Supplementary memorandum submitted by
fforwm and The Association of Colleges
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION ON DATA
INTRODUCTION
1. This paper has been submitted following
oral evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee by fforwm and the
Association of Colleges (AoC) on 17 June 2008.
2. The paper outlines the different student
data collected in England and Wales, identifies some issues concerning
the use of the terms "domicile" and "postcode"
in England and Wales; and compares data collected in Wales and
England.
STUDENT DATA
COLLECTION
3. In Wales, learner data is collected using
the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). In England, the Individualised
Learner Record (ILR) is used. Although there is much in common
between the two, both systems differ in terms of the type of data
collected (for example the ILR collects data on Train to Gain,
which does not exist in Wales) and definitions of terms.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DOMICILE AND
POSTCODE
4. The data on learners enrolled at colleges
in England or Wales is collected on the basis of whether the learner
is "domiciled" in one country or on the basis of their
postcode.
5. The term "domicile" in respect
to the LLWR refers to the "country in which the learner has
his/her permanent home". The country of domicile is recorded
before the person commences a learning programme. The ILR, however,
defines "domicile" in the following way. Domicile: "should
reflect the learner's normal country of residence. This is the
country the learner would normally regard themselves as going
home to".
6. The other data used in fforwm's written
evidence is based on "postcode". The LLWR states that
the postcode refers to "the home postcode for the learner
at the start of a learning programme". Home postcode is defined
slightly differently in the ILR as "the permanent or home
postcode of the learner prior to enrolling at the provider".
The LLWR and the ILR both have a field covering "current
postcode". There is no definition in the LLWR whereas in
the ILR it is defined as "the postcode of the learner's current
or last known residence ... This may differ from home postcode
field where a learner has changed residence since enrolling. For
example, if they are living away from home".
7. The definitions of data used by the LLWR
and the ILR differ slightly and this may lead to data not being
strictly comparable.
DATA ON
CROSS BORDER
MOVEMENT OF
POST-16 FE LEARNERS
8. Data collected by the LLWR on learners
attending colleges in Wales who are domiciled in England differ
from the data on learners who have been recorded as having an
English postcode.
9. Thus 7,540 learners studying in colleges
in Wales gave their postcode as England whereas the numbers stating
they were domiciled in England totalled 5,955a difference
of 1,585 (25% higher in the case of "domiciled" learners).
10. It is important therefore to recognise
the differences between "postcode" and "domicile"
in analysing data. The same difference of scale might apply to
data collected in England through the ILR.
11. Another complicating factor is that
learners can change addresses during a course. For example, a
student studying in Wales but living in England might move to
an address in Wales during his/her studies.
12. The data on domiciled students shows
that the numbers of 16-19 learners living in Wales and enrolling
in English colleges is almost identical to those travelling in
the opposite direction (760 as opposed to 763). However, there
is a major difference in 19+ learners. There are 1,182 more 19+
learners travelling to colleges in Wales than travelling to English
collegesalmost 30% more.
13. The evidence presented by AoC shows
that the numbers of learners domiciled in England studying at
colleges in Wales fell between 2005-06 and 2006-07. Similar data
is not yet available from the LLWR.
FE STUDENTS DOMICILED IN ENGLAND AND WALES
CROSSING THE BORDER 2005-06
| Domiciled in England/
attending college in Wales
(a)
| Domiciled in Wales/
attending college in England
(b)
| Difference in number
(a-b) |
16-18 | 760 | 763
| -3 |
19+ | 5,195 | 4,013
| +1,182 |
Total | 5,955 | 4,776
| |
Data collected from the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (Wales) and the Individualised Learner Record (England).
| | | |
Data is not available in Wales on 2006-07. |
| | |
| |
| |
CONCLUSION
14. England and Wales both use different data collection
systemsthe Individualised Learning Record in England and
the Lifelong Learning Wales Record in Wales. Although both systems
have much in common there are some differences between them. Definitions
of termssuch as "domicile"differ. Data
collected in the two countries needs therefore to be treated with
caution.
15. There is a difference in both data collection systems
between "domicile" and "post-code". Data based
on postcode rather than domicile in Wales increases the numbers
of learners from England studying in Welsh colleges by around
25%.
16. The Committee might wish to recommend that there
should be common definitions of terms and that data should be
collected in the same way between both countries. This would help
paint a clearer picture of the numbers of learners crossing the
border to study in colleges in Wales and England.
17. The Committee might also wish to recommend that the
Welsh Assembly Government and the Learning and Skills Council
(and successor bodies) might wish to publish annual figures on
the extent of migration in respect of post-16 education to monitor
the trends.
LEARNERS FROM WALES IN FE COLLEGES IN ENGLAND, 2006-07
Provider Name |
Number of
16-18 students
|
Number of
19+ students
|
Total | % of Welsh
domiciled
students in
English
colleges
|
West Cheshire College | 90
| 725 | 815 | 21.7
|
Walford and North Shropshire College | 132
| 251 | 383 | 10.2
|
City of Bristol College | 27
| 230 | 257 | 6.8
|
Manchester College of Arts and Technology (Mancat)
|
22 |
228 |
250
|
6.6 |
Herefordshire College of Technology | 84
| 111 | 195 | 5.2
|
Blackpool and the Fylde College | 9
| 163 | 172 | 4.6
|
Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology |
35 | 118 | 153 |
4.1 |
Ruskin College Oxford | 0 |
110 | 110 | 2.9
|
Solihull College | 0 | 90
| 90 | 2.4 |
Royal Forest of Dean College | 52
| 35 | 87 | 2.3
|
Telford College of Arts and Technology |
0 | 76 | 76 |
2.0 |
Others (135 Colleges) | 207
| 906 | 1,173 | 31.2
|
| |
| | |
Table 2 illustrates the comparison with the previous year
and particularly a sharp fall in post-19 numbers as a result of
the changes to Learning and Skills Council funding rules. These
reductions are not particular to Wales-domiciled students and
have affected all colleges in England in a similar way. There
was a reduction of 700,000 further education students in English
colleges between 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Table 2
TOTAL NUMBERS OF WALES-DOMICILED LEARNERS STUDYING IN
COLLEGES IN ENGLAND
|
2005-06 |
2006-07 | %
difference
|
16-18 | 763 |
718 | -5.9 |
19+ | 4,013 | 3,043
| -24.2 |
Total | 4,776 | 3,761
| -21.3 |
July 2008
|
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|