5A: How to achieve success in leadership and management

 

Download the critical success table - PDF (1.44Mb) to use as a checklist of the quality of your leadership and management.

If you can say ‘yes’ to all of the questions, you should be achieving success.

EXAMPLE OF QUALITY FRAMEWORK

The diagram below shows how one provider represents their quality framework in relation to Skills for Life. The provider says: ‘We like to represent our quality framework as a house. We build it from the foundation upwards. It shows everyone how the various elements fit together. It is particularly useful for showing where self-assessment fits in.’

EXAMPLE OF A SELF-ASSESSMENT MODEL

Robust self-assessment is based on having a properly thought-out self-assessment methodology or model. Without this, providers often collect data in an ad hoc way, sometimes wasting valuable resources by collecting too much data, and sometimes relying too heavily on one kind of data. Smart providers use triangulation to ensure that they illuminate the quality of their Skills for Life provision from different angles.

There are a number of other ‘floodlights’ that could be added to the model, for instance, feedback from external sources, such as inspectors and external verifiers, and the evaluation of key documents, such as individual learning plans and review records. The aim is not to have every possible floodlight; rather it is about having just enough, but with each light shining from a different angle.

You will notice that different floodlights produce different kinds of self-assessment evidence. Numerical data is quantitative; observation of key processes is qualitative. This combination of qualitative and quantitative makes the model more robust.

Staff in work-based learning find that the concept of triangulation is a familiar one. They use very similar models during NVQ assessment, where they might, for instance, combine observation of live performance with witness testimony and documents from the workplace.

Quality managers can make good use of the parallels between NVQ assessment and self-assessment to inspire staff with the confidence to become actively involved in the self-assessment process.

Staff development

Staff learning needs can be identified through informal discussions, through formal staff appraisal and through quality assurance activities. Observations of teaching and learning are a particularly rich source of information about staff development needs.

Have a realistic staff development programme. Provide lots of small steps, including short courses and opportunities to share good practice. Make sure staff feel confident and committed before they embark on a full qualification, or you may find that they drop out.

In order to meet staff needs, you will need a range of learning opportunities that you can mix and match to create individual learning programmes for staff members. These learning opportunities might include:

• on-the-job coaching in teaching literacy, numeracy or ESOL. This might be provided by an experienced colleague or a specialist brought in from outside. If we believe that learning in the workplace works, let’s use it to the full
• short courses. A recent survey [PDF] from Ofsted and the ALI, has a useful list of suggestions for short courses that WBL providers need to consider offering to their staff. Topics include:
  • identifying learners’ literacy, numeracy and language needs
  • planning learning to meet those needs
  • setting specific learning targets in literacy, numeracy and ESOL
  • learning theory and motivational techniques
  • locating and creating learning materials for literacy, numeracy and language learning that are relevant to learners’ vocational needs
  • using computers and other IT resources to facilitate the learning of literacy, numeracy and language
  • giving learners useful feedback on their work
  • assessing learners’ progress in literacy, numeracy and language
  • arranging good work placements for ESOL learners
• independent study. Managers may need to direct staff towards the publications and resources that are likely to be most useful so that staff do not feel overwhelmed. You may also find it helpful to focus the study activity on a particular topic or on finding a solution to a practical problem
• training courses leading to nationally recognised teaching qualifications. Most WBL providers are using this route, because it provides access to qualifications. Managers need to ensure that staff have sufficient opportunities to practise what they are learning
• sharing good practice. Build opportunities for this into your day-to-day operations. It is cheap and effective. But don’t rely on good practice as your only learning method. It works best as a way of disseminating the learning that has come about through the other activities listed here
• reflective practice. This can be a powerful learning tool, especially when the practitioner uses feedback from the learners as part of their evaluation of their own performance.

Time is the most valuable resource of all. Make sure staff workloads allow staff to time to develop their skills.

As with all learners, staff will need varying degrees of support to help them to overcome any barriers to learning. Finally, let’s not forget to celebrate their achievements.

A work-based learning provider may be managed by highly committed people, but this alone will not guarantee success in leadership and management. The acid test is the impact that leadership and management have on the learners’ experience.

