The latest edition of WEA news (click here to see) - Download wea_news_17.pdf - majors on the Ofsted inspection but includes a number of other interesting articles. Distribution of the 'News' is limited but it is always available electronically at the WEA's website.
Please pass it on to colleagues and students who may be interested.
The Inspection report into the WEA in England has been published on the Ofsted website click here. The report confirms a strong WEA.
The report describes the overall effectiveness of WEA provision as good and identifies provision in the subject area of Health, Public Services and Care as outstanding. It also confirms that the WEA has strong capacity to improve further.
The report is very timely given the current review of Specialist Designated Institututions and the Informal Adult Learning consultation. I recognises that the WEA works in hundreds of local communities, including the most disadvantaged, with a continued commitment to maintaining high quality learning opportunities for adults at a time when many providers and the general policy direction is thought to have moved away from community based and part-time provision.
The report recognises the high proportion of new learners the WEA reaches each year and its excellent links with partners to reach priority target groups successfully. The democratic principles of the WEA continue to make a significant contribution to the Association’s work in local organising, regional and national decision making and governance.
WEA General Secretary, Richard Bolsin, said: ‘Everyone who has been working to support the WEA over the last few years will be delighted by the outcome – even though we entered this inspection with a sense of confidence. From a management and educational standpoint we’re very pleased with the result, particularly the fact that it fully supports our own pre-inspection judgements through self-assessment. I am greatly encouraged that this report also recognises the contribution of volunteers as a strength of the WEA. This is particularly welcome, given that it is our voluntary movement which makes the WEA unique.’
The six key strengths identified in the report are:
• good development of learners’ skills and knowledge;
• strong leadership;
• excellent partnerships;
• good performance management to promote involvement;
• very good responsiveness to community needs;
• the role and contribution of volunteers across the organisation.
The report also states that the WEA has, ‘maintained all of its key strengths since the previous inspection and rectified most of the weaknesses.’
Provision in Health, Public Services and Care is described as outstanding with ‘very good teaching and learning’, ‘highly flexible and responsive range of courses’, and ‘very strong partnerships to promote inclusion.’
The key areas for improvement are judged to be:
A wide range of WEA work is commended throughout the report including:
• the WEA’s national Helping in Schools programme;
• a Chester-based project helping to rehabilitate adults with alcohol and drug dependency;
• a community fitness and health education group in Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Stoke-On-Trent;
• citizenship courses in Sheffield bringing disparate groups together to find common ground.
We will contact WEA tutors with more details from the report and examine how the Tutor Network can look at some of the issues in particular subject areas along with actions taken by individual WEA regions.
Now that the report is published, please pass on this good news to anyone with an interest in the WEA.
Many people will have seen the article on the WEA in the Guardian on 15th April. You can read it here.
In it, Mike Baker suggests that the government may be suffocating adult education and illustrates this by extensive comments on the WEA.
It's a welcome, if surprising, article and a fascinating series of responses in the accompanying blog.
We need to look at this and think carefully. The current evidence is that (despite what some journalists seem to think) the WEA is an organisation which works within the community and in many communities and brings in a high proportion of adults returning to education each year (about 50%). Moreover, it works with some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the country and the LSC's own data shows that. We can't do that without public funding and the learners in these courses are less likely to be vocal on this issue.
At the same time we want to continue to run provision for everyone and with fair fees that recognise ability to pay. It is likely that the WEA is now the biggest provider of Humanities education outside of schools and universities in England.
The WEA and comprehensive education have a long relationship and we need to reinforce the case for educational opportunities for all adults, without ghettoes or clubs. WEA tutors, students, volunteers and staff know that; their commitment to the principles of the Association continue to be evident - not least in the recent Ofsted report. We can't do this without public funding and, at the moment, that comes largely from the Learning & Skills Council. We need to fight for that money and, at the same time, fight for a sensible regulation of its use which supports high quality learning and access for all.
