5A: How to achieve success in leadership and management

Strategic direction

An effective family learning service has a clear vision and strategy and is informed by corporate strategic plans. A strong service has commitment from senior officers and politicians or governors to family learning and a recognition of the part that the service can play in raising achievement and social and economic renewal.

This is reflected in strategic plans for the family learning service but similarly family learning is referenced in education or corporate plans. For instance, in some local authorities, parental involvement is a key objective in the Education Development Plan and family learning is responsible for delivering some of the actions.

If your service is relatively new you may feel buffeted by all the expectations and demands on a small service. The provision can feel like a number of unconnected initiatives. Take time with others to consider:

• where you collectively want the service to be in two or three years’ time
• the type of programmes, range of learners and geographical spread you expect the service to cater for
• the potential partnerships and innovations you could engage in
• how you would like the service to be viewed by others, including learners, partners, local politicians and funders.

When you have described the vision, take stock of what is already in place to support that vision. The gap between where you want to be and where you are now will indicate what you need to put in place and which key areas to develop. These are the big things that will give the service direction, not the nitty-gritty of a detailed action plan. These can be written into a strategic plan, which is a statement of the direction and key developments for family learning and how these connect to wider corporate plans.

Involving other staff in this process will help encourage ownership by the whole organisation. The document and priorities can be shared with other staff and partners. The key messages should be communicated through newsletters and publications within the service. Some family learning networks collectively agree the direction for family learning in an area and produce collective action plans.

The organisation should have a clear view of how it will achieve the targets for learner participation for literacy, language and numeracy set by the LSC as part of the Skills for Life strategy. To move from long-term to more immediate action, the strategic plan and targets need to be translated into an annual action plan. The objectives need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed). The plan should also indicate the resource implications of carrying out the actions.

Evaluating performance

In order to check how well your organisation is doing and its year-on-year improvement you need to consider:

• participation rates
• retention rates
• achievement, including completion of individual and group learning plans and qualifications
• progression.

You will need to use the data that was discussed under CIF Question 1 on how well learners achieve. This considers the ‘distance travelled’ by learners, the learning outcomes, the effect on the family and any accreditation results. Consider how far the targets have been met and compare this with previous years and with the results of comparable organisations. It is important to form a view about where there is room for improvement and to set targets for the coming year based on these insights.

In local authorities, senior officers and elected members are responsible for reviewing how well the service is performing. Where provision is delegated to an external organisation, the governing body should remain aware of performance, but senior officers and elected members still have overall responsibility for its quality. In colleges, the board of governors oversees performance, while in voluntary organisations it is the management committee that adopts this role.

Quality assurance

Effective providers monitor the quality of all aspects of family learning provision. The quality assurance arrangements need to take account of the size of the organisation and should not be overly complex. Having good data and being able to extract it in appropriate forms for analysis is essential for quality assurance and evaluating performance. A computerised management information system (MIS) and the expertise to use this is a good investment.

However, be careful to make sure you are not just amassing data but are using it effectively. Make sure that those who supply the data such as coordinators, course tutors, administrators and support staff know and understand the value of the information they collect. Feed back the outcomes of the analysis to them. Data collection needs to be systematic, consistent and meaningful.

Have clear procedures that are understood by staff to monitor aspects of provision. This can include:

• enrolment and induction
• course files and evaluation
• learner assessments
• accreditation and internal verification
• the quality of teaching and learning
• resources
• finance
• progress towards targets
• the use of buildings and the crèche
• recruitment, induction and development of staff
• service-level agreements for subcontracted agencies
• complaints and compliments
• equal opportunities.

Be clear about what records and assessments are expected from staff and ways of regular checking. A quality assurance handbook with policies, procedures, standard forms and timescales is a useful aid. Perhaps the most important aspect of quality assurance is to monitor the quality of teaching and learning.

A programme of regular observation should be undertaken by all staff who have the necessary skills and expertise for this task. Lesson observations can indicate development and support needs for tutors and the accumulated outcomes of the observations give the organisation a view of the overall quality of teaching and learning in family learning programmes.

Contracting

Family learning may be directly delivered by your organisation or in partnership with others or contracted to another provider to deliver on your organisation’s behalf. Whether the provision is directly delivered or contracted, the learner should have the same entitlement. The organisation has a responsibility to ensure the quality of the provision delivered by contractors on its behalf.

Service Level Agreements

This needs to be set out in writing in a formal service-level agreement. Good providers have written agreements when they work in partnership with others. This includes the use of a school for a family learning programme. The agreement should set out the agreed roles and responsibilities for each party, including the responsibility for resources and accommodation. An agreement between a school and contractor will be comprehensive and written in clear language.

View a sample family learning contract

Self-assessment review

A successful provider adopts a rigorous approach to self-assessment that is based on an honest appraisal of the work they do. If done well, this can help an organisation to develop a commitment to continuous improvement and a culture that questions and evaluates all aspects of its work. The aim of self-assessment is to improve the quality of provision and learner experience, not just to monitor and report on it.

Involve as many people as practical in the self-assessment process. This may include staff teams, learners and partners. The way you organise the process will depend on whether you are a small team that can meet together or a larger organisation that may evaluate particular aspects and then bring all the conclusions together.

Take soundings from a variety of sources about what people think of your service. The self-assessment process takes each of the key questions of the Common Inspection Framework and makes judgements about the strengths and weaknesses with supporting evidence. The key sources of evidence are:

• data on enrolment, attendance and retention
• data on achievement and accreditation
• tracking and learner progression
• records of informal evidence of learning gains
• case studies
• course evaluations
• moderation reports
• outcomes of session observations
• geographical distribution of programmes
• numbers of learners in Skills for Life priority groups
• audit of resources
• staff profile
• training and development records
• income and expenditure and other financial records
• learner feedback and satisfaction surveys
• partner and headteacher testimonials
• Best Value Review reports and/or previous inspection reports.

In making judgements about strengths and weaknesses, bear in mind what would be expected in normal practice. If the feature is no more than you would expect, this is a norm not a strength. For example, ‘good relations between learners and staff’ is the norm and would be expected. If this did not exist it would be a weakness.

The extract from a self-assessment report shows sample entries for CIF Question 5.

EXTRACT FROM A SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT

View the extract from a self-assessment report

The analysis of weaknesses will indicate what actions are needed to remedy these. A development plan sets out how you intend to tackle the weaknesses and build on the strengths. For each priority for action, set clear outcomes and targets, assign responsibilities and a timescale.

Say how you will monitor and evaluate what the success criteria will be. The sample development plan shows how the weaknesses in the above self-assessment report were tackled.

EXTRACT FROM A DEVELOPMENT PLAN

View the extract from a development plan

Management

Effective providers employ staff with good management skills who are able to translate strategy into actions that have a positive impact on learners. They are able to lead and motivate staff and encourage effective teamwork. Good managers have high expectations of the work. They enable staff to have a shared view of what constitutes good practice in family learning and ensure that all strive for excellence.

How family learning is organised will depend on the size of the organisation, historic factors and local circumstances. There is no ideal structure. Whatever structure the organisation has, clear roles and responsibilities should be set out in job descriptions. There should be clarity of reporting so that staff know who they are responsible to and for. There should be regular opportunities for individual support and supervision in addition to appraisal of performance.

Meetings need to be purposeful and within a schedule. Some may be for a specific task and be time-limited. Others, which are on-going, should regularly review the purpose, function and achievements of the group and consider whether the meeting is still required. There should be a clear communication strategy to ensure that everyone is informed of policy and decisions. This might be through regular briefings, a newsletter in printed form or by e-mail.

Effective managers make good use of the funding available and deploy resources, including staff, to ensure that learners gain the maximum benefit. They regularly review resources to ensure that they are being effectively used and reallocate them where necessary to meet new requirements. They also make the most of external funding opportunities.

However, be sure that the new funding actually helps the organisation meet its priorities and is not a distraction. Local authority finances and services are subject to Best Value Reviews and scrutiny, but all organisations are expected to achieve value for money in the way they deliver services or commission them from others.

Staff

Ensure that your organisation has appropriately trained and experienced staff to deliver the family learning programmes. There is a shortage of appropriately qualified and experienced teachers, particularly of numeracy. The rapid increase in funding for family learning has resulted in demand outstripping supply. Experienced practitioners are moving into management or coordinating posts, leaving a vacuum of experienced tutors. Many staff are on short-term contracts, which can lead to rapid turnover. Consider what actions you need to take to remedy this.

You may consider a recruitment drive, working jointly with other providers, or a comprehensive staff development programme to raise skill levels.

Teachers may be drawn from those with qualifications and experience of working with children or from those who have experience in teaching literacy, language and numeracy to adults. All teachers should have undertaken specific training in teaching adults.

Staff training and development

Although providers should be aiming to increase the proportion of staff with nationally recognised qualifications mapped to the Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO) (now Lifelong Learning UK) standards, in the family learning context it is also important to take account of the prior learning, expertise and existing qualifications of job applicants when recruiting and selecting staff. Encourage existing teachers to gain relevant qualifications while in post.

All teachers should undertake training in understanding the adult core curriculum and its application. Teachers should be aware of the opportunities to gain qualifications within the basic skills framework. There are a number of regional and local Skills for Life Professional Development Centres in regions that are supported by the LSC. These are responsible for rolling out basic skills training programmes and they provide support for teachers of literacy, language and numeracy. They also hold copies of materials and will have a regional website.

