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Final Summary Report
University of the West of England
TDA Research & Development Award (SEN) No. 3
Professor John Dwyfor Davies (main contact) John.davies@uwe.ac.uk
Dr. John Ryan (Lead Investigator)
Dr. Jane Tarr (Researcher)
Kathryn Last (Research associate)
Professor Saville Kushner (Advisor)
Professor Richard Rose (Northamptonshire coordinator)
Title: Preparing Teachers for Management and Leadership of Multiagency Assessment of Vulnerability: building capacity in ITT
Key words: Multi-agency; vulnerability; initial teacher training; special
educational needs; workplace learning, school based mentoring, online
learning, eLearning, cross-professional working, health service, social service,
youth justice.
Key Findings and Recommendations
Teachers are increasingly being encouraged and/or are under statutory requirements
to collaborate in multi-agency procedures for dealing with vulnerable and at-risk
children and children with special educational needs. A main aim of this project was
to help Initial Teacher Training (ITT) tutors and school-based mentors to support and
prepare trainee teachers to for develop the necessary skills to engage in multiagency working and to prepare them coordinating and managing multi-agency
working, as necessary, within their professional teaching career. The key rationale
for this project, therefore, was to translate the evidence base from research on multiagency action and the co-ordination of assessment for children and young people
with special educational needs into practice-based learning materials. The University
is engaged in research and development in many professional disciplines and service
sectors involving children and young people, for example, Health, Social Services
and Youth Justice and we have consulted with colleagues across the university
throughout the life of this project.
Main Findings
1. Trainee and mentor lack of knowledge and awareness
One of the early findings, and one of the reasons for this research and development,
was a lack of knowledge and awareness on the part of trainee teachers of multiagency working. This is evidenced in the data presented in the TDAs Newly
Qualified Teachers (NQT) survey 2007-08. Similarly, the questionnaire data
gathered at the early stages of this project strongly supported the need for enhancing
trainees’ engagement with this area of work. There was also evidence that school
based mentors often lacked knowledge and understanding of multi-agency working to
enable them to support trainees to develop their awareness of engaging in crossprofessional practice.
2. Lack of accessible and concise information
Our desk research involved an electronic search for academic and professional
literature1 relating to multi-agency working, using key terms2.
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We engaged the Faculty Librarian in undertaking a thorough literature search of academic and
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In addition to this, the main researchers conducted a search of relevant
websites of relevant government departments and professional organisations
(see useful websites listed in the bibliography). Collectively, these exercises led
us to identify a lack of accessible and concise information to meet the
professional development needs of trainees and mentors. There was no
shortage of information on relevant and related websites, such as, the NHS,
DCFS and professional bodies/organisations, however the information tended to
be repetitive across sites and often required a base level of understanding to
enable the novice reader to interact with the information presented. Some of
the language used, and the roles and responsibilities referred to, were not
immediately accessible to a reader not familiar with the terminology and
acronyms used and the professional practices being described. Indeed, we as
teacher educators could barely understand it ourselves and had to consult with
professionals in other sectors and Faculties to the meaning of technical terms
and practices described in the literature. This led us to understand that trainees
too would find it difficult to access much of the information available and would
welcome guidance to support them in this.
We therefore identified the need for more accessible materials for trainee
teachers and their mentors and initially started to draft paper based materials to
provide them with base level knowledge and awareness. The sheer volume of
information that started to emerge led us to the realisation that we were in
danger of producing materials of such a comprehensive nature that it would be
impenetrable to the reader, in particular busy professionals who have many
demands on their time and need to prioritise their learning needs on a need-toknow basis.
3. The need for flexibility and interactivity
The significant finding from this realisation was that any materials developed to
support trainees and mentors needed to be extremely flexible and interactive so that
they could access specific information quickly and easily, and most importantly when
they needed to engage with it. It became clear that what was required was
interactive electronic resource materials and that information and communications
technology would need to be exploited. With a limited budget available, and a lack of
ICT expertise amongst the team, we resorted to using Powerpoint to draft materials.
This proved to be a relatively successful strategy as it enabled us to present
information clearly on one main slide with hyperlinks used to provide the reader with
more detailed information on any specific topic. Diagram 1 below shows illustrates
how the main slide is used to hyperlink for further information and importantly back
again to your starting point. Hyperlinks to relevant websites are also provided for
those wishing to explore particular topics further.
professional literature using available electronic catalogues such as ERIC etc.
2
Key terms used included: ‘multi-agency’, ‘multi-professional’, inter agency working’,
‘organisational collaboration’, ‘children and young people’s workforce’, ‘special educational
needs ‘, ‘vulnerable children and young people’
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Main agencies
Likely to be
involved?
What is
Multi-Agency
working
Multi-agency working
The role of the
The following extract, taken from an Every Child Matters fact sheet, provides a
useful outline of what multi-agency working is:
Childrens’ Workforce
Development Council
Multi-agency working is about different services joining forces in order to prevent problems from occurring in
the first place. It is an effective way of supporting children and families with additional needs and helping to
secure real improvements in their life outcomes.
Multi-agency
working
Background to Multi-agency working
Since the publication of the Green Paper Every Child Matters (Sept 2003), health, youth justice, social care,
youth work, voluntary and community sector and other children’s services have been joining forces to work
more collaboratively around a preventative and early intervention agenda.
Information Sharing
Multi-agency working has been shown to bean effective way of addressing the wide range of cross-cutting risk
factors that contribute to poorer outcomes for children and young people. Local areas are undertaking an
extensive reconfiguration of services, to offer earlier, more coherent support, which meets the needs of children
and families in convenient locations and in a more streamlined way.
Collaboration Models of Service
Delivery
The ECM fact sheet is available at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/16BD8C63438670F6C07F6D5FF5EAD178.pdf
Contact Point
Back
Diagram 1
4. Understanding work based learning
University based PGCE training programmes require trainees to spend approximately
two-thirds of their time in the workplace. There is limited time available at the
University to address the breadth and depth of professional knowledge and skills that
trainees need to acquire and, therefore, it is necessary to plan for engagement with
particular topics to happen mainly within the workplace. A key finding of this
research3 has been the need for all partners involved in supporting ITT in the
workplace to have a good understanding of facilitating effective workplace learning.
This is based on information gleaned from trainees (through questionnaire responses
and interviews) and from discussions with mentors, headteachers and SENCOs
during school-based visits. In researching the nature of workplace learning it became
apparent that this may not have as high a profile as it perhaps should have when
placing and supporting trainees working at a distance from the university for long
periods of time. Appropriately trained mentors with a good understanding of
facilitating effective workplace learning is essential for trainees to succeed. The
availability of appropriate support materials for mentors and trainees is necessary to
enable successful workplace learning. This project aimed to develop materials to
support trainee teachers and school-based mentors to engage in workplace learning,
we recognise that there may be a further need to develop understanding of workplace
learning amongst mentors and university tutors, but this was beyond the scope of this
small scale research project.
5. Organisations, organisational cultures and cross-professional working
To understand multi-agency working it is necessary to have some baseline
understanding of the individual organisations involved. Diagram 2 below shows how
we have started to develop an overview of the organisations that could be involved in
multi-agency working, recognising that any combination of these agencies could be
involved with individual pupils as determined by their special educational needs. This
highlights the significant complexity of multi-agency working and the breadth and
depth of knowledge that may be required to engage with it confidently. Indeed it is
important to recognise that it is not possible for trainees to have more that a surface
level of awareness and understanding of the many organisations involved in multiagency working during their training year. A further complication is that each of these
organisations will have their own unique culture, particular language and mode of
operation Much of the literature on multi-agency working highlights the difficulty of
working across professional boundaries and there have been significant moves in
recent years to bring greater cohesion to multi-agency working for individual children
and young people. Every Child Matters (DCSF 2004) clearly sets out this new crossprofessional approach and the Children’s’ Workforce Development Council provide
3
See ‘Methodology and Evidence’ p.6 and appendix
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statutory frameworks for those involved in working with children and young people in
multi-agency settings.
Health
1 National Service Framework
2 Department of Health
3 Roles and Responsibilities
Education
1 Department for Children,
Schools and Families
2 Roles and Responsibilities
Social Care
1 National Service Framework
2 Department of Health – Social Care
3 Roles and Responsibilities
Third Sector
Youth Justice
(The Voluntary, Community and
Faith sector (VCF) or the Private,
Voluntary and Independent sector (PVI),
1 National Council for
Voluntary Organisations
2Roles and Responsibilities
Youth Work
1 Youth Offending Teams
2 Youth Justice Board
3 Roles and Responsibilities
1 National Youth Association
2 Roles and Responsibilities
Back
Diagram 2
6. Different learning styles and stages of development
It is debateable that the interactive ICT based materials described above will cater for
a range of learning styles, but the materials were designed to allow the learners to
access them in different ways and to facilitate a range of approaches to learning.
The information presented in the slides above, for example, enable learners to follow
a systematic approach to learning by following information through in a linear
manner. However, the opposite is also true as learners could choose to selected
particular topics and dip in and out of the available information as desired. It,
therefore, presents opportunities for personalised learning whereby the learner can
access information on a needs-to-know basis, and as appropriate to their stage of
development. The materials also allow opportunities for collaborative learning, for
example, mentors may choose to use them to facilitate group activities/and
discussions, adopting a social constructivist approach to learning (Vygotsky 1978).
We were also aware that the abstract and out of context nature of much of the
information being presented would not be motivating to all trainees and so we also
began to develop case studies to engage trainees in accessing the same information
in a very different way. The case study approach is illustrated in Diagram 3 below
and feedback from trainees and mentors has been particularly positive about these
materials.
Henry is 8 years old the middle child of three children born to African Caribbean parents. He was
diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at age of 8 years which was appreciated by his family and
education providers. He is a quiet unsociable child and plays the piano. He lives with his mother father,
brother and sister. His grandparents live far away
Voluntary sector / Community network
Jehovah witness community
Member of National Autistic Society
Friends locally
Health provision and support
Health visitor
Community paediatrician
Doctor
Occupational therapist
Speech and language therapist
Communication disorder clinic
Social care provision
Disability care allowance
HENRY
Educational provision
Teacher in mainstream school
Learning support assistant
Special educational needs coordinator
Educational psychologist
Local authority administrators
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Educational Psychologist
Educational Psychologists (EPs) carry out a wide range of tasks with the
aim of enhancing children's learning and enabling teachers to become
more aware of the social factors affecting teaching and learning. The work
of an EP can either be directly with a child (assessing progress, giving
counselling) or indirectly (through their work with parents, teachers and
other professionals).
EPs carry out the following roles:
• assessing children and young people’s learning and emotional needs
• developing and supporting therapeutic and behaviour management
programmes
• recommending formal actions to be made about the needs of a child or
young persons needs including statements of special educational needs
• attending multi-disciplinary case conferences on how social, emotional,
behavioural and learning needs of children and young people might best
be met
• developing and reviewing behaviour, and child development policies
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provide a more detailed
Occupational Summary for an Educational Psychologist at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
Back
Diagram 3
Background and content
The research project was based in the School of Education, University of the West of
England in Bristol and it drew upon the experiences of mentors in schools working in
partnership with the University to deliver initial teacher education. The School of
Education has a high profile in the sector, being was rated 1 for Quality and
Management in the most recent Ofsted Inspection (2006), and is very actively
involved in educational developments with the South West region. It works closely
with Local Authorities in the area and has extended partnerships with several Bristol
schools working in challenging circumstances. It is a major provider of SEN
Continuing and Post-Graduate Professional Development courses.
In recent years the School of Education has been working closely with
colleagues from other areas of professional practice involving children and
young people within the University, for example, Health, Social Care and Youth
Justice. This research project provided an opportunity to investigate the nature
of multi-agency working and cross-professional practice involving vulnerable
children and young people with a view to supporting the professional
development of trainee teachers, and colleagues from across the university
have made a significant contributed to this.
Also, as outlined above, a significant factor was the realisation that much of this
work was likely to take place outside of the university and in the workplace, and
that we would need strategies to support trainees and mentors to engage
effectively with it. Our desk research showed that although there was a vast
amount of information that could be accessed online, much of it tended to be so
sector focused that we felt trainees would find it impenetrable, and/or
considerably repetition, making it frustrating to interact with. This view was
confirmed through discussions with a sample of trainees following their
exploration of a range of websites during a teaching session. A need for tailor
made resources was identified as a very desirable outcome and this became a
major focus for research and development.
Methodology and Evaluation
A mixed methods approach was adopted including:
 Desk research involving:
o a literature search of academic materials (see bibliography)
o an investigation of information available on relevant
websites (see ‘Useful Websites’ in bibliography)
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


establishing a network of cross-professional expertise involving
academics and practitioners working in allied professions including
Health, Social Care, Police, Youth Services, Connexions and colleagues
from education in the University of Northampton
Questionnaires
Questionnaires were used with a mixed group (64 trainees) completing a
one year full-time primary and secondary PGCE training programmes in
order to gain an insight into their knowledge and understanding of multiagency working. A copy of the questionnaire together with the data
generated can be found in the appendices
Questions covered a broad range of issues and drew particularly on the
standards for gaining Qualified Teacher Status and included, for
example:
o awareness of professional duties of teachers and the statutory
framework within which they work
o knowledge of legal requirements, and policies and practices of
the workplace
o the contribution that colleagues, parents and carers can make to
the development and well being of children and young people,
and to raise their levels of attainment.
o The identification of and support for children and young people
with SEN
o collaboration and co-operative working
Interviews/discussions with trainees and school-based mentors were
used at various points4 in the research to provide checks and balances,
particularly around the appropriateness of the materials being
developed. School based mentors, in particular, welcomed the
opportunity to access support materials online and to have these
available for trainees to draw upon at any time when they needed
specific information, or when they were working on their school based
tasks.
The project had a timescale of 18 months and involved three main researchers,
Professor John Dwyfor Davies, Dr Jane Tarr and Dr John Ryan; a research
associate Kate Last; a project Advisor, Professor Saville Kushner and an
external link, Professor Richard Rose at Northampton University who was
involved in another SEN project that overlapped with our work. We also
established close links with other professional training operating at the
University of the West of England in the fields of Health, Social Care and Youth
Justice. This helped us extend our links and develop further collaboration with
colleagues within other disciplines across the university. Many of these were
relatively new to research activities and processes, particularly relating to multidisciplinary work within an educational context. In so doing, the exercise helped
build future Capacity across a wide group of professionals.
Areas for further investigation
The project has identified a number of aspects that require further research and
development to maximise the potential impact on professional practice. The
first relates directly to the development of resources that has taken place within
this project. The materials were developed making extensive use of PowerPoint
4
When visiting schools, at mentor training days, with teachers attending CPD courses at the
University and as a part of the debriefing of trainees on their school experience.
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to provide an element of interactivity using hyperlinks to move from one slide to
another, however, it is very clear that what is now required is to turn the
PowerPoint slides into web page. This would have many benefits, such as:
 making the materials fully interactive
 making the materials more accessible, and available on demand
 removing the major constraint of having to have all of the materials
together in one PowerPoint to be able to link the information together
 enabling a better presentation of the material
 the ability to make the material available at minimal cost
UWE submitted a bid for additional support from the TDA earlier this year to
further develop the materials, and will be re-submitting this in response to a
request for additional support received in July 09. This will also help with
capacity building, for the new researcher in particular, but also for the team who
currently lack expertise in eLearning and interactive materials development.
The second aspect requiring further investigation relates to the use of eLearning
approaches to support work-based learning. Research focused on eLearning is
contentious, with advocates presenting it as a new form of pedagogy while
others question the authenticity of such claims and the lack of critical
examination by those within the educational research community working
outside of the field of ICT.
The third aspect requiring further research is the work-based learning context
itself for trainee teachers. The shift in emphasis from University based work to
school based practice in the last decade has been facilitated by developing
pragmatic solutions with little emphasis on researching the nature of school
based workplace learning. The particular focus of this project on multi-agency
working further emphasises the need for greater understanding of work based
learning as it involves engaging with a range of professional contexts and
workplace learning opportunities. This project has led to a greater involvement
of staff in the School of Education with the University Research Centre for
Workforce Development. The research team was also invited to coordinate a
Workshop on multi-agency working within a staff development seminar series.
Benefit Realisation: dissemination, outputs and continuation
Dissemination activity and tangible outputs, such as, teaching and learning
materials were central to the project throughout. The following list of direct and
indirect activities and outputs provide an insight into the breadth of outcomes
from the project to date:
 A number of Case Studies involving a range of professionals working
with children with SEN was produced and made available on a trial CD5
 Guidance materials to support trainees and school based mentors to
o use the Common Assessment Framework
o understand the range of organisations involved in working with
children and young people with SEN
o gain awareness of the key legislation and government policy for
professionals working with children and young people
 A Workshop outlining the aims and outcomes of the SEN research and
development project at a Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (UWE)
5
Feedback from trainees, mentors and other professionals suggests that this material would be
both better presented and more accessible were it made available as web-based materials. We are
yet to secure additional funding to enable this to happen
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



conference on Workplace Learning (14 May 2009)6
Presentation to School of Education staff (UWE, 21 April 2009) at a staff
development day on how the project can support our trainees and school
based mentors
The project provided a specific context for a paper that was delivered at
An International Education Conference in Athens on 26 May 097. (A
copy of this paper is attached as Appendix B)
The project played a key role in the development, and/or updating, of
three modules offered within our under-Graduate and Post-Graduate
Professional Development programmes at UWE.8 The module
specifications are available on the UWE website using the module codes
listed in Footnote 8 below.
The project has helped PGCE tutors at UWE to enhance the SEN theme
within the professional studies programme
Additional information and sources
At the early stages of the project the literature search had two distinct strands.
The first was an examination of the available academic and professional
literature associated with Multi-agency working. All the literature/sources
identified are listed within Appendix A.
The second was an investigation of the information that was available on
relevant websites. As the project shifted towards the production of materials
and supporting trainees work based learning the literature shifted towards online
learning and work based learning. A selection of the material is presented
below.
HSC Workshop – Researching Professional and Workforce Developments in HSC: Current
Perspectives and Visions for the Future
6
From teaching to Learning – how eLearning can support early professional development in a
workplace setting:
8
(UTLGKR-20-2) Multi-agency Working
(UTTGNQ-20-3) Learning Partnerships in the Wider Community
(UTTG5L-10-3) Inter-professional Collaboration
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Appendix A
Useful Literature and Web-based Resources Relating to Multi-professional
Working
Abbott, D. (2004) Agencies united, Community Care No 1512 (4 March) pp 3435
Abbott, D., Watson, D. & Townsley, (2005) The proof of the pudding: what
difference does multi-agency working make to families with disabled children
with complex health care needs? Child & Family Social Work 10(3) pp. 229-238
Allison, S et al (2007) Personal reflections on the development of an integrated
service delivery Child Care in Practice 13(1) pp. 67-74
Allnock, D., Akhurst, S., Tunstill, J and NESS Research Team (2006)
Constructing and Sustaining Sure Start Local Programme Partnerships: lessons
for future inter-agency collaborations. Journal of Children’s Services 1(3) pp2939
Anning, A. (2005) Investigating the impact of working in multi-agency service
delivery settings in the UK on early years practitioners’ beliefs and practice,
Journal of Early Childhood Research, 3(1) pp.19-50
Anning et al (2006) Developing multi-professional teamwork for integrated
children’s services, Maidenhead, Open University Press
Atkinson, M., Wilkin, A., Stott, A. and Kinder, K. (2001). Multi-agency Working:
an Audit of Activity (LGA Research Report 17). Slough, NFER.
Atkinson, M. Wilkin, W. Stott. Doherty, P. and Kinder, K. (2001) Multi-agency
Working: a detailed study, Slough, NFER
Atkinson, M., Kinder, K and Doherty, P. (2003) On Track: a qualitative study of
the early impacts of services. DfES Research Brief RB473. Nottingham: DfES
Publications
Atkinson, M, Doherty, P and Kinder, K. (2005).Multi-agency Working: models,
challenges and key factors for success, Journal of Early Childhood Research,
3(1) pp. 7-17
Atkinshon, M., Doherty, P. & kinder, K. (2005) Multi-agency working: models,
challenges and key factors for success, Journal of Early Childhood Research,
3(1) pp. 7-18
Atkinson, M. (Ed) (2008). Analysis of Children and Young People’s Plans 2007.
Slough: NFER.
Atkinson, M. Jones, M. and Lamont, E. (2008) Multi-agency working and its
implications for practice: a review of the literature, Slough, NFER
Audit Commission (1998) A Fruitful Partnership: effective partnership working,
London: Audit Commission
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Barcley, G & Kerr, C (2006) Collaborative working across children’s services:
where are we now?, Educational and Child Psychology, 23(4)
Barr H (1996) Ends and means in interprofessional education: Towards a
typology, Education Health 9(3) pp. 341-351
Barr H (2000) Interprofessional education:1997-2000 a review, CAIPE, London.
Barr H (2005) Interprofessional education:Today, yesterday and tomorrow a
review, Learning & Teaching Support Network: Subject Centre for Health
Sciences & Practice, London.
Barr H, Freeth D, Hammrick M, Koppel I and Reeves S (2000) Evaluations of
interprofessional education, Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional
Education & the British Educational Research Association.
Barrow, G. et al (2002) Multi-Agency Practice: resources for developing
provision in schools and other organisations Morden, Dreyfus Training and
Development
Bellamy, C. et al. (2005) Multi-agency working in British social policy: Risk,
information sharing and privacy. Information Polity: The International Journal of
Government & Democracy in the Information Age; 2005, 10(1/2) pp. 51-63
Booth, M. (1993) The Effectiveness and Role of the Mentor in Schools: the
student view, Cambridge Journal of Education, 23(2) pp. 185-198
Borrill C, West M, Shapiro D and Rees A (2000) Team working and
effectiveness and health care, British Journal of Health Care Management 6 pp.
364-371
Brown, B. et al (2000) Blurred roles and permeable boundaries: the experience
of multidisciplinary working in community mental health, Health and Social Care
in the Community 8(6) pp. 425-435.
Bryan, H., Austin, B, Hailes, J., Parsons, C. & Stow, W. (2006) On track multiagency projects in schools and communities: a special relationship, Children
and Society, 20(1) pp. 40-53
Cameron, A and Lart, R. (2003) Factors Promoting and Obstacles Hindering
Joint Working: A Systematic Review of the Research Evidence, Journal of
Integrated Care 11(2)
Coles, B. et al (2000) Spaced Out? Young people on social housing estates:
social exclusion and multi-agency work, Journal of Youth Studies, 3(1) pp.2133.
Cooper H, Carlisle C, Gibbs T and Watkins C (2001) Developing an evidence
base for interdisciplinary learning: a systematic review, Journal of Advanced
Nursing 35(2) pp. 228-237.
Dahl, S and Aubrey, C. (2004) Multiagency working in Sure Start projects:
successes and challenges. Coventry: The University of Warwick, Childhood
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Research Unit
Daly, G. (2004) Understanding the barriers to multiprofessional collaboration,
Nursing Times, 100(9), p. 78
Daniels, H. et al (2007) Learning in and for multi-agency working. Oxford
Review of Education; Sep2007, 33(4) pp 521-538.
Davies C (2000), Getting health professionals to work together: There's more to
collaboration than simply working side by side, British Medical Journal 320 pp.
1021-1022.
Department for Education and Skills (2005). Every Child Matters: Aims and
Outcomes. London: DfES.
DfES (2003) Every Child Matters London, Department for Education and Skills
Diamond, J. (2001) Managing Change or Coping with Conflict? Mapping the
Experience of a Local Regeneration Partnership, Local Economy 16(4) pp. 272 285.
Easen, P. et al (2000) Inter-professional collaboration and conceptualisations of
practice, Children & Society 14(5) pp. 355-367.
Farmakopoulou, N. (2002) Using an integrated theoretical framework for
understanding inter-agency collaboration in the special educational needs field,
European Journal of Special Needs Education 17(1), pp. 49-60.
Farmakopoulou, N. (2002b) What Lies Underneath? An Inter-organizational
Analysis of Collaboration between Education and Social Work, British Journal of
Social Work 32(8), pp. 1051-1066.
Frost, N. & Robinson, R. (2005) Joining Up Children’s Services: Safeguarding
Children in Multi-Disciplinary teams. Child Abuse Review, 16, pp. 184-199.
Frost, N. (2007) Being a social worker in an integrated world. CareKnowledge,
Briefing 18. http://www.careknowledge.com
Garrett, L. and Lodge, S. (2008) Working Together on the Font Line: How to
make multiprofessional teams and partnerships work, Wiltshire, Research in
Practice
Granville, J. and Langton P. (2002) Working across boundaries: systemic and
psychodynamic perspectives on multi-disciplinary and inter-agency practice,
Journal of Social Work Practice 16(1), pp. 23-27.
Harker, R. et al (2004) More than the sum of its parts? Inter-professional
working in the education of looked after children, Children and Society, 18(3) pp.
179-193.
Harley, D. et al (2003) Interagency collaboration: reinforcing professional
bridges to serve aging populations with multiple service needs, Journal of
Rehabilitation 69(2), pp. 32-37.
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Harris, S. (2003) Inter-agency practice and professional collaboration: the case
of drug education and prevention, Journal of Education Policy 18(3), pp.303314.
Hughes, M. (2006) Multi-agency teams: why should working together make
everything better? Educational and Child Psychology 23(4) pp 60-71
Humphris D and Hean S (2004) Educating the future workforce: building the
evidence about interprofessional learning, Journal of Health Services Research
and Policy 9(1) pp. 24-27.
Hymans, M. (2006) What needs to be put in place at an operational level to
enable an integrated children’s service to produce desired outcomes?,
Educational and Child Psychology, 23(4) pp. 23-34
Leadbetter, J (2006) New Ways of Working and New Ways of Being: multiagency working and professional identity, educational and Child Psychology, (
23(4) pp.47-59
Leadbetter, J. et al. (2007) Professional learning within multi-agency children's
services: researching into practice. Educational Research; Mar2007, 49(1) pp.
83-98.
Lloyd, G. et al (2001) Hanging on in there: a study of interagency work to
prevent school exclusion, London: National Children's Bureau/ Joseph
Rowntree Foundation
Lloyd, G., Stead, J and Kendrick, A. (2001) Hanging on in there. A study of
inter-agency work to prevent school exclusion in three local authorities. London:
NCB
Marsh, P. (2006) Promoting Children’s Welfare by Inter-professional Practice
and Learning in Social Work and Primary Care. Social Work Education 25(2),
pp.148-160
McInnes, K. (2007) A practitioner’s guide to interagency working in children’s
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4692, special section pp. 9-10
Summary of websites providing details of relevant occupational roles and
responsibilities
A full review of the role of Health Visitors is available at the Department
of Health web site:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/Publicatio
nsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_075642
More detailed accounts of the role of the school nurse can be found on:
Teachernet at:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/library/schoolnurses/
and Learn Direct at:
http://www.learndirectadvice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile1219/
A more detailed description of the role of a Paediatrician can be found
on the healthcareernet website at:
http://www.healthcareernet.co.uk/Physician/CareerProfiles/PID00101.as
px
The role of the paediatric nurse can be found on the Medical Schools
and Nursing Colleges website at: http://www.medicalcolleges.net/pediatric.htm
A more detailed account of the role of Dieticians can be found on The
British Dietetic Association website at: http://www.bda.uk.com/
A detailed account of the role of a Nutritionist can be found on the
Nutrition Society website at:
http://www.nutritionsociety.org/index.php?q=node/224
There is a useful A-Z list of conditions on the Chartered Society of
Physiotherapy website at:
http://www.csp.org.uk/director/physiotherapyexplained/whatisphysiothera
py.cfm
More details of the role of Physiotherapists can be found on the
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Chartered Society of Physiotherapy website at:
http://www.csp.org.uk/director/physiotherapyexplained.cfm
and on the NHS Careers website at:
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=281
The Royal college of Speech and Language Therapists website provides
a description of the role of a Speech and Language Therapist at:
http://www.rcslt.org/aboutslts/
A description of the role of Speech and Language Support Workers can
be found on the same site at:
http://www.rcslt.org/aboutslts/support_workers
A full description of the role of an Ear, Nose and Throat Consultant can
be found on the ENT UK website at: http://www.entuk.org/entsurgeon/
For an overview of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
(CAMHS) and the roles of CAMHS workers visit the ECM website at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/health/camhs/
A full description of the work of an Occupational Therapist is available
on the College of Occupational Therapists website at:
http://www.cot.co.uk/public/otasacareer/intro/intro.php
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) – provide
Occupational Summaries for Portage Workers at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
There is further information on the role of the portage worker on the
Local Government Careers website at: http://www.lgcareers.com/careerdescriptions/caring-for-your-community/portage-worker/
An outline of the role of an Audiologist can be found on the learn direct
website at:
http://www.learndirectadvice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile1491/
and the nhscareers website at:
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=231
A more detailed description of the role of a Social Worker can be found
on the General Social Care Council website at
http://www.gscc.org.uk/Training+and+learning/Become+a+social+worker
/
And an outline of the Job of Social Worker can be found on the
Connexions website at: http://www.connexionsdirect.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=63&catalogueContentID=2169
Or the Prospects website at:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_
of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&pageno=1&idno=88
An outline of the role of a Social Care Worker is available on the Social
Work Careers website at:
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http://www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/socialcare/what/index.asp
A further description the Job of Social Care Worker can be found on the
Connexions website at: http://www.connexionsdirect.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=63&catalogueContentID=2169
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) website
provides Occupational Summaries for:
 Children and Families Social Workers
 Family Support Workers at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupationalsummaries
Because of the range of counselling available outlines of the role of a
Counsellor can be found on a number of websites, for example,
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) at:
http://www.bacp.co.uk/education/whatiscounselling.html
The Relate website site at:
http://www.relate.org.uk/workforrelate/becomeacounsellor/counsellingyo
ungpeople/
The NHS Carers website at:
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=896
Connexions website at: http://www.connexionsdirect.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=63&catalogueContentID=651
A range of professional profiles for people working with the Substance
Misuse are presented on the Drink and Drugs website at:
http://www.drinkanddrugs.net/jobs/careers.html
An outline of the Job of Substance Misuse Worker can be found on the
Connexions website at: http://www.connexionsdirect.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=63&catalogueContentID=2169
There are 4 levels of teaching Assistant TA1, TA2, TA3 and HLTA
(see Skills4Schools website for details of these levels at:
http://www.skills4schools.co.uk/page.asp?id=63
The Teacher Development Agency (TDA) provide an overview of the
roles of the Learning support staff (TAs, HLTAs and Nursery Nurses)
on their website at: http://www.tda.gov.uk/support.aspx
This site also has information on the roles of other staff, such as:
 Pupil support
 Administrative staff
 Specialist and technical staff
 Site staff
 School business managers

