To increase social mobility, invest in adult education

To increase social mobility, government needs to look beyond grammar schools and universities and invest properly in adult education, says Sue Pember

In his autumn statement, the chancellor specifically identified the UK’s poor productivity as a matter of national concern.

Part of this productivity gap is down to poor skills, especially adult skills. Adults working today will still make up more than two thirds of the workforce in 2030, but the autumn statement was nevertheless a skills-free zone.

The 2017 budget must be an education and skills budget. The government’s industrial strategy must have a strong human component as well as physical capital.

Adult education has a role to play in raising productivity, strengthening community cohesion, increasing social mobility, reducing unemployment and inactivity, enhancing progression into well-paid jobs, extending working lives, tackling health and mental health issues, and attracting inward investment. It is not just one thing, it has many aspects and should be there all through our lives.

The chancellor has hinted that there might be a skills element in the budget – that’s good news – but my concern is that the government’s idea of skills only means level four and above.

We will never achieve extensive social mobility through a narrowly defined route

We have to face up to the fact that the nation continues to have a legacy of poor basic skills; 40 per cent of our young people still don’t achieve level two at 16. One in five adult employees does not have the basic English and maths skills required in the workplace, which means labour productivity is low. Although we know how to support the basic skills learner, it is no longer seen as the priority it should be and little is done by employers. We need to address this now and put the energy back into the programme.

The EU referendum has raised tensions over the place of migrants in our society and local communities, whether they have come to the UK to work or study, have relatives in the UK, or are seeking asylum. It is vital that all people throughout the UK, whatever their status post-Brexit, are given the chance to learn English; not just for themselves and their futures, but for their children’s and grandchildren’s welfare, and to achieve stronger community cohesion.

Although the government invests in this area, there is no clear policy, with different government departments regularly starting and stopping initiatives.

Research demonstrates that adult education can strengthen community cohesion. However, to be effective it needs central and local government to work together to provide an integrated structure for adult basic skills and family learning, including language training and ESOL.

The government says it is committed to increasing social mobility. All too often, however, the challenge is framed in terms of helping children from poorer backgrounds to access high-quality academic education by attending selective secondary schools, high-performing school sixth forms and into full-time higher education. We will never achieve extensive social mobility through such a narrowly defined route.

Social mobility should be improved by developing alternative pathways. Access to higher- and degree-level apprenticeships is one pathway, but so too is higher-level technical education at 18 and over.

And yet, if we are to encourage more 18-year-olds to study higher-level technical education courses (which are so vital to boosting our productivity performance) on a full-time basis, they need access to maintenance support like traditional full-time HE students.

We also need to ensure the provider base is robust and weed out all those who wish to defraud students or undermine the reputation of good providers.

We need a strategy that brings politicians from all parties together and a commitment for at least 10 years. There is shared ground and this should be an area where we can come together to meet the challenges.

It is not that we don’t have any framework; we still have the Coalition’s 2011 document ‘New Challenges and New Chances’, which set the direction, and we have the rules in the funding guidance. What we don’t have is a strategy that sets the ambition post-Brexit, brings departments together, and establishes an overarching agenda for the devolution of the adult education budget.

 

Sue Pember is director of policy and external relations at HOLEX

Movers and Shakers: Edition 201

Your weekly guide to who’s new, and who’s leaving.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers has made two major new appointments to its senior management team.

AELP is a national membership trade body for training providers in the UK with over 800 members across the private and public sectors.  

Jane Hickie has been appointed chief operating officer, which is a new role at AELP.

She joins the organisation from her previous position as corporate partnerships consultant at Groundwork, a community charity, which focuses on engaging young people in improving their local environment.

In her new role, Ms Hickie will be responsible for building AELP’s membership, which comprises vocational learning and employment providers. She will also run the organisation’s head office based in Bristol.

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Simon Ashworth is meanwhile AELP’s new chief policy officer.

His responsibilities will include leading on overall policy work, including the apprenticeship and justice reforms.

He will take up the position from his previous role at the training provider Babington Group, where he was director of new products and services.

There he was responsible for the development of new products and services linked to the apprenticeship reforms.

Mark Dawe, the CEO of AELP, said: “Jane and Simon are already making a big difference to the organisation and we can expect more staff recruitment including new apprentices to the AELP team over the coming months.”

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Mark Hillman has been appointed the deputy principal of Basingstoke College of Technology.

He takes up the role at the Hampshire-based college following a three-year stint as assistant principal at the North East Surrey College of Technology, where his responsibilities included curriculum leadership, quality improvement and financial management.

He brings to the role more than 20 years of experience in education, beginning his career in FE as a maths lecturer and curriculum manager at Sixth Form College Farnborough, a position he held for six years.

