Learning for older people in care Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 10:53

A report exploring the need for more learning opportunities for older people in care settings has been published by NIACE, to coincide with UK Older People's Day - 1 October 2009.

The report is part of a wider project - Enhancing informal learning in care settings - to improve the wellbeing of older people in care and to help and encourage care staff in supporting learning activities.

Enhancing informal adult learning for older people in care settings is putting into practice the commitments of The Learning Revolution White Paper, which reported that ‘learning can improve the health and quality of life for older people in care, but too often it's missing'.

Funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the report draws on feedback from organisations and individuals and highlights 10 examples of existing practice, setting out the challenges in providing more learning opportunities for older people in care settings. An online forum has been created on the Learning Revolution discussion-site to capture thoughts and ideas; these contributions will be included in the production of a toolkit of best practice to be published next year.

The activities of Learning for the Fourth Age (L4A), one of several case studies featured in the interim report, provide a good example of an approach adopted by a Third Sector organisation:

L4A is a non-profit social enterprise, offering learning to residents of care homes across the country, through one-to-one sessions. Residents are offered personal learning mentors and learning activities are designed to suit individuals' interests and are complemented with materials to use between sessions. Activities range from theology to Russian language to inter-generational learning with elderly residents passing their skills to younger learning mentors. L4A also offers ongoing support for its network of trained volunteers who deliver the learning.

Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs, said:

"This is a real step forward in delivering the commitments made in The Learning Revolution White Paper to transform individual lives and boost our nation's wellbeing through informal adult learning."

"For many older people participation in learning is a rewarding social activity that can also benefit people's health and quality of life. I welcome the report as a sign of our continuing commitment to opening up access to learning for everybody in our society."

Fiona Aldridge, NIACE Programme Director, Research, said:

"People in the UK are living longer than ever before. The number of people reaching the age of 85 is likely to double by 2026. So it is now more important than ever to look at improving learning opportunities for older people in care, as it can greatly improve their physical and mental well-being."

"This interim report highlights some serious challenges, however, through working together with policy-makers and sector organisations, learning providers and voluntary organisations, as well as with managers and staff working on the ground we can revolutionise learning in care settings."