Older
People and Informal Learning:
How is
adult learning for older people to be supported?
Wednesday 9 April 2008,10:00-15:20
Abbey Community Centre, 34 Great Smith
Street, London SW1P 3BU
Delegate fee: £50 per person (includes lunch, NIACE does not charge
VAT)
This conference will give
participants the opportunity to discuss
issues which the Government’s recent
consultative paper on informal learning
raises for older people, and to shape their organisation’s response. John Gibson from DIUS
will outline the paper and the process of consultation and NIACE’s Associate
Director for Older Learners, Stephen McNair will comment on the potential
implications for older learners.
The event will be of interest to practitioners, policy
makers, providers of learning opportunities, agencies supporting older people
and advocates for older people.
To reserve your place contact us at:
www.niace.org.uk/conferences
Tel: 0116 204
2833
E-mail:
gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk
For more information on
this conference please read below or download the full conference programme from
www.niace.org.uk/conferences
In January 2008 the
Government issued a consultative paper on informal learning. It suggests that
Government needs to focus its funding for adult learning strategically, to
ensure the maximum value for limited resources. It is a major and radical
attempt to review how Government supports adult learning, including learning for
older people.
The paper suggests that we may be
trapped in an outdated model of adult learning, based too much on formal
classrooms and publicly funded programmes, and that a more, effective strategy might involve making the
service more learner led, with a stronger infrastructure of to organise
services, rather than directly subsidising courses themselves.
Individuals and organisations are
invited to make their own responses to DIUS, and Ministers are holding a number
of invitation events to discuss particular issues.