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

14-19 PATHFINDERS: THE SECOND YEAR228. In addition to these developments an extensive programme of work-related learningfor 14-16 year olds in the two mainstream colleges and through training providers had beendeveloped. This had been funded mainly through ESF and the IF programme. ESFconditions of funding had meant that this provision had tended to be skewed towards lowerachievingand disaffected students229. At 16-19 a major thrust of the Pathfinder has been the development of level 2vocational courses. Across the city there were 200-300 learners taking these courses and itwas recognised that provision and quality needed to be raised. Coventry is aiming to tacklethese issues through the development of student apprenticeships which typically combine aBTEC First course and NVQ qualifications taken during work placements. Development isoften being undertaken through partnerships between schools who act as the main providers,colleges who give support on the vocational elements and training providers who arrangework placements and undertake NVQ assessments. Areas in which this model is beingdeveloped include Early Years, Business, ICT, Digital Arts, Engineering, Media Studies andSports Studies. The inclusivity of the Coventry approach was symbolised by the Digital Artscourse which was jointly provided by a training provider and a school and attended bystudents from mainstream schools and two special schools.230. Some development of post-16 level 1 courses had also been undertaken and furtherwork in this area is planned in order to help meet the needs of around 13% of 16 year olds inCoventry who did not achieve five GCSE A* - G grades in 2004.231. In another federation the focus at 16-19 was on the development of enrichmentactivities including work in drama, art, cookery and sport. Mainstream schools, specialschools and a college were all involved in the programme.232. In e-learning the focus has been on the use of a system called Gradepoint. Thisallows live lessons to be taught over the internet by expert teachers. All participatingstudents/teachers in a class have a headset and a microphone, and the normal keyboard. Theteacher is not visible on the screen; the screen is used to display primary and secondarysources and a ‘text’ area where students can ask or respond to questions. The teachercommunicates with the students through their headphones and by making items appear on the75