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

14-19 PATHFINDERS: THE SECOND YEARPartly as a response to its diversity, the Cumbria Pathfinder operates through both countywideobjectives and five local consortia. The county-wide objectives include thedevelopment of a comprehensive learning opportunities and qualifications map, a qualityframework for on-line learning and the promotion of vocational and work-relatedlearning. The five geographically-based consortia were able to develop their ownobjectives and included, for example, improving opportunities in science, technology,engineering and business and enterprise activities (West Cumbria), increasing andwidening work-based learning (Furness and South West Cumbria) and promoting the useof ICT and e-learning (Eden Valley and Remote Rural Areas).242. The Pathfinder included all the significant partners including 43 secondaryschools, four further education and one sixth form college.243. Our evaluation visit focused particularly upon two consortia - in WestCumbria and the South Lakes - and also involved some exploration of Pathfinder-wideissues. However, in what follows it is particularly important that readers bear in mindthat this is a geographically partial account of the Cumbria Pathfinder and that, forexample, 14-19 developments in Carlisle raise rather different issues than those in themore rural areas of the county.Key features of the Pathfinder244. A feature of the Cumbria Pathfinder both county-wide and also in the localareas is that it is closely integrated with, and often difficult to separate from, othernational initiatives and funding streams. In West Cumbria, for example, these include theIncreased Flexibility Programme which funds some vocational courses run by LakesCollege and the West Cumbria Achievement Zone which supports vocational skillstraining for students who may drop out of education. This is financed from schools’ pupilretention funds and supported by the Education to Employment (E2E) initiative.Excellence in Cities funds are also supporting some collaboration in the area.245. The aims and objectives of the Pathfinder are also becoming indistinguishablefrom the local area action plans arising from the ‘14-19 travel to study’ Area Reviews79