5 January 2011
Best Wishes for 2011 from Open College Network Yorkshire and Humber, John Lawton, Chief Executive Officer, OCNYHR
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and all staff at Open College Network Yorkshire and Humber (OCNYHR), I would like to wish all our members a Happy and Peaceful New Year in 2011.
Changes to IT Units in the Step-UP Qualifications and Qualifications in Progression
Following the recent QCF extension of the NOCN Step-UP qualifications, we are delighted to inform you that there are new IT units available for you to use with any learners registering from January 2011.
The changes in the IT units in the NOCN Step-UP qualifications have been made in response to new requirements from the Sector Skills Council, E-Skills.
The amendments to Step-UP are now complete and the amended qualification guides and unit lists will be available shortly on the NOCN website.
There are some changes to the Rules of Combination where IT units are being used, therefore, if you would like to use IT units with any learners registering from January 2011 or would like further information on the changes made to the IT units in Step-UP please get in touch via email to development@ocnyhr.org.uk so that we can advise you on incorporating the units into your existing provision.
Click here to download the new Rules of Combinations for Step Up Qualifications.
We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that we have the new NOCN ITQ User Skills qualifications available should you wish to register your learners to achieve a full IT qualification. Information on these qualifications can be found on the NOCN website: http://www.nocn.org.uk/qualifications/it-user-skills-%28itq%29-qualifications.
Extension to Qualifications in Progression
We are aware that the extensions to the Qualifications in Progression, from December 2010 until the end of July 2011, has not yet been updated on the Learning Aims Database (LAD). However, this should be completed shortly. The extension is supported by a Sector Skills Council and is with Ofqual for final approval. Once they have finalised it, it goes to the Skills Funding Agency to put on the LAD (this update this done on a monthly basis).
We are working on the extension of the Qualifications in Progression after July 2011 and we will give you the full information in time for your curriculum planning in the spring/summer.
Bad Weather Contingency Planning
In the recent bad weather in mid-December 2010, we managed to keep the Wakefield office open on each day when there was bad weather and travel disruption. We have enabled all of our field staff and the majority of our administrative staff to work remotely, so, hopefully, callers and those communicating with us via email noticed only minimal disruption to our service standards.
The safety of our staff and visitors is of course paramount, so on the occasion when it is simply not safe to travel in to Wakefield, we will take a decision whether or not to cancel planned meeting or training events at the earliest possible moment. We will always endeavour to contact you, usually by email and telephone, including mobile phone numbers where we have them to advise you of our decision.
If you are uncertain whether to travel or not, please phone our office and we will advise you. Even if the office has had to be closed, we will have re-routed the calls to staff on duty to advise and support you.
Access to HE Newsletter – Issue 5 – Winter 2010
The latest edition of our Newsletter about all things Access to HE related is available to download here.
This has already been circulated to all Access to HE providers, but it contains useful information, which many of our other members may find of interest. For further information on Access to HE in the Yorkshire and Humber region, please contact our Access to HE Manager, Julie Knowles via j.knowles@ocnyhr.org.uk
NIACE looking for Nominations for Adult Learners’ Week 2011 – closing date Friday 28th January 2011 (5:00pm)
2011 sees the twentieth Adult Learners’ Week, England’s largest and longest running campaign for adult learning, co-ordinated by NIACE, the Adult Learning Charity.
As always, the awards made to individuals and groups of learners will play a key part in recognising and celebrating inspirational adult learners and the transformational power of their learning journeys.
The Adult Learners’ Week Awards are not only a great way of celebrating learners, but also recognising your organisation’s commitment and support for adult learners.
All nominees will receive a Certificate of Achievement and winners will receive a learning voucher between £200 and £1000.
Full details of how to nominate one of your outstanding learners, or an innovative project with which your organisation has been involved (perhaps using NOCN Qualifications!?) can be found on the Adult Learners’ Week website at www.alw.org.uk .
You can also email the NIACE Campaigns Team at alw@niace.org.uk for more information.
OCNYHR receives the Investors in People Standard and the Bronze Award
Open College Network Yorkshire and Humber was recently reassessed against the new ‘Investors in People Standard’. I am pleased to report that we successfully met the requirements of the standard, which focuses on how well our staff at all levels deliver our business’ strategic and operational objectives.
In the new ‘Your Choice’ element of the standard, we also met the enhanced requirements of the Bronze Award, which only 3% of Investors in People companies achieve. In the coming year, we will be continuing to develop our people and our services to you as our Recognised Centres with a stated aspiration of achieving the Silver Award and the ‘Health and Wellbeing Standard’.
OCNYHR is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity and we are entirely self-funding, receiving no central or local government grants nor income, whatsoever.
All of our income is earned through the services we provide for our members, primarily our recognised centres. We are acutely aware in these challenging times that the service we offer you as members has to represent excellent value for money; be responsive to your particular needs; and be of high quality, preferably exceeding the service quality you experience from other Awarding Organisations.
Our Business Development Officers, Quality Reviewers and External Moderators (for the Access to HE Diploma) and our Wakefield-based office staff are all aware of the imperative to deliver excellence to our provider and member base. Early in the New Year, I will be conducting an online Customer Service Survey and we will greatly value the feedback that you offer to us as a company.
The Investors in People Assessor, who interviewed half of our 36 staff, was very impressed with what he found, especially the fact that all of our actions are driven by or company values of Integrity, Flexibility, Clarity and Teamwork.
For more information about what the Investors in People (IiP) programme can do for your business or centre, visit the, by clicking on the link to the IiP Yorkshire and Humber website.
OCNYHR goes for Independent Awarding Organisation Status
Early in 2011, OCNYHR will submit its application to Ofqual, the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator, to be recognised as an independent Awarding Organisation. We will remain a member of the wider OCN family of Awarding Organisations, which will enable us to continue to offer nationally recognised NOCN Qualifications.
In keeping with the agreed direction of travel for the national network of OCNs, all ten regional OCNs will be seeking independent status. OCNYHR hopes to be able to confirm to you in early spring that we have achieved the same recognition from Ofqual. Such status will enable us to be even more flexible and responsive in our offer to you and will enable us to develop Units and Qualifications on the QCF which meet your learners’ needs, if they do not already exist.
Qualification and Credit Update
To view the recent updates, please click on following link to the Qualification and Credit Update.
I would just like to give early notice that in the New Year there will be a further update to new releases.
I trust that you found the direct links to each new Qualification an easy to use and simple way to keep you updated and we will continue to alert you to these updates, initially by email.
Department for Education (DfE) brief update: key information relating to Diplomas and other qualifications for 14-19 year olds
This brief update provides several key pieces of information in relation to the above areas and is intended to ensure local authorities and providers are aware of recent announcements and essential operational information. The DfE does not intend to produce further updates specifically covering this area - in future information will be provided on their website or through the local authority bulletin.
This update covers:
- Funding
- Reform of the Diploma
- Raising the Participation Age
- Interim criteria for Section 96 approvals
- Foundation Learning
- Diploma awarding support from QCDA
Download the DfE Newsletter here