Tuesday 18 November 14:15 – 15:15 1.1 Widening access and NEET reduction - AoC Beacon Award winners Association of Colleges  Steve Frampton, Principal, Portsmouth College Delegates attending this session will engage in small group discussions with representatives from four of the 2013-14 AoC Beacon Award-winning colleges. Initiatives cover Southern Regional College's project addressing education barriers for travellers and migrant workers, Glasgow Kelvin College's Youth Access Programme which has seen NEET reduction by 19%, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor's video teaching project expanding its provision of subjects across a wide area and Grimsby Institute's programme enabling access to nursing for nonstudents. New ways of working 1.2 Making loans work for colleges in higher and advanced level education Association of Colleges  Julian Gravatt, Assistant Chief Executive, Association of Colleges Public spending is being cut but the student loan budget continues to increase and changes are on the way, with the plan to remove higher education student number controls in 2015 and the discussion about extending FE loans in 2016. This is a difficult area for colleges but there are opportunities that cannot be ignored. The session will cover the latest policy developments, administration issues and observations on where colleges can make headway. New ways of working How to write your own funding formula: A college leader’s guide Pearson 1.3  Beej Kaczmarczyk, Managing Director, Sector Training and Pearson Funding sources may change, but the game remains the same: to do more with less while driving continuous improvement, innovation and excellence. Come and spend an hour in discussion with Beej Kaczmarczyk and his team, and you’ll take away some practical ideas based on real-life solutions for squaring the perennial circle: build a creative curriculum which maximises all funding sources, meets the needs of every individual student, and delivers innovation, opportunity and progression for all. Strategic leadership 1.4 Network for Black and Asian Professionals' Annual BME Staff Forum Network for Black Professionals  Dr Rajinder Kaur Mann OBE, Chief Executive, Network for Black and Asian Professionals The Network for Black and Asian Professionals support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic professionals in the FE sector to achieve their full career potential. NBAP will also be presenting their yearly update and give you the opportunity to discuss your equality issues in FE. Strategic leadership 1.5 Responding to the skills challenges of infrastructure and regeneration projects South Thames College   Jamie Stevenson, Director of Business Partnerships, South Thames College Phil de Montmorency, Joint Co-ordination Unit Manager, Nine Elms Vauxhall South Thames College will share their experience of working with infrastructure/regeneration projects (Crossrail, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Battersea & Nine Elms), Local Authorities, Job Centre Plus and other stakeholders to put together a holistic skills offer to ensure the projects are successful and meet the needs of local residents and communities. They will discuss how they have put together; pre-employability, pre-vocational and shaped 16-19 study programmes. Plus developing Traineeships, Apprenticeships and Workplace training in partnership with business (ESF). Employer engagement 1.6 The Children and Families Act: Making it happen Association of Colleges   Caroline Bicknell, Deputy Director 0-25 SEND, Department for Education Zoe Hancock, Principal, Oaklands College This session will refresh delegates knowledge on the legal requirements of the new Children and Families Act and will demonstrate how effective partnerships and working between colleges and local authorities can benefit High Needs Students. The session will include practical tips for partnership working, suggestions for overcoming barriers and will demonstrate where good practice is having a positive impact on students and their futures. Teaching and learning 1.7 The journey to outstanding using ALPS Rochdale Sixth Form College   Steve Pegg, Deputy Chief Executive, ALPS Julian Appleyard, Principal, Rochdale Sixth Form College Rochdale 6th Form College achieved Outstanding for Overall Effectiveness within three years of opening assisted by the ALPS system. Working with our students on priorities and quality of performance, inspectors judged Assessment as Outstanding with the progress monitored closely and effective action is taken. During this session our aim is to demonstrate how the ALPS system benefited the college, students and staff and how we have developed a best practice approach to achieving Outstanding. Teaching and learning 1.8 Will the new technical level qualifications give learners the skills they need to succeed? AQA   Barry Smith, Quality Assurance Manager, EU Skills Mike Westlake, UK Manager, AutoDesk