Cost Effective On-line Induction/Foundation programme

Overview

The online induction/foundation programme provides essential learning for everyone in the children's and young people's workforce during their first two years in practice. Each course is equivalent to a day's face-to-face training, making them ideal to fill gaps where traditional training is difficult to access or resource.

Because training needs vary, there is no set route through our induction/foundation programme. Rather, a wide and growing range of courses is available, and employers can decide which are appropriate for their needs. Some might be used as core induction training, others as continuing professional development for particular staff members.

The programme includes courses relevant to, among others:

· Teachers and teaching assistants

· Children's Centre staff

· Childminders and nursery staff

· Foster carers and residential care workers

· Social workers and CAMHS staff

· Youth support workers and Connexions staff

· Youth Offending Teams, Police, Probation and Prison Services

The curricula for the specific courses have been approved by Qualifications Curriculum Authority (QCA) and adopted into the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).

Accreditation - All courses are accredited as part of the test and trials process for the new framework and include online assessment to ensure students have grasped key principles and downloadable worksheets to show how learning has been integrated into workplace practice. All are mapped to relevant standards, including: -

· CWDC Common Induction Standards

· CWDC Training Standards for Foster Care

· Standards for Newly Qualified Teachers

Our Secure Online Learning Administration (SOLA) system allows training administrators to enrol students, view their progress, generate reports, and access Completion Certificates, Learning Journals and Practice Worksheets.

An Outline of Available Courses and their costs can be see on the AKAMAS web site - click here

History

The induction/foundation programme was conceived following the success of the online child protection training delivered by Akamas in partnership with London Metropolitan University. This showed that it was possible to deliver relevant and accessible training to large populations online, and to cover relatively complex professional issues through expertise in course writing and design.

The concept was developed further by Akamas in partnership with the Mary Walsh Institute SACCS, who already had a considerable body of knowledge that was being delivered as a Foundation Degree in Therapeutic Child Care. It has since been extended by bringing further partners (including Life Change UK and Net Mentor) into the programme, each with their own area of specialism, and by adding all the functionality of the SOLA system, which allows organisations to use the training efficiently, effectively and accountably.

AKAMAS click here London Metropolitan University click here the Mary Walsh Insitutute - saccs click here and Net Mentor click here . The combined wealth of experience that we bring will make a major contribution to meeting the diverse training needs of the wider children's and young people's workforce.

How the programme works

The Sola System

After purchasing a licence, each organisation is provided with a PIN and password enabling a designated Training Administrator to access the online system. They can then:

· identify which courses are appropriate for their organisational training needs

· set up student accounts

· allocate course places to students

· view online progress and completion reports, and export these in spreadsheet format

· access course materials, Learning Journals, resource books (where available) and, for completed students, Completion Certificates and Practice Worksheets

Online study

· Students receive an access PIN and password, which can be emailed automatically via the SOLA system if desired

· They can then log in to:

o see which courses they have been allocated

o download and print their Learning Journal

o work through the course material

· Online activities and practical exercises bring the material to life and promote a practical understanding of the issues covered

Automated assessment

· At the end of each course, students are presented with an online multiple-choice assessment

· Where answers are incorrect students are directed back to the learning material they need to review

· Students have three attempts to complete the assessment and demonstrate they have achieved all the Learning Outcomes

· When they pass the assessment they gain access to a Completion Certificate to download and print

Learning portfolio

· If students and their employers/agencies make full use of the resources provided, students will be able to compile a Learning Portfolio to record their progress through the training. This consists of:

o A Learning Journal for each course, where the student can make notes as they work through the exercises presented online

o A Completion Certificate for each course, showing that the student has successfully passed the online assessment and understands the key issues covered

A Practice Worksheet for each course, where the student and their supervisor/manager can identify how the training meets required standards and how they have put their learning into practice

Ways to purchase

Annual licence

The induction/foundation programme is available to organisations via an annual licence, which covers access to the SOLA system, technical support, unlimited set-up of students, and allocation of course places up to a set limit.

Licence level Price Max course places

Starter £800 purchases 16 places

Basic £4,000 purchases 100 places

Intermediate £15,000 purchases 500 places

Full £35,000 purchases 2,500 places

Individual access

We will be making the induction/foundation courses available for individual purchase by June 2008. This will make them available to independent practitioners, parents and carers, or employed staff looking to their own development. Individual customers will be able to pay online by credit card to receive instant enrolment on the courses of their choice, along with access to all the portfolio materials: Learning Journals, Completion Certificates and Practice Worksheets.

New Customers to Life Change UK and Akamas On-line Programmes

If you are a new customer, please do call us to discuss your requirements. We are keen to assist and ensure that you gain the maximum benefit from this unique package of training.

Once you are happy to proceed you will be asked to complete a booking form, see - PDF . This will then be forwarded to Akamas for processing. You will then receive instructions with PIN and Password details, enabling you to access your selected courses . click here