'Raising the Bar': workshops

Links to the presentations delivered at the workshops - where available - are provided below. A brief report on each workshop will be published here w/b 11 June 2012.

Workshops 1

Workshop 1a: Planning, Funding Learning Area Programmes (LAPs)
The workshop provided participants with an up-date on progress in the Review of Funding being undertaken by DfES and the associated development of Learning Area Programmes (LAPs) by ColegauCymru. Workshop members were given ample opportunity to discuss current developments and to contribute both to the Funding Review and on  progress towards self-regulation of the FE curriculum proposed in  the  development of LAPs.
Chair: Dafydd Evans, Principal of Coleg Menai.
Contributors: Planning & Funding: Bethan Webb and Geoff Hicks, DfES; LAPs: Adrian Sheehan and Katy Burns, ColegauCymru.

Workshop 1b: Teaching and Learning
The workshop aimed to identify what strategic changes colleges need to make to achieve excellence in teaching and learning.  Delegates considered strategies for improvement from the perspectives of teachers, learners and observers.  Coleg Gwent provided a case study on its teaching and learning development programme.
Chair: Ian Dickson, Chair of the Senior Curriculum Managers' Network.
Teaching and Learning workshop
Teaching and learning workshop: Coleg Gwent

Workshop 1c: Sport – the Olympic legacy
How can we raise the profile of sport within colleges in this Olympic Year? The importance of ‘sports literacy’. The contribution of sport to well being, health, confidence and learning. How can we raise the profile of sport in colleges to sports bodies and Sport Wales?
This workshop was chaired by Simon Pirotte, principal of Coleg Powys and member of Sport Wales. John Hole, chief executive, British Colleges Sport, joined Professor Laura McAllister, chair of Sport Wales, in a lively discussion about how to build on the Olympic legacy in Wales.

Workshop 1d: Employer Engagement
How can colleges most effectively engage with employers in delivering skills for their workforce and in developing learning programmes that deliver employability for their students? The purpose of the workshop was to explore ways in which closer partnerships between colleges and employers can engineer the right combination of knowledge and skills for learners, be they primarily work based, college based or distance learners. How to work through the diverse and changing needs of employers, be they small or large, public or private, were key aims of the workshop.
Chair: Barry Liles, principal, Coleg Sir Gâr
Contributors: Martin Hotass, UK Skills Partner at Siemens Plc.

Workshops 2

Workshop 2a: FE-HE Progression
Colleges have made notable strides in recent years in ensuring significantly greater levels of progression from their level 3 learning cohort into higher education - both within their institution and to universities. Against this background the workshop aimed to explore the ways in which colleges can both expand their own provision of HE to smooth progression routes for learners or enhance partnership working with employers and/or universities to ensure that access to higher learning is widened further, in line with the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government.
Chair: Glyn Jones, Chief Executive, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai
Contributors: Steve Outram, Senior Adviser at the Higher Education Academy, and Gavin Thomas, ColegauCymru.
FE to HE progression

Workshop 2b: International Opportunities
This workshop explained how to raise the aspirations of learners and staff through participating in European funded projects.  A particular focus of the workshop was the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci programme which promotes work placements in Europe for learners in vocational education and training. 
Neath Port Talbot College presented a case study on its involvement in ColegauCymru’s 2011/12   Leonardo da Vinci initiative by examining the project’s impact on learner motivation, staff development, European partnerships and employer engagement.  
Ciara Brennan from CiLT Cymru, the national centre for languages in Wales, explained how to motivate learners through integrating purposeful, accredited language learning into a Leonardo mobility project.
Finally, there was a round-up of other international activities that have taken place this year and time for questions and discussion based on the content of the workshop.
Chair: Bryn Davies, principal of Ystrad Mynach College and Chair of the Wales-China FE Consortium.
Contributors: Michael Rees, Head of Engineering at NPTC, and Ciara Brennan Cilt Cymru.
Workshop: international opportunities
European experience: NPTC case study

Workshop 2c: Managing Essential Skills
Extensive stakeholder engagement has been conducted as a part of the Review of Qualifications, which will inform ways forward for Essential Skills in Wales. This workshop provided an opportunity to discuss what we have found out and what we are planning to do, to help you to meet the needs of learners and staff in your organisations.
Chair: Trefor Fon Owen, principal of Coleg Harlech WEA (N)
Contributors: Hazel Israel and Mike Hatcher, DfES
Essential Skills Wales: the consultation

Workshop 2d: Funding: Who should pay for what?
The workshop provided an opportunity to consider the future direction of funding approaches in Wales under the banner of who should pay for what? Constraints on public expenditure for the foreseeable future will necessitate a review of the extent to which post-16 education and training should be funded by government, employers and individuals.
Chair: Mark Isherwood, YMCA Community College
Contributors: Bethan Webb, Lucy Evans and Jo Banks, DfES.