Collaborative Approaches to 14-19 Provision - Communities and ...

14-19 PATHFINDERS: THE SECOND YEAR298. In developing innovative approaches to vocational courses the pathfinder employedseveral approaches. One of these involved the establishment of skills centres. These tooksomewhat different forms in the two partnerships. In East Hampshire a catering facility isbeing developed through the conversion of a home economics room in a partnership school.Advice on facilities and equipment have been sought from a further education college and theintention is to equip the facility in ways which will support the introduction of cateringcourses at a variety of levels. Although located at a school there is clear understanding thatthe skills centre will be a partnership resource available to all schools. Preliminarydiscussions are also underway concerning the establishment of a similar facility forhairdressing in another partnership school. These facilities are likely to be available in 2005and the courses which they will make possible will be included in the year 9 options inpartnership schools.299. In the South-West partnership, as noted above, the skills centres are not located in anyof the partner institutions. The centres are managed by a group which includes partnerrepresentatives. Several centres are being developed. One, located on an industrial estate,will provide facilities for courses in construction, hair & beauty and ICT. Another centre isto be based at an outdoor activity centre which provides both tourist and education facilitiesand is also a working farm and thus offers learners opportunities to access a range of learningexperiences. The courses provided in these centres are being provided in collaboration withlocal companies and colleges. The ‘neutral venues’ are aimed at offering an alternative andmore employer-focused learning environment, which in several cases it is hoped will alsoattract disengaged learners aged 16-19.300. In the South-West the opportunities being opened up through the skills centres weremade available to local schools via a prospectus published in January 2004 in time to beincluded in school option processes. This detailed ten courses, mainly at NVQ level 1, whichwere likely to be available. These courses have recruited around 160 students for aSeptember 2004 start although the partnership coordinator was of the opinion that largernumbers could have been recruited. The shorter timescale of two-year funding for the Phase2 pathfinders (as opposed to three years for Phase 1) was felt to have contributed to a degreeof caution by the schools.94