In response to the Scottish Government's ‘More Choices, More Chances' initiative, the Scottish Funding Council has commissioned Scotland's Colleges to provide a three year programme of professional development.

The More Choices, More Chances Professional Development Initiatives contain a range of strategies to support staff within Scotland's colleges in developing the confidence and increasing capacity to support young people who might be at risk of disengagement from education.

The programme has several strands of activity which have been designed following consultation with the 15 colleges originally identified as 'hot spots'. From this consultation we identified the following three specific areas for development:

• The need for a strategic approach to the management of learning provision for young people who might challenge existing college practice. Management strategies must take into account the additional pressures and the resourcing implications placed on staff and service provision at all levels within the college by these challenges.
• The need to put in place procedures and practices which work towards addressing the individual challenges which young people face in terms of their engagement with a college. This must include the responses of the whole organisation in offering a consistent and well framed support service to these young people.
• The need to ensure that staff who work directly with young learners feel supported within the college structure and adequately skilled in responding to young people who might be at risk of disengagement or under achievement.

More background documents and full details of these free professional development activities can be found on the online Subject Networks website at Practitioners Plus. (You can register on the first page to obtain a login.)

Professional Development Initiatives

Further information on the free events can be viewed in the More Choices, More Chances leaflet (495.95 kB) or on the following Professional Development Initiatives page.

Geraldine Ratcliffe
Tel: 01786 892033
Email Geraldine Ratcliffe