The FE Sussex Quality Improvement Strategy 2006/09 will be the main driver of the work of FE Sussex Ltd for the three-year period beginning in September 2006.

It is designed to bring about a step-change in the effectiveness and impact of FE Sussex quality improvement activity, providing significant help to the member colleges in continuing to drive up standards.

The means by which quality improvement is to take place will be differentiated according to the specific needs being met. However, the main approach will be through ‘peer referencing’, a process designed to identify personnel in the member colleges who have particular specialisms, experience or expertise that can be used to support quality improvement in other colleges.

It is a high priority to identify these potential ‘internal consultants’, train them, and then use them extensively within the delivery of the whole Quality Improvement Strategy and Action Plan. This initiative, above all others, embodies the FE Sussex values of sharing excellence and developing a culture of learning through partnership.

It is intended that FE Sussex will become the ‘intelligent broker’ of the internal consultancy system, helping colleges find appropriate sources of help through its position at the centre of the FE Sussex network.

This approach should lead to sustainability and self-regulation in the longer term, and is capable of supporting the principles of business excellence as identified in the FE white paper.

The Quality Improvement Strategy defines and develops QI processes, enabling a more coherent approach to quality improvement that is efficient and represents value for money for the member colleges.

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Headline Targets:

In the period 2006/09, FE Sussex has set itself the following aspirational headline targets, by which it will measure the overall success of its member colleges in improving quality over the three-year period of the Quality Improvement Strategy: –

4 2 additional Beacon Colleges
4 7 Action for Business Colleges/new quality kitemark
43 Grade One Leadership and Management grades
4 All subject grades in regional and local priority sectors at Grade 2 or above

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