Skills for Life Quality Initiative

1

• Skills for Life Quality Initiative
• 2005-2006
• Session 2 Whole Organisation Approach Quality

2
Aim

• To examine self assessment as it relates to
  Skills for Life and its potential to impact on
  quality improvement

2.1.1
3
Learning objectives

• By the end of the session, participants will
  have
• clarified an effective LSC Skills for Life self
  assessment process
• identified features of effective self assessment
  reports
• related facilitator support and whole
  organisation approach checklist to provide
  evidence of quality improvement for provider self
  assessment practices.

2.1.2
4
Self assessment an accurate reflection, or
distorted image?
2.1.3
5
Responsibility for Quality

• The principal responsibility for quality
  improvement remains with providers themselves.
• The government looks to all providers to adopt
  strategies for securing continuous improvement,
  as many already do.
• These strategies should be based on self
  assessment and action planning (including target
  setting) and responding and acting upon learner
  feedback and complaints.
• (Learning to Succeed June 1999, cited in LSC
  Quality Improvement Self Assessment, May 2005)

2.1.4
6
Self assessment and its relevance to improving
Skills for Life

• The process of Skills for Life quality
  improvement is evidenced within self assessment
  reports.
• Self assessment forms the basis of an
  organisations action plan for Skills for Life
  sustainable quality improvement.
• The SAR will provide LSC Skills for Life and
  Quality Managers with crucial evidence to
  evaluate the quality of leadership and management
  and the providers capacity to improve.

2.1.5
7
Features of effective (Skills for Life) self
assessment

• Must be effectively led and managed
• Will vary according to the scale and nature of
  provision
• Should directly relate to and drive providers
  development/ action plan
• Should include provision and analysis of robust
  data
• Should record development and dissemination of
  good practice
• Should involve individuals or organisations
  external to provider

2.1.6
8
Equality of opportunity

• Providers evaluation will monitor the
  effectiveness of actions taken to support and
  encourage equality of access and participation in
  learning.
• All partners should work to ensure that all
  learners achieve to the best of their ability,
  irrespective of ethnicity, gender, age,
  disability and/or learning difficulties, sexual
  orientation, religion and beliefs.

2.1.7
9
Self assessment judgements and evidence

• Judgement Excellent dissemination of Skills for
  Life good practice
• Evidence
• 100 observation reports include good practice
• Observation action plans include good practice
  mentors and models where appropriate
• Vocational champions share good practice
  examples via staff bulletin
• All team meetings include standing agenda item
  on good practice
• Shared area on intranet for good practice
  models

2.1.8
10
Self assessment judgements and evidence

• Judgement Initial assessment of students
  literacy and numeracy needs poor
• Evidence
• Only half of eligible students assessed
• Results of many assessments delayed
• Significant number of students placed on wrong
  course (numbers)
• Students still waiting for help from
  specialist tutors three months into course
  (numbers)

2.1.9
11
Discussion

• How does Skills for Life Quality Initiative
  activity contribute to the self assessment
  process?
• What is the role of the facilitator in relation
  to provider self assessment?

2.1.10
12
Task

• Use the Skills for Life Quality Initiative Whole
  Organisation
• Approach Impact Measurement criteria.
• For selected criteria, record examples of the
  Skills for Life
• judgements and evidence you would expect to see
  generated as a result of facilitator support.
• (This evidence could then be used to show quality
  improvement in the preparation of a provider self
  assessment report.)

2.1.11