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ITEM EX7 - ANNEX 2

EXECUTIVE – 20 APRIL 2004

ADULT LEARNING PLAN 2004/05

What we do now – our learners, our strengths as a service

Service profile in 2002-3

The service’s current mission statement

To develop and sustain across Oxfordshire a range of high quality lifelong learning opportunities that will engage new adult learners and enable all learners to gain knowledge and skills, progress in learning, and play an active and creative part in their communities.

Learners

24,563 individual learners 

3,942 courses at 345 venues (some of those workplace or community venues with a single course)

29,258 ACL (non-accredited) enrolments and 9,156 Further Education (accredited, basic skills, and learning difficulties) enrolments

• 7% under 19
• 10% aged 19 to 29
• 20% aged 30 to 39
• 18% aged 40 to 49
• 16% aged 50 to 59
• 12% aged 60 to 69
• 7% aged 70 and over
• (9% not known)

9% with a disability or learning difficulty

4% reporting themselves as from a non-white ethnic minority

2597 literacy, language and numeracy enrolments, including over 500 taught at their place of work, and others taught by flexible, distance and online methods.

1019 individual interviews within Information, Advice and Guidance (New Start)

The Service provides for a large range of disadvantaged learners, including people with disabilities, homeless and vulnerably-housed people, refugees and asylum seekers, people with mental health needs, adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, travellers, disadvantaged older learners.

Learning programmes for around 300 workers in care homes, managed by the Social & Health Care Directorate with other funding in 2002-03, will become part of the County Council’s Further Education contract with the LSC in 2004-05.

Curriculum

Literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages; arts and culture; vocational training, including the use of computers (ICT) and some National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ’s); healthy living.

The Service curriculum aims to develop skills, promote personal fulfilment, community development and active citizenship. It is mainly at entry level and level one but also includes level 2 and some gap filling at level 3. Professional training is provided for teaching staff up to level four.

The percentages for participants in 2002-3, in groups of curriculum areas based on the Adult Learning Inspectorate’s programmes areas, were:

• 14.5% of learners in Information and Communication Technology
• 29.5% in hospitality, sports (e.g. cooking, exercise)
• 7.9% in health, social care and public services (e.g. counselling, parenting, early years and play work)
• 23.4% in visual and performing arts and media
• 10.8% in English, languages and communications
• 9.8% in foundation (e.g. basic skills, English for speakers of other languages, citizenship, return-to-work, programmes for those with learning difficulties/disabilities)

Partners

These include:

• Employers, and the community and voluntary sector, to offer a range of skills training which promotes social inclusion as well as economic performance
• Schools, family centres and community and voluntary organisations to offer family learning, literacy, numeracy and ESOL
• County Council directorates
• Other providers of adult learning, to embed clear progression routes and to ensure there is no duplication of provision or waste of resources
• Health and care services
• Arts organisations

Outreach - taking information, advice and guidance, and learning, to new learners in their own settings - is a key strategy.

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