Education (EMEA) “If we want the UK economy to succeed, higher technical and vocational education will be an enabler.” Martin Doel, AoC’s CEO. Will the new Technical Levels be different to what’s gone before? Will they help your learners on their journey to secure employment or progression to higher apprenticeships or HE? Join this session to learn how AQA, EU Skills and their employer partners developed Technical Levels which really work for learners, FE Colleges, employers and HE. New ways of working 1.9 Educating out prejudice: Making LGBT visible Morley College   Ela Piotrowska, Principal, Morley College Carole Powell, Equalities Coordinator, Morley College Morley College provides adult learning for over 14,000 students in London. Our equalities work is innovative, practical and the session demonstrates how Colleges can make LGBT visible and embed LGBT lives into curriculum. The session uses film, animation and case studies in the adult ESOL curriculum. Approaches and resources will be provided for collecting data on sexual orientation, gender identities and for themes which can be challenging for learners and staff from diverse cultural backgrounds. Teaching and learning 1.10   Careers guidance: Local action that works Association of Colleges Graham Stuart MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee, House of Commons Lee Probert, Deputy Chief Exeutive, Hull College Group This session will explore what can be achieved when schools, local enterprise partnerships and colleges are determined to ensure that students get the right information to make an informed choice. The Chair of the Education Select Committee, Graham Stuart has achieved a working partnership in his constituency and it could be relevant to all. New ways of working 1.11   Developing pay strategies in further education Association of Colleges Adam Elston, Senior Project Manager, Incomes Data Services Bruce Sayers, Associate Consultant, Incomes Data Services Drawing on recent case studies as well as wider trends in the development of pay strategy, IDS will report on some of the latest developments in the sector and highlight practical casestudy examples that will enable college leaders to make more effective decisions in relation to pay. Strategic leadership 1.12   A new inspection framework for September 2015 Ofsted Paul Joyce, Senior HMI – Operational Lead College Inspections, Ofsted Karen Adriaanse, HMI, Ofsted Ofsted are consulting on a new common inspection framework just 3 years since the current regime. There are some interesting and controversial proposals which will be outlined by Ofsted. This is a chance to contribute to the eventual decision which may include proposals to have one framework across school sixth forms and colleges, no notice inspections, a new grading system, how lesson observation will contribute to a main judgement and whether subject sector areas will continue to be graded. Quality improvement 1.13 Understanding the GCSE, AS and A Level reform programme and the implications for colleges and their students Association of Colleges  Janet Holloway, Associate Director Standards for Design, Development and Evaluation of General Qualifications, Ofqual GCSEs, AS Levels and A Levels are undergoing significant reform. In this BOS, DfE and Ofqual will summarise the reforms including plans to 'switch off' some subjects. Two (or three) colleges will present the implications for their college and their students and look at the options for AS/A Level delivery models in 2015 and beyond. Teaching and learning 1.14   FE Associates presents…A conversation with Joe Docherty, CEO of NCG FE Associates Elaine Smith, Managing Director, FE Associates Joe Docherty, Chief Executive Officer, NCG In the challenging external landscape college boards have to respond to an ever changing environment. Joe Docherty was appointed as CEO of NCG in summer 2013. Spending a year with his board he has developed a strategy and blueprint for NCG and will outline his vision, priorities and overall approach; Joe will share his thinking on what the future looks like for NCG. There will be opportunity for questions and debate from the audience. Strategic leadership 1.15   Embedding innovation in our colleges City College Norwich supported by Highbury College & North Hertfordshire College Jerry White, Deputy Principal, City College Norwich Signe Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer/Principal, North Hertfordshire College In this interactive seminar find out how City College Norwich, Highbury College and North Hertfordshire College are using Entrepreneurial Thought and Action and Design Thinking to drive student employability and employer engagement. Using these innovation models that encourage low cost, low risk experimentation, discover how colleges are enabling leaders, managers and tutors to equip themselves with the ‘horizon scanning’ skills needed to survive and thrive in the future. New ways of working