REVIEW OF SCOTLAND 'S COLLEGES
RoSCo e-Bulletin - Issue 4 -March 2006
This document is also available to download as a PDF file.
In this issue:
Welcome
Update on the Review
Working Groups
Meetings with Stakeholders
HMIE Publications
Further & Adult Education Division
Feedback Invited
Contacts
Welcome
Welcome to the fourth edition of the Review of Scotland's Colleges (RoSCo) e-bulletin, which looks at the progress of the Review.
We would be grateful if you could draw attention to the RoSCo e-Bulletin through your own internal and external newsletters and websites. We are also keen to ensure that the e-bulletin is circulated more widely by building up a more comprehensive distribution list. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please let us know by e-mailing rosco@scotland.gsi.gov.uk .
Minutes of Meetings and Associated Papers
Information about the Review can be found on the Executive's revised website address at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/UniversitiesColleges/17135/RSC/Intro
Minutes and papers of the working groups and core group are available on the website.
Core Group
The Core Group held its second meeting on Tuesday 21 February. The Group was informed that Ministers were not persuaded that there was a strong enough case to exempt colleges from the charity test that they be independent of Ministers. An Order had therefore been laid before Parliament to remove Ministerial powers of direction over incorporated colleges. This action had been taken to protect the charitable status of the colleges. The Order had to be laid the previous day so that it could come into force when the Charities Regulator assumed new powers on 24 April.
At the meeting, members were updated on progress of each of the four workstreams. The Group also discussed how the work of the Review would aid consideration for the next Spending Review and beyond.
The Group discussed consultation initiatives and concluded that they should be left to each of the Working Groups to consider.
The next meeting of the Core Group will take place at the end of April/start of May. The main item of business will be to consider the report from Difference Colleges Make Working Group.
Working Groups
The Difference Colleges Make
This Working Group held its fourth meeting on 16 February at Oatridge College. The Working Group toured the college and saw the range of land-based courses the college delivers.
The group discussed its report - Unlocking Opportunity. The Group has made good progress in collecting the base data, from a wide variety of sources, including illustrative case studies on a range of topic areas such as school and college partnership and community regeneration. These case studies are being fed into the Group's report. The timetable for the report has been extended to take account of the scale and complexity of the desired final report.
The next meeting will be held on Friday 31 March at Elmwood College
Accountability and Governance
This Working Group held its fourth meeting on 24 January at Forth Valley College.
The main area of discussion at this meeting was the research specification for identifying best practice in accountability and governance. The Group agreed to reconsider its earlier research proposal and asked for a one-page 'think piece' to be drafted that sets out the objectives for research.
Members were updated about the charitable status of colleges and proposed changes to board membership
The Student President of Forth Valley College gave an overview of her role in this capacity and the experience and satisfaction she had gained during this time.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place on 18 April at Angus College.
Staffing, Learners and Learning Environment
The Working Group held its fourth meeting on 12 January at Stevenson College, Edinburgh.
Ø The meeting opened with a presentation on the BRITE initiative by Alison Cox, National Co-ordinator/Centre Director. The presentation focussed on the progress the initiative is making towards developing the skills of staff and the ability of colleges to offer inclusive learning programmes and learning environments; and on the development of guidance, for the college sector, on matters relating to inclusiveness and accessibility of facilities and estates.
Ø NUS Scotland presented a paper on student associations and student representation. There was agreement amongst members of the Group about the importance of student representation.
Ø The group also discussed the redrafted research proposal on the quality of the students' learning experience and their involvement in college activities, including student associations.
The Sub Group held its first meeting on 12 January at Stevenson College, Edinburgh.
Ø Members discussed the membership, remit, tasks, research and timescale of the Sub Group.
Ø The membership of the Sub Group consists of NUS Scotland, EIS, ASC, UNISON, Scottish Funding Council, HMIE and Scottish Executive.
Ø The associate members to the sub group are Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), SFEU, Teacher Education Institutions and Professional Development Forum (PDF).
Ø Members agreed that the Executive should formally request the Funding Council to undertake an audit of CPD activity across the sector.
The main Working Group held its fifth meeting on 16 February at South Lanarkshire College.
Ø This meeting was opened by a presentation by Stuart McKillop, Principal of South Lanarkshire College, on the College's recent estates development.
Ø The group was informed that the Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Executive was currently undertaking a literature review on the students experience of college life.