Just back from holiday and today we've received the draft report from Ofsted on the inspection of the WEA. We have to check it for factual errors before Monday. The actual report is not published until 29th April so we can't give details here but we should be very pleased with the outcome and, in particular, a vindication of a number of key issues for the WEA: reaching disadvantaged adults, working in partnership, development of voluntary activity and good teaching.
It is vital for the WEA to maintain its distinctive mission and have the standard of its work confirmed by external examination. This Ofsted inspection has done that.
Next week, in Birmingham, the Association Management Team is meeting and will consider the lessons we can draw from this inspection and how they fit into the context of the Government's review of Informal Adult Learning and the LSC's review of the Specialist Designated Institutions.
This report will help our case. We also need to take this opportunity to be clear about what the WEA has to offer over a longer time period than we have recently felt able to consider. The Association's voice is respected and we need to use it to shape the future for adult education in a time of great difficulty.
Well, the Ofsted colleagues have been and gone and a whole week has passed since they left. What can we say about it? Not much of the detail as that is provisional and pending the publication of the report (late April). Nevertheless, it has been a positive experience and a genuine examination of what the WEA tries to offer in terms of adult education.
Inspections of the WEA are Olympic scale operations - even in the new lighter touch approach - and managing them successfully demands enormous attention to detail by lots of people across the WEA. I want to thank all of those people here: The regions that were directly visited, the other regions who supported them, the staff involved in the whole process, the volunteers and partners and the tutors and students that met the inspectors.
I know, from sitting in on the inspectors feedback, how impressed they were with the scale, reach and commitment of everyone in the WEA to our provision and our mission. The expertise of our tutors was praised, the WEA's commitment to meeting the needs of disadvantaged communities and the role of volunteers in supporting this work, governance and scrutiny and in helping maintain provision in areas where other providers no longer go.
As soon as the report is finalised I will link it to this blog.
The Ofsted inspection of the WEA starts today. A team of inspectors, led by Richard Moore, will be looking a the WEA over the rest of this week. Most visits to classes will be in NW, Yorkshire Humber, West and East Midlands, Southern and London.
There are three 'base-rooms', in Manchester, Birmingham and Slough. By Thursday, the whole inspection team will come to Birmingham to finalise its judgements. On Friday afternoon the WEA will receive the Inspection feedback, although the outcome can't be made public until the report is published in a few weeks.
At 11am today Inspectors will have their initial team briefing in six locations. The WEA has a standard presentation that they will all receive. It's attached here if you'd like to see it (Download march_10th_presentation_to_ofsted.ppt)
Good luck to everyone involved in this inspection across England!
Recently Richard Bolsin, the General Secretary, e-mailed WEA tutors encouraging them to response individually to the DIUS consultation on Informal Learning. In the same e-mail they were invited to register with the WEA's Tutor Network. A number did and, with the Ofsted visit imminent, I asked them if they'd have a chance to give their views on five questions:
1. How
do you identify your students' level of knowledge or skills when you start
teaching them? How
do you manage a class where people are working at different levels or speeds?
“Initial Assessment combined with
discussion about previous positive/negative experience of the subject,
often going back to recollections from schooldays. I have found
that students often relish this chance for reflection. This is
then built on in subsequent sessions. Using exemplars of students
work can benefit the class as a whole and specifically can give
experienced students and newcomers a sense of achievement and a
boost in confidence.”
“I do initial assessment through identifying 'starting points' via
learner record forms at start of course; also (branch courses) via 'starter'
group activities such as shared whole group 'pool of knowledge' discussion or
starter quiz, Q&A session along lines of 'how many people have done/are
already familiar with x' and show of hands; and through small group activities
early on designed to reveal existing levels of skills and knowledge. For
accredited (targeted) courses such as Helping in Schools etc there is also
usually a specific pre-course assessment task such as a piece of free writing
which can be used to assess current level of working (where there is a literacy
gateway requirement in particular, rather like SfL courses) and where
appropriate, prior knowledge or experience. In accredited courses there's also
usually some kind of individual learning plan which covers initial assessment
issues and can be added to formatively as a course progresses.”
- starting where they are and
listening to where they hope to get to - then tailoring the course (where
non-accredited) to learner needs and interests.
- for accredited courses in
particular, monitor rigorously to ensure learner is working at the appropriate
level which will stretch them but not overwhelm.
- for all courses, offer variety of
method and activity so that all learners will find something to latch onto that
meets their preferred way of learning
- include small group activities for
some of the time so that all learners have a chance to develop their ideas and
skills actively rather than just by listening
Example: I teach a social history
course and topics can be tailored to group interests. Learners are encouraged
to bring in artefacts to show - I then develop their critical skills by using
artefacts as a starting point for interactive evidence-based group analysis.
“We do very practical activities I
ask questions during or after the activity about what they are getting from it
and the skills they are using - we then transfer this the to skills the
children could be developing and how these could be enhance I then build on
what they have already identified.”
How do you manage a class where
people are working at different levels or speeds?
“- value and encourage all learner
contributions not just from the knowledgeable - avoid setting up any kind of
visible 'ability hierarchy' within a classroom. Avoid reviving memories of
school-based hierarchy of ability!
- ensure tutorial discussion of
coursework is done in a way that maintains confidentiality about the work of
individuals
- assertively manage the very able
individual who may want to dominate; there's one in every class. Give them a
challenging task to get on with.
- attend to groupings within
classroom small group activities (sometimes put similar abilities together,
sometimes mix up abilities, depending on type of activity and desired outcome;
sometimes able learners will need to work together, other times it's better to
mix groupings)
- encourage peer support where
appropriate
- provide specific individualised
support at all levels - not just those who are struggling. Able learners may
need individualised extension work within and beyond the classroom, such as
reading lists, options for independent research, options to make a presentation
to the group or lead a discussion activity etc. 'middle ability' learners can
get overlooked - attend to them as individuals and check they too are working
in ways that suit them.”
“I try to use
open activities that enable me to observe the learners doing a variety of tasks
and demonstrating their level of skill or knowledge, rather than just working
through diagnostic worksheets (which can be boring and off-putting at the start
of a course). I also spend time asking the learners about their self-knowledge,
because many suffer from very low confidence.”
“I try to use collaborative learning techniques where possible, so
that learners support each other, learn from each other and feel it is safe to
make mistakes. I am continuing to explore techniques for differentiation, but I
have found using mini-whiteboards, with open and directed questioning, a very
helpful method. In literacy I have found that focusing on learners' writing
skills can help them to choose what level and speed to work at. Having a learning
assistant is also very useful in helping people to work at different
levels/speeds.”
2. What aspect of your subject do students find most challenging?
“Actually being creative!”
“Social History: they often initially find critical
analysis of historical/social evidence very challenging, factual content
much easier.
English literature: as above; literary analysis
is a challenging task for most learners. They do warm up to it after a while though! But it's a difficult aspect to embed
initially.
Schools & Parenting: Accredited courses such as HIS:
many parents struggle not academically but with time management and
organisation of coursework -
juggling the requirements of assessed coursework with home/work/family is a
major challenge for them all. Some find the detailed work on the curriculum
very intense and hard to absorb. On non accredited courses such as Practical
Parent Helpers, many learners find it very difficult to see the wider
educational picture beyond 'me and my child'.
Teacher training: Time management is a challenge for most tutors studying on
7407/PTTLLS, as is struggling with educational jargon but the one thing
that comes up over and over is that WEA tutors who have come from an academic
background tend to really struggle with writing and organising their work in
the very different context and conventions of City & Guilds; a very common
difficulty in this context.”
