David Lammy MP, Minister for Skills, who will present the awards, praised the Beacons for doing a magnificent job in helping learners of all ages to achieve their full potential. “I know how much effort and commitment it takes for colleges and providers to achieve such high levels of leadership, management and performance across the whole range of their activities,” he said. “Beacon status is public recognition of that excellent performance.”

But Beacon status is more than just a badge and the minister added: “As exemplars it will be the responsibility of the new Beacons to promote excellence throughout the sector by sharing their skills and expertise with other colleges and providers to help them raise their performance to that of the very best.”



Kate Anderson, acting chief executive of QIA, said the newest Beacons now had a wonderful opportunity to offer their expertise and advice to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), the new sector-led organisation that is bringing together the work of QIA and the Centre for Excellence in Leadership.

“LSIS will have a vital role to play in supporting the sector to take forward strategic reform, leadership development and the pursuit of excellence and innovation,” she said. “We hope that new and existing Beacons will play their part in helping us to build LSIS as an organisation dedicated to the development of a world class sector offering excellent provision for the benefit of learners, employers and communities.”

The 14 new Learning and Skills Beacons are:
• Action Training (Stoke) Ltd
• Blackburn College, Blackburn
• Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College, Brighton
• Fircroft College of Adult Education
• Lite (Stockport) Limited
• North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, Nuneaton and Hinckley
• NRS Training, Dudley, West Midlands
• Reigate College
• Selby College
• Stockport College
• Sussex Downs College
• The Academy (Malton) Ltd
• The College of West Anglia
• The Oldham College



There are now 128 Beacons recognising the full range and diversity of organisations in the further education and skills sector, including 28 general FE colleges, 12 tertiary colleges, 36 sixth form colleges, 34 work-based learning providers, 6 adult and community learning providers, 4 agricultural and horticultural colleges, 2 performing arts providers, 6 specialist institutions

Today’s award celebration will feature a showcase by performing arts students from the Isle of Wight College which became a Beacon earlier this year.



Notes to editors

---About Beacon status---

QIA Learning and Skills Beacon status provides public recognition of the excellence and innovation which exists in the further education and skills sector. It celebrates learning providers that deliver outstanding teaching and learning and is for providers funded by the Learning and Skills Council and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).



---About CEL---

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) was launched in October 2003 as a key national agency within the Success for All initiative. CEL's remit is to foster and support leadership improvement, reform and transformation throughout the sector. It serves the existing and future leaders of all providers within the further education and skills system, including FE colleges, training and work-based learning providers, adult and community providers, offender learning, specialist colleges and voluntary organisations. To date, more than 1,160 different organisations and around 38,000 individual participants have engaged with CEL.


---About QIA---

The Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA) was set up by the government in April 2006 to speed up and support quality improvement, increase participation and raise standards and achievement in the learning and skills sector. QIA's role is to champion and facilitate excellence and innovation, working across the further education sector to improve performance. As the agency leading the development of a quality improvement strategy for the sector, QIA commissions a range of services provided by other organisations.



---About the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)---

From 1 April 2008, CEL and QIA began working together to form a new sector-owned organisation dedicated to supporting excellence and leadership development in the further education and skills sector.

On 10 June the name of the new organisation was officially announced as the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) – dedicated to development. LSIS was created after consultations with sector leaders identified a strong desire for an organisation that would be sector-led.

Combining the best aspects of two different and highly successful sector bodies, the Learning and Skills Improvement Service will focus on learners and on developing excellent and sustainable FE provision across the sector. Leadership development will be an important part of its strategic role in the sector.