WORKING GROUPS
The Leeds Learning Alliance has an array of working groups where our members, supporters and associates engage in strategic collaborative working. Read more about our groups below, or in the latest Annual Report.
WORKING GROUPS
The Leeds Learning Alliance has an array of working groups where our members, supporters and associates engage in strategic collaborative working. Read more about our groups below, or in the latest Annual Report.
Further &
Higher Education
Leeds is blessed with some of the strongest higher and further education institutions in the country.
In response to recent national and local policy initiatives, a group of leaders from most of the post-16 education providers based in Leeds came together in 2022 to explore the potential for strengthening existing good collaboration.
They agreed:
- To map existing partnerships with Go Higher West Yorkshire
- To review the careers education information and guidance across the education system, in tandem with Leeds City Council
- To engage with policy makers in the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan
It was also agreed that the LLA and Go Higher West Yorkshire would pull together a working group of interested parties to develop this further. That working group began its work in 2023.
PAUL BRENNAN
Independent Chair, Leeds Learning Alliance
Community Safety
& Peace
The Public Services Pathway working group have been focused on delivering a new learning programme introducing young people to career opportunities in the public services.
The group includes public service representatives from throughout the LLA’s member and supporter organisations. The pathway programme being developed and delivered also supports the services with their equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.
The collaboration aims to develop joint long-term strategies to support recruitment from under-represented groups by exploring mechanisms to engage with communities in order to raise awareness of the careers available in the public services.
Public Services Pathfinders is an exciting new programme for young people co-produced by LLA partners, with support from West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Yorkshire Ambulance, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the British Army. The programme aims to highlight what the public services do, the career opportunities available and to support young people’s knowledge of entry routes. It aims to break down barriers, clarify misconceptions and explore the opportunities available.
Ash Razzaq
CEO, CATCH
Climate Change
The Climate Change Strategy Group chaired by Leeds College of Building is a significant priority for the LLA.
Organisations across Leeds are in varying stages of development in their own approach to the climate emergency, but what is clear is the need to do something of significance rapidly.
The approach from the LLA strategy group has been to focus on the education side of climate change, as it closely relates to the organisations involved.
The group has developed an action play on three core areas:
- Creating a coherent and resourced climate curriculum
- Actively tackle climate change across the LLA
- Develop a climate change conference
Creating a curriculum will form the legacy of this working group. Leeds DEC has completed significant work in this area, and now has a range of resources across age ranges and topics. The next step is to provide a phased curriculum for those different age ranges, an agreed delivery plan and a platform to provide easily accessible resources for practitioners.
It is important that this group works across all networks to ensure it remains a clear, consistent and vocal part of the agenda for all organisations.
Nikki Davis
CEO and Principal, Leeds College of Building
Digital Pathways
& Destinations
The Digital Pathways and Destinations working group has continued to make progress in creating new opportunities for young people in the digital sector in Leeds.
This group was initially designed to suggest new ways of reaching young people who are less likely to make career and post-16 education choices in the digital sectors. The group has identified that the digital workforce in Leeds is not representative of the city’s demographic, therefore there is a need to look at ways of improving progression and pathways available for young people into the digital sectors.
The group has held several meetings with representation from the LLA members and supporters, alongside others. The group is currently developing several activities to achieve the aim of improving the progression and pathways available for under-represented young people.
If you have any questions about the Digital Pathways and Destinations steering group, or would like to get involved, please contact [email protected].
Ann-Marie Spry
Vice Principal, Leeds City College
Primary Education
Primary growth and development has been a key focus of the Leeds Learning Alliance.
A network of primary leaders has been established, providing a half-termly forum for focused discussion of current common priorities and challenges facing schools and leaders. Groups have formed to consider ways in which our shared wealth of experience can be galvanised to help address the key issues.
- Recruitment and Pathways
It is important to consider how we can work with partners and beyond to shape pathways into work in primary schools. Partners are contributing to the development of a recruitment information exchange to address these challenges. - Inclusion and SEND
A directory of specialist practitioners and provision, including a list of languages spoken by our staff, is being developed to help our schools meet pupil needs. - Professional Development
A bespoke programme to improve outcomes for BAME and EAL pupils is being delivered to middle and senior primary leaders. This is focused on leadership and management, teaching and learning pedagogy and practice, and curriculum development.
Anne Fell
Leeds Learning Alliance Special Advisor
Centre for inclusive practice
The Centre for Inclusive Practice is developing as a platform to bring together expertise and experience locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Through roundtable conversations with senior leaders from LLA partner organisations, the Centre for Inclusive Practice has committed to four priority areas for action. These are Research and Development, Sharing Practice, Workforce Development and Post-16 Provision for 16-24 Year-olds at Risk.
Each area is building on activity already present within partner organisations. Some areas have already generated new activity leading to an increase in the quality and extent of inclusive practice across the LLA.
Centre for Inclusive Practice
The Centre for Inclusive Practice is developing as a platform to bring together expertise and experience locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Through roundtable conversations with senior leaders from LLA partner organisations, the Centre for Inclusive Practice has committed to four priority areas for action. These are Research and Development, Sharing Practice, Workforce Development and Post-16 Provision for 16-24 Year-olds at Risk.
Each area is building on activity already present within partner organisations. Some areas have already generated new activity leading to an increase in the quality and extent of inclusive practice across the LLA.
Diversity
The Leeds Learning Alliance has created resources to support the development of our leaders and to embed anti-racist practice.
A key component of this work is helping leaders understand how they can become actively anti-racist in their practice.
The Race Equity Leadership Toolkit
This toolkit has been developed by the Vice Chancellor of Leeds Trinity University, Professor Charles Egbu, along with support from Paul Brennan. It is designed to ensure that the commitment to embedding anti-racist practice is enacted as a moral imperative for leaders in our region and beyond. It takes a guided approach to self-work, the place where anti-racism needs to start.
Building on the anti-racism plan, the LLA is working with Leeds City Council to support the council’s focus on ‘Race 4 Equality’ across education in the city. The objective is to raise awareness and develop a working network to support our ambition for a more diverse education workforce.
The Office for Institutional Equity established at Leeds Trinity University is creating a group that will seek to create a shared framework for racial justice and equity across the organisations to embed approaches which support our city, region and those who live, study and work within it.
You may contact Tamsin Bowers-Brown if you would like to contribute to this network at [email protected].
Tamsin Bowers-Brown
Director of the Office for Institutional Equity, Leeds Trinity University
Leadership For Inclusion & Diversity
The Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity project started in Autumn 2022, with 11 schools participating.
The two aspects of the project are leadership for inclusion and diversity with a focus on provision for EAL learners and diversifying the wider curriculum for all subject leaders.
Middle and senior leaders from 11 schools met to agree the focus for future sessions based on school priorities as follows:
- Leadership of Inclusion for Diversity, for example enhancing reading provision (including phonics) for EAL learners
- Subject leadership for diversity, especially diversity across the curriculum
A wider group of more than 50 staff met to further develop thinking and discussion about subject diversity across the curriculum.
The project will continue to improve outcomes for EAL learners as well as to develop the curriculum to prepare all learners to become good citizens of the wider communities in which they live both locally, nationally and internationally.
Therese O’Sullivan
Leeds Learning Alliance Special Adviser
