Linking London Sixth Annual Conference 2nd July 2012 Sue Betts Director

1. Linking London Sixth Annual Conference 2nd July 2012 Sue Betts Director ‘Reflections on Linking London 2011 – 12’

3. Linking London 2011 - 12 • 2011 – 12 has been a transitional year into sustainability – from a HEFCE funded Lifelong Learning Network to one based on partners’ subscription, and other funding sources • It has seen the expansion of the network from a solely HE/FE partnership to one with a variety of partners • It has been a productive year – with most objectives in the Business Plan achieved • Evaluation of our staff development work is good to excellent • We are a collaborative partnership of six years which works by building on trust and co-operation

4. Linking London now! We have 8 types of members to support currently: • Universities - • Further Education Colleges - • 6th Form College - • Adult focused smaller colleges (SDIs and residential) – • School, with 6th Form - • Awarding Bodies - • Professional bodies - • unionlearn -

5. Linking London • Working in partnership to create opportunities

6. Main work strands of Linking London 2011 - 12 and 12 - 13 Business Plan (11-12) concentrated on 6 main areas: • Access Agreements, now including student engagement and success (retention) and data • HE in FE • IAG • Employer Engagement • Apprenticeships • Staff Development and support

7. Some achievements 2011 - 12 • We have organised 21 events (Business Plan promised 10)for partners – involving 400 staff over the year – five of those events have been practitioner groups dedicated specifically to two priorities of the network – IAG and HE in FE • We have held individual consultations with 23 of our 27 partners during the year • We have published 10 new publications* • We have responded to numerous consultations on behalf of partners and lobbied government and policy bodies on behalf of members’ interests

8. Successful EU funding for the GLAS project • One highlight after the last conference was discovering in July that we had been successful in gaining 400K Euros, under the Eramus Programme for our GLAS project, investigating areas of APL, WBL, Social Mobility, Civic Engagement, CPD – all through the lens of gender and class

9. GLAS partners with Baroness Perry at the House of Lords

10. Some achievements 2011 - 12 • We have delivered bespoke sessions to staff in our partner institutions on IAG, and progression to HE • We have supported partners in their collaborative work by brokering new Progression Agreements and supporting existing relationships* • We have increasingly become involved in internal members’ partner meetings, IAG delivery, FDAP etc • There has been a subtle shift in our work with partners as we all anticipate the new fee structure

11. The CATs project - funding from BIS/SFA and AoC • In the spring of 2012 another highlight was the successful gaining of £78,000 of funding to run a Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CATs) project in the area of leadership and management • We now have eleven partners involved in this project – 2 universities, three colleges and three awarding/professional bodies, plus some new recruits • The first Steering Group meets on the 9th July

12. Some achievements 2011 - 12 • We have supported institutions in their Access Agreements through providing up to date templates of engagement for the year, held an event with OFFA policy advisers, who are keen to support partners • We have liaised on partners’ behalf with numerous organisations, both London wide and nationally • We have shared our expertise speaking at regional and national conferences* • We have developed MA modules for partners to use for APL and Admissions Staff – to show their competency • We have developed an Employer Engagement toolkit to support partners’ work in this area

13. Some achievements 2011 - 12 • Through the Link – our monthly newsletter, HE in FE our monthly bulletin and the website we provide an information and updating service for the partners • We run a Helpline and Advice and Support line – 0207 380 3226 for our partners • We link with national experts in their field – SPA, UCAS, QAA • We have explored data in progression work and are in the process of brokering a Pan London data service for partners

14. In summary 2011 - 12 • We believe 2011 – 23 has been a good year for the partnership, albeit in difficult circumstances • We know there are considerable challenges ahead as we approach the ‘new era’ of HE, and in time FE, but we do believe that collaboratively in partnership we can do more

15. A ‘new era’ characterised by: • Uncertainty

16. The ‘new era’ characterised by: • the new fees regime, • admissions targets and accuracy, unlimited AAB students off quota, and quota • core and marginal numbers (some FE providers new to HE being directly funded), • progression FE to HE, and within FE • spotlight on level 3 to 4, particularly for mature learners • need for emphasis on teaching and learning, and information for students, re-looking both in FE and HE at staff qualifications. • the use of evidence (data)for planning • purposes

17. Reflections • Sustainability • Awareness of the longer term – collaborative targets • Institutions taking much greater responsibility for planning their own destiny • The cost of failure is high • At the same time therefore we might see the learner journey as something much more carefully defined and supported • Could mean a re-emergence or a re-look at more flexible and alternative ways of providing education

18. Thank you for listening. • Sue Betts s.betts@linkinglondon.ac.uk