How do you decide what the priorities are for a learning programme?

It is often difficult to decide what the priorities  for a young person's learning programme should be. Whilst it sounds simple, in practice, it is often much more difficult to do effectively.

The difficulty, of course is providing a structured way of deciding what gets learnt and why, and how to identify those skills that are the most important and will make the biggest difference to the learner’s future life.

It becomes more straightforward if we focus on the purpose of the programme- what are the outcomes the learner is trying to achieve? Broadly we would want to concentrate on what is important now and in the future life that the person is aiming for (hopefully outlined in their person centred plan).
 
This requires a few key questions; can the young person use the skills practically in the wider community. Given that resources are limited, what should be learnt that will have the most impact in their future lives.

The vision of a future life is an important test for programme planning and delivery. Unfortunately there are often a lot of everyday issues which make it hard to keep that focus – usually but not exclusively funding requirements, accreditation requirements, even everyday practicalities like timetabling.  We think there are a number of questions which can help you determine how much of a priority an identified learning objective really is.

1.    Does learning this skill make sense for them - is it functional? Not because it is on a list of functional skills that someone else has prescribed, but because it is functional for them and will have practical relevance to their everyday lives! 
2.    Does learning this skill increase the number of places or environments they can access?
3.    Does it prepare the young person for adulthood?
4.    Does this skill allow the student to participate more effectively in the wider community?
5.    Does learning this skill enhance their social status?
6.    Will the learner have a chance to practice and use this skill – if not we have to question why we might teach it
7.    Is it likely the student can learn this skill given the time and resources available?
8.    Does the student want to learn it – are they motivated?
9.    Is this skill age appropriate?
10.  Do parents, guardians or wider family think this is an important skill for this young person?

We look at these key issues for outcome focused learning programmes in more detail in a short report which you can get by using the link below:
 
www.kandaassociates.co.uk

 
This is not an exhaustive list of considerations and you may have others. Once you have a devised a learning programme for an individual, it might be a useful checklist to see it the programme as a whole is coherent and makes sense – you can also use it during programme reviews. It might also provide the basis of discussion for CPD events with staff – you might want to add in  key features of your own?
 
We hope you find it useful -if you do then pass it on.

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The Enhancement of Learning Support materials which we highlighted last time  provide some very useful resources.They also have a useful sources of information page which lists a range of useful websites and links which are definitely worth a look 
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New course from K&A  - Supporting Learners with Autism- an Introduction toEffective Practice– delivered in house for groups of up to 20
 
 
 We are presenting at the The National Autistic Society Professional Conference 28-29 February 2012. We are delivering a seminar on Improving Outcomes and Experience of Transition on day 2. There is an early booking rate until the 29th October. More details at NAS Professional Conference 2012

Enhancement of Learning Support Materials Go live

After a number of months and a lot of hard work by all involved the materials produced as part of the ELS have gone live on the Excellence Gateway. You may have had it from a number of sources but here is the link in case you missed it.http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/316191

We are obviously particularly pleased because we were involved in the initial research and the project management of the second phase of the project. So we think it is great, well we would, but really the great think about a lot of the resources is that they are very practical - if you are looking for documents you can use pro-formas that you can adapt stuff that will help you out and save you time there are things here for you!
Obviously there is a lot to take in and you are short of time so  we thought we would point you in the direction of a few things that are valuable that you can consider and start using straight away.

Profiling Tool and Organisational Audit

Do your Learning support managers have difficulty planning and delivering effective appraisals and really focused personal development plans for the staff they manage. If so the Profiling tool , the PDP is for you. The profiling tool does what it says on the tin really it  is an online self evaluation tool which provides each member of your support staff with a detailed picture of their strengths and weaknesses and a whole host of reports  for individuals, managers to get a clear view of each support staffs CPD requirements
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=317522

Of course that is great for individuals but  the other side of the coin is how are we doing as an organisation?  The  organisational audit tool provides a series of effective practice indicators, linked to the National Occupational standards  for LSAs are also  cross referenced with the Common Inspection Framework (CIF). You can edit them to fit your situation but the  evidence generated will provides an effective way of answering the question " where are we know " with our learning support practice. There is also a helpful  user guide - what could be easier. Its free!

 http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=318848

On their own these two cover a great deal but put them together and you will really have all bases covered

