A local authority-training provider has invested in online technology in a bid to improve quality assurance.
Gateshead Council’s LearningSkills service, which helps more than 11,000 people a year to develop new job skills and undertake nationally recognised qualifications, is utilising Mesma’s insightQ subscription-based software.
Benefits, it says, include improving self-assessment planning and evaluating progress across its operations, as well as centralising control of staff actions and reporting.
The team benefit from shared ownership of the system, seeing the critical information about achievement and improvement across the entire operation
– Sonya Anderson, LearningSkills
The system also makes for more effective monitoring of quality assurance requirements, such as safeguarding, CPD, inspection notification, communications planning, observation processes, filing systems and accessibility and subcontractor quality arrangements.
“The technology is now very much part and parcel of our oversight and managerial operations,” says senior adult learning and skills manager, Sonya Anderson.
“It centralises control of important administrative functions and action reports, allowing us to track priorities and record staff progress.
“New tools, like the Observe module, will help us prepare for the new Ofsted inspection landscape, which will be coming into effect from this September.”
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The shift from a paper-based system makes for more informed decision-making across the board, asserts Anderson, as well as helping to deliver the new apprenticeship standards to all learners.
“The team benefit from shared ownership of the system, seeing the critical information about achievement and improvement across the entire operation.
“We will see more rapid and effective reporting and feedback, helping us to quickly identify trends and direct resources to where they are most required, as the module goes live.”