With the new diplomas on the horizon, and what may seem like little time to prepare, practitioners are keen to get up to speed in time to begin teaching these new qualifications from September 2008.

The diploma support programme website and the virtual learning environment (VLE) contain a wealth of information on the diplomas and the support programme; keeping you up to date with all the latest diploma news and events from organisations such as QIA, SSAT, DCSF and awarding bodies.

The diploma support programme VLE has been developed to enable practitioners around the country to communicate and share their thoughts on teaching the new diplomas and to provide a bank of resources to support their learning.

The resources within the VLE provide continuing professional development. They range from providing advice and examples of collaboration within consortia, to offering printable activities and video clips. All resources are designed to enable practitioners and consortia to focus on any issues and challenges they may encounter when delivering the new diplomas and help develop personalised solutions.

Features in the VLE are designed to allow practitioners to communicate with others in their region, consortia and diploma line in a variety of ways to suit them:

• Community forums
• Chat rooms
• Messaging
• Video conferences

Ideas and experiences gained during the diploma support programme can be recorded in the VLE using blogs and wikis - which are editable web pages. These can then be shared with other VLE members, or kept private as a personal record of CPD.

To find out more about diplomas and the VLE, and to get access to the VLE, you will need to complete a user request form; these can be found at www.diploma-support.com on the 'Request access' page.