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Adult Learners’ Week 2005 - How did we do?

Click here for IES evaluation report of ALW 2005 - [PDF file 473 KB]

Click here for NIACE review of ALW 2005 - [PDF file 1MB

Awards
Many thanks to everyone who nominated a learner, group or project for an Adult Learners’ Week award. Among the people we celebrated this year was ESF award winner Peter Fewell, 48, from East Sussex, who wrote to us soon after, saying: “To hear Moira (Stuart) speak our names and to mention our achievement, to see ourselves on the screen and to be applauded by everyone was euphoric. I was floating on a cloud of elation.“

You can get a free book outlining the stories of all the winners by contacting the Campaigns team on 0116 204 4200.

The high-profile national ceremonies, attended by the Rt Hon. Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State for Education & Skills, Tony Robinson of ‘Blackadder’ fame and BBC newsreader Moira Stuart, gave credit to the more than 100 winners of this year’s Awards. Comments included “an inspirational day”, “a breath-taking experience”, “a great chance to recognise achievement” and “it is a joy to be involved in such a valuable contribution to people’s learning.”

Click here for details of the 2005 Award Winners

Click here for pictures of the award ceremonies.

Media
The launch of Adult Learners’ Week was featured on Channel 4 News on Monday 23rd May and prominent press articles appeared in, amongst others, the Mirror, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph. We also got a mention on Ceefax news (p 121) while over at the WEA John Fortune (of Channel 4’s Bremner, Bird and Fortune) took part in a light-hearted discussion on adult learning. Regionally, Tynes Tees Television filmed the north-east award ceremony, while Border TV covered a belly dancing event in Cumbria that had taken place at a local library - the main message was that learning can be fun and does not have to be necessarily academic. Border TV also featured a short interview with one of our Adult Learners Award winners, Susan Moncaster, emphasising how learning has made a real difference to her life and has given her much more confidence.

Click to enlarge
A packed Press room at the Launch of Adult Learners’ Week 2005

MEDIA LITERACY
The Adult Learners’ Week launch event also saw the launch of And Now Press the Red Button - an Ofcom-supported guide to media literacy, what it is and why we need to know more about it. On the back of this, we were fortunate to receive a three-minute video message from award-winning film director, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, talking about media literacy, his own experiences of learning and congratulating Adult Learners’ Week Award winners.

Millie Banerjee, a member of Ofcom’s Board, also spoke at NIACE’s annual Parliamentary Reception, launching And Now Press the Red Button to Parliament.

You can obtain copies of the guide by contacting alw@niace.org.uk .

If you have any stories about media literacy we would be very interested to hear about them. Please email us at alw@niace.org.uk

Quick facts…
There were:

Other key events and activities:

New survey offers mixed messages on participation in learning by adults
The annual Adult Learners’ Week survey of adults taking part in learning offers mixed messages. The survey commissioned by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) shows that, whilst there has been an increase, this year, in the number of adults participating in learning over a 3-year period, however the number of current learners has dropped.

At first glance, the report - Better News This Time? - offers encouragement. The decline in the number of adults participating in learning reported in 2003 and 2004 has been reversed - the overall participation rate is up to 42% from 38% last year. However the situation affecting current learners shows a sharp fall and is now 4% below the 1996 figure.

The survey also shows that social class, as ever, has a marked impact on participation. Professional and managerial groups (56%) are twice as likely to participate as unskilled and unwaged groups (26%), although the increased participation of skilled workers (40% up from 32% in 2004) is encouraging news.

As in previous years the age divide in participation is clearly shown, with a marked drop for people over-55 (22%). Given the demographic change facing the UK, this is worrying news. A reduction in the number of young people means they can fill only one in three vacancies for new and replacement jobs over the next decade. The other places will need to be filled by people currently outside the labour force, and by older people taking on new roles. On the evidence of this survey, these are the groups least likely to participate in learning