Learning: For All. For Life. A report from the Independent Review of Community Learning and Development (CLD)

What the Review was asked to do and why it matters

"Some thrive in school some don’t. Too much theory work and not enough practical – people need both. Learning needs to be approached differently in schools as to how people learn and do things. Take the stigma away from adult learning. I am not thick or stupid, I just learn in a different way.”

Purpose of the Review

The Terms of Reference^[4] (ToR) for the review are clear that the impetus behind it results from the wider process of education reform being driven by the Scottish Government.

Recent reviews and allied reports on career advice, education, qualifications, and skills acknowledge the importance of community learning. These include recommendations for continued support for the CLD Standards Council from Professor Ken Muir as part of his comprehensive review of Scottish education^[5]. Reporting on the Skills Delivery Landscape Review^[6], James Withers highlights the benefits CLD can bring to lifelong learning beyond time spent in school or Higher Education, for both young people and adults. Professor Louise Hayward's Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment^[7] recommends the concept of a personal pathway, offering scope for a more tailored approach that provides for broader learner interests that may align with social, cultural, and other community-based activities. Each prior review emphasises learner experience and the need for skills development and related support for practitioners delivering learning. Central to the Scottish Government's Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills^[8] is the need to:

"… ensure that people, at every stage in life, have the opportunity and means to develop the skills, knowledge, values and attributes to fulfil their potential and to make a meaningful contribution to society."

"It was a personal thing. I was ready to go. Physical health and neurodiversity. They called beforehand to speak to me, and opened-up a side room to meet first. There is no pressure to speak or even say hello. You can just exist and be an active member of society. I am not physically able to be on my own for a long time without consequences, but I feel safe even though I am not physically comfortable due to my disability. I deserve the space, even if I am not talking."

Young Learner

Notwithstanding the references to community learning in those earlier reviews. Ministers considered it necessary to have a more focused review of CLD to ensure full consideration of its role in an integrated lifelong learning system. Having immersed myself in the work of the sector during this review, I wholeheartedly agree it was a gap that needed filling.

I was asked to consider 'the extent to which CLD is currently delivering desired outcomes and how it is placed to contribute towards … an education system that is fit for the future'; to make recommendations on the changes that may be required to deliver those outcomes and to do so within the very difficult budgetary backdrop, whilst being ready to meet known and unknown future challenges. Emphasis was placed on consideration of:

"… the extent to which CLD is contributing to delivering positive outcomes in line with Scottish Government priorities, including examination of the respective roles and responsibilities of those involved".

Specifically, I was asked to offer information and recommendations on:

1. Effective and consistently measured outcomes delivered through CLD and reported across the sector. This includes data on the CLD workforce, engagement opportunities and outcomes for learners.

2. Delivering positive outcomes and improved life chances for marginalised and vulnerable learners in communities, in the context of wider education reform and public finance constraints.

3. A strong and suitably professionalised CLD workforce equipped to deliver high quality outcomes for learners.

Limits to the Terms of Reference (ToR)

Given that the wider education reform agenda has driven the decision by Ministers to establish this review, the focus in the ToR on the 'learning' element of CLD appears logical. However, an early message from practitioners, stakeholders and learners – repeated throughout the review – was that the focus is too narrow. Failure to consider the community empowerment and development element, which it was argued is inseparable from, and indeed mutually reinforces, the learning element, would lead the review to see only a partial picture.

I sought to deal with this by inviting those who felt strongly about the need to consider CLD in a more holistic way to make their thoughts known in the consultations, meetings, focus groups, etc. From the scale of those contributions, the strength of feeling on this issue is clear. Suffice to say that there was an almost universal understanding of CLD as much broader than learning new technical skills or brushing-up on existing skills as part of a pathway to a recognised qualification or employability (important as that is).

