in this issue:
What is happening to Connexions?
Those of you who, like me, have been around for a while will recall the interesting history of government’s strategy for careers guidance provision over the past few years.
Pre 1995: Local Authority responsible for providing the statutory careers service to young people. I was Assistant Director of Education (Careers).
1995: The Government decides to privatise it, inviting competitive tenders. In Nottinghamshire this sees the birth of GuideLine Career Services Ltd. I was appointed as Chief Executive.
2001: A change of mind by the Government leads to the formation of Connexions Nottinghamshire and I was appointed Chief Executive (again!)
2008: The Government determines that local authorities should be responsible for all services to young people, including – you guessed it – provision of the careers service.
So, what next?
I hope you will be pleased to learn that the services that you have been receiving from Connexions will run seamlessly forward, including some exciting new features. Firstly though, I am delighted to report back on a recent independent survey, conducted by Derby University, which tested out stakeholders’ views of the service we provide. We were all thrilled to get a strong endorsement, particularly from the schools and colleges that took part, 86% of whom considered our service to be ‘excellent’ or ‘good’! It is great to get such a resounding pat on the back – thank you!
Now let me introduce our plans for the future...
Connexions Nottinghamshire will remain as a company, wholly owned by the city and county councils, which will continue to deliver the Connexions service to schools and colleges in Nottinghamshire. Our familiar branding will remain, as will our well-used high street centres.
Perhaps the biggest change for us all is the decision to extend our 13-19 range with plans to offer services to young people from age 11. We hope this will particularly help those of you in schools who will be delivering the new diploma pilots and will need young people to make crucial vocational decisions at 13. This will mean us thinking hard about where our Personal Advisers focus their time in the future.
Equally exciting is the planned re-launch of GuideLine Career Services which will deliver Information, Advice and Guidance services to adults and be the home of our new 14-19 division, which will provide a range of services to young people and schools and colleges, supporting the curriculum, information and diversity.
... oh and I will still be the Chief Executive!
Jean Pardoe, Chief Executive
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‘Best Practice’ - IAG marches on!
The Diplomas & Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance - (CE) IAG
Following last term’s newsletter and the article ‘IAG on the march’ we can now explain more about the journey beginning in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Firstly, the new diplomas are on their way with the announcement of the list of successful bidders*, as follows:
Consortia with a 2008 start:
- Nottingham City - Construction; Engineering; Society, Health and Development (or ‘SHD’); IT
and Creative & Media
- Mansfield – IT and Engineering
- Ashfield – Construction and IT
- Newark – Creative & Media
- Bassetlaw – Construction
Consortia with a 2009 start:
- Mansfield – Construction; Creative & Media and SHD
- Ashfield – Engineering; SHD and Creative & Media
- Newark – SHD and IT
- Bassetlaw – Engineering and SHD
Note: A ‘consortium’ usually comprises all the schools in the area plus the local college. In Rushcliffe, the consortium comprises just South Nottingham College and Rushcliffe School.
* Download a table giving more detail about the status of the diploma bids in your area.
The introduction of the Diplomas will have a big impact on (CE)IAG.
With increased choice at KS3, it is even more essential that we ensure young people can access appropriate support to assist them in their decision-making.
Specifically, with the introduction of the Diplomas:
- We must ensure that young people have access to careers education in the curriculum from Years 7 and 8 (this becomes even more important to help them prepare for greater choice at KS3)
- “16 will cease to be the crucial age”, as 14 will become the age for key decisions, including vocationally specific choices
- It is “crucial for young people to have high quality and impartial information and guidance to get the most out of their learning, to enable successful progression from one stage to another” (14-19 Education and Skills White Paper, 2005).
Support for you!
A number of support measures to be put in place locally and nationally will seek to ensure that all Nottinghamshire young people have access to high quality CEIAG, including... ‘Best Practice in CEG’ guide:
Our local guide to developing high quality CEIAG provides you with:
- Advice on developing a policy statement that is regularly reviewed and updated
- Help in writing a Student Entitlement Statement outlining what CEIAG support is available to students
- Suggestions for developing effective curriculum management, leadership and organisation
- A model job specification for the Careers Coordinator
- A model Careers Education Programme, based on the National Framework for Careers Education, linked to the Ofsted SEF, PLTS and PSHE. Also, QCA have consulted on a new framework for the Personal Development Curriculum to include Careers Education. Our CE Programme could easily be ‘mapped’ to this in the future
- Advice on monitoring, recording and assessment of students’ career learning
- Help in ensuring all students have access to quality impartial advice and guidance
- A model for evaluation of the CEIAG provision
- A copy of ‘Best Practice’ was delivered to all schools last term. If you have not seen a copy please first ask your Connexions PA or contact a member of the Curriculum Development Team.
