Transforming Rural Education Rural Employer Engagement Development Network REEDNet Lydia Arnold & Liz Warr

Transforming Rural Education What is REEDNet? HEFCE Project to: –expand provision –build a coordinated approach to provision –raise higher level & transferrable skills within the sector. 3 year project £4million HEFCE development funding Recruitment Target of 450 FTE’s (Full Time Equivalent Students) –Basis for sustainability beyond the 3 year initial funding period 2

Transforming Rural Education A network of England’s land based colleges led by Harper Adams University College in Shropshire and the Royal Agricultural College in Gloucestershire. “a framework to encompass the Landex colleges which will offer mutually transferable, accredited, demand-led CPD programmes.” … “broaden the range of specialist skills and knowledge available, and expand the available base of training choice and accessibility.” Rural Employer Engagement Network 2 HEI’s Landex Colleges Geographically distributed network What is REEDNet?

Transforming Rural Education 4 Geographically distributed network of trainers Landex College distribution LANDEX; a member-funded company committed to continuous improvement in the collective quality of provision to the land-based industries. Working closely with the Sector Skills Council (Lantra) the 33 English members of LANDEX deliver 85% of publicly funded FE and 70% of all HE in land- based subjects, together with a substantial portion of work based training for the sector.

Transforming Rural Education 5 Lambert, Leitch and Burgess – –Align provision with the need of business –Strengthen accredited provision particularly at level 5+ –Progression and opportunity Beliefs: –Excellent learning is occurring in the work-place. –Knowledge is ‘out there’ (colleges, employers, private training providers). –Business knows what it needs. Developing provision (General drivers)

Transforming Rural Education Land based studies review –“Land-based studies were identified by a HEFCE advisory group as one of several subjects that were strategically important to the nation, but which might be vulnerable because of a mismatch between supply and demand”. Protection for strategic reasons Recommended joint working – 2007 review Limited opportunity to respond within full-time model. Building on existing strengths of WBL and collaboration. Developing provision (Specific drivers)

Transforming Rural Education 7 Protect, integrate and sustain specialist provision Playing geographic features to the advantage of the sector. –local delivery, national networks of expertise. Accreditation quality assurance (building on professional qualifications). –Specialist validation and QA. Innovation – identifying and developing. Non-competitive (collaboration rules!). Access to shared curriculum expertise and resource. Why a network... ?

Transforming Rural Education 8 Common approaches to validation, credit recognition & transfer. Share in best practice across the network (curriculum design, delivery, support). Develop robust and consistent approaches to meeting employer need. Gather feedback on co-funding and willingness to participate. Project (wider) aims

Transforming Rural Education 9 Structural capital “The organising and structuring capability of the organisation as expressed in formal instruments, policies, regulations, procedures, codes, functional business units, task groups, committees or less formal networks and practices” (Stewart, 1997 cited in Garnett et al, 2008, p18).

Transforming Rural Education Some industry partners

Transforming Rural Education 11 Validation (EEAVC) Course committee and Subject boards Module and programme design External evaluation (including external examiners) Needs recognition Expertise and reflection Culture and joint-working Technology: learners & staff Credit currency Client management protocols Funding model Evaluative approaches Marketing Making it work: REEDNet structural capital advances

Transforming Rural Education Needs recognition 12 Business development managers Local learning networks, sector events, speculative meetings Liaise between academics, business, finance, university solicitor, employer, private training organisations, sector skills councils. Backgrounds in relevant subject areas vs. background in educational design. Wider events to develop feeds from wider staff body (REEDNet Rendezvous).

Transforming Rural Education 13 Employer Engagement Accreditation & Validation Committee –To approve modules and awards up to the value of 80 academic credits at any level. –Meets 10 times per year. –Primary purpose - swift validation of employer engagement initiatives. Focus: Validation Breaking new ground. –Revising procedures. –Changing cultures: Developing understandings and norms. Personal cultures. –Establishing reference points for subsequent initiatives.

Transforming Rural Education 14 Employer Engagement Courses Committee – Mirrors EEAVC in that responsibility falls for employer engagement up to the value of 80 credits. Employer Engagement and REEDNet Assessment Board – To deal with partner college results and employer engagement results, where there are no existing arrangements. Committees

Transforming Rural Education 15 Side by side – Quality Assurance manuals have been reviewed and adapted. – Development of a programme specification templates for work based learning awards to scaffold employer engagement developments. In full collaboration – Creation of ‘Guidance for the Creation of Employer Engagement Modules and Descriptors’. – Shared staff e.g. Director, Curriculum Advisor Focus: Module development

Transforming Rural Education 16 Develop some underpinning systems/infrastructure for joint working. – Huddle – Contact management Develop understandings about the respective roles of collaboration and competition, information sharing and geographic ‘common sense’. Grow personal relationships to facilitate joint working. Identify topics for which it would be useful to undertake joint development days. Focus: Culture and joint-working between 2 HEI’s

Transforming Rural Education 17 High success, low culture High success, high culture Low success, low culture Low success, high culture Joint working possibilities

Transforming Rural Education 18 Cross institutional Boundary free

Transforming Rural Education 19 Curriculum advisor as key facilitator of opportunity –(experience, networks, sector knowledge). Consistency of support Curriculum development assistance Development of structures Tie in with other initiatives (e.g. Knowledge network, Aspire CETL) –Requires internal widespread confidence. Focus: Joint-working between LANDEX partner colleges

Transforming Rural Education 20 Establishing provision The establishment of infrastructure and staffing arrangements. Securing new developments and building upon existing arrangements. Operational Stage Business generation and the formation of new modules. New challenges presented to Harper e.g. funding combinations. The growth of partner relationships. The revision and improvement of infrastructure. Towards Maturation Business generation activity. Improvement of existing provision, development and evaluation. Research and dissemination. The development of joint working. Systems refinement.

Transforming Rural Education Challenges Staff skills balance. Boundaries of expertise. Disparate credit: A shell framework. Collaboration vs. competition: A long history. Staff buy in. Brand : REEDNet, Harper Adams or RAC. Boundaries of acceptability. Technology and physical capacity. Assessment. Administrative infrastructure. Funding – how much will the market stand. Funding quirks. Continuation strategy. 21

Transforming Rural Education Contacts Project website : Lydia Arnold Work-based learning developer Liz Warr Curriculum Advisor