5 Learning Strategies courses in Harpenden

When used effectively, questioning is a useful teaching and learning strategy. During this workshop we will discuss how questioning can be used effectively to assess, challenge and stretch pupils progress.

If you want to be better at making to-do lists or managing time better this is NOT for you! The time challenges we all face at work need to be addressed with a different approach. This 'bite-size' session takes a fresh approach to how we deal with time personally and challenges the belief that we don't always have enough time. The workshop will be participative, interactive, and will cover the personal relationship we have with time and how this impacts on dealing with challenges and ever-changing priorities on a daily basis at work. The workshop will give you some practical tools and ideas on dealing with your thieves of time from a different perspective, including interruptions and emails. To enable participants to organise and use their time effectively, using strategies to help with both 'thinking' and 'doing' that are fit for purpose. This workshop will enable you to: * Recognise the barriers to effective time management and set goals to overcome them and get things done * Understand how their mindset affects how they use time and use better ways to deal with the inbuilt patterns of behaviour this produces when at work * Plan for tasks and projects in a productive way * Use some new tools and techniques to tackle time thieves, including email and interruptions * Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back to work 1 WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES * Exploring your relationship with time and how you focus your mind on daily work pressures in relation to time * Past, present and future - where do you focus your energy at work? * Time thieves - exploring the results of the pre-workshop questionnaire and learning strategies to deal with the roots of your time thieves 2 PERSONAL STRATEGIES AND TOOLS: HAVING A NEW MINDSET * Emails, interruptions and curve balls * Review and evaluation of learning * Action-planning

This five-day programme empowers participants with the skills and knowledge to understand and effectively apply best practice commercial and contracting principles and techniques, ensuring better contractor performance and greater value add. This is an assessed programme, leading to the International Association for Contracts & Commercial Management (IACCM)'s coveted Contract and Commercial Management Practitioner (CCMP) qualification. By the end of this comprehensive programme the participants will be able to: * Develop robust contracting plans, including scopes of work and award strategies * Undertake early market engagements to maximise competition * Conduct effective contracting and commercial management activities, including ITT, RFP, negotiated outcomes * Understand the legalities of contract and commercial management * Negotiate effectively with key stakeholders and clients, making use of the key skills of persuading and influencing to optimise outcomes * Undertake effective Supplier Relationship Management * Appreciate the implications of national and organisational culture on contracting and commercial activities * Appreciate professional contract management standards * Set up and maintain contract and commercial management governance systems * Take a proactive, collaborative, and agile approach to managing commercial contracts * Develop and monitor appropriate and robust KPIs and SLAs to manage the contractor and facilitate improved contractor performance * Appreciate the cross-functional nature of contract management * Collaborate with clients to deliver sustainable performance and to manage and exceed client expectations * Understand the roles and responsibilities of contract and commercial managers * Use effective contractor selection and award methods and models (including the 10Cs model) and use these models to prepare robust propositions to clients * Make effective use of lessons learned to promote improvements from less than optimal outcomes, using appropriate templates * Effectively manage the process of change, claims, variations, and dispute resolution * Develop and present robust propositions * Make appropriate use of best practice contract and commercial management tools, techniques, and templates DAY ONE 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims * Objectives * KPIs * Learning strategies * Plan for the programme 2 THE CONTRACTING CONTEXT * Key objectives of contract management * Importance and impact on the business 3 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS * Essential features of professional commercial and contract management and administration * The 6-step model 4 PUTTING THE 'MANAGEMENT' INTO COMMERCIAL AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT * Traditional v 'new age' models * The need for a commercial approach * The added value generated 5 DEFINITIONS * 'Commercial management' * 'Contract management' * 'Contracting' * ... and why have formal contracts? 6 STAKEHOLDERS * Stakeholder mapping and analysis * The 'shared vision' concept * Engaging with key functions, eg, HSE, finance, operations 7 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES * Contract administrators * Stakeholders 8 STRATEGY AND PLANNING * Developing effective contracting plans and strategies DAY TWO 1 CONTRACT CONTROL * Tools and techniques, including CPA and Gantt charts * A project management approach * Developing effective contract programmes 2 THE CONTRACTING CONTEXT * Key objectives of contract management * Importance and impact on the business 3 TENDERING * Overview of the contracting cycle * Requirement to tender * Methods * Rationale * Exceptions * Steps * Gateways * Controls * One and two package bids 4 TENDER ASSESSMENT AND CONTRACT AWARD I - FRAMEWORK * Tender board procedures * Role of the tender board (including minor and major tender boards) * Membership * Administration * Developing robust contract award strategies and presentations DAY THREE 1 TENDER ASSESSMENT AND CONTRACT AWARD II - PROCESSES * Pre-qualification processes * CRS * Vendor registration rules and processes * Creating bidder lists * Disqualification criteria * Short-listing * Using the 10Cs model * Contract award and contract execution processes 2 MINOR WORKS ORDERS * Process * Need for competition * Role and purpose * Controls * Risks 3 CONTRACT STRATEGY * Types of contract * Call-offs * Framework agreements * Price agreements * Supply agreements 4 CONTRACT TERMS I: PRICING STRUCTURES * Lump sum * Unit price * Cost plus * Time and materials * Alternative methods * Target cost * Gain share contracts * Advance payments * Price escalation clauses 5 CONTRACT TERMS II: OTHER FINANCIAL CLAUSES * Insurance * Currencies * Parent body guarantees * Tender bonds * Performance bonds * Retentions * Sub-contracting * Termination * Invoicing 6 CONTRACT TERMS III: RISK AND REWARD * Incentive contracts * Management and mitigation of contractual risk DAY FOUR 1 CONTRACT TERMS IV: JURISDICTION AND RELATED MATTERS * Applicable laws and regulations * Registration * Commercial registry * Commercial agencies 2 MANAGING THE CLIENT-CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIP * Types of relationship * Driving forces * Link between type of contract and style of relationships * Motivation - use of incentives and remedies 3 DISPUTES * Types of dispute * Conflict resolution strategies * Negotiation * Mediation * Arbitration DAY FIVE 1 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT * KPIs * Benchmarking * Cost controls * Validity of savings * Balanced scorecards * Using the KPI template 2 PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE CONTRACT MANAGER * Negotiation * Communication * Persuasion and influencing * Working in a matrix environment 3 CONTRACT TERMS V: DRAFTING SKILLS * Drafting special terms 4 VARIATIONS * Contract and works variation orders * Causes of variations * Risk management * Controls * Prevention * Negotiation with contractors 5 CLAIMS * Claims management processes * Controls * Risk mitigation * Schedules of rates 6 CLOSE-OUT * Contract close-out and acceptance / completion * HSE * Final payments * Performance evaluation * Capturing the learning 7 CLOSE * Review * Final assessment * Next steps

