Dan,
For the purpose of maintaining free ESOL classes, Birmingham Adult
Education Service, one of the biggest providers of ESOL, literacy and
numeracy in the country, has drastically reduce the number of E1 and E2
classes, despite this being the area of greatest need, as demonstrated by
enormous waiting lists.The city council decided not to provide any extra
funding. Further, the budget share between BAES areas does not reflect that some
areas offer a higher proportion of all basic skills than others,
reflecting local needs, and resulting resource and exam costs. Level 1 and Level
2 ESOL classes have been reclassed as Literacy, so those students are no longer
able to take ESOL exams and to get ESOL qualifications. Individual tutors are
still trying to meet needs for all the skills, but there is little support.
For example, I was recently told (rather late in the year) that I should
not be using past ESOL writing papers as a source of writing tasks in my L1/L2
classes. No one has offered me or my colleagues an equivalent from literacy. A
colleague and I have agreed some end-of-year assessment tasks for our L1/L2
students, and we have managed to get a rather unspecific certificate form agreed
by management. We have spent hours working on this in our own unpaid time, as we
are sessionally paid, and without support from ESOL or Literacy managers. We
know from past experience that NNES are frequently given a harder time when they
want to join vocational or academic courses and in job interviews, so we felt we
should offer students something they can use as evidence of learning.
Prospective learners at E1 and E2 have been on waiting lists since October
and November and have still not, in far too many cases, been given
class places, and many more, probably hundreds (I could try to check) have
been turned away from one large centre alone. I also do some initial
assessments (we are allowed 20 minutes per person, including paperwork and
checking proofs); it is frustrating and heartbreaking to have to turn so many
people away. Worse yet, people who were turned away last year because they did
not have a year's residence often had to be turned away when they returned
because there was no class place for them, and no chance of one becoming
available. These were spouses who needed ESOL in order to secure ILR.
Cheryl Thornett
ESOL tutor
Birmingham Adult Education
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 9:21 AM
Subject: Re: ESOL Funding Divolving to
the LEA
Pam is right. Funding still via LSC and then one assumes the
Skills Funding Agency after 2010 but priorities set by local authorities.
There is a DIUS 24 hour residential next week to pick up the next steps in
this.
On another note are people picking up cuts to lower level ESOL and
Skills for Life. I am getting reports that those skills for life and ESOL
which are not Leitch targets are development learning and are being squeezed.
If this is happening to your organisation would love to know more.
Dan
Taubman
National Official UCU Colleges Department
27 Britannia
Street
London WC 1 X9JP
Direct Line: 0207 520 3230
E-mail: [log in to unmask]