Manifesto Update
LOtC Manifesto Council
So far, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), with
support and advice from the National Advisory Group (NAG), has led the
Manifesto. However, it has always been the intention for leadership to pass to
an independent Council that will act on behalf of the wider Manifesto
partnership.
The DCSF has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to work up options for the purpose, structure and membership of the Council through consultation and discussion with the NAG, sector partnerships and signatories to the Manifesto. You should therefore have received an invitation to complete a consultation questionnaire.
The closing date was 16 April and PwC are now analysing the responses. They will be presenting their recommendations to the DCSF and the NAG at our next meeting on the 29/30 April and we will share them with you in the next e-newsletter. We are hoping to have established the Council by the end of September 2008.
The 'Out and About' Package
The DCSF is producing a comprehensive set of 'How to' guidance
and downloadable CPD modules to support the delivery of high-quality learning
outside the classroom, as well as complementary support for providers of
learning outside the classroom. We are calling it the 'Out and About'
Package and it has two parts.
1. Guidance, CPD modules and resources
The DCSF has contracted the Council for British Teachers (CfBT)
Education Trust to deliver this element of the package. The materials have now
been written (by a team of over 60 writers) and are currently going through a
comprehensive series of edit and review stages and this will continue during
April and May. Extensive mapping of existing resources has been used to support
writers in the development of the materials. Research is continuing to map
wider local resources over the next month.
As the review and edit process is taking slightly longer
than we envisaged, we have delayed the launch of the 'Out & About'
Package by a month. Both the 'How to' guidance and CPD modules will now
be available to download from the Manifesto website in June 2008.
2. A 'quality' badge — for providers
The DCSF continues to work in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers
to bring together existing safety and quality badges into one easily
recognisable LOtC quality badge.
Since the last newsletter (when we described our plans in
detail), we have completed and agreed the draft quality indicators that
providers of learning outside the classroom will need to meet in order to
demonstrate that they are offering a quality experience for young people and
achieve the quality badge.
PwC are now beginning to work with the five Accreditation and Assessment Bodies
for Route 2, NAG and the DCSF on the operational detail for the quality badge
and how it will work in practice. They are looking to complete this phase by
mid-June.
During this period, the DCSF will also be working with the NAG sector
partnership chairs and Route 2 Accreditation and Assessment Bodies to develop
support materials to enable providers to work towards achieving the badge. This
is likely to be sector-specific exemplars and other guidance, templates and
possibly training materials.
In June we will also be identifying providers to take part in the pilot of the badge, which will run between July and September 2008. The aim of the pilot will be to take a small sample of providers through both Route 1 and Route 2, assess them using the quality indicators and amend either the process or indicators as necessary.
In the next few weeks the DCSF will be issuing an invitation to tender (ITT) to appoint a contractor to develop, manage and administer the LOtC Quality Badge scheme on behalf of the LOtC Council (who will be the awarding body for the scheme). This will include managing the database and administering badges for the whole scheme as well as the random quality-assurance-visit arrangements for the Route 1 Code of Practice. If you are interested in finding out more about this ITT, please contact Ben Hackett at benjamin.hackett@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
We are still on track to launch the LOtC Quality Badge at the end of September 2008 and award the first badges from January 2009.
Teaching Outside the Classroom
Teaching Outside the Classroom was launched on 4 March. Teaching
Outside the Classroom is a new national programme developed to encourage
providers of teacher training to offer their students placements in a diverse
range of educational settings, including theatres, museums, galleries, farms,
field study and environmental centres, outdoor education centres, historic
houses and places of worship,
Teaching Outside the Classroom will build a national network of initial teacher training providers and settings that engage in young people's learning to develop high-quality placements for student teachers. These placements will complement their existing teaching practices in schools, developing their knowledge and skills about how to work with partners to bring teaching outside the classroom and will support the aims of the LOtC Manifesto.
The programme is being delivered through a new website, Teaching Outside the Classroom, which will:
-
manage a database of interested providers and settings; and
-
offer a comprehensive package of support, including guidance, for both providers and settings.
This website is the best place to find out more about the programme, especially if you are interested in offering placements for student teachers.
The initiative is being developed by Creative Partnerships in partnership with support from the DCSF, the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto partnership, the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and the Training and Development Agency for Schools
Ofsted Report on Learning Outside the
Classroom
Ofsted has been carrying out a survey of learning outside the
classroom and its impact on schools and young people. We are hoping that this
will be a very positive and supportive report and will help us all to 'make
the case' for learning outside the classroom. We expect it to be published
during May 2008.
QCA Curriculum 'Big Picture'
The QCA has developed a curriculum big picture to reinforce the
concept of curriculum as the entire planned learning experience of a young
person. This would include the lessons that they have during the school day,
but also recognises how much young people learn from the routines, the events,
the extended school day and activities that take place out of school. These are
as much a part of the curriculum as the lessons.
The latest version of this big picture now makes reference to learning outside the classroom and can be downloaded from the QCA website.
