Listed below is a summary of the contents and main features of the Swansea Bay Online Learning Partnership's submission for accredited status to deliver training to teachers and school librarians under the New Opportunities Fund.

Structure and Nature of Provision

  • Addressing the Purpose and Key Requirements of Paragraphs 7 and 8
  • Approaches to and Forms of Training
  • Programme Overview and Learning Cycle
  • Training in and out of School
  • Duration of Training and Flexibility
  • Materials - Shape, Style and Nature
  • Accounting for Teachers' Priorities
  • Links with Literacy and Numeracy Strategies

Outcomes of Training

  • Outcomes of Training in Detail
  • Arrangement of Outcomes
  • Action Plan

Coverage

  • Phase and Subject
  • Special Educational Needs
  • Severe and Complex Educational Needs
  • Geographical Coverage
  • Training through the Medium of Welsh
  • Numbers of Teachers
  • The Starting Date for Training
  • Operating Conditions
  • School Librarians

Track Record of SBOLP

  • Experience in ICT in Education
  • Experience of Pedagogic Training
  • Materials Development
  • Online and Distance Learning Experience
  • Training through the Medium of Welsh
  • Referees

Quality Assurance

  • Internal Quality Assurance Mechanisms - Deliverers
  • Intra-Partnership Quality Assurance
  • Liason with Schools
  • Liason with Local Authorities
  • Liason with External Agencies

Accreditation

  • Accreditation and Certification
  • Costs and Addition of Value
  • Additional Equipment and Access to Additional Facilities

Costs and Value for Money

  • Costs of Training Needs Analysis
  • Costs of Training
  • Included in Costs
  • Not Included in Costs

Management and Administration

  • Lead Organisation
  • Roles of Partner Organisations
  • Personnel and Management Structure
  • Arrangements for Day-to-Day Administration and Management of the Training
  • Staff CVs
  • Success in Previous Collaborations

Main Features of the Bid

Local and Regional Coverage
The partnership proposes to offer a network of centres providing support for teachers' development, as well as providing training and development opportunities in schools. Whilst the majority of training and support will take place in the teacher's own school, he or she will also have access to centre based support on a flexible basis for the development of basic ICT skills. The range of the partnership across Higher Education, Further Education and provision of in-service pedagogic ICT skills will ensure that teachers in the locality get access to high quality training and professional development on demand.

Local Knowledge and Established Provision
The partners know the local area, its professional culture and needs.  Established networks of communication and professional development will enable the implementation of the programme to go ahead speedily and efficiently. The local reputations of the partners will also enable teachers to feel assured that the right balance will be struck between IT and pedagogy.

Current Reputation with Teachers
All members of the partnership have strong reputations among colleagues in the community. The Higher Education partners have strong records in teacher training, the Further Education partners in continuing professional development and ICT training, and the Baglan IT Centre in the development of teachers in the pedagogy of ICT.

Range and Depth of Expertise
The partners bring to the partnership a range of established expertise. Expert and highly respected teacher trainers come from the Higher Education partners, experienced deliverers of education and training by flexible means come from Further Education, and professional advisors with extensive experience on the ground come from the Baglan IT Centre. It is the partnership's intention to continue cross-fertilising these areas of expertise so that a project which brings together the best local experts, the most respected advisors and the most successful approaches to flexibility can be delivered to teachers.

Flexibility
The partnership is committed to putting the full weight of its organisations' infrastructures behind providing flexible opportunities for training and development. This flexibility will be applied to start times, modes of work, durations of commitment, locations of work and accreditation opportunities. It will also be applied to post-programme professional development and continued personal development in the area. Over time, and with the settling in of the delivery of the programme, it will be possible to develop the effectiveness of the programme's delivery by enhancing successful features of flexibility and committing more resources to open and flexible modes of development.

Context
This bid serves as an important feature in the aspirations of the partnership to enhance the context of ICT in the region. The partnership exists to ensure that all people in the area have opportunities to develop their skills and enrich their lives, and to ensure that public funds are used to achieve this in a planned and rational manner.