Case Study: Barnsley Local Authority
About Barnsley Local Authority
Barnsley Local Authority has always strived to ensure that all learners in Barnsley have access to the highest quality of teaching and given every opportunity to maximise their potential. Approximately 35% of the KS4 Cohort (1900 learners) accesses some form of collaborative provision, either at another partner school, a work-based learning provider, or FE college. Currently Barnsley has 25 partners involved in the delivery of collaborative provision, offering 51 different programmes of studying or training.
Consequently, Barnsley embraced the new 14-19 diploma’s following their launch in 2008 and now offers the opportunity to learn through classroom, creative-thinking and hands-on experiences to all learners across the 13 secondary schools, a unit for pupil referral, plus 2 special schools which make up the Borough-wide Consortium.
Barnsley has also established a variety of facilities within their partner organisations using DCSF Capital funding to support Diploma delivery. These include a mini ward and residential area for Social, Health & Development learners, a variety of construction workshops and ICT suites for Construction and the Built Environment, performance rooms and recording studio for Creative & Media, a business reception simulation centre for Business, Administration & Finance, as well as industry standard equipment for Engineering, classrooms within a Manufacturing company, upgrading of salon training facilities for Hair & Beauty, and a new classroom and a range of sustainable energy resources on a partner’s farm.
The local business community in and around Barnsley have also being extremely keen to get involved with the diplomas as they fully appreciate the benefit to the local economy that the 14-19 diplomas can offer.
The Challenge
As with many partnerships, Barnsley providers traditionally tracked the progression of their learners manually using paper-based registers or spreadsheets but, with collaborative provision expanding and a huge interest in the new 14-16 Diplomas, off-site learning was becoming common place and monitoring learners and keeping records up-to-date was becoming much more time consuming and bureaucratic.
With learning taking place in various locations around Barnsley, learner records were far spread and inaccessible from the head offices without firstly requesting the information and then having it typed out and sent via email – another time consuming process that needed to be eradicated for the Diplomas to deliver their full potential.
Barnsley needed a quick and easy to use solution whereby learner whereabouts and progress could be monitored and records updated by all partners (delivery/assessment centres or home centres) wherever they were - if the Diploma’s where going to reach their full potential. The solution also required central administration access in order to monitor the usage of the system by all concerned. All information and learner records stored on the system also needed to be secure yet easily accessible for all parties involved.
The Solution
With Barnsley monitoring and supporting multiple learners and delivery partners over a number of locations, Perspective recommended the implementation of Collaborative Learning Manager, adapted to suit the needs of Barnsley in the 14-19 Diploma environment, to provide a fast and accurate web interface for schools, colleges and other delivery partners to record learner progress and attendance as well as manage all information in a single location.
Collaborative Learning Manager (CLM) is the first available means of effectively measuring and monitoring learner attendance and progress in the increasingly important environment of distributed learning.
The software monitors every learner as they progress throughout the qualification, specifically monitoring attendance and progress and enabling a free flow of information between all parties involved in the delivery of the Diploma, quickly flagging up issues such as unauthorised absences or a swift decline in progress. Marks are easily entered for aptitude and effort as well as formal grades, creating an overall picture of learner development.
CLM provides real-time data that can be accessed at any time enabling attendance statistics, learner statistics and learning management reports to be produced quickly and easily at the touch of a button.
The implementation of CLM will ensure smooth delivery of 14 – 19 Diplomas, enabling learners to reach their maximum potential and enhancing the overall success of the Diploma qualification.
The Results
CLM was implemented prior to the 14-19 Diploma’s commencing in 2008 and proved to be an instant success with learners, teachers and delivery partners alike.
The accurate monitoring of progression and attendance that CLM offers was hugely beneficial to the courses success by immediately identifying any red-flag areas, such as falling grades or unauthorised absences that needed to be dealt with. In turn, with 24 hour access to up-to-date learner records, this allowed any problem areas to be fixed before it was too late.
Cynthia Ward, course leader at Barnsley College for the Level 1 SHD Diploma, commented: “I can confidently say that they (14-19 Diplomas) have changed the lives of my learners. The employer engagement, the subject matter and style of learning brings the whole experience to life and makes the learners want to learn and carve a career from the skills that they have learnt. All of my learners have excelled this year and having immediate access to detailed learner records has only made the process a lot easier.”
Jane Fisher, 14 to 19 Senior Consultant with Barnsley Local Authority, commented: “Launched in September 2008, 14-19 Diplomas offer learners a mix of classroom and applied learning, creative thinking and hands-on experience which appeals to diverse interests and styles of learning, and subsequently enables the learners to develop a wide range of knowledge and skills within the broad sector areas. For those who have or are taking part, the qualification has highlighted and opened up many new career and higher education options to the learners.
“CLM offers instant access to up to the minute learner records and has been hugely beneficial to all parties involved. It has enabled partners to access attendance and progress information readily to help monitor and subsequent support the learners concerned. I would highly recommend CLM to any Local Authority seeking an effective and easy to use learner management system.”
