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Community Learning and Development Constituency (CL&D) Panel
25 opportunities to influence constituency issues

A new panel, which will be crucial in informing the strategic decision-making of the Lifelong Learning UK Council on constituency-specific issues, is inviting nominations to participate.

The Community Learning and Development Constituency (CL&D) Panel will work on behalf of CL&D employers and stakeholders in boosting the performance of the constituency and will form part of the LLUK governance structure. The panel aims to represent and engage with employers and stakeholders in order to identify, advise and influence the LLUK Council and Country Panels on constituency concerns, issues and policies. It will assist, shape and monitor the work of the SSC in promoting lifelong learning.

Due to the diverse nature of the constituency, the composition of membership will be agreed for each panel by the LLUK Employer and Stakeholder Relations team in consultation with the LLUK Council and other key stakeholders. While the majority representation will be given to employers, the panel is committed to being fully representative of the constituency in terms of the diversity of the work area, geographic location and size of employer/membership body.

The new panel will be chaired by a member of the LLUK Council and will include representatives from each of the Country Panels to ensure consistency of approach. There will be a maximum of 25 members on the panel, including observers and a minimum of one Trade Union observer.

For more information please contact Alix Craven on 01132 410422 or 07971 961 620.
January 2006.



Developing the Standards Framework:
Consultation on the first draft of the New Professional Standards in Teaching, Tutoring and Training for the Learning and Skills Sector 2005-2007
Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) is taking forward the work on reforming the standards for teaching, tutoring and training in the Learning and Skills Sector in England. The proposal is for a basic minimum standard (Entry Award or ‘Passport’) to be attained by all new teachers, tutors and trainers in the sector, with a framework structure in place beyond this, leading to a benchmark qualification (Qualified Teacher/ Tutor/ Trainer in the Learning and Skills Sector – QTLS) which will then confer a ‘Licence to Practise’. The proposal is for a basic minimum standard to be attained by all new teachers, tutors and trainers in the sector, with a framework structure in place beyond this, leading to a benchmark qualification.

Following consultations with learning and skills sector practitioners and stakeholders in October, LLUK has produced its second draft of overarching standards for tutoring, teaching and training in the sector and is now consulting on the appropriateness of the new drafts, and plans to begin a dialogue with stakeholders on the development of the framework for qualifications for the sector.

A series of full day consultation workshops were held in January 2006:

For more details, please see www.lluk.org.uk/events/workshops_01_06.html.

Enhancing the role of voluntary and community organisations
Two new reports, launched by the Government on 22 March 2005, aim to 'level the playing field between the voluntary and community sector and public sector bodies, and further unlock the potential of voluntary and community groups for good'. Developing Capacity: Next steps for ChangeUp is the lastest report on the ChangeUp programme, a capacity building framework for the voluntary and community sector which was launched last June.

The consultation document, Strengthening Partnerships: Next steps for Compact, looked at progress made to date by the Compact on Relations between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), which was adopted in 1998. The Compact has been criticised for its lengthy codes, evidence of poor practice, and the lack of a mechanism to recognise good practice, or highlight behaviour which is not compliant with the Compact. The report asked how the Compact can be further developed in order to meet to meet these challenges and strengthen the relationships between Government and VCS..

Federation members received a copy of the ChangeUp report in their members' mailing in April 2005.

Update Nov 2005:
The latest news on ChangeUp can be found at http://communities.homeoffice.gov.uk/activecomms/sup-vcs/changeup/?version=1
The results of the Strengthening Partnerships: Next Steps for Compact consultation are now being analysed and the Home Office and Compact Working Group will be producing joint final proposals to take forward the findings toward the end of 2005.

Firm Foundations: Government framework for community capacity building
On 8 December 2004, the Government launched the 'Firm Foundations' report. Following on from the Building Civil Renewal review and consultation, the report highlights how the government is working to enable more communities to help themselves and engage more effectively with public bodies.

Click here for the Home Office Active Communities pages where you can download Firm Foundations. To order a copy of Firm Foundations, contact: Collette Ogilvie, Civil Renewal Unit, Communities Group, Home Office, Allington Towers, 19 Allington Street, London SW1E 5EB; Tel 020 7035 5305; Fax 020 7035 5386; Email collette.ogilvie@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. See below for the Federation's input into the review earlier in 2004.

Working Together: A Strategy for the Voluntary and Community Sector and the Learning and Skills Council

Consultation Period: 22 December 2003 to 23 March 2004

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has launched a public consultation on its strategy to promote links between itself and the voluntary and community sector, to help meet the education and training needs of individuals, communities and employers.

The LSC hopes that as many people and organisations as possible - particularly from the voluntary and community sector - will contribute to the consultation. Click here to open the consultation document: the LSC would like to receive your views on the issues to be addressed, the priorities for action, and effective practice.

Alternatively, see the following page on the NIACE website: http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/WorkingTogther.htm for details of how to attend the free national and regional consultation events for voluntary and community organisations, LSC staff and other key partners. The events are organised by NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) on behalf of LSC.

Have you tried to get funding from your LSC? Are you in contact with them?

The national LSC is keen to build up their relationship with the voluntary and community sectors and have commissioned NIACE (National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education) to develop a national strategy

The first task is to find out what experience people within the voluntary and community sectors have of working with the LSCs. Some FCDL members have received funding whilst others have felt marginalised. It would be really good to get these experiences into the national strategy. We have the questionnaire and covering letter at the following link to our website. PLEASE DO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THIS! (Deadline 30 Sept 2003)

Download the questionnaire
Download the covering letter

FCDL would appreciate a copy so that the Federation can keep up to date with all your work and experiences! Please send to sara@fcdl.org.uk

Sara Gowen, Development Officer is representing the Federation on the practitioners steering group to develop the strategy. If there are any issues you wish her to raise, please contact Sara on email above or 0114 273 9391.