QIA Excellence Gateway

Leadership and management

• Business planning and operational management
  The annual business or operational plan sets out the provider's targets and planned activity for the coming year. While the strategic plan sets out the provider's objectives, the business or operational plan translates them into action. They should also clearly link to other plans such as self-assessment and development plans.
• External communication
  External communication covers how a provider interacts with those outside their own organisation. This may be with the public, employers, community organisations, local authorities, job centres, careers offices, funding bodies, specialist agencies and other training providers.
• Internal communication
  Internal communication is how you let staff know what is expected of them and what is going on within your organisation. It should give them the chance to influence and share ideas on decisions being made.
• Management information
  ‘Management information' is an overall term that encompasses the different sets of information about the locality a provider works in along with provider performance. Such information is constantly changing. It is used to make strategic and operational decisions and to set targets.
• Management of health and safety
  The management of health and safety in further education is covered by a framework of legislation that constantly changes. Managers need to ensure not only that they comply with this but that their learners and staff are safe and develop appropriate safe working practices, whether at the provider or at an employer.
• Management of learning programmes
  Management is about getting things done through people and other resources. Good managers have the ability to plan, communicate effectively, and to take effective decisions. They need to be able to build, lead and develop teams in order to deliver training effectively.
• Management of resources
  Resources underpin the delivery of training. They include physical resources (such as buildings, equipment and teaching materials) and human resources (such as tutors/trainers, assessors, support staff and managers). To be used efficiently for the benefit of learners, resources need to be maintained and further developed; they need to be managed.
• Management of subcontractors
  Money given by funding bodies to provide training is sometimes channelled from the main provider to smaller providers who act as ‘subcontractors'. They may be responsible for all or part of the delivery and assessment. The main provider may not have expertise in an area or may not have the physical resources to deliver it. Subcontracted provision should meet the standards of the main provider and should be managed to ensure that this happens.
• Management of support for learners
  In order to provide support for learners identification of the needs of learners and how they could be met are essential from their first contact with a provider. Support does not just happen, it needs to be managed in order to meet needs in a cost-effective, planned way. A strategy to provide support needs to be developed so all those involved know their role and how an identified need would be met.
• Monitoring of learners' progress
  The monitoring of learners' progress tells a provider where an individual learner is at a given point in time. It should also tell the provider where they should be, so that timely progress can be monitored. Systems should give information for individual learners as well as groups of learners (say for a particular trainer, group or employer).
• Staff development
  Staff development is the way that a provider prepares staff to have the skills and experience necessary to deliver training and meet the needs of learners and employers. Staff at the best providers are ‘grown' into new or changing job roles. Providers with good staff development benefit from lower staff turnover and absence.
• Strategy and leadership
  Strategy sets out the direction and vision that is envisaged for the future of a training provider, usually written as a long term strategic plan. Leadership is about doing the ‘right things'. Strategy and leadership may be the overall responsibility of one person or may involve several people as a strategic or leadership team.
• Sustainable development
  Sustainable development is about ensuring that development "meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It has many strands such as conservation, recycling, reducing carbon emissions and being 'green'. We in further education can help demonstrate appropriate values and by example show what can be done.
• Use of targets
  Targets are used to set out how a provider would like to perform in an oncoming period of time, such as a funding year. Targets should be realistic, measurable and their achievement monitored. They may involve recruitment of staff and learners, diversity, timely and overall success, punctuality and attendance. They may be set for individuals, teams or delivery sites and their use should help improve provision.

You can find this page and download any referenced resources from the Excellence Gateway at http://excellence.org.uk/5E3D762D-042E-411D-9F53-03D9E3D21D29.