The South Yorkshire e-learning Programme (SYeLP), branded as ‘e-sy.info’, was set up in 2001. It is a partnership of the four local authorities in South Yorkshire: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Sheffield City Council, with support from Yorkshire Forward and the LSC. Established as a European Union (EU) Objective 1 funded project, which began with an initial feasibility study, followed by a pilot phase in 2001/2002 and roll-out of the main programme from 2003 onwards, the programme’s vision is:
to contribute to economic regeneration in the sub-region and support the growth of information and knowledge-based industries through developing the digital skills of the current and future workforce;
to harness the potential of digital technology to support and enable learning for all ages 10 and above, in schools, colleges, businesses and the community.
South Yorkshire is an area of around 1.25m inhabitants. It is mainly urban but with rural pockets and has no unitary political authority.
When the programme started, the area was in severe economic decline due to the collapse of its traditional industries of coal and steel, and it was judged by the EU as an area of economic deprivation with GDP less than 75% of the EU average.
As a result, the programme was set up to deliver and realise the benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education and training, across South Yorkshire by:
Improving educational achievement in schools and colleges
Addressing social exclusion
Increasing the skill-base of the current and future workforce to attract high technology companies
Narrowing the digital divide
Accelerating inward investment in ICT-related activity
Sustaining the growth of e-learning throughout South Yorkshire
At the heart of the programme is a Virtual Learning Environment, www.e-sy.info , a single point of access to learning resources that can be shared by all organisations in the programme and by users through the Internet anywhere and anytime.
The programme’s achievements to date include:
The creation of a single e-learning environment, which has aided the development of e-maturity and confidence in ICT and digital technologies in the sub-region
Engaging 150 educational organisations in e-learning across South Yorkshire including, 31 primary schools, every secondary school and all Further Education (FE) colleges
Engaging 450 Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in e-learning
Developing e-learning in local community facilities such as Libraries and New Deal for Communities’ Projects
Installing & upgrading ICT infrastructures in schools, colleges, businesses and local community organisations
Engaging over 36,000 learners in e-learning
18,000 learners gaining ICT qualifications at Level 2 or above
A growing national and international reputation for successful delivery of the largest e-learning programme in Europe through partnership working, as part of an economic regeneration strategy
Since the programme was set up in 2001, it has won a number of awards including;
International "Supporting Excellence in e-Learning" (SEEL) Quality Award for e-Learning Regions
National "e-Learning age" Award for "best example of supporting learners online" from the e-Learning Network (2006)
Throughout the sub-region the programme has also directly contributed to:
A rise in the number of pupils gaining ICT qualifications, with attainment in South Yorkshire rising faster than the national average and the sub-region’s closest statistical neighbours
The numbers of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) ICT entries doubling over the same period
Substantially closing the gap between South Yorkshire schools and the national target for pupil to computer ratio, with over 13,000 pieces of kit supplied