As deputy principal, he hopes to “continue to build a curriculum that is focused on achievement”, adding: “BCoT has an amazing track record of employer engagement, something many colleges find hard to secure. I want to continue to build a curriculum that provides successful pathways for all students.”

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Jon Grey has been appointed assistant principal at Cornwall-based Callywith College, which opens in September this year.

The new college is being opened in association with Truro and Penwith college, and will offer 27 A-level courses and 16 progression and diploma options for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Mr Grey, who is currently programme team leader for science at Truro college, will lead on teaching and learning in the new role. He will be working closely with principal Mark Wardle in ensuring a consistent quality of teaching throughout the college.

He says he “can’t wait to get started” in September, and is excited to be “part of the team that we are building Callywith College”.

Speaking of the importance of the new college, he added “Too many 16- to 19-year-olds in north and east Cornwall are forced to travel unacceptable distances to get an outstanding education. Opening Callywith in the heart of Cornwall will give students in the county a genuine alternative within an acceptable commuting distance.”

 

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk

College student balances studies with hand-rearing orphaned sloth

A Sparsholt College student has been busy balancing her studies with hand-rearing an orphaned sloth named Flash.

For the last six months, Gemma Romanis  – who is studying for a diploma in zoo and aquarium animal management at the Hampshire-based college – has been developing skills by helping to raise Flash.

Gemma with Flash at Drusillas Park

Working full-time as a zookeeper at Drusillas Park, she shares the responsibility of caring for her with head keeper Mark Kenward. Between them, they dispense feeds throughout the night before returning to the park for their day jobs.

Gemma, who claims her course has helped her extend her theoretical knowledge of looking after exotic animals, has excelled in her first term of studies, passing the course with multiple distinctions.

Gemma said: “I have had a limited social life due to the demands of hand rearing and meeting coursework deadlines. 

“Flash is definitely worth it though and I really appreciate the college’s flexibility in enabling me to look after the sloth and do my coursework.”

Sloths are not fully independent until they reach the age of one, so the hand-rearing will continue for another six months.

Main photo: Flash (a-ah, saviour of the universe)

Pub landlord and cancer survivor donates £500 defibrillator to local college

A cancer survivor and pub landlord from Worcestershire has donated a defibrillator to his local college to support their first aid services.

Fifty-five-year-old Graham Keightley bought defibrillators for his pub, The Hollybush, after meeting people whose lives had been saved by first aid during his time in hospital.

After learning that the local Stourbridge College didn’t have the equipment, Graham – who has been in remission since August 2015 – donated a £500 defibrillator to the college.

Since the donation, eight members of staff have received training from the West Midlands Fire Service on how to use the equipment. 

Graham said: “Recovering from illness and coming across other people whose lives have been saved by first aid made me realise just how useful it is to have this equipment in as many locations as possible. I was more than happy to make the donation. It means more people across the community can be aware of the device and have immediate access to it.”

The defibrillator is now stored in the college’s learning resource centre where it can easily be accessed in an emergency.

The chancellor must back #SaveOurAdultEducation

Adult education should be a golden thread running through all government strategies – the budget is Philip Hammond’s opportunity to embed it, says Stephen Evans

The Learning and Work Institute is pleased to support FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign. Adult education is more important than ever, and we need to turbocharge participation in learning, starting with this week’s budget.

For those of us in the sector, the expansion of apprenticeships, including the three million target and the forthcoming levy, has provided a focal point.

The skills plan has generated a real debate about reform of technical education, and skills were at the heart of the industrial strategy green paper.

This really does feel like a once-in-a-generation chance to make learning and skills a central part of building our post-Brexit national prosperity and providing engines of social mobility.

However, behind these headlines are a raft of statistics showing how overall participation in learning has fallen.

There are 1.2 million fewer people taking part in learning than in 2010. This includes a 280,000 fall in adults learning literacy and numeracy, and a 120,000 fall in community learning participants. That’s pretty dismal given the UK’s poor record on the basics, and the power of community learning to engage people and communities.

All of this matters due to the power of adult education. It helps you get a job and build a career. It boosts health and wellbeing

The Adult Education Budget might be frozen in cash terms, but higher-than-expected inflation means a seven per cent real-terms cut by 2020 planned at the time of the spending review has now become nine per cent.

Finally, the budget for advanced learner loans, vital for intermediate skills, was due to be £498 million per year by now. It’s actually £260 million and the latest figures suggest a small fall in the number of adults aged over 24 taking part. And of course FE Week is spot on that learners whose providers go bust should have their loans written off.

All of this matters due to the power of adult education. It helps you get a job and build a career. It boosts health and wellbeing. It supports economic growth and productivity. And it promotes communities and citizenship.

The impact of adult education can be most clearly seen in the stories of adult learners. People like Emily Hicks, who was selected for a Festival of Learning award in 2016, after balancing caring for her family from an early age with learning. After working her way through school and university, she is now helping others who find themselves in a similar position working with carers’ organisations in York and nationally. She is a truly inspiring person.

There are millions of people like Emily, their lives transformed by learning and adult education. But future Emilys risk missing out if we don’t reverse the fall in adult learning. We need to create more opportunities, more routes in, if we are to make sure everyone has a fair chance in life.

This week’s Budget provides a great opportunity to start. Better-than-expected growth means borrowing is likely to be (while still high by historic standards) £12 billion lower than planned. We would like to see some of that invested in:

Increasing funding per student in FE, which is currently stuck at 1990 levels. This would allow more contact hours per week.

Investing an extra £200 million per year in adult literacy and numeracy, as part of a community engagement strategy.

Earmarking money for training for small firms and the self-employed, outside apprenticeships and the levy, just as in Scotland.

Improving the links between community learning and health, wellbeing, employment, and community engagement.

Developing new personal learning accounts so individuals, employers and the government can invest together.

Beyond greater investment, I hope the government will also recognise that adult education, including but going beyond apprenticeships, should become a golden thread running through its strategies for health, regeneration, growth, and more besides. That’s why FE Week’s call for an adult education strategy matters – it should be a cross-government approach.

Our future prosperity and fairness depends on unleashing the capacity and capability of our amazing adult education sector. Together we must campaign for change.

 

 

Stephen Evans is CEO of the Learning and Work Institute

College’s foundation learners star in national safegaurding resource… as puppets

A puppetry show based on the experiences of Myerscough College’s foundation learners is to be made into a national safeguarding resource; Samantha King reports

Puppeteer Steve Wright has been a regular visitor to the Lancashire college, delivering the government’s Prevent training to learners with additional needs through the medium of puppetry.

The creative artist has previously appeared on BBC show Dragon’s Den with his educational puppetry business Routes, and is now creating a special resource for the Education and Training Foundation based on the experiences of Myerscough’s learners.

 

The foundation learners

The new resource will delve into what it’s like to be a foundation learner through a specially created puppet, and help others understand how to treat students who have additional needs, and it will soon be made available nationally for all teachers and staff working in FE.

Barry Sherriff, head of foundation learning at the college, said: “Steve has recognised the immense potential our students have. He has been collecting soundbites from the students which he’s now putting together to create these learning materials for the ETF.

Through the medium of puppetry they really do seem to pick up the messages

“There’ll be no pictures of our students – it will be anonymous – but it’s their words, and it’s strong because others will relate to it.”

In the show – which will appear in video format on the ETF website – the bespoke puppet will be portrayed as having learning needs and a strong work ethic.

Steve delivers educational presentations across the UK on topics such as Prevent, road safety, drugs, equality, sexual health and relationships and bullying, while also creating his own resources for teachers.

His visits have proven highly successful with the students, and many have even been inspired to bring their own puppets in to help them communicate during the sessions.

“The students trust him and that’s why they feel they can be so honest,” Mr Sherriff said. “It allows them to show little nuggets of themselves that you’d never really prise out of them otherwise.”

And on how the Prevent sessions have helped student learning, he added: “What does anti-radicalisation mean to somebody with limited understanding? If you break it down and dress the puppets accordingly, it makes more sense.

“Through the medium of puppetry they really do seem to pick up the messages. It’s been really powerful.”

Steve also took time out to assist one particular foundation learner who wants to become an actor, working with him to create a showreel using the learner’s voice and a puppet which will become part of his application to study drama.

Myerscough has now been working with Steve for around 12 months, and Mr Sherriff says he is now a friend of the college.

“His method of communication suits our learners greatly,” he added.

 

Main image: Steve Wright, left, with a puppet and student Matthew Taylor, 17

Ofsted watch: Local authority provider leaps two grades

A local authority provider has leapt two grades from inadequate to good and an independent training provider has received a grade two on its first inspection in this week’s Ofsted reports.

But otherwise ‘requires improvement’ has been the main story of the week.

West Sussex County Council was praised for its progress since it was given a grade four in December 2015, in a report published on February 24 but based on an inspection in January.

“Strong” governance arrangements and “effective” safeguarding were both “significant improvements” since the last inspection.

Tutors had also “much improved their ability to help students develop mathematical skills” with the result that “students, many for the first time, improve these skills and recognise the relevance of mathematics in their daily lives”.

Independent training provider The Tess Group was given grade two across the board in a report published March 2 and based on an inspection carried out at the beginning of February.

Leaders and managers at the Northampton-based provider were praised for ensuring that courses “align well to the interests of learners and the needs of employers”.

Learners “make good progress”, and are “prepared very well for their next step” thanks to “excellent partnerships” with employers and training providers.

As reported by FE Week earlier this week, Bury College lost its outstanding grade following its first inspection in almost 10 years.

Ineffective self-assessment, together with inconsistent teaching and low achievement rates, were among the issues that led to it being rated as ‘requires improvement’.

Also falling to a grade three this week were Itchen College, Havering Sixth Form College and Skills for Health, all of whom had previously been rated good.

The “majority of learners” on level three academic courses at Itchen College, a sixth form college, “do not make the progress they are capable of”, inspectors found.

Their report, published March 2 and based on an inspection at the end of January, also criticised leaders and managers for failing to set “clear and aspirational” performance indicators.

A lack of improvement in “students’ achievement or in teaching and learning” were among the issues highlighted at Havering Sixth Form College.

Inspectors also found that good practice in “quality improvement and rigorous self-assessment” wasn’t consistently adopted, in a report published February 28 and based on an inspection in mid-January.

Meanwhile, “too many apprentices” at the Bristol-based Skill for Health, a not-for-profit provider which is also the sector skills council for the healthcare sector, did not “complete their qualifications” on time.

Inspectors criticised managers for not taking “appropriate action” early enough to help those who weren’t progressing, in a report published February 24 and based on an inspection in mid-January.

Three providers retained their grades following full inspections this week.

Independent provider Bellis Training held onto its grade two, while MidKent College and Oldham College both kept their grade threes.

Just one short inspection report was published this week, for South Tyneside Council, while two monitoring visit reports were published.

The report for the recently-merged Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group is based on the second visit to Stafford following its inadequate rating in February 2016, while the report into Norman Mackie and Associates Limited was also the second to be published after the ITP was given the lowest possible grade in September.

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
MidKent College 31/01/2017 03/03/2017 3 3
Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group 08/02/2017 01/03/2017 Monitoring visit
Bury College 16/01/2017 27/02/2017 3 1
Oldham College 16/01/2017 24/02/2017 3 3

 

Sixth Form Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Itchen College 31/01/2017 02/03/2017 3 2
Havering SFC 17/01/2017 28/02/2017 3 2

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
The Tess Group 01/02/2017 02/03/2017 2 –
Norman Mackie & Associates Ltd 08/02/2017 01/03/2017 Monitoring visit
Bellis Training Ltd 31/01/2017 28/02/2017 2 2

 

Adult and Community Learning Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Skills for Health Ltd 17/01/2017 24/02/2017 3 2
West Sussex County Council 24/01/2017 24/02/2017 2 4

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
South Tyneside Council 01/02/2017 03/03/2017

Cornwall educators get a lesson in STEM

Truro and Penwith College recently hosted a STEM networking event for educators across Cornwall.

The event was attended by primary, secondary and FE teachers, local organisations and ambassadors, and followed Theresa May’s emphasis on the need to develop STEM subjects in her industrial strategy announcement.

Alongside networking opportunities and guest speakers – including Kim Conchie from the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce – were a series of interactive sessions led by the British Science Association, Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Physics.

Dr Jon Grey, programme team leader for science at the college, said: “It was great to see so many passionate people from across Cornish STEM education and industry coming together to improve the opportunities for young people in Cornwall.

“We are hopeful that this is the first of a regular programme of meetings that can give all parties engaged with STEM in Cornwall a forum to build partnerships, share best practice, learn new skills and discover possibilities to enhance the future prospects for young people.”

Main photo: An interactive plasma globe at the event 

Flock of chickens saved from avian flu by team of students

A team of students spent the day constructing a chicken coop in the Yorkshire Moors to protect local poultry against avian flu.

The group of 11 from North Lindsey College spent six hours building the structure in an effort to save the resident chickens, turkeys and ducks at the Youth Hostel Association in Castleton from the devastating illness.

Lewis absolutely nails it

Poultry keepers have been advised to keep their birds inside to protect them from a highly infectious strain of avian flu which can be caught from wild birds. Chicken coops are a way of keeping them safe while still letting them outside.

It was the first time dabbling in construction for many of the students, with the majority studying media and digital subjects at the college. 

Michelle Kaye, deputy Manager at YHA Castleton, said: “After being informed about the bird flu outbreak our lovely chickens had to be cooped up for weeks, only having a small run to play around in. 

The students very quickly volunteered their skills in the freezing cold and the dark, and completed a perfect structure where our chickens could spread their wings and enjoy the fresh air.”

 

Main photo: Students Danielle and Aaron get to work on the run