“This is a strange one on the first
course I taught the first day we were making play dough - a very messy activity
- one of my students announced that she had a recognised condition, which the
name escapes me but is totally irrelevant what it is called, which
makes being dirty/messy/untidy very difficult and unpleasant for her - anyway
she has overcome this and has returned for a second course.
I have another student who can't
talk in groups - so she chooses a partner and indicates if she is ready to
speak out.”
“In numeracy the problems are often related to their literacy
skills, so they have difficulty interpreting 'word problems'. For example if
they know whether they have to add or subtract, they can do it, but they can't
always tell from the wording of the problem. The other main difficulty is to do
with estimating or having a sense of what would be a 'reasonable answer'. This
is partly to do with a general lack of confidence with numbers and sometimes to
do with how they were taught in school.
In literacy,
most of the learners have basic reading and writing skills but are not
confident about expressing their ideas clearly in writing. They often struggle
to interpret non-literal texts or opinion pieces. They also find it hard to
learn grammar and spelling, particularly where it does not correspond to the
way that they speak.”
3. What difference do you think your course makes to individual students
lives? Can you give an example?
“The experience of learning and
being in a supportive learning environment. Students take their informal
learning very seriously...always reluctant to have to miss a session and keen
to catch up on missed work. One student has insisted her hospital
appointment be at a certain time in order not to miss her class. I then
received a verbal message via the student from a member of the hospital
staff to say what a good job we tutors do in keeping the older learners minds
and faculties working!”
“It definitely changed lives. Many
spoke about using their brains, growing confident about learning, and are
likely to apply to be teaching assistants in the future.”
“Improving their literacy and numeracy skills helps to improve
their self-confidence and open up new possibilities in their lives. One of the
learners has used the qualifications she gained through the courses to start
working as a learning assistant. Others have started to talk about going on to
college or applying for jobs.”
4. Does
the WEA make a difference to
people and communities? Can you give an example? Is it any different to other
education providers?
"The WEA
provides a sense of community beyond work.”
Different from other providers; we
were able to tailor course delivery times to local needs, and content (to some
extent) to interests of group. We came to them rather than students having to
attend e.g. college - this enabled parents of young children to access relevant
study. Some of these parents are now amongst those working as classroom
volunteers. We offer a more flexible approach than many other providers and
this I think is one of our great strengths.”
“I think it depends on the target
group of the provider for example WEA WEA
“Both these courses were set in
local communities with easily accessible facilities. The schools involved were
local primary schools. This is a strength of WEAcourses, that the learners are part of the community.”
“I like its flexibility - the
opportunities it offers me as an experienced tutor for interesting and
challenging work - the opportunities to work developmentally at the cutting
edge of provision where I can work on new
projects and courses - I also like
working sessionally which suits my personal circumstances.”
“I love the students I have met so
far because they are very enthusiastic and really seem to get something from
the course - they come back the following week and tell you want they
have done and how their children have responded and the are very keen to share
experiences.”
“I've only been
working for the WEA WEA WEA
You can click here to see them all: Download tutor_network_responses_to_email.doc)
The WEA has recently
implemented a Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (WEAVLE) for the purposes of
staff, volunteer and tutor continuing professional development (CPD). This innovative website can be accessed by
typing the address www.weavle.org.uk into your browser
program and logging in with your username and password. If you haven’t yet got a username and
password you can click the Create New
Account button and set up your own.
¢ courses such as
Communication Skills, Personal Development, Budget and Finance.
¢ access to
on-line training in First Class.
¢ Visual
Impairment and Dyslexia Awareness tutors’ and trainers’ guides and materials.
¢ WEA Awareness
activities & materials – useful if a WEA Awareness Day is not running as
immediately as you would like – work your way through the WEA Awareness
activity as a taster awareness session.
¢ details of the
National Training Programme - see what National training is available –
regularly updated with venue info and on-line application facilities.
¢ an
administration area providing training forms, guidance, policies and details of
working groups.
