The Integrated Vocational Route (IVR: An
employer-driven learning programme in health
& social care practice at the FE/HE interface.
Phil Coleman
Faculty of Health & Social Care, The OU in the North
Felicity Mendelson
Corporate Learning & Development, Newcastle City Council
K101 An introduction to health &
social care (60 credits at Level 4)
- Provides an up-to-date authoritative overview of
health & social care provision in the UK, using
real-life case studies & taking students deep into
the experience of receiving care & working in care
services
K101 Study Approach
• Individual study supported by comprehensive module materials
& face to face, telephone, email & online forum interaction
• Frequent use of text, video & audio material (within bespoke
DVDs)
• Relevant to all four UK nations (using an on-line resource bank)
• Designed to develop academic skills & thereby facilitate
successful module completion & progression
Module structure
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Presented twice a year
28 study weeks
6 Blocks
Monthly assignments
On-line project (finding care information)
End of module unseen examination
K101 students –who are they?
 6000 a year
- Frontline care workers
- Social work & pre/post-registration
nursing students
- Informal carers
- Service users
- General interest
K101 status
Provides a stand-alone qualification (the ‘Certificate in
Health & Social Care’)
Essential requirement for:
Health & Social Care degree
Pre-Registration Nursing programme
Social Work programme
Option for Childhood & Youth Studies degree
Background to the IVR
 Many health & social care courses offered by colleges & universities
contribute to the development of care competences, but do not achieve
National Occupational Standards & qualification requirements in the
National Minimum Standards (Care Standards Act 2000)
 Successfully completing an NVQ can be difficult & slow process with
some assessment centres because of:
• local shortages of suitably qualified/experienced assessors
• insufficient time allocation for workplace assessment
• difficulties with the language of NVQs
• the requirement to cross-reference all portfolio evidence to every
part of the National Occupational Standards (some 400 or so items
for an NVQ 3 HSC award)
 NVQs don’t provide the best preparation for university study &
professional education & training in health & social care
What does the IVR offer?
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Aim:
To provide an integrated health &
social care route that brings
together the strengths of a
supported open learning approach
to developing knowledge,
understanding & academic skills
(the K101 ‘An Introduction to Health
& Social Care’ module) with a more
user-friendly way of achieving a
Level 3 NVQ in Health & Social Care
Structure of the IVR
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The IVR currently provides a full NVQ Level 3 in Health & Social Care
(Adults or Children & Young People) award
Much evidence is generated by completing unit activities within the K101
module (these include reflective accounts of practice). There is also some
assessor observation of performance in the workplace
Evidence from K101 unit activities used for the NVQ is confirmed as
reflecting the learner’s day to day care practice by a ‘workplace supporter’
An electronic portfolio of evidence, tailor-made for the IVR is used to
demonstrate achievement of the NVQ competences
Most cross-referencing of the Performance Criteria & Knowledge
Specifications for the NVQ is completed electronically by the OU
An NVQ Assessor for the IVR is appointed by the OU & works alongside
the K101 tutor to help the learner complete their studies
Learners can choose to register for K101 without completing the NVQ
within the IVR (so the IVR is an ‘optional extra’)
IVR benefits
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No need to engage in extensive cross-referencing of evidence or master the
language of NVQs before generating evidence
The full IVR (the Certificate in Health & Social Care & the NVQ Level 3 Health &
Social Care award) can be completed in 9 to 12 months
Improves career prospects by offering two qualifications which are attractive
to employers: the NVQ Level 3 Health & Social Care [Adult or Children & Young
People] award & The OU Certificate in Health & Social Care
Offers better preparation for progression to qualifying routes such as nursing
& social work & for those seeking to take up more senior health care support
worker roles
Provides credit transfer for the OU Social Work & Pre-Registration Nursing
programmes, so IVR students aren’t just gaining an entry qualification for
professional education & training, they are actually completing part of these
programmes
IVR challenges
 Inter-departmental collaboration (building bridges between
the islands)
 Briefing academic staff for a UK-wide roll-out
 Engaging with stakeholders in all four UK nations
 The ‘F’ word .......... FUNDING!