Why CLD matters

The evidence gathered throughout this review is clear – CLD is valued by learners and it works! What follows below is a summary of the social and economic challenges that CLD contributes to tackling. The potential for those challenges to become increasingly acute is also worthy of note. As the next section of this report will show, there is already a significant gap between 'need' and the resource available to meet it. The gap is likely to widen, and potential societal consequences worsen, in the years ahead unless the necessary first steps are taken now and co-ordinated policy planning and resource investment is considered in the medium to longer term.

"They listen to what we want to do here and give you the choice.”

Young Learner

CLD is an approach, built upon a philosophy and a set of values, ethics and underpinning principles, that are community-driven and person-centred. There is no 'CLD curriculum' as such, and every learner's journey starts from where the learner finds themselves, rather than having set expectations about the level of prior learning or experience required to engage in new learning. The course of the journey is largely determined by the learner, as is the pace. It's also not necessarily linear, with incremental progress towards the goals set by the learner potentially impacted by both personal and external challenges that they may be facing. The evidence gathered about what works demonstrates that the engagement of learners in provision is highly dependent on a person-centred approach.

There are plenty of good descriptions of CLD as an approach to working with some of the most vulnerable, disengaged and disadvantaged people – young and adult – in our society. I won’t repeat them here. However, it is worth noting that, to be effective, those staff and volunteers working in CLD need to provide a safe, supportive and non-judgmental environment, taking (often considerable) time to build trust with learners and to learn about the learner’s individual circumstances. In a period when budgets are under severe pressure, and in a wider policy environment which demands well-defined, measurable outcomes to show value for money, the extent of time required, the intensity of engagement, and the unpredictability of what some might describe as ‘fuzzy’ outcomes, may lead some to consider CLD provision as an add-on or expensive. Everything I have seen and heard throughout this review reinforces my view that this is a wrong-headed assessment. Extensive evidence – some set out below and more in the annexed evidence and literature summaries – shows that CLD provides a positive return on investment in the medium to longer term by developing critical thinking, personal and social skills, widening access to lifelong educational attainment and employment prospects; improving people’s health and well-being; and encouraging active citizenship and participatory democracy.

In addition to CLD as an approach, it is also a profession and a service provided through Local Authorities, Colleges and Universities, and the Third Sector. This review will touch on all three of these dimensions of CLD, with more of a focus on service provision and the profession.

As noted above and elsewhere in this report, CLD provision across Scotland is facing some very serious challenges, meaning that there is an increasing gap between provision and identified need for those services. A modest estimation of unidentified need makes the gap even greater. Nevertheless, to some degree, in every part of Scotland and across all our communities, CLD is making a difference to the lives of many people. I heard repeatedly that CLD support had not only enabled people to transform their lives for the better but had, for some, saved their lives – underlining the positive health and well-being impact of the service.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for these classes."

Young Learner

Working to improve basic skills, such as literacy numeracy and digital; English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL); boosting self- confidence and general life skills, CLD is supporting many learners who are having, or have had, negative experiences with the more formal education system. This is important for the individual learners, of course, but it is also often part of the necessary first steps on a journey towards employment (or a better paid and more secure job) and/or further study at College or University. Many of those undertaking ESOL learning (and many of those thousands currently waiting to have the opportunity to do so) will have technical or professional skills that may be in short supply across Scotland. Without access to the ESOL learning, those skills cannot be put to best use. The economic benefits to the country and the individual are clear yet the lack of available ESOL provision is a significant barrier.

However, CLD is more than that. It's more than learning just to get a job or a career. The CLD approach supports a whole range of Scottish Government policy objectives, including in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and contributes to delivering outcomes across the National Performance Framework^[9]. Indeed, the proposed revised National Outcomes^[10], where the Education Outcome will emphasise the significance of all forms of learning, throughout life, would suggest an even greater role for CLD.

"I would not be able to do this a year ago – sitting on a call with people I do not know. It is a confidence builder and makes me less frightened about the world."

