The proposed closure of adult education centres has prompted a backlash for cash-strapped local authorities.
Cornwall Council, which takes control of a near-£11 million adult education budget next year under a devolution deal, is proposing to close seven of its 17 adult education centres, FE Week understands.
Most of the 2,250 learners using the centres take low-level skills courses in IT, English, maths and English as a second language, or community learning courses such as arts and media.
The centres earmarked for closure are in the western and eastern ends of the county, some in towns with no other adult education options and hours from other centres by public transport.
A petition opposing the closure of a centre in Penzance gathered 720 signatures in three weeks.
‘Poorly thought out’
Meanwhile in Kent, the proposed closure of Gravesend’s Victoria Centre prompted a Labour borough councillor to call the Conservative county council leader’s decision “irrational” and “poorly thought out”.
Kent County Council is considering closing or moving seven of its 17 centres, which serve about 8,000 learners each year, in response to adult education funding rule changes which place a greater emphasis on “work skills and careers” over leisure and repeat learner courses.
Both local authorities face critical financial pressures after years of cuts to government grant funding – Cornwall is predicting a budget gap of £67 million next year while Kent has a £111 million target for cuts and “savings” this year.
Last week Cornwall Council said the seven centres facing the axe were in deficit and learner numbers – which include 225 enrolled students served by 39 teachers and staff – “have not recovered as quickly as hoped” post-pandemic.
The council told FE Week a council board of governors would consider closures this month.
Cornwall Council will take control of £10.9 million in regional adult education and skills spending from August.
‘Further education deserts’
Liberal Democrat MP Ben Maguire, who represents North Cornwall, said he was “shocked” by the proposals which will see one of the county’s most remote areas lose two centres.
He said the move risked turning his constituency into a “further education desert” for adults who want to improve their qualification levels, or who have special needs.
Steve Yates, a teacher at the Penzance centre, said staff understand the projected saving from closure was rent that the council pays to itself as the building’s owner.
He added: “The centre helps learners improve their job skills, communication, maths and English. A lot of them progress into higher education and the elderly certainly build up their skills in IT classes given that everything is now going online.”
The council’s Labour group leader Kate Ewert, who attended university after completing an access to higher education course at one of the centres, called the proposals a “kick in the teeth and short termism of the highest order”.
She said: “These proposed closures will disproportionately affect those adult learners who are unable to travel or who may have limited internet connectivity.
“Recently, the Conservative-led Council in Cornwall declared with great triumph that Cornwall had devolved adult education from government to Cornwall Council – within months they are closing centres down.
In recent years the council has been allocated around £2.9 million for adult education, split between community learning and skills, with a further £6 million allocated to local colleges.
‘Alternative’ provision available
Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder with responsibility for adult education, said: “The financial challenges facing all local authorities mean we simply cannot keep providing a service if we are losing money, especially when we can maintain access to courses through alternative delivery methods.
“Many people now prefer to access education online, and there are alternative providers available, as well as the remaining centres which will continue to operate as normal.
“This is not a case of reducing our offering, it is about delivering it in the most cost-effective way to ensure we are providing the very best value for money.”
Sue Pember, policy director at adult education network Holex, said the challenges facing Cornwall “stem from the broader financial pressures on county and local authority funding”.
“Due to these financial constraints, councils nationwide are being asked to review spending across all services, not just adult education,” she added.
Managed decline.
“in response to adult education funding rule changes which place a greater emphasis on “work skills and careers” over leisure and repeat learner courses.”
By “leisure”, I presume you actually mean improved mental health and wellbeing, overcoming social isolation, improved physical health, maintenance of mental faculties and community cohesion, and all the cost savings to the NHS, social care and other services that accrue from those?
The use of the term “leisure” to describe such provision does a disservice to both the learners and the deliverers, and serves to reinforce the blinkered and philistine notion of successive governments that adult learning only has a real value if you can draw a straight line from it to somebody getting a job. They confuse the important and valuable with the easy to measure: I really think FE Week should be challenging that rather than reinforcing such shallow thinking.
The closures in Cornwall are madness – we have full classes in our St Austell (one of those earmarked for closure), and have offers of cheaper alternative accommodation from community groups. Learners (approx 60) are mid-way through their courses and will not now be able to complete and achieve – leaving some at risk of lost employment, college places and uni opportunities. The alternatives being offered are impossible for most – the additional travel particularly hitting parents, carers and those with additional needs. Online provision does not work for those without a safe or peaceful space at home to work, nor for many neurodivergent learners who need an actual person next to them to support and guide. College settings are too busy and carry memories of traumatic school/college times for many. The disruption and angst that this is causing to many of the most vulnerable in our area is appalling.
Well said. This ought to be an article called the fight back!