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Accountability Agreement

Leicester Adult Education's Accountability Agreement for 2023/24

Accountability Agreement 2023/24

Statement of Purpose
Leicester City Council Adult Education provides learning opportunities that engage and
support the most disadvantaged in our communities while remaining open to all and supporting
growth, wellbeing and prosperity in the city.

Service Vision
We anticipate and respond to the needs of individuals, communities, employers and
Leicester’s economy through the delivery of outstanding, inspirational and highly flexible
learning opportunities.

Strategic Aims

We have adopted The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) seven purposes of
Adult and Community Learning as our strategic aims:

  1. We anticipate and respond to the needs of individuals, communities, employers and
    Leicester’s economy through the delivery of outstanding, inspirational and highly flexible
    learning opportunities.
  2. acquisition of skills preparing people for training and further learning
  3. acquisition of skills preparing people for employment or self-employment
  4. improved digital, financial literacy and/or communication skills - includes English
    (including English for speakers of Other Languages), maths, and digital provision
  5. parents/carers better equipped to support and encourage their children’s learning
  6. improved/maintained health and/or social well-being
  7. develop stronger communities, with more self-sufficient, connected and pro-active
    citizens, leading to: increased volunteering, civic engagement and social integration;
    reduced costs on welfare, health and anti-social behaviour; increased online
    learning and self-organised learning; the lives of our most troubled families being
    turned around.


Context and Place

Leicester Adult Education serves the residents of Leicester and the surrounding area reaching around 3000 learners per year (6000 enrolments) in each academic year. The map below highlights the distribution of learners across the
city and surrounding area.

Map of distribution of learners across the city and surrounding areas

  • 151,492 Leicester residents were born outside of the UK. This represents 41% of Leicester’s population and an increase of 7% in the last decade. Excluding the UK, the most common countries of birth were: India (59,842); Other South and East Africa inc Uganda* (12,674); Poland (8,924); Kenya (6,417); Pakistan (4,989); Romania (4,698) India, Romania and Italy saw the largest increases. There are 15 times more Leicester residents who were born in Romania than 2011.
  • 2% (7499) of residents do not speak English at all, 7% (24.541) do not speak English well.
  • 61% of Leicester households have at least one dimension of deprivation compared to 52% for England overall. By this measure Leicester is the fourth most deprived upper-tier local authority in England, behind Blackpool (62%).
  • A significantly larger proportion of Leicester’s 16+ population have no qualifications
    (26.7%) compared to England (18.1%). Leicester has the second highest percentage of its 16+ population of all English UTLAs with no qualifications at 26.7%. (Sandwell, highest – 28.9%). A smaller proportion of Leicester residents have a Level 4 qualification or higher (26.8%) compared to England (33.9%). Leicester has one of the highest percentages of its population with ‘Other’ qualifications, including those obtained outside of the UK (4.3%) of all English UTLAs.
  • Areas to the East of the city centre generally had higher proportions of their population with no qualifications, as would be expected for an area with large numbers of international migrants. Spinney Hill Road MSOA has the highest percentage of its 16+ population of all English MSOAs with no qualifications at 45%. Other areas of the city such as Braunstone and New Parks also have relatively high percentages of the population with no qualifications (c.30%-35%).

In 2021, Leicester City Council undertook the Leicester Household Survey. This survey indicates that 2 in 5 households in the city speak more than one language, with Gujarati
(24%) and Hindi (12%) the most widely spoken after English. The survey asked a wide range of questions which are not covered by census data, including aspects of health and wellbeing, financial health and digital access and skills.

  • Nearly half of respondents felt isolated from others some of the time (37%) or often
    (12%)
  • 35% are slightly or much worse off compared to before COVID
  • 95% have access to the internet at home
  • 80% are confident or very confident at online learning
  • 17% of households have someone who would benefit from support or training in how to access services or carry out transactions online.

 

The Leicester and Leicestershire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) is produced by East Midlands Chamber. The report focusses on the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour areas that businesses identified as priorities to meet growth aspirations.

Knowledge - Across all sectors, technical and vocational knowledge areas are the most important to a business’s success. The next four top areas are: Basic literacy; Basic numeracy; Health & Safety; Basic IT.

Skills - Team working is the most important skill across all sectors, followed by; verbal communication, specific occupational skills, written communication and time management.

Behaviour - Being a team player is the most important behaviour, followed by; being hard working, reliable, resilient, and honest.

