LONGLEY PARK SIXTH FORM COLLEGE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE Originator: Jo Cairns/Clare Blunt Human Resources Managers Date of Last Approval: 2 March 2005 Approval/review by: Resources Committee Review interval (Years): 3 Date of next review/approval: December 2016
Contents Page Policy Statement 3 Purpose of the policy 3 Training and professional development financial resourcing 4 Procedure 6-10 Role and Responsibilities Individual Employees 6 Role and Responsibilities Managers 7 Role and Responsibilities The HR team 8 Roles and Responsibilities The CPD group 8 Applying for training and professional development activities 9 Evaluation of training and professional development 9 Identifying training and professional development needs 10 Maximising the benefits of training and professional development 10 Appendix I Recording training and professional development 11-13 activities Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 2
POLICY STATEMENT Longley Park Sixth Form College is committed to providing development opportunities in support of the performance, quality and success of the College and its employees. We recognise that effective learning and development is vital to the success of the College. It is essential that all employees possess the skills and abilities needed to carry out their job roles and maximise their contribution to the College. All employees have the opportunity to access learning and development opportunities, and are expected to engage in a process of continuous learning. An annual budget will be allocated for learning and development activity. Decisions to fund learning and development will be made in the context of College priorities. Individual employees have a responsibility to be proactive in their own learning and development, and to pursue their own career and continuing professional development, where this is also of benefit to the organisation. Managers at all levels have a responsibility to fully support employees in work-related learning and development activities. Individuals and managers also have a responsibility to take advantage of the full range of learning opportunities that exist, using informal and unplanned activities that occur on a dayto-day basis as opportunities for learning, as well as structured activities such as mentoring, secondments, coaching, shadowing and off-the-job training. All learning and development activity will be monitored and evaluated, to ensure that learning is effectively translated into improved performance in the workplace, and to maximise quality and value for money. Purpose This policy describes the responsibilities of individual employees and managers in implementing key aspects of the training cycle and is intended to guide individuals in meeting their own learning and development activities which are aligned with their role within College. Scope This policy applies to all employees within the College. This policy should be used during the following activities: Undertaking PDR Setting personal objectives Planning learning activities Applying for external training Evaluating training and development (internal and external) Devising training strategies Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 3
Equality and Diversity Learning and development opportunities will be provided to all staff. Resources for learning and development will be distributed as appropriately. Learning and development will meet different learning styles and needs. Funding will be distributed amongst staff as appropriately for training and development and all requests will be considered fairly Internal and External Training In order to meet internal training and development needs, five in-house training days for teaching staff are conducted each academic year which address a variety of issues including equality and diversity. There will be occasions where employees wish to attend courses which are external to the college, benefit them and their job role. The college will fund external learning and development activities where appropriate to the employee s role and profession. Training and Professional Development Financial Resourcing For training and development to be most effective they need to be adequately resourced. The HR team holds the centralised budget for all college training and development for all the teams within the college and cross college management teams. For training courses where the college make a significant investment, it is expected that we will make a significant return on this investment. The college will only support training and development activities which carry a substantial cost when it is an essential requirement to the employee s role. In cases where a significant amount of funding is put into an employee completing a course (for example PGCE) which the employee has requested to complete and the college has agreed, a repayment schedule will apply should they leave the college before 2 years after completion of the course. The repayment schedule is as follows; 100% repayment if member of staff leaves within 6 months of completion 75% repayment if member of staff leaves within 12 months of completion 50% repayment if member of staff leaves within 18 months of completion 25% repayment if member of staff leaves within 24 months of completion In exceptional circumstances this clause may be waived. These circumstances would include: o Employees leaving for ill health or redundancy o Employees leaving on maternity or adoption grounds o Other circumstances on compassionate grounds or extenuating circumstances following consideration by the senior leadership team The employee will be required to sign a learning agreement between the College and the employee. This will only be used if the course carries a significant cost. If an employee identifies a learning and development activity which has a significant cost and is not directly linked to the employees role then the college will not provide financial assistance. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 4
