Departments within CLS

SMT Support Team

The SMT Support Team is responsible for providing a comprehensive and co-ordinated efficient business support to the Core Senior Management Team and members of the Wider Management Team across CLS. The Support Team are also responsible for general staff enquiries, managing vital communications across the service, CLS staff records, supporting complaints and enquiries, the Observation of Learning, Teaching and Assessment scheme and the staff training and development for teaching and non-teaching staff.

Data and Administration Team

The Data and Administration Team is responsible for ensuring that learners' data kept on unit-e is up to date and validated. The team handle the inputting and monitoring of register data to ensure that tutor registers are kept up to date and fully complete, liaising with tutors where needed. The Data and Administration Team also ensure the learner completion or withdrawal status is accurate and actioned in a timely way, working closely with tutors and curriculum staff to obtain any missing data.

Inputting of non-accredited achievements, again working closely with curriculum for any missing information needed, and ensuring that audit evidence is sufficient, is also undertaken. Other duties include purchasing of supplies, banking, postage, ensuring the compliance of first aid boxes and maintaining and updating notice boards.

Learner Experience Team

The Learner Experience team complete course enrolments and provide learners with information, advice and guidance on concessions, eligibility, initial assessments and course information. They liaise with site maintenance/contractors and lead on building H&S compliance. They also monitor class attendance and can support classroom set-ups in line with layout requests.

Exam and Accreditation

The Exam and Accreditation Team is responsible for the management of exams in line with the Awarding Body regulations. This includes registering candidates, running exams and entering accredited achievements. They support Access Arrangement requests for exam candidates and work with the SENCo to ensure that all documentation is provided to the awarding body to support the arrangement.

Curriculum - County Education Managers/Area Education Managers/Community Education Managers

County Education Managers have countywide responsibility for steering the curriculum areas that they manage. They manage a team of Area Education Managers/Community Education Managers, who in turn manage tutors as well as planning and managing the local programmes, which are split as follows:

• Employment and Wellbeing (including Response)
• Employer focused training
• Subcontracting
• Skills
• Family Learning
• Apprenticeships
• Study Programmes

Quality and Compliance Team

The Quality and Compliance Team collaborates with the Curriculum and other supporting departments within CLS to drive compliance and uphold quality standards in line with both internal and external benchmarks, such as Ofsted, Matrix and Awarding Organisations. The team leads on various aspects, including Quality, Safeguarding and Prevent, Learner Support, and Marketing. This diverse team is able to draw on their collective, extensive experience to support CLS in driving continuous improvement, thus aiming for a high-quality learning experience and successful outcomes for our stakeholders.

Learner Support/SENCo

CLS provides Learner Support via the Safeguarding and Prevent Manager and the SENCo. The SENCo co-ordinates special education needs (SEN) provision throughout CLS so will be able to provide advice regarding advising learners with Education and Health Care plans to ensure they are supported to fully participate and succeed on their courses. This includes agreeing Access arrangements by working with the exam and accreditation team and also advising on general enquiries, including reasonable adjustments within teaching, learning and assessing and identifying additional resources that may be required. In addition, our team of Teaching Assistants work closely with tutors to provide extra help and support for learners with their studies in the classroom.

Marketing

The Marketing team is responsible for promoting the services of CLS to the residents of Kent and all marketing materials. This happens through research, analysis and understanding our learners. The Marketing team are responsible for all three CLS websites (Kent Adult Education, Kent Training & Apprenticeships and Community Learning and Skills). They strive to ensure the right message reaches the right audience at the right time, utilising both online and offline media channels.

Finance Operations

The Finance Operations Team manage the transactional elements of finance including refunds, transfers, standing orders, write-offs, bank and fee income reconciliations, year-end closedown, balance sheet control, purchase cards and cash/cheque management.

Budget Support

The Budget Support Team are responsible for management and reporting of the financial position. This includes setting budgets, budget report production and support, year-end closedown, transaction list management as well as processes such as DSL (Discretionary Learner Support Fund), access and bursary. The team are also responsible for Access to Work funding, external invoicing and variable hour tutor payroll production.

Management Information

The Management Information Team is a service department within the Finance, Funding, Information & Systems Team (FFIS). They are ultimately responsible for the production of all of our government Individual Learning Record (ILR) funding returns and for ensuring that the ILR data we submit meets funding and contractual obligations. The team is responsible for ensuring that CLS remains up to date and compliant with all rules relating to ILR, funding and audit. They are also responsible for development and production of all management information for the service as well as areas such as the apprenticeship service account, advanced learner loans, unique learner numbers and personal learning records. They provide regular and ad-hoc support as well as continual development of reporting to all staff, primarily from unit-e and pro-achieve. This includes both financial and qualitative reporting as well as providing expertise on DfE funding rules and regulations.

IT and Systems

The IT (Information Technology) Services within Finance, Funding, Information & Systems Team is responsible for online communication channels for customers, virtual learning environments for learners and digital tools to increase efficiencies and staff productivity. We manage all IT suppliers and partners for business and education systems, including centre and community-based information learning technology (ILT) and the ILT networks. We develop and test IT solutions and train staff on their use before implementing, maintaining and supporting them. We advise on IT governance and procurement, leading on information security, data protection, online safety and digital accessibility, working with Quality and Compliance on GDPR and safeguarding.