14.18 Another valuable way of recording and signalling learning activity and achievement will be through the development of a national, widely used Record of Achievement or what has more recently been referred to by Sir Nicholas Goodison and the Dearing Review of Higher Education as a 'Progress File'. Properly organised and widely recognised, the use of such a method of recording learning would contribute to learners' own sense of ownership and management of their own learning, engaging them in monitoring and reviewing their own progress.

14.19 Provided all educational institutions recognised the validity and usefulness of such an item, a Progress File would facilitate the transition from one arena or level of learning to another, be a valuable resource in assessing a learners needs, be an element in guidance and counselling. Such a file could contain many elements, including the acquisition of core skills, part qualifications or units achieved, experience of work and volunteering and be especially useful to people seeking work and employers alike. We welcome the work already done by UCAS on the development of a student profile, embracing individual identifiers, transcripts and drawing on its data base. This is clearly an initiative which Qualification and Curriculum Authority could build upon.

14.20 We recommend that more work be done on the development of a national, integrated record of achievement, co-ordinated by the Qualification And Curriculum Authority. The new record should embrace all learning achievement from school throughout life and command widespread respect for its use and utility. Proposals should build upon the initial ideas of the Goodison Report for the introduction of a 'Progress File', the work of UCAS on the development of unique individual identifiers and the recommendations of the Dearing Review of higher education.

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