PROCEDURE Roles and Responsibilities The Role of the Individual Employee Each individual has a responsibility to: Take ownership of their learning and development. Take an active part in identifying their own learning and development needs, as part of the normal performance management process, including keeping up to date with information specific to their role; Align all training and development activities with College priorities, PDR targets, team priorities and achievement of their Personal Development Plan. To discuss training and development needs with their line manager prior to making a request on the Colleges generic training and development recording system. Training and development needs should be discussed with line managers during the PDR process, as and when they arise or as any development opportunities may arise. Take advantage of a variety of opportunities for learning and development relevant to the employees job role, both formal (typically off-the-job training) and informal (such as onthe-job coaching and other activities) subject to financial approval. To update training and development activities using the Colleges generic training and development recording system and to seek management/cpd approval for all courses they wish to attend. Members of staff must take responsibility for booking their own training courses. Attend all booked and approved learning and development events. Complete an evaluation on the quality and effectiveness of learning activities via the Colleges generic training and development system and line management discussions. Review learning activities with their manager, and identify opportunities to apply the learning within their job, to continually improve their performance. In the event where employees need to cancel the learning activity they must advise the HR team immediately. Staff must cancel the activity through the provider themselves and discuss with HR so the records can be amended and payments cancelled where appropriate. Staff should also inform their manager immediately. Managers play a crucial role in the development of their people employees, in order to maximise individual motivation and performance. Managers have a responsibility to: Ensure that all employees have equal access to appropriate opportunities to learn and develop relevant to their role and communicate all opportunities available. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 5
Ensure that employees are compliant with statutory and mandatory training including the four college training days per academic year which are assigned to teaching staff, the compulsory training day for cross college staff and the twilight sessions as arranged. Ensure staff complete booked training or cancel these in a timely way if no longer required. Carry out an annual performance development review where training and development needs should be discussed, be identified and addressed when they arise. Help individuals to identify and take advantage of informal learning and development opportunities (e.g. by coaching them in work activities wherever appropriate) as well as more formal opportunities (such as off-the-job external training courses). An employee s PDR should have a close relationship between the agreed professional and personal objectives which will be identified on the Colleges generic training and development recording system. Respond to and approve training requests via the Colleges generic training and development recording system. Review learning outcomes with their staff to maximise learning and ensure that it is transferred into their job performance through effective work planning and coaching. Utilise team meetings to share learning from training and development activities. The HR Team The HR team s role is to assist in the development of staff knowledge and skills relevant to work roles. The HR team will provide support to managers and individuals by: Ensuring there is a model for College induction programmes. Co-ordinating information about learning and development needs and opportunities. Helping managers and individuals, as required, to identify development needs and objectives. Supporting staff with the implementation and ongoing use of the current College generic training and development recording system. Giving advice on training and development opportunities and processes. Assist with the evaluation of learning and development opportunities. Managing the local learning and development budget. Collating data from training events and developing evaluation reports. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 6
Taking on board feedback from college managers and employees. Collate data from learning and development activities and produce training and development reports for college management and SLT. Employee feedback of training and development activities will be used to inform the CPD group of priorities and future focus for training and development. This will also be cascaded via management to various teams within the college. The Role of the Continuing Professional Development Group The CPD group s role is to assist in the alignment of training to meet College priorities and the process of tracking, monitoring and evaluation. Ensure internal training events are planned and organised in a timely manner Promote training and professional development across the college Track, monitor and evaluate internal training events Evaluate training and professional development across the college. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 7