Staff development and training opportunities should be planned for all staff who are working full time, part time or on a voluntary basis, and whether they are tutors or support staff. Staff development plans need to be linked to the organisation’s strategic plan. Create opportunities for tutors to share effective practice and develop their expertise. This may be through in-house staff development and training or through local and regional networks.

A national infrastructure to support family learning policymakers and practitioners is being strengthened with family learning networks developed jointly by the Campaign for Learning, NIACE and ContinYou. The National Family Learning Network was launched by these organisations in 2001 and meets three times a year at organised conferences.

There is as yet no specific nationally recognised qualification for family learning. NIACE was commissioned by the LSC in the summer of 2002 to undertake an evaluation of LSC-funded family programmes. One of the key recommendations of the evaluation related to national coherence in training and qualifications. The report recommended the establishment of a national staff development strategy for family programmes that would support coherent training routes and national occupational standards for tutors and teachers working in family literacy, language and numeracy.

The Basic Skills Agency, through the Skills for Families programmes, is piloting a family literacy, language and numeracy qualification at Levels 3 and 4, which will become nationally accredited. There is also a national pilot of a Higher Education Certificate in family learning offered through FamilylearningUK. The DfES is supporting the development of national occupational standards in family learning and working with parents. This builds on the occupational and functional mapping of family learning carried out by NIACE and a similar recent study of parenting carried out by the Parenting and Support Forum. The work on the national occupation standards is being undertaken by PAULO and the New Directions Consultancy.

Staff appraisal and development

Providers should have a staff development policy and a staff development plan, which are linked to the strategic plan and which will help the organisation to achieve its priorities. Some staff development and training needs will be identified collectively or be designed to meet specific curriculum development requirements. A successful provider has an appraisal process that accommodates full-time, part-time and support staff. The process is used to help staff review their performance and to identify their individual development and training needs.

The accumulation of identified individual and collective needs and organisational priorities is translated into an annual training plan and appropriately resourced. Since family learning is a rapidly developing area of work, effective staff development may be done through networking, sharing good practice and visiting other providers as well as attendance at training events or courses.

Equality of opportunity

Your organisation should have an equal opportunities strategy and action plan. There is likely to be a local authority or college policy for the whole organisation, but there should be scope for you to interpret this in an action plan specifically for family learning. All staff should have a good understanding of equal opportunities issues. These include the barriers to access discussed under CIF Question 2, relating to physical access, geographical location and cultural barriers. It also applies to the accessibility of curriculum materials and the teaching approach.

Equality of opportunity is much more than widening participation. It is actively promoting equality in all aspects of the work. You need to audit teaching and learning resources and activities frequently to ensure that they represent and recognise the perspective of a diverse community. It is not enough to encourage learners from minority groups to participate in learning; you need to check that they are learning at least as well as other learners.

There should be a code of practice for tackling all forms of harassment, be it on the grounds of race or ethnicity, faith, age, gender, mental health, disability or sexual orientation. Staff and learners should be aware of the code of practice and how to use it.

There should also be straightforward procedures for learners to make a complaint or appeal if they wish to. These procedures should be easy to understand and use. A complaint may help you to learn something about the organisation and give you an opportunity to improve some aspect of the service.

Premises

Accommodation should be accessible to learners and in a good state of repair. All providers should be working towards full compliance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA). Free staff training and explanatory leaflets on these matters are available from local LSCs.

If your organisation owns the premises that you are using for family learning, make sure that health and safety checks are carried out regularly and that findings are acted upon. Where the provider is using a school, a community centre or another organisation’s premises, there is a responsibility on the commissioner to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Undertake a risk assessment before using accommodation for the first time and make regular checks. If you are contracting with another organisation to deliver on your behalf, ensure that the responsibility for health and safety is written into a formal agreement.

Rooms used for family learning should be properly heated, lit and ventilated. They should not be unduly cluttered with resources belonging to other groups. The furniture should be appropriate for adults. There are serious health and safety risks when adults are using computers while seated on children’s furniture.

There may be some occasions when parents and children are working in a school classroom, during the school day, when this is acceptable. However, when parents are working separately, the accommodation should reflect their adult status. When working in schools this needs to be negotiated before the programme begins and written into an agreement with the school. The balance of the advantage of convenience and accessibility for learners with age-appropriate accommodation is a challenge to providers. You need to ensure clear criteria and minimum standards for the accommodation you will use for family learning programmes.

Remember too that childcare and crèche facilities are fundamental to family learning. Some providers are fortunate in having permanent crèche rooms in accommodation that belongs to them. This should conform to the Ofsted National Standards for Under-8s, Daycare and Childminding (DfES, 2001). More often, providers have the use of a room in a school or other organisation. Again, ensure that this meets the required standards. Some providers have a mobile resource where a team of crèche workers with appropriate equipment supports family learning programmes.