AOSEC networks owned by the South East colleges
AOSEC runs 22 professional development networks which bring together staff from across the FE sector to hear and discuss updates on areas relating to the curriculum or their job role. The networks are “owned” by the staff attending them and speakers are invited from a wide range of stakeholders including government agencies, awarding bodies, sector skills councils, businesses and consultants. Meetings are chaired by an expert within the sector and hosted in colleges across the region giving the opportunity to network with a wide range of FE practitioners
View our upcoming Network events, or email lisamullock@aosec.org.uk to find out more.
Lindsey Morgan, Assistant Principal, Planning and Student Support at MidKent College, chairs this network. The group provides a valuable forum for senior managers to raise issues for further lobbying and recently met with the Department for Education to discuss how the proposals from the Wolf Review can be implemented. Other speakers have included Edexcel, the National Apprenticeship Service and Career Academies UK. The group also has regular updates from Association of Colleges on curriculum policy.
Liz Armstrong, Assistant Principal for Adult and Community at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, is the Chair of this network. The group has recently heard from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on Adult Safeguarded Learning, as well as receiving a Local Authority perspective. NIACE too have spoken on a number of topics including the Colleges in the Community inquiry, the future of ESOL funding and Adult Learners Week. The Skills Funding Agency have also updated on Next Step.
Chris Hare, Vice-Principal Corporate Development at K College, chairs this group which was introduced to help Colleges explore commercial opportunities. In a year that has seen dramatic changes in Government policy, the network has received strategic level updates from the Skills Funding Agency, the National Apprenticeship Service, as well as a Council perspective on Local Enterprise Partnerships. Other speakers have included The Enterprise Network, and Active Solutions on its labour market and skills forecasting tool.
Melvyn Cass, the Clerk at East Surrey College, is taking over the Chair of this well-established network. The network has benefited in recent meetings from Association of Colleges updating on the Governance Code of Practice, and legalities of shared services, whilst the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop has spoken about Governor recruitment. The Clerks have also shared their experience in areas including: feedback from inspection, College mergers and types of partnerships, and PFA audit.
Graham Goddard, Deputy Director of Teaching and Learning at Eastleigh College, chairs this network. The group has close links with the Sector Skills Councils and has heard from SummitSkills and Construction Skills in the last year. The network has also heard from the National Construction Adviser at Ofsted, as well as West Suffolk College who gained a Grade 1 for Construction in inspection. Additional presenters have come from C Skills Awards and the National Apprenticeship Service.
Val Wilkinson, Director of Finance and Administration at Plumpton College, and Stephen Forster, Vice-Principal, Finance, Information Services and Estates at Alton College, co-chair this senior management network. The group receives regular updates from the Young People’s Learning Agency and provider financial management updates from the Skills Funding Agency. It has also heard in the last year from Baker Tilly on external audit, Davies Meyers Tax Advisors on VAT, and NetBanx on Internet Payments.
Jan Edrich, AOSEC’s Chief Executive, chairs this network. The three meetings will be held at twilight on 27th September 2011, 6th March 2012 and 15th May 2012 around the theme of excellence in governance. Although primarily aimed at Governors, Clerks are also welcome to attend. In the last year, the network has had senior level representation from the Skills Funding Agency and Young People’s Learning Agency providing strategic overviews.
Jane Hemsted, Basingstoke College of Technology, will co-chair this network alongside Mary Mussell. The group benefits from a great breadth of expertise and colleagues enjoy the opportunity to visit salons at other Colleges around the South East. Over the last year the group has heard from the Ofsted National Adviser for Hair and Beauty, and VTCT on VRQs in Beauty Therapy. Delegates have also heard from JISC on Information and Learning Technology and received training in managing student behaviour.
Frances Franklin, Head of Curriculum at City College, Brighton and Hove is taking over the chair of this network. The group has recently welcomed speakers from Skills for Health, Skills for Care and also Jobcentre Plus on its work with the health and social care sectors. It has also benefited from presentations from the Ofsted National Adviser for Health and Social Care as well as Bexhill College who gained a grade 1 in this curriculum area in inspection.
This network is chaired by Julie Shah of East Berkshire College. The network has hosted a broad range of speakers recently including: Blandy & Blandy LLP on the Equality Act 2010, Verison and Biscoes Solicitors on employment mediation and an update from the HR team at Association of Colleges. Network members too have shared their experiences on topics such as security procedures for dealing with aggressive behaviour, and the LSIS Resource Utilisation Network Fund project looking at efficiency savings.
Ann Searle, Computing Lecturer at Highbury College, chairs this network. In the last year, the group has heard from e-skills UK, the Young People’s Learning Agency, Pearson on BTEC apprenticeships, and IBM on technology for education delivery including the Classroom in the Cloud project. It has also addressed quality with speakers from Ofsted, Uxbridge College who gained a grade 1 for ICT in inspection, and JISC on information and learning technology.
