Newsletter, November 2007 |
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Contents this month
Project news
Learning Centres: Governance Consultation
Over the last 2 years, officers from Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council - together with secondary Headteachers and governors - have been investigating potential governance arrangements for the 7 new learning centres - with construction now underway on the first of these. As a result of this research Knowsley MBC has committed itself to implementing a radically new form of system governance through its policy for educational transformation; Future Schooling in Knowsley: 2006-2008.
In preparing for these changes, Knowsley will have used 2 main forms of engagement - a series of area-based focus groups and also an online consultation. The focus groups were attended by representatives of the following groups: Headteachers; Chairs of governors; Parent and community governors; Community representatives; and Voluntary sector workers. The focus groups used innovative software to collect the comments from each of the sub-groups at the events and these findings were then grouped using our collation system. These results informed the summaries which are now displayed on the consultation website and people are now being given the opportunity to add any additional comments up until the 16 November.
The integration of these two methods will inform Knowsley's final report of findings.
Taking care of water
Thames Water invited views on 'Taking Care of Water', its draft 25-year plan for a sustainable future. The registration rates on the consultation website exceeded initial expectations and the number of submissions continued to increase day-by-day up until the consultation closed.
The Thames Water consultation is based on our document review template. Essentially this means that the questions are based around individual sections of the document so that participants can choose to either answer the questions about the sections that they find of most relevance to them or they can systematically go through each of the sections and answer every question if they so choose.
The consultation closed on 26 October and after this time all the responses were grouped using our collation system. The results will be displayed back on the consultation website at the end of November. This will allow participants to see how their submissions have been grouped and increases the openness and transparency of the process.
If you would like to view the results of the Thames Water's consultation please visit the consultation website to register to be notified when they become available.
Aviation
Back in August we gave you an insight into the first stage of the Sustainable Development Commission's consultation on aviation that it was conducting with its Panel members. After 3 stages the consultation has drawn to a close and the results are now available to the public. The responses received throughout the process were very thought provoking and useful and we encourage those interested in the topic to visit the site and view the summary reports from the process.
London Skills and Employment Strategy
The London Skills and Employment Board's (LSEB) draft Strategy was launched for public consultation on 30 October 2007. The draft Strategy sets out an ambition for London, and proposes five interconnected challenges along with priorities and proposed actions. It calls for action by Londoners, London's employers, education and skills providers, funding and delivery agencies, and Government.
This consultation will consist of two parts, an online consultation and also a key stakeholder workshop in the New Year. By combining these two methods the LSEB will ensure that it engages with both the public and also key stakeholders on the issues outlined in the Strategy.
The online consultation will close on 21 January 2008.
