Leadership of LSIPs: Colleges leading the way with new local ecosystems

AoC and the Gatsby Foundation are working with trailblazer colleges who have been successful in Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and Strategic Development Fund Pilots (SDFs) to share good practice and lessons learnt. As part of this project the following video case studies were created - click on a name to hear more from a colleague:

A Post-Covid-19 Edtech Strategy

Between March and July 2020, we carried out research into colleges’ capacity to enable high-quality distance learning with support from Ufi VocTech Trust.

Findings from the research have been used to create a post-Covid EdTech strategy for the college sector. To ensure no learner is left behind, we are working with Jisc to build a case for the following.

1. Funding to create a national online repository of high-quality interactive content specifically designed for vocational and skills-based delivery.

2. Increased funding to ensure accessibility for all FE learners to online resources is safeguarded through resilient and reliable connectivity.

3. Investment in the development and adoption of new assessment methodologies designed for secure remote delivery.

4. Capital investment ring-fenced for the FE digital estate.

5. Supporting sector professionals to augment education where appropriate utilising digital assistants, automated workflows, data analytics, flexible working and reduced workflow.

6. The digital infrastructure required to support a skills-led recovery.

There are recordings and presentations from all of the webinars in the series, which can be found on the teaching and learning page on our website.

Teach Too

Teach Too was an Education and Training Foundation development programme which addressed the quality of technical and vocational teaching and learning. At AoC, we managed the Teach Too project at various phases.

Throughout the programme, we facilitated nine local collaborative projects and nine organisational development projects. These varied from improving staff development policies, to strategic partnerships with employers to fill skills gaps in line with local needs. You can find out more here.

We worked with the ETF to develop a framework outlining key principles that underpin the central characteristics of high-quality technical delivery, a collaboration readiness checklist and a business case planning toolkit. A co-curriculum design and delivery toolkit, a dual professionalism toolkit, a mapping tool and a glossary of terms were also created to support providers. They can all be accessed here.

Some effective practice case studies are now available to access. Solihull College developed learning for apprentices in the workplace and broadened community links with employers. You can read about their journey here. Milton Keynes College improved line of sight to work in the construction sector for offenders and ex-offenders. Their journey is detailed here.

A report from the ETF found that Teach Too had improved relationships between providers and employers, served the local economic needs and supported business growth in the area, and increased opportunities for curriculum design and delivery that provided progression into employment. You can read the full report here, and testimonials from those involved here.

ETF Governance Development Programme

ETF’s Governance Development Programme is funded by the Department for Education and was developed by AoC. The programme develops the skills of both new and existing board members and, where appropriate, clerks and governance professionals in further education and sixth-form colleges.

You can find the overview of modules to access and those delivered as webinars on our governance pages.

Pears #iWill Youth Social Action pilots

AoC was the learning partner for the Pears #iWill Youth Social Action pilots, in which five colleges designed their own projects to pilot. The project ended in December 2020.

The aims of the pilots were multi-faceted: colleges wanted to raise student and staff awareness of Youth Social Action, and empower students to take an active and leading role in YSA. The projects also created opportunities for students to undertake meaningful work experience centred around social action and ensured that the process developed students’ employability skills.

You can read the full report

The Scholarship Project

The Scholarship Project was a three-year project funded by the HEFCE Catalyst Fund, and it supported the development and embedding of a distinct college higher education scholarly ethos across the sector.

The Scholarship Framework was created as the project's main output. The framework has more than 50 resources and toolkits to help colleges with a higher education (HE) offering which enhances scholarly activity, including student scholarly activity, peer review and employer engagement.

For more information and to access the resources and toolkits, visit The Scholarship Framework website.

T Levels Industry Placements Programme

The T Level Industry Placements Programme was funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Department for Education (DfE).

The project supported around 460 providers, all in receipt of capacity and delivery funding in the 2018/19 financial year, to secure industry placements for students.

Based on the experience and learning from the industry placements pilot scheme in the 2017/18 academic year and the capacity and delivery fund in the 2018/19 academic year, the DfE have created resources for post-16 education providers and employers. You can access them here.