10 February 2015 weekly update

Refresh of the 14-24 Learning, Employment and Skills Strategy 

We have recently consulted on a refresh of the 14 – 24 Learning, Employment and Skills Strategy. This aims to ensure all young people in Kent become better qualified and more employable, to be able to participate and achieve success in education and work based training at least until the age of 18 and to ensure that more 18 – 24 year olds can access higher levels of learning or sustained employment. The Strategy was launched in February 2013 and one year on we continue to face challenges in reducing NEETs, increasing apprenticeships and improving vocational progression pathways so that there is an appropriate local offer to meet the needs of all young people in every area of Kent. 

A lot of the work to ensure there is better planning and provision for 14-19 year olds takes place through District partnership meetings. The aim is to ensure there is a joined up approach between schools, FE colleges, training providers and employers. A clear recommendation from the refresh of the strategy is that these partnerships need to be strengthened, through great employer engagement, a closer match between local provision and local employment sector needs and more joint planning and funding of provision between schools and FE colleges. 

Priorities identified from the consultation 

The consultation on the refresh of the strategy commenced in June 2014 and overall respondents supported the ambition for the strategy and agreed that the four key priorities should remain. These are to raise attainment, improve vocational education, training and apprenticeships, increase participation and employment, and targeted support for vulnerable groups of young people. The attached refresh document outlines the key actions that we are now taking to achieve further progress and improvement. All Secondary schools play a key part in this. 

We hope schools will continue to focus especially on the following priorities:

• Sharing good practice – in raising attainment in Maths and English in Key Stage 4 and at post 16, and in delivering Careers Guidance 
• Sharing data across all providers to support student transition at 16, 17 and 18 years old
• Making level 2 provision available for more students post 16
• Linking the curriculum to the world of work and increasing vocational options for 14-19 year olds
• Developing better progression pathways for vocational and technical qualifications including destinations into employment
• Ensuring all students can follow a full time 16-19 Study Programme including English and mathematics for those without a GCSE grade C
• Ensuring employability skills are better developed in schools, colleges and work-based learning providers
• Improving careers guidance to include the promotion of apprenticeships 

Section four of the revised Strategy sets out how partners will address the priorities in the refresh document. We hope these can feature in conversations with schools in the coming months. For example there will be significant activity to increase participation in vocational pathways and the number of young people gaining Level 2 qualifications in English and Maths by age 18. Moving forward, developing more effective partnerships and new collaborations will be key to the success of this refresh. This is against the background of significant changes to the legislative, performance and qualifications frameworks and reduced resources for all post 16 providers. The KCC Skills and Employability Service will continue to support the Strategy and work with all partners to achieve improved outcomes for learners. 

Health care plans for individual children and young people 

Following the recent death of a child there is an urgent need to remind all schools that staff supporting pupils subject to individual health care plans need to ensure they are implemented in accordance with the details set out in the plan. Care plans which set out arrangements for eating, drinking and supervision must be subject to regular review and updated. Please ensure that school health plans are consistent with other plans for individual children, such as a plan for a child in need or a child with a protection plan. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind schools of the importance of ensuring parents understand what they are agreeing, when signing plans. Many thanks. Patrick Leeson Corporate Director