Archived decisions

Contact: Lionel Paris, Head of Adult and Community Learning, ext. 6848

1. Summary

1.1. This report:

· explains the background to the requirement for an Adult Learning Plan

· describes the funding being made available to support delivery of the Plan

· outlines the local priorities for adult and community learning

· sets out the planned developments for the County Council's provision during the period from August 2002 to July 2003

· invites the Policy Review Committee to comment on the draft Adult Learning Plan already submitted to the Learning and Skills Council before the Executive Member for Education considers giving approval.

1.2. Copies of the Adult Learning Plan have been placed in the Members' Room.

2. Background

2.1. Responsibility and funding for securing adult and community learning were transferred from local education authorities (LEAs) to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in April 2001. LEAs were guaranteed to continue receiving funding for a period of two years, subject to maintaining support for adult and community learning and to producing satisfactory plans showing how the money will be spent. The County Council's Adult Learning Plan for the period April 2001 to July 2002 was accepted by the Learning and Skills Council for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (local LSC) without conditions and is currently being implemented.

2.2. The funding guarantee will cease on completion of the second Plan covering the period from August 2002 to July 2003. However, the foreword to the LSC's planning guidance document states:

"Whilst the Secretary of State has not extended the guarantee of funding beyond 2002/2003, both the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Council see continuing LEA involvement in Adult and Community Learning as vital. This is not simply as managers of local contracts, but as local strategic partners within in-depth knowledge of their communities and experience of meeting the needs of local people."

Preparations are underway for the continued role and a national formula for LSC funding of adult and community learning will be introduced from August 2003.

2.3. Thus, the main purpose of the County Council's Adult Learning Plan for 2002/2003 is to maintain support for the existing provision across Hampshire during this period of transition, whilst positioning the service so that it can secure LSC funding from 2003. The drafting of the Plan has been influenced by two key considerations:

· a "community audit" of local demographic trends, labour market information and existing adult learning activity in the county, which was undertaken to ensure that the planned adult learning provision will effectively address the needs of the community.

· the guidance framework received from the LSC concerning the delivery and funding of adult learning provision in 2002/2003, which included 88 specific items to be addressed in the content of the Plan.

2.4. The County Council was required to submit the Adult Learning Plan for 2002/2003 to the local LSC by 28 March 2002. The Plan submitted at that time was subject to County Council approval. A formal assessment was undertaken by a panel convened by the local LSC at a meeting on 29 April 2002. The Executive Member for Education will be asked to agree the Adult Learning Plan on 23 May 2002.

3. LSC funding 2002/2003

3.1. The local LSC's main allocation for July 2002 to August 2003 amounts to £1,223,447, an increase of 6.8% on the current year. The additional £78,000 is intended to provide for inflation at approximately 3%, but also includes £44K for family literacy and numeracy which was previously part of the Standards Fund Grant.

3.2. In addition to the mainstream funding, the County Council has also been invited to apply for the following indicative allocations:

(The MIS funding is to prepare for the introduction of an ICT based "Individual Adult Learner Record" from August 2003).

3.3. The Ofsted report in May 2000 after an inspection of the County Council's provision for adult learning, commented on the relatively low level of funding for the service. The Secretary of State's two year guarantee is fixed at this "low level " of funding. Although welcome, the LSC's additional funding for 2002/2003 is highly targeted and does not provide for either an increase in the core allocations made available to the providers supported by the County Council, or any significant expansion in terms of new provision. At the same time, the Education Department's Adult and Community Learning Unit (ACLU) and providers are required to service increasing demands from the LSC in terms of data collection and quality assurance. This extra workload is considerable and the lack of additional funding is putting pressure on the ACLU and smaller providers such as schools and voluntary organisations.

3.4. In response, the ACLU is changing the basis of its funding system in 2002/2003. Internal funding agreements and contracts with external providers such as colleges will be more closely related to measurable service outputs and based less on historical allocations. It is anticipated that these and other measures included in the Plan will increase the value of the support given to providers by as much as 5%. A list of the organisations contracted by the ACLU to provide adult learning in 2001/2002 and anticipated new providers in 2002/2003 is attached as appendix 1 to this report.

4. Curriculum priorities

4.1. For more than 10 years, the provision for adult learning supported by the County Council has mainly been non-vocational or "leisure learning". This was intended to complement the provision for vocational learning and basic skills made by post-16 colleges funded by the former Further Education Funding Council. The Learning and Skills Act (2000) removed such distinctions and the LSC is now empowered to fund all adult learning, whether accredited or not. Over time, the ACLU will seek to achieve a better balance in the County Council's support by increasing provision for accredited learning.

4.2. The LSC has identified four national priorities for Adult Learning Plans:

(i) The need to improve basic skills.

(ii) The need to widen participation in learning to those who do not traditionally participate in education and training.

(iii) The need to enhance family learning.

(iv) The need to support strategies for neighbourhood renewal.

4.3. The County Council's Adult Learning Plan recognised that the network of schools and community-based organisations funded through the Plan is uniquely placed to contribute to these priorities. Providers will be encouraged to respond and funding will be targeted in support of the following key curriculum priorities in 2002/2003:

· family literacy and numeracy

· family learning

· basic skills

· widening participation through social inclusion activities.

