Building stronger learning communities Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 11:00

The emergence of the Skills Funding Agency as the sole funding provider for adult skills in England outside of HE - from April 2010 - suggests that local authorities could have a bigger role in building stronger learning communities.

The NIACE conference - Living together, learning together: Working together for stronger communities - brought together policy makers, providers and learners, to consider how local authorities can become strategy-makers for learning in their areas; an argument made in Learning Through Life.

Delegates heard from:

• Cllr. Ross Willmott, Leader, Leicester City Council: The new local authority context - protecting learning for citizens.
• Jane Ward, Head of Communities and Regions, NIACE, ESOL Inquiry, author of Dare to Dream: New Approaches: the role of local authorities in delivering learning services for adults.
• Cllr. Dame Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association: Hidden Talents: local solutions for engaging young adults.
• Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning: So what? How the role of local authorities fits into a new framework for lifelong learning.
• Shabibi Shah, Get London Reading: Tell Your Own Story, from Croydon: Shabibi has a degree in journalism from Kabul University and worked as a teacher in Afghanistan. She fled her home with her husband and three children and now lives in Croydon. In England she learnt English and studied bilingual counselling and interpreting. She is actively involved in helping refugees and is a trustee of a charity supporting the education of adults living in the UK, who have a first language other than English.
• Zee Sheldon Read On, Write Away, from Derbyshire: Zee began volunteering with a local community project and learnt new skills. She recently returned to education and graduated from Nottingham University with a Theology and Religious studies degree. She hopes to start teacher training soon, but in the meantime she continues to volunteer in community projects and has even put together a community film group.

Jenny Williams, NIACE Programme Director, Learning Through Life, said:

"Learning Through Life calls for a revival of local responsibility for lifelong learning and for local authorities to take on the role of ‘strategy-maker' for learning in their areas. 2010 will be a big year to grapple with this challenge as local authorities will take on new responsibilities in April, when the Learning and Skills Council disappears."

"This conference provided an opportunity to take stock at the start of a year of change. We hope it helped local authorities and their partners in colleges and third sector organisations to understand the new contexts for their work. We also hope it gave them the chance to discuss with their peers how to take advantage of new opportunities and to be reminded by learners of the crucial value of continuing to work and learn together for stronger communities."