Securing a better future for all at 16 and beyond

East of England Regional Seminar

December 2014

Dissemination event

FE & Skills Annual lecture themes – September 2014 accountabilitythe right provision for all aged 16-19 local solutions Local leadership

HMCI Annual Report 2013/14Further education and skills

Local accountability for tracking and ensuring that all young people

meet their statutory requirement to participate in education or

training remains unreliable

There is no effective national skills strategy or local accountability

for the range of post-16 provision

The lamentable quality of much careers guidance is an additional obstacle

Tracking – immediate considerations arising from survey

Well established and well-recognised young people’s characteristics but:

tendency to predetermine provision around ‘known vulnerabilities’ mental health - concernplight of 18-plus – ‘new NEET’academically able – able middle – dropping out

Tracking and monitoring (1)

Welcome recent positive ETE trend for 16- and 17-year-olds (RPA)

Increasing 18-plus

‘not knowns’ – still struggling

LAs that retained core data services better placed

Data are people – safeguarding!

Hugely contradictory data at local level – confusion regarding terminology

Poor transcription of figures led to wildly inaccurate records

Tracking and monitoring (2)

Plans to expand ULN – instances seen of multiple ULNs for same individual

Not enough schools, academies and providers meeting requirements to inform the local authority in a timely manner when a young person leaves before completing

Collective responsibility - too few instances !

Examples of effective integrated coherent teams and good personalised support for vulnerable

Provision 14–19 (1)

Emerging educational landscape – disparate, fragmented, coherent ?

Difficult to identify the combined curriculum offer for all in each of the areas visited

A few excellent examples, but little systematic collaboration to reduce duplication and unnecessary competition.

Competition frustrating strategies to meet needs of all

Provision 14–19 (2)

No clear structures or lines of accountability to ensure that the range of provision locally available serve all young learners well

No mechanisms to check the local offer prepares young people for career pathways that were in line with the needs of employers

IAG – educating school staff about vocational routes ‘a battle not easily won’

Few school managers feel they have sufficient capacity to ensure that they can engage with the complexity of 14–19 progression routes

Leadership and strategy (1)

Elements of successful planning in all areas but strategic planning disparate and fragmented

National strategies not aligned with local delivery ‘Local solutions to local problems’

To repeat -‘Little systematic collaboration among providers to reduce duplication and unnecessary competition’

Knowledge of gaps does not inform actions

LAs looking again and in different ways of how to support IAG -the most successful are …

A intervention role for the LA – delivering or enabling - LA leadership e.g. peer review, conducting ‘inspection’

Leadership and strategy (2)

Alternative strategic entities are emerging -some evidently productive– more fit for purpose than LA ?

Employer/LEP engagement varies – too few good instances

Link between JCP and LAs to ensure continuity of support and guidance variable

Small providers competing with nationals to meet contract requirements – VCS providers closest to learners locked out?

Ofsted calling for (1)

A reliable system for tracking a young person’s educational progress and participation throughout their learning career

Local authorities – legal powers of intervention

Schools, providers, local authorities and government agencies mandated to share information about learners’ backgrounds

Young people at the heart of all planning and delivery of 14-19 provision

Employers to take more responsibility for leading vocational education and training for young people

Ofsted calling for (2)

Providers to work with employers to ensure that what they provide leads to their learners securing employment

Schools to collaborate with other providers and careers guidance professionals to ensure that every young person has access to impartial careers guidance

Characteristics of high-qualityprovision (1)

The characteristics of provision designed to engage and sustain young people in education and training:

shared local understanding and collective action to prevent NEET

detailed and up-to-date knowledge of communities

provision sufficient and suitable to meet the needs of all

thorough and scrupulous data collection and interrogation

area-wide mapping of provision to meet needs and prospectuses

engagement of responsive providers including voluntary and community

challenging persistent pockets of NEET and prevention

good referral processes and subsequent targeted 'services around the young person'

Characteristics of high-quality provision (2)

post-16 strategy as part of an integrated pathway across children’s services

local authorities undertaking school 14-19 reviews

managing cross-border links with other local authorities to track young people