Adult Learners’ Week offers much to celebrate, explains Fiona Aldridge, but the results of a national survey also provide a sober reminder of the ongoing need to make the classroom an attractive proposition

Adult Learners’ Week has two main highlights for me. Firstly, the compelling stories we hear from award winners about how learning has enabled them to transform their lives.

Secondly, the findings of our annual survey on adult participation in learning which show, at a national level, what proportion of adults take part in learning, alongside details of who participates and who doesn’t.

I am particularly excited about the inspirational stories of the three learners who have won our Learning for Work Awards (supported this year by the National Open College Network).

Many nominees we heard from had left full-time education with a sense that learning was ‘not for them’, not enjoyable and not relevant to their lives.

Having returned to learning as an adult however, they have experienced the success and benefits, both at work and in their wider lives, and are hungry for more.

Each one of these stories illustrates what the survey tells us year after year — that the majority of adults who are engaged in learning plan to continue in the future.

Most people with little or no experience of learning as an adult have no intention of taking part.

The 2013 survey shows that around two-fifths of adults have taken part in learning in the previous three years, while a similar proportion have not done any learning since leaving full-time education.

This level of engagement is not evenly spread across the adult population. Participation is determined by a range of factors — age, employment status, social class and prior learning.

While this year’s survey shows no change in the overall levels of participation and little change in the patterns of participation from last year, two particular sets of figures do stand out. Firstly, while it is generally true that older people are less likely to be learning, the 2013 survey shows a surprising and substantial fall in the proportion of young adults taking part (a fall of 9 percentage points among those aged 17 to 19 and 5 percentage points among 20 to 24-year-olds).

In a climate of high levels of youth unemployment, these figures are of considerable concern.

Research shows that for young adults who are not in education, employment or training the impact can be devastating and can continue well into their adult lives.

Secondly, while the survey shows a welcome increase in participation among part-time workers (from 42 per cent to 48 per cent) there is a worrying decline among unemployed adults (from 41 per cent to 35 per cent).

A greater appetite for learning among part-time workers might reflect, in part, the growing number of ‘underemployed’ adults who are looking to improve their skills to enable them to take on further part-time employment or move to full-time employment. If this is the case, then it is will be important to ensure that relevant learning opportunities are offered on a flexible basis in order that they are accessible to adults who may have other substantial commitments.

Much more challenging though is the decline in participation of unemployed adults (to the lowest level since the survey series began in 1996).

Given the vital role that learning and skills play in helping unemployed adults to gain and progress in work — as outlined in NIACE’s recent publication The Work Programme: What’s the role of skills —this is of particular concern.

As is often the case with large quantitative surveys, the data provides us with as many questions as answers. We will be undertaking further analysis of the data, which we will publish later on in the year. Meanwhile we can only hope that those who think learning is not for them will be inspired by this year’s award winners and take the step towards a brighter future.

Fiona Aldridge, head of learning for work, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education

Adult education is about more than employability skills; it impacts the economy in all sorts of ways, says Ruth Spellman

While Adult Learners’ Week celebrates the achievements of students whose lives have been changed by adult education, providers need to reflect on whether the FE sector is achieving its goals. These are tough economic times. As providers, we have to focus on the impact we are having and the benefits of adult education to UK plc. The government recently highlighted in its policy paper, Rigour and Responsiveness in Skills, that we are in a global skills race and an effective FE sector is vital to making the UK competitive.

However, the policy focus should not be entirely on employability skills. The effects that adult education can have on community cohesion, social mobility and families are enormous and often go unrecognised.

A few weeks ago I met one of our learners, Lisa Harrington. She went through a few difficult years after she left school at 15 without any qualifications. But with our local partners, BEST, we gave her the opportunities that helped to turn her life around.

It was not just that Lisa was able to look for work for the first time. It was the impact on her children that struck me the most. She has become a role model for her family, breaking a cycle of education failure and creating a positive learning environment at home.

Family learning courses include cooking, learning through play, and supporting children with English and maths. The adults who achieve maths and English levels one and two are then in a much better position to help their children with homework and to understand any learning difficulties. Teaching reading skills, helping in sentence construction and composition and general written communication is proving a real boon to young people – all the more because their learning is reinforced by positive role models at home and time committed by their parents towards their education.

For adults, getting involved boosts self-confidence, encourages involvement in other volunteer activities, enables the acquisition of qualifications and enhances their own health and wellbeing. Headteachers have themselves reported children attending school more regularly along with improvements in behaviour and higher levels of achievement in academic studies.

At the Workers’ Educational Association we have created four course themes – employability, health and wellbeing, community engagement and cultural education – to see what effect we are having on the lives of learners.

Our research shows that all types of education have a positive impact.

Employability courses helped those in work progress their careers while giving those out of work the confidence to find a job. Our health and wellbeing courses reported a 98 per cent improvement in social and health impacts, with ‘life satisfaction’ ratings higher than the national average.

Community engagement courses gave people the chance to make new friends and many progressed on to volunteer work. In cultural education, 84 per cent said they improved at least one skill, such as communication or literacy skills, and 94 per cent of disadvantaged students said they were likely to undertake future learning or training as a result of the course.

We can’t achieve these results on our own. That is why we are focused on developing our already extensive links with universities, colleges, trade unions and employers. This will provide new opportunities for learners and raise educational aspirations so that the UK can have a truly world-class FE system. We are also engaging through new social media channels and mobilising support for adult learning to generate more public support for our work.

