TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Originator:
Amanda Noble
Date:
24 March 2014
Approved by:
Type:
Strategy
Revised:
[Date]
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Contents
Introduction
3–4
Priority 1: Organisational Development
5–6
Priority 2: Management Development
6–7
Priority 3: The Development of Staff and Professionalisation of Teaching
7–9
Priority 4: Effective Performance Management
9 - 10
Priority 5: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
10 - 11
Priority 6: Continuous Improvement of Service Deliver
11 – 12
Appendix 1: Leeds College of Art Training and Development Planning Cycle Model
2
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Introduction
This Training and Development Framework sets out the training and development
priorities that will be implemented in the period 2014-2017. It supports the achievement
of the goals set out in the Human Resources Enabling Strategy and is in-line with the
objectives contained in the Leeds College of Art Strategic Plan 2012-2017. It has been
developed following consultation with Heads of Departments, Senior Managers and
supported by the Senior Management Team.
Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing operational environment the intention of this
framework is to make a valuable contribution to organisational performance. Its purpose
is to link training and development activities systematically with business needs and to
establish priorities and plans for activities and resources, as demonstrated in the Leeds
College of Art Training and Development Planning Cycle model, in Appendix 1.
This training and development framework supports the Leeds College of Art Strategic Plan
2012-2017 and, reinforces the College’s commitment to the development of its staff. The
College will support effective staff development and the professionalisation of teaching to
ensure that we will have well trained and skilled staffs that are able to deliver its
strategic objectives and deliver a high level of student experience and satisfaction.
This commitment is part of a long term policy of supporting the development of staff
across the College and thereby enhancing the overall level of core workplace skills and in
turn the performance of the organisation. There are a number of priorities within the
College’s Strategic Plan which align with the work undertaken by the training and
development function. These are:

To provide student-centred teaching and training in an environment which nurtures
excellence, leads to graduate success, and supports economic growth and cultural
enhancement.

To develop our research practice and innovation which enhances teaching and
learning.

To consolidate our reputation as an influential art school, collaborating with others
locally, nationally and internationally to support student success and cultural
advancement.

To further evolve a vibrant and professional culture which attracts and retains staff
who actively engage in self-development and make a full contribution to the
College community.

To further develop an inclusive community which welcomes staff and students from
a wide range of cultures and backgrounds.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
This strategy is aligned with both the Human Resource Enabling Strategy and the Leeds
College of Art Strategic Plan 2012-2017 in that is recognises that the Colleges greatest
asset is its staff. This is underpinned by the following set of principles and priorities:

Our staff are our most valuable asset that play the definitive role in the learning
experience of our students.

Attracting and retaining well-qualified, high-performing and motivated staff is of
utmost importance to our future success.

Our employees should feel valued in the workplace with their contribution
appropriately and fairly recognised.

Continuing development is essential as the College seeks to support and maximise
talent and help employees to perform at their best.

Appreciating and valuing the diversity of our people will develop an inclusive
community which welcomes staff and students from a wide range of cultures and
backgrounds.
This training and development framework is based around 6 key training and development
priorities which the team lead and champion on behalf of the College which supports the
College operationally:
1. Organisational Development
2. Management Development
3. The Development of Staff and Professionalisation of Teaching
4. Effective Performance Management
5. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
6. Continuous Improvement of Service Delivery
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Priority 1: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
To deliver a sustainable organisational development function that meets current and
future training and development needs of the College.
Background
The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education describes Organisational Development as:
“….. work that focuses on how an organisation functions. In essence, organisational
development in higher education is about helping the HEI to harness more of its collective
talents in order to succeed in its various joint endeavours: enhancing the quality of the
student experience; supporting and directing the expansion and extension of the field of
human knowledge and understanding; or establishing thriving enterprise ventures. The
benefits from OD actions can be described in terms of an organisation’s capacity to learn
and change.”
By adopting this methodology this will ensure Leeds College of Art has the right people
with the right skills that have intelligent flexibility to become more versatile and
interchangeable to deliver our strategy both now and in the future.
With the ever-evolving nature of the business Leeds College of Art has always had its
foundations deeply rooted in the delivery of excellence in teaching and learning. With the
most recent change seeing the College transfer to the higher education sector the priority
of the staff development function is to ensure that staff across the organisation have the
necessary skills and behaviours to perform outstandingly within this sector whilst
maintaining its reputation as a College of choice within further education.
Leeds College of Art values and is committed to developing all its staff’s capabilities and
commitment through a wide range of individual and organisational training and
development opportunities and programmes.
To do this we will:

Develop an interrelated organised approach to talent management and workforce
planning that will identify and develop our leaders for the future, ensuring we are
equipped with “home grown” talent.

Systematically identify and review all training and development requirements and
activities through the effective use of the College’s probationary and annual
progress review processes and develop an annual training plan based on operational
need.

