Kennedy: Seven years on
Wednesday 9 June 2004, Grange City Hotel, London EC3N 2BD
It is seven years since the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) published Learning Works, Helena Kennedy's seminal report on closing Britain's learning divide. Reflecting on the values and importance of further education, on widening participation and on the creation of a better-educated, fairer and more just society, Learning Works pointed the way for FE to become the inclusive service it needs and ought to be.
The report argued that learning was key to economic prosperity and social cohesion, while invoking the principle of equity to condemn the inadequacy of policies which had achieved significant growth in learning post-16 but failed to include those who experience social and economic disadvantage. Further education, it contended, with its variety of starting points and an impressive variety of progression routes, was well placed to address the enormous backlog of underachievement and provide a comprehensive lifetime learning service for all.
At this NIACE conference, Baroness Kennedy and other leading speakers will explore the policy directives, the shape of the sector in the era of the Learning and Skills Council, and visions for the future. They will seek to address the following questions:
* What has happened since?
* Have Kennedy's concerns been met?
* Are the values set out in her report still informing our work?
* What still needs to be done?
For a copy of the programme and application form, please visit the NIACE website:
http://www.niace.org.uk/conferences/Kennedy2004.htm
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