This important new document was published on 30 May and sets out the Government's proposals for the integration and development of all post 16 education and training. It's a 'must read' for anyone engaged in training and development. Although the material is focused on England, parallel proposals are envisaged for other home countries.

From the summary:

'Our vision is to build a new culture of learning which will underpin national competitiveness and personal prosperity, encourage creativity and innovation and help build a cohesive society. The principles which underpin our vision are those we first set out in our green paper The Learning Age. They were:

investing in learning to benefit everyone;
lifting barriers to learning;
putting people first;
sharing responsibility with employers, employees and the community;
achieving world class standards and value for money; and
working together as the key to success. The National Learning Targets will underpin this commitment.
To achieve them, we require significant improvements in participation and attainment beyond, as much as below age 16. '

All sections of the paper are available to download or view on screen. This is copy of the Contents page:

Foreword
Executive summary
Chapter 1 - A vision for the new millennium
Chapter 2 - Why change is necessary
Chapter 3 - The Learning and Skills Council
Chapter 4 - A framework for success beyond 16
Chapter 5 - Improving quality
Chapter 6 - Education and training of young people
Chapter 7 - Supporting adult learners
Chapter 8 - Encouraging learning businesses
Chapter 9 - Transitional arrangements and timetable for implementing proposals
Chapter 10 - Consultation - how to respond
Appendix 1 - Implications for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Appendix 2 - Information for monitoring and evaluation
Appendix 3 - Current inspection and quality assurance arrangements
Bibliography
Glossary

The proposals are out for consultation and you are invited to respond before 15 October. So far, we've not found an online response page (unusually for the DFEE), but we'll keep looking as one is sure to appear shortly.

We're very interested in your reactions to the proposals in this document. Please use the comments feature below to add your views, and/or read some of our other postings summarising key aspects of the proposals.