Partnering with Local London Skills Providers, I-Immersive embarked on a ground-breaking initiative to establish a cutting-edge network of ClassView connected classrooms, comprising 23 partners including FE colleges, Sixth Form colleges, higher education providers, adult education and independent training providers. Collectively they aim to address skills gaps in the green and digital sectors by offering training programs that are tailored to the needs of the industry. With a key focus on equipping residents with essential digital skills for career progression, this collaborative effort aims to enhance collaboration and broaden access to learning opportunities.
In Spring 2023, London South East Colleges led the bid to secure £6.5m funding from the Government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund. This milestone marked the beginning of an exciting project that encompasses a network of 21 ClassView connected classrooms These connected classroom spaces will serve as a hub for sharing teaching expertise across the diverse boroughs of the Local London sub-region, spanning from Barking and Dagenham to Waltham Forest. Not stopping there, the project also includes plans for green capital initiatives such as low carbon training labs, retrofit training centres, a wind turbine training facility, and green hubs.
The Local London Skills Providers Network intend work together to deliver improved green and digital skills training to enhance skills across a vibrant community of 2.6 million residents and 100,000 businesses, ensuring they possess the necessary expertise to secure employment opportunities and attract top talent for sustainable growth.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Phil Bourne, the Digital Lead at LLSP, to delve into his perspectives on the project's evolution and his aspirations for the future of this dynamic partnership.
What makes your project stand out in terms of innovation?
Our project, the Local London Skills Providers network, is a unique and innovative initiative that connects colleges, adult education providers, and a specialist training provider across a network of connected spaces. This pioneering approach brings together diverse providers with a common goal of enhancing capacity and capability for the delivery of digital and green skills. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this extensive connected classroom programme.
What was the timeline from the inception of the project design and scoping to the official launch?
- In Spring 2023, 21 partners identified digital and green skills as a key focus for development, aligning with the needs of the Local London region. The consortium successfully secured government funding through the Local Skills Improvement Fund, marking a significant milestone.
- December 2023, the partnership initiated a competitive tender for technology and systems for connected spaces, with i-Immersive winning the contract in January 2024.
- By March, partners were introduced to the technology and the programme, and in June, the first sites received and installed the screens and interactive screens. We are on track to have 18/20 sites operational by the end of September 2024.
What were the key factors when selecting technology to support your project and partners?
We wanted technology that wouldn’t get in the way of teachers’ existing practice. We also enjoyed a sufficiently easy-to-use kit without needing to invest in upskilling staff who are already busy enough. We have a clear philosophy that technology should enable practitioners to evolve their practice rather than force them to operate differently. We considered multiple providers and concluded that i-Immersive was the better fit for our requirements.
What challenges did you face during implementation and and how did you overcome them with your stakeholders?
As we embark on this journey with our stakeholders, we are gaining valuable insights into how they will utilise the technology in their practice. We recognise that each stakeholder has unique resources, responsibilities, and requirements, and we are committed to understanding and addressing these as we foster strong and trusting partnerships. Regular meetings and the introduction of immersive suites are expected to transform these dynamics and open up new opportunities for the network.
How do you plan to leverage your connected spaces to support and enhance your project's objectives and vision?
We are currently working across the network to generate detailed plans that will help us collectively improve digital and green skills provision across the network. Given the complexity of the task we have worked with partners to generate micro-goals that we can use to help us develop change across the partnership but also help us to tell our story as our achievements and practice evolve.
What are your next steps after the launch of your connected spaces?
At this stage, we have yet to finalise specific courses, but partners have suggested interest in obtaining access to accounting, green construction, and health and social care courses. We expect that there will be increased demand for courses as partners collectively overcome how to work together efficiently.
Partners have suggested interest in obtaining access to accounting, green construction and that health and social care courses. We expect that there will be increased demand for courses as partners collectively overcome how to work together efficiently.
How will your connected spaces help enhance digital skills in your network?
We are ambitious that the immersive spaces will build digital skills and have enjoyed observing how teachers and lecturers across the network have used training to develop confidence and skills in using the technology. As these stakeholders gain knowledge and skills, these can be transferred to the learners who they support. In time, teaching pedagogy will evolve as much as digital and green learning skills.
The i-Transform programme has delivered two rounds of training to date, supporting over 50 staff across the network. This opportunity has featured as an important component of our project plan, and we are looking forward to teachers and practitioners continuing on the Silver strand this autumn. We anticipate that the practitioners will additionally train and support others within their organisation.
What lies ahead in the project's future phases?
The project's next phase will be to implement and then embed the immersive spaces into existing practice. Delivering this across the network will involve a mixture of success and some failure, too, but through engaging with the complexity of both change and collaboration, we are excited by the potential opportunities that it might bring. We are keen to capture the learning so that we can use this to support others as our collaborative network evolves. As practice extends across the network, we expect to identify impacts that will ultimately support improvements in the skills and employability of learners who have benefitted from the project.
Video: Newham College learners talk about what digital skills mean to them, and how the College is enhancing their digital literacy to prepare them for joining the workforce.
