Informal Adult Learning – Shaping the Way Ahead

Will Pickering, SkillsActive - 26/03/2008

DIUS funds informal adult learning through a safeguarded budget of £210m each year to 2010/11.  This is to support learning for personal development, cultural enrichment and enjoyment, to develop skills for social and community action.  Through this type of learning there is no requirement for learners to achieve accreditation or progress to other learning.

DIUS want sport to respond to their consultation to help inform a policy paper for informal adult learning 2009-2020.

Why should sport respond?

Informal learning is:

• Learning that takes place outside a dedicated learning environment and which arises from the activities and interests of individuals and groups, but which may not be recognised as learning;
• Non course-based learning activities (which might include discussion, talks or presentations, information, advice and guidance) provided or facilitated in response to expressed interests and needs by people from a range of sectors and organisations (health, housing, social services, employment services, education and training services, guidance services);
• Planned and structured learning such as short courses organised in response to identified interests and needs but delivered in flexible and informal ways and in informal community settings.  (Dr Veronica McGivney (2001)

Informal learning in sport can happen in 2 ways:

1. Learning skills through participation in a sport activity, such as a course of coaching, playing a sport as part of a team, hiring a badminton court.

21% of the adult population (8.5 million people) take part regularly in sport and active recreation (Active People Survey 2006). These individuals are all learning skills that provide fulfilment and enjoyment as well as gaining other benefits such as health.   Informal learning opportunities in sport have traditionally been available through Local Authority Leisure services, Adult Education services and FE colleges as well as within Sports Clubs.  Responding to this consultation enables sport to offer suggestions on how these opportunities could be improved and linked into sustainable pathways for participation in sport.

2. Learning skills to be a deliverer of sport which are not part of a formal qualification framework. For example, runningsports course, CPD, e-learning, networking, ‘on the job’ experience.

4.9% of the adult population volunteer at least 1 hour a week in sport in a variety of roles for example,  a coach or official to a treasurer or a child protection officer (Active People Survey 2006).

Sport represents 22% of formal volunteering overall (Helping Out Survey Cabinet Office 2007).

Sport is predominantly run by volunteers who support over 100,000 sports clubs. This does not include those volunteers who contribute to sport within another community association setting (such as a youth club).  Volunteers and clubs require skills to carry out their roles, not all of which require a formal qualification, but enable individuals to acquire new skills for personal development, sustain clubs and participation in sport, therefore providing a high quality service to the local community.

Responding to this consultation enables sport to demonstrate the reliance it has on informal learning opportunities to up skill and improve the support to its clubs and volunteers to the benefit of the community as well as the individual.  It also provides an opportunity to showcase the established informal learning in sport as well as identify where government support could improve the quality of sport volunteers and clubs through informal learning opportunities.

It is hoped that all sporting partners consider this a great opportunity to provide their views on sport and informal learning and ensure the voice of sport is heard.

An online questionnaire has been developed alongside the consultation document, both of which can be found at: http://www.adultlearningconsultation.org.uk/

Responses should be made by 15 May 2008, using the online consultation questionnaire.

To demonstrate its importance, SkillsActive, Sport England, sportscoach UK,CCPR, Volunteering England and NAVCA are working together to circulate this information as widely as possible to the sport sector.