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Sarah Connell: Vital lessons in the role of lifelong learning
THE Learning and Skills Council has made a right mess of managing the Government's Building Colleges for the Future programme, putting the future of 140 further education colleges in real jeopardy.
But look on the bright side, skills minister John Denham has recently announced that he intends to see at least 7,000 rooms opened up for adult learning use in
a range of public and private buildings – from museums and galleries to empty shops.
According to Denham, he is proposing a new vision for adult learning in the 21st century, which is intended to "ignite a new national campaign for learning". His plans are revealed in a white paper – The Learning Revolution – which he chose to launch in the grand surroundings of Tate Modern.
All this follows a outcry about the huge loss of evening and daytime classes over the last three years, which arose because of the major switch in public funding from adult education to vocational skills, following the Leitch Report, which highlighted the low level of skills in much of Britain's workforce.
In essence, the Government decided to stop funding what it considered to be largely leisure learning. More than one million places have been lost, thousands of courses have just stopped running and often the centres they took place in have closed as well. The traditional September queues for classes in local adult education centres have been steadily reduced as many FE colleges decided not to offer courses on a full-cost basis, believing there would be little demand.
But an inquiry last year into informal learning and its impact on people's lives generated many more responses than most government consultations. Political and educational organisations told the Government in no uncertain terms that a lifelong learning culture is vital for the health of the country and that the loss of these classes is detrimental in a multitude of ways.
There is no going back to the old funding regime, but Denman says there will be support for people who want to organise their own groups and classes to learn for pleasure; and there will be a Learning Revolution Pledge that organisations can sign to signal they will be throwing their doors open "where possible".
So, if you are someone who has missed your watercolour or salsa class, if you are confident about getting together with your neighbours, if you can afford the time, energy and money, then you will want to get down to the local art gallery now and ask which room they have set aside. You will need to know how to contact a suitable tutor, of course. Perhaps John Denham has a list? Once you have identified your tutor, you might want to know what the quality of the teaching and learning is going to be. Will you be able to get improvement if it is needed, complain if it is not going well? How will you know if you are successful in what you have learnt?
You might have lots of questions and problems. Until recently, your local FE College and Adult Education Centre could have answered them for you. It could also have made sure that you are not only learning for pleasure but also have the chance to get a transferable qualification.
So if you needed a confidence boost, or the encouragement to go on to formal learning, for instance an English language class, or you wanted to show your employer that you have brought your IT skills up to scratch, you could have a certificate to show. The move towards accrediting adult education, which started in the 1980s and 1990s, was based on the principle of inclusiveness and widening participation. It acknowledged that it is not only the relaxed and wealthy middle classes who need to carry on learning out of school, college and the workplace. It is also those who haven't succeeded in school, or who did not get the chance to go to college, or who are working for an employer who is not interested in their personal goals. It is for those out of work and those who see no chance of working again after redundancy.
If we switch to a culture of private and self-supported provision for adult learning, those who were encouraged and supported by part-time classes to move forward into more formal learning and better life opportunities will still be excluded. At a time of recession, when jobs are being lost on a daily basis, there is a greater need than ever for quality assured and productive adult education. And we know there is no shortage of young people leaving the schools system with learning needs.
Unaccredited leisure learning for those who can afford it and are able to demand it was the situation we were in two decades or more ago. The past was a different country and some things were not so good then.
Sarah Connell is the outgoing regional director for Open College Network Yorkshire & Humber
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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