StAR News Section

Strategic Options Update
Commentary & Issues Papers
Strategic Options
Draft Commentary & Issues Papers
StAR Update - March 2004
StAR Data Analysis & Interpretation
Strategic Area Review (StAR) December 2003 Update
Strategic Area Review (StAR) Update
Strategic Area Review - What's it all about?

Strategic Options Update

Draft strategic options for improving the structure and performance of education and training in Oxfordshire were published on the MKOB LSC website at the beginning of October and the OLP hosted a consultation event in Oxford on October 5. The LSC invites individuals and groups to give feedback on the STAR strategic options using a form posted on the MKOB LSC website. The LSC will now have further discussions with providers, and MKOB LSC Council will consider the preferred options at its meeting in December 2004.

Commentary & Issues Papers

StAR consultants, Bentley Jennison Consulting presented a summary of the STAR commentary and issues papers for Oxfordshire at the Oxfordshire Learning Partnership’s annual conference on 29 April. The latest versions of these papers can be found on the MKOB LSC website www.lsc.gov.uk/mkob Final versions of the issues papers will be available soon.

Strategic Options

We are now entering a phase of consultation with stakeholders across MKOB on the strategic options. Oxfordshire Learning Partnership will organize a stakeholder conference in October at which the strategic options for Oxfordshire will be discussed. If you would like to attend this conference please contact Jim Douglas, the partnership manager.

Draft Commentary & Issues Papers

StAR consultants, Bentley Jennison Consulting, have been producing initial versions of Draft Commentary and Issues Papers for each county area focusing on young people (14-18 yrs) and adults (19+) for internal LSC review. As part of the iterative process, updated versions of these draft papers are being produced based on all comments from LSC staff and feedback given at stakeholder meetings. The latest versions of these Draft Papers will be published on the MKOB LSC website www.lsc.gov.uk/mkob on or about the 16th April to enable stakeholders to review them prior to the StAR consultation at OLP's annual conference on 29th April. Widening Stakeholder Consultation We are now entering a phase of wider consultation with stakeholders across MKOB.  Prior to the April StAR consultation events, the LSC will be undertaking a series of "Sectoral" Consultations (Step 5 in the MKOB StAR Process) with the Lifelong Learning Partnership steering groups, secondary and Special schools (also Pupil Referral Units), Adult and Community Learning, each of the Local Education Authorities, CoMBO, MOBNET and Connexions.

See you at the Holiday Inn on 29th April!

StAR Update - March 2004

Technical Discussions with Oxfordshire Stakeholders The second of three Technical Discussions with Stakeholders meetings took place on the morning of Thursday 12th February at the LSC offices. Hosted by the Oxfordshire Learning Partnership, a range of stakeholders attended including representation from Connexions, CoMBO, Oxfordshire Secondary School Headteachers? Association (OSSHTA) and Oxfordshire County Council. The meeting was very constructive with stakeholders highlighting various issues, including the comparison and interpretation of Oxfordshire data for the StAR.  There are still gaps and amendments in the provision and demand data to fill and incorporate, and attendees were very willing to help in the sourcing and verification of information. OSSHTA Meeting As a result of the Oxfordshire Technical Discussions with Stakeholders meeting, OSSHTA invited the LSC to present its StAR schools consultation plans at its meeting on Wednesday 25th February.  Howard Exton-Smith presented at the meeting and overall the schools consultation process was very well received. Research Reports A number of research reports are starting to appear in draft and final formats as the end of the main information-gathering phase of StAR approaches. These include: •Data reports for Milton Keynes •Data reports for Buckinghamshire •Data reports for Oxfordshire •Issues papers for Milton Keynes (received) •Issues papers for Buckinghamshire (due March) •Issues papers for Oxfordshire (due April) •Education and training needs for offenders (draft available) •E-learning activity and issues (draft now available) •Students with learning disabilities and/or difficulties (draft based on quantitative data now available, provider and learner discussions to follow after Easter) •Local report from National Employers Skills Survey •Local data from South East Household Survey (Skills Audit) •Skills and Economic Assessment for Milton Keynes •Skills and Economic Assessment for Oxfordshire •Skills and Economic Assessment for Buckinghamshire •Skills and Economic Assessment for Milton Keynes •Travel to learn atlas

StAR Data Analysis & Interpretation

StAR is about to get exciting! The LSC is now in the final stages of the ‘information gathering and analysis’ phase (July 03 - Feb 04) and entering the ‘developing and appraising strategic themes and emerging options’ phase (Jan - May 04). This means that they’re about to get much more involved with stakeholders on a consultative basis about the findings from the data they have been collecting since July. Over the past couple of weeks LSC managers have been checking and validating the data. Managers will also be coming together over the next three weeks to identify and interpret some of the key issues that appear to be emerging from the data. These meetings are crucial before we start talking to stakeholders about the data. OLP will be hosting a ‘Technical Discussions’ meeting, led by Bentley Jennison Consulting, on Thursday 29 January. This meeting will be attended by a small number of stakeholders and used to present an initial data analysis and interpretation of 14-19 and 19-plus learning provision in MKOB. The purposes of each meeting will be to verify the accuracy of the data analysis and its interpretation, and to seek consensus on the major emerging issues. The outcomes of these meetings will then feed into draft issues papers. As you will see from the Process Map, draft papers will form the basis of each consultation stage with stakeholders over the coming months. A copy of the process map is available in the downloads section of this website. Click here to go to the downloads section. Visit StAR on the web at www.lsc.gov.uk/mkob In addition to the StAR newsletter, we aim to keep stakeholders up-to-date via the LSC MKOB website. The StAR web pages have been rebuilt and are now ‘live’: StAR Homepage: •What's New? •With links to: •What is the StAR? •Events •Information Gathering •Documents •Q&A •Contacts •Links (to the Success for All website and The Learning Campus website) We would welcome any feedback, as this will help us make the web pages user-friendlier.

