Manifesto 2014/15
Making a difference to communities throughout the UK The UK and the rest of Europe are in a period of significant demographic change. People will work until later in their lives, they may have several careers and have to support children and elderly relatives for longer. To respond, we need a whole of life approach to public policy, well beyond the traditional split between schools, work, pensions and health.
Education, at whatever age, changes people’s lives and allows them to take control over their destinies. It is the key to reducing inequality and promoting social mobility and inclusion. We propose the following manifesto towards changing the future for the better – socially, economically and culturally. We invite others to join us to support and develop these arguments over the coming months.
The WEA believes that education is central to this approach. Successful countries see education as an infrastructural investment which has transformational effects on productivity, social mobility, health outcomes and community cohesion. Without access to education and lifelong learning we will continue to have a divided society in which human potential is wasted.
Ruth Spellman Chief Executive & General Secretary Workers’ Educational Association
Key recommendations
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Ensure there is always an opportunity for adults to return to learning Promote equality, opportunity and productivity at work
Develop educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged
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Help people stay active throughout life through health education
Reduce health inequalities to give people more control over their own wellbeing
Promote tolerance and inclusion through access to English
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Value lifelong learning so adults of any age can study Help parents become educational role models
Value volunteering through a single credible set of measurements
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Ensure there is always an opportunity for adults to return to learning n Raise UK participation in all levels of n Require all universities, colleges and adult education from the current estimate schools to publish Community Access of 20% (NIACE) to a majority by 2020 Policies to make education assets and infrastructure accessible through n Promote part-time study and give the 60% partnerships to all adults of adults who did not go to university, but supported others through the tax system, an opportunity to access education at all levels later in life
Everyone in the UK deserves a good education. As taxpayers, we all contribute towards universities, schools and colleges. So we should all have continuing chances to learn throughout our lifetimes. The WEA calls on all stakeholders in adult education to work together to raise levels of participation as well as protecting women only learning opportunities where appropriate.
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The WEA calls on all further and higher education providers, alongside schools and government, to work together to promote adult education and part time study for all ages. This includes making publicly owned assets accessible for adult education where appropriate and affordable.
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Promote equality, opportunity and productivity at work Employers and government to work in partnership to increase skills, reduce income inequality, end in-work poverty: n Easing transitions from unemployment into jobs. Enable those in lower skilled jobs to progress, with particular emphasis on including adults with disabilities, through mentoring, job rotation and similar schemes
n Providing tax relief for employers who give employees opportunities to learn and who open training opportunities to others in their supply chains and people on Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) n Making the Living Wage and universal training and development minimum requirements in all public sector contract procurement and tender specifications (including subcontractors)
n Auto-enrolling workers at all levels into ‘Training and Development Accounts’ to support skills development (with matched contributions and Government funding for English and Maths qualifications)
Sustainable economic growth depends on improving routes to employment and enabling those with low skilled jobs to gain the training and skills needed to progress in their careers. According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) Employer Skills Survey 20131, economic growth may be constrained by skills shortages, while the total employer investment in training has decreased by five per cent in the period 2011 to 2013 (from £45.3bn to £42.9bn).
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The WEA calls on employers and the government to help people into work and once there to encourage skills development through training accounts and tax relief for learning. The WEA also calls on central and local government and public agencies to ensure that procurement activities reduce in-work poverty through the promotion of the Living Wage.
Develop educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged n Protect the learning entitlement for all adults to achieve basic standards of numeracy and literacy and introduce a new entitlement for digital skills
According to the OECD Skills Outlook 20132, around 8.5 million people have poor maths skills and around 6.8 million have poor literacy skills. Individuals with lower proficiency in literacy are more likely to report poor health, to believe that they have little impact on political processes, and are less likely to participate in associative or volunteer activities. Research from National Numeracy3 suggests that low levels of adult numeracy alone could be costing the economy ÂŁ20bn per year. WEA calls on the government to protect the learning entitlement for literacy and numeracy. In addition, the WEA also calls for the introduction of a new entitlement for digital skills to assist access to labour markets and employee development as workplaces change.
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Promote tolerance and inclusion through access to English English language learning is vital to developing an inclusive society, fair access to services, social mobility, tolerance, citizenship and access to the labour market. The WEA calls for funding of ESOL classes to continue for those unemployed or on low pay who want and need them.
