More great news for the Unique Learner Number (ULN)!

The Information Standards Board for education, skills and children’s services (ISB) has endorsed the use of ULNs across schools for post 14 learners. 

In a statement on 17 February, to suppliers of school management information (MI) systems participating in the Awarding Organisation to Centre Project (A2C), Dorian Bradley cited recent discussions with the Department for Education (DfE), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Learning Records Service (LRS) and advice from the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), saying: 

‘All parties are agreed on the general principle that there should ideally be only one unique identifier used throughout the system.  My own view, as the independent chairman of the ISB, is that logically this should be the Unique Learner Number. ‘

He went on to say:

‘The board is therefore recommending that all MI suppliers make provision for direct links between school MI systems and the Learning Records Service’ 

The LRS is committed to working with suppliers to actively embed the ULN in MI systems throughout education, skills and children’s services, and we’re running a workshop with systems developers in London next month to explore this area further and decide how best to move forward together.

Read the full statement

Kind regards
Alison

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has considerable influence in higher education circles. So the fact they have now endorsed the Personal Learning Record (PLR) as an authoratitive record of student achievement for higher education institutions (HEIs) is good news indeed.

The exclusion of ‘AAB+ equivalent students’ from student number control limits for 2012-13 means it is more important than ever for English universities and other HEIs to verify these students. The PLR, says HEFCE, provides a valuable additional tool for this process

The individual PLR includes qualification results and grades at GCSE, A/S and A levels, but also covers equivalent qualifications including BTEC, so can also be used to verify the whole spectrum of learner achievement, as universities and other HEIs already registered with the Learning Record Service (LRS) have already found.

The further education community has known all this for some time. HEIs signing up now as learner registration bodies (LRBs) with the LRS will benefit from the experiences of the FE community.

This potential  ‘across the board’ application of the PLR to HEI student number control calculations is bound to further raise the profile of the Unique Learner Number with schools and awarding organisations, which in turn can only benefit both the FE and HE sectors.

We at the LRS are pretty pleased, too.

Fact sheet on using the PLR for HEIs

Kind regards
Alison

This week on the blog I have a dozen links to resources and pages on our website to share with you. The first six links lead to our most popular ILR pages and the remaining half dozen include a couple of resources you may find useful, our key publications and finally how and where you can meet us in person…

ILR info

2012/13 ILR specification, validation rules and appendices – we will be adding version 2 of the spec on 29 February, along with the new validation rules for 2012/13. We will also be adding support documents for 2012/13 to this page over the coming months

2011/12 ILR specification, returns timetable (appendix A) etc – ILR specification and support documents for 2011/12

2011/12 ILR specification online – everything in the spec available at the click of a mouse

2011/12 ILR Provider Support Manual - all you need to know about the ILR, including how and when to make data returns, is in this manual, which you can find at the top of our list of ILR guidance documents and forms

e-calendar of ILR returns – you’ll find ILR collections timetables in the appendices to each spec, but you can also add return dates directly to Outlook, Google calendar, or iCalendar. First you need to open the relevant zipped file and extract (save) the .ics file, then you can import it from your PC into your calendar by following the ‘How to import calendar files’ instructions at the top of the page

ILR FAQs  - frequently asked questions (FAQs) that are raised with the Service Desk and during discussions with our advisory groups

Resources

RSS feeds – for all of our news and ILR documents

FE Search – we have created this customised Google search that selects results from a list of specified FE related websites

Publications

Annual reports - if you would like to know what we did in 2010/11 and what our priorities are for 2011/12, check out our recently published 2010/11 annual report

Inform – the February edition of our monthly e-newsletter is out now with the latest news from us, the Data Service and the sector

Talk to us

Advisory groups – we run advisory group meetings throughout the year to encourage sector-wide participation and collaboration to improve FE information systems and avoid, identify and resolve information and data issues

Conferences and briefings – get the very latest updates from our staff, who can be found speaking at various events and conferences each month; including the 2012 FE Data Conference

All the best
Greta

Spring – season of re-birth, regeneration, mad March hares and further education (FE) conferences.

