RaPAL's response to the BIS Consultation on Skills for Sustainable Growth
Skills for Sustainable Growth: Consultation on the future direction of skills policy
The full BIS consultation paper, published in July 2010, can be viewed here.
RaPAL's response to the BIS consultation paper
Amy Burgess, Sarah Freeman and Alison Wedgbury
on behalf of the management group of RaPAL
Submitted October 2010
About RaPAL
RaPAL is the only British national organisation that focuses on the role of literacy in adult life. We are an independent network of learners, teachers, managers and researchers in adult basic education. RaPAL was established in 1985 and is supported by membership subscription only.
RaPAL campaigns for the rights of all adults to have access to the full range of literacies in their lives, and for democratic practices in adult literacy work and research. We publish three journals a year and hold an annual conference where members network and explore current issues in literacy research and learning Recent journals and conference workshops have explored the issues covered by the consultation on Skills for Sustainable Growth, and this response reflects the points members have raised.
Response to the Consultation Document
RaPAL welcomes the Government’s broad vision for learning, as described in paragraph 4 of the Executive Summary. We welcome the Government’s recognition of the importance of the wider benefits of learning. RaPAL believes that the social and economic benefits of learning cannot be separated and that policy, securely supported by funding in the adult education sector, needs to reflect this.
We support the intention to promote informal learning but we are concerned about the way that this aspiration will be achieved. While many adult learners have the confidence, resources and local support to access learning independently, there remains a long-term need for others to benefit from the help of experienced teachers, mentors and other supporters. This is especially important for people with Entry level literacy, language and numeracy skills, for those recovering from recent illness, those who have been out of education for a long time and those who have had negative experiences of education in the past . (Bynner and Parsons 2008).
Paragraph 66 of ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth states that,
There is a wealth of evidence that engaging in learning brings a wider range of benefits in enriching our lives and developing our communities. It also brings health benefits and promotes well-being and is instrumental in helping parents and children to learn together to improve their reading, writing and numeracy skills.
For those of us with experience in this field there is no doubt that to be successful, the kind of learning described here needs appropriate resources and infrastructure . It should be regarded as equally important as more formal provision and should be allocated similar funding to support learning and staffing.
RaPAL welcomes the intention to make the skills system more learner-centred. However, there is little detail in the consultation document about the mechanisms that would be put in place to enable learners and potential learners to express preferences.
The current entitlement to free tuition for basic literacy and numeracy skills should be maintained. Funding needs to recognise that for some learners significant improvement in literacy and numeracy may take considerable time (see Grief et al 2007)
The introduction of Lifelong Learning accounts sounds beneficial in principle. However, the policy lacks detail about exactly what they are and how they would operate.
There is a widely held view amongst practitioners and managers that the current system is over-centralised and subject to micro-management. We therefore support a move to system in which experienced programme planners and practitioners are trusted to use their professional judgement and knowledge of their local contexts. They should be free of the bureaucratic constraints which currently make it difficult for them to work innovatively and creatively.
Funding should be put in place that maintains and develops the high level of expertise in the Adult Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL sector, ensuring that experienced staff, support workers and fully trained volunteers are sustained. Casualisation of staffing should be avoided. We recognise the valuable contribution that well trained and knowledgeable volunteers can make to adult literacy, language and numeracy work. This should always be in a context where fully qualified and experienced teachers have overall responsibility for adult learning. The use of unqualified practitioners, however well-intentioned they are, may prolong problems for learners and employers rather than solve them (Cara et al 2008).
Under the current system funding is focused on young people entering employment for the first time. The system needs to be rebalanced to support learning at all stages of adult life. This is particularly important in view of the ageing population, changing economic demands and changing employment patterns
Amy Burgess, Sarah Freeman and Alison Wedgbury, October 2010
On behalf of RaPAL
References
Bynner J and Parsons S (2008) Illuminating disadvantage: Profiling the experiences of adults
with Entry level literacy or numeracy over the lifecourse London: NRDC
Cara O, Lister J, Swain J and Vorhaus J (2008) The Teacher Study: The impact of the Skills for Life strategy on teachers London: NRDC
Grief S, Meyer W and Burgess A (2007) Effective Teaching and Learning: Writing London: NRDC
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