4.4. The core curriculum offer will continue to be supported, but the Adult Learning Plan and the associated funding criteria will ensure that all activities will relate to:

· learning for self-development and/or

· learning for employability and/or

· learning for social inclusion and/or

· learning and the family.

Providers will be helped to link courses to these curricular areas which will strengthen the eligibility for future LSC funding after the introduction of the national formula in 2003.

5. Strategic objectives

5.1. The findings of the community audit, consultations with providers and partner organisations and the key recommendation from the May 2000 Ofsted report have led to the development of six strategic objectives in the Plan for 2002/2003.

5.2. The ACLU will seek to:

(i) further develop adult basic skills provision through schools and community organisations

(ii) increase provision for family learning

(iii) extend participation in adult learning

(iv) increase levels of retention and achievement

(v) support schools in becoming centres of learning in their communities

(vi) improve the performance of the service provided and the quality of the provision.

5.3. Timescales and the performance indicators to be used in assessing progress towards these strategic objectives are outlined in specific action plans appended to the Adult Learning Plan.

5.4. The ACLU's mission statement - "Enabling Quality Learning" - further reflects the County Council's commitment to delivering a quality service which is demonstrated through links between the Plan and the County Council's Corporate Strategy.

6. Corporate contributions

6.1. The Adult Learning Plan highlights the significant contributions made by other services to the County Council's corporate aim of promoting lifelong learning. Within the Education Department, these include the Early Education and Childcare Unit, the Youth Service, the County Music Service and the Outdoor Education Unit. The rapidly expanding work of the County Library Service is mentioned, along with provision made by the Hampshire Record Office, County Museums Service, Social Services and the Economic Development Office. These core services are funded directly by the County Council and add value to the adult learning provision supported by the LSC.

7. Specific developments in 2002/2003

7.1. The Adult Learning Plan and the associated action plans attached as appendices, outline many developments proposed in 2002/2003, including:

· County review of teaching and learning to inform strategies for staff development.

· Release of a training video and manual produced by the ACLU on classroom observation to all providers which will help improve standards.

· Separate funding agreements to be negotiated with providers to enable greater strategic control over provision.

· Plans to increase the overall attendance rate for learning supported by the County Council from 77% to 80%.

· 29% increase in learners engaged in Basic Skills activities.

· Certificated training programmes to increase number of qualified tutors for both adult learning and basic skills provision.

· Innovative family learning projects with Hampshire Music Service, County Youth Service, Probation Service, County Library and Wardrobe Services, Bi-lingual Service and Traveller Services.

· Participation in national pilot project for development of MIS infrastructure in local LSC area (if bid accepted).

· Improved levels of support for voluntary sector organisations in meeting the expected quality criteria.

8. Fee policy

8.1. Fee remission will be unchanged for 2002/2003 and will be made available to learners who are:

· aged 60+

or in receipt of the following benefits:

- job seekers allowance (JSA)

- means-tested state benefit including Working Families or Disabled Persons Tax Credit

and/or

· on low incomes or from low income families, identified by appropriate means-testing

· the unwaged dependants of those listed above.

9. Self-assessment report

9.1. The ACLU is subject to an annual performance review by the local LSC. As part of that process, the ACLU is required to produce a self-assessment report linked to a development plan showing how any perceived areas for improvement will be addressed. The ACLU's first self-assessment report and development plan are included as appendices to the Adult Learning Plan. All adult learning providers receiving funding through the ACLU are asked to conduct their own self-assessment review as part of the internal Quality Assurance Framework. The ACLU's overall self-assessment is largely based on evidence put forward by providers. The findings are summarised in the Adult Learning Plan as follows:

Key strengths

· Effective leadership and management

· Above average retention rates

· Significant value added to learners' achievement in family learning

· Rigorous assessment in specific programmes

· Effective teaching and learning

· High quality staff development and training at county level

· Wide range of learning venues

· Good quality information and advice at county level

· Effective provider networks and collaborative partnerships.

Areas for improvement

· Formal systems for assessing and recording learner progress and achievement

· Retention of learners in provision

· Monitoring of teaching and learning

· Number of accredited courses

· Support to providers in implementing quality assurance standards

· Use of local needs analysis to inform planning of provision

· Attendance of staff at development sessions

· Monitoring of health and safety issues

· Consistency of local information, advice and guidance available to learners

· Collection and interpretation of data.

The Development Plan presents 19 priority actions for improvement linked to targets, success criteria and a timescale for completion. The local LSC will be invited to assess the ACLU's performance against the targets in the Development Plan during monitoring visits throughout the year.

10. Accommodation strategy

10.1. The County Council was invited to include an accommodation strategy in the Adult Learning Plan which will be used by the LSC to assess applications for any capital funding made available in support of adult and community learning. The ACLU put forward projects at nine schools with large adult learning programmes in the initial funding round for 2002. All have been successful. The priorities in the strategy for future development include:

· further work to ensure compliance with disabilities legislation at all County Council owned venues for the delivery of adult learning

· increasing the day-time accommodation available for adult learners at community school sites by the conversion of existing buildings or by new build

· providing dedicated community rooms at a number of primary school sites in support of family learning programmes.

The accommodation strategy and details of the initial capital projects are appended to the Adult Learning Plan.

Recommendation

To provide the Executive Member for Education and the County Council with appropriate comments before the Adult Learning Plan for August 2002 to July 2003 is considered for approval.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB The list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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