Conclusions and recommendations
Understanding the problem
1. There
is still an alarmingly high proportion of adults with low literacy
and numeracy skills, a situation which successive Governments
have failed to address adequately. We welcome the Government's
announcement that a Behavioural Insights Research Centre for maths
and English is being set up to undertake scientific analysis of
how adults best learn English and maths. This is such an important
matter that the Government must produce an urgent update. We also
welcome the further work commissioned by the Department, to investigate
the reasons for the poor performance of England compared with
other countries, with respect to adult literacy and numeracy.
In its response, the Government should set out a timetable for
the work being completed, the findings being published, and when
action will be taken as a result of those findings. (Paragraph
12)
Getting the message across
2. The
Government has pledged funding for free training and tuition for
any adult who wants to study English and maths up to and including
GCSE level, but it needs to get the message across to adults with
limited English and maths skills that this help is available.
To make sure that this message reaches the right people, we recommend
that the Government carry out a high-profile national campaign
to promote robustly this initiative. This must be treated as a
priority. The Government must publish a timetable of how and when
the national campaign will be launched. Coupled with this national
campaign, the Government should develop clear signposting routes,
helping adults to find the most appropriate and nearest help (either
voluntary schemes or more formal classes). The Government should
report back in its response on the methods it will use to develop
this initiative. (Paragraph 15)
The type of adult literacy and numeracy provision
- GCSE's
3. English
and maths programmes for adults have to be flexible if they are
to be successful, which means that the Government should not be
pre-occupied with GCSEs being the only measurement at Level 2
for all learners in all settings. The Government has successfully
recognised that a more flexible approach to learning reaps success,
and therefore the accompanying Government funding must move away
from the traditional, linear approach to achieving qualifications.
(Paragraph 24)
The standard of English and maths providers
4. The
Government needs to study the type of adult literacy and numeracy
provision on offer. The Ofsted results on the provision of adult
literacy and numeracy show a mixed bag of provision; some are
excellent, but many need to improve. If the Government is successful
in persuading adults to improve their maths and English skills,
then those adults cannot be let down by inadequate provision.
We support voluntary organisations, which do a tremendous amount
in supporting adult learners. Such voluntary schemes are run in
tandem with other provision involving qualified teachers. To support
these teachers, post-graduate qualifications should be reintroduced,
to reinforce the fact that adult learning is a specialist job
and to ensure that the best teachers are helping adults to improve
their English and maths. (Paragraph 27)
5. We recommend that
the Government reassesses how it funds adult literacy and numeracy
courses and charities, and gives those organisations the flexibility
to adapt their own courses for the individual concerned, while
still, of course, ensuring accountability of providers in the
process. Peer-based learning is equally valuable and should be
promoted. The system should be flexible enough to support voluntary
organisations, as well as formal-based classes. (Paragraph 32)
Maths
6. All
too often, adult numeracy is considered the poor relation to adult
literacy, and the Government should encourage initiatives that
seek to reverse the perception among adults that it is acceptable
not to have functional skills in maths. The Government should
seek to change the culture in which low levels of numeracy are
considered acceptable. This must start at school. (Paragraph 35)
Referrals to adult training
7. It
is crucial that when someone starts claiming unemployment benefit,
there is a method of testing his or her English and maths skills.
When this happens at the moment, it is neither systematic nor
consistent. We agree with the Work and Pensions Committee that
Jobcentres should have a more thorough and systematic initial,
face-to-face assessment of claimants, to understand the skills
support they need to get a job. Assessments should be regularly
updated during longer claims, with the relevant data being passed
on to the Work Programme and other contracted providers, if claimants
are referred on. We recommend better co-ordination between the
Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills, Jobcentre Plus and skills providers, to
ensure that there is consistent and thorough assessment of basic
skills needs at the earliest possible stage of unemployment benefit
claims. There also needs to be better information sharing between
providers and referral onto courses which effectively address
identified needs. For this to be effective, the Government must
marry together the learning regime and the Department for Work
and Pensions regime, to ensure that unemployed adults have the
most flexible opportunities to develop their skills. If this is
approached in a constructive, cross-Departmental way, there will
be benefits both to the learners and to the public purse. (Paragraph
46)
Screening tool for 18-24 year olds
8. We
were told by the Government of current pilot schemes, offering
English and maths training for 18 to 21-year-olds, which include
the development of a specific style of assessment that will be
used for young people making a claim who cannot already provide
evidence of their Level 2 skills through certificates. We look
forward to hearing the results of the pilot. If proved to be successful,
we recommend that the Government extend this assessment to all
claimants, regardless of their age, so that claimants who need
further skills can be identified at the earliest possible stage,
and action can then be taken. (Paragraph 48)
Workplace initiatives - Unionlearn
9. The
Government is cutting £2.5 million from Unionlearn's budget,
even though the Minister himself acknowledged the impressive work
that the organisation does in adult skills training. This is short-sighted
financial gain, which goes against the many positive interventions
by the Government. It also sends out the wrong signal about the
Government's commitment to adult learning. At a cost of under
£100 per learner, and bringing in an extra £4 to £6
additional employer funding for every £1 of Government funding,
Unionlearn is a cost-effective way of reaching large numbers of
learners with the most acute English and maths needs. This is
an area of high impact, which offers value for money, so we urge
the Government to reverse its decision to cut Unionlearn's funding.
(Paragraph 51)
Workplace initiatives - The Army
10. The
Army's provision of literacy and numeracy is to be highly commended,
and it has a good record of delivery. Although their military
training might not always translate into other organisations,
their approach to adult literacy and numeracy, embedded within
functional skills, and contextualised to make it relevant to the
learners' lives, has been shown to be extremely successful, with
tangible benefits for Army personnel. The Government should acknowledge
the fact that a significant part of this success is the fact that
the Army delivers training under Central Skills Funding Agency-Army
funding arrangements, which means that the Army can organise its
own contracted external literacy and numeracy provision. We recommend
that the Government study the Army's methods, and promotes examples
of best practice in other Government-funded initiatives. (Paragraph
54)
Other examples of adult learning programmes in specific
contexts - Prisons
11. Partnership
working with prisoners, and the offering of more relevant, functional
courses, in which English and maths skills are embedded, has a
record of success. There is a problem with the separation of the
education and training provision from the prison system itself.
There is also a lack of clarity on the accountability for the
quality of English and maths provision within the prison. This
needs to be spelt out to providers and to Governors. (Paragraph
61)
12. There may not
be enough hours of literacy and numeracy classes to raise prisoners'
reading, writing and maths to a reasonable standard, especially
if those prisoners have short sentences. The courses need to be
flexible enough to ensure that prisoners take their accredited
hours of literacy and numeracy work with them, and, much like
the pupil premium, the funding of the prisoner should be portable
and should accompany the prisoner. (Paragraph 62)
13. All prison libraries
should be open over the weekend, to ensure that prisoners have
greater access to prison libraries. We would also like reassurance
from the Government that improved literacy supports rehabilitation,
and that the Government is doing as much as possible to encourage
this. (Paragraph 63)
Other examples of adult learning programmes in specific
contexts - Homeless men and women
14. We
recognise the fact that homeless people face huge challenges,
and welcome the STRIVE pilot, proposed by St Mungo's Broadway
and Crisis, and funded by the Government. This is a long-term
project which should not be hindered by the political timetable
of elections. We look to all three major political parties to
commit publicly to the STRIVE programme so that long-term planning
can take place beyond the 2015 General Election. Furthermore,
if the pilot is shown to be successful, we recommend that the
pilot is adopted nationwide. In its response, the Government should
give an indication of how the pilot is progressing, and the timescale
for extending the scheme to other parts of the country, as there
is a clear need for adult literacy and numeracy schemes in homeless
hostels throughout the country. (Paragraph 68)
Community learning initiatives
15. The
Skills Funding Agency's bidding process means that demonstrably
successful providers of courses have to go through the process
of rebidding, which leads to insecurity of both the learners and
staff providing those courses. BIS needs to re-examine this arrangement,
to ensure that there is continuity for both providers with a proven
record of success, and recipients of the adult learning courses.
Schools do not have this insecurity; neither should providers
of adult courses. (Paragraph 73)
Family-learning initiatives
16. Family
learning provision must be at the heart of schools and community
centres, so that learning is rooted within communities, especially
those that are disadvantaged. However, the evidence we received,
including that from the Government, showed that despite overwhelming
support for family-learning schemes, they are hampered by a lack
of long-term, consistent funding. We recommend that the Government
must commit to the long-term funding of family-learning schemes,
and must set out in its response how this funding will be provided.
(Paragraph 80)
Collaboration between Departments
17. The
personal commitment of the former Minister, Matthew Hancock MP,
to addressing adult literacy and numeracy was commendable, and
his Ministerial roles in both the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Education (DfE) underpinned
the close collaboration between the two Departments. We hope that
the present Minister, Nick Boles MP, meets the high standards
set by his predecessor, and continues the close collaboration
in his role as Minister of State for Skills and Equalities, working
jointly across BIS and DfE. The Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP) and the Department for Communities and Local Government
(DCLG), the Ministry of Justice, and indeed the Ministry of Defence,
also have a crucial role to play in developing and implementing
adult literacy and numeracy policies and programmes. However,
those departments appear less able to collaborate on a suitable
level. In its Response, we look to the Department to set out how
it will achieve closer collaboration from these Departments. We
recommend that a civil servant in each of the relevant Departments
is chosen to act as a champion for adult literacy and numeracy.
Should close collaboration between these Departments not be delivered,
we recommend that the Minister be given more formal powers to
intervene in those Departments on matters of adult literacy and
numeracy. (Paragraph 83)
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