What were you looking for? What challenges did you hope to overcome?

We were looking for an accessible online platform to pilot an alternative approach for our DiSE learners. These learners are geographically spread the length and breadth of England, so the majority of our interactions with them (from Loughborough College) are remote and will continue to be so in the future. Whilst delivery of the DiSE qualification is supported by local subcontracting partners, we were in search of a more transparent and visually appealing way to monitor and support learner progress. 

Why did you choose The Development Wheel?

There are multiple reasons and on reflection, now we have several separate SLAs in place (via 4 National Governing Bodies of Sport), the key thing that stands out is an alignment of values. The core Create Development values, that have been verbalised and consistently demonstrated by The Development Wheel team, align perfectly with our core values as a Learning Provider (who utilises public funding from the Department for Education). There is a clear connection that me and my colleagues have established with The Development Wheel team, which means that every interaction has allowed significant alignment to the challenges we were seeking to overcome.  

Having viewed other platforms, both the alignment of core values and platform usage (as highlighted in responses below), meant Create Development was an outstanding fit for us! 

What impact has using The Development Wheel had at your organisation?

I have worked within this DiSE (formerly AASE) qualification space for 12 years (being significantly involved in qualification revision/update) and aligned to my own considered thoughts on how to make an excellent user (learners and staff) experience even better, The Development Wheel appears to be the solution to a multitude of issues I have previously encountered. 

As a Manager, I can see on a daily basis how 350+ learners are adding to their portfolio of evidence. As a Quality Assurer (Internal Verifier), I can see Feedback as it is added by Assessors. I've only just begun to explore the potential of this and know the ability to produce Reports will be fantastic too. 

Feedback from staff around the learners using this has been wholeheartedly positive. They are a diverse set of people supporting the athletes, who have a range of unique perspectives and expertise (coaches, assessors, tutors, mentors, performance leads, and psychology/nutrition/lifestyle practitioners). 

Learners seem to have taken to the Wheel(s) easily too. They are pretty tech-savvy, so being able to access this on a variety of devices allows great accessibility... and adds to their desire to complete cells, like it's an "enjoyable" game of Trivial Pursuit! 

Would you recommend The Development Wheel to others?

Absolutely and wholeheartedly! 

I can see the potential to "take over" evidencing for a huge variety of purposes that goes above and beyond formal qualifications for learners. This has some overlap with a voluntary role I have as a Coach Developer in British American Football (and my wider engagement with UK Coaching, Sport England, etc). Additionally, I can see how this might be applied to any competency-based evidencing/review process and would be keen and willing to collaborate further with Create Development.