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

14-19 PATHFINDERS: THE SECOND YEARSECTION THREE: APPROACHES TO COLLABORATIVEWORKINGKey points‣ Collaboration remains at the heart of the 14-19 Pathfinder initiative‣ The vast majority of pathfinders continue to report good progress in collaborativeworking‣ The forms which collaboration takes in individual pathfinders is brought about byinteraction between national, local and institutional policies and local contextualfactors‣ Collaboration in individual pathfinders varies in institutional inclusivity, the levels atwhich it operates, its substantive focus and its geographical scope‣ It is still too early to assess the impact of collaboration on student participation,retention, achievement and progression but it has brought a significant broadening ofcurriculum provision and has enhanced student information, support and guidanceprocesses.48. As we have seen in the previous section, collaboration between institutions across anarea continues to be central to the pathfinder initiative and to the broader 14-19 reformagenda. This was highlighted by the Tomlinson Report which stated:Collaboration is not a new idea and we want to build on existing good practice, suchas that developed in the 14-19 Pathfinders and the Increased Flexibility Programme.However, collaboration would need to happen more systematically if all learners areto have access to a range of options, delivered in institutions with appropriatefacilities and expertise.(DfES, 2004a)49. The main justification for this focus on collaboration was stated in the subsequentWhite Paper 14-19 Education and Skills:Our vision for the 14-19 phase sets out a range of opportunities that should beavailable to young people in every area of the country. Schools, colleges and trainingproviders will need to collaborate, because no single institution will be able toprovide them all on its own.(DfES, 2005)15