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This is the January 2009 eBulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. The eBulletin is sent to colleagues in the sector, members and non-members alike. If you would prefer not to receive it, please contact Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk and your details will be removed from the circulation list.
Universities UK briefing for FACE Executive
The FACE Executive held one of its regular meetings shortly before the Christmas break with the first part given over to a briefing from Universities UK.
Fiona Way senior policy officer at UUK provided a wide ranging summary of its current work highlighting those areas of particular relevance to FACE. One such area was the recent work on the schools and higher education interface which has fed into the governments review of HE. During the briefing members raised a number of questions and also shared with Fiona examples from their own experience of links with schools. In addition the session provided an excellent opportunity to look at ways in which FACE and UUK could work together in future on issues of common concern and interest. As part of this it was agreed to hold an annual meeting and to keep in touch on a regular basis as appropriate. All in all it was a very productive meeting and we are very grateful to Fiona for her valuable input.
The next meeting of the FACE Executive is 11am - 2pm, 2nd March 2009 at the University of Westminster, 155 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW Get Directions
Don't forget we are always keen to encourage members to get involved in Executive so please contact the FACE Chair, John Storan at j.storan@uel.ac.uk to find out more.
FACE members contribute to Stockholm symposium
Regular readers of this eBulletin will recall links that FACE has with its sister network for widening participation in Sweden which is called INCLUDE. (See September 2008)
Over the last year the newly established INCLUDE network has gone from strength to strength and now has 20 institutions in membership. FACE Executive members Tony Acland and John Storan have been invited to take part in an international symposium in January 2009 being organised by INCLUDE and hosted at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. As well as exchanging views on widening participation policy and practice the symposium will also be a chance to share learning between the two networks.The symposium input is just part of a three day study visit to Sweden involving institutional visits to HEIs and schools as well meetings with policy makers and practitioners.
New FACE publication forthcoming
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Challenging Isolation: the role of lifelong learningThe proceedings of FACE 2008, "Challenging Isolation: the role of lifelong learning" will be available shortly. As ever, the published proceedings are the ideal extension and consolidation of another very successful FACE conference, so watch this space for news of its forthcoming publication. |
Now you don't see it - Now you do! The return of the FACE websiteSome of you may have noticed the temporary disappearance of the FACE website for a few days in January. This was because FACE decided recently to change our web hosts; partly to improve the online provision we're able to offer to members and partly because the previous web hosting company (who shall remain nameless) more than doubled their fees without warning! Plans were underfoot anyway to change web hosts so that additional features could be added to the website, but the sudden hike in fees precipitated immediate action; hence the slight hiatus. We had hoped we could avoid having a gap in service despite the very tight turn-around time but we missed it by a few days. We're sorry for the interruption in transmission; regular service has now been resumed! Watch out for some new features that will be appearing on the FACE website later this year. You can be sure to hear about them in this monthly eBulletin. |
Conference Update - FACE 2009Towards a New Agenda for
Lifelong Learning:
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Wedgewood and the FACE Gala DinnerYou may have heard the rather devastating news that Wedgwood have called in the receivers. This is a mayor blow to the economy of North Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent in particular. Obviously, we all hope that some sort of solution is found in the near future to secure the jobs of Wedgwood employees. However, we wish to reassure delegates that the possible closure or restructuring of the Wedgwood factory should not impact on the conference dinner for FACE 2009. The Museum that will play host to our conference dinner is an independent charitable trust and thus sits outside the spheres of Wedgwood currently under administration. Please note that abstract and booking forms for the annual conference are currently live on the website. ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM Everyone is advised to take advantage of our early bird offer and avoid disappointment booking now. Conference Organisor, Peter Jones 01782 294941 pete.jones@staffs.ac.uk Early Bird BookingsAll bookings made prior to the 28th February 2009 will receive a free copy of 'Marginality and Difference in Education and Beyond' edited by Michael Reiss, Renee Depalma and Elizabeth Atkinson published by Trentham books at £18.99 |
Some Other Seminars and Conferences for 2009
National Association for Developmental Education
NADE 33rd Annual Conference
February 25 – 28, 2009
Greensboro, North Carolina
Go to the NADE website for conference programmes and further details.
Institutional Research Network seminar
Kingston University, 26th February 2009
Following on from the successful conference in 2008 at Southampton Solent University “Exploring the Hinterlands: Mapping the Agenda for Institutional Research in the UK”, and in advance of the 2009 Annual IR Conference at Sheffield Hallam University, Kingston University will host a one day seminar focusing on how IR is used to provide an evidence base to inform work to improve the student experience and how this is utilized by policy makers and practitioners.
Theme: Engaging with the student experience through Institutional Research
For further information and a booking form please contact: s.may@kingston.ac.uk
"Listening to Learners - Partnerships in Action"
22nd April 2009
Docklands campus, University of East London
The 'Student Voice' agenda has for some time, been the subject of considerable academic debate and, since the government’s Every Child Matters policy initiative, continues to attract the attention of policy makers, examination boards, government ministers and journalists. This event brings together leading national and international commentators, practitioners and students to discuss the many debates surrounding this agenda. Benefits to schools throughr involvement in student voice initiatives include:
- Improvements in student services
- Improvements in school decision making
- Greater democracy for students
- Fulfilling legal requirements within schools
- Enhancing children’s skills
- Empowering child self-esteem (Halsey et al, 2008)
What’s in the News?
For the latest UK Education headlines and stories go to the FACE News Feeds page where you'll find the online news feeds of several of the sources listed below gathered together on one page for easy access.
The Guardian http://education.guardian.co.uk
The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/education
The BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/default.stm
The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education
The Times Higher Education http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
DCSF News Centre http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi
DIUS News Distribution Service http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/dius/
LSC News http://www.lsc.gov.uk/News
If you wish to respond to anything in this E-bulletin or contribute to the February 2009 issue, please email Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk