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Some file on this page are PDF files. Podcast: The Big Conversation
In the first podcast from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, talks about the Big Conversation and the challenges ahead at this crucial time for adult learning. He sets out the NIACE viewpoint on the need for a coherent settlement for adults but stresses that he also wants to hear what others think.
To download the podcast, click on the link below. If it does not automatically start playing, save the file onto your computer and then play it back through your usual media player.
 | Download the Big Conversation Podcast - [MP3 file 1.3MB] |
If you want to join the Big Conversation please contact us at bigconversation@niace.org.uk
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| Leading Figures to Secure the Future of Adult Learning |
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Learning in Later Life: a Public Spending Challenge
The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is one of the defining moments of this parliament. It will not just allocate spending over the three years from 2008/09, but could also set the priorities and direction of policy for the following parliament too. It provides an opportunity to create a shared understanding of the choices we face as a society and of the role of enabling government in making ageing an opportunity for all.
NIACE, Age Concern England and the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce have collaborated in producing this report because we believe that achieving a ‘fit’ between the policy agendas for ageing and lifelong learning will be a key element to a successful Comprehensive Spending Review.
The ageing of the population is one of the most important social trends facing public policy over the medium to long term. The challenges it presents can be ignored, but only by increasing the risk of future problems. That’s why the Treasury has announced that demographic change is one of the key challenges for the CSR, cutting across all the current policy reviews and departmental spending submissions.
A new approach to adult learning is also a central theme of the CSR. The Leitch Review of Skills is due to report shortly and its findings will inform the government’s approach to skills. Demographic change and training for mature adults are two of the key issues with which the review will grapple. There is also new cross-government interest in the role of learning in retirement as part of a joined-up preventative approach to public services which can sustain well-being and reduce older people’s reliance on acute care.
The views expressed in this report are a contribution to informed debate and broadly represent the shared thinking of our organisations. As a collaborative report, however, the ideas set out here do not align precisely to every position we hold as separate organisations. We both warmly endorse the report, but the views and specific proposals are those of the principal authors, Andrew Harrop, Stephen McNair and Jim Soulsby.
Learning in Later Life - a Public Spending Challenge was official launched at the joint NIACE/Age Concern Fringe Meeting 'Extending Working and Learning Life' held at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference on Monday 18th September 2006.
A free summary of this document is available below.
Download a Summary of "Learning in Later Life - a Public Spending Challenge" (PDF file)
The complete document Learning in Later Life - a Public Spending Challenge (45 pages long, with much more detailed analysis, including a large accumulation of evidence), is now available from NIACE publications, price £9.95.
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Conference Aims to Ensure More Inclusive Learning
Despite disability rights legislation meaning new rights for disabled people, the quality and scope of provision for disabled learners is still not good with widespread cuts reported across the country. A conference, from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in London next Tuesday, will explore the challenges for good quality and meaningful inclusive learning and debate what the future strategy should be.
The Inclusive Learning – Ten Years On Conference will be held at the Resource Centre in London on Tuesday 19th September 2006. The Conference will re-visit the groundbreaking work – ten years ago - of the influential Learning Difficulties and/or
Disabilities Committee and their report Inclusive Learning (HMSO, 1996) which argued that the educational system had to change in order to enable institutions to understand and respond to individual learners’ requirements and to create an appropriate educational environment for all, including those with disabilities or learning difficulties.
The Conference is supported by the European Social Fund to enable more and different adults to access learning opportunities. ESF opportunities are helping people with disabilities or health conditions to gain skills and connect with the workplace.
A message will be formulated at the Conference to take to policy makers and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on how learning can be made more inclusive. Speaking at a lecture on Inclusive Learning last Tuesday, Peter Lavender, Director of Research and Development at NIACE, said:
“We need to find ways to enable disabled people to gain new skills for themselves, to re-engage in the workplace and to have the confidence and support to progress to new learning and opportunities.
The education sector has a major role to play. But funding policies endlessly favour the young rather than older people; accredited courses rather than all provision; and treats learning opportunities that do not meet an education target as a kind of ‘leisure’ arrangement.”
He continued, “A narrow focus risks limiting many broader opportunities for people to engage in learning. If the balance is wrong, and it is wrong at the moment, and if much part-time and non-certificated provision is removed, there is a possibility that there will be less opportunities for people with disabilities. Ultimately this makes it less likely that adults with disabilities will make a contribution to the work place or the community. This in turn will continue to cost enormous sums both fiscally and personally.”
Yola Jacobsen, NIACE Development Officer for Learning Difficulties, said,
“Consistently the inspectorate give this provision the lowest grades of any other area of work in post-16 education. However there is evidence of good practice. This conference will give staff, managers and learners an opportunity to re-visit the key messages of the Inclusive Learning report, ten years on. Mindful of the new Disability Equality Duty on the public sector we will look at developments in adult learning for disabled learners including curriculum design. There will also be a chance to reflect on practice, to consider quality, celebrate what’s working effectively and look to the future, hopefully with some optimism.”
Source: NIACE Press Release: "Conference Aims to Ensure More Inclusive Learning" Released On 15/09/2006
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Leading Figures to Secure the Future of Adult Learning
At what is a critical time for adult learning, learners and providers will attend an over-subscribed hearing - in London next Tuesday - to hear evidence from representatives of 25 leading organisations; and debate what the future settlement for adult learning should be.
The Big Conversation Adult Learning Enquiry Hearing, organised by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), will be held in Westminster. The Enquiry is the climax of NIACE’s Big Conversation and will challenge the recent cuts in provision, the increases in course fees and the loss of hundreds of thousands of opportunities to adult learners. A dossier of evidence will be produced and presented to the Government to demonstrate the depth of concern throughout institutions, industry and the public to current policy.
Those due to speak at the Enquiry include Ellie Russell from the NUS, Professor Brenda Gourley from the Open University, John Brennan from the AoC, Eileen Arney from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Andrew Harrop from Age Concern, Richard Bolsin from the WEA, Dan Taubman from the University and College Union, Patrick Grattan from the Third Age Employment Network, Liz Smith from TUC Unionlearn, Shaks Ghosh from Crisis, Malcolm Trobe from the Association of School and College Leaders and Barbara Walters from SKILL.
Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE and Chair of the Enquiry, said:
“No one can argue with the Government’s strategy to help people in the workforce gain the skills for sustained employability. However no one can be satisfied to see up to a million adults losing their places in community based learning. The Big Conversation starts from the view that adult learning really matters to the future of our society – economically and socially - and asks who should pay and how much should they pay for the chance to learn? What’s the right balance between community and workplace provision? And between what we spend on young people and on adults? Especially when 2 in 3 of the jobs of the next 10 years must be filled by adults.”
Ellie Russell, NUS Vice President (Further Education), said:
"This is a crucial time for adult education. Current funding pressures are impacting on colleges' ability to provide quality, accessible adult education for the entire community. NUS is extremely pleased to be able to add its voice to this timely NIACE enquiry, which will go along way towards highlighting the key issues for learners and firmly bring them to the attention of the decision makers."
Professor Brenda Gourley, Vice Chancellor from the Open University, said:
“In a knowledge economy, lifelong learning is the key to success, not only at an individual level, but for the success of the country as a whole. This is a really important conversation.”
Dr John Brennan, AoC Chief Executive, said:
“Adult education is facing a number of important issues with the current shift in funding priorities and the forthcoming Leitch review of national skills needs, so stimulating a debate about what the nation needs in the coming years is of critical importance.”
Source: NIACE Press Release: "Leading Figures to Secure the Future of Adult Learning" Released On 14/09/2006
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NIACE conference: "Adult Learning Enquiry - Seeking a longer-term settlement for adult learning" |
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Education and Skills Select Committee make a Powerful Case for Adult Learning
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) warmly welcomes the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report on Further Education published on Tuesday 12th September 2006.
The report highlighted the Committee’s view that while investment in Government priority areas for learning and skills was welcome, ‘…this was leading to unacceptable declines in learning opportunities not just in terms of ‘leisure courses for the middle classes’ but of types of learning which actually contributed to key government priorities – often taking place in communities where there was a great need.’
Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said:
“This report appears at a very helpful time as NIACE’s Big Conversation reaches its climax. NIACE agrees with the Committee that Government policies make too sharp a distinction between courses leading to Government approved outcomes, which attract public subsidy and courses learners choose for themselves.”
NIACE welcomed the Government’s Train to Gain policy, but believes the price paid by adult learners in community provision is too high – with 700,000 places lost in the last 2 years, and more to come this year.
NIACE supports the call for more research on the impact of current policies on under-represented groups.
“Like the Government we believe everyone needs to invest more – individuals, employers and the Government. But that means, however well we have done in the past, Government too must find additional investment”, concluded Alan Tuckett.
Source: NIACE Press Release: "Education and Skills Select Committee make a Powerful Case for Adult Learning" Released On 13/09/2006
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Education and Skills Select Committee Report (link opens in a new window) |
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NIACE conference: "Adult Learning Enquiry - Seeking a longer-term settlement for adult learning" |
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Inclusive Learning
The First Professor John Tomlinson Memorial Lecture
Ten years ago a groundbreaking committee produced a seminal report Inclusive Learning. This report argued that the educational system had to change in order to enable institutions to understand and respond to individual learners’ requirements and to create an appropriate educational environment for all, including those with disabilities or learning difficulties. The committee was chaired by Professor John Tomlinson CBE.
On the tenth anniversary of this influential report - and one year on since Professor Tomlinson died - NIACE and Skill, with support from the Learning and Skills Council, have decided to mark this occasion with a lecture in his honour.
The First Professor John Tomlinson Memorial Lecture – ‘Something happened to it along the way…’ Inclusive learning and the future of educational provision for adults with disabilities, will celebrate the life of Professor Tomlinson and acknowledge the importance of his particular contribution to the pursuit of inclusive learning.