 

The Planning Cycle

The core planning cycle begins in the autumn and concludes in the late spring of the previous academic year. However, a dynamic and responsive approach allows the service to respond agilely to emerging needs and changing demands throughout the year. In future, the Accountability agreement will be updated in the autumn to inform planning for the following academic year.

Step 1: review of current enrolment patterns, performance, feedback from learners and partners and viability of programmes as part of self assessment.
Step 2: research and analysis of national and local needs and priorities, taking account of government policy and funding regimes, changes to qualifications and new and emerging opportunities and threats.
Step 3: consultation with internal and external partners and the Economic Development, Transport and the Climate Emergency scrutiny commission.
Step 4: accountability agreement approved by the Assistant City Mayor for Skills and Jobs.
Step 5: planning of the curriculum with clear outcome and impact measures aligned with the accountability agreement.

 

Stakeholders and Partners 

A wide range of stakeholders and partners contribute to the development of the plan. The nature of the involvement ranges from ongoing, informal networking and collaboration through to formal consultation, partnerships and co-production of learning opportunities.

  • Learners and potential learners
  • Elected members
  • Economic Development Team / Leicester Employment Hub
  • Public Health
  • Arts and Museums
  • Housing and support services
  • Libraries and Neighbourhood services
  • DWP/ Job centre Plus
  • Connexions
  • VCS organisations
  • Local employers & LLEP, Work & Skills Forum
  • Schools & Early Years providers
  • Other education providers – DMU, Leicester Uni, LC, WEA, Training Providers

 

Our contribution to national, regional and local priorities


Strategic Aim 1:
Through our outreach and engagement activity we will engage 2000 new learners in 2023/24.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Improved confidence and willingness to engage in learning
  • Health Leicester Strategy - -‘Increase the number of people with basic level skills by promoting our adult and family education services to improve employment and earning potential’
  • To address the city’s low qualification levels identified in the Census

Strategic Aim 2:
We will support at least 50% of 2022/23 learners to progress to further learning in 2023/24.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Acquisition of skills preparing people for training and further learning
  • To address the city’s low qualification levels identified in the Census
  • To address employer’s needs for improved Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours as identified in the LSIP

Strategic Aim 3:
We will deliver a flexible and responsive employability programme to 100 unemployed and/or economically inactive individuals referred by the Job centre and other partners. We will provide additional training to 25 tutors and further embed the employability skills valued by employers in all vocational and English, maths and ESOL courses. 200 learners will achieve vocational or professional qualifications to help them progress in/into work or self employment.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Acquisition of skills preparing people for employment or self-employment
  • To address the high levels of deprivation identified in the census
  • To address employer’s needs for improved Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours as identified in the LSIP

Strategic Aim 4:
We will deliver English (including ESOL), maths and digital skills to 1500 people, preparing them better for employment, independent living, further training and learning.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Improved digital, financial literacy and/or communication skills - includes English (including English for speakers of Other Languages), maths, and digital provision
  • To address employer’s needs for improved core skills identified in the LSIP

Strategic Aim 5:
In partnership with our schools and childcare settings we will provide Family Learning to at least 400 parents and carers in 35 locations across the city.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Parents/carers better equipped to support and encourage their children’s learning

Strategic Aim 6:
Through participation in our community learning programme we will improve / maintain the health and/or social wellbeing of 1500 older people (60+), reducing social isolation and inactivity.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Improved/maintained health and/or social well-being
  • Healthy Leicester Strategy – encourage older people to access leisure and cultural spaces in their local communities to overcome social isolation and improve mental and physical health

Strategic Aim 7:
We will work with our partners in public health and other Council departments to develop and deliver courses to support 150 residents with digital inclusion, the cost of living and to improve their health and wellbeing.

We will deliver a programme of ESOL with community orientation courses for 150 new arrivals in the city. This will improve social integration, reduced costs on welfare, health and council support services.

Priorities addressed and reason for objective:

  • Develop stronger communities, with more self-sufficient, connected and pro-active citizens, leading to: increased volunteering, civic engagement and social integration; reduced costs on welfare, health and anti-social behaviour; increased online learning and self-organised learning; the lives of our most troubled families being turned around

 

Corporation Statement

On behalf of Leicester City Council, it is hereby confirmed that the plan as set out above reflects an agreed statement of purpose, aims and objectives as signed by the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby on 30th May 2023.

Links to key supporting documents: