Memorandum submitted by the National Association
of Connexions Partnerships Ltd (NACP)
Introduction
1.1. The National Association of Connexions
Partnerships is the representative organisation for Connexions
Partnerships in England; there are 47 Partnerships, co-terminous
with the Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs), and 46 of them are
members of the Association. Connexions is a modern service created
by the current Government to provide information, advice and personal
development opportunities for 13-19 year olds, joining up' other
services to make sense for young people in order to help them
to realise their potential and get a good start to their adult
life.
1.2. Connexions is a differentiated service,
providing both universal impartial advice and guidance to all
young people aged 13-19, and a more intensive service to the minority
of young people assessed as having more complex needs. It is unique
in its accessibility, impartiality, and involvement of young people
in governance and design.
1.3. Connexions is a service focused firmly
on young people, encouraging their participation and involvement
in the governance of services and promoting their achievement
in a wide variety of settings. We have a key role in achieving
the vision of the 14-19 Reforms: meeting the needs and aspirations
of all young people including those who face obstacles to their
progress; raising levels of achievement; broadening the skill-base
of all young people; and delivering education through flexible
integrated networks of providers.
1.4. Similarly the Connexions values and purpose
contribute directly to the Government's five key outcomes for
children and young people's wellbeing, as described in the Green
Paper 'Every Child Matters': being healthy; staying
safe; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution;
economic wellbeing.
2. 14-19 Education Reform
2.1. We welcome the Working Group on 14-19 Education
Reform and are supportive of a new framework which will increase
options for young people and provide greater continuity during
this critical phase of young people's lives. This requires the
provision of a 'flexible curriculum' of vocational options at
Key Stage 4 (KS4), with off-site learning with training providers
in a wide range of vocational areas such as construction skills,
social care, engineering, leisure and so on. It is through these types
of flexible learning programmes, which young people perceive as
directly relevant and meaningful to their everyday lives, that
learning will be brought to life for young people between ages
14 -19, and have a consequent impact on their participation, retention
and achievement.
2.2. The secondary school curriculum must be
developed in order to embrace the increasingly complex demands
made upon all of us as technology develops and society evolves.
We must recognise that many young people will, within five years
of leaving school, be doing jobs that have not yet been invented.
Our antiquated system of discrete academic or vocational routes
can no longer be seen as acceptable - the workforce of the future
needs to be flexible and adaptable.
2.3. We believe all learners and employers will
welcome a simplification and clearer correlation of the range
of qualifications on offer with an increased emphasis upon the
skills, competencies and knowledge that each is designed to develop.
A good qualifications framework needs to enable learners to build
upon achievements and to be able to move confidently and positively
into further learning or training. This is essential if we are
to embrace the notion of 'lifelong learning' as a natural part
of people's career and life progression.
2.4. We particularly welcome new programmes for
'practical' learners that have equal status and are held in the
same esteem as the more traditional academic courses; young people
are sensitive to the inherent discrimination of 'second class'
learning programmes and many would rather have no training at
all than be viewed by peers as stupid. There is a great deal of
work to be done in changing perceptions of 'academic' and 'vocational'
learning and it is in this regard that Connexions personal advisers
will have a key role to play - with young people, with their parents
and with employers.
2.5. It is essential to the social and economic
well-being of this country that we are equipping our young people
with the attitudes, skills and attributes that will enable them
to lead productive, enjoyable and fulfilling lives. This will
require a much more diverse range of learning provision than exists
at present, and changes in funding arrangements to schools and
colleges may thus be necessary in order to develop and sustain
a mixed market of providers.
2.6. The period between the ages of 14 and 19
is critical in forming productive adults of the next generation.
The learning choices that young people make at 14 will set them
on the path towards their working lives, and so we welcome the
statutory requirement from September 2004 for schools to provide
enterprise and careers education and guidance for young people
from the age of 11. In order for this to be effective, teachers,
parents and employers will need to be helped to understand the
new framework of choices and to be assured that there is in-built
flexibility in the programmes of study that young people choose
to undertake from the age of 14. Personal advisers in Connexions
Partnerships will advise and support young people as they select
and navigate course choices post-14.
3. Learning from the 14-19 Pathfinders
3.1. We believe it is important that the reforms
take account of the lessons being learned from the Pathfinders
and trust that the evidence of 'what works', based on objective
evaluation of the pilots, will be widely disseminated and used.
3.2. There are reports that Pathfinders are creating
a welcome 'wind of change' in relation to addressing young people's
needs, and at a strategic level the synergy between the partnerships
and infrastructure already in place for Connexions, and the planning
mechanisms for the Pathfinders, is promoting integration and coherence
for young people. For example the Southwark Pathfinder is located
within a whole programme of 14-19 change, integrated through the
joint strategy between Central London Connexions, 14-19 Co-ordinators
and the LSC across 7 boroughs. The strategy encompasses data sharing;
information, advice, guidance and careers education for young
people; individual planning; increasing the proportion of 16-18
year olds engaged in education, employment or training; and the
development of provision.
3.3. There are also numerous examples of the
positive and unique contribution of Connexions within the Pathfinders,
which include:
a) Data sharing and planning
- in Doncaster an inter-agency Data Group has been
set up involving South Yorkshire Connexions, the LEA, the LSC
and others in order to ensure the data requirements of the Pathfinder
baseline and progression planning can be met, and that improved
data capture is used to plan more effectively than before;
- in the Plymouth Pathfinder, Cornwall and Devon
Connexions has established protocols for data sharing that will
enable future indicators and targets to be set for the learner
cohort, with collective responsibility for delivery;
b) Development of Individual Learning Plans (ILPs).
- in East Manchester ILPs have been piloted with
65 Year 11 Complementary Education pupils, with additional Connexions
personal adviser input to find and re-engage 'missing' young people.
Work has also been undertaken on electronic ILPs, joining up the
Connexions young people's database with IT systems across a range
of agencies;
- online ILPs are also being developed in South
Gloucestershire through Gloucestershire Connexions and LSC
- Connexions Shropshire Telford and Wrekin have
set up a pilot project to work in partnership with a number of
Pathfinder schools on joint approaches to ILPs.
c) Direct activity with young people
- in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside,
Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership are playing a key role
in the development of a 14-19 Collegiate in the 14-19 Pathfinder
area. The Connexions Partnership has initiated an assessment process
with the Year 9 cohort, using a battery of psychometric assessments,
known as GenEd, to help identify vocational interests, preferred
learning styles and levels of verbal and abstract abilities.
The pilot was operated by a partnership of the Connexions Service,
school, LEA School Improvement Adviser, and Excellence in Cities
(City Learning Centre Resources).
Approximately 130 pupils sat the assessments, delivered
by Connexions personal advisers. Each pupil received a report
of their vocational interest profile and teachers received reports
on abilities and learning styles. The teachers used this information
in 1 to 1 review interviews as part of their 'option choices'
for KS 4. The pilot is currently being evaluated but early initial
feedback from the school and young people has been very positive.
- in North Lincolnshire, Connexions Humber, together
with North Lincolnshire Council, have developed a strategy for
Year 9 students and parents, including a Parents' Roadshow. Work
is currently under way to produce a detailed and comprehensive
prospectus of all post-14 learning choices available to young
people in local consortia of schools and colleges.
- Connexions personal advisers in Central London
are supporting young people on KS4 vocational courses with training
providers. The advisers maximize the learning by negotiating the
curriculum, brokering learning support and helping to overcome
personal barriers with young people. In one school in Islington
the combination of the flexible curriculum and the individual
support has resulted in 80% retention of young people who previously
had poor records of attendance, with most of them being entered
onto the 'Gifted and Talented' register for their excellent skills
in plastering, brick laying, etc.
- in Hertfordshire, a specific sample of students
participated in 'post GCSE' interviews with Connexions personal
advisers in both Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage. In Welwyn Garden
City, Connexions has also been supporting a systematic programme
to promote of Modern Apprenticeships during 2003-04;
- in Doncaster, South Yorkshire Connexions organised
a programme of focused 'Summer Bridging Activities' to improve
progression rates in September 2003;
- in Plymouth, mobile phones have been provided
to a pilot group of young learners identified as being at risk
of disengagement, enabling Connexions personal advisers to keep
in touch through text messaging and other technology-based communication.
This has improved contact and had a very positive response.
- personal advisers from Connexions Shropshire
Telford and Wrekin are helping schools to pilot individual integrated
support packages, including work experience, for young people
aged 14-16 whose needs are not fully met within broader curriculum
packages; personal advisers are also supporting young people who
may not aspire to continue in education or training beyond 16
through Fast Forward programmes of visits to providers. In addition
an accredited programme of mentor training has supported post-16
students in mentoring younger students from geographical areas
where post-16 participation rates are lower.
The above examples are evidence of the unique and
essential part being played by Connexions Partnerships in achieving
the vision of the reform of education for young people aged 14-19.
11 December 2003
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