Building the Foundations of A LIFELONG LEARNING SOCIETY
ANNEX A: SUMMARY OF REVIEW QUESTIONS
Scope of Strategy and Implementation Plan
Q1. What issues should the review address? What issues are best determined locally?
Purpose of School/College Collaboration
Q2. How should the joint schools/FE strategy articulate the purposes and scope of school pupil participation in college?
Q3. Where should school/college collaboration sit alongside other further education priorities and college programmes?
Q4. How can we enhance the value placed by pupils and parents on vocational subjects to achieve parity of esteem across vocational and academic learning?
Q5. How best should school/college collaboration engage with the delivery of joined-up services through the community planning process and Community Learning and Development?
Q6. Should the nature of collaboration be different for distinct cohorts of pupils, including different age groups, for example:
- Primary children;
- 12-14 years;
- 14-16 years;
- 16+;
- 'winter leavers'?
If so, what should those differences be?
Q7. Should the powers of colleges to engage with various age groups of school pupils differ (and if so, how should they differ)?
Q8. Are the existing further education curriculum choices available to school pupils sufficient to meet the purposes of school/college collaboration? If not, what additional support (if any) should we be giving to the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Learning and Teaching Scotland to develop them further?
Q9. Should we develop, in addition to the lifelong learning strategy indicators, specific indicators for school/college collaboration? If so, how should the success of collaboration be measured?
Managing Supply and Demand and Funding Responsibilities
Q10. Should responsibility for pupils' curriculum remain entirely with the relevant education authority (and school)?
Q11. Should further education colleges remain entirely responsible for the courses offered to school pupils and the pupils they accept on to them?
Q12. To what extent should school pupils generally expect their desire for experience of college be realised?
Q13. Given the Executive's Partnership Agreement commitment, to what extent should 14-16 year-old pupils expect to undertake a further education course to develop vocational skills if they so choose?
Q14. Should any special arrangements be extended to older school pupils?
Q15. How can we best make clear that we expect all schools to have links with colleges and ensure that colleges make appropriate provision for school pupils?
Q16. How should colleges engage with the independent school sector (and what are the possible implications of this for public funds)?
Q17. How should the p otential role that further education colleges may play in a pupil's curriculum choices best be identified? What role should Careers Scotland play in this process?
Q18. How should the suitability of pupils for college be assessed?
Q19. Can Personal Learning Plans be a useful vehicle to support school pupils who make use of learning opportunities in colleges? If so, should they be mandatory for such pupils?
Q20. What further measures, if any, are required to consider labour market needs when planning school/college collaboration, and what role could the Enterprise Networks play in this process?
Q21. How should the further education needs of pupils in less geographically accessible areas be met when it is not practicable for pupils to attend college?
Q22. How should education authorities, schools and colleges work together to plan further education provision in appropriate colleges (or schools) for school pupils?
Q23. Which body should assume lead responsibility for preparing any local strategies?
Q24. In partnership with which bodies should local strategies be developed?
Q25. Should partnership agreements to deliver the Enterprise in Education agenda be adapted to cover the full spectrum of school/college collaboration?
Q26. How should issues of over-demand for courses be managed?
Q27. How should pupils' on-going engagement with further education be monitored and evaluated?
Q28. Should there be some form of statutory duty on incorporated colleges and education authorities to encourage school/college collaboration?
Q29. Similarly, if SFEFC (or any successor body) remains the principal source of funding for school enrolments (see below) should this be incorporated into its duties?
Q30. Should primary funding responsibility for school enrolments continue to rest with the Scottish Further Education Funding Council? Or should funding responsibility rest with education authorities or schools? Are there other bodies this responsibility should be given to?
Q31. How can colleges be appropriately reimbursed for their partnership working with schools, while safeguarding the integrity of the concept of 'enrolment'?
Q32. Should colleges receive fee income for enrolments undertaken by pupils as part of their school-based curriculum? If so, from which public body should they derive that income?
Q33. What scope might there be for releasing funds dedicated to school pupils' school education when those pupils undertake college courses?
Implications for Schools and Colleges
Q34. What measures should be taken to retain the central ethos of further education colleges as centres of voluntary learning for adults?
Q35. Are there particular issues that the training and development of (a) further education lecturers and (b) teachers need to address in order to facilitate more effective collaboration between the school and further education sectors?
Q36. What training do guidance, teaching support and other staff in further education colleges need to be able to provide effective support to under 16 year olds?
Q37. Should there be a common framework for the recognition of the qualifications for lecturers and teachers?
Q38. Are there any unnecessary overly-prescriptive barriers concerning teaching qualifications that prevent effective collaboration between the school and further education sectors?
Q39. To what extent, if any, should the further education sector reflect (and/or adapt) for the teaching of school pupils in colleges the requirements for the teaching of school pupils in school? If so, how can this be done in a way that retains the existing strengths of the further education sector?
Q40. What responsibility should the Funding Council have for assessing and assuring the learning experience of school pupils (including for provision not funded by the Funding Council)?
Q41. How can college programmes become more flexible to take account of units students have gained while they were at school?
Q42. How should examination statistics be reported to reflect school/college collaboration?
Q43. Where should responsibility for transport and for lunch vouchers for pupils eligible for free school meals lie?
Pupil Welfare and Support
Q44. What further measures are necessary to develop an inclusive, collaborative approach to school pupils with additional support needs attending further education colleges?
Q45. To what extent should school/college collaboration focus on choice and opportunity for all pupils, or target support for a narrower section of the pupil population?
Q46. What successful mechanisms exist to ensure appropriate co-ordination and communication between schools and colleges to deliver effective learning support, behaviour support and pupil support?
Q47. What safeguards are in place in further education colleges for safe recruitment practices, codes of conduct, and awareness of issues in relation to child protection procedures? Do agreements between schools and colleges make respective roles and responsibilities explicit in relation to the safety of pupils? What further measures should be taken?
Q48. What arrangements are made by further education colleges to safeguard vulnerable groups, and does this extend to school pupils? What measures are appropriate and effective?
Q49. What is the current practice between schools and colleges of sharing information? What aspects can be improved?
Q50. How do further education colleges successfully manage the needs of different groups, and ensure their safety? Do the needs of some groups preclude engagement of other groups?
Conclusion
Q51. Are there any other matters not referred to in this consultation paper which you wish to bring to our attention?