Dr Peter Lavender OBE and Deborah Cooper, who were involved in the work of the committee, will jointly give the lecture. Barbara Waters, Chief Executive of Skill will chair the evening.
The Lecture will be held on Tuesday 19 September 2006 at the Kings Fund, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London and will begin at 6.30 p.m.
A conference: Inclusive Learning - Ten Years On, will be held in London on Tuesday 19th September 2006.
Further details about the First Professor John Tomlinson Memorial Lecture will be posted on the NIACE website on Wednesday 13th September 2006.
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Adult learning in the balance
The new issue of Adults Learning, the first of a new volume, marks the climax of NIACE’s Big Conversation with an extended focus on the current funding pressures on adult learning, asking how much provision we need and who should pay for it.
As Alan Tuckett writes in his September commentary, few believe that the current balance of investment between vocational adult education and liberal adult education is the right one. When every young person who stays on in education displaces ten adult learning opportunities, he explains, casualties are inevitable, particularly among under-represented groups. It is hard, therefore, to see how the current balance of spending furthers both the economic and social inclusion aims of government.
To help focus the debate we invited Bill Rammell, Minister for Further and Higher Education, John Hayes, Conservative Shadow Minister for Vocational Education, and Sarah Teather, Shadow Liberal Democrat Education Secretary, to set out their parties’ positions. We also asked a number of writers, including Ewart Keep, Christine Lewis, Kate Jopling, Sonia McKay and Mike Stewart, to consider the perspectives of some of the groups currently under-represented in public debate, including part-time and temporary workers, migrants, older workers and people on welfare benefits.
Tom Schuller, Head of the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research, in Paris, reports a growing consensus in OECD countries that the state, employers and individuals should share the costs of adult learning, but argues that decisions as to who pays what are likely to be heavily shaped by the cultures we live in.
We trust readers will continue the ‘conversation’ in the pages of the magazine and on the NIACE website.
View more information on the current issues of Adults Learning
View more on The Big Conversation
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Foundation Learning Tier
Initial proposals made by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) for the proposed new Foundation Learning Tier have been broadly welcomed by NIACE. However in responding to the latest strategy consultation, NIACE expresses growing unease that the approach is increasingly driven from a largely 14-19 perspective with the risk that adult progression could be sidelined and greater adult participation in learning jeopardised.
A strong definition of where the Foundation Learning Tier sits is another issue that NIACE believes needs revisiting. Currently it is unclear as to whether it is a set of pre-Level 2 progression pathways or whether it is Foundation Level in itself.
Read NIACE's full response to the QCA's consultation here.
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Hollywood Actor Urges you to Sign Up Now to Learning
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has added his distinctive voice to a campaign, Sign Up Now, from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), to encourage adults to get back into learning this autumn.
Kevin Spacey said,
“Every day I work with artists, performers and those behind the scenes who need to keep their skills up to date. There is no age limit to learning. I certainly learn every single day. Adult education offers opportunities to people at any stage in their life to develop their skills, change direction or pursue an ambition."
Sign Up Now co-incides with the time that thousands of adults embark on, or continue, their learning journeys. Many will have a life-changing experience through learning.
Lynne Bennie, from Plymouth, said,
“I had no friends or social life and even found stepping outside the house daunting. But I knew that if I could join a local course and learn how to read and write I would be able to meet new people who were in the same situation as me. Now I want to learn more and more.”
Harjitt Singh, from Surrey, said,
“Learning means the chance to change for the better, to become stronger and more independent. I can study and get the skills I need to get a good job and support my family.”
Scott Cator, from Great Yarmouth, said,
“Without adult education I wouldn’t be where I am today. In the past I wouldn’t do anything involving paperwork because it scared me and I didn’t want to look stupid. I’m not afraid of it any more.”
Rachel Thomson, Senior Campaigns Officer at NIACE, said,
“The message is simple but the evidence is overwhelming – learning transforms lives for the better. Whether you’re a Hollywood actor or someone who wants to improve their numeracy, learning is something you probably do every day – even if you don’t realise it. Take the opportunity to change your life this September and do something you’ve always wanted to do. Whether it’s learning a foreign language, ballroom dancing, , brush up on your reading and writing, gardening, photography, acupuncture, zoology and whatever the reason – new career, complete fascination or just for the fun of it – now is the best time.”
She continued,
“All over the country courses are about to start at colleges, adult education centres, libraries, museums and community centres. And each year thousands and thousands of people get a thirst for knowledge that never dies. Sign up now to learning and you never know where it might lead – a dream job, new friends, more confidence and a new life are all possible. To find out what's on offer where you are, call learndirect free on 0800 100 900. That call could transform your life.”
Source: NIACE Press Release: "Hollywood Actor Urges you to Sign Up Now to Learning" Released On 30/08/2006
| Visit the "Sign Up Now" website |
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