ELS materials and resources
LSIS is delighted to announce that the Enhancement of Learning Support (ELS) materials and resources are now available on the Excellence Gateway.
These resources have been developed with the sector, following initial research commissioned by LSIS and undertaken by Natspec (the Association of Specialist Colleges) to explore the training and development needs of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) and those who manage them across the lifelong learning sector.
This first phase of the project involved talking to practitioners and learners and scoping existing work and expertise in order to make recommendations for future training and development activities. The summary report identified a series of recommendations, which were accepted by LSIS and used to form the basis of a national development programme.
The second phase of the project was jointly undertaken by Natspec and the Association of Colleges (AOC), between September 2010 and March 2011. Twenty lead colleges, both General Further Education Colleges and Independent Specialist Colleges, were supported by nine specialist advisers to produce the resources and materials, working with a wide range of practitioners across their regions. Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and learning support staff were heavily involved in the project. The resulting resources and materials are intended to improve the quality of learning support for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities across the learning and skills sector and to do so in a way that promotes their independence. They also respond to a growing awareness of the important work of learning support staff, acknowledged in the recent green paper ‘Support and Aspiration’, and the Ofsted survey ‘Progression post-16 for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities’.
All the outputs from phase 2 can now be found on the Excellence Gateway, in a section developed as part of the project and dedicated to the interests and development needs of LSAs and those who manage them. The Enhancement of Learning Support Suite of Materials leaflet provides you with details of all the resources and an indication of how they can be used to support on-going development and quality improvement. This will help you navigate the resources and see how they interlink.
We are grateful to all those practitioners who gave their time and expertise to support the development of the materials. If you are new to the project, we are sure you will find something of interest to you. The involvement of the sector has been a key factor in ensuring the resulting outcomes have relevance and support everyday practice. LSIS is committed to promoting the important work of LSAs and would be very interested to hear your views and experiences of using the resources and accessing the website. You can share your views through the blog or by emailing viv.berkeley@lsis.org.uk or Alison O'Brien alison.obrien@kandaassociates.co.uk
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