Scottish Government

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"Our vision for lifelong learning in Scotland . . . The best possible match between the learning opportunities open to people and the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours which will strengthen Scotland's economy and society."
Lifelong Learning Strategy, February 2003

Contents

A Message from the Minister
What's Been Happening
The Strategy and Our Stakeholders
Goals and Achievements
Other Useful Information

quality • relevance • coherence • responsiveness

A Message from the Minister

When we published the Lifelong Learning Strategy in 2003, our vision was clear. We wanted the people of Scotland to develop a passion for learning, to be able and motivated to continue learning throughout their lives, and to understand the positive differences to their lives that learning could make. Life through learning, learning through life is what we want to achieve.

And this document helps us to track if we are getting there. It gives us an indication of how the commitments in the Strategy are being met, how the work is progressing and what still has to be done.

The feedback we received when we issued last year's Strategy Update was very positive. This year, we have taken the opportunity to build on this. As well as the existing six headline indicators that we used to measure progress, we have also developed a range of intermediate indicators that should help give us a clearer idea of what impact our actions are having in the real world. We have reported on these indicators in this publication.

This year sees us reach the mid-point in the Strategy's five year life, with many of its commitments now completed or well underway; a perfect time to reflect on what has been done and to consider what should happen next. It is also vital that the Lifelong Learning Strategy continues to be relevant to the key stakeholders in Scotland, and continues to be shaped by them. And that is why we will be using this year's Lifelong Learning Forum to reflect on where we have been with the strategy and where we should be going. I am very much looking forward to hearing the debate.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to this publication. It is a shared strategy and it should be a document which guides us all. Your enthusiasm and your commitment are helping us to realise our vision for lifelong learning in Scotland.

Allan Wilson
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning

What's Been Happening

A digest of some of the activities that have been taking place over the past year:

The Further & Higher Education (Scotland) Bill passed through Parliament and received Royal Assent on 1 June 2005 allowing the merger of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. The newly-merged Funding Council came into force in October 2005.

The work undertaken by the Information, Advice and Guidance Delivery Group and Project Team will help to establish a single national source of information and advice on sources of funding for learners, with a particular focus on non-traditional learners.

The Scottish Further Education Funding Council commissioned a second mapping of demand and supply in further education in Scotland to inform the Council's dialogue with the sector about options for strategic change at national, regional and college level. A report on the findings was published in spring 2005.

The first Educational Maintenance Allowances ( EMA) Experimental Statistics Report was published illustrating that EMA take-up exceeds original estimates with 84% of all recipients coming from the lowest income group.

The second progress report on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy was published in September 2005. It shows that the Adult Literacy and Numeracy initiative is making a real and lasting improvement in the lives of those with learning difficulties with over 100,000 adults improving their literacy and numeracy skills.

Research has been produced mapping English for Speakers of Other Languages ( ESOL) provision across Scotland and undertaking a consultation which will inform the formulation of the ESOL strategy, due late spring 2006.

Substantial progress towards learning has been made in the Scottish Prison Service through the provision of an integrated skills and employability service for prisoners with the introduction learning service contracts in April 2005.

A review of the occupational standards and national guidelines on provision leading to the teaching qualification in further education is underway.

The Business Learning Accounts ( BLA) interim evaluation report has been published. So far over 300 companies have undertaken an assessment of their training needs through the BLA pilots and over 150 companies have accessed BLA funding to undertake training as a result.

Following a review conducted by the Enterprise Networks, the Training for Work programme has been refocused towards specific job opportunities. The programme now aims to address vocational skills barriers and ensure that clients receive training targeted towards a specific outcome.

Following on the success of their first event in 2004, a further SkillCity event was held in September 2005. Run jointly by Highlands & Islands Enterprise and Careers Scotland, it provided advice on skills and careers for school pupils.

Delegates from adult literacy and numeracy providers and unions attended training to support the use of the Big Plus for Business toolkit in February and March 2005.

Every local authority has now produced monitoring and evaluation reports detailing progress made on Enterprise in Education.

Personal Lifelong Learning Plans were piloted with school leavers in June 2005 in seven schools. The outcome of this pilot will inform our future work.

The Scottish Advisory Committee on Credit and Access launched a mapping database in June 2004 that showed articulation opportunities to progress from college to university across Scotland.

"Lifelong learning policy in Scotland is about personal fulfilment and enterprise; employability and adaptability; active citizenship and social inclusion."
Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life, February 2003

The Strategy and Our Stakeholders

"Our aim . . . is to build momentum and encourage all players to work together towards the vision of lifelong learning. We want to foster real and genuine partnership . . . "
Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life, February 2003

In direct support of the Scottish Executive's Lifelong Learning Strategy, the mission of learndirect scotland is to help individuals and small businesses across Scotland to realise their potential through learning at a time, place, pace and style that suits their individual needs.

