Supporting learners news issue 8

SUPPORTING LEARNERS NEWS

ISSUE 8, SEPTEMBER 2012

SUPPORTING LEARNERS NEWS Introduction This is the eighth in a series of newsletters that has been produced to keep unionlearn staff, unions, project workers, union learning reps (ULRs) and other reps up to speed about:

• developments in the area of a publicly funded careers service that will affect existing structures and networks

• how unionlearn is responding to the changes to ensure that union learners at all levels receive the best possible information and advice to help them progress in learning and work • other news, developments and resources that will help support members as

learners.

The term ‘Supporting Learners’ is used by unionlearn to describe the activities of ULRs and other union reps when they are working with members to help them make choices about learning, to take up learning opportunities that are right for them and help them to progress in their jobs

and careers. Whilst these activities involve all levels of learning and some elements of information and advice, they also include mentoring, coaching, signposting and facilitating learning.

There is a Supporting Learners area on the unionlearn website, for information visit: www.unionlearn.org.uk /advice

Careers guidance for young people inquiry Unionlearn has been working closely with the Careers Sector Stakeholder Alliance (CSSA), a network of 30 national organisations with an interest in career guidance. Recently, unionlearn contributed to the CSSA submission to the Education Select Committee that has been set up to look into career guidance, in the light of the new statutory duty on schools to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance for their pupils in years 9-11 from September 2012. Below is a summary of the submission to the Education Select Committee.

There are a number of strategic challenges facing the careers sector, given that there are one million young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs), and growing numbers of graduates are finding it more difficult to get work.

Despite the efforts to reduce youth

unemployment, concerns remain for the next generation of young people that will face extremely tough choices, but also their career choices at a time when opportunities for work are limited and the mediumterm projections for the economy are for stagnant growth and low levels of job creation.

There is much to support: the Government has issued a ‘practical guide for schools’ alongside its statutory guidance to schools, it has established the National Careers Service (albeit its face-toface services are for adults only); it has created a National Careers Council to provide oversight for the National Careers Service; it has promoted the matrix Standard; it has supported the Careers Profession Alliance in establishing a single profession body for careers advisers; and it has supported the development of the Quality in Careers Standard. But concerns

remain about how career guidance provision for young people in schools and colleges will be supported to meet their statutory responsibilities.

policies regarding school autonomy. However, there is no evidence whatsoever that it brings improvement to support career choices and transitions.

The current statutory duty to provide careers education within the curriculum has been removed; funding for programmes like Aimhigher and Education Business Partnerships has been discontinued; and work experience and work-related learning pre -16 seem likely to become less common now that the requirement for schools to offer these opportunities has been withdrawn.

There is a very significant risk of inconsistent careers provision across England, with school students suffering from a ‘post-code lottery’ in relation to what they are likely to receive, depending on the resources and priorities of their particular school.

Continued……….

The rationale for many of these policies within Department for Education is the Government’s

Inside this issue: Careers guidance for young people inquiry

1

Consultation on extending the age of young people receiving career guidance

2

National Careers Council to champion a future direction for careers services

2

Studying part time

2

Access to Success

3

Keeping up to date has never been easier

3

Using and sharing career related LMI

3

Contact us

4

SUPPORTING LEARNERS NEWS Page 2

Careers guidance for young people inquiry International studies demonstrate that schoolbased guidance systems tend to have weak links with the labour market, to view educational choices as ends in themselves rather than as career choices, to lack impartiality and to be patchy in extent and quality.

The concerns about the lack of cohesion at a local level are most especially felt for young people with special educational needs, those with learning difficulties and

disabilities and those not in education, employment or training. The cuts in funding and loss of specialist skills for these services means that provision is increasingly patchy, with the interactions between clients, families, and trained professionals less attuned to meeting the specialist needs that young people have.

There needs to be a careers sector system based on an all-age, all-stage approach to career information,

……..continued

advice and guidance (IAG).

This means that the system needs to be interconnected, that all the players play by the same quality rules and that the new National Careers Service expands its services to young people.

As part of this system, schools can be best prepared to meet the new statutory duty by adopting the following three principles:

• ensuring that external

with the matrix Standard for career guidance providers;

•ensuring that school staff

and externally employed advisers comply with professional standards – Level 6 qualifications for all careers advisers;

• complying with appropriate quality standards – embedding the national Quality in Careers Standard for CEIAG quality awards in schools and colleges.

service providers comply

Consultation on extending the age of young people receiving career guidance During the summer unionlearn responded to the Department for Education consultation on extending the age of young people receiving career guidance.

Unionlearn welcomed the proposal that IAG should be extended both upwards and downwards. Career IAG for all young people should be provided from Year 8

upwards. It is crucial that young people have access to IAG about the subject choices they face at age 14, and about post-16 and post18 qualifications and routes and pathways into further and higher education, apprenticeships, workbased learning and employment.

Unionlearn made the case that the proposal to extend the duty to secure independent, impartial careers guidance from Year 8 upwards, will only be effective if new funding is available for professional career guidance advisers to provide services which will make a difference to the

lives of young people. With massive youth unemployment, radical change in higher education and the lack of a local careers infrastructure focused on young people, there has never been more of a need to ensure young people have the right to access face-to-face careers guidance.

National Careers Council to champion a future direction for careers services The National Careers Council, created in May 2012, will provide advice to government on a strategic vision for the National Careers Service and allied career support services as key economic drivers for business growth and opportunities in learning and work. In doing so, the Council will champion a future direction for careers services that draws on leading -edge developments to ensure high quality provision.

The Council is chaired by Dr Deirdre Hughes, OBE, with ten members and three associate experts. The Council has been tasked to produce an Annual Report to government in March 2013. The Council will take forward three initial work strands:

•

Access, quality and professionalism

•

Connectivity of National Careers Service to business and the wider careers market

•

Intelligence, innovation and impact

The next three Council meetings are scheduled to be held in September 2012, January 2013, and March 2013. In July unionlearn met with Dr Hughes to find ways of connecting unionlearn and unions to feed into the Council’s work. The Council will develop a more detailed work plan for each of the three work strands and look at ways to involve others in its work.

Studying part time Unionlearn’s Higher Learning at Work website is useful for union members, reps or an adviser of working people on pathways and routes into higher education (HE), a working adult or an apprentice interested in progressing to higher learning. As well as lots of helpful unionlearn resources the website contains a legacy of invaluable information provided by Foundation Degree Forward for those advising and supporting work-based learners.

With over 600,000 part-time undergraduate HE students in the UK, unionlearn has now developed some new pages on studying part-time on our Higher Learning at Work website. From September 2012, part-time undergraduates are able to get a loan to fund their studies. These new web pages provide useful information and advice for any working adults about part-time courses, support and funding. For further information about studying part-time visit www.higherlearningatwork.org/studying-part-time

SUPPORTING LEARNERS NEWS Page 3

Access to Success Due to the changes to the way higher education is funded in England the Open University has had to withdraw the 10% union fee discount for new undergraduate students beginning their study in England from 1st September 2012. The good news is that union learners in England can now take advantage of The Open University’s new Access to Success Route to get into higher education even if they do not have the qualifications traditionally required for university.

The route is designed for people on low incomes who are new to higher education. The route helps with the cost of study and provides enhanced support for learners. To

qualify, students must live in England, have a household income less than £25,000 and new to education at higher level.

The Access to Success route is a two-step process.

Step 1 – starts with one of the short 15-credit Openings modules that provide an introduction to a subject area and study at university level. These are designed to develop confidence and study skills, there are no exams and lots of support is provided. After successfully completing this students move to step 2.

Step 2 – learners study a 60 -credit module (or two 30credit modules) in a subject of their choice

which can count towards a nationally recognised qualification such as a Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits) or a full undergraduate honours degree (360 credits). Those who complete this step can now confidently take on a student loan to fund any additional study they require for a qualification.

Through its partnership with the Open University, unionlearn has negotiated fast-tracking of union member applications for the Access to Success route. To fast track your application:

The route is jointly funded by the Open University and the National Scholarship Fund. This means that union learners who qualify only pay £25 for Step 1 and £50 for Step 2 (instead of the normal price of £625 for Step 1 and £2,500 for Step 2) which is less than 3% of the total price.

• Then , send details of

•First, speak to an OU

advisor on 0845 300 6090 about your interest in the Access to Success route; your name, address and union to Akin Soetan, Partnership Manager, The Open University a.soetan@open.ac.uk

For more information on the Access to Success Route visit www.higherlearningatwor k.org/open-university

Keeping up to date has never been easier

Using and sharing career related LMI

To help union representatives stay informed TUC Education has produced a series of short, interactive, selfstudy learning modules called eNotes. Each eNote contains videos and quizzes as well as essential information, resources and useful links that make keeping up to date simpler than ever before.

• •

An Introduction to Equality Law

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has published three reports on using and sharing career related LMI. The reports are a practical good practice guide for managers within career guidance organisations and a research report which contains 12 good practice case studies. UKCES have also published the summary of the first stage of the research which looks at the issues for advisers in using and sharing LMI.

Additional Paternity Leave

•

•

The Sick Note

‘Using and Sharing LMI to Inform Future Choices – Good Practice Guide’ http://www.ukces.org.uk/ publications/using-and-sharing-lmi-to-informfuture-choices

•

‘Using and Sharing Career Related LMI – Research Report’ http://www.ukces.org.uk/ publications/using-and-sharing-career-lmiresearch-report

•

‘Issues and Challenges in Using and Sharing Career Related LMI’ - http://www.ukces.org.uk/ publications/issues-and-challenges-in-usingcareer-related-LMI

eNotes available include:

Coming soon:

• • • •

Supporting Learners

•

Facility Time

Tackling Vulnerable Employment Building a Stronger Workplace Union Bargaining for Skills

To take a look at TUC Education eNotes visit www.tuclearning.net/login/signup.php All the eNotes are easy to use and highly informative giving union reps an easy way to improve their knowledge on important areas.

SUPPORTING LEARNERS NEWS

Contact Us If you require further information on any of the topics in this newsletter then please contact your Regional Supporting Learners contact:

Midlands region

Northern region

Paul Humphreys

Dave Storrie

phumphreys@tuc.org.uk

dstorrie@tuc.org.uk

0121 236 4454

0191 227 5561

North West region

Southern and Eastern region

John Halligan

Jon Tennison

jhalligan@tuc.org.uk

jtennison@tuc.org.uk

0151 236 2321

020 7467 1342

South West region

Yorkshire and the Humber region

Rob Garrett

Sharon Burke

rgarrett@tuc.org.uk

sburke@tuc.org.uk

07899 966 358

0113 200 1073

or Ian Borkett

Louisa Smith

Quality and Standards Manager iborkett@tuc.org.uk

Climbing Frame Development Officer

020 7079 6940

lshaw@tuc.org.uk 020 7079 6934

For more information about unionlearn please visit: www.unionlearn.org.uk Unionlearn Congress House Great Russell Street London WC1B 3LS Phone: 020 7079 6920 Fax: 020 7079 6921 Email: unionlearn@tuc.org.uk