The council has received funding from the ESFA and predecessor organisations annually since 2001 to deliver adult and community learning. Agreeing to the ESFA grant enables the continuation of the council’s adult and community learning provision in Herefordshire.
The council’s Adult and Community Learning Plan sets out the plans for delivery in Herefordshire for the period 2019-2022, agreed by the cabinet member for Children and Families on 2 May 2019. https://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=5929
The current adult and community plan is being reviewed and revised.
The aim of the plan is to deploy the ESFA funding to ensure that Herefordshire residents have access to a range of appropriate learning opportunities that will contribute to their personal, social, educational and economic development.
The local authority is responsible for receiving the grant allocation for maintained school sixth forms in Herefordshire and paying these schools for delivery of education provision for students aged 16 to 19 as per the ESFA funding guidance.
The ESFA grant contributes to the Herefordshire County Plan, in particular the ambition for communities: strengthen communities to ensure everyone lives well and safely together; and the economy ambition to support an economy, which, builds on the county’s strengths and resources. It will contribute to the delivery plan’s priority to invest in education and the skills needed by employers and supports the action to work with partners to increase the Skills and Workforce in the county (supporting objective EC3).
Adult and community learning programmes also contribute to the ambitions of the Herefordshire Children and Young People’s Partnership plan 2019-20204 by:
•Targeting resources and supporting vulnerable people aged 19 and over into learning including care leavers
•Improving the emotional and mental health and wellbeing of adults including parents and carers
•Achieving success in life, learning and future employment e.g. family learning, English, maths and employability programmes