The Scottish Government

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REVIEW OF SCOTLANDS COLLEGES

WORKING GROUP: THE DIFFERENCE COLLEGES MAKE

Minutes of Meeting

Held at 2pm on 3rd July 2006

at Scottish Executive, Europa Building,Glasgow

Attendees

John Burt, Angus College - Chair

Lesley Thompson, Scottish Executive - Facilitator

Gerald Wilson, Scottish Executive - Secretariat

Colin Baird, Scottish Executive

Audrey Robertson, Scottish Executive

Karen Corbett, HMIe

Linda McTavish, Anniesland College

Lillian Anderson, National Union of Students Scotland

Gordon Rodgers, Scottish Qualifications Authority

Gordon Craig, Scottish Funding Council

Marion Healy (in place of Mary Senior), Educational Institute of Scotland

Gordon McDougal, Scottish Funding Council

Julie Gilstrap, Association of Scottish Colleges

Jacqui Hepburn, Sector Skills Development Agency

Gordon McBride - Scottish Funding Council

John welcomed everyone to the meeting and set out the plan for the day.

The group was asked to think about "the main pressures and opportunities for the college sector between 2008-09 and 2010-11 so that background papers can be commissioned for each of them for future consideration by the working group"

Lesley, the facilitator for the day was introduced to the members of the group. John then went on to talk about the report of the last work stream of the group. The report was released at the ASC conference, with Allan Wilson referring to it in his keynote speech. The report was well received by the sector. There was also an article in the TES the previous week which referred to the report in a good light.

There are also plans to hold a conference in the autumn to launch the report formally. It is hoped that the Deputy First Minister will be able to come along.

Lesley then gave a brief introduction of the plans for the session, and what we expected to achieve. She explained that it was a good time to have this meeting with the Spending Review coming up.

Session 1 - Context

All members of the group broke into four smaller groups and discussed how the 'context in which colleges currently operate will change in the next four years'. This is what the four groups came up with from the flipcharts:

Group 1

• Tight spending settlement

SEN - Review of MA's

European Structural Funds

• Globalisation

Fresh Talent

NET migration - European Union enlargement, Asylum Services Contract

Pressures on bursaries

• Employability/Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)

Pos NEET

Different pressures in different sectors

Leitch review

• Demographics - Implications for Study Body - Full time/Part time - Age

Over 50s

Volunteering

• Metropolitan Area - Macro development within Scotland
• Inequalities - Health, Employment, Life Expectancy

Role of colleges in community planning

• Political Landscape - National & Local
• School/College

Unrealistic expectation from schools

• Westminster

Barnett

Scottish MP's Voting

• Staffing

Salary

Revision

Qualifications

Teaching Qualifications in Further Education TQ(FE)

Prof of Staff

• Qualifications

HN Review

• Adult Literacy and Numeracy

Colleges to play greater part

• Best Value

Greater need for local partnerships

Group 2

• Partnership Working: mapping + planning of provision across sectors & partnership agencies (esp schools/Community Learning Development)
• Information Community Technology & technologies landscape & impact on the learning environment - actual & virtual
• Work-based learning
• Age demographics especially school & older people
• Progression & articulation with Adult Continuing Education
• Equality & diversity of opportunities
• Funding landscape
• Life skills re literacies & employability

Group 3

• Shifts in economy

College response (employability)

Re - skilling

• International context
• Professional qualifications
• Collaboration (within and outwith sector)
• Efficient government
• Potential change in government
• Flexible Learning (incl. Work Based Learning)
• Mainstreaming of widening access
• Auditing of sector (accountability, legislation etc)

Compliance

• Blurring of sector boundaries

Group 4

• Immigration
• NEET
• Sector skills/Pattern of Employment
• School/College partnership
• Gender gap
• Articulation
• Estates
• Review of funding/managed growth

The groups reported back on their findings and then broke into to two groups, one looking at Pressures of the college sector, and opportunities of the college sector, then after half an hour, switched round and discussed the next issue. The flipcharts are listed below:

Session 2 - Opportunities

• Growing international capacity:

1. International studying in Scotland

2. Exporting knowledge and skills. Scottish Development International (SDI)

• Work-based learning

Work with employers & trade

• School/college partnership

Role for employers

• Increased esteem of colleges leading to more demand
• Responding to economic changes
• Lifelong learning
• Increasing productivity skills level & addressing skills gap
• Migrant workers (fellow European)
• Social Inclusion - Is this just core?
• NEET & Employability
• Literacies
• Community learning partnerships
• Knowledge transfer
• Volunteering
• Student fees

Session 3 - Pressures

• Expectations
• Industrial relations

Salaries

Local bargaining

Staff development: Academic

Support staff

• Estates
• Speed of change
• Legislative changes
• Equalities
• Diversity of student body
• Funding
• Partnership working
• Outcomes - achievement
• Meaningful student engagement
• Pensions
• Reduction in European funding
• Tailoring support interventions

Increasing requirement

• Student/staff ratios

It was agreed that the following papers will be prepared for the next meeting of the Working Group on 15 September

• Pensions, Funding and Reduction in European Funding: Gordon Craig
• Expectations in Colleges: John Burt and Linda McTavish
• Tailoring Support: Karen Corbett, Audrey Robertson, Col Baird, Marian Healy
• Partnership Working: STUC/Marion Healy, Julie Gilstrap, John Burt, Linda McTavish

• Julie Gilstrap said she will try and get some information from SCI about the work that SCI is doing promoting Scotland's Colleges internationally. This is just for background information so that the group was better informed about international activity.
• Skills Paper: Jackie Hepburn + Gordon Rodgers
• Volunteering (ideas paper): John Burt, Linda McTavish, Jackie Hepburn

Note: Please advise me of the lead contact of each of these papers.

John invited all attendees who are not part of the group who attended this meeting to come to the September meeting.

The meeting was drawn to a close.

Gerald Wilson

ETLLD:FAED 3

21 July 2006