For the Learning Records Service (LRS), this March is set to be a month of workshops.

On 13 March 2012 in central London we have a date at the Lsect College Spring Data Conference.  This year we will be previewing the major upgrade coming to the LRS’s Organisation Portal at the end of April.

Later in March, we are getting together with management information systems (MIS) developers, from both user organisations and suppliers, looking at how we can best support one another embedding unique learner numbers (ULNs) into systems.

This event is invite-only, but we’re more than happy to hear from any MIS developer for the FE sector who didn’t get an invitation but would like one. Just drop us an email or leave a comment on the blog.

Then there’s The Big One: the FE Data Conference in Coventry on 28^th March.

This intensive one-day conference, bringing together the work of the information authority, the Young Peoples Learning Agency (YPLA) the Skills Funding Agency, the Data Service and of course the LRS, will be the first major national event of its kind in more than 2 years. 

With 5 workshops to choose from, and what’s bound to prove a lively Q&A panel session including the funding agencies, the FE Data Conference is a definite ‘must’ for anyone involved with management information in the FE and Skills sector. 

So one way and another, we at the LRS hope to work out with you at some point during March this year.  Let us know on the blog what you’re planning to attend, why, and what you’re hoping to get from the experience.  If we can, we’ll do our best to oblige.

Kind regards
Alison

With any luck you spotted our announcement earlier this week, that we are holding our second data conference in March this year and have already popped it in your diary! For those of you who missed it, the theme for this year’s conference is ‘Simplification and what it means for MI managers in the FE and skills sector’ 

If you are planning on coming along to the conference, besides viewing exhibitors’ displays, attending key note speeches and taking part in the Q&A session, you’ll also be able to join up to three workshops, running through the day. We’ll be hosting one of the workshops and the others will be provided by the Data Service, the Learning Records Service (LRS), the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) and the Skills Funding Agency.

Our workshop will focus around a brainstorming session, where we’ll be inviting you to identify a ‘wish list’ to help make your data life easier. This could include proposing changes for the 2013/14 ILR specification, or sharing your thoughts on the data collection systems, the funding system, or validation rules. You name it we’ll discuss it and see how we can work with you to reduce bureaucracy. During the workshop we’ll also be sharing guidance and tips for dealing with the top five issues raised in recent months here on feconnect.

The 2012 FE Data Conference will be held on Wednesday, 28 March 2012, at the Welcome Centre in Coventry. Conference places are open to providers who receive funding from the YPLA and/or the Skills Funding Agency, but are limited to two places per provider.

Visit the conference website for more info and follow #2012FEDC on Twitter for the latest updates. We look forward to seeing you there!

This week’s news round up:

Own Software Writers Group meetings
The next meetings of our advisory groups for staff who work with in-house MI systems are on Thursday 23 February. Visit the information authority website to view the agendas for the Own Software Writers’ Change Management Group meeting (at 10.30am) and the Own Software Writers Group (at 12.30pm).

Mid-year funding estimates
The YPLA advice on ILR funding returns has been updated to include some new information on mid-year funding estimates and reconciliation for contract providers. They have also published an addendum to ILR funding returns containing further technical advice on returns for 2011/12, which must be read before completing the mid-year estimate workbook. Providers subject to reconciliation must send mid-year estimates by 29 February 2012.

Visit the YPLA website to see all of the funding guidance documents for 2011/12

Using data more effectively
The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) is working on guidelines to help work-based learning providers use data more effectively to improve quality and learner achievement. They intend to produce a guide and workshop for providers and partnerships by 31 March 2012.

