Brief to Undertake Consultancy for the Communication Trust

Evaluation of 2013-2015 activity: DfE VCS Grant: Platform 3

Brief to undertake consultancy for The Communication Trust

Introduction to The Communication Trust

The Communication Trust works to ensure that all children and young people have support to develop their speech, language and communication skills. It has a particular focus on ensuring that those children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have their needs identified at the earliest possible point and receive timely support, including specialist interventions, appropriate to these needs. Our vision is that every child and young person is enabled to communicate to the very best of their ability. The Communication Trust consists of:

a coalition of over 50 not-for-profit organsiations with expertise in SLC/N (the Communication Consortium)
a small core staff team
A programme board consisting of representatives of the Consortium, staff team, CDC, BT, I CAN and Afasic and chaired by an I CAN Trustee recruited specifically for the role.

The Communication Trust (TCT) has been funded by the Department for Education (DfE) since 2007. During this time, TCT has delivered a range of programmes and resources that have supported practitioners to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Background to Platform 3

In November 2012 the Trust successfully applied to the Department for Education VCS grant scheme to pilot a model of delivering the Level 3 qualification: Supporting children and young people’s speech, language and communication via e-learning and assessment over two years from April 2103 to March 2015.

The proposal responded to the recommendations of the Nutbrown Review 2012, which highlighted the lack of access to high quality CPD for the early year’s workforce, both in terms of cost and time away from settings despite the fact that the quality of staff, in particular their qualification level, is strongly associated with good quality provision; and also better outcomes for children.

The aim of the project was to develop, in cross-sector partnership, an accessible, cost-effective route for early year’s practitioners, from a wide range of backgrounds, to gain this robust qualification through an online route of learning, assessment and accreditation. This in turn will enable settings, through a better qualified workforce, to provide high quality early education in relation to children’s language and communication.

Our delivery for 2013-2015 has been to the following outcomes:

Develop an accessible, innovative and blended e-learning platform meeting the need for online modular qualifications by March 2014
Work with partners to pilot mainstream delivery of the qualification by 2015
Evaluate model and prepare for sustainable delivery with a tested business case, governance and marketing plans growing access from 2015
To ensure 230 pilot learners are enrolled on award for accreditation by March 2015 with a +/- 10% tolerance

The project has been divided into two parts with year one focused on development and the second year on delivery and evaluation.

The 3-tier pilot model incorporates:

Three Awarding Organisations that currently offer the award on the Qualification and Credits Framework (QCF); CACHE, City & Guilds and Apt Education
Three approved centres selected to provide training, support and assessment
8 cohorts of learners staggered through the year across the three approved centresto reach our target of 230 learners enrolled by March 2015.

In addition this model has also allowed us to pilot differenttypes of approved centres:

A training provider
A further education college
A council training centre

We are also piloting Platform 3 with different types of learners including:

Novice learners with little or no previous experience of speech, language and communication training
Learners who have already completed the Early Language Development Programme (ELDP) and are using the Platform 3 to “top up” their learning, be assessed and gain an accredited Level 3 qualification

A robust evaluation strategy has been implemented to take into account these variations in order to make recommendations for the future, beyond the pilot.

Project Objectives

The evaluation outcome for this project refers to evaluating the pilot model rather than the qualification. The evaluation strategy is outlined in Annex A.

We require an external consultant to develop, design and write acomprehensive report based on this strategy. This will gather information from a variety of sources (surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies etc) and should beanalysed, not only from a data perspective, but also to interrogatehow various environmental aspects of the project may have influenced responses. This bigger picture view should then form the basis of recommendations for the future.

The report needs to be user-friendly so as to appeal to a wide variety of audiences although the primary targets will be the Department for Education in the first instance and then our Programme Board and Project Board.

Target outputs and outcomes

By the end of the project the following outcomes will have been achieved:

The Trust will have an externally verified analysis of Platform 3 with recommendations for the future

The outputs required from the consultant are:

A project initiation meeting with key members of the team and ongoing contact through the Programme Manager;
A report for the Department for Education (as the primary audience) that outlines the outcomes that have been met in line with the grant delivery;
A learning log of key lessons learnt for this project for internal use by the Trust;
A two page executive summary of the report.

Milestones

The key milestones for this project are as follows:

Brief and invitation for proposals published: Monday 2nd February
Deadline for response to brief: Friday 13th February
Any further selection interviews and project initiation meeting: week beginning Monday 16th February.
10th March deadline for first draft of report.
19th March deadline for final amendments
20th March report signed off

There may be some flexibility within some of the milestones identified above. If you wish to discuss this before submission of a tender please contact

Liz Collins, Programme Manager, contact details given below.

Reporting Mechanism

Day to day contact will be through the Programme Manager.

