Kat Fletcher

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Hearing the learners voice, reforming FE to
improve the student experience
Kat Fletcher Leadership of Learners Strategic
Co-ordinator
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Today

• Policy context
• What this means
• The Principles of Engagement
• Challenges
• Learners Providers
• First Steps
• Developing Excellence
• Any Questions

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CEL Mission Statement

• To improve the standard of leadership, and the
  diversity and talent pool of leaders in the
  learning and skills sector
• ?
• Individual development
• College improvement
• Sector strategies
• National services

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Policy Context

• The Foster Review of Further Education
• Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances White
  Paper
• Recommendations 20 -25
• Other public value discourse
• E.g. Expert Patient Frameworks in NHS
• Commitment to personalisation of learning
• The personalisation agenda being introduced in
  schools (Gilbert review Youth Review)
• The move to self regulation
• Education Skills Select Committee Report
• The Quality Improvement Strategy

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Stakeholder focussed

• The FE WP 'Creating Opportunity, Releasing
  Potential, Achieving Excellence' requires a
  steady state of continuous self-improvement and
  recognises that this will be achieved when
• learner,
• employer
• other stakeholders
• are routinely, systematically and successfully
  embedded into college self-assessment and
  improvement processes.
• The Foster Response Annexe to the WP makes a
  number of key recommendations on learner
  engagement

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What this means

• Necessary to embed at every level of the
  corporation that means starting with the board
• Classroom to corporation
• Tied to quality, curriculum and improvement
• Student parliament, principals question time,
  course rep systems, student led sub committee of
  the board, elected executive committees, faculty
  reps, representation on college committees.
• Learner Involvement Strategies
• All providers must have one in place by September
  07
• SHM currently conducting research

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Principles of Engagement

• Consultation to Initiation
• Democracy Citizenship
• Ownership Autonomy
• Learners are different
• Appropriate Funding Support
• Supporting students to succeed, not fail

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But.

• Lack of investment and training in learner
  representatives.
• The challenge of representation/representative
  and the connection to improvement
• Diversity of provision
• Cynicism

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Individually Collectively

• Representative structures are the key channel of
  communication between a provider and its
  learners. The leaders of those representative
  structures are crucial to the development of the
  sector.
• Student Leadership Development Programme
• Student Governors
• Course Representatives
• Development of peer training

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Staff Individually Collectively

• Staff Student Liaison Officers
• The WP recognises the key role of SSLOs in
  developing the learner voice and supporting
  student leadership
• Regional forums
• Developmental Conference
• Professional standards

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First Steps

• Establish full and comprehensive course rep
  systems.
• Ensure that your college adequately fund your
  students union as a representative body
• Provide full time, professional staff support
• Establish a corporation student affairs committee
  to supervise and run student surveys and
  consultations
• Debate and approve a learner voice policy that
  embeds the culture across the college
• Ensure that students are consulted when all
  policies are developed
• Raise the minimum number of student governors
  from 1 to 2
• Student Representative presence at staff meetings
• Ensure parity in representational structures

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Excellence for Learners

• Improved engagement and understanding
• Curriculum development and personalised learning
• Educational experience itself
• Improved educational environment

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Excellence for Providers

• The role of critical friend' in open honest
  dialogue to improve quality
• Recruitment and retention
• Less false starts
• Community involvement
• Self Regulation

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Keep Motivated

• Students views dont just appear out of thin
  air, they need time, space and organisation

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• Any Questions?