Our Learning Advisor, Anne Reardon-James reflects on the key learning points from the Learning and Work Institute’s English, Maths and ESOL Conference. She also share useful resources and links.
The Learning and Work Institute held their annual English, Maths and ESOL conference online via Zoom on Tuesday 8th November. Primarily England-focused, it was useful to attend as it sets the general direction of adult learning in essential/functional skills across the UK.
Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute, kicked the conference off with a warm welcome and introductions. Then we heard hugely inspirational stories from adult learners Vasile Elena Roxana and Joanne Matthews (a Festival of Learning award winner). Fantastic to listen to how they overcame barriers, improved skills and confidence, and are now progressing with further qualifications and careers in physiotherapy and mental health professions.
Professor Kees Hoogland, a specialist in Mathematical and Analytical Competences of Professionals, presented an enlightening talk about his work at the HU University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht.
The professor talked about numeracy skills needed for the future, the model of numeracy as a social practice and the catastrophic teaching of maths that can lead to maths anxiety as a significant barrier to learning. Email – kees.hoogland@hu.nl for further information and dialogue.
It was exciting to hear about the new ‘Multiply’ multi-million Shared Prosperity funded adult numeracy programme and how practitioners can get involved in the Multiply Effective Practice Network (MEPN)
The second part of the conference then split into two themed breakout rooms: Break out room 1: Supporting Access to Numeracy for Literacy and ESOL Learners Break out room 2: Driving up participation in adult basic skills: learning from local & national levels
I attended breakout room 2, where Hazel Klenk presented recent L&W Institute research findings identifying effective practice and provision in London, which supported more adults to take up essential skills provision. The presenter started by justifying the continued need for funding, with some startling infographics:
The research included a variety of methods including learner focus groups and provider surveys to look at contexts and impact. Innovative approaches and case studies were explored, comparing strategies used in England to those of Australia, Norway, Finland and Germany. Effective practice in recruitment and engagement, and supporting adults through the learner journey was presented:
Overall, as always, it was a really interesting conference! Looking forward to their next event.
Further links: ·
Effective Practice in English, Maths and Digital Skills in Traineeships and Apprenticeships Report
Numeracy resources – Placemats for maths (padlet.com) ·
The latest Adult Participation in Adult Learning survey report 2022 has been published and makes for encouraging reading! ·
View the list of forthcoming L&W Institute events.
EMESOL22 @LearnWorkUK