Policymakers need to take a holistic view of how adult education impacts the economy. As providers, we need to give them the evidence to show adult learning works. Together we can justify government investment in FE and community learning while continuing to meet the skills challenges of a competitive global economy.

Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the Workers’ Educational Association

Adult Learners’ Week is both a national celebration and a living showcase of how adult learning changes lives, says Nick Stuart

There is nothing like the power of anecdote to bring alive a policy discussion and give colour to the drab array of statistics that usually substitute for debate. Adult Learners’ Week reminds those who make policy what lifelong learning means to individuals. It demonstrates how learning brings a new richness to people’s lives; gives new confidence to many for whom  learning, let alone qualification, represents an often unimaginable ordeal; and encourages many to re-engage with their communities.

As a director-general, first for lifetime learning under the Conservatives and then for lifelong learning with the arrival of David Blunkett as Education Secretary, I was a regular attendee at Adult Learners’ Week. It gave me inspiration and context, and determined where I would put my efforts when I retired from Whitehall. In 2001, I joined the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). In numerous ways, NIACE has inspired and pioneered work that has influenced the Department for Education’s thinking.

Over the past two decades, at different times, it has managed innovative community learning programmes funded centrally. These programmes have inspired local initiatives all over the country. They have had their origin primarily, in the work locally that animates Adult Learners’ Week and shows how central adult learning is to local cohesion and community development.

This week needs to look forward in anticipation of new initiatives as well as back on the year’s achievements”

In 1997 and immediately thereafter, policy attention turned to the national disgrace of an adult literacy rate that left almost 20 per cent of the nation with a reading age of 11.  Following Sir Claus Moser’s report, A Fresh Start – improving literacy and numeracy, the Government established a major programme to improve adult literacy. In today’s more austere times, that work continues.

Sir Claus’s analysis was influenced by the work and thinking of the Basic Skills Agency and of NIACE, and underpinned the decision-making and policy development that followed both on adult literacy and numeracy. Recent reports from NIACE carry that thinking forward and have fed into and influenced current government action. Every year, Adult Learners’ Week reinforces the case for adult literacy programmes and demonstrates indelibly what can be achieved.

The week acts as a catalyst to bring policy, action and real outcomes together; both to promote what works outstandingly well on the ground and to stimulate new ideas and thinking. It is not, however, simply a one-off week of celebration but rather the culmination of a huge amount of activity, locally and nationally. It needs to look forward in anticipation of new initiatives as well as back on the year’s achievements.

I am chairing a review of how Adult Learners’ Week is working. It is already clear that this imaginative festival, widely copied around the world, continues to have enormous vitality and appeal. But after 20 years, it is worth examining what it achieves, which of its many activities works best, and how to enhance its impact so that it beams down even more directly on illuminating and stimulating policy development.

Nick Stuart, president, NIACE

Adult Education Week is a perfect showcase for the transformative power of education later in life and often against the odds, says Christine Bullock

Apt awards is delighted to be sponsoring the FE Week supplement in celebration of Adult Learners’ Week. Adult learning is at the heart of what we do and this week is the perfect opportunity to explore the many types of learning available to adults from all walks of life.

It is a showcase for adult students for whom education can be transformative. It is always really positive to hear how life changing it can be, not only for the student concerned, but often for his or her family, friends and tutors.

In recognition of this, we introduced the Keith Fletcher memorial award for the most outstanding access to higher education tutor in the South West. The award is in memory of former director, Keith Fletcher, who worked enthusiastically throughout his career to promote widening participation, adult learning and, in particular, access to higher education.

Gillian Wilmot won the award last year. Recently retired, she had worked at Weston College since 1976, and was presented with the award at the college’s annual governors’ Christmas dinner in December. Gill said at the time: “My job has given me an enormous amount of enjoyment. There can be no greater honour than . . .  seeing students achieve their dreams.”

This award highlights the role that tutors play in the success of adult learners, many of them performing miracles in the face of diminishing resources. Families also play an important role in supporting adults in overcoming often multiple barriers to success.

We like to think that we play our part too. Previously trading as Open College Network South West (OCNSWR), apt awards has more than 30 years’ experience in developing flexible, credit-based, nationally recognised qualifications that offer bite-sized learning. Our development and growth will always be underpinned by the key aim of widening access to educational opportunities, particularly for adults, that promote social inclusion and community transformation.

We are proud of our access to higher education provision and how it opens doors and opportunities for learners. When we decided to change our name, we wanted to ensure that our new name reflected the type of learners we celebrate and how important access to higher education learners are to us. ‘Apt’ shows our qualifications are appropriate for our centres and learners but also stands for access, progression and transform.

We provide the tools, but it is the learner who achieves. Therefore, as well as celebrating the success of individual tutors, we are proud to be the headline sponsor for the South West Adult Learners’ Week awards ceremony.

I was very moved by last year’s event and was inspired by the stories of the adult learners who overcame adversity and multiple barriers. It reminded me of how proud I was of this often under-appreciated sector.

It also enhanced my view of what wonderful support that we, as an awarding organisation, can and do give. I see it as my role and that of my staff to do everything we can to enable access to learning, and the consequent transformation of lives and celebration of success.

We are also a social enterprise and, unusually for an awarding organisation, give not just awards but grants to centres to enable them to invest in much needed resources. This reflects our total commitment to our learners.

I want to offer my personal congratulations to every single adult learner who has achieved success; they are all prizewinners.

Christine Bullock, chief executive of apt awards

Featured image caption: Christine Bullock, left, with Cheryl Baker, ex Bucks Fizz, at an awards ceremony last year