Although the numbers are similar each year, it is always shocking to see the extent of the fall in investment in community adult education illustrated in the Institute for Fiscal Studies Annual Education Report. Today’s report demonstrates the urgent need for government to reverse this downward trend in investment in community based adult learning through their upcoming Spending Review.
Classroom-based education will be 40% below 2009/10 levels – even with more recent uplifts. There has been a 60% fall in enrolment across the same period, with those taking lower level qualifications dropping off most steeply.
Policy decisions by previous governments have reduced the number of publicly funded qualifications taken by adults in England from 5.6 million in 2004–05 to just 2.3 million in 2023–24 – a reduction of 58%.
Some lower level qualifications have been removed over the years as they have been deemed not to provide immediate economic returns. A fuller analysis is needed as the social and economic impacts cannot only be understood in relation to direct progression into employment. Other returns will include savings against health budgets, increased volunteer hours and improvements in essential skills (which increase personal productivity).
Community adult learning has been delivering these outcomes even against the backdrop of decreased funding. The quality of provision in the adult education sector remains very high - 96% of adult community providers were judged good or outstanding at their most recent OFSTED inspection. Most importantly, learner satisfaction rates and progression outcomes also remain high.
The need remains urgent – with nearly 9 million adults lacking essential skills in maths, English or digital skills so it is surely time for the downward trend in funding to reverse.
