On this page you will find a range of support materials and information linking into recognised good practice and continued performance improvement with a focus on training providers working with the consortium.
The current and evolving consortium Learning Provider Manual is located here in pdf format:
If you require Adobe Acrobat Reader it can be found here: Adobe Link
Do remember this manual is a living document and will be amended and updated as necessary. Any comments or suggestion for improvement are welcome.
Annual Self Assessment
As part of the Common Inspection Framework, Tees Valley Working Together are required to produce an annual Self Assessment Report (SAR) for LSC and, when inspected, for the Adult Learning Inspectorate. To assist providers of the consortium in preparing their contribution to the SAR, a provider assessement document has been produced.
The new Ofsted – the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills – came into being on 1 April 2007. It brings together the wide experience of four formerly separate inspectorates. It will inspect and regulate care for children and young people, and inspect education and training for learners of all ages.
"We want to raise aspirations and contribute to the long term achievement of ambitious standards and better life chances for service users. Their educational, economic and social well-being will in turn promote England's national success.
To achieve this we will report fairly and truthfully; we will listen to service users and providers; and we will communicate our findings with all who share our vision, from service providers to policy-makers. We do not report to government ministers but directly to Parliament (and to the Lord Chancellor about children and family courts administration). This independence means you can rely on us for impartial information.
The Education and Inspections Act, which established the new Ofsted, specifically requires that in everything we do we should:
promote service improvement
ensure services focus on the interests of their users
see that services are efficient, effective and promote value for money.
We carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits each week, publishing our findings within the Inspection reports area of this website. Our themed and subject specific findings and recommendations on wider issues within the care, learning, and skills agenda, as well as statistical information, can be found in the Publications and research area.
And you can find more detailed explanations of which services we inspect and regulate, and how, and the latest guidance documents in the Forms and guidance area."
The approach to quality improvement in delivery of all types of learning is changing following the formation of the Quality Improvement Agency.
The agency is a non-departmental public body and the successor to the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA).
The QIA aim to be a critical friend and an honest broker to the learning and skills sector. They want to raise the quality of education and training throughout the sector, by inspiring a culture of self-improvement and by supporting the move to self-regulation.
The QIA believe as teachers, trainers and lecturers, the power to change things for the better lies in your hands. The QIA's aim is to support you in creating a better learning and skills sector for learners, employers, communities, society and the economy. Currently, a provider and network support package is being compiled by the NE Regional LSC under the Support4Success initiative.
Pursuing Excellence is a QIA strategy for the whole of the further education system. It is based on the principle that the responsibility for improvement lies first and foremost with staff working in colleges and learning providers. If you would like to learn more about the QIA and the improvement strategy or contribute to the debate, visit
Supporting the drive for excellence, RQIPs are now operating in each of the nine regions. The improvement partnerships bring together at regional level the agencies with the responsibility for quality within the learning and skills sector, and provider representatives. Their purpose is to:
identify regional quality improvement needs and priorities in learning and skills, drawing on evidence available from providers, the LSC, the inspectorates and QIA
coordinate quality improvement activity across each region and review the impact and effectiveness.
The attached document is an evaluation of the nine regional partnerships and on page 12 lists the members for the North East Region and suggests the proposed supportive framework.
The requirement for 'buy in' from learning providers to the matter of quality is further emphasised in the recent Annual Statement of Priorities from LSC (link to it here: LSC_LINK) who indicate that all learning providers will be expected to reach and improve upon minimum standards of quality in delivery of the learning experience. Failure to reach such standards will exacerbate contract viability where no improvement is achieved within agreed timescales.
