The Learning and Skills Council is the principal funding and planning body in England for post-compulsory education and training. It is currently responsible for: - planning and funding post-compulsory learning and skills
- monitoring the provision that the LSC funds
- taking forward (with the QIA) a strategy for quality improvement.
Its national office is located in Coventry and it operates through a recently-strengthened regional infrastructure (9 regions). As part of the Agenda for Change, the LSC has undergone major restructuring. The recently-published FE Bill announces the abolition of the local LSCs and it is understood that the Leitch Review of Skills will lead to a focus on funding for the LSC rather than planning- as provision will be demand-led rather than plan-led. The LSCs purchase local education and training from colleges, private training providers and voluntary sector organisations. They can also purchase education from school sixth forms through their local authorities. Each year, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills passes on policies to the national LSC by producing an annual 'remit letter' which outlines those actions which LSCs, colleges and other post-compulsory learning and skills providers should take. The regional/local LSCs purchase appropriate learning and skills provision from those local providers (FE, private, voluntary) which they judge to provide the best quality and value for money. Local LSCs undertake Strategic Area Reviews (StARs), identifying the strengths and weaknesses of all providers. They review local patterns of provision to ensure that there is the right mix of provision, of the right quality, to meet learner, employer and community needs and to drive up standards and success rates. They promote local collaboration to ensure the best, most cost-effective service for learners and employers and to avoid unnecessary duplication. They identify any gaps in provision in order to ensure that these are filled. LSC issues definitive operational circulars on topics relating to post-compulsory learning to all providers of education and training with whom it contracts. There is a Remit Letter from national LSC to regional/local LSCs to ensure that they meet national as well as local and regional priorities. There is a memorandum of understanding between the LSC and the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) to ensure that local LSC plans are aligned with the RDA's regional strategy. The LSCs monitor the effectiveness of the provision which they plan and fund, and they take appropriate action when providers are failing. This role complements that of the inspectorates. Whereas ALI/Ofsted inspect the quality and effectiveness of learning provision, the LSCs work alongside provider organisations to monitor quality improvements, and to audit financial and management arrangements. In its circular Planning for Success published in December 2005, the LSC committed itself to: 'the transformation of our relationship with colleges and training providers from one based on contracting, monitoring and reconciliation, to one based on principles of planning, dialogue, partnership and trust'. It also set out in this circular a new annual business cycle for planning, new annual planning processes, a new format for development plans, and new approaches to measuring quality. In the circular 'Planning for Success' it outlines its new approach to quality as follows: 'We can no longer define quality on the basis of success rates and inspection grades alone. We must aim for higher quality in all our providers, including those where provision is currently regarded as satisfactory, and look to see the impact upon economic and social change.' The LSC's new approach to quality outlined in its Agenda for Change focuses on developing a culture of self-improvement and peer referencing, where colleges and other providers learn from each other and work together to improve quality. The LSC is currently developing- in conjunction with QIA (Quality Improvement Agency) and Ofsted - a Framework for Excellence which aims to provide a coherent self-assessment framework to be used across all post-compulsory learning and skills provider organisations Click here for National quality improvent for lifelong learning, pursuing excellence. LSC role in monitoring, review and auditing
The LSCs have a key role to play in monitoring, reviewing and auditing the provision which they plan and fund. They use the findings from: - the Provider Financial Assurance (PFA)
- Regularity Audit
- College data and performance reports
- their (ie the LSCs') review of the business planning cycle
- and the results of ALI/Ofsted inspections
to make judgements regarding funding and support of learning and skills providers (including colleges). The local (and increasingly- regional) LSC maintains a dialogue with colleges and other providers, carrying out an Annual Provider Review and risk assessment as part of its planning and allocation of funding for the following year. Key documents to be submitted to the LSC, following approval by the board, are: - Strategic Development Plan (three-year plan submitted annually)
- Budget and three-year financial forecast
- Year-end financial statements
- Self-assessment report and quality improvement plan.
LSC Quality monitoring The LSCs have a quality monitoring role (not an inspectorial role). LSCs monitor providers' quality improvements and take appropriate action when providers are failing. With the creation of the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA), providers are advised to make use of its services when devising and implementing their quality improvement plans. The LSC monitors implementation of these plans and - if it finds them ineffective - the provider may lose funding for this area of work. The LSC shares findings from its annual reviews and from its continuing relationship with providers, with the QIA (Quality Improvement Agency) and with the inspectorate/s. In terms of quality, it can be said that: - Ofsted inspects
- LSC assures
- QIA supports.
LSC - PFA (Provider financial assurance) The local LSC Provider Financial Assurance (PFA) Team assesses the corporation's compliance with statutory responsibilities and the effectiveness of systems of governance and financial management. This is undertaken alongside the ALI/Ofsted inspections. The LSC PFA team evaluates: - compliance with the Instrument and Articles of Government, the Financial
Memorandum and Audit Code of Practice and - the financial health of the college and the standard of financial management.
LSC - the self-assessment report questionnaire (SARQ) This is a questionnaire (accompanied by guidance for colleges) issued by the LSC and relates to their financial management and governance. The SARQ sets out a comprehensive series of questions in relation to the soundness, operation and also the effectiveness of colleges' financial management and governance frameworks and is the key means by which the LSC audits the college's governance and financial management compliance. Colleges assess themselves against these questions as part of the annual self-assessment process, allocating grades on a scale of one to five. The clerk has a key role to play in providing the evidence relating to the questions on governance. As these form the majority of the questions in the SARQ, it is not unusual for the clerk to lead on this (whereas the Financial Director would lead on the Regularity Audit). Following the annual assessment, the clerk should feed back to the governing board and its committees on any gaps, and recommend any corrective action. The SARQ forms the basis of the PFA review process and is undertaken in parallel with the ALI/Ofsted inspections. Completion and updating of the SARQ annually helps inform colleges' self-assessment reports and vice versa. When the SARQ forms part of the Ofsted inspection, the document must be signed off by the principal and the clerk. The clerk, therefore, has a key accountability around the SARQ. LSC - the regularity audit The LSC requires colleges to undertake a Regularity Audit, which is carried out annually by the college's own financial statements auditors. It involves completion of a regularity audit self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ). While the SARQ (see above- LSC PFA) looks at the quality of governance and financial management, the SAQ (FS auditors) focuses on the proper use by the college of public funds. Following the discontinuation of the funding audit for most colleges, the Regularity Audit is now the LSC's key source of assurance regarding the use of public funds.
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