Learning and Skills Improvement Services
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Excellence Gateway improves on 1.2.12
The Excellence Gateway, LSIS’s online service for everyone who works in the Further Education and skills sector, has undergone a major makeover.
The portal that provides practical help to all professionals in the sector has been redeveloped to make it easier and faster to use. The new version of the Excellence Gateway will be delivered using open source software in order to ‘futureproof’ the system and to keep costs down. The new system will be live and ready to use on Wednesday 1 February or - 1.2.12.
The changes include: news tailored to the page the user is viewing, simplified navigation around the website, improved search functions and access to older content via The Treasury – a collection of valued resources that are no longer updated. The changes were made following consultation with leaders, managers, teachers, librarians and partner organisations within the sector.
The Excellence Gateway is increasing in popularity and latest figures show that up to 7,000 sector professionals use it every working day.
Chris Kelland Partnerships Manager for LSIS’ Web Services said: “We know it’s already a very popular tool and we hope more professionals within the sector will use the Excellence Gateway following the improvements that have been made.
“Using open source software is very important to us because of the benefits it carries. We will be able to update the system as technology develops and will be able to introduce new features to further benefit users. We’ll continue to work with users, and with national and regional partners, to ensure that the Excellence Gateway develops and improves – new tools, new functionality, new content.
“In addition there is the element of cost; open source software is developed and maintained by a community of users which has helped us keep costs down. This is very attractive to LSIS which is mindful of providing a cost-effective, quality service to the FE and skills sector.”
The Excellence Gateway provides practical support and information to professionals working in the FE and skills sector in England, helping them to improve their everyday work, and innovate in teaching and learning. It enables them to share their professional knowledge and examples of effective practice with other practitioners, creating communities and supporting quality improvement across the sector.
