"Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."
William Pollard

I spent a couple of hours with Valerie Hannon, colleagues from the Innovation Unit and a select group of Directors of Children's Services having lunch at the Commonwealth Club in London. Charles Leadbeater talked to a paper he had written on 'New Platforms for Learning' which really connected with what we are doing here in Leeds. He connected three key elements: leadership, capacity building and empowerment across three platforms... schools, colleges and children's centres, families and neighbourhoods and learning across the community. He was challenging some of the basic assumptions that underpin our learning systems:

• where learning takes place;
• who we learn from;
• when we learn;
• how we learn;
  
• how our learning is monitored and assessed;
• how our learning is funded;
• who sets the standards;
• how we are supported as learners.

It was a stimulating session and I hope Charles will come to Leeds in the New Year to see what we are doing at the cutting edge of innovation and helps us take it further.
Chris