Sally Hooton is chairing our new International Network, which is being set up to address this increasingly important area as Colleges look to expand into emerging markets. We will be working closely with Association of Colleges, which is taking a lead for the sector in this area, and the network will be looking at the full breadth of opportunities available for Colleges including recruiting international students, partnering with organisations overseas, or working in consortia.
This well-attended network is chaired by Susan Taylor of Sparsholt College. The group has heard updates on key areas within LRCs including iParadigms on plagiarism, Prenax about their Prenax Online service and Barnet College on working within a reduced library budget. College representatives have also been proactive in sharing best practice on subjects such as reading groups, and providing LRC support for international students. Members also enjoy the opportunity to view College LRCs from across the region.
Penny Dinning, the Lead for Safeguarding and Counselling at Brooklands College, chairs this network. The group covers a broad range of topics within student services and has heard from the Young People’s Learning Agency on changes to the EMA / Bursary Fund and Student Finance England about future financial packages. It has also welcomed Securus on internet security and cyber-bullying, the Skills Funding Agency on Next Step, and Hadlow College on gaining a grade 1 for inclusion and safeguarding.
This network is chaired by Debbie Lyall, Head of Department – Independent Living and Work Skills at Highbury College. In the last year, delegates have heard from the Principal Officer – Special Educational Needs and Disability at Ofsted and received funding updates from both the Young People’s Learning Agency and the Skills Funding Agency. The network has also visited Treloar School to explore their specialist work in this area and is currently running a regional competition to promote Colleges’ good work.
Anne Haynes, Director of Strategic Information and Funding at Sparsholt College, chairs this network. The group has heard from key MIS stake-holders in the last year including the Information Authority, RSM Tenon, the Young People’s Learning Agency, and JANET UK. It has also been kept informed of some of the new developments in MIS including the Market Intelligence Data Exchange Service from RCU and AoC, and the Exams Efficiency Project from OCR.
Sarah Dodwell, Director of Marketing and Communications at Central Sussex College, is Chair of this network. The group has addressed a full range of aspects of media and marketing including how to maximise a news-story by EducationGuardian and EMPRA, and online media for FE Colleges from EDUC8TV. In addition, College staff have shared their expertise on building a new website, capturing the learner voice, and the impact of the General Equality Duty on marketing departments.
This is one of AOSEC’s long-standing networks and the new Chair is Craig Nimmo, the Estates and Building Services Manager at Canterbury College. The network addresses policy, strategy and implementation issues and in the last year has received updates from Association of Colleges on shared services for facilities management, client capability issues and procurement. The Skills Funding Agency has also provided a property update and Ecovision has shared its technical expertise in renewable energy.
Yvonne Elliott, Head of Sport and Public Services at South Downs College, will be chairing this new network that is being launched at a time when reductions to staffing within the public services sector make it more important than ever to prepare students for employment or HE. The scope and content for the network will be set by the group, and the first meeting will focus on the uniformed public services and can be broadened if necessary. The group hopes to provide a forum to engage with and influence key partner organisations.
Vanessa Cass, Deputy Principal at Itchen College, chairs this network which is aimed at Quality Improvement Managers and covers both quality improvement and quality assurance. The network has benefited from close working with Association of Colleges and regular updates from LSIS about its support available such as peer review development. The network has also heard from RCU about the Market Intelligence Data Exchange Service, and Edexcel about its QCF Quality Model.
This network is chaired by Karen Biggin, Head of Learning Services at Bracknell & Wokingham College. The group has recently received funding and Skills for Life updates from the Skills Funding Agency and details of the new Work Programme from Jobcentre Plus. The network has also worked closely on the Functional Skills agenda and benefited from hearing about Profiler as well as individual College perspectives. Colleagues are welcome to suggest topics that they are particularly interested in exploring.
Martin Livesey, Head of Sport & PE at Queen Mary’s College, chairs this network which benefits from good member participation and the opportunity to view different Colleges’ sports facilities from across the region. The group has heard from a number of the key partner organisations including: Skills Active, Sports Leaders UK, Youth Sports Trust and Prospects4Sport. The network has also prepared for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with speakers from the Local Councils and SEEDA.
Jan Foster, Co-ordinator – Initial Teacher Training at Alton College, chairs the group. The network has particularly been following the student finance developments with regular presentations from the Student Loans Company. The Institute for Learning has also kept the group informed of changes to funding for initial teacher training and the impact of the Wolf Report. Other speakers have come from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, and JISC. Colleagues are welcome to suggest topics of particular interest.
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