Memorandum submitted by Hampstead Garden
Suburb Institute
Creative Connections, which is a sub-department
within the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute, provides educational
courses for adults with learning difficulties. We have achieved
national recognition for the quality of the work we do through
our collaborations with NIACE, Cambridge University, and SKILL.
In addition to this we have now been included in the Adult Learning
Inspectorate "Excalibur" good practice database as an
example of best practice in the area of individually tailored
learning.
These courses were previously funded by the
Learning and Skills Council, but in April this year we were informed
that provision for adults with profound and complex learning difficulties
would not be included in their priorities. As it was made clear
to the college that it risked losing any funding used for non
priority areas, this funding was no longer available to us.
Since this we have been able to find some alternative
funding through a successful bid to the LDDF, and by using this
as well as by introducing fees we have been able to run a few
courses this year. Nevertheless we have lost much.
At least 30 learners will be unable to continue
their studies with us, either because they cannot afford to pay
the fees, or because we cannot offer as many places this year.
We are in addition to this receiving many enquiries from prospective
new students from both within and outside our borough, all of
which points to the fact that there is a great demand for provision
such as ours which will not be met this year due to lack of funding.
We have also lost many members of staff which
made up the Creative Connections team, which will curtail our
ability to continue the development work which we have engaged
in to improve the quality of provision in this area.
Also, we now face an uncertain future as we
currently have no funding beyond this academic year. In light
of this we are looking into all possible sources of funding, including
charity.
Nevertheless we still do feel strongly that
work such as ours should receive some public funding.
What we provide is educational not recreational
or leisure provision, and indeed for many of our learners it is
their only access to any form of educational opportunity. The
Adult Learning Inspectorate has stated that quality provision
in this area is difficult to find, so surely if the Government
is serious about implementing their own stated objectives as included
in publications such as "Valuing People", organisations
such as ours should be encouraged rather than hampered in our
work.
Without a reliable stream of public funding,
and government support we will find it difficult to maintain the
quality of the courses we provide and to continue our efforts
to improve the quality of provision in this area.
Although we are committed to doing all we can
to overcome these difficulties, we and many others believe that
educational provision for adults with complex learning difficulties
is under threat. I would ask all those who are concerned at this
to consider our case, the factors which led to this, and what
this may hold for the future.
November 2005
| 
