By Tai Samaeli, ACE Sector Capability Manager, ACE Aotearoa
In the times we live in it is not only a pleasure but a real privilege to be able to travel overseas. This year I was selected as a Tour Leader to accompany a group of 44 young people from the SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company for a two and a half week education course based at the Globe Theatre in London.
Knowing I was going to be overseas on this trip, I extended my stay by a few days so I could take the opportunity to meet with our ACE counterparts in London and Birmingham. I appreciate the support of Sir Alan Tuckett, former Director of NIACE and Robbie Guevara, ICAE President in helping me identify who to connect with. The chance to find out how things were done in England was an opportunity too good for me to miss.
I was able to visit the following four organisations:
City Lit – London
City Lit celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 and in pre-Covid times was welcoming more than 30,000 people to its courses each year. It provides online and onsite courses that are self-funding or are subsidised by the local authority. It runs courses during the day and in the evenings. The day courses attract local residents who are no longer in employment (for example the retired) and the evening courses attract those who are on their way home (commuting to the greater London area).
City Lit offers an array of courses across a massive range of subject areas including art and design, music, dance, history, writing, computing, massage, languages and much more. Since 2020 most of its courses are available online. The change to people working from home has affected the number of people attending the classroom-based courses.
Sutton College – London
This year Sutton College celebrates its 50th anniversary of providing adult education in the London Borough of Sutton. They work closely with the Council and many community partners to serve a variety of needs and meet localised priorities including tackling social isolation and encouraging digital inclusion. It is one of the few Adult and Community Learning services in the country with its own purpose-built centre.
Sutton College offers around 1000 courses each year which are both subsidised by the Greater London Authority and Education Skills Funding Agency or are fees based. They offer a variety of courses including art and crafts, beauty, business and accounts, computing, woodwork, ESOL English language, fashion, dance, photography and much more. A lot of the provision is practical and requires the learners to attend onsite.
Fircroft College – Birmingham
Fircroft was established more than 110 years ago and is a residential college based on the Danish Folk High School model. They have a sustainability strategy and are focused on raising awareness of environmental issues and making the college more sustainable. Funding is provided by the West Midlands Combined Authority so the college can focus on the local West Midlands population. A lot of their courses are fully funded, and they have a maximum fee of £150 for any residential course.
Fircroft College offers courses in free thinking, personal and social development, subject tasters, sustainable thinking and action, access to skills for study and career, access to higher education diplomas and more. With a building that is surrounded by nearly 2.5 hectares of landscaped grounds, there is a move to a more sustainable and environmentally-connected education programme.
Morley College – London
Morley College has more than 130 years of adult education provision. It has three education centres in London – Waterloo, North Kensington, and Chelsea. Morley College works in close collaboration with partner educational institutions, employers, local authorities, and voluntary and community organisations.
The college offers courses in all forms of dance and music, ceramics, sculpture and jewelry, printmaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, digital media, photography and much more. The Waterloo Centre has its own Radio Station and gallery for displaying student work. The college advocates lifelong learning as a vital contributor to personal and economic well-being.
Each of these adult education providers is unique in their approach but each shares the same goals of providing adult education to their communities. England has had a long tradition of recognising the wider benefits of adult learning.
The Morley College Strategic Plan 2021–25 explains the current environment that providers are working in, “… a time of change, challenge and opportunity, with both expected and unexpected impacts of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and technological change continuing to have profound effect on people’s lives and wider society.”
These challenges have stretched the funding for Adult Education but like our ACE sector providers remain determined to continue to serve the people who are most at need. There is a feeling that one of Covid’s positive consequences is in highlighting the importance of lifelong learning and social wellbeing.
Each organisation acknowledged that Covid has affected their services. While each responded to the challenge by moving courses online, they also noted that for the people they serve face-to-face remains the most effective method of delivery. The ability, and preference, for people to work from home has also reduced registrations.
While I was there it did feel like England is ahead of Aotearoa on its Covid-response journey. Learners are still divided in their attitudes towards face-to-face learning, but people are starting to embrace the way things are and course registration numbers are building again.
It is a good lesson that continuing to be tenacious and never giving up on our mission will go a long way to longevity. Partnerships are very important. These help Adult Education providers to advocate for learners and develop messages that help ACE remain in the forefront of the minds of policy makers and funders.
I believe we are so fortunate in Aotearoa to have a bi-cultural focus to our education. Being able to draw on both cultures helps us continue our authentic path. There were many times when I was speaking to my hosts, and I used te reo. Some of the concepts are so easy in my mind in te reo, for example tūrangawaewae, but explaining them in English seemed to take so many more words. I think embracing the best of all cultures and understanding the intent and meaning behind values and histories makes ako richer. I encourage providers in Aotearoa to embrace our uniqueness.
I was able to compare notes on other topics such as Teaching Standards and educator training, the British Values, Quality Assurance measures, sustainability and what the government priorities were in England. From these discussions I returned feeling re-energised and focused.
I really appreciate being able to visit each of the people at these providers. I was in a different place but hearing the same stories. A lack of funding and a lack of understanding of the benefits of adult education remain but each centre continues to promote and champion for the adult learners that are the most vulnerable.
It demonstrated that Adult Learning is a global movement and no matter where we are there are passionate people making every effort to make communities and people’s lives better through education. I wish City Lit, Sutton College, Fircroft College and Morley College the very best success and I look forward to staying in touch to share our knowledge.