8 representatives from centres in the consortium turned up at 9:30AM and our meeting, facilitated by the two 14-19 Diploma Development Officers, began promptly (with no coffee!) We had photocopies of Part B of the Gateway application to hand, and went through the entire thing. B1.1......B1.2......B2.1......all the way down to B3.something. The meeting was largely a chance for centres to ask questions, but mainly to input information that would be crucial to their being part of the Consortium. It occured to me how important a good 'facilitator' in these sort of potentially disastrous discussions was. The facilitator at this particular meeting was absolutely fantastic. She asked all the right questions, and moved people quickly along (in a no nonsense but perfectly diplomatic) effort to make progress. And fortunately for us all, progress was certainly made. There were lots and lots of ideas when it came to collaboration and even more input when it came to what centres did well. The range of 'skills' across the consortium also became clear. Two centres had state-of-the-art CISCO backed Networking systems in place. Others (ours included) were Computing and Mathematics Specialist Schools, delivering (with good success) advanced and well respected courses including A level IT and Computing. We discussed current good practice across the Consortium and how this could be shared. We also, crucially, had to decide on estimated entries for Year 1 and 2 and provide information on current learner performance in qualifications mapped to the Diploma skills and levels. All in all, people were enthusiastic and keen to get on board. So keen, that I was the only one -at eleven thirty -who dared ask for a toilet/coffee break!
The only concern, brought up by the head of a girls school down the road, was that Diploma would once again be marketed as a 'vocational' and therefore 'dumbed-down' qualification. It was clear from the response (of people who have clearly studied the content of the Diploma) that this is in no way the case. The Diploma in IT, if anything, is something that cannot be pitched to the "less able" students in the way it is done now. It includes an advanced level of theory, programming, project management and a clear expectation of industry level standards. This of course, is coupled with the fact that employer engagement and work experience is built in to the learning plan of the qualification. Of course this poses other problems as to how the Diploma will be pitched and what courses it could replace. The answer is, it can't replace anything because the very nature of it suggests that it is different from any ONE existing qualification in place. If anything, students who were perhaps not geared to succeed at programming and high level skills, could opt for a lower level. It would no longer be a case of Diploma vs A level, if you know what I mean...
Having said that, much of the crucial marketing of this thing will be down to us. That's another thing the consortium put down as part of our plan to deliver the Diploma successfully: The organisation of local events to promote the Diploma and raise awareness!
One of the 14-19 development officers made a good point about the misconceptions that had accompnied the construction diploma. It -possibly like the diploma in IT -had been misconstrued to be an option for the 'less able'. Nothing could be further from the truth. The emphasis in the construction diploma, I'm told, is exactly the sort of thing employers (in the engineering field) ar e after, and there is a particularly difficult exam pupils have to prepare for as well. A good friend of mine who has recently been elected as Vice Chairman of the ICE (Institute of Civil Engineering) is also actively involved in raising awareness of Civil engineering in schools and colleges. Apparently, as part of a government led initiative, on the part of companies as well, this is part of her role! I am a little shady on the details, but I believe there is funding at stake too! I thought this was commendable. The diploma's are always a two way thing and employers already seem to be in the know -and more importantly, glad to be involved!
The meeting ended at 12:30 and teachers rushed back -many of them with classes to teach at 1:00. If that doesn't say something about the dedication of the representatives in the consortia, I don't know what does!
A final re-draft will be sent out to us shortly, and after any final input by the upcoming Friday, the final final draft should be good to go.
