Path: Home > News Headlines > October 2004 |
Page last updated 03 October 2006 |
This is an old page so some of the links may no longer work!
Latest News: October 2004
|
|
|
|
Use menu to jump to full story:
|
______________________________
Ensuring the Gain is worth the Pain
NIACE has published an initial response to a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) consultation paper on reforming the funding and planning arrangements for First Steps and Personal and Community Development Learning for Adults.
We welcome this important LSC consultation paper and believe that, although some of the changes proposed will prove uncomfortable for learners and providers of learning, the gain could be worth the pain. Some learners will be losers under these proposals but in the longer term, more could be winners.
We have been party to discussions with the LSC which have resulted in this paper and believe, overall, that these proposals have the potential to secure, across England, a fairer and a more consistent, transparent and defensible platform from which to argue in future spending rounds for increased public spending on First Steps and Personal and Community Development Learning for Adults.
The process is not without risk however and this paper highlights six serious concerns (two of which are critical) that will need to be allayed. Section one explains the context of the consultation paper; section two gives our initial reactions whilst section three is an appendix summarising the proposals.
Download NIACE's initial response here >
______________________________
Promoting self-help for black and minority communities.
At a time when voter and political apathy is being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic, NIACE, in partnership with the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) - is holding a conference which will look at issues around self-help, adult education and political participation for black and minority communities.
The conference, Are you Being Heard? Black Self-Help, Education and Influencing the Political Agenda, will educate, inform and challenge political parties and cross-sector organisations on the key issues affecting black communities. The event aims to encourage and advocate greater participation in politics and decision-making by people who feel largely un-represented by the political process.
Lenford White, NIACE Race Equality Development Officer, said, “Political apathy doesn’t just rest with the voter, there’s a responsibility from politicians to engage more as well. This conference will highlight the issues that are of primary importance and concern to black communities. Adult education has an important role to play in helping and equipping people to engage with political processes to effect change”.
He continued, “We’ll be celebrating adult learning achievements by identifying what has previously worked, illustrating the power, innovation and potential of black individuals and communities and discussing the kind of impact things like the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000) and the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry have had.”
Amit Popat, Head of Policy Development at BTEG said, “We need to educate and inform political parties in light of the upcoming 2005 General Election. This conference will facilitate and enable the dynamic engagement of delegates and will help shape a manifesto, which will highlight the key political issues for black communities. We will identify what strategies or policies political parties are developing to effectively engage black communities, particularly those which will increase the control communities have over their political and economic destinies.”
The conference is taking pace on Wednesday, 1 December, at the
Hilton Hotel in Watford.
Click here for more details on the
conference.
 | Source: NIACE press release "Promoting self-help for black and minority communities" (PDF file), released on 18/10/2004 |
______________________________
New Resources to aid Citizenship in ESOL Courses
NIACE and the Language and Literacy Unit (LLU+) at London South Bank University have taken a crucial step towards achieving the Government’s aim of making the process of becoming a British Citizen a more meaningful event. NIACE and LLU+ are managing a pilot scheme which will allow a number of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) course providers to trial a recently completed pack of ESOL Citizenship learning materials.
Through the use of flexible menus that learners and teachers can ‘pick and mix’ from, the pack will help ESOL teachers develop the learners’ knowledge of life in the UK, help them to become more active citizens and support them in their application for citizenship. It has been designed specifically to provide teachers with the resources and guidance they need for ESOL learners who are working towards Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 qualifications.
A number of ESOL providers will now be involved in the pilot phase, which will allow them to trial the materials that have been developed and then seek feedback from learners and teachers. The pilot phase will finish in March 2005.
This pilot scheme will be the third phase of the ESOL Citizenship project which NIACE and LLU+ were commissioned to carry out by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Home Office in February 2004.
|
In Phase 1, a scoping paper, (a proposed ESOL citizenship syllabus), was written in response to the recommendations of the Advisory Group - chaired by Sir Bernard Crick - in its report The New and the Old. |
|
Phase 2, which began in April 2004, involved the production of a pack of learning materials to support this syllabus. The pack of learning materials was presented to the DFES and Home Office in September. |
Sir Bernard Crick said:
“I must congratulate all concerned with the high quality of the material and the speed of delivery. It shows an understanding of the whole purpose and detail of the Report that is very cheering to me and, I am sure, the whole advisory group.”
