Annex C - community learning
Community Learning (CL) contributes significantly to community wellbeing and social capital. It is a crucial element of the WMCA inclusive growth agenda regarding inclusion, equality and social mobility. CL provides a link between economically and socially isolated residents and the “engaged” community, in doing so it fulfils a vital role in providing a steppingstone for those people into further learning and therefore even greater engagement with the labour market and wider society.
Our intent for CL is to ensure that an offer exists within each local authority area to support education for employment and education for well-being for our residents.
We recognise that Community Learning (CL) covers a wide range of learning designed to widen participation across all communities to support progression relevant to personal circumstances, e.g. health and well-being, better citizens, further learning, volunteering and employment, all funded via the Adult Education Budget (AEB).
Its key that CL provides support to those disconnected from communities and furthest away from the labour market.
Therefore, our approach is to invest in provision that will develop personal and social skills to support health and well-being and provide progression to further learning and work. In doing so we expect our CL providers to have established progression routes to other providers to support further learning at higher levels.
CL will continue to be funded under grant to those local authorities and colleges recognised by the WMCA as community learning providers.
For those colleges who undertake CL delivery on behalf of the local authority following CL transfer; we expect arrangements to continue through the community planning approach agreed jointly with ACLA.
For those colleges who have small community learning allocations, our intention is to consolidate the non-formula funded element within core AEB allocations. In a small number of circumstances, the WMCA will consider exceptions where it’s clear that the delivery is community based and is focused on personal learning development.
WMCA expect community learning providers to provide a high-quality offer of ESOL to support personal and social development.
WMCA Expects community learning providers to have offers of both regulated ESOL across the levels and non-regulated in ESOL to support resident’s progression to further learning and work.
Additionally, we expect community learning providers to establish on-line learning related to ESOL.