Self-assessment and development planning for adult and community learning providers
Mike Kenway and Anna Reisenberger LSDA 2001
Requirements from the Learning and Skills Council and Adult Learning Inspectorate mean ACL services must produce an annual self-assessment of the quality of their provision and a development plan to show how they will improve.
This guide sets out the steps needed for successful completion of a self-assessment report and development plan. It is designed to inform senior managers, curriculum leaders and administrators and can also be used to support staff training and to help design internal documents and procedures.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=a1144
Observation of teaching and learning in adult education: how to prepare for it, how to do it and how to manage it
David Ewens LSDA 2001
Adult and community services need to meet the challenges of the new post-16 learning sector, which puts ‘the learner at the heart of everything’. A system for observing teaching and learning is a powerful means of achieving this and raising quality throughout the sector.
This guide describes the process of observing teaching and learning and how it can be managed. It is designed to inform senior managers, managers responsible for quality and curriculum leaders. It can also be used to support staff training and to help design internal documents and procedures.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=A1165
Listening to learners
Mark Ravenhall LSDA 2001
The ‘satisfied customer’ is central to success in both the public and private sectors. Customers of ACL providers include staff and learners, potential learners, funding agencies, local communities, employers, and the public. To improve the quality of the services they offer, ACL providers must listen to all these groups and act upon what they hear.
This booklet is a practical guide for ACL providers on how to get the most out of the listening process. It defines who learners are, explains how to listen to them effectively, describes different approaches and frameworks, and sets out how to involve staff, learners and the community.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=A1183
Fit for purpose: self-assessment for small providers
Mark Ravenhall, Juliet Merrifield and Sue Gardener LSDA 2002
Providers of adult and community learning (ACL) range from large multi-purpose agencies to small community organisations, all striving to provide a high-quality service. Quality improvement systems appropriate for some providers are not, however, fit for all. Recent approaches to self-assessment and development planning have placed the responsibility on ACL providers themselves to devise systems suitable for their own organisations.
This booklet gives smaller ACL providers and their partners a practical insight into how to adapt current approaches to quality improvement for their own institutions. The first sections set out how they can: plan the process; collect, collate and analyse data; make value judgements and act upon them; and organise processes for continuous monitoring and review. The section ‘Local authorities contracting with smaller providers’ outlines how LEAs can work with their ACL partners on self-assessment.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=A1184
Equality and diversity in adult and community learning: a guide for managers
Anna Reisenberger and Stella Dadze LSDA 2002
A commitment to widening participation has long been the hallmark of adult and community learning (ACL) provision. ACL has shown that, even with minimal resources, meaningful responses to inequality and diversity can be delivered. But too many people are still missing out on education because provision does not meet their needs. Closing equality gaps will give them the opportunities and support they need to succeed in ACL.
This practical guide for ACL managers explains how to address equality and diversity issues in the context of the Learning and Skills Council remit and the Common Inspection Framework. It outlines new legislative and reporting requirements for local authority adult education. Case studies highlight good practice – from equal opportunities information packs to staff training days with a dramatic twist. To help managers and coordinators evaluate and improve their provision, the booklet concludes with a self-audit tool.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=A1181
Involving tutors and support staff in the adult and community learning quality agenda
Mark Ravenhall, Margaret Ogilvie and David Ewens LSDA 2002
All staff who are in direct contact with learners will affect their learning experience. They may include tutors, centre and programme managers, learner and learning support staff, crèche workers, receptionists and administrators, caretakers and canteen staff. They both represent the organisation to the learner and can reflect the values and views of the learners back to the organisation. Quality assurance and improvement is needed at all levels within an organisation but it is most crucial at the point where the customers (learners) interact with your organisation.
This booklet shows how managers in adult and community learning can enable tutors and support staff to contribute to quality improvement within their organisations. It outlines the new policy context facing ACL providers as they pursue high-quality learning experiences for their customers. It considers how tutors and support staff can be supported within the framework of total quality management (TQM) and gives practical examples of how to achieve this.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=A1182
Using quality schemes in adult and community learning: a guide for managers
David Ewens and Kate Watters LSDA 2002
Quality schemes are used increasingly for different purposes in both the public and private sectors. This publication examines such schemes in relation to ACL. It notes the difficulties faced by LEA ACL services in delivering consistent quality, reviewing how quality improvement has been supported and the messages from pilot ACL inspections by the Adult Learning Inspectorate. It describes different quality schemes, considering their advantages and disadvantages, and reviews them in relation to notional weaknesses and the CIF. Case studies provide practical and accessible examples of how quality schemes can improve ACL services.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=1326A
Learning in progress… recognising achievement in adult learning
Pauline Nashashibi LSDA 2002
Adult and community learning providers need to respond both to the needs and values of their learners, who may have deliberately chosen non-accredited learning, and to national priorities and standards, which require evidence of learner achievement. This booklet discusses practicalities of how these often conflicting needs can be met. The value and uses of assessment in adult learning are explained and the discussions illustrated with exercises for tutors to follow, case studies and examples of forms used to record and recognise achievement.
www.lsda.org.uk/pubs/dbaseout/download.asp?code=1321
Curriculum leadership in adult learning
Pauline Nashashibi and Kate Watters LSDA (forthcoming 2003)
How are decisions taken about the curriculum in adult and community learning and how is it reviewed and developed? The range and balance of the offer varies widely, typically including open access learning opportunities for individuals and groups, targeted provision that aims to widen participation or focus on essential skills, and community development work. Taking strategic decisions about the curriculum and building the internal organization and partnerships to deliver it have become priorities for leaders and managers.
This guide looks at the part curriculum leadership can play in developing and delivering high quality learning programmes which match the needs and interests of local adults, engage the excluded, and provide pathways for progression. It will be of use to managers and staff involved in curriculum development at all levels. While particular attention is paid to provision by local education authorities (LEAs), curriculum leadership is considered within the broader context of adult learning. The guide includes a section on techniques for effective curriculum leadership.
Making a difference: leading and managing for quality improvement in adult and community learning
Mark Ravenhall and Mike Kenway LSDA (forthcoming 2003)
Demands on leaders and managers in adult and community learning have never been greater. This guide looks at what is required of them in these roles and what issues they are facing in the context of quality improvement. It suggests practical approaches for improving the quality of provision for adults.
Need to know: making better use of information in adult and community learning (provisional title)
Annie Merton LSDA (in preparation 2003)
Staff development in adult and community learning: reflection into practice (provisional title)
David Ewens LSDA (in preparation 2003)
