Hi all

Over the last few weeks we have been progressing the requests to make changes to the 2011/12 ILR. On 7 July we hosted a meeting for data users to discuss the changes and clarify any outstanding issues. We then held a consultation event on 15 July for learning providers and software writers to give us their views on the proposals. The feedback from those events is helping us to shape the online consultation which will start early next week.  

What is probably more pressing for learning providers is the 2010/11 ILR. If you’d like a reminder of the key changes, then you’ll find this presentation useful. Colleagues have picked up that there are a large number of records that will not migrate into the 2010/11 database for the start of period 1 because they do not meet the new ILR data standards and validation rules for certain fields. This particularly applies to POL users. For further information please see the news item on our website.

The information authority’s FE Data Management Group, which was created to address the issues raised following Geoff Russell’s letter, has developed six data management principles. To read and comment on the principles, please complete the online survey. We’ve already had more than 70 responses. I’d like to point out that the group is not only setting out principles for learning providers. They are also developing separate data principles for funding bodies and agencies to make clear what is expected of them.

Finally I’d like to remind learning providers that the 2009/10 F05 ILR return will hard close at 6pm on 22 November. We’re doing what we can to increase awareness of that and to remind providers what tools are available to help them manage their data. The link to that campaign seems an apt way to sign off this blog – Get it in! Get it right!

Paul

Over this last few months the  FE Data Management Group* has been advising the information authority on developing guidance for the FE sector in addressing data management issues, so that users of the data can be assured of the quality and reliability of information relating to further education.

The group has developed six principles of good data management practice for providers that we are intending to publish in the ILR guidance documents for the sector. These principles, once given final approval by the FE Data Management Group and the information authority board, will be ‘sector-owned’.

We need your comments on these principles to take back to the group meeting in September.

Follow this link to read and comment on the principles and tell us:

•  Do you consider the principles to be complete?
•  Are the principles helpful to those preparing ILR data?
•  How could the principles be improved?

*The group is made up of representatives from provider groups (HOLEX, AoC, ALP), individual providers, funding bodies (Skills Funding Agency and YPLA) and Ofsted, and is chaired by Graham Jones (Chairman of the information authority board).

Hi all

Although the name is quite a mouthful, it was essentially a meeting with change requesters, data users, provider representative organisations and the Data Service to work through the ILR change requests for 2011/12. The main objectives were to generate questions and issues to consult with the further education system as well as identify conflicts with existing data use. We found it extremely useful as it meant we could combine policy, information purpose, process issues and potential data burden aspects of each of the change requests going forward.  We also think it has helped us scope the change requests going forward and that the consultation process will be more focused – of course you will be the judge of that…

Those who attended the meeting also seemed to find it useful in understanding the different perspectives of those present.  They recommended that we permanently adopt this meeting into the change request process.

The consultation process with learning providers and software houses will start with the ILR Change Request Stakeholder event on 15 July 2010.  The consultation on feconnect will commence shortly after so please contribute as and when these come up.

Selvy

Hello all

It’s that time of year again …ILR change requests seem to be occupying most of our time at the moment.  On 7 July 2010, we are facilitating our first ILR Change Request Review Group meeting which will review the change requests for 2011/12. We hope that this group will help us ensure joint departmental and agency scrutiny of the change requests as well as refine the issues for consultation with yourselves.

On 15 July 2010 we will be meeting with a cross-section of colleagues in the further education system to consult on the change requests.  We will also be consulting with all of you on feconnect through July/August.  So please keep an eye out.

You may have noticed that we have launched a campaign to inform all training providers that the F05 must be returned by the due date.  The ‘Get it in! Get it right!’ campaign is to ensure that all returns are sent by 22 November 2010.

Colleagues in the Learning Records Service (formerly MIAP) have also asked us to inform you of the following:

• standard privacy notices are available for incorporation into college application forms for the new academic year.  There is a short text version for learner facing application forms and an extended version for cascading to learners as additional information
• their revised Code of Practice is available in the publications library of their website
• they have recommended that you update your materials to reflect their name change from MIAP to Learning Records Service by 30 September 2010.

 Selvy

The information authority and the Data Service are working  with the Learning Records Service (formerly MIAP) to look into producing  a ‘ULN best practice guide’. This will look at covering areas such as generating  a Unique Learner Number (ULN), aligning ULN’s, informing students of their ULN etc.

We would like to gauge provider feedback on what you think this guide should also cover. All feedback will be reviewed. We look forward to receiving your input.

This blog will close for comments on Friday 9 July.

Following recent press coverage on the new coalition government being open to receiving suggestions on how to reduce bureaucracy, the YPLA have been asked by the Department for Education (DfE) to gauge feedback on how this can be done in the Data and MI arena.

The YPLA would like to gather your views/ideas on how you think this can be done. We welcome your views on which non-regulatory guidance could be either:

 (i)                   removed immediately or

(ii)                 significantly reduced/amalgamated in 16-19 education and training.

Please post your responses below. We will keep this consultation open until Wed 7 July after which the YPLA will gather all suitable ideas put forward and feed them back to the DfE. Alternatively if you would like to email us your suggestions please send these to cst@theia.org.uk

The information authority and the Data Service were out and about in June speaking at the Summer College Data Conference and the AoC IDT Conference. At both of these conferences, John Perks and Peter Ashton from the information authority provided an insight into the next steps for the FE Learner Data Strategy, and explored what it will mean for data collection and use in the FE sector.

We are in the process of launching our ‘Get it in! Get it right!’ campaign. The purpose of which is to engage with providers and stakeholders and continue to communicate the importance of data quality, reminding providers of return dates and ensuring providers are aware of the 2010/11 ILR changes and are preparing for these. The changes to the ILR Specification for 2010/11 will come into effect on 1 August 2010. Full details of all the changes are available on the information authority website.

The closing date for 2011/12 ILR change requests was Friday 18 June 2010. We have received 37 change requests, these will now be assessed to decide which will be taken forward for consultation over the summer.

The information authority board met on 16 June.  A copy of the agenda is available to view. The outcomes of this meeting will  shortly be available on our website. The board agreed that the secretariat could start formal consultation with the sector on recommendations made by the FE Data Management Group. The group was created in response to data management issues raised by the Chief Executive of the LSC, when he wrote to providers in September last year. Look out for the consultation starting soon through partner websites and newsletters.

A reminder that the next Employer Responsive group meeting is being held on 8 July. Outputs from this meeting will be published on our website shortly after the meeting.

The information authority will also be hosting another meeting for HOLEX members on 11 November at the request of Bob Powell, Chief Exec at HOLEX.  Watch this space for further details.

We hosted a really positive meeting last Friday for a very mixed group of stakeholders. The purpose was to identify the key information that Connexions services need and discuss how those needs could be met.  Our work in this area began when learning providers identified ad hoc data requests from Connexions as being a burden. Discussion at last week’s meeting suggested that a standardised dataset and collection timetable for Connexions data would bring real benefits. There also seems to be scope for making better use of the Unique Learner Number. One of the clear messages that I got from the last week’s meeting was that data collections will only ever be part of a solution – the key is that Connexions services and learning providers work well together to give good pastoral care to young people.

Among the other issues discussed at the meeting was the Common Application Process (CAP). Several learning providers expressed frustration with the lack of standardisation, not just with the CAP system, but prospectus information in general. There is plenty of work to be taken forward from the meeting and there will be further updates in due course. Thanks again to all those who contributed their views and ideas.

We’re hosting more meetings in the near future. Later this week the software suppliers group will meet in Coventry. One of the key agenda items is the update on the Learning Aims Database redevelopment that is going on to help support the Qualifications and Credit Framework. Once that meeting is over, we’ll shift our attention to the meeting for Learner Responsive providers which is on 14 June.

Finally we’re keen to make people aware that the information authority, Data Service and Learning Records Service are hosting a data conference on 17 September 2010 in London. The conference will highlight the next steps for the FE Learner Data Strategy, commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), and explore what it will mean for data collection and use in the FE Sector. You can book a place now by following the conference link above.

Paul

Greetings from Sunny Coventry, it’s not often that can be said!

We have been busy post election, having just  launched an  online version of the ILR specification, aimed to make it easier for providers to navigate and more accessible. This was done in response to requests from providers to make it more intuitive and easier to search.

We have postponed our ‘New Horizons’ Conference 2010 until September 2010 to ensure we are able to provide the latest updates on policy changes and its effects on the FE Sector.  Further details on the conference and the new date will be made available soon.

The information authority board agreed in September 2009 to the collection of two annual data collections in addition to the regular ILR data returns. These are the YPLA-funded learner numbers data collection for 2010/11 and the Employer  contributions collection for 2010/11. Full details of the requirements for both of these returns can be found at: http://www.theia.org.uk/downloads/ilrdocuments/201011_ilrdetail.htm

A reminder that the we are hosting a meeting on 28 May to discuss how the future data needs of Connexions services can be met with the minimum bureaucracy.  A copy of the agenda for this meeting is available on our website and the outcomes of this meeting will be posted shortly after the meeting.

A number of meetings are planned for June, and these include the Software Suppliers Group meeting on 3 June and the Learner Responsive Group meeting on 14 June.  A copy of the agenda for these meetings will be available on the information authority website later this week.

Finally, another reminder that the closing date for submitting change requests for the 2011/12 ILR is 18 June.  Submit your requests by completing the form available on the Request for Change section of the information authority website, before its too late!

Hello colleagues

We are back in action now the election blackout is lifted and we’ve got a lot to tell you about activities happening during June and July. At present, there are no changes for the information authority and our parent department remains the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and our Secretary of State is now Vince Cable.  Some of the more curious among you would have noticed that the DCSF website has disappeared and searching for it now leads to the new Department for Education website.

Firstly, we must apologise for postponing the Learner Responsive Group meeting scheduled for 14 May 2010.  The new date will be announced shortly.  The Software Supplier Group and the Employer Responsive Group will be as advertised on 3 June and 8 July respectively.  The agenda for these meetings will be published a week before.

As the deadline for 2011/12 ILR change requests looms (18 June), we are having meetings with various policy colleagues – one such recent meeting was about the inclusion of a field for carers. We are also identifying fields which are no longer used (e.g. A02), so if you are aware of any that may be of low value or out of date, please let us know.  A number of you will be attending our ILR consultation event on 15 July 2010. This meeting is now fully subscribed, but even if you didn’t get a place there are still plenty of other opportunities to make your views known via feconnect and other channels.

You will hopefully be aware that we are facilitating a meeting on 28 May 2010 between training providers, the Connexions service and other agencies (including the YPLA and the Data Service) to standardise a dataset.  We hope the result will significantly reduce the data burden on training providers.

Finally, we are jointly sponsoring the AoC Information, Data and Technology Conference (formerly known as the AoC Nilta conference) on 24 June 2010.  More information will be available on the AoC website in due course. We are also holding a policy conference aimed at principals and senior managers on 06 July 2010. This is still in early planning stages and we will publicise the event on the information authority website shortly.

Selvy