CoVEs and Widening Participation

1. CoVEs and Widening Participation Building Pathways Project Annual Conference 21st April 2005 LIZ PRIDGEON LSDA Development Adviser The Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) Programme is sponsored and implemented by the Learning and Skills Council.

2. A priority for CoVEs? • CoVE is about skills priorities • It’s about adults • And Level 3 vocational training ALL providers should be addressing widening participation at all levels of provision

3. CoVE Development Plans 1 CoVE Initial Proposals and Plans require providers to detail how they will • Support the needs of learners, including those from disadvantaged groups, with a key focus on employability and career progression; • Ensure that the centre is committed to widening participation to include those not normally represented, especially adults, or those disadvantaged within the specialist area • Ensure that the learning environment meets the needs of all learners • Be committed to equality of opportunity and support for non-traditional entrants to the vocational areas of work;

4. CoVE Development Plans 2 They need to express this in terms of • their development needs based on their own audit of their provision • targets • milestones • costs • how they will measure progress and evidence They have to give baseline (start of programme) and end of year 1 targets for gender, ethnicity and disability

5. CoVE Evaluation Outcomes There are 8 key outcomes one of which is • Widening participation of non-typical learners in level 3 vocational qualifications and the participation of adults as a result of the CoVE programme

6. CoVE Research Project INVOLVING EXCLUDED GROUPS Project Aims: • The project aims to gather good practice case studies of successful inclusion of excluded groups onto CoVE provision. Project Objectives: This project will • Work with a number of CoVEs to identify good practice in including traditionally excluded groups. • Explore this in a number of vocational contexts. • Include examples, which cover gender, ethnicity and disability. • Evaluate the findings and determine if there are key components of success, which can be transferred to other providers.

7. Project Outcomes 1 Overall – disappointing • Many examples provided focussed on level 1 and 2 activity • Provision at level 3 for non typical learners remains low

8. Project Outcomes 2 • Resources • Learning Materials • Partnerships and Collaboration • Staff • Flexibility, innovation and experimentation

9. Project Outcomes 3 • Staff are optimistic that work at levels 1 and 2 will feed through to level 3 • Dissemination can help to share the good practice that exists • CoVEs in the same sector will face the same issues and can help develop the solutions

10. So what are the challenges? • Seeing inclusion as an intermediate skills issue • Ensuring progression takes place • Working in partnership to develop solutions • Working on a “can do” basis

11. And who is responsible? Not CoVEs alone! • Employers • Schools • Parents • SSCs ALL have a role in addressing this issue and working against the traditional stereotypes

12. Contact Details Liz Pridgeon LSDA CoVE Development Adviser Programme lpridgeon@lsda.org.uk 020 7297 9151 Liz Aitken LSDA CoVE Project Manager Laitken@lsda.org.uk 020 7297 9070 LSDA CoVE web site http://www.lsda.org.uk/curriculum/cove/ Report http://www.lsda.org.uk/files/lsda/curriculum/cove/InvolvingExcludedGroups.pdf