Hi James
The ESOL tutors I've spoken to at Park Lane would be pleased to sign
something or write letters. This is really mad stuff. Last year Dfes was
promoting Citizenship .... now this. What are they thinking of? - so
short sighted. I presume that Basic Skills - Literacy and Numeracy would
not be affected?? That means an ESOL student could do Maths for free but
not English?!!! Maybe we could rename ESOL classes as 'literacy'.
Lucy
-----Original Message-----
From: ESOL-Research discussion forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of kathy pitt
Sent: 30 October 2006 12:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: more on cutting ESOL funding
I agree with you James that this is despicable, unkind and certainly not
'joined up' with other government policies about migrant labour or
general principles about offering asylum. I'd be happy to sign an open
letter to the LSC and the media - Kathy
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Simpson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 10:43 PM
Subject: more on cutting ESOL funding
Hello!
I am writing again about the recent decision by the LSC to cut funding
for ESOL lessons for low paid migrant workers and for asylum seekers. I
view this as a disgraceful and illiberal move.
As I have maintained here before, withdrawing free ESOL lessons from
migrant workers from the EU possibly contravenes European law,
specifically article 14 of the European convention on the legal status
of migrant workers. As for withdrawing funding for asylum seekers, I
think the LSC should be ashamed of themselves. ESOL lessons, as we all
know, are a lifeline for learners who are asylum seekers, and to take
this away from them is a callous move.
I would very much like to know what others think about this, and what
people are considering in response.
Here is the original LSC press release about its annual statement of
priorities where the announcement concerning funding was made. The link
to the .pdf is
http://www.lsc.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/eksfo755wbgeubgteivb7k6dyimswhat4yc6s
nq7
zipfd3rsobv7n4nlvqdr4gtmnpmbbzvu7zreie/pr388annualstatementofpriorities.
pdf
Alternatively go to the LSC home page, go to 'media channel', then
follow the link to "LSC reveals top priorities for 2007-08"
The announcement about funding is buried towards the end. The actual
quote
is: 'From 2007/08 ESOL learning will no longer attract automatic fee
remission. Free tuition will still be available to priority groups, for
example, for people who are unemployed or receiving income-based
benefits.
[...] To bring FE funding in line with other Government departments,
asylum seekers will no longer be automatically eligible for publicly
funded FE provision from 2007/08 (except those granted refugee status,
humanitarian protection or discretionary leave by the Government).
The Refugee Council was quick off the mark with a response:
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/press/2006/october/pr_learning_and
_sk
ills.htm
Leeds-based people might want to contact Lydia Brown at RETAS, who are
coordinating a local response. (Thanks Lydia for this information) Lydia
Brown, Advisor, Refugee Education Training Advisory Service, 335
Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS8 4HT, 0113 2407320. [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Here again is a link to the original article in the Guardian which
brought this to my attention:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/story/0,,1929455,00.html
Angela Keenan writes from Tadcaster reminding us of the June 2005 KPMG
review of ESOL (Thanks Angela). I had read this before, but hadn't
noticed it was commissioned by the LSC and the Skills for Life Strategy
Unit. It may have informed the recent decision about funding, perhaps.
It strikes me as a lightweight and superficial study. It does not,
however, recommend withdrawing funding for ESOL for asylum seekers. Here
is a link:
http://www.thelearningcampus.co.uk/uploads/kpmg-review-of-english-for-
speakers-of-other-languages.pdf
Cheers
James
***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an
interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is
managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research,
School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
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To contact the list owner, send an email to
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***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an
interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is
managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research,
School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
To contact the list owner, send an email to
[log in to unmask]
***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
To contact the list owner, send an email to
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