02/04/14 09:58
Learning for all
New ambition to widen access for adults.
The importance of adult learning has today been underlined by Education Secretary Michael Russell at the National Adult Learning Conference in Midlothian.
Mr Russell unveiled a new statement of ambition for adult learning aimed at ensuring everyone, regardless of background, can access a learning opportunity to enhance their skills at any age.
The key points in the statement are:
• Barriers to learning to be removed
• Promotion of inclusion and equality
• Learners will be at the centre of the process and decision-making
The conference at Newbattle Abbey College near Dalkeith was attended by representatives from colleges and universities and around half of Scotland’s local authorities, as well as learners.
Mr Russell said:
“Less than a year after establishing the National Strategic Forum for Adult Learning, I am very pleased to publish our statement of ambition. The forum has achieved much during its short time and I am very proud to have chaired it.
“At the heart of our ambition is the principle that every adult in Scotland has the right to access the right learning to meet their needs and aspirations. This is an exciting time for education in Scotland and we want our country to be world-leading in this area, building on our universities’ global reputation for excellence and the transformation change afoot in work-based learning through the work of the Wood Commission.
“There is work to do to ensure we can meet this aim, but we can only do this by listening to the views of adult learners, both present and future, and work closely with key partners in the sector to put improvements in place.
“I look forward to continuing to work with both this group and the Further Education Forum to take forward this vital piece of work.”
Following the establishment of the National Strategic Forum for Adult Learning in August 2013, of which Mr Russell is chair, the first task of the Forum was to produce a Statement of Ambition.
The Statement of Ambition:
Scotland becomes the most creative and engaged learning society in the world. A society where people develop through life-wide learning from the multiple contexts of home, work and their social lives and lifelong learning often described as from cradle to grave. A society that recognises the importance of adult learning in the development of the individual, the community and the country as a whole.
Every adult in Scotland will have the right to access learning to meet their educational needs and their aspirations. Barriers to participation, learning and achievement will be removed and inclusion and equality promoted. In planning, developing and evaluating provision, adult learners will be at the centre of the process and participate fully in decision-making about their future learning.
Adult learning in Scotland and the outcomes that learners achieve will be world leading. Adult learning in Scotland will support the development of personal, family, work and community life.