Applying for training and professional development activities Employees will need to update any training requests via their CPD section on the current College generic training and development recording system (Please refer to Appendix I for guidance). Once this has been done approval will be required from their line manager confirming that the employee is able to attend the course. Once management approval has been confirmed and HR has also confirmed, the employee is able to attend the training. Additional guidance on how to record training requests on the College generic training and development recording system can be issued separately. Employees must arrange cover for their work via their line manager. The line manager should ensure cover for the employee s work during the period of absence to attend the training and professional development. Travel arrangements are the responsibility of the employee attending the course. Please refer to the Travel and Subsistence policy and claim form for further information. Unauthorised training and development activities will not be reimbursed by the College. Evaluation of training and professional development In particular with internal training the College carries out an evaluation procedure. This process looks at the usefulness of the training, the learning gained, how the training has been applied and how it has benefited the organisation/others and students. Once the employee has completed the training and development activity, completed an initial evaluation form and had chance to reflect and put the training into practice, they are required to evaluate the long term impact by completing the CPD objective on the College s generic training and development recording system. Employees will be required to feedback on training and development activities to their line manager. It is important that long term impact is able to be measured in order to understand future training needs and to understand the long term benefit of any training activity undertaken. Identifying training and professional development needs All employees will undertake an annual PDR which will include a discussion and identification of any potential learning and development needs with their line manager. The PDR should cover the learning and development needs of the employee in relation to the following: 1. mandatory/statutory and legislative requirements 2. any new skills/knowledge to reflect changes in an employee s current role 3. the delivery of performance objectives specific to the individual, team, department and service. Once learning and development outcomes have been agreed between the employee and the manager and the PDR is completed, if CPD opportunities such as training courses are identified, they must be uploaded onto the Colleges generic training and development recording system by the employee. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 8
It is accepted that training needs may arise throughout the year following on from the PDR discussion. If this is the case, the training request must be raised in the same way as described in section four. Maximising the benefits of training and professional development In order to maximise the benefits of learning and development for college management teams and their employees it is important for both to: Understand why they are undertaking the development activity, how it relates to their job role, the team/department and the organisation and students. Take active part in all training sessions they attend and make sure they evaluate the training accordingly. Allow appropriate time required to complete the development activity. Be aware of how the skills they develop can be applied to their job role. Be able to share what they have learned with other members of their team and the wider college if necessary through cascading or internal training days. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 9
Appendix I 1. Log into Blue Sky using your username and password. Once logged onto the homepage click on the CPD tab. 2. Once you have clicked that you will be taken to the CPD ACTIVITIES page. To add a new objective you will need to click add new professional objective if you are updating your plans to attend a training course (whether it be external or internal, they need to be recorded here) 3. Once you have clicked the add new professional objective tab you will be taken to this screen Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 10
Once you have completed the form click NEXT. You will then need to link your course to the college s objectives and how you attending this course will benefit you, the college and the students in the long term. Once you have done this click SAVE. A notification will be sent your line manager and CPD leads in order to approve your attendance on the course. Your line manager must approve the course on Blue Sky before booking. Once the line manager has approved, CPD leads will agree to sign off your attendance You must still book your own training course through the provider once you have received approval. It is up to you to make the booking. If there is an expense attached to the course then a purchase order must be raised by the person booking the course and sent to HR. The purchase orders can be found on the T drive, then clicking blank forms and templates, purchasing, purchase order requisition. Please leave the budget code blank and this will be filled in by HR and signed off. Once you have been on the course you will need to go back into your CPD log and evaluate the course as best you can. To do this log onto blue sky, and click the CPD tab. Once on the CPD page a list of incomplete CPD activities will appear. Click the activity you wish to evaluate Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 11
Once you have clicked the CPD activity you wish to evaluate you then need to click complete my CPD If you have any evidence, you attach this by clicking MANAGE EVIDENCE and uploading attachments. Once you have clicked complete my CPD activity an evaluation form will appear where you will be asked to record your feedback on the training course you have attended. Some of the question you will not be able to answer for a while as time will need to pass in order to assess the impact on the training on your work. Training and Professional Development Policy 09Dec2013 12