Thursday July 7th 2011 Allie O’Brien Demonstrating successful outcomes: ISC PRD workshop: Introduction to discussion Thursday July 7th 2011 Allie O’Brien

What constitutes an effective outcome for an individual? Independence Communication Practical skills for living Vocational skills “Functional” literacy and numeracy Other? Acquiring the skills they need to live the lives they want

Considerations Why do they come to you? What do they want to achieve? How are they going to live/spend their time in the future? Are there any areas of learning which are particular to you?

How do you measure achievement – individual and as a college? “What gets measured gets managed”* Qualifications? Retention? MIS data? Observation data Other? Things we can count! “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts” * Drucker, P

Measures of success? To what extent do we enable learners to: Progress on to a broad range of life opportunities To make choices about other types of life styles To access a range of pathways beyond education To move onto the world of work Improved outcomes for people with learning difficulties and disabilities

Complex picture Not a homogenous group Small numbers- be careful about percentages Quantifiable data doesn’t always capture impact Key is analysis – how good is it, if there is variation, why and what does that tell you? Destination – important, but hard to control

Approaches Be clear about what you are teaching and why (purpose) and measure success against that (outcomes) Devote time and energy to planning activities that will enable learners to develop the skills they need Ensure you have robust assessment procedures Present data in terms that are meaningful Supplement with pen portraits

What constitutes effective outcomes for your learners and your college? Do they accurately reflect all aspects of achievement for your learners? For your organisation? Are they effectively measured? Are they effectively reported? Do they support your judgments within your SAR? Do your measures help you understand and improve the quality of provision? How might they be improved?

Concluding messages Tracking and recording outcomes is complex There is no one way Approach needs to be personalised to the learner and contextualised to the organisation Requires both confidence and skills in analysis and interpretation of data This has implications for professional skills and associated training Merit in exploring hard measures e.g. a longitudinal study of impact of intervention over time- in terms of quality of life, and possible cost benefits

Concluding messages Tracking outcomes requires robust and high quality systems for assessment and tracking “Resilience” –fascinating and has implications for a wider identification of the skills a learners will need in future life Organisations need clarity of purpose – why do learners come to you and what do they gain? Key principles of learner centredness and professionalism are central to effective practice

Concluding messages Systems need to be fit for purpose – internal and external They must Involve all staff who contribute to the learning Positive impact of the PRD group– sharing approaches and working together has been very valuable

Thank you Email: alison.obrien@kandaassociates.co.uk