KAFEC Director’s Blog

Following three years in post I am moving on from my role as Director of Operations for KAFEC.  I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you and farewell to all those I have worked with during the last three years.

Vivienne Hibberd will be taking on the role of KAFEC Director of Development from Monday 8th September on a six month secondment basis.  Vivienne may be contacted by email on operations@kafec.org.uk or by telephone on 07772 710578 from 8th September.

Best wishes to you all,
Hayley Mills.

The post of Executive Director for KAFEC, which is a new role, is now being advertised in the Times Education Supplement.  The advertisement reads as follows:

Executive Director, £50,000 per annum (more for an exceptional candidate)
The Kent Association of FE Corporations (KAFEC) is an innovative partnership of the seven FE colleges based in Kent & Medway.  Formally established in 1994 its main purpose is to raise the profile and reputation of FE in Kent and Medway while continually driving up the quality of FE provision.  Through collaborative working, mutual support and the sharing of best practice, KAFEC aims to influence the development of education and training for the benefit of all learners.

We are seeking to appoint an Executive Director to drive forward the implementation of the newly agreed Key Strategic Priorities.  The successful applicant will be both innovative and strategic in their thinking with a proven track record of working with partnerships and managing the successful delivery of externally funded projects.  Positive and proactive in response to the volume and complexity of your work you will have excellent communication skills, the ability to negotiate bids and contracts and must be extremely self-motivated.

This is a full-time and permanent post and will be based at Mid Kent College, Horsted Centre in Chatham.

Any offer of employment is subject to a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure and List 99 clearance.

For an informal discussion about this post please contact the Chair of KAFEC, Stephen Grix, on 01634 884387, alternatively by email: stephen.grix@midkent.ac.uk

To apply: Email: job.applications@midkent.ac.uk  Telephone: 01634 884511

The closing date for this post is Friday 23rd May 2008.

KAFEC is committed to Equal Opportunities and encourages applications from all sections of the community and welcomes applications from under represented groups including black, minority ethnic and disabled people.

Please download the document here:

 KAFEC Key Strategic Priorities 2008-09

The KAFEC Principals’ Group met on 26th November at Mid Kent College.  The group discussed planning for KAFEC and the Annual Plan for 2007/08.  The LSC joined the meeting and spoke to the group regarding the NEET issue in Kent and Medway and the importance of January starts. 

On Friday 30th November members from the Edexcel awarding body met with KAFEC staff to look at collaborative working through a potential Strategic Alliance.   This was an interesting meeting which will benefit KAFEC colleges once all terms have been agreed.

The KAFEC Principals met again with Business Development staff and LSC staff on Tuesday 4th December for a combined Train to Gain event.  This event was arranged to look at methods of working collaboratively to meet the targeted 11,000 Level 2/3 starts in Train to Gain across Kent and Medway by July 2008.  The current position is some 2,700 short of this number so action is required.  A £300,000 development fund is available for providers to undertake projects to increase the number of starts in the county.  KAFEC will be applying for funding to work collectively to achieve these extra starts.

KAFEC College Finance Directors met on Wednesday 5th December.  It was agreed that the name of this group would be changed from the Corporate Services Network in order to reflect the membership and business of the group.  The new name is yet to be agreed.  The group also felt that a formalised annual cycle of business should be developed.  Updates on the New Standard were provided by Hadlow College, who are involved in the pilot.  The LSC joined the meeting and discussed Learner Support Funds and Performance Analysis.  Data was provided to the group and will be circulated to relevant staff by email shortly.

Further information on these issues may be gained from the KAFEC Director of Operations on 07772 710578 or operations@kafec.org.uk

On Friday 19th October the Quality and Curriculum Group met at Kings Hill.  The group received presentations from the Lifelong Learning Network regarding the Credit Framework they are looking to establish; and from FE Sussex, the partnership of colleges in Sussex. 

FE Sussex have been commissioned to undertake a review of Skills for Life across the South East and Debbie Shandley, the Chief Executive, attended the meeting to present her findings on Kent & Medway.  Following the presentation the group agreed to convene a meeting between the Vice Principals for Curriculum and the Skills for Life leads with Debbie invited along to look at ways to improve this provision.

Following these presentations the group discussed Framework for Excellence Pilots; the New Standard Assessment; Learner Involvement Strategy; Provision for NEETs; and 14-19 Diplomas. 

