Travel to learn

Buses enable young people in Cumbria's rural areas to attend college

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One of the biggest challenges for Cumbria CC is to make sure young people living in rural areas have the same chances and choices as those with easier access to education.

Adrienne Carmichael, county manager for continuous learning at Cumbria CC, describes the situation facing the council.

"All young people in the county, irrespective of where they live and what their background is, should have the same entitlement to a curriculum choice and to progression routes as they would in any other good authority in the country," she says.

The different areas within Cumbria also have specific needs and priorities. For Barrow-in-Furness, one of the 10 most deprived wards in the country, raising the standards of educational achievement and participation in higher education is a concern. For South Lakeland, an area dominated by the Lake District National Park and containing many small towns and villages, getting access to work-based learning opportunities is more important.

Recognising the need to develop local solutions across the county, eight years ago the council pioneered the idea of 'Travel to Learn' partnerships for 14-19 year-olds. Five partnerships, which include schools, colleges, work-based learning providers and support agencies, cover five different areas across the county.

Each partnership first identified its educational needs. Then they worked together to develop the best course of action to deliver courses or learning programmes that students from all five Travel to Learn areas can access, irrespective of which school or college they attend.

When the scheme began, Ms Carmichael recalls, there was "little collaborative provision among the different areas". Now around 8,000 14 to 16-year-olds are learning at an institution other than their home school or learning provider — over 50% of Cumbria's Key Stage 4 cohort. The Travel to Learn initiative has also been adopted by authorities in other parts of England.

Since the scheme was introduced there has been a steady increase in Cumbria's young people participating in further studies. Now 8% more 16-year-olds and 12% more 17-year-olds are in full-time education and training than in 2002. The county has also moved from having one of the lowest to the highest national rates of young people in education and employment.

To achieve this, Cumbria has had to overcome the competitive ethos that used to characterise relationships between schools.

Ms Carmichael says: "The driver in education for the past 20 years has been that competition increases quality. But it's critical that we work collaboratively to ensure we deliver choice."

She believes putting students first when considering any educational initiative will encourage people to work together and help to overcome competitive attitudes between schools. "Any arguments, any problems, you always need to ask: 'What's in it for young people?'," Ms Carmichael says.

The success of the scheme — and the others featured on this page — led to it winning a Beacon award for excellence from the Improvement & Development Agency.

The LGC conference Developing Integrated and High Impact Youth Services will be held on 25 September 2008 in London.