Identify future development needs and develop a culture of succession planning
through the utilisation of departmental annual CPD plans and review staffing
capabilities in all areas to ensure that we have the skills needed for the future
whilst keeping costs within the sector norm.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Share best practice in others and take opportunities to be a training organisation
through knowledge transfer and internal and external networking.

Deliver a comprehensive training and development induction for all new and
recently promoted staff to promote individual ownership of staff development.

Support the Learning Teaching and Enhancement Strategy by facilitating
development opportunities and events that meet training needs identified through
the lesson observation and peer review processes.

Support the Research Strategy through the facilitation of scholarly activity and
knowledge transfer.

Assist staff in gaining professional recognition of their excellence in delivering
teaching and learning by supporting all HE staff in gaining accreditation of the HEA.
Priority 2: MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
To design, develop and deliver a sustainable, integrated management development
programme that aligns with the operational and strategic business strategy.
Background
Prior to 2010 Leeds College of Art outsourced its management development training.
Sector Training were contracted to deliver its “Managers into Leaders” programme on an
annual basis to a cohort of up to 12 staff cross college. The Training and Development
Officer as part of a comprehensive evaluation participated on this training programme,
alongside researching leadership and management development methodologies and
practices in relation to both the education sector and the wider business community.
Findings from this research identified the programme was very much focused on the FE
sector. Although the delivery was good the programme content was no longer fit for
purpose and aligned with the College’s strategic objective in gaining HEI status and
transferring into the HE sector.
The Training and Development Officer has developed an integrated, holistic management
development programme that will equip managers throughout the organisation with the
skills and knowledge they need to meet both present and future challenges ensuring
sustainable organisational performance.
This management development programme will enable participants to translate strategy
into effective workforce performance and contribute to meeting the College’s strategic
objectives.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
To do this we will:

Incorporate a range of training methods and resources.

Promote the College’s mission and values in delivering excellence in teaching and
learning through effective management.

Link Leeds College of Art management competencies, probation and annual
progress reviews to programme delivery content.

Assist our managers in reflecting on their abilities and encourage ownership of their
own professional development.

Complete skills audits and incorporate a range of development opportunities to
meet current and future training needs identified.

Participants and their Managers to agree a timetable of mandatory and optional
events to ensure the programme is fit for purpose and fully supported within each
individual departmental areas.

Promote cross discipline integration through knowledge transfer and internal
networking.

In support of this process a peer support programme will run concurrently with
experienced and competent senior staff supporting delivery and promoting a
shared vision.

Integrate specialist knowledge into the programme through the delivery of sessions
by senior internal staff and external high-quality professionals of management and
behavioural skills training.

Integrate a continuous and comprehensive evaluation process to ensure this
programme remains fit for purpose and enhances staffs performance.
PRIORITY 3: THE DEVELOPMENT OF STAFF AND PROFESSIONALISATION OF TEACHING
Ensure that we have well trained and skilled staff who are able to deliver our strategic
objectives and deliver a high level of student experience and satisfaction in-line with the
College’s mission, values and vision.
Background
With major changes to funding and tuition fees, and students becoming increasingly vocal
about the quality and expectations of their HE experience the landscape for UK Higher
Education is becoming increasingly challenging. Strategic investment in staff development
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
will contribute to staff’s abilities in meeting such challenges and will ensure that all
academic and support staff are able to contribute fully to meet organisational objectives.
The underlying focus of all our staff development activity is presented in this training and
development framework. The staff development activity itself can take many forms –
formal and informal training, internal and external courses, e-learning, attendance at
conferences and exhibitions, scholarly activity and further qualifications.
The College’s policy is that the progress of each member of staff will be initially reviewed
through the College’s probationary process. After satisfactory completion of this, each
staff member will then progress onto the annual progress review process. These allow for
an exchange of views to take place between job-holders and their immediate managers.
These review processes are used as the initial identification of individual training needs
within the College, which can be identified by the manager or staff member. Ad hoc
requests generated by managers and staff members are considered throughout the course
of the year.
To do this we will:

Ensure all training and development activity is linked to organisational and
operational strategic objectives.

Prioritise training needs identified to provide staff and managers with the required
skills and competence to perform their roles efficiently and effectively.

Ensure all academic and support staff have the essential qualifications identified in
their job descriptions to enable them to meet the requirements of their roles.

Provide opportunities for all staff to engage in on-going training and professional
development through one staff development week each academic year and,
continuous activities on an on-going basis.

Support the College’s strategic aim of gaining Taught Degree Awarding Powers
through identification of training and development opportunities that promote
professionalism of teaching and learning at the College.

Strengthen subject-specialist knowledge and encourage staff to develop their
research through promotion of scholarly activity.

Ensure the use of Portal and E Studio are used effectively to promote training and
development activity and share good practice cross College.

Develop a training plan and undertake skills audits for all staff to identify staff’s
current and future training and development requirements.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Monitor and continuously review the APR process to ensure it remains fit for
purpose and continues to support the identification, delivery and evaluation of
training and development.

Rigorously monitor budget expenditure to ensure training and development activity
provides value for money.

