Agenda item

The Committee considered an update on the Slough Academy project and progress that had been made since October 2018.

The Academy had been launched in November 2018 with a comprehensive internal and external communication programme.  Internally 30 members of staff had volunteered to act as Champions for the Academy, Project Board Members had briefed their managers on the Academy to enable cascade to their teams and a dedicated website page had been provided on the intranet.  Externally a press release had been issued ‘growing our own talent’.

An appointment had been made to the Slough Academy Manager post and a second Apprentice Specialist would be recruited in January 2019 to provide additional resource to speed up the rollout of Apprenticeships across the Council.

Two out of the Council’s twelve maintained schools and nurseries were in the initial stages of investigating using their levy.  The Academy was working with the Children, Learning and Skills Directorate to engage with schools in Apprenticeship Forums.

Implementation of the Apprenticeship e-Portfolio and Talent System (TMS) was on schedule.

During 2019 the Academy would focus on 6 work streams:

·  Operating Model – continuing to build a solid infrastructure

·  Supporting technology

·  Phase 1 Apprenticeships

·  Phase 2 Continuous Professional Development

·  Phase 3 Succession Planning

·  Benefits Realisation.

The first group of existing staff in Adult Social Care would commence Apprenticeship Training Programmes during January and February and work had commenced on Wave One Apprenticeships.

In discussing the report members were advised that it was too soon to estimate how many apprenticeships could be provided to external applicants.  It was agreed that the advert for the vacancy would be circulated to Committee members to assist in the widest circulation of it as possible.

Members of the Committee thanked officers for the report and the progress that had been made with the Academy.

Resolved: That the report be noted.