K & A Associates  can offer a facilitated day which will help you to get maximum impact from the profile. Find out more here http://www.kandaassociates.co.uk/PDPSupportDay.html ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************OFSTED REPORT SELF ASSESSMENT CHECK LIST -
In the last issue we covered the recent Ofsted Report and its focus on outcomes and destinations. We have had a lot of feedback from  people who have asked us about what the implications are for practice. To try and help organisations think about what the implications may be for  them we have produced a short self assessment checklist which you can  download here http://www.kandaassociates.co.uk/OfstedReportChecklist.html

Ofsted Report calls for more focus on Outcomes and Destinations

I am not sure why improving the life chances of thousands of disabled young people doesn't register as much on the nations psyche as bankers bonuses,celebrity big brother or the holiday fashion of senior politicians but it doesn't!!
So what with the riots, the hacking scandal and the banking crisis you may have missed the latest Ofsted report. Snuck out in late summer, Progression post 16 for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is a rare Ofsted  bird indeed; candid,clear,accurate and  timely. Shame it was published in the late summer  and generated little if any press coverage even  from the media outlets that are usually interested - Guardian and TES take note!!
The main headlines are that whilst there is some good provision there are still issues with some basics :  What gets learnt and why, the systems and structures that fund it,and the performance measures that are applied - nothing very important then!


Most notably the conclusion is there is an insufficient focus on outcomes and destinations for learners  and this is  hindering the ability of learning programmes to improve life chances. Some notable headlines are

• Providers had received a completed learning difficulty assessment in only a third of the case studies where one should have been made available to them.
• duplication of effort in assessment

One of the most significant findings was about Foundation Learning  with a conclusion that" programmes reviewed by inspectors were too narrowly focused on accreditation and were not effective in enabling learners to progress to open or supported employment, independent living or community engagement"

In particular the conclusion was that Foundation learning programmes were successful for learners whose main goal was to progress to level 2 provision or higher. But for those learners for whom this was not a main goal, they were too narrowly focused on accreditation and did not offer meaningful opportunities for work experience and other practical learning situations in which to develop skills. Following on from the comments in the Wolf review this is further evidence that Foundation Learning is not working for those  learners with more complex needs. They also highlight the inappropriate nature of some accreditation with the possibility of gaining an entry level qualification in "using a public convenience" being the best ( or should I say worst) example! 

If this is the case it begs the question what are they going to do about it? It is welcome to see Ofsted call for more focus on outcomes and destinations but until there is a fundamental review of the funding allocation system most providers will continue to be required to deliver foundation learning linked to accreditation.

What we really need is a more flexible funding system that allows providers and practitioners to develop the learning programmes that meet  individual needs, in consultation with their learners and  to blend accredited and non accredited learning  where appropriate. The judgement of effectiveness should be the ultimate outcome for learners - where they go, what they can do the pathways into adult life that their learning programme has prepared them for - not simply a count up of how many units they have passed!Unfortunately that is difficult to do and  much harder to count.... but that is not a good reason for not trying!  


Many effective providers are doing this already in spite of the constraints.

 The Ofsted report is a recommended read for all programme managers and practitioners  because it gets you thinking about the important question of why - what is the point to our provision, what is the difference it makes to the future lives of learners and how can we be sure that it is making a difference

You can get the whole report here http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/progression-post-16-for-learners-learning-difficulties-andor-disabilities

We wait to see what happens!
We can support providers to address the challenges in the Ofsted report with curriculum development and guidance on adapting foundation learning and measuring outcomes and destinations. To find out more  go to http://www.kandaassociates.co.uk/services/s_foundation.html

Will decision to stop funding those on inactive benefits affect learners with Learning Difficulites

I had not really heard about this issue but I came across it twice in the last week, the second time being via this article in the guardian by Nick Linford

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/29/education-training-inactive-benefits-cuts


What this appears to mean is that a whole tranche of vulnerable young people may miss out by the changes planned to fee remission. It is difficult to see how this will support the broader policy aim of enabling young people with learning difficulties or disabilites to progress to employment.
There are a whole cohort of young people who do not qualify for a learning difficulty assessment ( and funding by the YPLA) but who have signficant additional needs an will now find affording the cost of the training they need post 19 almost impossible.

What are the experiences of people out there of this - what is coming in the Autumn with this fee remission policy?

Making savings without making cuts - One solution from the Stockport SEN Transport Service

Can we make savings without  making cuts - it sounds counter intuative. The example below from the Systems Thinking Review illustrates how by  reorganisng, Stockport Council not only gave their children and young people a better service, but also reduced the cost!

http://www.thesystemsthinkingreview.co.uk/index.php?pg=18&utwkstoryid=312

There is a bit of management speak, here but the main point is that instead of simply trying to manage cost, and hacking chunks off the budget, Stockport have  redesigned the system against demand,saved money  and improved the quality.

