LS10

Ymateb i’r Ymgynghoriad ar y Mesur Arfaethedig ynghylch Dysgu a Sgiliau (Cymru) - Gorffennaf 2008.

Estyn

(Saesneg yn unig)

You wrote to me on 25 July 2008 asking me to submit written evidence on the proposed Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure to the committee that has been set up to consider and report on the proposed Measure.  In responding, you asked me to have regard to the following questions that form the framework for the Committee’s work:

1. Is there a need for legislation to re-organise 14-19 provision?
2. Does the proposed Measure achieve the policy objective or could changes be made without legislating?
3. What are the views of stakeholders who will have to work with the new arrangements?
4. What might be the barriers to delivering the policy agenda and does the proposed Measure take account of them?

In addition, you asked for my views on the amendments made in the light of draft proposals and whether or not they satisfy any concerns I might have had about the draft proposals.

My submission is set out in relation to the four questions, followed by any concerns that still remain.

1. Is there a need for legislation to re-organise 14-19 provision?

I believe that there is the need for legislation to re-organise 14-19 provision.  The legislation will help to ensure that all learners have equal access to a suitable range of options that meet their needs and interests.  I see the legislation as a necessary step in helping to implement the intentions of Learning Pathways 14-19 as set out in the guidance and Learning Country: Vision into Action.  We have carried out a lot of activity in relation to the provision for 14 to 19 year olds in recent years.  We have published the following reports (which I have appended to this submission):

• The quality of education and training for residents of the Menai Corridor aged 14-19

• Area inspection report on the quality and standard of provision for 14-19 year olds in Merthyr Tydfil

• Quality of Youth Support Services and the Quality and Standards of Education and Training Provision for 14-19 year olds in Wrexham

• Collaboration between schools with sixth forms and Further Education Colleges to deliver flexible high quality provision that expands choice and achieves value for money

• Choice and flexibility for 14-19 learners

• Welsh-medium and bilingual provision for 14-19 learners

In these reports, we have found that not all learners have equal access to a suitable range of options that meet their needs and interests, despite the best efforts of learning networks and some of the providers within their areas.  Therefore the current legislation and arrangements do not address this issue.  We have found that learners are not able to have access to the full range of courses in their area. In most cases, the choices they have depend heavily on which provider they attend.  The main issues in trying to provide the full range of choices are that:

a) there is no clear definition of what a typical learner should be able to choose; and
b) there is no direction to ensure that providers have to work together so that learners can choose from a sufficiently wide range of courses.

I feel that the proposed legislation will go some way to resolve these issues.

2. Does the proposed Measure achieve the policy objective or could changes be made without legislating?

The situation under current legislation is set out in many of the appended reports. I feel that the situation described in these is unlikely to change to any great extent unless there is legislation to support the policy objective.

In our inspection work, we have found that the progress towards adequate 14-19 provision is too slow in many areas, including in areas we have inspected and found serious shortcomings. In some of these areas we understood that there would be imminent structural changes to provision in the short term, but several years later little has changed.  The barriers that prevented change then still exist now - and I have concluded that only legislation that requires collaboration to maximise provision can affect rapid enough change.

3. What are the views of stakeholders who will have to work with the new arrangements?

I am unable to provide you with much on this particular question as we do not represent the views of the stakeholders that will have to work with the new arrangements.  However, it appears to me from our inspection work that providers wish to have clarity about what they are meant to do. In particular this means being clear about what each learner should be entitled to.  Once providers know this, they can then plan to make sure that they meet these requirements.  This process will also be helped by setting out in clear terms how providers will have to work together to enable the requirements to be met.

4. What might be the barriers to delivering the policy agenda and does the proposed Measure take account of them?

The main barriers are those concerned with the definitions of the entitlement of learners, the mechanism for setting up the local curricula at key stage 4 and at post-16, and the arrangements for providers to work together.  The proposed Measure as it stands goes as far as it can on these matters.  It will be at the next stage when regulations are devised that these matters will be tackled, so it is difficult to provide any detailed comment on how effective the Measure will be in overcoming these barriers.  At the level of detail in the Measure, these barriers are recognised and appropriate actions are planned to take account of them.

Probably the most important barrier to collaboration at present is concerned with funding.  As long as the funding system is based on competition, then it is difficult to develop collaborative working.  It would also help if there was a common funding system for 14-16 and post-16.  The Measure does not address this issue.

5. Additional concerns

• In our response to the draft proposals, we stated that there was nothing in the Measure that would help promote equality of opportunity in terms of access to provision in Welsh in relation to all aspects of Learning Pathways 14-19. This is still the case with the proposed Measure.  We have found that there is considerable variation between local authorities in the number of Welshmedium courses offered by providers, even among authorities serving areas of similar linguistic background. In general, learners in many parts of Wales do not have enough opportunities after leaving school to continue their learning in Welsh.

• The Measure does not state how the provision for learners outside their own local area is to be included in the local curricula.  In many parts of Wales learners’ options, especially at post-16 will often include a great deal of provision that is not in their own local authority area.  This is particularly the case for Welsh-medium and bilingual provision.  In order to work as intended, the local curricula at both key stage 4 and post-16 should include provision from other neighbouring local authority areas.

• The proposed Measure does not set out the future role of the local 14-19 network.  We feel that the Measure should be clear and specific about how and where 14-19 networks will work in the proposed arrangements at key stage 4 and post-16.

• The requirement for providers to work together is likely to demand new skills in partnership working from leaders, managers and governors.  There is a need to develop the networking, communication and negotiating skills that are needed when working with others.  Acquiring and developing the skills that are necessary to lead and contribute to partnerships and extended services is likely to be the most important training demand for the future. The Measure does not say how these skills will be developed.

• We are concerned that the way providers are funded acts as a barrier to co-operation and collaboration.  In fact, the current system helps to encourage and foster competition between providers, especially between schools with sixth forms, and between schools with sixth forms and further education institutions.  The main issue is that there are two different funding streams for learners aged under 16 and those over 16, and this can hinder planning for Learning Pathways 14-19.  There are also two grant systems which emanate from two different departments in the Welsh Assembly Government.  The existing funding system, therefore, is complicated and its bureaucracy can be frustrating at a local level.  Many schools encourage learners, either explicitly or implicitly, to continue their study in the sixth form because the funding system is based on the number of learners enrolled.  They do not encourage learners to seek the options that are best suited to their needs and abilities, even if those options are located at another provider.  The proposed Measure does not address this issue of funding.

• In our response to the draft proposals, we were concerned about the role of the learning coach.  The role outlined in the proposed Measure is largely concerned with different aspects of the development of learning skills.  These skills will generally be developed by providers in any case and it is difficult to see how the role of the Learning Coach can add to this.  The role described in this section is also much narrower than that set out in Learning Pathways 14-19 Guidance II which states that 'Learning Coaches will work with individual learners on a one-to-one basis or in small groups, to establish goals and to develop a Learning Pathway for each learner that will include formal, non-formal and informal opportunities phased over time. In addition, it is important that the learning coach is impartial in terms of advice and support given to learners.  It will take into account experiences outside the learning setting, and which help in realising individual ambitions’.  We feel that this is what a learning coach should be doing and the proposed Measure does not reflect this.