Hi all
Here is the feedback so far on the request to identify learners who are carers. If you’ve not completed the online survey yet, and would like to do so, please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/201112-change-request-36
RESULTS SO FAR
As of 13 August, we‘ve had 25 responses to the online questionnaire for this change. The responses are mostly from colleges but there have also been contributions from independent learning providers, local authorities, employers and a charity.
When asked about whether this information could be collected at enrolment:
40% said yes
28% said no
32% didn’t know
Several respondents commented that the amount of information collected at enrolment is already vast and so they want to see it reduced not added to. Gathering more data has cost implications to the provider and these costs are becoming very difficult to manage given that staff resources are being reduced due to funding cuts. It would also be a long question to add to enrolment forms and several have commented that this would push their forms to an additional page.
Only 32% thought that the definition was clear enough. Many respondents commented that the definition is too vague – someone who occasionally does some shopping for an elderly neighbour would meet this definition. Some suggestions to improve this include:
- specifying a minimum time and frequency to give an indication of who this is aimed at
- to get the data right, a conversation with the learner is needed to explain why the question is being asked and who it applies to
- learners are more likely to discuss issues like this with their tutor rather than enrolment staff so maybe this could be collected that way.
52% do not think that this information should be collected in the ILR, with many respondents unconvinced that there is a clear need to collect this information.
DATA QUALITY ISSUES
Here are the 23 responses we had to the question which asked how accurate the data is likely to be:
Accurate 1
Quite accurate 8
Inaccurate 12
Very inaccurate 2
OVERALL
To sum up the views we’ve had so far, the main issues seem to be:
- learning providers are not convinced that there is a need to collect this data
- the emphasis should be on reducing data burden not adding to it
- the definition does not seem robust enough
Again, it would be useful to know whether feconnect users think that the survey so far is a fair reflection of what the sector thinks. The one thing to add is that the YPLA has been working with some providers to pilot the collection of information on carers. We will be talking to them soon about that to see how providers found the collection in practice.
Thanks
Paul Kelman
The information authority
