Learning and Skills Network

The Learning and Skills Network (LSN) is an independent not-for-profit organisation in the United Kingdom delivering quality improvement and staff development programmes to post-16 education and training in England and Northern Ireland. It supports government initiatives through research, training and consultancy and supplies services directly to schools, colleges and training organisations.

LSN provides services to individual providers and practitioners, to policy-makers and to organisations that fund, manage and provide education.

History

LSN is one of the two successor organisations to the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). It continues LSDA's training, consultancy, research and service delivery activities. Launched in April 2006, LSN builds on over 25 years of work with the sector through its predecessor organisations.

In 1995 two organisations merged, the Further Education Unit – a development agency that tackled curriculum issues – and the Staff College , which acted to develop the staff of the FE sector. The new organisation resulting from the merger, the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) was renamed the Learning and Skills Development Agency in November 2000 to reflect its widening remit across the learning and skills sector.

LSDA's policy and strategic work has developed into the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA).

Categories of activity

Programmes support learning providers – their leaders, managers, teachers and trainers, to meet the challenges they face as the UK education sector grows and develops. Funded by QIA, DIUS and the Learning and Skills Council among others, each programme is designed to support a particular priority.

LSN's research and evaluation team focuses its work on sector priorities, including planning and funding, widening participation, technology and learning, and major programme evaluation. Research supports policy-makers at a national or regional level by providing evidence about what works, and aids practitioners by highlighting and disseminating good practice.

In training and consultancy most of its services are funded by government agencies and delivered free. They have developed a range of training and consultancy solutions. For example, in-house training on implementing RARPA (Recognition and Recording of Progress and Achievement) for non-accredited adult education provision, support for partnership working, and support for implementing the new Disability Equality Duty – amongst many others. Through "LSN Solutions" it also offers training and consultancy on a fee-paying basis.

Board

The Chief Executive is John Stone, who previously was Principal of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.

The current board members are:
*Chris Hughes CBE (Chair)
*Chris Blythe - Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Building
*Kate Griffin - President of the International Confederation of Principals
*Bill Stokoe
*Ursula Howard - Director of the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC).
*Mike Thorne - Vice Chancellor of the University of East London
*David Collins CBE - Principal of South Cheshire College
*Sharon White - Director, TTC Training
*Andy Westwood - Director, Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
*Christine Whatford CBE - Chair of the UNESCO UK National Education Committee

External links

* [http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/ Learning and Skills Network website]