Ø Members also discussed the findings from the mapping exercise of student involvement in quality assurance and enhancement processes conducted by Student Participation in Quality Scotland (sparqs) and the HMIE aspect report into the effectiveness of learner representation and to identify the range of ways in which learners in Scotland's colleges are represented, based on a sample of six colleges. It was decided that further discussion on the NUS paper on student associations and student representation should be postponed until members have a chance to read the literature review on the students experience of college life which is currently being undertaken by the Scottish Executive.
The Sub Group also held its second meeting on 16 February at South Lanarkshire College.
Ø the Sub Group discussed a 'Conceptual Framework' to help focus the work of the sub group;
Ø the Scottish Funding Council informed the Sub Group about a programme of pilot projects, funded by the Funding Council, which were designed to help colleges develop their approach to the technical/subject updating aspect of continuing professional development of staff.
Ø Members discussed the analysis on the numbers of staff who are teacher trained and agreed that the Scottish Executive should write to colleges in order to gain further information about the reasons behind the statistics to confirm its accuracy.
Ø the Sub Group also discussed the draft research specification for looking at continuous professional development within the sector.
The next meeting of both groups will take place on 23 March at The Adam Smith College.
Colleges' Long Term Strategic Future
The Colleges' Long Term Strategic Future Steering Group, which is a sub group of the main Working Group, held its first meeting at James Watt College, Waterfront Campus, Greenock on 31 January.
The main area of discussion was the methodology of how the scenario development work will be undertaken. There will be four phases - information gathering, identifying themes, scenario developments and decisions. So far the Futures Team has held four rounds of "strategic conversations" with Principals to discuss the strategic future of the sector. Further conversations will take place in March/April with the remaining Principals and other stakeholders. We intend to hold one or two 'open space' events with a wide spectrum of stakeholders in May to ensure we collect views from as many interested parties as possible.
Meetings with Stakeholders
As mentioned in the first e-bulletin, at the outset of the review, the Review Team visited 14 colleges across the length and breadth of Scotland. At these meetings Principals and on some occasions senior management provided their initial thoughts on how the review team should approach the four workstreams and suggested key stakeholders who could help identify the difference colleges make. Minutes of these meetings will shortly be available on the Scottish Executive website.
HMIE Publications
Over the past year HMIE have published a number of documents which many of the Review's working groups have found very informative. These publications are:
Curriculum Delivery Methods Employed in Scottish Further Education Colleges
(February 2005)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/Final%20Curriculum.pdf
Analysis of HMIE Reviews of Quality and Standards in Further Education, Academic Year 2003/04
(February 2005)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/Analysis%20of%20HMIE%20Reviews%20S&Q%20FE%200304.pdf
HMIE Reviews of Quality and Standards in Further Education, An Overview, Academic Years 2000/01 to 2003/04
(February 2005)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/HMIE%20Reviews%20of%20Q&S%20in%20FE%202000-01%20to%20%202003-04.pdf
Initial and Continuing Staff Development for Teaching Staff in Scottish Further Education Colleges
(February 2005)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/Initial%20Development.pdf
Working Together Cross-Sectoral Provision of Vocational Education for Scotland's Pupils
(September 2005)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/wtcsp.html
Analysis of HMIE Reviews of Quality and Standards in Further Education Academic Year 2004-2005
(February 2006)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/hmiearqsfe.html
Improving Scottish Education
(February 2006)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/ise/default.asp
Student Representation in Scottish Further Education Colleges
(January 2006)
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/hmiesrsfec.html
Information About Other Work of Further & Adult Education Division
The Division is currently working on the Race Equality Impact Assessment for the English for Speakers of Other Languages strategy and arranging the payment of first instalments of funding for Workplace Literacies Project being undertaken by 24 of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy partnerships. Around half of the college accounts have been received from the Auditor General and these have been laid before the Scottish Parliament. We continue to work with the Scottish Qualifications Authority, colleges and the Scottish sub group of the Home Office's Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration to produce an updated Scottish equivalent of the Skills for Life certification requirements. Having such a certificate is one of the means of supporting an application for British citizenship. A member of the Division, as part of their staff development training, recently spent an informative work shadowing day at Anniesland College. We would like to pass on our thanks to those staff who were involved in this activity.
Feedback
We would welcome ongoing feedback on any aspect of the Review. Please send your comments to rosco@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Contacts
RoSCo Project Leader - Col Baird
Tel 0141 242 0237
Email colin.baird@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
ROSCo Secretariat - Victoria Beattie
Tel 0141 242 0239
Email victoria.beattie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Address Further and Adult Education Division
Europa Building
450 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G2 8LG