Home > News > August 2006 > 01 August 2006

Fourteen new Learning and Skills Beacons announced

The minister of state for lifelong learning, further and higher education, Bill Rammell, presented Learning and Skills Beacon status to 14 learning providers at a ceremony held recently in Westminster.

These are the first new Beacons since the Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA) assumed responsibility for the status in April this year.

Learning and Skills Beacon status is awarded to learning providers in the post-16 education sector that are judged to deliver high quality and innovative teaching as well as being well-led and managed. Beacons are expected to work with QIA to help improve the performance of colleges and other providers in the sector.

Bill Rammell said he was delighted to be awarding the status to so many organisations. "Each and every one of today's new Beacons has won its prestigious status on merit and through its own hard work. This proves their all round excellence in not just the teaching and learning they deliver, but also in the way they are managed and led.

"These Beacons are a hugely important addition to the established network which is working with the Quality Improvement Agency to lead improvement, reform and change in the post-16 sector.

"Further Education is vital to this country's prosperity. The sweeping changes we announced in our recent FE White Paper this year mean colleges and providers can go on raising their game to provide the training employers demand.

"We want to raise standards by encouraging more specialised Centres of Vocational Excellence geared to meet local needs. The sharing of best practice and improved capacity is what Beacons are all about and typify the reform we want to see across the country."

The Quality Improvement Agency's chief executive, Andrew Thomson, also congratulated the new Beacons. "I'm very pleased to see these organisations' commitment to excellence in education and training because that is what the QIA has been set up to champion. They deserve this public recognition of their outstanding performance.

"We believe that the post-16 sector can be a high-performing sector if every organisation in it embraces a culture of continuous self-improvement.

"Today's awards ceremony shows there are providers who are already a long way down that path and reaping the benefits of innovation and improvement. Their best practice needs to be made available to the sector so that others can benefit from their experience."

There are now 88 Learning and Skills Beacons in England. They include general FE colleges, tertiary colleges, sixth form colleges, work based learning providers and, adult community learning providers.

The 14 organisations awarded Learning and Skills Beacon status in July were:

• Bells Training Services, Cleveland
• Godalming College, Godalming, Surrey
• Hereford Sixth Form College, Hereford, Herefordshire
• Nelson & Colne College, Nelson, Lancashire
• Northern Ballet School, Manchester
• Peter Symonds College, Winchester, Hampshire
• Runshaw College, Leyland, Lancashire
• South Downs College, Waterlooville, Hampshire
• South Trafford College, Altrincham, Cheshire
• St Mary's College, Blackburn, Lancashire
• Stubbing Court Training Ltd, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
• Toni & Guy Academy, Manchester
• Winstanley College, Wigan, Lancashire
• Blackburne House Women's Technology and Education Centre, Liverpool

External link

For more information on Learning and Skills Beacon Status, visit: www.beaconstatus.org

Training Reference is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites

Training and development books

Discover books on a variety of training and development topics at the Training Reference Bookshop

Source suppliers

Visit the Training Reference Directory to view supplier details for a wide range of courses, products and services.

Sponsored links

Back to top