Young Learner

Evidence from my engagement across the country shows that CLD is critically important in supporting those facing or recovering from mental ill-health and issues such as anxiety and self-harm; for improving self-confidence and sense of identity; tackling loneliness and social isolation; making friends and having fun; fostering community safety and cultural cohesion, building capacity and confidence; encouraging greater civic engagement and participation, equipping people to engage with services, such as health and welfare, including supporting people by providing them with the necessary digital skills to avoid them being excluded in a world where online access is becoming the norm.

"In my former employment I struggled with a safety test which was digital, because I didn’t know how to use a mouse. So I had to learn new IT skills to be able to pass a test. Now I have an SQA qualification and know how to use Zoom to speak to my grandkids overseas.”

Adult Learner

CLD is providing essential help throughout the Cost-of-Living Crisis, by providing opportunities to learn about budgeting. Putting on a programme of cookery classes or sessions to foster cultural interchange between New Scots and their new neighbours may, to some, look like extravagance when local and national budgets are under severe pressure, but when you consider the positive outcomes they deliver for community cohesion (as well as improving language skills) and in tackling health challenges – now and in the future – arising from poor diet and unhealthy eating, then the 'return on investment' is clear. Family Learning sessions not only enable adults to improve their skills and mean they can help their children with homework, they send a positive message to the young people involved about the value of learning.

"We have the opportunity to share our culture with each other at the classes – this is good to experience and learn in addition to language and making social connections.”

ESOL Learner

"Any aspiration for Scotland to become a true Lifelong Learning nation needs to understand the critical role that CLD plays at all life stages."

CLD helps to tackle many current challenges

The evidence presented in this report, together with that set out in the accompanying Evidence Report and Literature Review, demonstrates how CLD can be highly effective in helping some of Scotland's most vulnerable and disadvantaged people to identify and address many of the barriers they face in their day- to-day lives, often at an early enough stage to prevent those barriers growing in scale or number. By doing so, CLD is making a critical contribution in meeting those challenges at a wider, societal level. This 'preventative' element to what CLD delivers is very much in line with the change recommended more than a decade ago by the Christie Commission:

"A clear conclusion that we draw is that, if public services are at once to promote social justice and human rights and to be sustainable into the future, it is imperative that public services adopt a much more preventative approach; and that, within that, they succeed in addressing the persistent problem of multiple negative outcomes and inequalities faced by too many of the people and communities of Scotland."^[11]

Some of the challenges that CLD is helping to address are worth briefly summarising.

Personal, Social and Community Challenges

Migration and Integration: Making your life in a new country will always present challenges, particularly if the impetus for you to do so, or the nature of the journey you have been forced to make, have been traumatic. Finding suitable work and engaging with your new neighbours and wider community will be much more difficult when your English language proficiency is low or non-existent. Migration has been the main driver of population growth in Scotland in recent decades. All of Scotland's future population growth is projected to come from inward migration, both from other parts of the UK and from outside the UK^[12]. Some of those who have come, and others who will follow, bring with them skills that can benefit Scotland's economy and society. Others will have come with an ambition to develop and refine skills to allow them to maximise their contribution. For many arriving from outside the UK, the single biggest challenge they face in doing so will be to bring their English language skills to a level that allows them to participate in civic life and for many to work in a role that utilises their talents to the full. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) is a CLD approach to learning English that allows for different starting points, destinations and pace of learning. It also allows for the fact that many of those learning the language may still be managing the impact of trauma. As the Literature Review notes, studies show how getting speedy access to ESOL learning benefits the individual learner, their family, and the economy and society of which they are now part.

"I go to the post office, the GP and can now explain in English what I want and what is going on, It makes life easier for me and I can enjoy life much more because of it."

ESOL Learner

Poverty: It is estimated that just over one out of every five people in Scotland live in relative poverty (after housing costs), with more than 900,000 living in absolute poverty in 2020- 2023 (after housing costs). Just under a quarter of children in Scotland live in poverty.^[13] We all know of examples where growing-up in such circumstances may act as a spur to achievement and to advance out of poverty for the next generation. However, the reality for many will be growing-up in an environment where ambition and expectation of attainment goes unsupported or is swept away by the need to focus on just surviving day to day.