Setting clear roles and responsibilities

Below is a composite of the roles of key players in delivering literacy, numeracy and language in work-based learning provision. The details are drawn from a number of providers. Not all providers will arrange roles and responsibilities as in the example below. Managers in work-based learning constantly wrestle with finding the best way to organise staff roles. The assessor role can be particularly problematic. Some providers prefer to keep the assessor role and the training role completely separate. Others find that this is just not practicable. There is no single ‘right way’.

EXAMPLE OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The training officer

‘I recruit the learners and liaise with the employers. I carry out initial assessment and develop the ILP with full involvement of the learner and the employer. I make sure the ILP clearly shows any literacy, numeracy or language goals, mapped to the core curricula. I stay with the learner right the way through their programme. With the workplace supervisor I carry out learner progress reviews. I make sure that every learner knows what they’ve achieved so far and what they are going to do next. I make sure that any literacy, numeracy or language learning is given close attention in reviews. I understand how vital it is for learners to make progress in their Skills for Life learning.

‘Throughout the programme, I ensure that any literacy, numeracy or language needs get picked up. They can come to light in lots of different ways. It could be the learner, the workplace supervisor or the assessor who identifies a need. I talk to everyone and agree a way forward. The learner benefits most when everyone pulls together to help them achieve a particular objective. It’s my role to facilitate this – to make it happen.’

The workplace supervisor

‘I provide the on-the-job training. We have a general company training plan for apprentices, which I then customise to suit the individual learner. This becomes part of the learner’s ILP. The plan for the on-the-job training ensures that every apprentice learns the different aspects of the job. When I’m showing an apprentice how to do a task, I check whether they have the literacy, numeracy or language skills that they need for the task. I understand the importance of these skills and make sure they don’t get overlooked. If I feel I cannot teach a skill myself, I talk to the provider staff and we arrange for the apprentice to get help from the assessor or to go into the training centre for a class.

‘Apprentices are given time away from work, especially when they need extra opportunities to improve their literacy, numeracy or language skills. My apprentices know they have my full support and that they can come to me at any time to discuss any problems. I hold a formal review meeting with the training officer and the apprentice every few months and I have a short meeting with the assessor at each visit, to make sure assessments are well-planned.’

The assessor

‘I go into the workplace to assess the NVQ and the key skills. Assessment is all about timing. I have to keep in close touch with the workplace supervisor so that I don’t miss good assessment opportunities. I always assess the key skills at the same time as the NVQ. It’s all integrated. By making assessment as efficient as possible, I can free up time for other things. I devote some of my visits to one-to-one coaching on key skills or Skills for Life topics. My line manager encourages me to allocate some time each week to prepare these.

‘I talk to the workplace supervisor before I prepare a lesson. I use real life materials from the workplace whenever I can. We also have lots of useful resources back at the training centre, plus I can get help from the key skills teacher. I have regular contact with the training officer and the key skills teacher to ensure that we coordinate everything we are doing with a particular learner.’

The key skills teacher

‘There are two aspects to my role: teaching and supporting colleagues. I meet every new learner; we start from the ILP and talk about how they want to work on their Skills for Life and/or key skills. Some do not want to come in for separate classes, or don’t need classes. It’s all about finding the best strategy. If the assessor is doing any teaching in the workplace, I help them to plan their sessions. I encourage both assessors and learners to bring in materials from the workplace and to tell me about the occupational context.

‘I try to make my lessons as relevant as possible to the jobs the learners do. I plan a programme of off-the-job sessions, using information about current learner needs. A learner can come in and do just one class on a specific topic, or they may come in once a week or once a month. It’s totally flexible. I have to liaise constantly with the training officers and the assessors, to ensure that what I am doing provides a coherent programme.’

Working in partnership

Are you in contact with the basic skills or Skills for Life coordinator at your local LSC. They will be able to direct you to key partners and help you to network with others. They will also provide information about government initiatives and funding opportunities. In particular, they will have the latest information about what is happening in your local area under the LSC Skills for Life Quality Initiative.