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The ‘Skills for Life’ survey, carried out in the UK between June 2002 and May 2003, aimed to produce a national profile of adult literacy, numeracy, English as a second language (ESOL), and information and communications technology (ICT) skills over five broad levels of competence, and also to assess the impact that different levels of skill had on people’s lives. There were two parts to the survey; the first part collected respondents’ background details and tested literacy and numeracy skills, and the second part consisted of two ICT assessments, including a practical component. The results were assessed against the national framework of standards for literacy and numeracy, and revealed that 16% of respondents had only entry level literacy skills, and 47% had entry level numeracy skills. Other important findings concerned the relationship between low literacy and numeracy skills and socio-economic deprivation, the relative skills of men and women, the differences between age groups, and the association between good literacy and numeracy skills and education and salary level. Show less

The Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in March 2001 to provide advice to the Secretary and the Learning and Skills Council on a three year action plan for the development, promotion and delivery of Modern Apprenticeships in the United Kingdom (UK). The initial sections of the report provide a rationale for the development of an apprenticeship system, and an outline of the current situation after recent reforms. Recommendations are made in relation to the essential aspects of a national framework for apprenticeships, development in the content and certification of apprenticeships, the delivery of apprenticeships, and pre-employment and 'other training'. The report also provides projections of targets for the eventual place of apprenticeships within the education and training system, suggests basic entitlements to apprenticeship places, and looks at aspects of the task of promoting apprenticeships. The report concludes with a suggested timetable for the implementation of the action plan and a summary of recommendations. Annexes contain the terms of reference and committee membership, representations from various organisations, market research outcomes, participation statistics for apprenticeships by sector and gender, and the timetable for implementation. Show less

This Green Paper outlines the consultation proposals to develop a coherent and flexible education system in the United Kingdom (UK) for the 14-19 phase of learning which will ensure higher standards, greater diversity of provision, high quality vocational education, improvements to schools and colleges, and that every young person is able to achieve their potential in education and life. The chapters are: The vision for the 14-19 phase; 14-19: marking the start of the phase; The content of the 14-19 curriculum; Recognising achievement: a new award; Pace and progression; Advice, guidance and support for young people; Drivers and support for change; Implementation; Next steps. Included as appendices are: Illustrative timetable; Key facts. Also available with this document is the response form used for the consultative process.

Other related documents are indexed from TD/TNC 69.602 to TD/TNC 69.604. Show less

New arrangements for post-16 learning in the UK were developed in response to a number of perceived weaknesses in the existing system. By November 2002, the implementation of new learning arrangements had resulted in policy, organisational and operational changes. This interim report is part of a two-year project to assess key stakeholder and partner opinions on key post-16 processes and their contribution to learner performance, quality and standards. Key organisations representing accountable stakeholders for the post-16 learning arrangements are: the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Jobcentre Plus, the Adult Learning Inspectorate, and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). The report examines the development and changes since April 2001 in the funding, institutional structure and operation of learning for adults and young people over the age of 16. The qualitative evaluation focuses on five key areas: implementation of the LSC arrangements; raising standards; the Standards Fund; inspections; and Area Wide Inspections. The report suggests that there have been some difficulties associated with the changes but the key elements are in place. There is a high level of awareness among stakeholders of the need for improved performance and raised standards. Many new and improved processes have been and continue to be put in place. At this point, a systematic impact on learners appears limited apart from a few specific isolated instances of changes affecting learners. A final evaluation report will be compiled when the study is completed in January 2004. Show less

Consultation on the Green Paper '14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards' (indexed at TD/IRD 88.170) revealed strong support for reform of learning opportunities available to 14-19 year olds at school, college and in the workplace. The UK compares poorly with other countries on measures of participation and achievement. The most persistent shortcoming of the system is the weakness of vocational provision. The challenge is to create a 14-19 phase that provides a clearer and more appropriate curriculum and qualifications framework that embraces strong provision for both academic and vocational options. This next steps document builds on the proposals outlined in the Green Paper and the extensive responses to the Green Paper consultation. It sets out the case for reform and outlines the strategy to introduce more flexibility into the system. The aim is to provide greater coherence for schools, colleges and employers, and a clearer understanding of how their qualifications lead to further education or work for students. Short-term reforms relate to curriculum change, the improvement of vocational options, consistency and quality of teaching and learning, an emphasis on local innovation and partnership, raising student aspirations, and support for local delivery. A new working group will be formed to examine longer term reforms in the areas of vocational provision, assessment, and the unification of the qualifications framework.