Supporting the Area Strategy Groups’ (ASG’s) commitment to introduce improvements in (CE)IAG, Connexions’ Curriculum Development and Information Teams already provide:
- Accredited Nottingham Trent University Diploma in Careers Education
- 2 (free) days of Curriculum Development Team support per academic year
- Resources on www.cnxnotts.co.uk, including lesson plans
- SortItOnline, Fetch! Kangaroo and more online resources
- Resources INSET on Virtual Connexions Library and the annual Resources Fairs
- Passportfolio training and support
- Twilight INSET programme from September 2007-08.
Additionally, we are developing:
- Termly, half day training for the (CE)IAG sub-committee of each ASG
- New resources for use in groups and the curriculum to support the introduction of the Diplomas, including more resources for Years 7 and 8
- (CE)IAG Audit Form and Action Plan
- Common (CE)IAG structure and outcomes
- Competency Standards for (CE)IAG Managers and deliverers.
We feel that we are entering a new era and Connexions Nottinghamshire is here to help you along the way.
Keeping you informed: Besides ConnectEd, look out for news, developments and support direct to your school or college and through your Connexions PA.
So, all in all, keep them peeled!
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14-19 Common Prospectus ONLINE from September!
“Be whatever you want to be!”
New for the 2007-08 academic year, MyChoiceNotts.com will provide details of all accredited learning opportunities for students age 14-19 at Foundation, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.
A consortium comprising the 2 local authorities, the LSC, Aimhigher, NEBA and Connexions have been working to pull this together. Connexions are hosting the database on behalf of this strategic partnership and will have an ongoing role for maintenance and development.
Students, parents, teachers and advisers will be able to use a range of simple searches to find out who offers what in their area.
MyChoiceNotts.com will also be integrated with existing and developing online services, including:
- Connexions’ ‘Vacancies Online’ site and the ‘Apprenticeship Finder’ service
- Passportfolio and, in particular, the ‘Common Application Form’ processes
Post 16 Clearing House
Also featured on the site will be another new development for this year, the ‘Post 16 Clearing House’ service, which aims to promote late entry to courses. This will be launched for the August and September results period, giving students and their advisers direct Freephone access to choices and vacancies support from an adviser (on 0800 093 8351). Online users will be signposted to the latest courses, training and job still with vacancies on MyChoiceNotts.com.
The site’s name and style were chosen through consultations with nearly 200 young people from across the City and County and you and all students will be able to view and use the site from August.
Besides the site being prominently featured on SortItOnline.com, you may additionally want to develop direct links to this key ‘learning choices’ site on your own student support menus and sites.
Paul Foreman
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Passportfolio update
Passportfolio is a place for young people to record and store achievements, work experience and anything relating to their personal development. It has an interactive zone of quizzes and activities to develop their self awareness and action planning. The results of these two zones then enables them to present an Individual Learning Plan, Personal Statement, Curriculum Vitae, and Common Application Form to all schools and colleges.
Selected Nottinghamshire schools, colleges and partner organisations, are working with us to pilot Passportfolio with young people over this Summer Term, ready for a major rollout in the Autumn. We have already registered hundreds of students and taken them through some key interactive parts of the site.
We are very pleased to see that they are immediately engaged with the site and enjoy discovering more about themselves from the quizzes and activities!
If you are a Nottinghamshire school or college wishing to use Passportfolio with young people, please have a look at the links to Passportfolio presentations and supporting material on this website.
We will be contacting your school or college over the next few months. For general enquiries about Passportfolio, or to request a brochure please e-mail: passportfolio@cnxnotts.co.uk
Lucy Peck - lucy.peck@cnxnotts.co.uk | Gill Coker - gillian.coker@cnxnotts.co.uk