On top of this existing, seemingly insoluble challenge, and the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cost-of-Living Crisiscontinues to have a negative impact. Low-income households are most at risk, especially those with particular characteristics, such as single person or lone parent families, disabled households, households in receipt of means- tested benefits, and gypsy/traveller households. Data shows that women and minority ethnic groups are overrepresented in those particularly at-risk households.^[14]

Over the five year period 2018-23, people from non-white minority ethnic groups were more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs compared to those from the 'White – British' and 'White – Other' groups. Minority ethnic households are more likely to have deeper levels of poverty and a greater proportion of their income is spent on essentials that are subject to inflation.^[15]

Poverty rates remain higher for households in which somebody is disabled compared to those where no-one is disabled.^[16]

The cost-of-living crisis has also placed significant additional pressures on public and Third Sector services. Demand is increasing for Third Sector services at a time when the cost of delivering services is rising and as such public and Third Sector services have come under sustained pressure to deliver current services and to develop and deliver additional support to those most in need. This includes CLD service provision, happening at a time when the need for CLD support – which we know can make a difference in helping those most at risk – is already at a high level.

As access to more and more services, both private and public, moves towards an 'online by default' approach, the potential for those with low or no digital skills to be excluded increases. The potential implications for many older adults and already disadvantaged groups have been noted by the Equality & Human Rights Commission and Age Scotland, amongst others.^[17]

Those living in rural settings told me of their concerns about transport infrastructure and internet connectivity issuesthat make it difficult for them to access or progress to formal educational institutions or employment opportunities.

Health and Wellbeing Challenges

Nowhere better illustrates the importance of our public services adopting a preventative approach than the provision of health and social care. Messaging about the longer-term consequences of actions we take or situations we face today has been a mainstay of public health messaging for decades. Now, with pressures and costs continuing to grow to meet increasing health, wellbeing and social care demands, the supportive and preventative role that CLD can play needs to be better considered.

"Coming here has improved my mental health and to cope with situations.”

Young Learner

Obesity and 'lifestyle' illnesses can have a significant bearing on some individuals, and can often result from low income, lower levels of health literacy and/or mental ill-health. It can also have wider impacts on Scotland's economy^[18].

Suggestions of a mental health 'crisis' were already being made prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are now seeing the additional impacts of that period feeding through into the data around mental wellbeing in Scotland. Once again, the impact is likely to be disproportionately felt by some groups, including those living in more deprived areas. In the last quarter of 2023, more than 9500 children and young people were referred to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Scotland, an increase of just over 16% on the previous quarter. In the same period, approximately 4,500 children and young people started treatment at CAMHS in Scotland, and by the end of December last year, more than 5,500 children and young people were waiting to start treatment.^[19]

Scotland's population is ageing. There are more people in the older age groups than ever recorded in Scotland's Census, and projections suggest this will increasingly be the case^[20]. This is likely to place growing pressures on families, and health and social care services across the country.

"It is endless learning – I am learning something new all the time and I really enjoy it.”

Adult Learner

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when people were asked during the Covid-19 pandemic whether they felt lonely, around half the people surveyed reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the previous week. Around 1 in 7 people reported being lonely most, almost all, or all of the time. The groups identified as experiencing the highest rates of reporting loneliness were 16-24 year olds, disabled people, those on lower incomes, and those with a pre-existing mental health condition.^[21]

Our adult education services need to be proactive in highlighting the cognitive and health benefits of participation in learning and leisure activities. We are facing a crisis of care with too many older members of our society becoming infirm, suffering memory loss, loneliness and boredom. This isolation and lack of mental stimulation hastens cognitive ageing but we can take steps to help people to enjoy an active old age. Adult education can make a substantial difference by promoting the benefits of learning and related social engagement."

