Adult education institutions are being dismantled by stealth

As the country’s need for a skilled and adaptable workforce continues to grow and evidence increasingly demonstrates the role that community education plays in improving wellbeing, social cohesion and life opportunities, it is deeply concerning that policy and structural changes appear to be moving in the opposite direction. Rather than strengthening and investing in specialist adult education institutions that have successfully delivered these outcomes for generations, government-led reforms are accelerating a trend towards their merger into larger further education colleges, often driven by financial pressures and structural restructuring.

This is not an isolated phenomenon, but part of a broader pattern that has emerged gradually over recent years. It is a worrying direction of travel. While one or two mergers may be regarded as successful, the longer-term jury is still out. There has been little robust evaluation of whether these changes preserve the distinctive qualities that made these institutions successful in the first place, or whether something important and irreplaceable is being lost.

There is also a wider question about the policy decisions that have brought us to this point. The erosion of specialist adult education institutions has not happened through an open public debate about their value or purpose, nor through meaningful consultation about whether their distinctive role should continue. Instead, it has occurred through changes in status, governance and funding arrangements. The move to statutory college status has weakened institutional independence and reshaped governance arrangements, while funding methodologies designed around mainstream provision for young people often fail to recognise the distinctive costs and benefits of residential and specialist adult education models.

England has a rich history of specialist adult education institutions, many founded over 100 years ago with a mission to widen participation, support social mobility and strengthen democracy through learning. Institutions such as WM College, Mary Ward Centre, Ruskin College, Hillcroft College, Morley College, City Lit, Northern College and Fircroft were established with a clear social purpose and a belief that adult education should transform lives, not simply deliver qualifications.

Recent years have seen mergers and restructures across the sector, including Northern College merging into Barnsley and Ruskin College becoming part of the University of West London. While these changes may have brought operational benefits, there has been little assessment of what may have been lost in identity, mission and social impact.

Over time, adult education policy has shifted away from broader lifelong learning towards a narrower focus on employment and economic outcomes. Funding has increasingly followed qualifications linked to labour market priorities, often at the expense of community learning, integration, wellbeing and wider social outcomes. Public spending on adult education and skills has fallen significantly, while participation in publicly funded classroom-based learning has dropped dramatically over the last two decades.

Specialist adult education institutions have played a unique role in England’s learning landscape for more than a century. They were never simply places where adults gained qualifications; they created spaces where people from different backgrounds could come together to learn, live, debate and grow in ways that changed lives and strengthened communities. Their distinctive character bringing together learning, personal development, social connection and civic engagement cannot easily be replicated within the hustle and bustle of predominantly 16-19 FE colleges.

As these historic institutions increasingly merge into the wider FE system, there is a real risk something special will disappear. A distinctive feature of several of these organisations has been their residential element, providing immersive learning experiences and opportunities to build lasting communities.

At a time of increasing social fragmentation and division, we need places that bring communities together more than ever. Residential and community-based adult education has been doing exactly that for over 100 years. We should not underestimate the contribution these institutions have made, or the significance of what could be lost.

Across many countries, adult learning is increasingly recognised as essential to addressing skills shortages, supporting longer working lives and improving wellbeing. Yet at the very moment when lifelong learning has never been more important, England risks diminishing institutions that have spent generations doing precisely that.

Once these distinctive institutions, traditions and approaches disappear, they are incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild.