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Chris Turner Chris Turner, Head of Qualifications Assurance for learndirect, has a background in the employment, enterprise and skills sectors with over 18 years’ experience. Chris has worked in both senior operational and quality related roles for some of the largest providers in the sector. Following a background in television production, Chris joined the National Council for Vocational Qualifications in 1995 before later taking up a post with the North London Training and Enterprise Council. Chris spent a 10 year period at Avanta Enterprise (TNG) during which time he directed enterprise, work-based learning and employment led programmes both on a national and regional basis. Chris joined learndirect in 2011 and currently leads on the assurance of all learndirect qualification delivery including those associated with over 5,000 Business Skills Apprentices. |
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Sian Warr I am a Project Co-ordinator within the Development Team at Skills CFA. On a day to day basis I deal with the primary and secondary research and support the delivery of standards, qualifications and skills related projects. I have worked within the Development Team for seven months and prior to this I was a member of Skills CFA’s Registration and Certification team. |
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Mike Cooper Mike Cooper has worked in the post-16 sector for 30+ years, including 17 of those in successful providers, after first working in the school and voluntary sectors. He was also a senior examiner and moderator for ten years with several awarding bodies, primarily in English-related subjects. From 1999, he was LSDA’s Regional Director for the South East, working on many programmes and projects across the FE sector, locally, regionally and nationally. Freelance since 2006, Mike now works with a wide range of sector bodies, providers, networks and other organisations on many different topics and needs – both at sector-wide open events and in-house for networks and individual providers. Much of this has focussed on teaching and learning and quality improvement, with particular relevance to developing learners’ skills in English, and staff skills to support that. He founded The Policy Consortium, and writes for the education media. American-born, Mike graduated in 1972 from Stuyvesant High School in New York City, then came to the UK for his higher education, and has lived and worked here ever since. |
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Michael Smith Michael currently works as an English and Maths Co-ordinator at Barking and Dagenham College and has been teaching in the FE sector since 2009, delivering on English and maths programmes, at various levels up to and including GCSE. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Linguistics from the University of Hertfordshire, a PGCE from the University of Essex and is currently undertaking a Masters study into English Education at the Institute of Education. Michael has been involved in practitioner-based research enquiries with organisations including the Sunderland Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (SUNCETT) and the Education and Training Foundation (ETF). He has presented papers at national and international conferences hosted by the ETF and the European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL). |
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Katharine Davies More details to follow shortly. |
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Stella Turner Stella is responsible for keeping a ‘watching brief’ on matters related to qualifications and curriculum development. She represents AELP on groups such as the Skills Funding Agency’s Qualifications Approvals and Governance Group and the BIS Vocational Qualifications Forum plus various Awarding Organisation Consultative Committees.
Since joining AELP Stella has managed a number of projects, including work related to the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF) Readiness Programme, Functional Skills Support, Unit Delivery Trials, the review of FE Teaching and Training Qualifications and the promotion of Higher Level Skills. More recently she has taken on responsibility for overseeing and managing work allocations within AELP’s delivery team. Stella has always worked in the education and training sector and has over 10 years experience of working for a work based learning provider.
As a Senior Training Manager for a large training provider in Bristol, she was responsible for a team of ten, overseeing and contributing to the design and delivery of a range of both government funded and commercial programmes including IT courses, Apprenticeships and NVQs in a variety of occupational areas. Prior to joining AELP Stella worked for the Awarding Body OCR as a Customer Support Manager.
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