Chris Taylor, Development Officer at NIACE and the Project Leader, said:
“This is a very exciting piece of work and LLU+ and NIACE are delighted to be involved in it. However, it is also very challenging because we are fully aware of just how sensitive it is and how it could, ultimately, touch many people’s lives. It is absolutely essential we get this right.”
| Source: NIACE press release "New Resources to aid Citizenship in ESOL Courses" (PDF file), released on 12/10/2004 |
______________________________
Learning inspires and changes lives
The search is on for next year’s Adult Learners’ Week Award Winners
Organisers of the biggest celebration of adult learning in the UK are looking for nominations for the Adult Learners’ Week Awards 2005 – which highlight the stories of people whose lives have been transformed through learning. Every year NIACE receives over one thousand nominations for Adult Learners’ Week Awards, which celebrate the achievements of learners – young and old and in all their diversity - across the country.
Award winners are often adult learners who have had to overcome difficult circumstances or who have been doubtful in the past about the relevance of learning to their lives. However, while learning itself may have had a positive impact on people’s self-confidence, health, social life and career, receiving an award can be the impetus to even more. Some of this year’s winners have told us why:
Paula Rumney, from Stanley, County Durham, said, “Now I'm approaching my third year at university, I'm so pleased I took the huge step of returning to education. The ability to write assignments for my degree course came from the confidence and experience I gained while attending Derwentside College. If I was to give advice to someone, I would say, ‘give it a go, you've got nothing to lose ...but everything to gain.’ I never thought I could do it but here I am - not only am I at university en route to my dream career but I have also won awards - wow! I still can't believe it.”
Mun Yee Chow, from Walkergate, Newcastle upon Tyne, said, “I would like to thank NIACE for the award and the prize that goes with it. Attending the award ceremony in London has provided me with an unforgettable experience in my life. I was also really delighted at receiving the award at the local prize giving ceremony in Middlesbrough. I felt like an ugly duckling who finally turns into a beautiful swan.”
Stephen Pearce from Chippenham, said, “There have been loads of benefits to my life since winning my Adult Learners’ Week award. I have now been made an IT Training Co-ordinator for North Wilts District Council, but it has also helped my personal status and it is something extra to put on my CV, if I ever need to use it!”
Rachel Thomson, Senior Campaigns Officer at NIACE, said, “Every year, thousands and thousands of adults take their first step on to – or along - their learning journey. Often, these learners need to address challenges, overcome struggles and carve out time for learning from crowded lives – but as a result, they find new interests, develop new skills, or revisit or revitalise curiosities developed earlier in life. All of our Adult Learners’ Week Award nominees and winners are inspiring to new and existing learners who follow in their footsteps.”
She continued, “If you know someone whose learning journey other people would find inspirational, then the Adult Learners’ Week Awards are a fantastic opportunity to give that person the recognition they deserve. Please call NIACE’s Campaigns and Promotions team on 0116 204 4200 for a nomination form – or visit our website, www.niace.org.uk/alw - and the learner you know could be receiving a national award next May.”
The Nomination Forms will be available to download on the Adult Learners' Week webpages from mid-late October 2004.
| Source: NIACE press release "Learning inspires and changes lives" (PDF file), released on 12/10/2004 |
______________________________
Transport to Learning – Consultation
NIACE is consulting about how learners, particularly those with disabilities get to the place they learn or train at.
We would like to hear about experiences from everyone involved, including; learners, carers, teachers. curriculum organisers, advisors, funders and transport organisers. We hope to hear about success stories as well as difficulties to do with:
| funding and paying for transport to get to the place of learning; |
| learning to use transport, or independent travel; |
| different types of transport, for example public transport, provided transport such as hired minibuses or taxis and using learners own or family means of transport; |
| how local policies and local initiatives work; and |
| the effects transport can have on the learners educational experience and attendance. |
Please respond by the end of November 2004 by completing the on-line response form or contact Christine Nightingale, 0116 2047084, christine.nightingale@niace.org.uk.
NIACE is running a ‘Transport to learning’ conference on 14th December 2004 in Birmingham. More details will be added to the conferences section of the site nearer the time.