Working closely with our key partners we seek to encourage individuals to realise their potential through participation in learning and we endeavour to assist small businesses to become more competitive, through staff development and training. The main focus of our work, then, is the promotion of skills, employability and competitiveness.

To support these aspirations and goals, learndirect scotland has, over the past five years, established a sophisticated national infrastructure, including a network of 500 quality assured, client-focused learning centres; a national quality-assured database of over 100,000 learning opportunities; a range of national information and advice helplines; and a cadre of field-based support staff who assist learning centres and small businesses to engage more effectively and efficiently with their core clients.

Frank Pignatelli
Chief Executive, learndirect scotland

The voluntary sector ethos is a perfect match for the Scottish Executive's Lifelong Learning Strategy and Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations ( SCVO) has played a significant role all along, in developing and implementing the Scottish Executive's strategy on lifelong learning for Scotland. Our contribution has included participating in the Lifelong Learning Forum meetings as well as in the work on promoting Individual Learning Accounts in conjunction with ILA Scotland, contributing to the Review of Information on Funding for Learning and in the Panel to provide an overview of e-Learning.

As the Scotland partner in the new UK Voluntary Sector Workforce hub, which is working closely with sector skills councils and key learning and skills partners, SCVO carried out a recent consultation which resulted in a comprehensive strategy for developing learning and skills within the sector. The recommended action points fit well with the continuing work of the Lifelong Learning Forum and will form a work programme for all key players involved in lifelong learning with and for the voluntary sector in Scotland.

Celia Carson
Policy Manager (Workforce Development), SCVO

Lifelong Learning UK, the new Sector Skills Council for the lifelong learning sector, is working with employers in Scotland to support the objectives of Scotland's Lifelong Learning Strategy. If Scotland is to compete economically in a highly competitive world economy it is essential that our people have access to the best quality learning opportunities.

By working with employers to build a 'climbing frame' of core standards and credit based qualifications; promoting career pathways and progression routes which recognise prior achievement and increase opportunities for mobility within the sector; and making it easier to recruit and develop the workforce LLUK will contribute to the aspirations of the Lifelong Learning Strategy. LLUK will work in partnership with organisations across the sectors of community learning and development, further and higher education, libraries, archives and information services and work-based learning to ensure employers have the authoritative workforce intelligence and information which is essential if they are to be responsive to the needs of learners and employers.

Christine Fitton
National Performance Manager (Scotland), Lifelong Learning UK

The Scottish Trade Union Congress continue to contribute to the lifelong learning agenda in Scotland through our association with the trade union movement.

We at the STUC are committed to ensuring that trade union members throughout Scotland are in a position to develop the skills and knowledge required in the 21st century irrespective of their current background or personal circumstances. With funding from the Scottish Executive we are expanding our Skills & Learning Team which will ensure we are in a position to engage with a wide cross section of stakeholders.

We will continue to build on trade union workplace development throughout the network of union learning representatives established with projects developed under the Scottish Union Learning Fund ( SULF). Moving forward, we are working towards establishing a Scottish Union Academy which will provide services to the trade union movement including a learning and skills support unit, a learning and skills observatory, a union learning helpline, developing progression routes using the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) and administering the SULF.

A skilled and educated workforce is vital to the economic well being of Scotland and the STUC will continue to play its part in achieving this outcome.

Grahame Smith
Deputy General Secretary, STUC

Learning Link Scotland has a membership of 120 voluntary adult learning organisations working throughout Scotland. Together member organisations provide a wide range of lifelong learning opportunities to over 150,000 adults per annum, many of whom are socially excluded.

The voluntary sector is known for its creative approaches to lifelong learning which supports the development of skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. As well as resulting in outcomes such as qualifications, increased employment and progression to further learning, the voluntary sector supports individuals to build confidence, improve well-being and contribute to enhanced social and civic life. Over the past year Learning Link Scotland have provided learning and CPD opportunities to over 850 individuals working in the lifelong learning sector in Scotland.

Jayne Stuart
Director, Learning Link Scotland

The vision and goals articulated by the Scottish Executive resonate strongly with what UHI Millennium Institute ( UHI) is achieving in the Highlands and Islands. UHI is operating in a huge, diverse region comprising half the land mass of Scotland. This region has for centuries been denied the benefits and recognition which would accrue from having its own university. Most of its people live and work further away from the facilities and potential benefits offered by HE institutions than anybody else in Britain. A founding principle of UHI has been to correct that historical omission.

The Lifelong Learning Strategy is rooted in the need to provide high quality learning opportunities irrespective of circumstance. Similarly, UHI is distinctive in its commitment to providing wider access to lifelong learning at its core, rather than as a peripheral activity, its engagement with new technologies as a means of allowing geographically dispersed students to study together, rather than in isolation, and the seamless provision of all post-school provision (further and higher education) under the umbrella of one institution and, usually, in one location.