There  seems to be a  lesson here for all services for children and young people with learning difficulites. Whilst  I am sure it is not a panacea,  there must be merit in an approach that takes resources out of providing taxis people don't want or need, an uses  it to support them to become more independent.

We are always talking about breaking down silos and making services more integrated and responsive, perhaps this provides one approach for making it happen.

A Culture of Testing

With all the furore about the change to testing this week and the introduction of the English Bac I came across this Blog post from Marketing Guru Seth Godin:

Netflix tests everything. They're very proud that they A/B test interactions, offerings, pricing, everything. It's almost enough to get you to believe that rigorous testing is the key to success

Except they didn't test the model of renting DVDs by mail for a monthly fee.
And they didn't test the model of having an innovative corporate culture.
And they didn't test the idea of betting the company on a switch to online delivery.
The three biggest assets of the company weren't tested, because they couldn't be.


Sure, go ahead and test what's testable. But the real victories come when you have the guts to launch the untestable.


You can see more of Seth Godin at http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/


Although the examples are  corporate  the core message is transferable. It alludes once again to the famous quote from Einstein that


"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted"


For  services for people with learning difficulites and disabilities we also  find  testing and measuring  problematic. Sometimes  it seems we can get very carried away with accredited outcomes  and activity measures,when maybe the  bigger question is are we offering a curriculum that is getting learners to where they want to be?  We like the auditng model ( and so do funders) because it allows us to benchamark, but is the requirement for auditability a constraint on the development of performance measures and should we be moving more towards  outcome based measures which reflect the impact of our intevention?


In these days of  budget cuts and austerity it might be more important than ever to look at way how we measure outcomes  and not sumply activity  - of course they are sometimes a bit qualitative, idiosyncratic or even bespoke so  much harder to count!!

Does your organisation “Know what it knows”? How can we share effective practice in our organisations?

I was at the  Enhancement of Learning Support ( ELS) event last Friday, at a rather snowy RAF Cosford Museum,  where we considered some of the alternative ways of approaching CPD. In many of the workshop discussions, we came to the conclusion that a lot of the solutions to our everyday issues are already within our organisations, we just need to find ways of tapping into them more effectively. The aim of the ELS  programme is to examine ways of delivering alternative approaches to CPD  to get this information and knowledge moving about organisations more effectively.

What struck me, was that what we are really talking about here, for want of a better phrase, is “knowledge management”. Often when you say “knowledge management”,  organisations  reach for the IT solution - warehousing data on the organisation’s IT intranet -  a process that often creates electronic fences, information overload but does  not promote the sharing of effective practice. In addition, it tends to prioritise data which can be counted, but in practice, much of the information we need to improve quality is, not surprisingly, qualitative rather than quantitative.

Knowledge is not just data or information and so simply sharing data and information will not give staff greater  knowledge and understanding, and for that reason, we shouldn't get fixated with data and systems, but concentrate instead on the importance of human interaction.  Knowledge is not simply information,  it contains belief, values and commitment and  it is social groups that  create knowledge flows  - and for most of us over 20 years old, we mean real social groups - face to face with other people,  not in cyberspace space somewhere!

Knowledge flows best when it is not too tightly prescribed or imposed by the organisation - structures that are  self organising or informal but supported by management often have the best results.  A good example is the copier company Xerox  that discovered that the service engineers fixing copiers got the best results when they  departed from the formal processes in the manual. What they also discovered was  that, rather than using the standard operating procedure,  this knowledge was being routinely swapped at ad hoc breakfast meetings  where itinerant service engineers  swapped experiences and stories. Through this informal socialising, the engineers developed a collective pool of immensely useful practical knowledge which saved them time and improved their performance – Xerox’s approach was to  facilitate the process by making the "Tips" available to the 25000 in their worldwide workforce.

But sharing knowledge is tricky, for most organisations, if they knew what they knew they would undoubtedly  be more effective..........or even more effective.  Knowledge management  has a lot to offer in promoting  organisational learning  but we don't necessarily  give it the  priority  it deserves, in spite of the huge potential benefits. How much of your CPD budge last year was directly allocated to helping  your organisation know what it knows and getting that knowledge to where you most need it?

The resources being developed  in the West Midlands are a contribution to an alternative approach to promoting and sharing effective practice.   I am not suggesting that staff should be sharing experiences and knowledge over  morning coffee and croissants (although this sound like fun!!)  but  it is worth spending some time thinking about how your organisation could make greater use of the social context in the workplace to harness the full potential of its collective knowledge?

Alison O'Brien