Provide opportunities for staff to meet both legislative and procedural
requirements related to their individual roles by attending training such as health
and safety, equality diversity and inclusion, policy and procedure, and
management development training.

Promote the College’s commitment to realise and invest in the potential of all its
staff by maintaining its Investors in People Standard.
PRIORITY 4: EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Effectively manage the performance of staff to enhance their contribution to the strategic
objectives of the College.
Background
Performance management is a key tool in ensuring staff engage in their own training and
development. This is done through the College’s probation and annual progress review
processes, and fosters a continuous process of development for all.
It is critical that managers understand and effectively implement the College’s
performance management processes. The College has recently reviewed its probationary
periods policy, its appraisal process (the annual progress review) and its capability policy.
These policies provide managers with the clarity to support their teams to embrace
change, engage in a business-like environment and to tackle under performance where it
exists.
Linked to our management development initiatives we will ensure that our managers are
trained in performance management practices to enable them to be more proactive in
performance managing their staff to ensure that the College achieves its strategic aims
and objectives.
To do this we will:

Ensure managers positively engage in performance management by promoting the
effectiveness of a robust and efficient method of engaging staff in developing their
capabilities and promoting a learning culture.

Support managers in managing expectation whilst actively promoting realistic and
achievable training and development ambitions.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Identify cross College training and development themes and implement
development opportunities to meet these needs, based on operational need.

Encourage managers and staff to agree realistic and achievable training and
development aims and objectives in-line with the College’s strategic objectives.

Evaluate all training and development activity to ensure value for money and
impact to business delivery.
PRIORITY 5: EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Support the College’s strategic objective in continuing to develop as an Investors in
Diversity institution.
Background
Equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded within all areas of service delivery in the
College, and there is a transparent culture of openness and fairness for all staff. By
encompassing equality, diversity and inclusion within training and development all
cultures and values are embraced and respected by both our students and staff.
As well as this cultural aspect of equality, diversity and inclusion the College is aware that
all staff need to be aware of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, and that
we have a legal obligation to comply with the Public Sector Equalities Duties. These
include the need to:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct
prohibited by the Act.

Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected
characteristic and those who do not.

Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and
those who do not.
Through training and development at the College we will ensure that managers are
supported in continuing to develop a culture that meets these obligations.
To do this we will:

Provide equality and diversity awareness training to all staff which is delivered
through e-learning at induction to ensure all staff are fully trained in their
responsibilities relating to equality, diversity and inclusion.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Bridge the gap between the College’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and
service delivery through on-going specific training and development. To achieve
this we will work collaboratively with external bodies to provide sector training to
all staff, which is linked to the identification of good practice in teaching and
learning across the College.

Develop this training to be flexible and responsive to external changes, challenges
and the needs of the sector.

Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion themes are embedded in all training
courses and activities and challenge any unacceptable behaviour.

Remove physical and non-physical barriers which might prevent staff from fully
engaging in training and development.

Promote the College’s commitment to internationalisation by promoting an
international multi-cultural ethos within all dimensions of training and
development.
PRIORITY 6: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY
To continuously evaluate the delivery of service of the training and development function.
Background
The success of the training and development function at Leeds College of Art not only
depends on learning outcomes but also how knowledge transfer is embedded into service
delivery. To measure the value, worth, merit or effectiveness of a programme,
information about individual learners must be aggregated to provide a holistic picture of
over-all service delivery.
Quality assurance measures are built into the design and delivery of all training and
development activity. Implementation and delivery costs for training, individual and
organisational satisfaction measures will provide qualitative and quantitative evidence in
the form of monthly reports to the Head of Human Resources and quarterly reports to the
Senior Management Team.
To do this we will:

Incorporate a robust evaluation process as part of the development of all internal
training activity and ensure that each programme is fit for purpose.

Evaluate all completed training and development activity against immediate
general effectiveness. The College’s annual progress review process will be used
to determine the long term effectiveness of all activities.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Research and analyse strategies for determining the identification of training and
development needs and develop appropriate training strategies to capture this.

Review the design of documents to obtain information from staff as to the
effectiveness of all training activity completed.
The Training and Development Framework is overseen by the College’s Training and
Development Officer. Action plans are determined annually for the following year by the
College’s Training and Development Officer and submitted for approval to the College’s
Head of Human Resources and Senior Management Team. The Training and Development
Officer is accountable to the Head of Human Resources for the delivery of this framework.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Appendix 1
Leeds College of Art
Training and Development Planning Cycle
Learning and
Development
Organisation
Strategic
Direction
Human Resource
Enabling Strategy
and Training and
Development
Framework
Strategic
Objectives
Annual training
plan
Annual
Operational Plans
Training needs
identified to
support annual
operational plans
Cascade of
objectives
through Annual
Progress Reviews
Completion of
personal
development
needs linked with
annual progress
reviews
Tasks to be
acheived
Training and
development
activity
Measures of
achievement
Outcomes and
evaluation of
training and
development
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