Iain Morrison
Widening Participation Manager, UHI

Glasgow Metropolitan College supports wholly the Vision inspiring the Lifelong Learning Strategy. It encourages learners of any age and at any stage to make learning decisions that will open up to them the opportunities they have been seeking. It assures them that with support at every stage they can achieve. The College has learned over many years that the closer the match with their aspirations the more committed learners are to succeed.

And those decisions are important to the economy. Industry needs able people determined to succeed in their chosen career. Glasgow Met with its strong links with important industries like Construction and Food and Hospitality, Travel and Tourism and the Creative Industries, knows from experience that these industries set great store by the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that develop through the courses the College provides.

Professor Tom Wilson
Principal, Glasgow Metropolitan College

Determined to Succeed is about preparing young people for the world of work, bringing together the education and business communities to achieve this end, and supporting the vision of lifelong learning in Scotland. Contributing to the development of Enterprise in Education should be at the core of a business' involvement with the community. By forming partnerships with schools, employers can play a key role in ensuring that our young people develop the key skills and attitudes which are essential for them to become effective future employees and citizens.

Employers also gain much from the experience; as well as contributing to the local community, employees who become involved enhance their personal skills, raise their self-esteem and experience higher levels of job satisfaction which has a positive effect on morale, motivation and staff retention. Effective partnerships between schools and business add real value to both parties and I would encourage all employers to get involved.

Andy Torrance
Head of Partner and Market Development for BT Government

NUS Scotland is the national representative body for students in Scotland, and student representation is a key aspect of lifelong learning in Scotland. No other activity is as important in securing a strategy in colleges and universities that responds fully to the needs of learners. Students who participate in representation, at every level, are developing the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours which will strengthen Scottish society in the future. They are not just learning their craft or discipline, they are also becoming active and responsible citizens, and at the same time, working to improve the lives of their fellow students. NUS Scotland works to promote and develop student representation across Scotland, and to ensure that the student voice is heard and acted upon.

We therefore support the goals of the lifelong learning strategy, and our aim is to achieve positive and lasting change in tertiary education, so that access to lifelong learning is fair, open and affordable for all.

Melanie Ward
President, NUS Scotland

Goals and Achievements

There is a range of work going on in Scotland that supports Lifelong Learning. The following pages give just an indication of how the key areas under our strategic goals are being taken forward.

Goal 1: A Scotland where people have the confidence, enterprise, knowledge, creativity and skills they need to participate in economic, social and civic life

ILA Scotland

Taking full account of the lessons learned from the first Individual Learning Accounts ( ILA) scheme, December 2004 saw the launch of ILA Scotland. Around 180 learning providers including colleges, universities, community-based and private training companies have been approved to offer ILA-supported learning, with over 5,000 courses and 30,000 individual 'learning opportunities' available to learners. As well as the Scottish Executive, key delivery partners in the development and support of ILA Scotland are learndirect scotland and SAAS.

Introduced in two stages, phase 1 targeted those on low income or benefits, and provided support for a wide range of learning, including ICT. Phase 2, which commenced in August 2005 opened up the scheme to all adults in Scotland, supporting basic skills level ICT courses leading to qualifications or certification.

In the first six months, over 9,000 low income applicants opened ILAs with around 24% of accounts already used to fund a wide range of courses.

An external policy evaluation of the scheme, including a learner survey and consultation with learning providers and key stakeholders, began in August 2005. The findings will be published early in 2006.

Further information on ILA Scotland can be found at http://www.ilascotland.org.uk

Education Maintenance Allowances ( EMAs)

A 4-year rollout of the EMA programme commenced as of the academic year 2004-2005. The programme provides financial support for young people from low income families to encourage them to remain in learning. The EMA Statistics Report from June has illustrated that the take-up has exceeded the original estimates with 20,800 students now in receipt of EMA and 84% of the recipients being from the lowest income group.

Further information on EMAs in Scotland can be found at http://www.emascotland.com

Goal 2: A Scotland where people demand and providers deliver a high quality learning experience

Learning to improve: quality approaches for lifelong learning

The report "Learning to improve: quality approaches for lifelong learning" puts the learner at the centre of the system, and analyses the many and complex roles that educators must fill if they are to facilitate, support, and guide learners and evaluate and assess their achievements effectively.

It recommends that we consciously shift our thinking, moving our definition of good teaching from what might be caricatured as "well prepared, appropriate learning materials, well-organised, presented and assessed" to "nurturing, inspiring and developing motivated learners and supporting their learning".

