Pursuing excellence: the national improvement strategy for the further education system

The Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA), a non-departmental public body (NDPB) created on 1 April 2006, is based in Coventry, England. The QIA’s mission is to facilitate and champion excellence and innovation in post-16 education and training services in England. The QIA was asked by the government to lead the development of an integrated Improvement Strategy that would support the further education system in its drive for excellence and to help it implement the government’s major reform program for the post-16 sector. The three aims of the Strategy are as follows: all learners in the further education system are equally able to access high quality education and training that equips them with the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need for work and personal fulfilment; training provision meets employers’ business needs and employers can recruit people with the vocational and employability skills needed to increase productivity; and the further education system continuously improves so that colleges and providers aspire to and achieve excellence, and no provision is unsatisfactory. This document outlines the need for an Improvement Strategy, the aims, objectives and priority actions of the Strategy and how they relate to the government’s current model of public sector reform, the principles it has been based on, the roles and responsibilities of the national partners, how the national partners work together, what national partners have agreed to do to manage the delivery of the Strategy, and how the progress and success of the Strategy will be measured.

The Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA), a non-departmental public body (NDPB) created on 1 April 2006, is based in Coventry, England. The QIA’s mission is to facilitate and champion excellence and innovation in post-16 education and training services in England. The QIA was asked by the government to lead the development of an integrated Improvement Strategy that would support the further education system in its drive for excellence and to help it implement the government’s major reform program for the post-16 sector. The three aims of the Strategy are as follows: ...  [+] Show more