Cumbria County Council's 14-19 Partnership has been recognised as a leading light at an Oscar-style award ceremony at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London last night (Tuesday 4 March).
The Partnership's work has been awarded 'Beacon Status' and will now be promoted by the Government as an example of good practice, and the council will receive visits from other local authorities in the country to see how the scheme works in Cumbria.
The Beacon awards recognise excellence and innovation in local government across 10 themes, which are identified as key to improving quality of life for local communities.
The 14 -19 Partnership aims to secure access to learning and achievement for all 14 to 19 year olds in the county. It offers a different style of learning in vocational subjects such as IT, construction and engineering, and combines theory and practical work.
It addresses the issue of young people wanting to get qualifications who may not be best suited to a solely academic curriculum, although the course does include a strong focus on the '3 Rs' - the functional skills needed for everyday life.
The partnership also looks at new ways to tackle what is called 'disengagement' , to ensure that young people in danger of dropping out can be motivated to stay in learning.
At the heart of the work is an entitlement for all young people to access the education that is best suited to them, in a setting appropriate to what they are learning, and - importantly - where standards are ensured.
Councillor Jim Buchanan is the county council's Cabinet member for Children's Wellbeing, and was at the awards ceremony last night where - in true Oscars style - the 'winners' only found out when their names were announced.
Councillor Buchanan said:
"I am absolutely delighted. I am so proud and thrilled for everyone who is involved in this partnership.
"I am pleased that all the hard work has been recognised, and that Cumbria will now be hosting visits from other local authorities to see how a predominantly rural area can deliver in this important area."
John Swainston is the County Council's Head of Schools and Leadership. He said:
"This is great news for Cumbria.
"It is especially rewarding as we are the only shire county that has been awarded beacon status in this category; it is obviously a challenge to provide this service in a rural area. The other two winners in this category were both city councils.
"In the past, Cumbria hasn't fared that well in terms of keeping these young people learning, but now we are above the national average."
Communities and Local Government Minister Parmjit Dhanda, who was also at the awards, said:
"I would like to congratulate Cumbria County Council for being awarded Beacon status in Building Brighter Futures.
"This authority is leading the way in their use of new ideas and methods, and is ideally placed to drive change throughout the sector, helping to improve public services for everyone.
"The most important product of the Beacons is the real improvements to everyday public services that can be seen in the remit of every one of the winning authorities, and the sharing of new ideas and best practice that the Beacons promote will lead to improvement across the board."
Marianne Hood, chair of the Beacons Panel, said: "Being awarded Beacon status means that Cumbria will receive recognition, from central government and other authorities, for its expertise in the area of Building Brighter Futures.
"I will be closely following the work that the Beacon authorities carry out over the next year, and look forward to working with them in this area."
Cumbria and the other Beacon councils for this theme will now work together, with the support of the Improvement and Development Agency, using a range of learning activities to help improve standards in all authorities in this area.
End
Further information from Alison Lister, media team, on 01228 606335.
NB: Photograph from awards presentation available.
Note
The Beacon Scheme is led by Communities and Local Government (CLG), and the programme is managed at the Improvement and Development Agency for local government. This year, the independent Beacon panel received 143 applications, and using an extensive judging process, they whittled this number down to a shortlist of 59.
The Government established the Beacon Scheme in 1999 to identify excellence in local government and enable best practice to be shared with others.
Ten themes were selected for the scheme in Round 9. The themes against which Round 9 awards were made are as follows:
Ø Better public places
Ø Dignity in care
Ø Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements
Ø Reducing health inequalities
Ø Reducing re-offending
Ø Tackling climate change
Ø Transforming services: Citizen Engagement and Empowerment
Ø Better brighter futures
Ø Care matters: Improving the Outcomes for Children in Care
Ø Improving Accessibility
In this, the ninth round of the scheme, 38 Beacon awards have been given to 44 authorities, from an original pool of 143 applications involving 132 authorities.
£3m has been allocated for the active promotion of all the good practice identified during this round. This will cover dissemination activities including learning events, open days and peer support.
Beacon status is awarded to best value authorities representing the diversity of local government –urban and rural, unitary and two-tier, and from different parts of the country. The scheme is relevant to all kinds of authorities, including fire, transport and police authorities.
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) will work with the successful authorities to organise bespoke learning events and activities. In advance of that, a Who's Who booklet will highlight all the shortlisted authorities in Round 9. The booklet is available from the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) at idea.gov.uk (http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=1 (external link)).
The independent Beacon Advisory Panel makes recommendations to Ministers on the selection of Beacon authorities in each round. The Panel assessed all applicants against the criteria agreed by Ministers and published in the Round 9 application brochure in March 2007. Ministers across Government then take final decisions on the basis of these recommendations.
The Beacon Scheme is led by Communities and Local Government (CLG), and the programme is managed at the Improvement and Development Agency for local government. This year, the independent Beacon panel received 143 applications, and using an extensive judging process, they whittled this number down to a shortlist of 59.
The Government established the Beacon Scheme in 1999 to identify excellence in local government and enable best practice to be shared with others.
Ten themes were selected for the scheme in Round 9. The themes against which Round 9 awards were made are as follows:
Ø Better public places
Ø Dignity in care
Ø Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements
Ø Reducing health inequalities
Ø Reducing re-offending
Ø Tackling climate change
Ø Transforming services: Citizen Engagement and Empowerment
Ø Better brighter futures
Ø Care matters: Improving the Outcomes for Children in Care
Ø Improving Accessibility
In this, the ninth round of the scheme, 38 Beacon awards have been given to 44 authorities, from an original pool of 143 applications involving 132 authorities.
£3m has been allocated for the active promotion of all the good practice identified during this round. This will cover dissemination activities including learning events, open days and peer support.
Beacon status is awarded to best value authorities representing the diversity of local government –urban and rural, unitary and two-tier, and from different parts of the country. The scheme is relevant to all kinds of authorities, including fire, transport and police authorities.
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) will work with the successful authorities to organise bespoke learning events and activities. In advance of that, a Who's Who booklet will highlight all the shortlisted authorities in Round 9. The booklet is available from the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) at idea.gov.uk (http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=1 (external link)).
The independent Beacon Advisory Panel makes recommendations to Ministers on the selection of Beacon authorities in each round. The Panel assessed all applicants against the criteria agreed by Ministers and published in the Round 9 application brochure in March 2007. Ministers across Government then take final decisions on the basis of these recommendations.