The key arguments of the report are:

• that learner's needs should be at the centre of educational systems, but that all of the current quality systems need significant development to make this explicitly their focus;
• that even more work needs to be done to make sure that the learner's voice is heard by educators;
• that if our priority is on improvement then 'tick box' or 'compliance' approaches are counterproductive, and we therefore need to shift the relationship between providers and external quality assurance agencies, to a more productive basis; and
• that if we are really to make improvements, individual staff and teams of staff have to continue to make the shift from a focus on 'teaching' to a focus on 'supporting learning', and have to be engaged effectively in reflecting on and improving their performance.

The report recommends that the Executive convenes a working group to take this work forward.

"Learning to improve: quality approaches for lifelong learning" will be published later this year.

Goal 3: A Scotland where people's knowledge and skills are recognised, used and developed to best effect in their workplace

Training Access Points ( TAPs)

learndirect scotland has successfully completed a two-year pilot for TAPs, which encourages workplace training in SMEs. Formerly known as "learning in a box", TAPs provides SMEs with

a dedicated PC, workstation and internet connection to allow online training in the working environment.

By at March 2005, 200 SMEs had been allocated TAPs. learndirect scotland started an evaluation of the pilot early this year, and the initial feedback is positive with the majority of clients seeing the benefits that training can bring.

learndirect scotland will continue work with the contractors and Training Partners, monitoring progress and helping SMEs to address effectively their staff's training and development needs. Following the initial Training Partner evaluation in November 2003 commissioned by learndirect scotland, a follow-on report was compiled in July 2005. This report provides updates on the number of SMEs engaged, outcomes, an overview of Training Partner work and future recommendations. The April 2005 Business Service Evaluation showed the success of the Training Partner work with the large majority of SMEs considering the Training Partner service to be valuable.

Further information on learndirect scotland activities can be obtained at http://www.learndirectscotland.com

Scottish Union Learning Fund ( SULF)

To date, SULF has supported over 50 projects from 23 unions at a total cost of £3.3m. This sum of money has been used to build union capacity for promoting learning and the training of union learning representatives ( ULRs) which has resulted in large scale increases in the number of trained ULRs. It has been announced that SULF will continue to be funded at £800,000 per annum until 2007/2008.

Further information on SULF can be found in the Prospectus online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/sulf5-00.asp

Goal 4: A Scotland where people are given the information guidance and support they need to make effective learning decisions and transitions

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF)

In August 2005, the first Scottish Qualifications Authority candidates in schools and colleges received their SCQF profile on their Scottish Qualifications Certificate, helping to make the framework a reality for learners in Scotland.

A range of SVQs will be formally credit rated by April 2006. This project, which is led by SQA and involves key stakeholders across the UK, will be developing processes and principles of mutual recognition of vocational qualifications between the SCQF and the other frameworks in the UK.

Work continues on the implementation of the SCQF Framework, and the goals outlined in the National Implementation Plan should be completed by the target date of March 2006.

Further information on the SCQF can be obtained at http://www.scqf.org.uk

Lifelong Partners Strategy

The Executive Strategy to increase and further enhance school and college partnership, 'Lifelong Partners', was published in May 2005 and incorporates an implementation plan to encourage locally relevant links between schools, FE colleges and local employers to ease school leavers' transitions into further learning, training or employment.

The Strategy is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/36328/0011883.pdf

Enterprise in Education

Evaluation and monitoring reports from every local authority were produced, detailing the progress made in Enterprise in Education between 2004-2005. We are adding value to the plans produced by these participants by providing leadership and resources in the particular areas of communications, learning and development, partnership working, business engagement, and research, evaluation and monitoring.

The Executive response to this project is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/dtsr-00.asp

Goal 5: A Scotland where people have the chance to learn, irrespective of their background or current personal circumstances

Student Income and Expenditure Survey

Bringing together comprehensive data on the income, expenditure and debt of a nationally representative sample of students studying in Scotland, the Student Income and Expenditure Survey will be published later this year.

The main aims of the study include exploring the impact, if any, of the financial support systems on students' educational choices and behaviours, identifying the characteristics of those students most 'at risk' of experiencing low income, debt and financial hardship, and establishing baseline data for comparison of patterns and changes over time with possible future surveys.

Entitlement

Over the course of 2005, we conducted research into whether or not the notion of entitlement would, if implemented, have a positive impact on participation in post compulsory learning by care learners whose education had been cut short or disrupted.

The final report will be published before the end of the year.

Other Useful Information

Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life
The Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/lifelong/llsm-00.asp

Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life
The Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland - Strategy Update (Oct 04)
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/lifelong/ltlt-00.asp

Further copies of this publication can be obtained from:

Telephone: 0141 242 0202

Email: lifelonglearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Telephone/Enquiries: 0131 622 8283
Email: business.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk