The handbook aspires to make a contribution to this policy goal. The main purpose of the books in the series is to present a summar y for busy managers of some the key elements in the development of the 14–19 phase of education and training. The aspiration is that they can gain a quick overview of the issues, not a comprehensive document on each
issue, as this would be overlong and unusable. The topics chosen have emerged through the experience and evaluation of the 14–19 Pathfinders, and from talking to head teachers. The handbook aims to be a useful resource that managers can call on when planning, implementing and reviewing 14–19 strategy as par t of the process of strategic planning. At its simplest it seeks to answer the questions ‘What works and what do we need to take into account when developing our 14–19 plans?’