What is to be done?

Challenges facing the adult sector over the next few years

Quality Funding

Policy

TLA

Where does ‘e-learning’ fit in?

Early 00s…

The Learning Age green paper, 1998"As well as securing our economic future, learning has a wider contribution…It helps make ours a civilised society, develops the spiritual side of our lives and promotes active citizenship ... It helps us fulfil our potential, and opens doors to a love of music, art and literature. That is why we value learning for its own sake as well as for the equality of opportunity it brings."

With opportunity for the sector came anguish for some…

Mid-late 00s…

2007: Under one roof…ALI becomes part of Ofsted

2007- 2010 Projects

2007 PTTLS and DTTLS – Getting ‘professional’?

• Appointing e-coordinators• e-learning ‘strategies’• e-learning bids • buying ‘kit’ • Setting-up VLPs• Lots of templates for auditing the e-learning capacity

of organisations• Lots of templates for auditing the e-learning capacity

of organisations• Appointing more e-coordinators

What were (some) providers doing?

• But what did the learners experience?

• Was it the age of the ‘lone-ranger'?

• Did senior management teams ‘get it?’

2009 John Denham, the secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, issues an adult learning white paper in an era of austerity:

The Learning Revolution.

This "transformational fund" will invest in "innovative new approaches to reach and engage new learners". Informal Learning – everywhere! The Guardian – March 2009…‘For them the internet is the 21st-century tutor. But if they want to go further than their screen, the white paper announces there will be a "web portal" through which people can find opportunities and groups they did not know existed.’

Today…and tomorrow?2011: New Challenges, New Chances

Adult Skills Budget replaces Adult Learner Responsive

Community Learning replaces Adult Safeguarded Learning Community Learning funding:

• Maximise access to community learning for adults, bringing new opportunities and improving lives, whatever people’s circumstances

• Promote social renewal by bringing local communities together to experience the joy of learning and the pride that comes with achievement, and

• Maximise the effect community learning has on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families and communities

Community Learning Strategy:

• Set out how they will work in strong local partnerships to make sure their identified objectives are underpinned by the involvement of communities, local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other local stakeholders

• Have clear outcomes and appropriate measures capable of being evaluated by their community and local stakeholders

• Develop and put in place a robust financial strategy that adds to their Community Learning allocation

New outcome focused success measures

“We want to see many more radical approaches to the use of available educational technologies and will ensure that the funding and regulatory system encourages providers to innovate with online learning alternatives to traditional delivery routes and blended learning…

Questions and Opportunities…

1. What are the implications for curriculum/ service review and planning?

2. What does TLA need to look like?

3. What are the implications for the role of the teacher and what skills do they need?

4. How do we define and evaluate quality?

5. Where does the learner fit-in in all of this?

6. What is our expectation of the ‘learner’?

Equipping our teachers and trainers

• Revised professional standards - April (The Education and Training Foundation)

• ‘It’s about work…Excellent adult vocational teaching and learning’ (Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching & Learning)

• ‘Paths forward to a digital future for Further Education and Skills’ (Further Education Learning Technology Action Group’)

• Your local Peer Review and Development Group

Concluding thoughts…Key players have less resource but more focus

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is more important than ever but Outstanding is not enough

Getting qualifications and skills not enough – what next?

Only by working together as a sector can we use our critical mass to not only survive but flourish