The Trust will supply the consultant with the qualitative and quantitative data we have collected for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 to date.

The Programme Manager will liaise with the consultant and the other Programme Leads at the Trust team in order to ensure data collection can be implemented quickly and effectively.

The final report will be signed off by the Director and the consultant may be invited to present it verbally to the Board and/or Leadership team

Budget

The guidebudget for this project is £10,000 inclusive of VAT. Whilst this is a guide budget, priority will be given during assessment to value for money of the proposal.

Exclusions, assumptions and constraints

The Trust reserves the right to adjust the number of assessments depending on demand, and to re-negotiate the budget accordingly.

Bidding Process

The Trust invites proposals to undertake this project from suitably qualified consultants.

Consultants should set out their methodology and approach for delivering the project objectives, how they will deliver with outputs within the timescale available and a breakdown of budget.

Details on the team that will be utilised within the project and their background and two references should be supplied.

Proposals should be sent to Liz Collins by 12 noon on Friday 13th February

Liz Collins

Programme Manager

The Communication Trust

Phone: 0207 843 2550

Selection Criteria

The Trust will score bids on a number of selection criteria:

how well the consultants understand the issue and contextof the project
the methodology and approach of the consultants in delivering the project
relevant experience of the consultants in producing evaluation reports for varying audiences
capacity of the consultants to deliver the outputs within the time and budget available
value for money

Once prospective consultants have submitted the proposals, the Trust will issue details of the selection process.

Annex A: Platform 3 Evaluation Strategy

Outcomes:

Improved early years provision

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see

We will look for changes in the quality of provision relating to language and communication

We’ll look for changes in the quality of the communication environment

We’ll look for any changes in L and C data as part of the EYFS

We’ll use any data from ofsted inspections in settings where staff are participating and make before and after comparisons where possible
We’ll use any local quality assurance mechanisms – to discuss with participating partners

Using a before and after audit based on communication elements of ITERS and ECERS
Using setting data before and after

That language and communication is positively reflected in any ofsted reports of settings where practitioners are participating
That local quality assurance process reflect improvements in language and communication provision

Settings where practitioners are completing the award show improved communication friendliness

Outcomes for children in L and C on the EYFS increase

Changes in the skills and knowledge of practitioners

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see
We’ll look for:

Changes in confidence
Changes in knowledge
Changes in skills (see also practice section)
Look at skills and knowledge in relation to the qualification
Changes in how effectively practitioners complete the 2 year progress check

Use a skills/knowledge/confidence quiz based on elements of SLCF
Develop a short knowledge quiz (to be accessed online or offline)
Look at portfolios; observe skills in practice
Count how many people pass
Compare qualitatively – look at progress checks before and after
Ask parents to rate the quality of the progress information shared with them by the practitioners – focus groups/semi structured interviews
Ask practitioners if and how the qualification has specifically helped with progress checks - focus groups/semi structured interviews
Pre and post questionnaire for practitioners around progress checks best practice

Practitioners are more confident in SLC
Practitioners know more about SLC
More practitioners are qualified in SLC at level 3
Better/consistently strong progress checks

Effective practice in working with children to support their language

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see
We’ll look for:

Changes in practice
Effective practice

Use before and after comparisons of practitioner practice – using an observation schedule
Practical portfolio tasks – the learners pass practical learning outcomes

That individual practice improves
That effective practice around children’s communication is in place

Early identification of children with delayed SLC

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see
We’ll look for:

How many children are identified, before and after
What the referral patterns are
Changes in the appropriateness of referrals
What the average age of identification is before/after?
Increased practitioner confidence in identifying SLCN
Effective progress checks

Setting data
Local SLT data
Pre and post confidence questions on the progress check for practitioners
Compare progress checks qualitatively before and after

That individual practice improves
That effective practice around children’s communication is in place

Effective practice with parents

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see
We’ll look for:

How well practitioners work with parents on supporting their children’s SLC
How well practitioners work with parents re the progress check

Number of learners taking and passing the parent unit
Portfolio evidence – examples of any parent evaluations
Focus groups/questionnaires for parents re effectiveness of progress check sharing

That parents are effectively supported to develop their child’s SLC
That parents receive good information re their child’s progress in SLC through the progress check
That parents are happy with the support they get from practitioners

Online learning model

What will we do / How will we do it / What are we hoping to see
We’ll look for:

How well practitioners are able to log in
How well practitioners are able to navigate around the site
How well tutors/assessors are able to log in
How well tutors/assessors are able to navigate around the site
How well practitioners and tutors are able to communicate and provide an environment of supportive learning

Survey
Function to provide feedback at various points throughout the course
Evaluation survey following the course

Practitioners rate the course as simple and easy to understand and use
Practitioners feel supported by their tutors
Practitioners who would recommend this mode of delivery to others