Community Learning Trust (Pilots)

Friday 13th July 2012 Written Statements

[The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)]

In December 2011, “New Challenges, New Chances”, the Government’s reform plan for further education and skills, set out the Department’s intention to pilot a range of community learning trust models from August 2012, against the background of revived and strong Government support for lifelong learning. The pilots will lead the way in giving local people a real say in decisions about adult learning in their communities and maximising the value of public investment.

I am announcing today that 15 partnerships have been invited to pilot local community learning trusts. Local organisations, including learning providers, businesses, voluntary sector organisations, training organisations and local services, will work together to increase local decision-making about learning priorities and develop robust financial strategies that will enable community learning to grow and flourish.

The pilot trusts will test a range of different models to identify effective approaches to:

increase the overall number of learners;

motivate and progress people who are disadvantaged;

make the most impact on people’s lives;

generate income to reinvest in learning.

Pilot trusts will have support in developing a consistent evidence-gathering strategy and a robust external evaluation will review the different models and their impact on learning, learners and local communities.

I strongly believe that learning is not just for local people and their communities, but still more belongs to local people and must answer to them for its success or failure. These pilots will enable communities to have more control over their local learning offer and will help shape the future of community learning, which is surely among the brightest jewels of civil society.

The following organisations have been invited by the Skills Funding Agency to become pilot trusts:

Birmingham CLT

Blackburn with Darwen (Sustainable Neighbourhood Services)

Brighton and Hove Community Learning Trust BHCLT

CLCumbria (CLC)

Community Learning in Cheshire (CLiC)

Derby Community Learning Trust

Learning-for-All (Bedfordshire and Luton)

Liberate (West Sussex)

Liverpool Opportunities for Community Adult Learning (LOCAL)

Sheffield Community Learning Trust

Sunderland’s Community Learning Trust

The Luton Trust

The Solihull Source

Trust in Learning—new curriculum, in new places for new learners in Exeter

West of England Community Learning Trust (Bristol)