GoodPractice helps Scottish Prisons Service College deliver flexible learning for ILM qualifications

April 21, 2010 - PRLog -- GoodPractice, a leading provider of learning platforms, has developed a tailored GoodPractice toolkit for SPSC employees who are studying for ILM Level 3 Certificate in Front Line Management, and some of whom may progress to the ILM Level 5 Diploma in Management.  The college is based in Brightons on the southern outskirts of Grangemouth, Stirlingshire.  The Scottish Prison Service manages 15 prisons accommodating over 8,000 prisoners throughout Scotland.

The SPSC acts as the main provider of training and development support for Scottish Prisons Service employees, starting with a six-week intensive Officer Foundation Programme training for new recruits, progressing to the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Level 3 in Custodial Care - the standard which all prison officers have to meet within two years.  In addition, the SPSC Leadership Development team provides ongoing training for managers who want to gain recognised ILM management qualifications.

The SPSC Leadership Development team recognised that supporting managers studying for ILM qualifications was proving expensive, sometimes requiring up to 20 work books per student for each course.  The work book publishers could not always guarantee that the materials would be updated or made available in the longer term.  SPSC worked with GoodPractice to develop an on-line toolkit for managers studying for ILM Level 3 Certificate in Front Line Management and ILM Level 5 Diploma in Management.

GoodPractice based the new SPS Leadership and Management Development Studies toolkit on its existing GoodPractice Toolkit for Managers and Toolkit for Leaders.  Working together, both organisations did a gap analysis comparing the content included in the existing GoodPractice toolkits and the content required for the ILM qualifications.  The result is a toolkit specific to the needs of SPS students, which mirrors the ILM course with regularly updated content to reflect the latest thinking and good practice in each area.

SPS students studying for ILM qualifications have unlimited access to the SPS toolkit and can access and download the resources they require.  Work book purchases are kept to a minimum. Students can access the SPS toolkit from any internet-enabled PC.  Tutors can also access the toolkit to establish the scope and extent of usage by a student so they can identify potential problem areas and address them in real time.

Julie Preston, training operations manager (Leadership Development), Scottish Prison Service College, commented:
“By investing in the development of the SPS Leadership and Management Studies Toolkits, SPS now has a cost-effective, fit for purpose source of underpinning knowledge that is guaranteed to be accurate and up-to-date and is customised to our specific needs.  Obsolescence is no longer an issue and the individual licence fees are much less than the costs involved in buying work books.  The resultant savings meant that the toolkit actually paid for itself within three years.”

Peter Casebow, chief executive, GoodPractice, commented:
“Many organisations who support study for management and leadership qualifications do find themselves with the same issues faced by SPSC. They are required to purchase expensive work books which are not always regularly updated. Future availability is not guaranteed by the publishers.  The SPS toolkit has so many advantages for students. It is an excellent resource available on any PC, 24 hours a day, regularly updated and relevant.”  

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GoodPractice provides toolkits for over 200 of the UK’s leading organisations. As the leading provider of on-demand learning in the UK, more than 1m managers and leaders rely on GoodPractice to help them improve personal and team performance at work.