We are currently rolling out
introductory training about the VLE for those interested in attending a face to
face session. If you haven’t got the
time to spare to attend a face to face session but would like to see what’s
available, contact [email protected]
for the enrolment key (password) to most of the areas on the site, including my
blog which is syndicated and pulled into WEAVLE as a news feed.
The WEA's network of
branches support educational opportunities that give us a reach that others
providers have discontinued (University extra mural work for example). These
are dismissed by some as 'clubs' but, as someone who came to the WEA as a
student through a branch organised course, I know the role branches have played
in communities across the country.
Last month we asked WEA branches to give examples of their work outside the
actual courses they deliver. I thought these three examples would be of
interest and I thank branches for letting me know of them.
"Confidence and knowledge gained through WEA courses led to me
helping to start up our local history museum, which is now of national standard
and totally volunteer run. I'm still on the management committee after over 20
years. This also encouraged me to get involved in tourism initiatives (another
form of learning about history and the environment) and to s erve on the Town
Council Tourism, Leisure and Amenities committee, also for over 20 years."
Ware Branch
"The
Sunderland and Washington
"The Wells’ Area Partnership (like other such
local partnerships, I presume) was set up to bring representatives of the local
council, local business/commerce, local voluntary groups and the wider local
community together (and I paraphrase very badly) to identify needs on the part
of the various constituencies and means of meeting them. Following a
number of consultation exercises, the Development Coordinator has produced a
report on the needs and views expressed. I have received that
report and been aware of some of the earlier thinking of WAP, because, for the
last few months, I have been the
WEA
’s representative on WAP. Norfolk
Wells-next-the-Sea Branch,
The WEA should have its funding confirmed shortly for 2008-09. This could be 100% but with no inflation. This is better news than many colleges and other providers are likely to receive as the funding for 'adult responsive' provision declines in return for very significant increases for employer led provision. So, good news?
Yes, for next year, but the funding is conditional on a review of the Specialist Designated Institutions (SDIs) to consider their role and why their funding position is different to others in FE. Beyond that there is no certainty.
A quick reminder - there are 10 SDIs funded by the LSC:
The WEA
Four London Colleges:
and four Residential Colleges:
in addition there is the Marine Society College of the Sea
Many of these are excellent providers and share a number of things in common although they are very different in size, location and delivery. Most clearly they have fairly common missions and only work in education with adults. Fircroft residential college in Birmingham has just received an exceptional Ofsted Inspection report. That, and the success of other SDIs is something we should admire and see what we can apply in the WEA. You can read it here: Download fircroft_ofsted_inspection_report.pdf
The nine land based English SDIs have been working more closely together for about a year on a number of issues including peer review and putting the case to government for their type of adult education. Nevertheless, they are all aware that the current climate for adult education is not good and the funding for next year is good news for us within a bleak picture in terms of the system of adult education that once existed.
Because of that the review of the SDIs is vital, not to protect these 10 but to see whether there is any common ground left around democratic adult education that has resonance with policy makers.
The consultation on the future of 'Informal Adult Learning' shows an understanding in some areas of government of a world beyond Leitch, but a danger that the definitions of learning could be spread so widely that watching 'Life in Cold Blood' could be re-cast as education instead of good documentary television. The opportunities for the State to associated itself with any cheap learning are evident in a public sector budget climate which was hungover from the excesses of the last few years even before the banking institutions and their regulators had their current little 'blip'.
The LSC will lead this review and is developing a number of 'hypotheses' on what it believes SDIs offer that will be 'tested' through the data we return in our 'Individualised Learner Record' (ILR). They haven't shared these hypotheses with us but, if and when they do, we'll need to work together within the WEA and across the SDIs and other allies to take responsibility for the case for serious adult education, irrespective of the provider. Surely none of us wants the SDIs to become a protected species as the surrounding world of adult learning disappears.
I'm Director of Membership, Volunteering & Marketing for the WEA (Workers' Educational Association) in England & Scotland
Recent Comments