The Agenda and Minutes of the meeting together with the Report on Skills for Life will all be available for download shortly in the Member’s Area of the KAFEC website www.kafec.org.uk/members

Following the Quality and Curriculum Group meeting, KAFEC Quality and Curriculum staff remained for a KAFEC-organised Lesson Observation Workshop, which ran all afternoon and was led by North West Kent College.

The KAFEC Director of Operations met with Tony Edmunds and Evelyn Goodall of the LSC on Tuesday 23rd October to discuss Train to Gain and look at collaborative working between KAFEC Colleges in this area.  It was noted that this would be very well received by the LSC.  KAFEC Colleges are also considering joint commissioning through the ESF.  Further details will become available as they arise. 

Also this week KAFEC staff were issued with their user names and passwords to access the KAFEC members area.  If there are any queries these should be directed to the KAFEC Director of Operations at operations@kafec.org.uk in the first instance.

This will be the last blog entry until the week commencing 19th November as the KAFEC Director of Operations will be on leave from Wednesday 31st October to Friday 16th November inclusive.  Emails sent to operations@kafec.org.uk will be collected and responded to upon her return.

The KAFEC Principals’ Group met with senior staff from Kent and Medway LSC on Tuesday 9th October to discuss the future working of KAFEC and the transition of funding for FE from the LSC to the LEAs in 2010/11.

The meeting was held at Eastwell Manor and lasted for a full day.  The group indicated a number of priorities, including strengthening the KAFEC brand, stronger relationships with employers, and identifying the unique selling points of KAFEC.  These, added to the priorities identified at the review meeting held on 18th September, have been brought together into a Strategic Plan by the KAFEC Director of Operations.

The Plan is currently with the Chair of KAFEC and will shortly be passed to the Principals’ Group for comment.  Part of the plan for 2007/08 includes the option to involve the KAFEC network groups more strongly in the work of KAFEC and to encourage all groups to feel that they are a part of the larger structure of the partnership.

The results of the review of the KAFEC Network Groups have now been received and these are very positive.  The continuation of these groups has been strongly supported and many comments were received regarding how well these groups work together in sharing good practice and building local networks.  Further information on the review will be available here soon.

The KAFEC Director of Operations met with the 14-19 Team at Medway Council on Wednesday 17th October to discuss their roles and how the two organisations might work together more closely in the future.  This collaborative thinking and working will be especially important as the 14-19 agenda grows and the implementation of the Diplomas looms ever closer.

The Quality and Curriculum Group will meet on Friday 19th October to share good practice on lesson observations, which is another example of how the relationship between KAFEC colleges continues to grow.

For further information about KAFEC please contact the Director of Operations at operations@kafec.org.uk

This week KAFEC took part in a Review of General and Sector Specific Training Provider Networks.  This is a study which the LSC Regional Skills Team has commissioned to review the extent and nature of general and specific provider networks throughout the South East region and how these might usefully be strengthened and developed.  The aim of the Review is to ensure that the value of provider networks is maximised as a vehicle for increasing and improving providers’ knowledge and ability to engage.

KAFEC’s response to the Review is below:

1. Defined purpose, terms of reference, aims and objectives of the network

The agreed purpose of KAFEC is to:

(a) Raise the profile of Further Education in Kent and Medway
(b) Ensure strong FE engagement in both local and regional strategic developments
(c) Influence the development and delivery of education and training for the benefit of individual learners, communities and businesses, through collaborative working
(d) To enhance mutual support, communication and the sharing of best practice
(e) To support other agencies and partnerships in working towards the achievement of local and regional priorities and targets

2. Make up of network membership and criteria for acceptance and integration of additional members

KAFEC is a strategic partnership of the six general FE colleges and one specialist land-based college located in Kent and Medway. KAFEC was formally established in 1994 and was among the first FE college strategic partnerships in England.  The partnership continues to provide added value to both its members institutions and in particular to the local LSC.

KAFEC is financed through contributions from each member college.  KAFEC employs a full-time Director of Operations who operates through a college base.

There are no plans at present to extend KAFEC beyond its current membership.

3. Plans & programme for future development of the network and particular activities

KAFEC has recently agreed to review its procedures and has drawn up a list of new priorities.  The new priorities will include: (a) Reputation Management; (b) 14-19 Agenda; (c) 19+ Skills Agenda; (d) Continuation of sharing good practice through internal networks.

The partnership will become stronger in terms of strategy and will establish clearer guidelines regarding the roles and responsibilities of both partner colleges and the Director of Operations.  There are also plans to bring in administrative support to ensure the co-ordination of all seven network groups, along with any future network groups, remains central to KAFEC.

4. Format, content, style and frequency of meetings, regular communications and other networking activities

There are seven KAFEC Network Groups operating at present:

• Principals’ Group (meets six times per year)
• Corporate Services Network Group (meets five times per year)
• Quality and Curriculum Group (meets five times per year)
• Funding and Management Information Group (meets five times per year)
• Learning and Development Group (meets three times per year)
• Publicity and Marketing Group (meets three times per year)
• HE Network Group (meets three times per year)

Further groups will be developed over this academic year and may include: Workforce Development; Human Resources; and 14-19.

Other ad hoc sessions are also held to discuss matters of particular interest to all members of KAFEC, such as the current capital projects.

KAFEC has a website (www.kafec.org.uk) which is available for all KAFEC staff to use as a resource.  There is a member’s area on the website, where agendas, minutes and other relevant papers are stored.  In addition, there is a Director’s Blog, which is completed each week and provides up-to-date information on what is happening both inside and outside of the partnership.

5. Processes through which partners’ needs and expectations are identified, clarified and managed

The KAFEC network group meetings provide various groups of staff with the opportunity to discuss their needs and expectations.  KAFEC also employs a full-time Director of Operations who is responsible for working with all partners and ensuring needs and expectations are identified and managed.

6. Measures to facilitate knowledge and understanding of respective member organisations and their activities

Again, the KAFEC network groups are an ideal resource for sharing knowledge, understanding and good practice.  These groups meet regularly and are very open and trusting in terms of the information that is shared.  Separate ad hoc events are arranged as and when appropriate to ensure the sharing of good practice on specific issues.

However, there is scope for increasing the information shared regarding each institution and its mission and values.  At a recent meeting each Principal provided a ten minute presentation on the priorities of their own college and this was found to be a useful experience which may be repeated in the future.

7. Mechanisms for joint targeting and business development with particular groups of employers

Until recently, the local LSC operated a Workforce Development Group, where appropriate staff met to discuss relevant issues.  However, the LSC staff member operating this group has now taken maternity leave and KAFEC has taken the opportunity to take over the management of this group and re-develop it with a sharper focus.  This is still in the developmental stages but further information will be available over the coming weeks.

8. What level of focus and prominence is directed to Train to Gain within the provider network

Train to Gain is discussed at Principal, Finance Director and Business Development Manager level.  Tony Allen from Skills South East joined the Principals’ Group meeting for a discussion regarding Train to Gain in May 2007.  There is, therefore, quite a strong level of focus directed towards Train to Gain within KAFEC.

9. Mechanisms used for getting updated on key developments e.g. changes in skills needs; sector skill agreements; sector qualifications strategies; and LSC funding changes

KAFEC has a very good relationship with the local LSC office.  There is LSC representation on the Principals’ Group; Corporate Services Group; Quality and Curriculum Group; and the Funding and Management Information Group.  Information is therefore easily circulated.  The Director of Operations also takes responsibility for ensuring relevant information is passed between groups as appropriate and in the future will be researching all new initiatives and providing updates to the groups as information becomes available.

10. How general business development networks seek to engage with specialist sector networks and initiatives and the perceived value of these

The KAFEC Quality and Curriculum Group meet five times each year to discuss issues regarding curriculum development and quality approaches.  This group involves Quality and Curriculum Heads and Vice Principals with responsibility for Quality and Curriculum.  It would be within this group that issues regarding sector skills councils and new qualifications would arise.  The LSC also provide an input to these meetings and update the group, where possible, on information received via sector skills councils and national skills academies.  However, there is, at present, no direct liaison with these bodies by KAFEC, although this is something we will review over the next few months and this may change.

11. Structure, processes and resources related to network leadership, management and co-ordination

The KAFEC Principals’ Group is the top-level group within the KAFEC structure.  It is from this group that a KAFEC Chair is selected.  This has recently been altered to a two-year term from a one-year term and the role was taken over on 1st September by Stephen Grix, Principal of Mid Kent College.  The Chair acts as line manager to the KAFEC Director of Operations.  The Director is employed on a full-time basis to manage the day-to-day operations of the partnership.  There are plans to employ a part-time administrative post to support the work of the Director of Operations and the KAFEC network groups.

12. Key achievements realised

During the last year, KAFEC has jointly developed a funded action plan to ensure KAFEC colleges are moving forward with the 14-19 agenda and a number of successful activities have risen from this.  These include: the shared development of protocols with the LA; the development of partnership agreements at consortium level; agreement on cross-county charges; the development of compact activities with the local Lifelong Learning Network; the completion of a successful marketing strategy surrounding the publicising of the 14-19 Diplomas; a conference on sharing quality in teaching and learning for the 14-19 age group within KAFEC colleges.

Additionally, the growth and development of all network groups to such an extent that colleagues within different colleges are now contacting each other outside of meetings to discuss pertinent issues and share advice and opinions.  KAFEC colleges are working together more strongly than ever before in order to share good practice and to promote Further Education in Kent and Medway.

This week saw the beginning of the review of all KAFEC Network Groups.  There have been a number of very positive responses, demonstrating that these network groups are highly valued by their members and there has been a strong consensus that these should be continued.

There are seven KAFEC Network Groups in total:

• Principals’ Group
• Corporate Services Network Group
• Funding and Management Information Network
• Quality and Curriculum Network
• Publicity and Marketing Network Group
• Learning and Development Network Group
• Higher Education Network Group

In addition, the Workforce Development Group, which was previously run by the Learning and Skills Council will shortly become KAFEC-led.  There is also scope to develop further groups to share communications and good practice and these will be developed over the next few months.

Minutes of all meetings will be available from the Member’s Area of the KAFEC website.  If you do not have a login to access this at present please contact the Director of Operations.

For further information on any of the above groups and their work please contact the Director of Operations on 07772 710578 or operations@kafec.org.uk

This has been an interesting week for KAFEC. A review of the partnership took place on Tuesday and Principals discussed individual college priorities, collaborative working and the way forward for KAFEC. Five Principals were able to attend the review meeting and Tony Lau-Walker, Principal of Eastleigh College in Hampshire, assisted the group by acting as a facilitator.

Following a long discussion, four key priorities were selected. These are:

• The continued promotion of Further Education within Kent & Medway, to include the ongoing development of relationships with current and future funding bodies.
• The 14-19 Agenda
• The 19+ Skills Agenda
• The continuation of sharing good and best practice between KAFEC members through the use of internal networks

A strategic plan for KAFEC for 2007/08 will be drawn up following this discussion and will be available to all KAFEC members by the end of 2007.

As a result of this review, all KAFEC Network Groups will be evaluated to ensure they remain relevant and are an appropriate use of members’ time. There are also plans for the role of the Director of Operations to become more outward-facing. Further information regarding the review and its impact will be available in the near future.

Also this week, Kent County Council held a meeting of the Kent 14-19 Strategic Forum to consider the future of strategic discussions and plans surrounding the 14-19 agenda in Kent. It was agreed that a small group, involving one FE Principal and members of the nine planning forums, as well as several others involved with 14-19 education, would take on this responsibility. Information from this group will be disseminated via KAFEC.

On Monday the Chair of KAFEC met with the Project Director of Aimhigher Kent & Medway to discuss the relationship between the project and the FE College partnership. Further information regarding Aimhigher Kent & Medway can be found at www.ahkandm.ac.uk The main aim of the Aimhigher project is to increase the number of students experiencing Higher Education, whether through a Further Education College or Higher Education Institution, by 2010.

For further information or to discuss any of these matters further please contact the KAFEC Director of Operations on 07772 710578 or operations@kafec.org.uk

KAFEC Colleges met this week to discuss the new round of ESF funding for 2007-2011. Colleges have expressed an interest in working together on a collaborative bid and specifications were discussed at the meeting. Those attending the meeting agreed to return to their colleges to narrow down the selections made and return comments shortly. This was followed up with a meeting held by KATO (Kent Association of Training Organisations) to discuss potential for collaboration between the two associations. It was agreed that it would be helpful for both associations to link on these projects where relevant and appropriate.

The KAFEC Director of Operations also met with representatives from North West Kent College to discuss and plan the Learner Observation Workshop to be held on 19^th October 2007. The overarching aim of this workshop is to share good practice in both paperwork and procedures. Colleagues from other colleges will be contacted shortly for comments on what they would like to see included in the workshop.

Two KAFEC representatives also attended the Kent & Medway Lifelong Learning Network Project Management Group meeting on Thursday. The group discussed the Annual Report for 2006/07 and the Development Plan for the next year. The final versions of these documents will be sent to the Executive Board for approval.

Preparations were made this week with regard to the KAFEC Review Meeting which takes place on Tuesday 18^th September 2007. It has been agreed that the main focus of this meeting will be the future role of KAFEC, to include: structure, membership, influence and authority. Feedback from this meeting will be available from the end of next week.

For further information on any of these topics please contact the Director of Operations on operations@kafec.org.uk or 07772 710578.