______________________________
Plugging the Gap - helping migrants and refugees find jobs
In a bid to help refugees into work and plug the widening UK skills gap, a £4 million European project has been awarded to the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). Working in partnership with organisations including Birmingham University, Exeter CVS, Midland Refugee Council, the North East Consortia for Asylum and Refugee Support, the North of England Refugee Service and Ufi/learndirect, the NIACE-led Progress-GB Partnership will pilot and develop new approaches to helping refugees and migrants make progress in the work place.
Progress-GB will work with both employers who are seeking to fill vacancies; and with refugees and migrants who are seeking to develop their vocational skills. It will involve work place learning for those already in employment, including opportunities for those wanting to obtain qualifications for skills gained overseas and improve their English. It will also help employers meet skills shortages by recruiting skilled staff from refugee communities.
Sue Waddington, Progress-GB Project Leader, said, “Through our work with a previous European funded EQUAL project where NIACE carried out skills audits with asylum seekers, we discovered that many of them had skills which were in short supply in this country. But we also found that new arrivals were either unable to gain employment or the jobs they found were well below their skills-capability. Since then we have been working with asylum seekers, across the East Midlands, to assist them in developing their skills so that they are better able to seek and gain employment if they are given permission to remain in the UK.”
She continued, “We are absolutely delighted to have been successful in our bid for this European grant under the EQUAL initiative. We know that refugees are often highly skilled and highly motivated, but can find it very difficult to make progress in the UK work-place. These new resources mean that we will be able to develop new approaches to benefit both employers and refugees across the UK, by helping refugees into jobs, predominately where there is a current shortage of skilled workers.”
| Source: NIACE press release "Plugging the Gap" (PDF file), released on 24/09/2004 |
______________________________
Essential Facts and Figures on Adult Learners
NIACE has published its first annual compilation of facts and figures detailing the background of adults in the UK. Adult Learning at a Glance is an essential digest, pulling together recent statistical information for those working with, or doing research into, adult learners and potential learners.
Adult Learning at a Glance covers three main topic areas:
|
general facts and figures relating to the UK population (demographic trends, size and types of households, income levels, lifestyles, time use, civic engagement); |
|
facts and figures relating to the labour market (economic trends, employment and unemployment rates and trends); and |
|
facts and figures relating to participation and attainment in different post-16 education and training sectors. |
Dr Veronica McGivney, Principal Research Officer at NIACE, said,
“When conducting this kind of research it is essential to remember that post-16 education and training do not exist in a vacuum. The services offered and their take-up are connected with, and are affected by, a range of other factors – these include demographic change, economic and labour market trends, cultural factors and policy measures. It is important therefore, when looking at education and training, to have an overview of what is happening in the population as a whole and that is why we have produced Adult Learning at a Glance in this way.”
Adult Learning at a Glance brings together some fascinating findings which are set out below.
|
The median age of the British population will be over 43 years by the year 2031. |
|
By 2007, the number of people of pensionable age will exceed the number of children under 16. |
|
Between 1971 and 2003, the proportion of households in England which contained only one person increased from 18 per cent to nearly 30 per cent. |
|
In spring 2003, 23 per cent of dependent children in Great Britain lived in lone-parent families, 90 per cent of which were headed by lone mothers. |
|
There is now a growing tendency for young adults aged 20-24 to remain living with their parents. |
|
Despite the overall increase in income levels in the UK since 1980, there has been a steep rise in income inequality, with successive generations in some areas stuck in cycles of serial unemployment and deprivation. These tend to be areas where adult participation in education and training is low. |
|
Despite all the advances in medical and nutritional knowledge, there has been no narrowing of the differences in life expectancy between the social classes in the last 30+ years. |
Dr Veronica McGivney continued, “While the findings confirm some familiar trends in adult learning, such as the link between adult learning and socio-economic status, the inclusion of data on population and labour market trends highlights several areas of opportunity for more co-ordinated and interconnected policy-making. For instance, the persisting focus on younger adults in post-16 education policy and the lack of employer-supported training for workers aged over 40, fly in the face of the reality of an ageing population.”