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) – provide
Occupational Summaries for all Early Years Workers in Day
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Nurseries at: http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforcedata/occupational-summaries
The DCFS outline the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator
(SENCO) on their website at:
http://www.schoolsweb.gov.uk/locate/professionaldevelopment/rolesresp
onsibilities/teachingroles/senco/
A detailed SENCO job description is available on the teachernet website
at:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/staffingandprofessionaldevel
opment/jobdescriptions/senco/
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provide a more
detailed Occupational Summary for an Educational Psychologist at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provide the full
Occupational Summary for an Education Welfare Officer at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
The role of a Career Advisor can be found on the Connexions website
at: http://www.connexionsdirect.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?catalogueContentID=647&pid=63
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provide a full
Occupational Summary for Connexions Personal Advisors at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
An outline of the work carried out by Pre-school workers can be
accessed on The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC)
website at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries
An outline of the role of YOTs can be found on the The Every Child
Matters (ECM) website provides an at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthjustice/yot/
and on the Youth Justice Boards website at:
http://www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/yjs/YouthOffendingTeams/
The Every Child Matters (ECM) website provides an outline of the role of
the police service, and the particular role of police officers working with
YOTs at: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthjustice/police/
The role of a PCSO can be found on the Home Office Website at:
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=281
The Every Child Matters (ECM) website provides an insight into how
education and training can play an important part in reducing reoffending through Skills and employment:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthjustice/education/
An outline of the role of a Youth Worker can be found on The National
Youth Agency website at:
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http://www.nya.org.uk/information/100591/100592/108737/nyaguidetoyo
uthworkandyouthservices/
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) – provide
Occupational Summaries for the professional listed below at:
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/workforce-data/occupational-summaries