The Annexes accompanying this report are indexed at TD/TNC 74.145. A summary of the report is indexed at TD/TNC 74.146. Show less

Learning Partnerships were set up across the United Kingdom (UK) in early 1999 to promote a new culture across the school, further education (FE) work-based learning, and adult and community learning sectors to rationalise the range of existing local partnership arrangements covering post-16 learning. This analysis, which is based on 20 case studies, provides an overview of key issues associated with progress, early impact and added value of Partnership Activity. It concentrates on the focus, performance and impact aspects of Partnership development and draws interim conclusions and recommendations. The contents are: Introduction; Partnership focus; Aspects of success; Barriers to development; Value added; Performance indicators; Conclusions and recommendations.

Other related reports are indexed at TD/TNC 68.196, TD/TNC 69.278 and TD/TNC 69.279 and the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 75.237. Show less

This document is the final report from the Post-16 Learning Arrangements Evaluation project, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to assess key stakeholder and partner views on critical post-16 processes and the contribution to learner performance, quality and standards. New arrangements for post-16 learning had been developed in response to a number of perceived weaknesses in the existing system. By November 2002, their implementation had resulted in policy, organisational and operational changes. This final report compares the progress to date with the findings from an interim study (indexed at TD/TNC 76.296) and is structured around four main themes: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) arrangements; Raising standards; Inspections; and Area inspection. Particular strengths of the system that emerged during the course of this study include: greater awareness of the impact on operational activity of the balance between DfES and LSC; strengthening of partnership and communication across the sector; strengthening of LSC staff expertise; and overwhelming support for the management of the inspection arrangements by both inspectorates. Show less

Consultation on the Green Paper ‘14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.170) revealed strong support for reform of learning opportunities available to 14-19 year olds at school, college and in the workplace. The UK compares poorly with other countries on measures of participation and achievement. The most persistent shortcoming of the system is the weakness of vocational provision. The challenge is to create a 14-19 phase that provides a clearer and more appropriate curriculum and qualifications framework that embraces strong provision for both academic and vocational options. This document provides a brief summary of the 14-19 next steps document (indexed at TD/TNC 74.144), outlining the case for reform, strategic vision, plans for next steps and longer term reforms. The aim is to develop a 14-19 phase that will provide greater coherence for schools, colleges and employers, and a clearer understanding of how their qualifications lead to further education or work for students.

The Annexes accompanying the main report are indexed at TD/TNC 74.145. Show less

The Success for All program (policy document indexed at TD/TNC 72.207) was established by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in November 2002. It represented a major set of policy reforms to the post-16 learning and skills sector to 2010 and beyond. The program aimed to raise standards, increase participation and improve outcomes through four interlocking themes. A monitoring and evaluation framework including separate but complementary evaluation plans for each of the four themes was also established. ECOTEC Research and Consulting were commissioned by the DfES in September 2004 to establish the feasibility of attributing impact to specific themes or initiatives within Success for All. This study is intended to support the existing monitoring and evaluation framework, by establishing a methodology for attributing impact, where targets and quantitative data collection are insufficient. This document is the final report of the study, which was completed in December 2004. A key conclusion is the varying degree to which attribution is likely to be possible for different aspects of the program. Any attribution framework will need several different elements. The report concludes by proposing a potential strategy for the development of an attribution framework, based on two related methodologies for modelling impact, one against the cross-cutting targets and the other against the theme level targets. Show less

Learning Partnerships were set up across the United Kingdom (UK) in early 1999 to promote a new culture across the school, further education (FE) work-based learning, and adult and community learning sectors to rationalise the range of existing local partnership arrangements covering post-16 learning. This is the fourth of six reports. It provides an update of the progress that Learning Partnerships have made nationally and is based upon an analysis of Learning Partnerships' performance as reported by the partnerships themselves, 20 national case studies, and a review of five regional evaluation reports. The contents are: Introduction; Purpose and focus; Learning Partnership activities; Relationships; Area inspections; Impact; Added value; Conclusions and Recommendations.

The other reports are indexed at TD/TNC 68.196, TD/TNC 69.279 and TD/TNC 69.280 and the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 75.237. Show less