Individuals can have their say about the future of informal adult community learning, by responding to a new NIACE online survey by 31 October 2011, as part of the government’s review of informal adult learning.

Responses to NIACE’s online survey will help to influence how public money for informal adult and community learning is spent in local areas and what learning opportunities are made available. The survey is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which will be launching a broader consultation aimed at organisations, such as education providers and employers, in August.

Jane Ward, Programme Manager at NIACE, said:

“This is a real opportunity for individuals to influence policy regarding the future of informal adult community learning and we urge learning providers and others in the sector to encourage and support people in accessing and completing the survey. We are hoping for a huge response to once again demonstrate how much people value informal adult learning. This is the Big Society in action.”

“Increasingly public consultations and surveys are being held online and this is an ideal opportunity for the sector to support people to engage with this method of consultation. To do this we have worked with an advisory group to develop support materials for learning champions and other intermediaries to help people complete the survey. The materials are available on the website.”

http://www.niace.org.uk/current-work/the-iacl-review

The Adult and Community Learning Fund is a new fund from the Skills Funding Agency, administered by NIACE. The Adult and Community Learning Fund will help make the Big Society a reality and will contribute to the Government’s aspirations for Informal Adult and Community Learning (IACL).

The fund is open for applications until 12 noon, Friday 10 June 2011. Organisations from across England can bid for their share of the £2.25 million fund for new and imaginative adult and community learning opportunities that engage and motivate, in particular, disadvantaged adults.

The maximum amount for any bid is £75,000 and the minimum is £10,000.

Please note that this fund is open to organisations in England only. Projects should be designed to support informal adult and community learning for people aged 19 and over. The application process is online and only online submissions will be accepted. Applications submitted in hard copy or by email will not be accepted.

You can access the online application form here.

Your application must be submitted by noon on Friday June 10, 2011 or earlier if possible. Please read the Prospectus before submitting your application.

If you have any queries, please email them to aclf@niace.org.uk.

For further information visit
http://www.niace.org.uk/current-work/adult-and-community-learning-fund-aclf

During the previous academic year all of London’s 33 borough based adult learning providers plus The Mary Ward Centre, The City Lit, Morley College, Working Men’s College and The Workers Educational Association agreed to a charter for learner entitlement to on-line resources to support their learning. The charter aims to demonstrate that adult learning providers are able to thrive in the 21st century by utilising the power of ICT to improve their services to learners.
As a result of this initiative many adult education services in London are now rolling out virtual learning environments for their students. In addition, those who have been using these systems for some time are supporting the late adopters with advice and shared expertise.
The London ACL Principals and Heads of Service have agreed to the charter for providing all ACL learners on longer courses (12 weeks and over) with on-line resources to support their learning.
Each provider is determining their own timetable for this according to local resources and challenges.
Those learning providers who have more experience with technologies such as Moodle and Mahara continue to develop and refine their offering s to learners. More advanced on-line resources drive up inspection grades and enrich the learning experience. This is particularly so with initial assessment, ILPs (individual learning plans), on- line assessment (summative and formative),and the use of e-portfolios. Some of the more advanced providers are also creating integrated systems for their learners. These are exciting times for adult education as, with these tools, colleges are now able to offer a more personalised and flexible offer to students than at any time in the long history of adult education.
The aim is to arrive at a situation where, no matter where you decide to study across London, you will be provided with on-line support materials and activities which accompany your course.
If you would like more information on this initiative contact Martin Sepion, Senior Adviser, RSC London m.sepion@rsc-london.ac.uk or visit http://moodle.rsc-london.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=9

Leadership in technology (LIT) grant based intervention

Closing date: Friday 17th September 2010 12:00pm

LSIS is inviting bids from learning providers, across FE and Skills, for project grants of £6000 for technology based improvement interventions. The grant is designed to support providers who identify a particular improvement need that can be tackled through the innovative use of technology and organisational development. This should enable organisations to use technology to achieve measurable and/or clearly identifiable benefits. The scheme aims to use sector expertise and best practice through mentoring, coupled with support from targeted LSIS Leadership of elearning programme activity.

Successful bids will also be eligible to bid for a capital grant the amount of which is yet to be determined.  The details of this will be finalised early in the autumn term and successful bids will automatically qualify for the fund.

Full details:  LSIS website

Bob Powell

Delegates from colleges, training organisations and partner agencies from all across London came together to focus on how to face the future.

From discussion groups across the event the message was clear:

Learning  provider organisations must do more than just survive, but aim to thrive through adapting and collaborating.

Read the full event report: http://www.rsc-london.ac.uk/1436/

Bromley Adult Education College (BAEC) selected NComputing desktop virtualisation as a cheaper and greener IT solution for some of its classrooms. A pilot system was implemented within a few months and the evaluation has identified quantifiable benefits.

NComputing is a desktop virtualisation that enables multiple users to share the processing power of a single computer. This has several advantages over the traditional PC model, including lower overall costs, better energy efficiency, and simplified administration.

This case study highlights BAEC’s journey starting with its attendance at a regional Green IT event hosted by JISC RSC London in spring 2009 to its rapid implementation of a pilot NComputing system in September 2009 and its subsequent positive evaluation using the SusteIT  ICT footprint tool.

Read the full case study on the Excellence Gateway

Every learning and skills provider funded through the LSC/Skills Funding Agency is now able to benefit from a new LSIS Account.

Nearly 2,000 providers across the sector are receiving an LSIS virtual credit worth between £1,000 and £7,500 – depending on the scale of their SFA funding – which can be redeemed against LSIS events and conferences during the 2010-11 financial year.

Qualifying providers should have been notified about how they can activate their LSIS Account; registering is through a simple online process. Prices for LSIS events will be £150 for one-day conferences and £75 for half-day seminars.

More information about LSIS Accounts (PDF)

Below are some upcoming events in the leadership and e-learning programmes.
(more…)

JISC RSC London launched its suppBLort of the Business and Community Engagement (BCE) agenda with a recent event at ThamesValley University. This important agenda, of interest to all post-16 sectors, will continue to receive prominent national and regional support in our future activities.

Read the full event report.

Delegates at VLE event

Thirty delegates from Adult Learning Providers and Colleges across London attended the RSC London VLE Development Group meeting held at Brettenham House on the 12th February 2010.

Much of the discussion concentrated on how to maintain the momentum of improvements to teaching and learning through the use of technology in the context of the current funding climate.

Read the full report on the RSC London website

Ofsted is aiming to introduce a new inspection framework for adult and community learning from 2010 to make sure it is well matched to the needs of the user and the quality of the service.

http://ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/article/525

The proposals include reducing the notice period for inspection to three weeks and avoiding multiple inspection visits by covering all direct and sub-contracted education and training offered by the provider.

Ofsted is also looking at taking a more risk-proportionate approach to inspection, bringing the arrangements in line with other Ofsted inspection frameworks.

We will be looking at the performance of providers annually to decide whether to bring forward or delay the next inspection and to determine the focus of the inspection. Most providers will continue to have an inspection every four years, but for high-performing providers the time between inspections could be up to six years. If a provider’s performance is weak or faltering, or if a provider is new, they could be inspected more frequently than every four years.

The consultation document, Proposals for adult and community learning inspections from 2010 is available here: www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/090242

Consultation closes on 29 December 2009.

In 2010 Ofsted will publish the results of the consultation and final recommendations for the inspection of adult and community learning.