She ended, “The findings around the differences in life expectancy illustrate that this is another area that surely calls for greater interconnection between health, education and regeneration policies.”
| Source: NIACE press release "Adult Learning at a Glance - Essential facts and figures on adult learners" (PDF file), released on 24/09/2004 |
| Adult Learning at a Glance: the UK context, facts and figures 2004 by Veronica McGivney, can be purchased via our online book shop, priced £19.95, ISBN: 1 86201 220 2. |
______________________________
Funding for innovative e-learning action research projects
Widening participation and E-Learning (WiPE)
NIACE is pleased to announce this new funding for innovative e-learning action research projects.
You may be aware that the Learning and Skills Council is undertaking a programme to promote e-learning in adult and community learning through the National Learning Network (NLN).
As a part of this programme, bids are invited for funding for innovative e-learning action research projects in the context of widening participation – WiPE funding. This is defined as innovative within your existing programme of learning opportunities. The intended outcomes of this project are to produce new knowledge and practical theories in the effective use of e-learning and ICT, to open up learning in terms of delivery and content to ‘hard to reach’ learners, and to identify staff development needs in the use of technology to support teaching and learning.
| Further information on this programme can be downloaded from here |
Please note that while there are clear eligibility criteria for the lead organisation in a bid, partnership bids are actively encouraged.
The closing date for bids is 18 October.
For further information contact: claudia.hesse@niace.org.uk
______________________________
New Poster Campaign Shows How Maths Makes Things Work
Posters encouraging people to “do the maths” will be appearing at thousands of locations across the country from Monday (20th September). The posters devised by NIACE with support of the Department for Education and Skills and the European Social Fund - show how a good grasp of maths can be useful in everyday life, from shopping for bargains to DIY.
The need for millions of adults in England to improve their maths skills was highlighted in a national Skills For Life survey. Very few people who took part in the survey – even those with the lowest ability levels - regarded their skills as ‘below average’. And only a tiny proportion of those with very weak skills felt these had hindered their job prospects or led to mistakes at work; many may not have even realised the negative impact weak skills can have on their life.
Susan Pember, Director of the government’s Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit, said:
“Millions of adults experience difficulties with everyday maths and many do not realise the benefits that people can see from improving their skills. We welcome the work that NIACE are doing to recognise the importance of maths in everyday life. It’s time now to really break the myth that it’s okay to be bad at maths.”
Francisca Martinez, NIACE Publicity Co-ordinator, said:
“For many people, the memory of maths is trying to learn algebra and fractions at school and this may not have seemed all that relevant. But maths has a big impact on all of our everyday lives. Having the ability to work out how much of a saving 70% off is, or being able to buy the right amount of wallpaper or carpeting can save you time, hassle and money.”
She continued, “There are free maths courses all over the country. All you need to do is pop into your local adult education college or ring learndirect on 0800 100 900 for more information. That call could not only save you money on your weekly shop but could lead to a qualification and a better job.”
| Source: NIACE press release "You do the Maths" (PDF file), released on 17/09/2004 |
| Visit the Maths Makes things Work Website for more information. |
______________________________
Post-16 E-learning Practitioners’ Conference
29-30 November 2004
Manchester International Convention Centre (G-MEX)
This event is being organised by the national learning network (NLN) which is a national partnership programme designed to increase the uptake of Information Learning Technology (ILT) across the learning and skills sector in England.
The event will help you discover more about personalised learning by giving you the opportunity to:
| Hear about the vision for personalised learning and e-learning from key policy makers. |
| See how other practitioners have successfully implemented personalised learning. |
| Try out the latest software and hardware |
There will be an engaging mix of keynote speakers, a variety of stimulating break-out sessions, and over 40 exhibitors.
The event will be of interest to E-learning practitioners in the learning and skills sector, including: college lecturers, senior managers, e-learning technologists, work based learning providers, adult and community learning providers, policy makers and support providers in local and national agencies and commercial software and hardware providers.
For more information contact: post16@livegroup.co.uk
Or book online at www.nln.ac.uk/conference
______________________________
Influencing Public Policy / Advocacy
Conferences & Training Courses Section:
Publications Section:
Campaigns & Promotions
Projects / Research
Information Services
Miscellaneous
|
________________________________
| Archives |