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Healthy, happy and wise
The way forward for community-based adult learning
| Date: | Thursday 13 December 2007 |
| Venue: | Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, London Bridge, London, SE1 9DD |
| Ref: | C15-24/12/07 |
| Fee*: | £198 or £100 for the second attendee from the
same organisation (includes lunch, tea/coffee). NB: NIACE does not charge VAT on conference and course fees |
[Background & Aims] [Audience] [Programme]
Background/Aims
‘Healthy, happy and wise’: this year’s NIACE policy conference for local government looks at the future of community-based adult learning.
One decade on from the vision of the Learning Age, it's a good time to look at achievements made and challenges encountered. Publicly funded community-based adult learning still survives, but big questions remain:
 | Is there a sustainable model for the future? |
| How well have we widened participation? |
| How much do learners have their say? |
| What shape is the curriculum in? |
| What balance are we striking between skills and wider learning? |
| What will the partnerships for Learning for Personal and Community Development (PCDL) bring? |
Aims of the conference
| To celebrate the place of community-based adult learning in local and national agendas |
| To chart its future course Participants will be able to reflect on the place of community learning for its own sake and within the context of wider social agendas such as social cohesion, health, regeneration, families and our ageing population. |
Consideration will be given to:
| how community-based adult learning should adapt and change in the next ten years |
| how new forms of communication and leisure affect us all |
| how adult learning might respond to the burning issues of the day – global warming, sustainability, faith and culture, one world and poverty, our ageing population |
| the role of the voluntary sector. |
By attending the event, participants will have the opportunity to:
| reflect on the achievements of the last decade |
| hear from leading practitioners about the challenges of the next ten years |
| consider how to position community learning to enable its strategic development to respond to the agendas of our times |
| question leading experts on the way forward. |
How participants can use the information gained from the event
Participants will:
| take away updates about current developments and ideas |
| gain insight into strategic and policy developments to inform forward thinking in their own organisation |
| identify a range of policy issues on which partnership work can be extended. |
Our contributors:
John Field is Professor of Lifelong Learning at the University of Stirling. His involvement in lifelong learning has included roles as a tutor at Northern College and a Lecturer in Continuing Education at the University of Warwick. He is also involved in the Learning Lives project which examines the meaning and significance of formal and informal learning on the lives of adults.
David Lammy is a Minister in the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. He is the MP for Tottenham, and is a champion of community empowerment.
Four heads of adult learning services are contributing to the event, all of them at the cutting edge of innovation in adult learning.
Romy Warren, from Portsmouth, is passionate about learning and its power to transform lives. She has worked in all sectors of education, so her wide ranging understanding coupled with the dynamism found in Portsmouth mean her team push the boundaries.
Ben Charles from Enfield believes that adult and community learning should be “in the community, for the community and by the community”. He has a particular interest in intercultural competence, and embedding the global dimension in adult learning.
Jim Austin is from Gloucestershire where close links with health and social care are leading some interesting new initiatives. It is one of the Department of Health Partnership for Older People Projects (POPPS) pilot areas.
Jayne Hawley is from Sheffield where the Lifelong Learning and Skills Service is making a key contribution to the city’s skills and employment strategies which have community engagement at their heart.
Councillor Geraldine Reardon from the London Borough of Waltham Forest is the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Arts and Culture. Her portfolio includes the Community Learning and Skills Service which is committed to engaging local people in lifelong learning through working in partnership and promoting widening participation and high quality learning and training opportunities.
There will be an extensive forum session in the afternoon which will give people every chance to air their views and to draw on the speakers’ experience.
The conference will be chaired by Annie Merton, NIACE development officer and a champion of community-based adult learning.
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Audience
Who would benefit from attending?
People who are passionate about transforming power of adult learning in the community and people who would like to know more about what adult learning can offer to individuals, families and communities including:
| local government elected members, policy makers and managers |
| adult learning managers at all levels |
| faith organisations |
| health organisations, including voluntary sector organisations working on health |
| Local Strategic Partnerships and staff working on Local Area Agreements |
| managers of PCDL Partnerships and Learning Partnerships |
| national charities such as Age Concern and Citizens’ Advice working in communities |
| organisations from the voluntary sector |
| people working in regeneration, environment, children’s and adult services, extended schools |
| Regional Development Agencies and Government Offices |
| staff from the Learning and Skills Council |
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Programme
| 09:30 | Arrival and registration (tea/coffee available) |
| 10:00 | Welcome and introduction to the
day Chair: Annie Merton |
| 10:10 | Keynote address: Community-based
adult learning – a vision for the next decade John Field, NIACE Board Member and a member of the Big Inquiry |
| 10:40 | Ministerial address David Lammy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills |
| 11:10 | Questions from the floor |
| 11:15 | Local learning for local people Romy Warren, Head of Portsmouth Adult Learning |
| 11:35 | Community regeneration Ben Charles, Head of Enfield Adult Learning |
| 11:55 | Healthy and happy Jim Austin, Head of Gloucestershire Adult Learning |
| 12:15 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Putting adult learning into city
strategies Jayne Hawley, Head of Sheffield Adult Community Learning |
| 13:35 | A view from elected members Geraldine Reardon, Cabinet member from the London Borough of Waltham Forest |
| 14:00 | Forum Chaired by Annie Merton Romy Warren, Ben Charles, Jim Austin, Jayne Hawley and Councillor Geraldine Reardon |
| 15:15 | Closing remarks Chair |
| 15:30 | Close of Conference (tea/coffee available) |
This programme is correct at the time of going to press. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the published programme in the event of one or more of the advertised speakers being unable to attend. Delegates will have no claim against NIACE in respect of such changes.
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