14 –19 Diplomas: the emerging picture

1. 14 –19 Diplomas: the emerging picture Mike Smith Diploma Development Officer Croydon 14-19 Team

2. ‘Bringing learning to life’ … the Diploma is not just about making learning more lively, but making what an individual learns as a teenager relevant to their life as a working adult. The Diploma must represent a solid pathway to the future. Speech delivered by Teresa Bergin at "14-19 Diplomas: Signposting the Future"

3. The Diploma landscape in Croydon • Strong commitment at 14-19 Partnership level • Legacy of collaborative provision: re-engagement, IFP, YA etc • Around 80% of schools and all 3 colleges are engaged with Diplomas at some level: feeder, development partner, provider, line lead, multi-provider • Aligned to specialisms • Single borough-wide consortium

4. Towards 2013: Diplomas in Croydon (1)

5. Towards 2013: Diplomas in Croydon (2)

6. Pre-16 Delivery model for 2010 • 2 common days agreed to cover whole delivery: PL, Project, FS, ASL • Diploma based in single delivery centre (could be their home centre) • Opportunities for larger scale collaborative projects across lines • Under review for 2011 • Post-16 courses are full-time

7. Currently in view • Feedback from Phase 1 • Information advice and guidance • Personal learning and thinking skills • Functional skills • MLE developments • Where does the Diploma fit? • Sustainability • The Diploma-ready centre

8. Feedback from Phase 1 • Diploma learners growing in confidence and awareness of the underlying skills • Enthusiastic about applied learning • Employer engagement is the key to success • Understanding the Diploma remains a challenge • Functional Skills are proving difficult for some • The assessment schedule needs a tight rein • Lines of communication between centres need to be very clear

9. Information advice and guidance • A complex qualification • Helps to show what it actually looks like • Learner voice is powerful • Naturally aligned to – but quite different from - other vocational provision • Roadshow events generate positive engagement but need to think about the follow-through • Impartiality is the key benchmark in the new IAG standards

10. Personal learning and thinking skills • Croydon programme aimed at middle managers • Linked with thinking skills • Not restricted to Diplomas • Supported by the new curriculum in Key Stage 3

11. Functional skills • Trial period about to end • Revised criteria emphasise ‘process’ skills: application in unfamiliar contexts • New GCSEs may help • Needs to be embedded in PL and separately taught • A key test of Diploma readiness • For IAG: part of the PLTS continuum

12. MLE developments • All Diploma transactions on Fronter • Tracking capability now available • Essential for keeping student progress visible • Key area for workforce development

13. Where does the Diploma fit? Nearly every strand has a life outside: • Functional skills – New GCSEs; Foundation learning • Individualised learning and progression • PLTS embedded in KS3 • Enterprise learning • The extended project

14. Sustainability • ‘Where did all the money go?’ • Partnership working comes at a price • Workforce development • Assessment • Quality assurance • Work-related learning • IAG • Cross-borough working

15. Characteristics of the Diploma-ready centre • They ‘get it’ • Is not entirely risk-averse • Has SMT involvement and sponsorship • Plays to its strengths • Is already investing in some of the Diploma strands • Is developing a Diploma portfolio • Understands the implications of delivery

16. Discussion points • What does Diploma readiness mean for you and your team/ centre/ consortium/ borough?

17. Links • http://www.qcda.gov.uk/27368.aspx# • http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/index.cfm?go=site.home&sid=53&pid=551&lid=691&ctype=None&ptype=Contents