The Improvement Strategy reflects the model of UK public service reform developed by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, which gives more prominence to the needs and wishes of learners and employers. The model has four inter-related components:
The national partners believe that this model can help to describe how improvement contributes to the delivery of better post-16 learning and skills for all. The four components of the model work together to promote continuous improvement in the standards of provision and in the quality of colleges and providers.
The further education system is moving from a dependency on top-down performance management towards self-regulation and the increasing influence of learner voice and employers' needs. Through the Improvement Strategy, the national partners aim to support this move to a self-regulating further education system by developing the capacity of colleges and providers to meet the requirements of learners, employers and Government for a high quality learning experience. Self-regulation is a consequence of rebalancing the reform model by reducing emphasis on top-down performance management and external regulation and encouraging self-improvement so that colleges and providers are better placed to respond to market incentives and user shaping. The recommendation by Lord Leitch for a more strongly demand-led system of further education is consistent with this model of public service reform.
The UK Government's model: Public Service Reform - a self-improving system can be downloaded here (PDF).