 Focus on evidence generation for the NVQ leads some
students to be unclear about the nature of the award
 Workload concerns – completion of two awards
concurrently may be too great a burden for some students
The IVR in
Newcastle City Council
Setting the Scene - Adult Services
 Four Resource Centres providing 24 hour Services
 Range of Services including Community
Rehabilitation, Emergency & Respite Placements & Day
Service
 Including one Resource Centre for Older People with
Dementia
 Total Staff 132 from Domestic to Resource Manager
 A transforming Care at Home service providing a range of
services to people in their own homes ‘Putting People
First’
 Re-ablement, Palliative Care & Complex Care Packages
 Total Staff 329 from front line staff to Resource Manager
The Bridges to
Learning (B2L) Project
 A regional strategic partnership between UNISON, The
Open University & the Workers’ Educational Association
 Focus on the Health & Social Care Sector
 Regional Project funded by Union Learning Fund supports regional team & secondment of Union Learning
Reps in 5 NHS Trusts & 3 local authorities
 Provides a sector based model of partnership between
unions, providers & employers on provision of
progression routes from Skills for Life to Degree level
B2L: the challenge in Newcastle City
Council
 To engage with ‘hard to reach’ front
line staff, the majority of them are
mature female staff
 Many of them left school at fifteen
 Many of them have a distrust/dislike
of formal learning & lack the
confidence to approach it
 They are knowledgeable,
experienced & skilled staff who
consistently underestimate their
own educational abilities
B2L Project: the opportunities
 Many care staff have
completed NVQ2 –
developed taste for learning
 Want to progress in
learning & at work – NVQ3
& beyond
 Academic/professional
route not really an option
 Limited career pathways
The Partnership Approach
 Effective learning partnership
between employer & Trade Unions
– Learning Agreement – Union
Learning Reps
 Employer had seen benefit of skills
for life programmes for Home Care
staff - Senior Care Manager, Chris
Dugdale, championing learning &
pathways for front line staff
 Project Steering Group
Why we signed up to the IVR
 Limitations of traditional NVQs in
terms of career progression & entry
into Higher Education
 Opportunity to open up access to
Degree courses for front line staff
 Flexibility of online provision
 Supports concept of skills pathway
for staff – from skills for life onwards
Raising awareness of the IVR
 Through Union Learning Reps
 Mailing to all staff
 Roadshows & 1 :1 sessions at the workplace
– including involvement of OU
Recruiting learners
 Simple application
process – evidence of
commitment to learning
& development - joint
interview panel
 7 IVR places - group of
13 includes managers
doing stand alone K101
Experiences to date
 Started October 2009, K101 examination June 2010, NVQ can be
completed alongside or after
 11 of 13 staff (5 of IVR cohort) passed K101 exam , 2 to resit
October
 Some NVQs completed already, all will be completed by end of
2010
 4 of 7 IVR learners enrolled on next OU course on degree pathway
– KYJ113 - Foundations for Social Work Practice – starts January
2011
 Exceptional quality of course, course materials & OU Tutor
support
 Huge commitment from learners in terms of their own time
 Funding seemed complicated – important to get an understanding
 All learners completed coursework & highly positive about the
programme
Lessons learnt
 Clear understanding of individual
time commitment – not for
everybody
 Clear understanding of level of
skills required for HE – put in
place opportunities to prepare
 Positive aspects of online learning
but new to many & can be
challenging
Next Steps
 Full evaluation at end of programme –
lessons learnt by organisation & by
learners
 Ensure IVR learners are supported on
Social Work route, if that is what they
want
 Maximise funding opportunities
 Involve other areas of Adult &
Children’s Social Care
 Embed as one option in mainstream
programme in Adult Services
What do IVR students say (1)?
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'I am currently doing the K101 module & the integrated IVR. At the end of
this I will have the NVQ3 & an additional work-recognised certificate. The
best part of this approach has been that all the activities undertaken
during the units in the K101 are then used as the evidence in the IVR.
This means very little additional work [is] involved’
‘Although I had to fund both courses myself, it was the certainty that I
would finish with in a set timescale which attracted me. Furthermore
having talked to my employer although I need the NVQ3 they do
recognise that the K101 is of a managerial use & appear to be willing to
accept it if I apply for a managerial position’
‘This approach has given me a broader skills base for employability’
‘I would definitely prefer the IVR route [to a conventional NVQ]’
‘The information in the materials is very good …everything is explained’
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‘An interesting experience’
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Sources: OU K101 NVQ Student Forum (2009),
OU IET Survey (2009), OU CWP Survey (2010)
What do IVR students say (2)?
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‘Compared to the paper-based approach, you just open up your screen,
you can see what you need to do & you can just do it; it’s so much easier.
My computer skills are basic & I’ve managed with it fine. I’ve learnt quite
a bit this year’
‘I am enjoying it & I’m glad I’m doing it’
‘The information in the materials is very good … everything is explained’
‘I’ve really enjoyed it & I can see it being beneficial’
‘NVQ by this route has been easy’
‘The activities were written in an accessible way. The way it was worded
you knew exactly what they are looking for’
‘I am very positive about it’, ‘Top class’
‘It has been so, so good. I’ve been singing it’s praises to other people at
work’
Sources: OU K101 NVQ Student Forum (2009),
OU IET Survey (2009), OU CWP Survey (2010)
What happens to the IVR in light of the
new Qualifications & Credit Framework
(QCF)?
 A new IVR is being developed to enable students studying K101 to
concurrently register for one of four integrated Diplomas (within the
new QCF) from 2011; namely the:
• HSC Diploma (Adults Generic pathway) [England]
• HSC Diploma (Adults) [Wales and Northern Ireland]
• HSC Diploma (Children & Young People) [Wales & Northern Ireland]
• Diploma for the Children & Young People’s Workforce (Social Care
pathway) [England]
 Achievement of a relevant Diploma is expected to replace the NVQ as a
training requirement within the National Minimum Standards for Care
What happens to the IVR in light of the
new QCF? (2)
 Employer consultations /briefings in 12 cities in all four UK nations
shaped the original IVR
 Four organisations (Newcastle City Council, Northumberland, Tyne &
Wear NHS Trust, Salisbury Foundation NHS Trust & SWIIS Scotland)
were particularly influential in determining IVR design & models of
delivery
 Employer involvement is an important way to ensure that the IVR
remains fit for purpose & practice
 HSC stakeholders from England, Northern Ireland & Wales are all
contributing to the new IVR framework
 These stakeholders will help finalise the selection of the Diploma
optional units within the IVR, scrutinise OU work in respect of evidence
generation & act as critical readers for IVR materials
Questions?
Comments?
Ideas?
More Information
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Please contact:
Phil Coleman
Area Manager/Staff Tutor
Faculty of Health & Social Care
The Open University in the North
Abbots Hill
Gateshead. NE8 3DF.
Telephone: 0191 202 6996
eMail: p.m.coleman@open.ac.uk
Felicity Mendelson
Corporate Learning & Development
Newcastle City Council
Telephone: 0191 232 8520
eMail: felicity.mendelson@newcastle.gov.uk