From education to employment

Event showcases family learners

As part of their national push to drive up the demand for adult learning, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) showcased the achievements of family learners to a group of government officials at an event held in London.

Attended by representatives from the Learning and Skills Council, the Department of Children, Families and Schools, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association; the event ““ Family Learning to Employment aimed to demonstrate the success of programmes created to raise the aspirations of learners in England and Wales.

Penny Lamb, Family Learning Development Officer at NIACE, said: “Often it’s the children who are the biggest influence on why adults return to learning. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the inspirational achievements of family learners. The event enables those learners to share directly with key policy makers the outstanding impact that learning as a family together has had on their lives.”

At the gathering, families demonstrated how they have managed to create a learning and working culture within their families. The event also marked the launch of three publications aimed at promoting family learning and its contribution towards further learning and employment.

· An activity paper which gives ideas and activities for practitioners to use with learners and their children to help raise their aspirations.

· From Family Learning to Employment, the third in a series of Family Learning Matters topic papers from NIACE. The paper is for strategic managers in local authorities and extended schools, demonstrating how family learning helps learners to raise their aspirations and move towards further learning and employment.

· Connect-five, a case study based resource for practitioners, managers and policy makers, exploring the contribution that family learning makes to the Every Child Matters agenda.

Held at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre, the event was held in conjunction with NIACE’s month long Sign Up Now campaign to encourage more adults to engage in better-quality learning. As part of their campaign, NIACE aims to motivate adult learners to pursue a range of new learning opportunities ranging from IT to Business Law.

Matthew Sharp


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