Reforms for post-16 education
Warwickshire County Council is to take over the responsibility for commissioning of all learning for 16 to 18 year-olds.
The local authority will be assuming this role from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and ensuring there are suitable learning places for every young person in the county from September 2010.
It will mean that Warwickshire County Council will be responsible for the funding and planning of the educational needs of all school leavers in the county.
The move comes as part of the Government’s wider shake-up of the education system for 14 to 19 year-olds.
The county council is working in partnership with schools, sixth form colleges, further education colleges and training providers to put the new arrangements in place.
For the remainder of the current academic year, council officers are working closely with the LSC to track its processes and gain a better understanding of commissioning 16-18 provision.
From September 2009, there will be a year of transition with officers assuming a more meaningful role in the LSC’s commissioning, before taking over full responsibility for the start of 2010/2011 academic year.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children Young People and Families, said: “Sixteen-year-olds have many decisions to make on their future when the time comes to finish their GCSEs and move onto further education, employment or training.
“We are looking to create a system which achieves the full participation of teenagers who are finishing their initial schooling. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to build on the successes of the LSC and engineer further improvements.”
The LSC is a public body which took over the roles of the former Further Education Funding Council and Training and Enterprise Councils in 2001. It is responsible for planning and funding education and training for everyone in England, other than those in universities.
More 16 and 17-year-olds have a chance to carry on in education or training than ever before, Government figures revealed last week.
94 per cent of 16-year-olds say they intend to continue learning and received a suitable offer. The Government’s September Guarantee aims to offer a suitable place to every young person leaving compulsory education who wants one.