Strategic Area Review (StAR) December 2003 Update

An A5 leaflet called the StAR Pocket Guide for MKOB is now available. The leaflet summarises the StAR objectives, criteria and process. The first issue of a regular newsletter called StAR Update has been distributed to all key stakeholders in MKOB.  We expect the newsletter will be issued every two months or so to inform and consult with stakeholders on the StAR agenda. Both of these documents are downloadable from www.lsc.gov.uk/mkob - from the StAR web pages under the Documents section.  Alternatively if you would like to receive a hard copy contact derek.barry@learningpartnership.org.uk

Strategic Area Review (StAR) Update

The latest news to introduce the team working on the StAR and update readers about the recent stakeholder consultation conferences. The Team Howard Exton-Smith - StAR Project Manager Howard is a consultant who has been brought in to manage the overall process of the project to ensure that it runs smoothly and to time. Howard has a background in general and project management, and marketing from Europe, the USA and Africa. Emma Rolfe - StAR Project Executive Emma has recently switched to this new role supporting the StAR Project Manager. Much of her work will involve co-ordinating events, marketing communications, liaison with contractors and supporting the Lifelong Learning Partnerships who will be working closely with stakeholders. Stephen Box - LEA Secondment Stephen Box from Buckinghamshire LEA has been seconded and will be bringing his expertise and knowledge of schools and LEA information and systems to the StAR process. Lisa Green will also be assisting Stephen in this area of the project. Martin Towers - Research Manager Martin will continue to be heavily involved in the StAR project, particularly in the information gathering phase of the review. StAR Stakeholder Launch Events The OLP StAR awareness raising conference on 17th October was the last of the three held by the Learning Partnerships of MKOB. One of the main purposes of these meetings was to ask stakeholders what their requirements are for effective dissemination of information and consultation throughout the StAR project. The key requirements fed back at all three stakeholder events were: - To ensure a clear understanding of what the StAR consultation is about. - To prioritise issues for investigation. - Clarity of communication between LLSC, LLPs and stakeholders. - Regular updates (e.g. via email) and consultation (e.g. via events) should be made with stakeholders throughout, especially at critical points where decisions start to be made. - To ensure effective learner, voluntary sector and employer engagement, but essentially - consultation should be an inclusive system for everyone. - Need advice and guidance on implementing and resourcing StAR outcomes. Event plans for Spring 2004 It was evident from the conferences that stakeholders value meeting face-to-face to share information, discuss ideas and options on how to work in partnership. Three more events hosted by the respective LPs, are therefore being planned for Spring 2004. These events will be used to update stakeholders on the progress of the StAR ‘information gathering and analysis phase’ (July 03 - Feb 04) as well as consulting with them on the way forward throughout the StAR ‘developing and appraising strategic options’ phase (Jan - June 04). The SWOT analysis of Oxfordshire compiled at the October conference can now be downloaded from this site. Click here to go to the downloads section.

 

"Strategic Area Review - What's it all about?"

What is it? The Government set out its strategy for reforming education and training in its paper entitled "Success for All". Their aim is to "raise standards and transform local provision so that providers are clear about and focus on their strengths and develop their education and training missions accordingly". The Strategic Area Review (StAR) is designed to achieve the Government's first goal of meeting needs and improving choice. The aim of the StAR is to ensure that learners in each part of the country have high quality, safe and accessible learning opportunities capable of meeting their ambitions and those of employers and local communities. The process over the next 2 years will involve a fundamental assessment of provision currently offered and required against emerging priorities of learners employers and communities, the need to drive up quality and success rates in many areas of provision, and the volume of qualifications needed to meet Government's targets for learners. The Outcomes The StAR will aim to develop the contribution of excellent learning, improve poor or under performing provision, assess duplication of provision and draw in new provision and providers to fill gaps, and rapidly replace unacceptable provision. The Role Of Local Learning Partnerships The Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Learning & Skills Council itself is acting as the overarching body monitoring this project. Each of the 3 local Learning Partnerships will be utilising its Steering Committee/Board to fulfil a similar function at a local level, but in addition be the core local Stakeholder Group. Oxfordshire Learning Partnership will facilitate and enable awareness raising and engagement of the widest possible range of stakeholders in Oxfordshire throughout the duration of this project and maintain support through a range of events and other communications mediums. The first such event will be a half-day awareness raising conference to be held on the morning of Friday 17th October 2003 at the Oxford Hotel, Wolvercote Roundabout, Oxford. If you would like to attend please contact the OLP office. For more information about StAR in the MKOB area go to www.thelearningcampus.co.uk and click on Area Review.