A pilot scheme
that will give local people a real say in decisions about their
local adult learning courses and bring better value for money for
taxpayers has been announced today.
The Government is planning to select between ten and fifteen
Community Learning Trust Pilots which will begin work in August.
Organisations such as adult education services and FE colleges
that are funded from the Skills Funding Agency’s £210 million
annual Community Learning budget are invited to prepare their
applications in collaboration with local community organisations,
businesses and services.
Alongside its social benefits, community learning helps to
contribute to the growth of local economies by helping people to
develop the skills, confidence and independence required to
progress to training and employment. Students could range from a
young person looking to gain new skills to an older person keeping
active by taking part in adult education classes.
Skills Minister John Hayes, launching the prospectus for
community learning trust pilots, said:
“Learning is not just for people and communities, it
belongs to them and must answer to them for its success
or failure. It’s time for local people to have a more powerful
voice in local learning.
“Our community learning trust pilots will give people that voice
and the chance to discuss, design - and in some cases deliver -
the kind of learning they want.
“These pilots will liberate community learning from top-down
bureaucratic controls and give it a new direction, based on what
people tell us. I hope that in time all communities will have more
power over their local learning.”
All the pilots will be expected to demonstrate how they will
generate income in addition to the public subsidy and show how
local people are taking a lead. This is an opportunity for people
involved in volunteering, learning clubs, informal learning at
work and online learning, as well as more structured learning, to
be part of their local application to become a trust.
NIACE (the National Institute of Adult Continuing Learning) will
support the pilot trusts.
Notes to editors:
1. The Community Learning Prospectus can be viewed at http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/further-education-skills/learners/informal-adult-learning/community-learning-trust-pilots
2. Pilots will start in August 2012. If the pilot approaches are
successful, trusts will be rolled out more widely from 2013.
Interested organisations will have just over six weeks to develop
and submit their applications.
3. Successful trusts will be announced in early July.
4. BIS-funded Community Learning covers a broad range of courses,
usually unaccredited, that bring together adults of different ages
and backgrounds to pursue an interest, address a need, acquire a
new skill, become healthier or learn how to support their children.
5. In December 2011 New Challenges, New Chances
Further Education and Skills System Reform Plan: building a
world class skills system set out new aims and objectives
for the £210m per year community learning budget in England and
the Department’s intention to pilot a range of community learning
trusts models from August 2012.
6. All directly-funded providers in receipt of an allocation from
the BIS £210m Community Learning (previously Adult Safeguarded
Learning) budget are eligible to work with community partners to
put forward a proposal.
7. Based on administrative information collected in the
‘Individualised Learner Record’, across England 699,400 learners
participated in Community Learning courses in 2010/11.
8. Provision funded though this budget is delivered or
commissioned by FE colleges, local authority providers and
Specialist Designated Institutions.
9. BIS's online newsroom contains the latest press
notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. It
also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See
http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom
for more information.
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the issuing dept
ndsenquiries@co.gsi.gov.uk
Victoria Heath
Phone: 020 7215 5950
victoria.heath@bis.gsi.gov.uk