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Developing a strategy for Learner Voice at Nuneaton Training Centre - a work-based learning provider

Nuneaton Training Centre Ltd (NTC) has been developing a learner involvement strategy in partnership with Zenith Apprenticeship. An article about the partnership between these training providers describes the collaboration.

NTC is a not for profit organisation based in Warwickshire, and works with approximately 220 learners across Apprenticeships (Business Admin, Care, Retail, Performing Manufacturing Operations), E2E and various other programmes such as TTG, S2S and Recognition Plus. NTC has a flat organisational structure where Assessors and Tutors are responsible for all requirements of their caseload of learners.

The work undertaken by NTC and Zenith is in response to the requirements set down in the recent FE white paper, Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances, for all FE providers to have a learner involvement strategy in place by September 2007.

Staff from NTC initially met with staff from Zenith Apprenticeship to discuss how to proceed and agree milestones for the project. The aim was to produce a “learner voice strategy” for each of work-based learning organisation.

NTC were keen to ask learners how they could give them greater opportunities to influence their training programmes and was happy to commit to producing a learner involvement strategy as an outcome of this collaboration.

A joint questionnaire was designed, distributed and the results were professionally collated. This feedback was used to inform the learner involvement strategy for both organisations, along with focus group feedback and management team meetings to develop the feedback into an action plan for implementation. To achieve this project managers from NTC and Zenith initially met to establish an understanding of each other’s objectives for the project and to identify common tasks for each organisation in the process.

An agreement was reached to design a 98% generic, paper-based survey for learners to complete with scope for alternative wording where necessary to customise it for the different client groups. This synergistic approach produced a better quality template survey than if the organisations had worked in isolation and even at this early stage, generated new ideas for NTC to explore. Moreover, NTC was able to access the college’s sophisticated reprographics and survey collation and reporting services through partnership with Zenith.

A simple joint action plan was produced to document the tasks and time-scales agreed. Both organisations were keen to use focus groups to obtain learner feedback and shared good practice and experiences from previous times. NTC already uses focus groups on a regular basis because the learners like them and they produce good quality feedback. NTC’s process for focus groups is:

  • To be training programme and sector specific
  • Informal
  • Carried out by a ‘third party’ i.e. not the immediate Assessor or Tutor
  • Output is captured on a flip chart and then put into a simple report for the staff to review and take action.
  • Action taken is fed back to the learners by staff
  • A follow up focus group is carried out to measure the impact of the action taken

From previous experience NTC knew that the response rate to the survey may be low and therefore, decided that the Assessors and Tutors would personally distribute the surveys. Staff took supplies of the survey out with them on visits and reviews and asked learners to complete them there and then where possible.

Completed surveys were forwarded to the college for collation and relevant reports returned. There was a 4% response rate. The feedback said:

  • Most of our learners share their views about their training with family or friends
  • Reviews and training sessions were strongly identified as formal occasions when learners gave their feedback
  • Nobody recognised citizenship as part of their programme
  • Group opinions are discussed regularly
  • Learners that had raised an issue in the last 6 months said that it had been dealt with very well
  • They liked discussing issues as a group best
  • When asked if they would like to join a mixed focus group to have more say in their training, almost 41% said ‘don’t know’ 

Based on feedback from focus groups, NTC decided to:

  • Produce a shorter, more learner friendly Individual Learning Plan
  • Introduce more small group work in E2E
  • Introduce sector specific newsletters

Overall the management team established that better management practices were needed to make learner involvement a recognised, high priority process. As such the following was agreed:

  • To set co-ordinators targets directly related to implementing the learner involvement strategy
  • To train all new staff in counselling and focus group skills 
  • To conduct the paper based learner voice survey annually
  • To publish action taken in response to learner feedback more extensively
  • To complete a mapping exercise of all schemes of work to identify examples of citizenship skills training

The NTC learner involvement strategy was written and approved by the Board of Directors. Implementation started straight away. A Citizenship Training Charter is also being finalised as a value-added output from this development work.

The relationship with Zenith continues through joint presentations at conferences on our experiences and through recognition of how valuable and enjoyable working with a partner from a different environment can be. View a presentation on NTC’s experiences of developing a learner involvement strategy here.

Lead contact: Anne Stanton

Email: Anne.Stanton@ukgateway.net

Telephone: 024 7650 4454