Older People's Learning - What next?

[Background] [Aims] [Audience] [Programme] [Event Information] [Application Conditions] [Application Form]

Background

• Can learning improve the wellbeing of older people in 20 years of active retirement?
• What would an "entitlement curriculum" for older people look like?
• Can learning help older people stay longer in work?
• Can learning improve the quality of life in residential care?
• How can we fund what is needed in a world of shrinking resources?

The ageing population is one of the biggest policy challenges facing us. Most people can now expect 20 years in active retirement, and the number living beyond a hundred will quadruple by 2030. Learning can play an important part in improving the quality of life of older adults and can reduce the costs of expensive medical and social care services. But our current services are not well prepared for this, and the numbers of old people learning have been actually falling in recent years. In 2009 NIACE presented an agenda for action in its policy paper Older People’s Learning.

This conference aims to carry the debate further forward, by looking at what needs to be done to enable older people to learn the things they need, and the role of learning in meeting broader social policy objectives. It will concentrate on four major themes:

• Extending working life – can learning help older people to stay longer in work, because they want to, because they can fill skills gaps and shortages, and because it will reduce public expenditure
• Wellbeing and the quality of life – learning can improve the quality of life, because it is enjoyable, and because it gives people the skills and knowledge to manage their lives
• Learning and care – learning can improve the quality of life in residential care, increasing the independence of residents and reducing the costs of drugs and medical care
• Informal learning – the Government’s policy thrust to increase informal learning launched with the Learning Revolution White Paper is particularly relevant to older people who are often keen to use their skills and knowledge in mutual and self organised learning activity.

Four national speakers will talk about these four areas, and workshops will provide a chance to hear about the work which NIACE has been carrying out with partners in each. The conference will close with a plenary discussion of the implications for practice at local level, and for national policy.

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Aims

The aim of day is to explore the policy and practice issues in each of the four areas through presentations from national experts, workshops looking at current project work in these areas, and a final plenary to bring together ideas and proposals for next steps, in policy and practice.

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Audience

The conference is aimed at policymakers and providers concerned with older people's learning in education, in the workplace or in other settings, including health and social care services.

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Programme

10:00 Arrival and registration (tea/coffee available)

10:30 Welcome and introduction to the day
         Chair: Stephen McNair, Associate Director, NIACE

10:45 Older people, learning and work
         Chris Humphries, Chief Executive, UKCES

11:15 Older people, learning, wellbeing and community cohesion
         Councillor David Rogers, Chair, Local Government Association Wellbeing Board

11:45 Older people, learning and care
         Charlotte Potter, Programme Manager, Public Services, Age UK

12:15 Older people. The contribution of informal learning
         John Gibson, Senior Policy Adviser, Department for Business Innovation and Skills

12:45 Lunch

13:30 Workshops (Please indicate your choice on the application form)

         a) Curriculum - what would an adequate "curriculum" for older people look like, and how might it be delivered?

         b) Informal learning - what have we learned from the Transformation Fund project programme about what works for older people?

         c) Learning in care settings - what have we learned from the NIACE project programme?

         d) Learning and work - what have we learned from NIACE's Learning and Work in Later Life project for the Nuffield Foundation?

15:00 Plenary - Where next
         What needs to be done at local level to advance this work, and who should lead it?

15:30 Closing remarks

15:45 Close of conference (tea/coffee available)

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Event Information

Arrival and registration is at 10:00am for a 10:30am start. The event will end at 3:45pm

Event fee per person: £49
(includes lunch, tea/coffee and a copy of the Learning Through Life, the main report of the two-year Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning)

NB: NIACE does not charge VAT on conference and course fees

Places will be allocated in order of receipt of completed application forms

Video cameras will be in use at this conference. If you do not wish to be photographed or appear
on the video outputs please indicate this on the application form and make yourself known at registration

Completed and signed application forms must be faxed or posted to NIACE by the closing date.
Reservations by telephone cannot be accepted

Application forms are individually acknowledged by e-mail. Joining instructions, including map and directions, will be e-mailed one week before the event

Participants should be prepared to take their own notes as there will not be handouts for all sessions

If you have not received an e-mail confirming your attendance and joining instructions 4 working days
before the event please contact:

Gurjit Kaur
Tel: 0116 204 2833
Fax: 0116 254 8368
Minicom: 0116 255 6049
E-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

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Application Conditions

Event: Friday 26 March 2010
Closing Date: Thursday 11 March 2010

Cancellations are non-refundable

Substitutions are to be advised 5 working days prior to the event

A 10 working days notice period is required for provision of electronic note-takers, sign language interpreters and transcription to Braille.

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Application Form

(For people not using the online reservation system above)