Work Based Learning Workshop

Before we start…

• Is it going to happen?

• When is it going to happen?

Before we start…

• Is it going to happen?– WBL for paralegals: still on the agenda, but not

likely any time soon– WBL within the training contract: yes

• When is it going to happen?– Sept 2012? ‘Opt in’– Sept 2014? ‘Compulsory’– Therefore…

Before we start…

• September 2011: begin your own WBL trial?• Why?

– Suck it and see– No risk if you make mistakes (learn from them)– Take WBL through a full 2 year training cycle– A year’s breathing space before compulsory

WBL Assessment

Current thinking on criteria, documentation & methodology

WBL Assessment

• ‘Assessment’ = new & unfamiliar concept• Fail assessment = don’t qualify

(Important we get it right, then…)

WBL Assessment: what is it?

1. Assessment of a trainee’s ‘WBL portfolio’ (entries + evidence)

2. by an Assessor (either within the firm or from outside)

3. against specified WBL skills outcomes

4. to determine whether the trainee is ‘competent’ in each of those outcomes

5. in accordance with the assessment criteria & guidance

WBL in practice

• First, choose…– Nominated Solicitor(s)– Reviewer(s)– Assessor(s)– (Supervisors)

WBL in practice

• Second, train them…– Nominated Solicitor, Reviewer, Assessor,

Supervisors & Trainees must all ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’

WBL in practice

• Third, give them a structure…– ‘Development Plan’ for each trainee– Weave WBL into existing performance review

structure i.e. appraisals, mid-seat appraisals– Plus WBL Reviewer/Trainee meetings in-between

WBL in practice

• 6 month cycle…– 2 months: meet Reviewer– 3 months: mid-seat appraisal– 4 months: meet Reviewer– 6 months: end of seat appraisal

WBL in practice

• Fourth, give them an online platform that makes it easy for…– Trainees to create WBL portfolio entries, attach evidence &

edit entries (i.e. update, change their minds, go back and add stuff)

– Supervisors, Reviewers & Assessors to access, review and contribute (and be seen to access, review and contribute)

– Everyone involved to have access at any time (and at the same time)

WBL in practice

Practical demonstration of WBL Review

WBL in practice

Practical exercise: reviewing, troubleshooting & assessing WBL

portfolio entries and evidence

WBL Assessment: ‘competence’

What it means and how to find it

WBL Assessment – ‘competence’

• ‘De minimis’ benchmark (‘kite mark’?): competence reasonably expected of an NQ in any firm

• A lot of agonising over this! • Easier to see than to define (‘you know it

when you see it’)• And if you don’t, the supervisors do…• Doesn’t matter if the firm’s standard is higher

(provided trainee passes)

WBL Assessment – ‘competence’

• How many portfolio entries are required?• Two or three ‘best’ bits of work?• Not assessing ‘one off’ competence: test =

can competence can be expected ‘as the norm’?

• The portfolio should enable the Assessor to form a ‘holistic’ view

WBL Assessment – ‘competence’

• ‘Magic Formula’?1. Trainee says they’ve exercised a skill

2. They back it up with evidence

3. The evidence is plausible

4. Supervisor sign-off on that evidence (‘micro’) and/or on that skill (‘macro’)

5. Nothing elsewhere points to the contrary

= Rebuttable presumption of competence

WBL: reflecting back & looking forward

WBL Assessment & the process generally

WBL Assessment

• Flexibility OK but firms must know what to do within clear parameters– Clear assessment benchmark– Clear assessment criteria– Clear & sufficient guidance notes

WBL Assessment

• Systems are needed to ensure consistency throughout the profession– Guidance from SRA– ‘Self-help’ (e.g. inter law firms)?– External assessors/moderators?– Appeals– SRA audit

WBL Assessment

• Is it ‘proportionate’ and manageable? (Yes, but…)– Fewer outcomes (50% reduction likely)

– Which outcomes are really ‘essential’ for all solicitors?

– Does all the experience have to be ‘work based’? (advocacy, interviewing, conduct?)

– NB: PSC will go

WBL: reflecting back & looking forward

Common problems with trainees, portfolios and supervisors (and

what to do about them)

WBL: reflecting back & looking forward

• Freeth Cartwright trainees did not struggle to create portfolio entries with good coverage across the outcomes...

• ...but the entries will need to be better on the ‘evidence’ (training & ‘buy-in’ issues)

• Buy-in: dynamic will be transformed once no longer ‘just a pilot’...

WBL: reflecting back & looking forward

• More supervisor sign-off as evidence • More explicit integration of WBL outcomes

with firm’s appraisal/performance review process

• Buy-in: dynamic will be transformed once no longer ‘just a pilot’...

WBL in practice – concluding thoughts

• Scope for effective but proportionate regulation (consider the alternatives..!)

• Requires structured and disciplined training framework: but plugs into and dovetails with what firms do – or should do – anyway

• Firms that don’t will have to ‘step up’ or walk away from the training contract

• Obligation, or opportunity?