and maintaining
the national FE staff curriculum, assessment and accreditation frameworks
·
providing guidance on
appropriate continuous professional development
·
delivering leadership,
[Governance] and specialist training
·
accrediting and
quality-assuring FE staff training providers
·
developing future leaders
and expertise through effective talent management
Enable and motivate staff and employers to work together to
achieve a shared purpose by:
·
developing a covenant
between employers and employees and a code of practise for practitioners
·
working with partners to
make the best use of specialist knowledge
·
supporting desired
behaviours and actions that embody the FE sector values
Influence and support development of Government policy and
strategy around workforce development and learning delivery by:
·
working with Government
departments and agencies to provide expert advice on workforce development and
learning delivery
·
ensuring FE employers are
engaged and consulted in workforce development evolving strategies
·
evidence-based learning
delivery
There are many questions
about how the guild might carry out these functions which need to be addressed
over the coming weeks and there are many options and many lessons to be learned
from others about the pros and cons of different methodologies.
What might the FE Guild not do?
9.
At the same time that some
possible functions/activities have started to emerge in discussions, there are
a number which seem to commonly be mentioned as beyond or outside the remit of
the guild:
•
require FE staff to have a
licence to practise
•
mandate qualifications or
levels of continuous professional development
•
negotiate pay and
conditions of employment for FE staff
•
maintain a record of
disbarred staff
•
duplicate all the roles
other bodies play, like OFSTED
•
investigate complaints or
allegations of misconduct against FE staff - this will remain within the remit
of the relevant employing organisation
•
create a raft of
bureaucratic guidance for the FE sector
Key Questions 4: are these the right activities,
functions for the guild? Is anything missing, and any which should not be
included?