Courses lost for adults with learning difficulties Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 12:25

Nearly one-in-five (19 per cent) of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded learning providers reduced opportunities for adult learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities between 2006 and 2008, because of changed funding arrangements; according to research carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) for the LSC.

The research, undertaken in early 2008 on the extent and impact of any changes in (FE) provision for adult learners (aged 19 and over) with learning difficulties and/or disabilities over the previous 12 - 24 months - but which has only now been published - found that while although nearly four-fifths (80 per cent) of providers of LSC-funded learning have not reported a decline in their provision; one-fifth (19 per cent) reduced provision because, they claim, of a reduction in funding rather than a reduction in demand.

The report - Impact of Changes in Provision on People with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities Post 19 - also states that some providers reported that the cuts happened because they were managing reduced allocations to meet LSC priorities - which meant that some provision for adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities had been withdrawn where it did not fit these priorities.

The report highlights how providers were increasingly making changes in their offer to ensure their provision met the LSC's focus on learning leading to progression. They also stopped courses considered to be of low quality and focused instead on areas of strength rather than opting for a very broad curriculum offer.

There is also evidence to suggest that providers who had reduced their provision had been only able to make limited alternative arrangements for the learners affected. The greatest impact of this was on the learners and their parents and carers.

Peter Lavender, Deputy Chief Executive at NIACE, said:

"This report makes startling reading; one-fifth of providers have cut their provision which has had a huge effect on learners, their families and carers. This is the second time we have had a report of cuts - the very reason IES were commissioned was because of the shock of the scale of cuts in 2007. Those learners fortunate enough still to be on courses clearly benefit, they not only learn social skills but become more confident, are stimulated into further learning and many - according to this report - believe they have gained skills to use in future employment."

"The Skills Investment Strategy, published late last year, stated that investment for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities ‘remains a priority'. However with the cut in the Developmental Learning budget - as set out in the Skills Investment Strategy - there is a potential for this to negatively impact on learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities - which is likely to lead to yet more lost provision."

"It is essential for the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency to make sure such cuts don't happen again by securing a way of working formally in partnership and supporting providers effectively."