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Learning and Skills Councils: Opportunities for the Voluntary Sector
West Dean Conference Centre, Chichester
Friday 10th March 2000
This page contains appendices FROM, and should be read in conjunction WITH the Regional Report
For the South East Region seminar
The planning and delivery of this event was undertaken on behalf of NIACE and the WEA by Cheryl Turner (Development Officer, NIACE) and Michael Freeston (Education Officer, WEA).
Particular acknowledgement needs to be given to the hard work of administrative staff of both organisations, especially Philippa Cattell, Averil Coutinho and Vera Tunçel, for ensuring the smooth running of the event.
NIACE and the WEA gratefully acknowledge the support of Lynne Bryan (Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation) who contributed to the presentations at the Chichester event
70 participants registered to attend the event. Representatives of the Government Office, Local Learning Partnerships, voluntary groups and 'umbrella' organisations attended. This spread of experience and knowledge ensured that participants’ contributions, both in the discussion groups and plenary sessions were lively and informative.
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At the South East Region seminar
| LSCs should ensure equal access to funds for the Voluntary Sector. |
| Could the 10-15% of non-formula funding be used to support education provision in the Voluntary Sector? This could help map provision and employ someone to 'represent' the Sector and ensure they are informed of developments. |
| The Voluntary Sector should see itself as a 'big gun' for the National LSC. |
| There is a need to develop liaison between the Voluntary Sector and the Regional Government Office. The onus must be on the Voluntary Sector to do this. |
| The Sector should explore the role of RAISE in relation to LSCs. |
| Realistic funding to cover management, infrastructure, etc. is needed. |
| Allocation processes need to be simplified to avoid the distraction of having to play 'funding' games. |
| The Voluntary Sector should be pro-active in its engagement with LSCs. |
| There is concern over the link between the quality assurance and funding; will the criteria for assessing quality include access and retention issues as well as recruitment and achievement? |
| To ensure inclusivity of approach, LSCs should hold open meetings and allow observers/'shadows'/mentors to evaluate its work. |
| Web-sites and emails should be used to spread information and promote communication. |
| LSCs should assist the Voluntary Sector in developing appropriate quality standards. LSCs must recognise the resource and capacity implications of such standards. |
| The practical implications of effective reporting must be recognised, e.g. access to ICT, postage, etc. |
| Will the new Inspectorate be just the same people? There is a need for a change of culture, as well as personnel. |
| A person specification for potential members of the National LSCs should be developed. |
| There is a need to assert the distinctive contribution and value of the Voluntary Sector. |
| The Sector should embrace LSCs as an opportunity and make the Government accountable for its statements. |
| The Sector should act quickly to affect the many 'filters' between Government and Voluntary Organisations. |
| Will opportunities exist for the Voluntary Sector to review its satisfaction with the LSCs operation and its quality standards. |
| What is the timetable for submitting applications to the LSC for funding of provision? |
| The costs of auditing, monitoring and applying quality assurance systems must be recognised. |
| There must be flexible criteria for application for funding. |
| How will information be disseminated from LSCs to the Voluntary Sector? |
| How should the Voluntary Sector select the pressure points to influence strategic planning? Should they target learning partnerships or local authorities? |
| LSCs need to enter into 'real' discussion over how best to allocate their resources. |
| Quality assurance mechanisms must recognise the capacity implications for small bodies. |
| There needs to be a cohesive voice for the diverse Voluntary Sector. |
| The Voluntary Sector needs to understand and state the case for it being a 'better' provider of learning opportunities. |
| Will the same people and attitudes be replicated in the new structures? |
| How will the Voluntary Sector be inspected? Will the framework be 'fit for the purpose'? |
| The Sector needs to think ahead to develop provision and partnerships and define what it does best. |
| The new LSC structure should be embraced as an opportunity for the Sector. |
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At the South East Region seminar
From the forms returned the ratings for this event were: 11 very good, 28 good and 4 satisfactory. Overall, the written comments were positive and spoke favourably about the clear structure of the programme and the balance between presentations, discussion and feedback, the informal, friendly atmosphere and free flow and open character of the comments, the documentation before and during the event, the fact that it was clearly for voluntary bodies and included a number of grass-roots organisations, and the richness of the plenary discussions due to the diverse experience and knowledge of the participants.
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