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Latest News: July 2004

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Stories from the Wireless Outreach Network

The Wireless Outreach Network (WON) was a DfES-funded initiative which has provided networks of wireless laptop computers for use in increasing access to learning through technology for socially and economically disadvantaged adults in England.

Over the period August 2003 to March 2004, representatives from NIACE made visits to 39 organisations that received WON funding in order to monitor how the laptops were being used and what impact the initiative was having on reaching new learners amongst the socially and economically disadvantaged.

These case studies, which are designed to share experiences and good practice of using the wireless laptops, can now be downloaded from this website by going to:

> Case Studies from the Wireless Outreach Network

In addition, an award scheme for individual WON learners was initiated in February 2004 to encourage them to tell their stories in their own words of how they were using the wireless laptops and the resulting impact being made on their lives and their learning. A total of 81 individual learners received awards of £50 each and one special group award was also made. Award winners received their cheques and certificates during Adult Learners Week, May 2004.

These  stories can now be downloaded from this website by going to:

> Learners Voices from the Wireless Outreach Network

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The Northern College: 25 Years of Adult Learning

The life and history of the Northern College is told in a new book published by NIACE, entitled The Northern College: twenty-five years of adult learning which traces the story of the first 25 years of the College from a visionary concept to its present position as a leading exponent of residential and community adult education.

Shortly after the inception of the Northern College in 1978, the Chamber of Commerce in Yorkshire and Humberside called on the Education Secretary of the time, Shirley Williams, to close the College on the grounds that it duplicated existing facilities. The political controversies continued throughout the early years of the College as Mrs. Thatcher’s government confronted both the trades union and the Labour controlled local authorities in the region. These were the two institutions from which the College had emerged and that have sustained it ever since.

With contributions from 12 leading figures in the field of adult education, the book reflects on the optimism and value of working-class adult education, and considers the lessons of experience for current and future practice.

Professor William Hampton, Member of the Board of Governors and the Quality Committee at the Northern College, said, “The Northern College is respected throughout the country for its visionary view of the role of residential adult education both in the community and in the process of economic regeneration. It was established to provide high quality learning experiences for adults whose opportunities for education and training had been limited. This core objective remains central to its mission. Adult education should open opportunities to employment and to personal development and public democratic involvement. All these aspects of the mission of the Northern College became even more important in the 1980s and 1990s after the collapse of the steel and coal industries in the region.”
He ended, “After 25 years, the enduring strength of the Northern College comes from the culture and traditions of the people it serves. The College was formed not through patronage from above, but through struggle from below.”

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NIACE Awards Innovation for Older Learners

NIACE and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have recognised four organisations for their innovative provision of learning opportunities for older people through this year’s Fred Moore Institutional Awards - named after Fred Moore who was honoured by the DfES as the Oldest Learner in England in 2000 at the age of 104.

The Fred Moore Institutional Awards organised by NIACE’s Older and Bolder Team - highlight projects which work sensitively with older people, by acknowledging the different ways older learners are reached and how their learning needs are responded to. The projects include work based, employment and intergenerational programmes.

The winners for 2003/04 are:

Jim Soulsby, Older & Bolder Development Officer at NIACE, said:

 “Older people in the United Kingdom are no different from anyone else - despite our mis-conceptions of what growing older is all about. ‘You’re never too late to learn’ is a well known and well used expression which is always being proved to be true. The four providers honoured this year are organisations which have all worked closely with older people in their communities to determine not only what they wanted to learn, but how, where and when that learning would be best suited for them.”

Professor Norma Raynes from INTERGEN said:

 “We are really delighted to have won the NIACE Fred Moore Institutional Award this year. The award recognises what we are doing to make opportunities for older people to learn alongside young people in our community.”

Pamela Simons from Adur Learning Exchange said:

 “As education specifically for older people is often over looked and not seen as being as important, it is fantastic to have our work recognised and rewarded. The courses we run are designed especially for older people who are unable to attend mainstream education, including those who are housebound. Apart from the opportunity to learn - the classes also provide a social occasion and help to raise people’s confidence and self-esteem.”

Source: NIACE press release "NIACE Awards Innovation for Older Learners" (PDF file), released on 08/07/2004

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