Final
Report
2011/12
Regional Adviser
– West Midlands
Anne Schofield
West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Geographical area
The West Midlands includes:
 Herefordshire,
 Worcestershire,
 Shropshire,
 Staffordshire,
 Birmingham,
 Coventry and
 Warwickshire.
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Anne Schofield
West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Areas of sector engaged
I have worked in the following sectors:
 Universities and colleges Initial Teacher Training (ITT);
 Work Based Learning (WBL);
 Adult and Community Learning (ACL);
 Further Education (FE);
 6th Form Colleges;
 Offender learning
 Armed forces
 Police training
 Voluntary Sector
 West Midlands Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (WMCETT)
Sectors engaged 11-12
Sectors
Approximate % of sectors engaged
Further Education
37
Adult and Community Learning
19
6th Form Colleges
3
Offender Learning
8
Voluntary Sector
3
Other eg: Higher Education; Police
training; ‘other’ armed forces and West
Midlands Centre for Excellence in
Teacher Training
19
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West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Organisations and networks supported
 Archway Academy
 Barr’s Court Special School
 Dudley College
 Hereford College
 HMP Onley
 Ludlow College
 NEW College
 NIACE
 Oaklands College
 Police Training
 Sense
 Stoke on Trent College
 Stourbridge College
 Telford and Wrekin Council
 University of Warwick
 Walsall Adult Community College
 Walsall College
 WMCETT
Types of delivery
 Demonstrations of REfLECT
 Workshops – REfLECT/Professional Formation
 Presentations - Professional Formation
 1:1 email and telephone support
 Conferences
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Anne Schofield
West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Types of support
Once again demand for support around Professional Formation remained high. (see
table below) The recommendations made in the Wolfe Report re: parity with QTS
raised awareness. In addition to this, the sector has been badly affected by the
financial situation in the country and many members’ jobs were under threat.
Members wanted to increase their chances of remaining employed or being ‘more
employable’ by gaining A/QTLS. This resulted in an increase of 1:1 support
(telephone and email) and good attendance at workshops etc.
This year also saw the introduction of fees being paid by members. This increased
the amounts of individual queries and also the requests for updates of the situation.
Support type 11-12
Content of activity
Approximate % of type of support
Volunteer Connections
3
Registration
9
Membership
17
REfLECT
22
CPD
15
Professional Formation
26
Other (updates, advice re: qualifications
etc.)
7
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West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Volunteer Connections
Although not particularly well-attended (6), a successful meeting was held for
Volunteer Connections in July 2011. The main purpose of the meeting was to give
an update on IfL matters and to offer support at this challenging time. I had recently
attended a Regional Adviser event where we had some input about the Code of
Practice. I cascaded this information to the VCs. One VC had worked hard in her
college to embed CPD and Professional Formation into the college’s calendar. I
had asked her to present this model to the VCs. Although unplanned, another VC
showed us how she supports members by using Moodle. These contrasting
approaches were excellent and I contacted Michelle Jennings to suggest they
would make interesting case studies. We then pooled our ideas about how to
support members applying for A/QTLS. One VC had a very academic approach
and I was able to explain that other, less formal, applications would also be
acceptable.
Responses of IfL in relation to suggestions and feedback given by
Regional Adviser
The support received by IfL staff has been exemplary. During a turbulent year, I
have been asked many challenging questions and sometimes I have needed to ask
for advice. My questions have been answered timely and I have therefore been
able to email responses quickly. This has been much appreciated by members.
Challenges
The dominant issue of course this year was around the introduction of the fees. This
was a difficult period but I felt well-supported by the IfL team. To be able to deal
with this on a personal level, I took the attitude that my job was to support those who
chose to be members of the IfL; this enabled me to be less-defensive.
Towards the end of this period, the ‘Lingfield’ Report was published giving
recommendations that have extreme consequences for the IfL, teacher training and
therefore the profession as a whole. Clearly, delivering sessions during the last week
of March was challenging. Members working towards gaining qualifications and
Professional Formation have needed plenty of positive support.
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West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Successes
IfL/WMCETT conferences (2)
The conferences were most successful (reports previously submitted). They attracted
members from a wide range of sectors. Opening addresses were given by Sue
Colquhoun and Jean Kelly and they both received favourable feedback in the
evaluations. The second conference was based on feedback from the previous
conference. The feedback from both conferences was overwhelmingly positive. It
would appear that although organisations arrange CPD, it is not necessarily what
teachers want or need.
New RAs
I welcomed the additional support in the West Midlands. (See ‘Recommendations’
below)
WBL
I was invited to an event where WBL teachers received their DTLLS certificates. It is
especially challenging for this group to become qualified due to the nature of their
employment. They had completed a DTLLS that has been adapted for those in the
WBL sector. Before the celebration, I ran a REfLECT/Professional Formation workshop
and indeed, members completed their intent to apply for QTLS there and then.
NIACE regional meeting for managers in ACL
ACL remains to be under represented in my work, so I was pleased to be invited to
this event. I was able to respond to queries and arranged meetings to discuss
teacher qualifications and gaining QTLS with ACL staff.
Offender learning
Although I have only visited one prison, it enabled me to make recommendations
for the future (see ‘Recommendations’ below). The conferences also attracted
members from Offender learning. As a teacher trainer, I have worked with a
number of teachers in offender learning over the past year and have been able to
support them as IfL members as well as trainees.
Working with WMCETT
I continued to work closely with WMCETT. I attended their meetings to update them
on IfL matters. I attended WMCETT events including: professional dialogue events
and Skills for Life conferences. Through this partnership I also meet with other HEIs on
a regular basis. I have a page on the WMCETT website. The number of visits to
relevant pages increased from 401 (2010 – 2011) to 507 this year.
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West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Impact/Value added
The greatest impact has been the support offered to those wanting to achieve
Q/ATLS. I have offered this support by 1:1 telephone and email support;
presentations and workshops.
I feel that one of my strengths is to respond quickly to enquiries and although I work
for other organisations, I respond to IfL queries, on the whole, seven days a week.
Members often express their appreciation.
Being a reviewer for Professional Formation, I am well-placed to give sound advice.
Even though the regulations are almost five years old, some parts of the sector are
only really just beginning to realise that this relates to them. I have spent some time
supporting managers from WBL and ACL explaining the regulations and discussing
how we can move forward to supporting their teachers to become fully qualified
and to gain Q/ATLS.
Here is a selection of comments received this year:
“I am just completing the Reflect "Professional Formation". Thanks once again for the
workshop - it made it really clear.”
“Just to say a big thank you for Thursday's session at the Essential Skills Centre it has
spurred me on to complete my application for the above [Professional formation].”
“I'm most grateful to you for an instant reply. It really boosted me up. Your email was a
great relief.” (I was supporting a member in India who was nursing her mother but very
concerned about her QTLS application.)
“Thank you for your help and support this evening. I found the session very helpful and it
has shown me what Reflect can do to help me.”
“Thank you for facilitating a really useful interactive session on Friday. All of the feedback
that l have received to date has been really positive. Thank you also for getting back to me
so promptly regarding the invoicing query. I shall look to follow your link shortly.”
“The ‘gaining QTLS session’ I found most useful. It made the process seem easier and
pointed out where the evidence already exists.”
“I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your session on A/QTLS at Scarman
House yesterday. It was extremely engaging and informative.”
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West Midlands
Final Report April 2011 – March 2012
Anne Schofield
Recommendations
It is important to note that these recommendations are being made regardless of
the ‘Lingfield’ report. These of course may well change following the final report.
1. To work closely with Anne Groll (RA) from Birmingham. Anne’s college is wellplaced and she has offered the use of the facilities. Finding locations for
training (without cost) has been problematic in the past.
2. To facilitate further events for Volunteer Connections.
3. Should funding be available, to arrange sessions around CPD, REfLECT and
Professional Formation for those in Offender learning. I would like to explore
holding sessions off-site to enable members to have internet access; sessions
held within prisons are severely limited.
4. To continue to offer regional conferences/events. I really believe that we
have been able to support members in a way that, for whatever reason, their
organisations are failing to do. A further benefit of the conferences is that
they have brought in members from a wider range of sectors. If full day
conferences are too costly, I would recommend some half day events.
NB In the event of changes, it will be especially important to support members
even though they may represent a smaller percentage of the workforce.
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