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n Promote and support speaking English by maintaining FE funding for ESOL
Help people stay active throughout life through health education
The Marmot Review4 has identified education as one of the key social determinants of health and suggests that lifelong learning needs to be available to everyone to reduce health inequalities. The Institute of Health Equality has reported that “people who are currently dying prematurely as a result of health inequalities would, in total, have enjoyed between 1.3 and 2.5 million extra years of life”. They estimate that this illness accounts for lost taxes and higher welfare payments in the range of £20-32 billion per year and additional NHS healthcare costs well in excess of £5.5 billion per year.
n Invest in health education to preserve independence and keep older adults, disabled people and those facing mental health difficulties active
The WEA calls on the government to focus health education spending on the most vulnerable communities to help bridge the health inequality gap and reduce costs to the NHS.
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Reduce inequalities in health to give people more control n Require Health & Wellbeing Boards to include health education in their strategic plans to reduce health inequality and all Clinical Commissioning Groups to encourage doctors and health centres to promote education to help people take more control of their own health & wellbeing
Front-line professionals have a key role to play in reducing health inequalities. The WEA calls for Directors of Public Health in local authorities to include health education in strategic planning and for doctors to be encouraged to include health education in treatment strategies and local commissioning.
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Value lifelong learning so adults of any age can study
The European Commission5 has identified three main structural factors that are set to influence adult and continuing education. Firstly demographic dynamics will increase the number of 45-64 year olds as a proportion of the population and labour force. They will bear much of the burden of responding to the need for skills in coming years. Secondly, increasing numbers of employed people with high levels of qualifications will increase demand for adult and continuing education. Finally, the changing structure of employment will mean that there are more knowledge and skills intensive jobs which require training and education.
n Increase the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget in England annually by inflation or 2.5% (whichever is the higher) so adults of any age can study, improve their health and wellbeing, self-confidence and skills
The WEA calls on the government to respond to these factors by securing the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget for the long-term through a fiscal double lock of inflation or 2.5%.
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Help parents become education role models for their children
NIACE’s Inquiry into Family Learning6 has shown that “parental engagement in family learning has a large and positive impact on children’s learning, giving children greater confidence and self-belief, with measurable benefits to their literacy, language and numeracy skills.” The WEA calls for a voucher system to encourage parents to return to learn and for a minister to be appointed within Department for Education to increase the public profile of family learning and its positive impacts on educational outcomes for children.
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n Provide ‘Return to Learn’ education/ training vouchers for parents in receipt of child benefit when their first child starts Year 7 – to help secondary age children understand the value of lifelong learning n Appoint a Minister with lead responsibility for family learning in England
Value volunteering through a single, credible set of measurements n Government to establish a Commission to produce a simple, credible set of measurements which value volunteering and promote this as a standard across public, voluntary and corporate sectors
Measuring the economic value of volunteering provides an essential tool in comparing activities undertaken across the public, private and third sectors. The WEA calls on the government to work with Volunteering England to establish a single set of measurements which provide a credible reporting methodology for all.
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About the WEA
Vision
Approach
A better world – equal, democratic and just; through adult education the WEA challenges and inspires individuals, communities and society.
We deliver our mission by developing partnerships to meet individual and collective needs, using active learning and a student centred approach in which teachers and students work as equals. We constantly strive to adapt our services to meet people’s needs, making full use of technology.
Mission nR aising educational aspirations nB ringing great teaching and learning to local communities
n E nsuring there is always an opportunity for adults to return to learning
nD eveloping educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged
n I nvolving students and supporters as members to build an education movement for social purpose
Values n Democratic n Equal n Inclusive n Accessible n Open
n I nspiring students, teachers and members to become active citizens
Endnotes 1. U KCES Employer Skills Survey http://www. ukces.org.uk/ourwork/employer-skills-survey 2. O ECD Skills Outlook 2013 – http://skills. oecd.org/skillsoutlook.html
3. National Numeracy Press Release – http:// www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/news/116/ index.html
5. European Commission Adult and Continuing Education in Europe – http://ec.europa.eu/ research/social-sciences/pdf/kina25943enc.pdf
4. Institute of Health Equality Marmot Review – http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/ projects/fair-society-healthy-lives-themarmot-review
6. NIACE Family Learning Inquiry – http://www. niace.org.uk/current-work/family-learning-inquiry
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Contact us East Midlands
North West
West Midlands
39 Mapperley Road, Nottingham, NG3 5AQ T: 0115 962 8400 E: eastmidlands@wea.org.uk W: www.weaeastmidlands.org
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WEA, 4 Luke Street, London, EC2A 4XW T: 020 7426 3450 E: national@wea.org.uk @WEAadulted Funded by: www.wea.org.uk The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 2806910). Registered Office: Workers’ Educational Association, 4 Luke Street, London, EC2A 4XW.
www.wea.org.uk
Yorkshire and Humber