Children's Centres
Children's Homes
Foster Carers
Nannies
Residential Childcare Workers
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Other useful Websites (some will also appear above)
Brown, K. & White, K. (2006); Exploring the Evidence Base for Integrated
Children’s Services; The Scottish Government; available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/24120649/1
Childrens’ Workforce Development Council: http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
Department of Health: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm
Department for Children Schools and Families: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
Department of Health: Social Care:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/index.htm
Every Child Matters: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/
General Social Care Council website: http://www.gscc.org.uk/Home/
National Youth Association: http://www.nya.org.uk/
Youth Justice Board: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/
Youth Matters: www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/Youth/youthmatters/
Department for Education and Skills (2006a) Sure Start Children’s Centres:
Practice Guidance. www.surestart.gov.uk.
Department for Education and Skills (2006b) Multi-agency working. Toolkit for
practitioners. www.everychildmatters.org.uk
Department for Education and Skills (2006c) Children’s Centres Planning and
Performance Management and Guidance. www.surestart.gov.uk
Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2006) Success Factors.
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/multiagencyworking
Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2006) Benefits of multi-agency
working.
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/multiagencyworking
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/pims-data/summaries/multi-agencyworking-and-its-implications-for-practice-a-review-of-the-literature.cfm
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/pims-data/summaries/analysis-of-childrenand-young-peoples-plans-2007.cfm
Rofe, C. Interagency Work in the Management of Special and Inclusive
Education.
www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialcare/sc68.asp
Inter-agency Work and the Connexions Service (Rowntree)
www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/pdf/D24.pdf
The evaluation of three ‘Communities that Care’ demonstration projects
www.policyhub.gov.uk/news_item/communities_care_jrf.asp
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Benefits of Muti-agency Working
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/multiagencyworking/ben
efitsofmultiagency/
Childrens’ Workforce Development Council: http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
Department of Health: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm
Department for Children Schools and Families: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
Department of Health: Social Care:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/index.htm
Every Child Matters: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/
General Social Care Council website: http://www.gscc.org.uk/Home/
National Youth Association: http://www.nya.org.uk/
Youth Justice Board: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/
Youth Matters: www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/Youth/youthmatters/
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Appendix B
From teaching to Learning – how eLearning can support early
professional development in a workplace setting.
Dr John Ryan - Head of Department – Secondary Education and Lifelong
Learning, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Professor John Dwyfor Davies – Professor of Education, University of the
West of England, Bristol, UK
Athens Institute for Education and Research
11 International Conference on Education
25 – 28 May 2009, Athens, Greece
Abstract:
Trainee teachers in the United Kingdom spend a substantial amount of time
in schools when compared to the time that they now spent at a University
or other Higher Education establishment. For a one year Post-Graduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE) two thirds of a trainee’s time will be
spend in schools and one third at the University. Twenty years ago a
trainee on a PGCE programme would spend approximately two thirds of
their time at the University and one third in a school environment. The
balance of time spent in schools and at the University has therefore shifted
significantly. It could be argued that the school context is much more
focused on trainees’ learning and that the University elements are much
more centered on teaching the trainees. In this sense it would be easy to
conclude that there has been a significant shift from teaching to learning
within teacher education. This paper seeks to explore the positive benefits
and possible constraints surrounding the use of on-line resources designed
to support workplace mentors and trainees. The impact of a significant
increase in the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) and access to
on-line materials within Higher Education, including PGCE training, has
helped shift the nature of teaching and learning approaches. We are
particularly interested in exploring the ways that on-line materials and
discussion forums are being, and could be, used to support learning.
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Context for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England
Historically, certainly prior to the 1980’s, the relationship between schools
and Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in England was hierarchical. As
Edwards (1995) argued, HEIs, on the whole, undertook little or no
consultation with schools in designing their teacher training programmes,
including the school based practical teaching element. The formal
assessment of trainees was carried out by HEI’s and individual action plans
and summary reports drawn up by them. Consequently, teachers had little or
no voice in determining training programmes and played a supporting role in
the assessment and recording of individual performance.
Circular 3/84 ended the freedom of HEIs to do things their way and from the
1990s onwards the then Conservative Government promoted a move to more
school-centred initial teacher training. Initially, this involved a more equal
partnership between schools and HEIs, aiming to improve Initial Teacher
Education by ensuring the schools took the lead in the ‘work based’ element.
The early 1990s also saw the initiation of School Centred Initial teacher
Training Schemes (SCITTS) where schools could work independently of
HEIs.
As a direct consequence of opening up of the market in this way, some in HE
were concerned that over time the nature of training would become ‘skills
based’ and lack the necessary grounding in pedagogical theory. Edwards
(1995:164) refers to the debate at the time, in which some saw school-based
training as a ‘descent into unreflective apprenticeship’ whilst others viewed
the contribution of the HEIs as too remote and theoretical. Edward’s own
view was most prophetic, he argued not that schools should leave the
‘theory’ to higher education, but that…
...they should not do it all. Theory, understood as generalisation from the
critical scrutiny of practice, is an activity in which good schools regularly
engage. The contribution of higher education is to add a wider frame of
reference and a particular commitment to independent enquiry. (p164)
In the mid 1990’s there was then an on-going process of change in the
relationship between HEIs and schools. Furlong et al (1996) referred to the
emergence of three types of partnership: ‘HEI-led’, ‘Collaborative’ and
‘Separatist’ and as Penny and Houlihan (2003, 243) observed ‘each reflected
very different approaches to ‘joint’ activities in the context of ‘partnershipbased’ initial teacher training’.
Given that the key responses to the policy changes introduced in the early
1990s were that the schools had taken on a much more active role in Initial
Teacher Education (Furlong et al 2000) the DfEE, in December 1999, invited
schools to bid to become Training Schools and as such to seek new
innovative ways of improving the quality of Initial Teacher Training.
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The first two phases of the Government’s training school programme were
launched in 2000 and 2001 respectively and eighty two schools were given
training school status and were provided with extra funding by the DfES to
develop and disseminate good practice in ITT and to train teachers to mentor
trainees. As explained by Beardsworth and Lee (2004):
It was expected that the training schools would develop innovative
approaches to teacher training, working with ITT partners in Higher
Education and other areas. (p.367)
In its evaluation of the training schools programme, OFSTED’s (2003) main
focus was the success of the training schools in increasing the number of
trainees in the school and the improvements in the quality of mentoring of
those trainees. Other benefits identified included enhanced opportunities for
on-going professional development of training school staff and the adoption
of a more reflective and analytical approach to teaching. In other words, to a
large extent the initial benefits had been internal to the training school.
Interestingly other sections of the report highlighted a divergence in the
development of the training school model. A small number of schools were
enjoying the opportunity to act as their own provider through a School
Centred Initial Teacher Training Scheme (SCITTS) or the Graduate Teacher
Programme (GTP). Most schools however were unwilling to take on the full
responsibility of an independent provider and were happy to acknowledge
the HEIs ability to provide a wider frame of reference. As the Partnership
model had evolved so the schools had come to value both the contribution of
the HEIs and the expertise they bring. Edwards (1995) view had indeed
proved prophetic.
A decade of policy change has prompted an ‘evolution’ in Initial Teacher
Education with new types of partnerships emerging. There were anxieties on
both sides of the partnerships that were emerging as schools began to
perceive more clearly the demands of providing effective teacher education
and HEIs worried about the possible marginalization of their role in training.
However, within the OFSTED (2003) evaluation there was a sense that each
of the partners in the evolutionary process was now able to appreciate the
contribution that the other could make, thereby reducing the constraints of
anxiety and paving the way for new and innovative partnerships between
schools and HEIs.
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Supporting work place learning with online materials
With trainee teachers required to spend two thirds of time in a ‘work-place’
setting it is very important for HEI and School partners to have knowledge of
effective practice in work-place learning and to be familiar with different
ways of developing and supporting this practice. As identified above, HEIs
have been brought into a partnership model of work-based training through
government legislation which can be traced back over the last two decades.
Arguably, this process is on-going with the common perception remaining
that much of the pedagogical theory is cover by the HEI partner and that the
teacher ‘craft-skills’ are developed through school based mentoring and
teaching practice. The contribution of both partners in this collaborative
process and how they overlap, integrate and support each other is an ongoing challenge for all involved. This is a particularly so as programmes
change over time in response to new demands and government agendas.
A particular concern raised within this paper relates to those areas of work
where expertise and/or ownership is not clearly evident within either partner.
One such area, identified through low scores achieved on the Newly
Qualified Teacher (NQT) survey, is knowledge and understanding of multiagency working which was rated by 32% of trainees nationally as ‘very good
or good’. It would appear that this is an area of work that may be falling
between the two key partners with neither one taking a lead in developing
the training programme to fully incorporate it.
Our own research with trainees nearing the end of their one year
Postgraduate programme of training revealed a serious lack of awareness of
key practice – and significant ignorance about multi-professional practice
when working with pupils experiencing special educational needs and/or
vulnerability.
When asked what they understood by the term and concept of ‘multiprofessional working’, some of the responses received included:

Working with the wider school - outside your subject specialism

The ability to work within a number of subject areas, working
academically and pastorally

I think in the case of a teacher it would mean they take the role of
teacher/social worker

Working within the wider school environment, not just the subject
teaching but all elements of the job.

As a guess, different professionals working together.

Working above and beyond the classroom?

Someone who has a number of skills in different areas
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Others stated that they had absolutely no idea of this meant and had not
heard the term used whilst on work-based placements
Our research with trainees also highlights concerns relating to wider issues
around a workplace training model and draws attention to the ‘lottery’ that
reflects the reality of workplace learning for trainee teachers. Within this,
much depends on the school a trainee happens to be placed in and the
mentor’s enthusiasm, experience and knowledge for certain parts of the
curriculum. Responding to a questionnaire that asked trainees to reflect their
experience of school placement(s), and to identify the extent to which their
subject mentor, Senior Professional Tutor (SPT), or other staff (e.g. Special
Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) supported them in the area of
multi-agency working, nearly 15% stated that they had received inadequate
or no support.
Whilst some students had been fortunate in receiving high quality support
from each placement school:

“Both schools were very supportive, particularly with regard to the
standards highlighted above” (Trainee A)
Others were not so fortunate, drawing attention to the fact that whilst they
may well have received adequate support of this nature whilst working in one
school, they had experienced little support in another:

“A-placement: SPT arranged speakers e.g. a present support advisor
to visit the group. This was very useful and interesting.” (Trainee
B)

“B-placement: SPT has only recently considered the Standards –
the SPT asked us to identify gaps and offered to help us ‘plug’ any
we did not have covered. As trainees, we managed to ‘plug’ gaps
between us.” (Trainee C)
This raises concern about the inherent inability of guaranteeing high quality
provision across all training sits and raises alarms about the potential
‘lottery’ of training placements and the challenge facing providers in
ensuring quality support across all placements.
With the time spent at University now greatly reduced it is increasingly
difficult to find time to cover an ever expanding curriculum within the
university programme. Similarly in schools, it may be difficult to provide
trainees with sufficient opportunities to engage fully with all desirable
aspects of the training, particularly those, such as multi-agency working,
which are beyond teaching in the classroom.
Attempting to address this challenge by retaining a view of teacher training
that is firmly rooted in the notion of conventional teaching would seem
inadequate. A more productive approach to the task might be to view the
new model for what it really is – ‘workplace learning’, with trainees taking
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greater responsibility for their own development whilst their mentors accept
a wider role as providers of support and resources to facilitate that learning.
‘Workplace learning’ is itself an umbrella term that can assume a number of
different forms and not all are appropriate for the task of preparing new
entrants to the teaching profession acquire knowledge and skills in complex
areas such as that of working as a part of a multi-professional team.
The National Workplace Learning Network site identifies the following
forms of workplace learning opportunities and draws attention to the fact that
learning opportunities come in many guises in the workplace - for example:
On-the-job - sometimes called ‘sitting with Nellie’, where you watch
someone more experienced than you to see how they do something. Within
any school, there is little opportunity to observe this within the context of
‘multi-professional’ work since very few take place within a school setting –
and even were they to, practical engagement would be difficult due to factors
such as ‘confidentiality’.
Experiential learning and Training transfer – the former refers to learn
from experience and interaction and the latter refers to finding opportunities
to use new skills learned in a ‘real’ work situation.. As is the case for ‘onthe-job’ training, difficulty in accessing experiences that relate to multiprofessional working whilst on school placement means that there is very
little likelihood that trainees can develop the necessary knowledge and skills
during this phase of their professional development.
Informal learning activities – relates to a lot of different styles and may not
even feel like ‘learning’. This could be things that are learnt which are
relevant to work through informal activities such as hobbies or games,
through to role play scenarios or ‘brain-storming’ sessions. While some
trainees may well gain access to experiences that will enable them to gain an
insight into multi-professional working through such activities, the very
nature of this (being primarily informal and coincidental) means that it does
not lend itself to a form of learning that can be guaranteed or made
accessible across large cohorts.
Formal training and development opportunities – these are usually
structured, often assessed and may well be led by an organisational training
need. The time-pressures experienced by trainees whether at the workplace
or at university, have already been acknowledged. Attempting to offer
further taught elements to this is unlikely to be realistic.
Coaching and peer support – where someone either in a senior role or at
the same level (peer) supports and encourages the learner to develop so they
achieve their potential. .This has potential for supporting trainee
development within the workplace - but again confronts the barriers that are
experienced by other forms of work-place learning opportunities unless it is
possible to provide those who are undertaking the coaching role with the
information necessary to help trainees in specialist areas of the curriculum.
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It is also challenging to provide programme staff, HEI and school based
mentors, with appropriate Continuing Professional Development
opportunities to up-skill them to deliver effective training in all areas. New
and different ways of addressing this problem has led many within the
education community to consider eLearning as an appropriate methodology.
In the case of HEIs there has certainly been a drive towards more flexible
modes of learning, with eLearning being a desirable option with students
recruited to programmes from very diverse geographical locations. Turney
et al (2009, 71) drawing upon the work Jones and O’Shea, 2004, Laurillard,
2002, and Sharpe et al 2006, concludes that ‘Technology is increasingly
being exploited for learning and teaching in universities around the world’.
Although for trainee teachers University attendance is normally a
requirement with eLearning used to support this work, much of the trainees
time is spend away from the university in schools and it is in this context that
eLearning offers a real opportunity to support their training at a distance.
When Multi-agency working was identified as an area of work that was not
currently being addressed with any great success we began to produce
support materials to enable trainees to engage with this topic. To provide
flexibility in the training programme it was decided that these materials
should be web based so that they could be made available to school based
mentors to support their work with trainees to supplement anything that was
done at the university. As Turney ibid, drawing upon Inglis et al (2002),
points out technology is used largely because it is considered to offer greater
flexibility in relation to time, place, pace, entry and exit. However,
flexibility is only one consideration in choosing to use online materials
within a training programme, there are many other things to take into
account such as, the efficacy of technology in engaging learners/trainees,
perhaps linked to trainees preferred learning styles, their access and use of
ICT and the competing demands on their time.
Using online material to support work place learning would appear to be a
pragmatic and relatively unproblematic way of delivering certain course
content. It certainly provides the potential for access and learning
opportunities for students off-campus as outlined by Biggs (2003), and it
may also enable the programme delivery to engage in a more ‘blended’
approach to learning (Sharpe et la, 2006). It is, however, likely to create
fewer difficulties than might be the case with other eLearning approaches
and activities involving online teaching, and direct communication to
provide guidance and support, see, for example, the eight different modes of
eLearning delivery outlined by Harris (1999). However, Seol (2008), in
discussing the transactional distance between the e-teacher and eLearners,
highlights concerns about highly structured programmes that have low levels
of dialogue between the instructor and learners, and these concerns might
equally be applied to the provision online materials that are left for the
learner to interpret.
In the case of trainee teachers who are based in a work place for a period of
time online support material may not be a very effective tool without proper
consideration of how both mentors and trainees interact with them. Where
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there is appropriate mentor-trainee engagement with online supporting
stimulus material it is likely that positive learner development will take
place. Constructivist learning theories and in particular Vygotsky (1978)
theory of a zone of proximal development appear to be clearly reflected in
this mentoring relationship.
An opportunity for exploring the use of electronic resources was identified in
the process of carrying out some research into support for trainee teachers in
the field of multi-agency working. The Teacher Development Agency
(TDA) made funding available to support this development and a research
and development proposal was approved as one of sixteen related projects
nationally.
Aims and rationale
Within the aims and rationale of the proposed work, we identified the fact
that teachers had become subject statutory requirements to engage with and
collaborate in multi-agency procedures for dealing with vulnerable and atrisk children and children with special educational needs. This project aimed
to help school-based mentors to support and prepare student teachers with
the capacity to take on such roles and to develop the necessary skills to
coordinate and manage these agencies. The key rationale for this project,
therefore, was to translate the evidence base from research on multi-agency
action and the co-ordination of assessment for children and young people
with special educational needs into practice-based learning materials that
could be delivered in electronic form – and preferably, on-line.
This project therefore, aimed to build a competency base in ITT to respond
to the challenge and opportunity of managing and coordinating multi-agency
working at the service of children with special educational need
The methodology that seemed most appropriate was that of a mixed methods
approach that incorporated the following elements:
 Desk survey of pertinent literature [meta-analysis of date] relating to
multi- professional working
 Semi-structured interviews with key professionals involved in
working in multi- disciplinary teams in schools
 Focus groups comprising key professionals working in managing
multi- professional teams
The desired outcomes included:




an accessible summary of the literature on working within and
managing multi-professional contexts.
summary of central and professional policies for children's services
that impact on teacher responsibilities
guidance on the diverse values, practices and accountabilities across
diverse agencies
information and guidance on how to engage and liaise with other
agencies in the identification and verification of vulnerable children
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and how to orchestrate and, where appropriate, manage collaborative
action across professional groups for 'combined assessment' practices
Critically however, the aim was to make such support material accessible
and deliverable in a format that could would be easily available to mentors at
the workplace. It also needed to be in a form that would engage trainees and
that could be readily up-dated in response to the changing policy and
practice contexts. The benefits of producing the material on-line meant that
trainees and their mentors could access the materials at any time and work
with them at a pace that best suited their needs. We were also conscious of
the fact that the materials needed to be presented in a format that enabled
both trainees and mentors work with them irrespective of their preferred
learning styles and to make the materials as interactive as possible.
Our research indicated that to be useful, the material needed to be located
within key sub-themes. These are illustrated below. Figure 1, for example,
was designed to provide an overview of key themes and issues relating to
multi-agency working.
This introductory page was then hyperlinked to other relevant resources that
were either generated by the university team, in collaboration with other
members of the extended workforce, or linked directly to specific websites
and/or web pages that contained additional material and information. In this
way both mentors and tutees could pursue their enquiries at a level
appropriate to their needs. This meant that where a mentor needed to simply
raise awareness amongst tutees, this could be done quickly and easily.
Where however, the tutee may wish to investigate particular issues and
topics in more depth for example, to support a written assignment, this too
was possible through the electronic links. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the type
of material that were hyperlinked.
It seemed important that the resource be designed in a form that provided
trainee teachers in England with an understanding and a working knowledge
of the key instrument used across agencies when working with vulnerable
young people is that of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). This
again was produced in a format that facilitated accessing links across a
complex range of themes and issues. Figure 4 illustrates these links. A
number of case studies were also produced as a resource for tutors, that
could facilitate collaborative, as well as individual learning opportunities as
illustrated in figure 5.
In addition to the concern for ‘transactional distance’ Seok (2008) outlined
above, there is also a concern that simply making resources available online
will not be enough to enable learning to take place. It is also recognised that
providing resources alone may not represent a ‘new form of pedagogy’ as
suggested by Smith and Meyen, (2003, p1). However, it is a method that is
worth considering in terms of the support it could provide for individuals
working at a distance and/or in a work place setting.
Providing access to online materials may, at the very least, provide a
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framework, or a ‘scaffold’, for individual learner development to take place
as Turney et al (2009) suggests:
Despite this, the ability of students to use technology to repeatedly return to
resources was a clear benefit. The constant availability of resources allowed
students to take responsibility for their own study at a pace appropriate for
the learner. (p81)
In considering the use of online materials it is possible to see some direct
links to the comprehensive literature on learning styles (Entwistle, 1997;
Gardner, 2000; Honey and Mumford, 1992 and 2001; and Silver et al, 2004)
as online materials can provide opportunities for individuals to learn beyond
the ‘taught’ classroom, on their own and/or in collaboration with peers and
mentors. Learning styles is not however an uncontested area itself, for
example, Coffield et al (2004) highlights a number of issues about the
authenticity and significance of learning styles within the learning process, a
caution to bear in mind when promoting the use of online materials to
support preferred learning styles in the workplace.
Other concerns have also been raised about the significance of ICT in
supporting and enhancing learning, in particular the context(s) in which
supporting evidence has been gathered (see for example, Convery 2009,
Somekh 2007, Reynolds et al 2003 and Selwyn 2002). Convery (2009, p27)
raises concerns about the ‘cultural context in which educational technology
research is commissioned.’ He describes how in countries such as, the UK,
the USA and Australia government technology agencies stress the
importance of the use of technology in education from the perspective of
skills development for the future workforce.
If this is the case, finding from research and development work carried out
by government agencies, such as Becta in the UK, would need to be carefully
scrutinised for their impact on learning and teaching, in addition to any skills
development that has taken place. Convery (2009, p27) states that
government agencies stress ‘the importance of developing technological
skills for securing national economic competitive advantage’, with
presumably less emphasis within their research on more complex questions
about the significance of technology in cognitive development and the
learning process.
Somekh (2004) highlights a lack of impact resulting from enormous amounts
of money spent by the UK Government on information technology initiatives
within the field of education throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s and into the
21st Century. The lack of engagement with technology of many working
within the education profession over such a long period is interesting, and it
may, however, have more to do with the robustness of the technology
available at that time than any particular pedagogical concerns. There is no
doubt that as technology has advanced in recent years with, for example,
Interactive Whiteboards and Internet use now evident in many learning
situations, the significance of technology is not be ignored.
The area of technology research may develop as a consequence of more
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active engagement with technology in learning and teaching at the present
time, but Convery (2009) suggests that there remains a lack of critical debate
within this area. Drawing upon Somekh’s experiences within the field of
educational technology research over two decades, he highlights how, for
example, at conferences ICT researchers can find themselves annexed off as
a sub-group, left to present their research findings within ‘something of a
closed shop’ (Selwyn 2006, p 418, cited in Convery 2009, p30).
Whilst recognising that the use of on-line resources has their limitations and
that it remains a contentious area, we believe nevertheless, that it remains a
vehicle that is well worth exploring to unable us to support the early
professional development of trainees who are required to spend a substantial
amount of their time in a workplace setting. Early indications from our work
suggests that at the very least, it provides a framework for independent study
and at best, it enables meaningful discourse between mentors and trainees in
areas where neither have a substantial amount of expertise or confidence.
Bibliography
Biggs, J. (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at University.
Buckingham: Open University Press.
Coffield, F., Moseley, E., Hall, E., Ecclestone, K (2004) Should we be
using learning style? What research has to say to practice. London:
Learning and Skills Research Centre.
Convery, A (2009) The pedagogy of the impressed: how teachers become
victims of technological vision. Teachers and Teaching: theory and
practice, Vol 15, No 1, February 2009, 25-41
Department of Education and Science (DES) (1984) Initial Teacher
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Edwards, D (1995) Common Knowledge: The development of
understanding in the classroom. London: Routledge
Entwistle, N, J (1997) Styles of learning and teaching: An integrated
outline of educational psychology for students, and lecturers. London:
David Fulton
Furlong, J (2000) HE and the New Professionalism for Teachers: realising
the potential of partnership. CVCP/SCOP
Gardner, H (2000) Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the
21st century. New York: Basic Books.
Harris, D (1999) Internet-based learning tools. In French, D; Hale, C;
Johnson, C and Farr, G (Eds), Internet based learning (pp 165-177).
Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Honey, P and Mumford, A (1992) The manual of Learning Styles.
Maidenhead: Peter Honey
Honey, P and Mumford, A (2001) The learning styles questionnaire: 80item version. Maidenhead: Peter Honey
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Reynolds, D., Treharne, D & Tripp, H (2003) ICT – the hopes and the
reality. British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 34, No 2, 151-167
Selwyn, N (2002) Learning to love the micro: The discursive construction
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Sharpe, R., Benfield, G., Roberts, G & Francis, R (2006) ‘The
Undergraduate Experience of Blended e-Learning: A Review of UK
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Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
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Turney, C.S.M., Robinson, D., Lee, M & Soutar, A., (200(9) ‘Using
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Figure
1
The role of the
Main agencies
Likely to be
involved?
What is
Multi-Agency
working
Childrens’ Workforce
Development Council
Multi-agency
working
Information Sharing
Collaboration Models of Service
Delivery
Contact Point
Figure 2
Multi-agency working
The following extract, taken from an Every Child Matters fact sheet, provides a
useful outline of what multi-agency working is:
Multi-agency working is about different services joining forces in order to prevent problems from occurring in
the first place. It is an effective way of supporting children and families with additional needs and helping to
secure real improvements in their life outcomes.
Background to Multi-agency working
Since the publication of the Green Paper Every Child Matters (Sept 2003), health, youth justice, social care,
youth work, voluntary and community sector and other children’s services have been joining forces to work
more collaboratively around a preventative and early intervention agenda.
Multi-agency working has been shown to be an effective way of addressing the wide range of cross-cutting risk
factors that contribute to poorer outcomes for children and young people. Local areas are undertaking an
extensive reconfiguration of services, to offer earlier, more coherent support, which meets the needs of children
and families in convenient locations and in a more streamlined way.
The ECM fact sheet is available at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/16BD8C63438670F6C07F6D5FF5EAD178.pdf
Figure 3
34
Back
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Health
1 National Service Framework
2 Department of Health
3 Roles and Responsibilities
Education
1 Department for Children,
Schools and Families
2 Roles and Responsibilities
1 National Service Framework
2 Department of Health – Social Care
3 Roles and Responsibilities
Third Sector
Youth Justice
(The Voluntary, Community and
Faith sector (VCF) or the Private,
Voluntary and Independent sector (PVI),
1 National Council for
Voluntary Organisations
2Roles and Responsibilities
Social Care
1 Youth Offending Teams
2 Youth Justice Board
3 Roles and Responsibilities
Youth Work
1 National Youth Association
2 Roles and Responsibilities
Back
Figure 4
Why have Common Assessment?
What is the Common Assessment
Framework (CAF)?
Who will need or need to know
about the Common Assessment
Framework (CAF)?
How to do the Common
Assessment
When might a common
assesment be initiated?
Training in the Operation of CAF
Additional support available for
professionals working with CAF
Benefits and the Factors that
affect partnership working
What happens next?
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Figure 5
Henry is 8 years old the middle child of three children born to African Caribbean parents. He was
diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at age of 8 years which was appreciated by his family and
education providers. He is a quiet unsociable child and plays the piano. He lives with his mother father,
brother and sister. His grandparents live far away
Voluntary sector / Community network
Jehovah witness community
Member of National Autistic Society
Friends locally
Health provision and support
Health visitor
Community paediatrician
Doctor
Occupational therapist
Speech and language therapist
Communication disorder clinic
Social care provision
Disability care allowance
HENRY
Educational provision
Teacher in mainstream school
Learning support assistant
Special educational needs coordinator
Educational psychologist
Local authority administrators
36