This course will start by giving you an overview of some of the common types and causes of learning disabilities, characteristics and behaviours and how they affect people. We will consider which learning & behavioural strategies are appropriate and how using a person centred approach to care will get the best results and ensure that needs of the individual are effectively met. We also discuss overcoming the stigma attached to learning disabilities

This is an essential programme for managers or members of staff (or students) who need to be able to read and summarise information on screen faster and more effectively. The session focuses on the different types of reading style and encourages better retention of written material through the use of specific speed-reading techniques. By the end of this programme participants will be able to: * Explain the principles of speed reading * Understand the barriers to reading * Use different reading styles according to the information being read * Read more effectively from tablet and computer screens * Co-ordinate eye movements better * Minimise any poor reading habits * Increase reading speed by over 50%, without losing comprehension * Improve retention of information using specific techniques The programme focuses on how to maximise reading from electronic devices by exploring techniques which will reduce eyestrain and improve reading effectiveness. The session also explains different types of reading styles and how to learn new, positive reading habits. 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO SPEED READING * The history of speed reading * Assumptions about reading * The process of reading * Schema and its influence on interpretation * Eye/brain relationship * How our brain processes written information 2 MINIMISING BARRIERS TO READING * Understanding eye tics * Mouthing * The influence of different light sources * Body clocks and making use of natural patterns 3 READING STYLES * Importance of choosing the right reading style * Speeds and their influence on retention * Reading for pleasure * Proof reading * Scanning * Skimming * Reading for retention * SQRW principles 4 READING FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICES * The challenge of reading from screens * Importance of breaks and proper display screen evaluation * Calibrating screens and background colours * Formatting documents * Using eye guides