Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made in using behavioural insights to identify how to motivate adults to improve their reading skills and to encourage learners to keep studying once enrolled on a course.

This Government understands the importance of strong literacy skills and makes English provision a priority for support within the adult skills system. We know that it can be difficult for adults to return to learning and to persist with their studies with the competing demands of work and daily life. That is why we are working alongside the Behavioural Insights Centre for Adult Skills and Knowledge to trial a range of interventions to identify how to motivate adults to engage in learning and to keep studying once enrolled on a course.

Trial results point to a number of positive findings. For example:

• Colleges sending encouraging text messages to English and maths FE learners, see a reduction in mid-term drop-out rates and a 12% increase in students passing all their exams.
• Colleges allocating time for students to set goals and consider their personal values saw a 20% improvement in learner attendance for learners studying for Functional Skills English and maths qualifications.
• Trials with large employers, including the Co-operative (retail), the Army, Whitbread and the Manchester Chambers of Commerce, to improve the workforce literacy and numeracy skills are running over the current financial year and will report in summer/autumn 2017.

The Government is now working with the Behavioural Insights Centre for Adult Skills and Knowledge to disseminate best practice from these behavioural insights trials amongst providers of basic skills courses.