Learner Needs

Assessment of Learning Needs

The needs in Elmbridge were assessed by looking at the demographic profile of the area, housing, employment, and provision, transport, learning achievement and participation. The Index of Deprivation 2000 was used to make comparisons with other wards in the Borough, Surrey and in England generally. It emerged from the analysis that the wards of Walton North, Molesey South and Walton Ambleside are the areas of greatest need. They are characterised by higher rates of unemployment, higher numbers of people with poor basic skills in literacy and numeracy and lower achievement rates, compared to other parts of Elmbridge.

Barriers to Learning

The barriers to learning people face vary across the Borough.  Different groups of people living within Elmbridge experience different problems in accessing and engaging in further learning and training. The main barriers identified include: lack of time; lack of childcare; courses offered at inappropriate times; lack of transport for courses at particular times, especially for those who do not have their own means of transport.  Areas like North Walton and Walton Ambleside have been identified as being geographically isolated, surrounded by physical barriers such as waterways and motorways, the area also lacks a decent public transport system.  By offering further provision in out-centres the physical barriers would be reduced and you would move a step closer to encouraging people who would benefit from some form of learning or training to participate in.  A lack of clear information about courses and a low awareness of opportunities available have also been identified as barriers to learning.  Minority groups such as Travellers and families with a history of low achievement and unemployment also face cultural barriers which are harder to overcome.  People with Learning Disabilities and Physical Disabilities also are faced with the added barriers of accessibility and transport.

Mapping Provision

Provision in the Borough is extensive.  There are two Further Education Colleges: Brooklands Further Education College and Esher College, which provide further education for both full-time and part-time students.  18 Surrey County Council Primary Schools, 4 SCC Secondary Schools, 4 Adult Education Centres and other non-designated areas of learning.  There is a considerable amount of good practice in the Borough with Brooklands College being in the forefront for a lot of the community-type learning projects being initiated.

Although a large number of people do access the provision available, there is a significant minority who do not participate in any type of learning.  The high levels of poor basic literacy and numeracy in certain parts of the Borough require, in particular, further provision in or near these areas and an innovative approach to engaging learners.

• A co-ordinated approach should be developed in the collection and dissemination of information about adult learning activities delivered in the Borough, and also Surrey as a whole.
• A mechanism for divulging information on learning opportunities is needed and should be easily accessible to all potential learners.  There need to be clearer explanations given on the difference between accredited, non-accredited courses and also the different levels you can study for accredited courses.
• It would be important that all organisations working in the area of lifelong learning develop a data collection system for all learning in the Borough.  There is currently no mechanism in place for monitoring the numbers of learners involved in different types of learning, both formal and informal, making it virtually impossible to ascertain participation rates in each area.
• A mechanism for disseminating and sharing information between different providers and organisations working in the Borough should be developed.
• Links need to be improved between non-accredited and accredited courses ensuring an ease of progression for learners.
• It would be beneficial for the Community Learning Partnership, if organisations working within the Borough were encouraged to think about and discuss learning opportunities - to get learning on to their agenda.
• Learning not being a priority in any community surveys or focus groups conducted in the Borough hampered researching barriers to learning.  This type of research needs to be undertaken in order to get a clear picture on the learner needs in the Borough
• Further outreach needs to be developed in the communities to engage the non-learners, especially those who would benefit most from it in areas like North Walton, which has been identified as a disadvantaged area, but comparatively has very little provision.  The CLP could liaise further with any organisations such as the voluntary sector and Housing Associations, who are already in many areas providing informal learning but where opportunities for encouraging progression are missed.
• Family Learning projects should be targeted at the schools in the Borough, which have been identified as underachieving and located in disadvantaged areas.