1. Healthy Wealthy and Wise
Impact and devolution: implications for policy and practice in the UK
Morley College
3 May 2018
“Impact and devolution: implications for policy and practice in the UK” - Mark Ravenhall
The UK has a devolved approach to adult learning policy making. For many years, responsibility for education and skills funding has been the responsibility for devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. From next year, this could also be the case in parts of England with the planned devolution of as much as half of the Adult Education Budget by 2019/20. With devolution comes the threat of local commissioners focussing on a narrow economic remit for adult education funding. But international evidence shows that adult learning has “overlapping benefits” (UNESCO, 2016) in a number of domains such as health, employability, and involvement in local communities. Investing in adult learning does not only benefit adults’ ability to find and progress at work, but also their likelihood to be healthier, better able to support their families, and make an active contribution to civic life.
Questions for discussion:
What sort of evidence should providers of learning collect?
How do we turn the evidence into solutions for national policy makers and local commissioners?  
How does the practice of adult educators and leaders need to change?

3. THIRD GLOBAL REPORT ON ADULT LEARNING AND EDUCATION (2016)
139 UNESCO member states involved
Identifies trends in adult learning and how it responds to a changing world
Looks at the impact of adult learning in 3 areas that broadly reflected the ones in our research
On the face of it countries report an improving picture since 2009, 75% countries report they have SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THEIR ALE POLICIES SINCE 2009
70% Have enacted new policies
Literacy remains a concern
Gender inequality remains a concern if almost 1 in ten girls are out of school it is not surprising that 63% of adults with low literacy skills are women
Argues for adult learning to be built into holistic, intersectoral approaches, which requires deeper partnerships based on the impact of adult learning

4. THE OVERLAPPING BENEFITS OF ADULT LEARNING
Body copy
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (2016) Third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, p.21

5. THE OVERLAPPING BENEFITS OF ADULT LEARNING
“…No matter where in the world they live, adult learning and education helps people become healthier, to improve their economic prospects, and to be more informed and active citizens.”
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (2016) Third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, p.21

6. Government has known this for a long time…
“The impact of education depends not only on the quantity of education experienced and qualifications achieved but on the quality and nature of the educational experience—its appropriateness to the individual, and their engagement with learning.”
Department for Education and Skills, Research Brief RCB05-05, October The Wider Benefits of Learning: a synthesis of findings from the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

7. CONTENTS The impact of adult learning on: Health and well-being
Work and employment
Community life
Implications for policy and practice
What needs to be done?

8. PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT 2015/17
Research papers commissioned on each of the three themes
Papers shared with Impact Forums in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales – further evidence added
Draft report developed based on feedback
Draft report shared at Setting the Agenda Conference, London, October 2017
Report revised, peer-reviewed and published
Impact forums added their own experiences, research and examples of development to add to the evidence and impact data.

9. COMMON CHALLENGES WITHIN A DEVOLVED POLICY CONTEXT

10. Devolution as a response to regional inequalities
Variation in regional economies across the UK
Skills are important in a number of ways
But not equally distributed (cause and consequence)
UK Government Office for Science, 2017
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

11. Regional is not enough
Skills for Londoners, November 2017

12. Local solutions
Adult learning contributes to and impacts across a wide range of policy areas
It is most effective when it involves multi-agency approaches
It requires systems-thinking, collaborative local leadership
SDG 4: Lifelong Learning is advocated as a response to the demands of learning across ages, stages, policies, especially relating to equity, inclusion, economic development, health and prosperity.

13. English devolution
London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City region, Cambridgeshire / Peterborough, West of England, Tees Valley, West Midlands…[and] North of Tyne, Sheffield City Region
50% of national Adult Education Budget
Includes ‘Community Learning’ and ‘Skills’
High proportion of low level units / non-entitlement provision outside of ACL
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

14. Some implications
Cross-cutting: devolution gives the opportunity to link strategies, for example in London:
Skills for Londoners
Better Health for Londoners
Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy
Cultural Strategy
What outcomes in these strategies does Adult Education help deliver?
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

15. Implications (2)
Counting: what outcomes do we collect at provider (or group of providers level?)
WEA work on impact (and longitudinal analysis)
L&W DfE-funded research on social metrics
Community Learning Mental Health research
Curriculum: if what we deliver needs to change, what will the lead-in times be?
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

16. Implications (3)
Collaborative leadership: have we got the skills and resources to work:
with each other?
with other agencies?
Continuing Professional Development
have all our staff got the right skillset?
how do we use learning to support multi-agency teams?
Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

17. Rochdale, Greater Manchester

18. Everything follows from this… the final words of our report

19. Multi-competent/Specialist Spectrum?
Chief Executive LA
Chief Operating Officer CCG
Chief Superintendent/Superintendent
PCSO
Commissioning Managers
Head Teachers
Early Help Key Workers
Family Support Workers
Clinical Consultant (e.g. cardiology, pediatric consultant)
Adult Support Workers
Care Coordinators/Navigators/Focused Care Workers
Psychiatrists
Health and Wellbeing Workers
Health Visitors
Crime Scene Investigator
Housing Association ASB Officers
Social Workers
All and any Key Workers from any commissions
District Nurses
Podiatrist
Housing Association Tenancy Support Officer
Youth Offending Workers
Community Safety/Neighbourhood/ASB Officers
Psychological Therapists
Community Midwife
Occupational Therapists
Substance Misuse Support Workers
Neighbourhood Police Inspector
GMFRS CSAs and BSAs
Neighbourhood Police Sergeant
Community Volunteer
NBO (Police Officer)
Homelessness Key Workers
Community Psychiatric Nurse
CAMHS Practitioner/s
Probation Support Officers
Prison Link Officers, Service User Involvement Workers,
Youth Workers
Environmental Health Officers
NPO (Police Response Officer)
Working Well Key Workers
Offender Management Officers (E.g. IOM and SOMU)
Work/Skills/Employment Officers
Key
Local Resolution Officers (Police)
Early Years Officers/Support Workers
General Practitioner
Active Citizens & Volunteers
Victim Support Officers
Probation Officer CRC
Frontline / Practitioners
Volunteer (for statutory agency)
Probation Officer NPSc
Operational / Place Leaders
Restorative Justice Officers
System Leader
Community Engagement Officers
Multi-competent
Extremely Specialist

20. Questions for discussion
What sort of evidence should providers of learning collect?
How do we turn the evidence into solutions for national policy makers and local commissioners?  
How does the practice of adult educators and leaders need to change?
Buzz groups

21.
@LearnWorkUK