Last week was Get The Nation Learning Week. Read WEA CEO @simonparkinson.bsky.social blog reflecting on the week gone by: bit.ly/4nDfRCk #getthenationlearning

Britain’s oldest adult learning charity, @weaadulted.bsky.social is opening new doors even as others close, as it navigates the shift from skills for life to skills for work @simonparkinson.bsky.social

Watch @simonparkinson.bsky.social give his final thoughts from Labour Party Conference @teamlabouruk.bsky.social #lab25

"No time to waste in rebuilding a culture of lifelong learning " Dr Jo Grady (General Secretary UCU) opens The Ruskin College Lifelong Learning conference 2025 chaired by Professor Graeme Atherton (WEA's Chris Butcher in attendance) @ucu.org.uk @drjogrady.bsky.social

Excellent to hear this from @drjogrady.bsky.social and sure @weachrisbutcher.bsky.social will be letting Jo know all @weaadulted.bsky.social are willing to work with her and her members on this

Nice walk to the @solidar-eu.bsky.social social affairs/education & learning meeting hosted by @feps-europe.eu in #brussels. Great to share the work of the @weaadulted.bsky.social & learn from others across #Europe. Re-affirms that lifelong learning is key to solving many of our shared challenges.

Let’s value and fund all aspects of adult learning. The hope is this reshuffle will bring greater alignment around the skills for work agenda & that is welcome. However, it can’t be at the expense of tailored & lifelong learning. Let me know what your thoughts are

Massive thanks to @feweek.bsky.social for running this piece. Let me know what you think

How We Did It: Bridging the digital divide – keeping communities connected - New Local Graham Beamish and Marie Pye explain how Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils have saved 1000 years’ worth of care days for children and young people.

Sunderland City Council is on the front foot when it comes to bridging the digital divide.

We had the opportunity to ask Nicol McConnell about ‘what really works’ when it comes to getting communities connected.

Take a look at her insights ➡️

AI, employment, and the UK’s industrial strategy Invest 2035 aims to harness AI’s potential while safeguarding jobs. Can the two ambitions coexist?

Thanks to @newstatesman.com for referencing @weaadulted.bsky.social We really do need to take adult learning to those communities that need it most rather than just what is easy policy wise. We need to protect lifelong learning not cut the funding by 6% www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/te...

Proud to represent @weaadulted.bsky.social with Preeya Searle & our better halves. Honoured that Her Majesty Queen Camilla stopped to shake our hands and ask about our work. Her response when we said what we did “you are much needed” taking this as royal approval. Thanks @holexpolicy.bsky.social

Difficult blog & post to write and thanks to the WEA team for working on this. The language and rhetoric around this White Paper is troubling & the lack of Govt join up is staggering. The importance being place in growing skills whilst the DfE cut the Adult Skills Fund by 6% beggars belief

In terms of the care sector there is another issue. @weaadulted.bsky.social have developed an award winning Step in to Care employability programme with @skillsforcare.bsky.social but the DfE are cutting the Adult Skills Fund by 6% which funds this type of skills development

This is interesting and it does raise the question of why the Government would choose to cut 6% from the Dept for Education’s Adult Skills Fund. Here at @weaadulted.bsky.social we will keep fighting for this decision to be reversed and more investment put into this vital public service

Good morning spent at Brass Bolton with Helen Clayton from Bolton CVS Nick & Athena (behind the camera) @weaadulted.bsky.social Great to sit in on a digital class for ESOL learners then lots of talk about how we can support adults in their learning journey across GMCA @andyburnham.bsky.social

Read Sue's new blog for Campaign for Learning. There is significant uncertainty in the economy right now - we cannot lose sight of the potential in growing and investing in the talent of adults. The government needs to rethink, reset and reinvest.

@sahn14.bsky.social @cforlearning.bsky.social

Skills for a Thriving Economy — APPG on the Future of Work As industries evolve and technology reshapes jobs, how can we ensure that workers and businesses have the skills they need to thrive? Join policymakers, industry leaders, and skills experts as we exp...

Join us for our next APPG event on 24 April, focusing on skills for a thriving economy

With an expert panel including @laurenedwardsmp.bsky.social, Pearson, @cipd.bsky.social, BCS and @simonparkinson.bsky.social of @weaadulted.bsky.social

Register now: www.futureworkappg.org.uk/events/2vna2...

"The involvement of trusted organisations from the VCS and adult education in developing local plans could achieve a more inclusive approach and reassure communities that their voice is being heard." 5/5

"Adult education organisations have vast experience of supporting people to build their confidence and to find their own pathways. There is justified concern that benefit and employment reforms will be imposed on some vulnerable groups." 4/5

"It is crucial that the lead local authorities draw on this expertise for the benefit of their communities.
Organisations who understand the employment barriers faced by different groups will be the key to a more tailored and person-centred approach to progression into work." 3/5

"The guidance is clear that expertise is needed to understand the factors contributing to unemployment and economic inactivity. We believe it is those organisations working most closely with local communities who will have this expertise." 2/5

WEA's @simonparkinson.bsky.social responds to Get Britain Working Guidance published today:
"The WEA welcomes the prominent role for voluntary sector and adult education organisations set out in the DWP’s Get Britain Working guidance published today." 1/5

Great webinar this morning by @holexpolicy.bsky.social credit to Kat Hayes from the Depart for Education for trying to answer tough questions around cuts to the Adult Skills Fund & the impact this will have. @weaadulted.bsky.social will continue to lobby against the cuts

The first @weaadulted.bsky.social courses began in Jan 1908 in Rochdale and Longton & delivered by RH Tawney. The archives at London Met Uni are an incredible resource where you can trace the incredible challenges faced in setting up this remarkable achievement.

@feweek.bsky.social @ukshane.bsky.social @weaadulted.bsky.social Any chance just a small bit of the £700m underspend could be reallocated to the Adult Skills Fund? Just asking

"A cut in adult education budgets coinciding with challenging new benefit rules will remove a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable in our communities."

Read @simonparkinson.bsky.social response to the government's Spring Statement: www.wea.org.uk/news-views/n... #SpringStatement

This Thursday, L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social will be speaking at this @weaadulted.bsky.social webinar on how we can protect adult learning.

📅 Thursday 27 March
⏰ 5pm-6pm

Register now. ⬇️

Dear Chancellor, There is no question that the economy faces considerable challenges and you will have tough choices to make in the weeks ahead. It is essential that reductions in spending do not become quickly counterproductive by storing up bigger financial pain in the near future. And not only financial pain but a human cost too. The proposed cuts to adult learning are a case in point. They are not efficiency savings as the sector is already running in the most streamlined manner possible. The Adult Skills Fund faces a 2%/3% cut across all the Combined Authorities coupled with a 6% cut for non-devolved ASF across the rest of the country. This will impact courses due to begin in September – courses which would support some of those in our most disadvantaged communities. At the WEA alone this will reduce learner numbers by at least 2,000 (out of a current 30,000 each year). This would scale up to tens of thousands of lost learners across the sector. This at a time when other Government policies are trying to encourage people towards adult learning. The announcement of the 6% ESFA cut came on the same day as the announcements on benefits reform. Those reforms seek to support and motivate people with disabilities and long term medical conditions into work. That requires having the tailored courses available to them in the neighbourhoods in which they live – something which the community adult learning sector currently specialises in but would not be able to do if budgets are cut. The benefits of adult learning are well understood. In the last iteration of the WEA’s Impact report we found that 42% of learners on our skills courses went on to get a job or go into further education. More broadly, 83% of learners reported increased wellbeing and 91% visited their GP less often than the national average. All of these impacts save the Treasury money and are further scaled up across the community learning sector. Follow the weblink to read the full letter.

Ahead of the Spring Statement, our Chief Executive and General Secretary, @simonparkinson.bsky.social, has written an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlining the benefits of adult learning.

Read letter online: thewea.info/chancellor_l...

#adulteducation #budget #springstatement

Deeply frustrated as I post this. For a mission led Government who put skills at the heart of the agenda to cut the Adult Skills Fund by 6% is bizarre. This will affect thousands of adult learners. @weaadulted.bsky.social will campaign on their behalf against these cuts & I call on you to join us

This has been a really important, interesting and wide ranging discussion - like many governments, the UK gives far too little priority to #AdultEducation and #LifeLongLearning
With @clancyfirefox.bsky.social, @iainj.bsky.social, Prof. Jonathan Michie, @simonparkinson.bsky.social