Surveys

The Skills for Life Strategy Unit recently ran two consultations - one on ESOL and one on informal adult learning. Both have now closed. Please see below for further details.

ESOL - focusing ESOL on community cohesion

"English is both an important part of our shared heritage and a key access factor for new communities to the labour market and wider society. It binds us together as a single group in a way that a multiplicity of community languages cannot... We are therefore committed to the importance of English language training for all communities." The Commission on Integration and Cohesion Report - Our Shared Future (2007)

Foreword by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills

I believe good English language skills are critically important for life, work and social cohesion in this country. Darra Singh's recent report "Our Shared Future" on Integration and Cohesion published in June 2007 showed that the ability to communicate effectively is the most important issue facing integration and cohesion for both settled and new communities in Britain.

The Government is committed to fostering cohesion in all our communities and I am working with colleagues to ensure this happens. One of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)'s key contributions to this agenda is our funding and management of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.

Our ESOL policy is a success: we have helped 2 million people improve their English language skills and take vital steps towards employment and social inclusion. Between 2001 and 2004 ESOL spending tripled, and is now just under £300m.

But even with this investment, there are still too many long-term residents committed to making a contribution to Britain who cannot engage with other people in their neighbourhoods - let alone play an active role in their communities - simply because their lack of English prevents it. This is having a negative impact on their life chances and limiting their ability to integrate. It is this group we wish to prioritise. But Government cannot do this on its own.

So this consultation sets out our aim that ESOL funding should be more specifically targeted to foster community cohesion and integration in our communities. This is a radical move and will need local, regional and national partners to work closely together. I look forward to receiving your views on how we can best do this.

JOHN DENHAM, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills

January 2008

To view the consultation documents, please click here or visit www.esolconsultation.org.uk

Informal Adult Learning - shaping the way ahead

All forms of good adult learning are valuable. Whether vocational, or simply for personal enlightenment and fulfilment, adult learning contributes immeasurably to the well-being and health of our society.

Our country enjoys a rich and diverse history of adult education. Much of today’s learning has its roots in sources as varied as Victorian philanthropy, the trades union movement, faith groups, local councils and the technical institutes established by manufacturers.

One of the most profound changes has been the expansion of the state’s role in funding the education that leads to skills and qualifications for the working age population. Through my Department, Government is increasing spending on adult learning by some £600 million over the next three years, to £4.8 billion. Between 1997/98 and 2006/07, FE funding increased by 52% in real terms and spending on higher education rose by 23% in real terms. This investment is essential if we are to remain competitive and prosperous and if we are to ensure that every citizen has the chance to enjoy rewarding work and family security.

We continue to value informal adult learning within this significant investment. As this document sets out, informal learning is supported by DIUS and many other Government departments.

Today’s adult learning is no less diverse and no less rich than in the past, but it has changed. Some is classroom taught at a fixed time – a successful approach that would have been recognised a hundred years ago. But adult learning may as easily be stimulated by a television programme prompting a museum visit, an internet search and the bringing together of a group of like minded learners.

Far more adult learning is being designed and developed by learners themselves. More people want to choose what, where, when and how they want to learn. New technologies make new ways of learning accessible, but the most radical possibilities are only just beginning to be understood. Major voluntary organisations are now significant education providers.

The emphasis the Government has rightly given to adult vocational educational has led some to suggest that informal adult education is not valued. Nothing could be further from the truth. This consultation document starts a discussion that will lead to a new vision for informal adult learning for the 21st century. To do so, it will be important to understand all the changes that are currently taking place, all the ways that Government and other organisations support adult learners and, most importantly, what learners from all parts of our society actually want.

I hope that everyone with an interest in the future of informal adult learning will help us shape that vision and identify the most appropriate support that Government can give.

JOHN DENHAM, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills

January 2008

To view the consultation documents, please click here or visit www.adultlearningconsultation.org.uk