Beacon; Learning and Skills Beacon Status

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Learning and Skills Beacon Newsletter

Issued April 2009

KER-BLAMM!! at the Lowry
50 representatives from Beacons and other high performing providers participated in the latest KER-BLAMM!! Excellence and Innovation in Action event at The Lowry Gallery in Salford Quays. Jackie Rossa of South Leicestershire College (awarded Beacon status in January 2008) opened with a lively presentation on the X factor that is characteristic of people in outstanding organisations and Asha Khemka of West Nottinghamshire College (awarded Beacon status in January 2009) shared a well-received vision of excellence. Delegates were fascinated to hear of the care and detail involved in turning vision into secure practice.

The next KER-BLAMM!! is being arranged for June in Leeds.
Read on

Beacon Forum – Minimising Barriers, Maximising Opportunities
The next Beacon Forum will be held on 5-6 November 2009 at Breadsall Priory near Derby. This popular event provides an opportunity for Beacons to share effective practice, network with peers and participate in workshops covering current issues in the further education, learning and skills sector. The theme of this year’s event is Minimising Barriers, Maximising Opportunities.

For action by Beacons please:
Beacons are invited to suggest topics for the event under this theme or to host a workshop. Please contact the LSIS Excellence team by emailing us at emily.worthington@lsisexcellenceteam.com.

Moving from good to excellent – sharing expertise in the Eastern region
LSIS, in partnership with the Eastern region LSC and the Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region (ACER), is supporting a sector-led pilot project which seeks to support regional approaches to sharing expertise. The ‘moving from good to excellent’ project aims to help increase the number of further education, learning and skills organisations in the Eastern region gain recognition as high-performing providers.

Read on

Are you using the new Beacon status logo?
A new logo has recently been emailed to all Beacons. This replaces the old QIA branded Beacon logo which became out of date following the launch of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) on 1 October 2008. If you haven't yet received the logo, would like any further clarification or to discuss a particular issue, you can contact us using the details below.

Read on

Beacon innovation 2009-10
The innovation fund offers Beacons an opportunity to apply for funding to develop, test and trial innovative approaches and ideas. With more and more projects commissioned each year from this substantial fund, we will shortly be inviting bids for the first round of funding for 2009-10. Guidance notes and an application form will be emailed to all Beacons at the end of April with a deadline for the final submission of bids of 31 May.

STAR Awards 2009
We welcome your nominations for the 2009 STAR Awards. The nomination period closes on 12 June, the judging takes place in July and the short list will be published in September. Regional celebrations for the short-listed nominees will take place on 7, 8 and 9 October and the winners will be announced at national STAR Awards ceremony on 26 November. We have produced an improved kit to help you to promote the STAR Awards, and encourage nominations for the unsung heroes of the further education, learning and skills sector.

Read on

Employer responsiveness innovation pilots

Seven new Beacons have been awarded funding to run innovation projects in the area of employer responsiveness. Project themes include managing risk for employer responsive provision, an employability skills business mentoring scheme and a response to the regional impact on businesses and employees affected by the economic downturn.

Beacon of the month

Based in Shropshire, Derwen College is committed to promoting, through personalised learning, the vocational, educational, personal and social development of young people with a wide range of learning difficulties and disabilities.
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Can a High Quality Manager help you?

The LSIS High Quality Managers programme enables high performing managers to work in peer mentoring relationships with other managers who are seeking support for their own professional development or for development needs within their own organisations. Mentoring assignments are tailored to the needs of those requesting the mentor support. If you have a development need that could benefit from the advice and guidance of a proven and effective manager, then please contact Linda Kaye on: linda.kaye@tribalgroup.co.uk or telephone 07736 022172. Alternatively, to obtain further information and an application form please visit www.hqm.lsis.org.uk.

Calling all Quality Champions

The Quality Champions Accreditation programme is an innovative 12 month programme designed to identify, develop and accredit the leaders in quality improvement across the further education system.
We are now recruiting for the final two cohorts. The application deadlines for cohort 4 & 5 are 27 April and 25 May respectively. Early applications are encouraged as places are limited and demand for this programme is high. For further information and application details, please visit www.qualitychampions.org.uk.

July Beacon awards

LSIS is currently considering candidates to be awarded Beacon status in July 2009. The candidates cover a broad range of provider types, including offender learning, adult and community learning and dance and drama provision.
Read on


Dates for the diary
31 May 12 June 6 July 5-6 November	2009-10 innovation funding bid submission deadline STAR Awards nomination deadline Beacon status event Beacon forum at Breadsall Priory near Derby

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Employer responsiveness innovation pilots

Beacon of the month

Can a High Quality Manager help you?

Calling all Quality Champions

July Beacon awards