If you’d like to help develop the guidelines please email Karen Bell

Developing data standards for school performance data
The Information Standards Board (ISB) is looking for MI professionals to help with the development of data standards for school performance data by:

• Participating in an online discussion and file sharing forum
• Reviewing the latest versions of data standards and models
• Attending interviews or workshops on how your organisation collects and consumes data

If you would like to get involved, please email Meryl Bryse

All the best
Greta

This week’s blog signposts the way to five government websites, that each publish a range of further education (FE) data. Many of you probably know most, if not all of these already, but for those among you who are new to this field and in the hopes that the odd link might be helpful even to the old hands, here is my list:

Statistical First Release (SFR)
The SFR covers post-16 education and skills, showing learner participation, outcomes and the level of highest qualification held. The SFR is produced quarterly by the Data Service, on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is a National Statistics publication.

The Data Service MI Library
The library complements the Statistical First Release (SFR) and acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for reports and information on learners, learning programmes and learner achievement.

Performance Tables
2011 saw the launch of new-look Performance Tables. They give information on the achievements of pupils in primary, secondary and 16-18 provision in schools and colleges, and how they compare with other schools in the Local Authority (LA) area and in England as a whole.

The 2011 Tables present a much wider range of key performance measures than in previous years and now include information on finance, absence, workforce and the most recent Ofsted reports.

FYI, the Department for Education (DfE) has published an easy guide to the 2011 Performance Tables on YouTube which you might also find useful

FE Choices website
Part of the Further Education Public Information (FEPI) framework (formerly known as the Framework for Excellence), the FE Choices website enables learners and providers to compare performance information about all further education providers that receive government funds. 

Information is provided about organisations that offer academic and vocational subjects, apprenticeships, and training on and off the job.

FE Choices enables users to search and compare provider ratings for each of the following performance indicators:

• Success rates
• Learner destinations (including employment rate and learning rate);
• Learner satisfaction; and
• Employer satisfaction.

More information about FE Choices can be found on the Skills Funding Agency website

The Publication Hub: Children, Education and Skills
The Publication Hub is the gateway to UK National Statistics data. The Children, Education and Skills National Statistics area contains statistics released by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, organised into the following categories:

• Schools and Colleges
• Pupils and Students
• School and College Personnel
• School and College Attainment and Behaviour
• School and College Skills and Qualifications  

That’s the lot for this Friday, but if you would like to share any other useful sites with the feconnect community then you’re more than welcome to add your own signposts in the comments section at the end of the post.

This week’s news round up:

Reminder: R08 ILR return due on 06 March
You only need to send learner data for this return if this has changed since submission of the R06 ILR return. There is no R07 ILR return this year as the data previously requested for R07 is now incorporated within the R06 return.

ILR 2011/12 specification and support documents

Date for your diary
Wednesday 28 March, the 2012 FE Data Conference –‘Simplification and what it means for MI managers in the FE and Skills sector’.

Keynote speakers and workshops from the Skills Funding Agency and the YPLA as well as the information authority, the Data Service and the Learning Records Service – an event not to be missed. Booking site will go live next week, watch this space!

All the best
Greta

We constantly monitor the security of the LRS Organisation Portal, and are aware that a certain amount of ‘Pass the Password’ is going on amongst users.  It’s become apparent that a number of users in some organisations have been sharing a single username and password to access the portal.

We take the security of the Portal extremely seriously. Passing the password directly contravenes the conditions of use of the service. You as an individual user are responsible for complying with the security conditions your organisation has signed up to. Sharing access could have serious implications for you personally, and for your organisation.

Your Super User has been issued with a password and username, and it is their responsibility to protect these details. If you’re a user, your Super User will have issued you with individual access details and can re-set them for you, but it’s you who’s accountable for how they’re used, and by whom.

So if your organisation, or anyone in it, has been playing ‘Pass the Password’ – please ensure that from now on every user of the LRS Organisation Portal has their own separate password and user identity. 

If you’re not sure how your Super User can set up additional users in your organisation, please check Section 1 of the LRS User Guide or call the LRS Customer Helpdesk on 0845 602 2589.

Kind regards
Alison

As you may be aware, we value the input from professionals working with FE learner data and software. Consequently, among other things, we host regular advisory group meetings for college staff, data users, employer responsive learning providers, adult safeguarded learning providers, software suppliers and own software writers.

These advisory groups work with us to improve sector information systems and where possible avoid, identify and resolve information and data issues. Colleagues from other agencies, such as the Data Service and the Skills Funding Agency, also often join in with members’ discussions or present to the groups.

Members of the groups represent organisations who return or use individualised learner record (ILR) data, or are involved in supplying or writing software to collect ILR data. They tend to be the staff responsible for providing or using data and/or management information (MI) within each organisation.

Hosting the groups enables us to seek expert and informed opinion and advice from colleagues involved in data collection and transformation. Each group meets around three times a year, to discuss information and data related topics such as data collecting, interpreting, reporting, quality and use; software; audit issues; and reducing bureaucracy.

Making changes

With the move to a single ILR and the plans for a Single Adult Skills budget, we are intending to make changes to a couple of our groups, to reflect provider type rather than funding provision. Starting in March, the Employer Responsive and Learner Responsive advisory groups will be replaced by a group for colleges and another group catering for all other training organisations. The first meetings for these new groups will be held at our HQ in Coventry on the following dates: 

• 15 March – College Group
• 29 March – Training Organisation Group

Later in the year we are also planning to introduce occasional themed meetings. These will be open to all members of the advisory groups and will cover topics such as foundation learning and course information.

You can find out more about all of our advisory groups on the information authority website

If you want more information, or would like to join any of the groups, please email the information authority

This week’s news round up

Updated version of LIS
The Data Service has released an updated version of the Learner Information Suite (LIS) v19.02.015. This release has fixed the issue relating to the calculation of Adult Learner Responsive Funding. If you have any issues with the LIS please contact the Service Desk on 0870 2670001 or email the Service Desk.

PFR in the OLDC online
The Provider Funding Report (PFR) functionality within the Online Data Collection system is now back online, following a fix to the issue with the Adult Skills Budget funding calculation. Providers can now request PFRs.

New Challenges, New Chances FAQs
The Skills Funding Agency is in the process of compiling a collection of FAQs on the Agency website which you may find of interest, following questions raised by providers at a series of Skills Investment Strategy briefings.

Reducing Bureaucracy in Further Education
Geoff Russell (Skills Funding Agency CEO) and Peter Lauener (YPLA CEO) gave evidence at the Public Accounts Committee on Monday: “Reducing Bureaucracy in Further Education” – a transcript of the meeting is now available.

All the best
Greta

The Welsh Government Department for Education and Skills (DfES) made a landmark decision this month, when the Minister for Education and Skills, Leighton Andrews, approved the full implementation of the Unique Learner Number (ULN) and Personal Learning Record (PLR) for learners aged 14 and over in Wales. He also agreed feasibility work for the inclusion of Welsh qualifications data in the PLR.

In fact, over 400,000 learners in Wales already have ULNs, largely as a result of the roll-out of the service to the further education (FE) sector in Wales.  Now learners from schools in Wales will approach FE already armed with a permanent online record of their verified achievements and qualifications.

In England, the FE sector is now beginning to see the full benefits of the introduction of ULNs in English schools back in 2007. These ULNs allow FE providers to, for example, confirm that course entry requirements have been met, or to check details of completed units contributing toward skills qualifications. As the PLR continues to build throughout a learner’s lifetime, the benefits to training providers, awarding organisations, advisers and employers, as well as to learners themselves, will continue to accrue.

The savings and efficiencies gained by accessing shared information about individual learning and qualifications from a single secure online source are well recognised. Now, these benefits will become increasingly available to FE learning providers and awarding organisations working with learners from schools in Wales.

For more information, visit the LRS website.

Kind regards
Alison