1. Minimum Contract Level Support Programme Collaborating for Learner Benefit Michael Gray, LSIS Adviser Jim Austin, Head of Adult Education Service, Gloucestershire County Council, November 2011 1

2. Outcomes
You will understand how learners can benefit directly and indirectly from collaboration
You will have an opportunity to reflect on just how learner-centred your collaboration really is
Difference between direct and indirect benefit
Chance to contribute your ideas and reflect on your own provision
Contribution from Jim Austin about how his organisation works collaboratively for learner benefit 2

3. Background
CIF emphasises meeting learners’ needs – and by implication employers’ needs through learners’ new and improved skills
September 2011 CIF/Ofsted consultation places even greater emphasis on the whole learner experience – developing the ‘rounded’ learner
Ofsted is very interested in partnerships – seen as high risk – how do you prove the opposite, that they benefit learners?
Link to CIF – the 2009 one: emphasis on learners’ needs
The 2011 consultation: even greater emphasis on meeting learners’ needs, developing the ‘rounded learner’ – i.e. confidence building/employability/contribution to society – surely widening the learner experience through collaboration is a benefit/
The seminar aims partly to give you practical ideas, but also to help you consider the evidence that collaboration can provide about how you meet learners’ needs – good for SAR/QIP and for Ofsted, should it call you!

4. Case study examples Maintaining niche or specialist provision
Maintaining niche or specialist provision
Spreading fixed costs across wider provision – reducing cost and making more funding available for learners
Greater choice and more progression opportunities than before
These come from case studies on the EG and are offered as good examples – web link directly to case studies is provided
Emphasise that some have direct impact on learners, some are organisational issues in which collaboration supports learners and leads to benefits for them
Niche provision: ask for examples from participants; accept that in some cases it is not about offering more provision or better (a value-added approach) but more about maintaining what is already there
Costs: might be contentious, particularly for those who pay a larger management fee as subcontractor, but it is mentioned in the case studies
Choice: depends – but again in the case studies, and will happen if there is a real partnership not just a contracting relationship

5. Case study examples
Sharing good practice in teaching, training, learning and assessment
Collaborative staff training; coaching opportunities
Collaborative quality improvement
Sharing good practice: note addition of assessment (Ofsted increased focus)
Staff training: depends on nature of relationship both practical and financial: is CPD charged by the lead provider? how about more coaching opportunities – lead provider staff coaching subcontractors or vice versa; good practice can be identified in observations and/or through results (which assessor or trainer regularly gets outstanding results, why, and how do you transfer that?)
QI: observation schemes; economies of scale on surveys and focus groups and interviews – wider sample size and better QI information
Additional benefit quoted by case studies and other partnerships is ‘more clout’ in a partnership – bigger provider etc; this could benefit learners but less obviously than the points above (so it’s to mention not put on ppt)

6. Case study – curriculum planning
For learners, joint curriculum planning enables the service to mirror more popular courses to make them more accessible and remove duplicate, less popular, courses. 
This results in higher participation levels and reduced teaching costs. In 2009/10 the teaching and learning standards increased as a result of the joint observation and CPD programme.
Both services exceeded their 50% target by 9 percentage points for teaching observations graded ‘good’ or ‘better’.
Worth quoting this in full: an example of joint planning, leading to lower costs, and enhanced quality
(From Bournemouth and Poole case study)
Collaboration can allow you to spread development costs too: for example of new learning materials or delivery methods (e-learning/e-assessment)

7. Over to Jim… 7 Jim Austin…
Jim has emphasised joint investment (for example in a VLE), greater opportunities to get funding (e.g. ESF) and sharing expertise and services: can he say more about those and about any other aspect of his collaboration which benefits learners 7

8. Any questions?

9. Questions to ask yourself
How do we measure the benefits to learners of collaboration and how do we provide evidence for SAR and Ofsted?
Have we taken full advantage of the potential benefits?
Questions to ask yourself – deliberately towards end of seminar as a wrap-up
If time and participation is good, we could develop the first point and ask for specifics: what questions do you ask learners? Do they see anything directly (is the collaboration hidden but working for them?); does it allow them to take extra units, learn in different environments (workshops, different sorts of businesses: for example, do hairdressers get chance to experience a different type of salon?); do they get different types of teaching and learning?

10. Resources Support for Collaborative Contracting Case Studies Toolkits:
Managing Risk
Partnership Planning and Working
Shared Leadership and Governance
Shared Services
Sub-contracting
Quality Management
Sub-contracting (Nov 2011)
Annual planning and operations cycle (Nov 2011)

11. Wrapping Up We’ll send you evaluation form and a link to the recording
Slides from the seminar will be on the Excellence Gateway
You may be be interested in further support from the LSIS MCL Support Programme.
A range of resources are available on the Excellence Gateway site
Further web seminar events are planned,  you can find details and registration on events.lsis.org.uk/Pages/Event/Stage1/Events.aspx
If you would like to talk to an MCL Partnership Adviser please send an to