How Adult Education can help fight dementia – TES Magazine, 21 February 2017

As the above excerpt from the TES magazine and the accompanying Literature Review and Evidence Report set out, there is significant evidence showing the positive impact that CLD delivers in terms of extensive health and wellbeing benefits, including enabling access to mental health support for young people to manage anxiety, suicide prevention and encouraging healthy eating; physical health benefits from Adult Learning, including in relation to cessation of smoking, access to cervical screening, better nutrition and other health services. ESOL can enable New Scots to improve awareness of and access to healthcare. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that Youth Work organisations are well placed to offer support in relation to sensitive health issues such as sexual health and substance abuse^[22].

Educational and Economic Challenges

I was very surprised to learn that there are no up-to-date statistics to show levels ofliteracy, numeracy or digital skills in Scotland. The most recent Scottish Government survey on literacy in Scotland took place 15 years ago^[23] and, as far as I can ascertain, there has never been a Scottish Government survey of numeracy skills in Scotland. This strikes me as a significant policy-making 'blind spot'. Unlike England and Northern Ireland, I understand that Scotland (and Wales) have never participated in the regular OECD International Survey of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), meaning that we don't know Scotland's starting point in terms of tackling challenges around basic adult competencies. Although figures for the number of adults with 'low or no qualifications' are often used by the Scottish Government to show the skills profile of people in Scotland, it doesn't provide the data to show specific challenges around literacy, numeracy or digital skills.

The 2009 Adult Literacies survey tells us that one out of every four adults could face challenges or find their opportunities are constrained due to difficulties in reading and writing. The survey also sets out the link between deprivation and lower literacy levels. Unfortunately, there is no up to date data to evidence if the situation has improved or worsened in the past 15 years. My engagement with front-line CLD staff and volunteers would seem to suggest that it has not improved.

In 2022, the independent charity, National Numeracy, and the data company Experian, worked together to produce a UK-wide map of UK numeracy skills^[24]. The picture across the UK was not positive, with about half of the working-age population having the expected numeracy level of a primary school child. Some Scottish Local Authority areas featured heavily amongst those identified as having the greatest need for support to boost low numeracy levels. Improving numeracy rates is likely to have wider economic benefits for Scotland, and the positive impacts at the individual and family level are also clear, including through helping to tackle financial exclusion.

"I just want a career and this is good for my kids to see me learning."

Adult Learner

The Scottish Government deserves credit for recognising the need to take action to close the 'poverty-related attainment gap', thereby addressing the cycle of disadvantage still faced by too many people in Scotland. The ambition is clear from the Scottish Government's vision for Scottish education to:

"… deliver excellence and equity for all, with the defining mission of closing the poverty-related attainment gap, ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed." ^[25]

This is being backed by significant funding commitments – £1bn of Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) investment during the current parliament. Whilst progress continues to be made, it has not been as fast or as far as would be hoped. As Audit Scotland's 2021 report noted:

"The poverty-related attainment gap remains wide and inequalities have been exacerbated by Covid-19. Progress on closing the gap has been limited and falls short of the Scottish Government's aims. Improvement needs to happen more quickly and there needs to be greater consistency across the country." ^[26]

Research evidence highlights that the impact of poverty continues to manifest in lower levels of literacies and numeracies^[27]

More recent figures underline the continued scale of the challenge. Commentary on the figures by Save the Children put it bluntly:

"… those from poorer backgrounds are STILL 20 percentage points behind their better off peers despite significant investment. Progress on 'closing' the gap is staggeringly slow."^[28]

Whereas the role of CLD/Youth Work in helping to drive-up attainment amongst disadvantaged groups has been recognised and built into the SAC to some extent, it is arguable that its value in reaching those young people for whom the traditional school learning experience is not a good fit remains under-appreciated, and therefore under-resourced. Similarly, the role-modelling and engagement shown by parents and grandparents undertaking Adult or Family Learning activities, particularly when their experience of the more formal school environment may not have been a positive one, can have a significant positive impact on children and young people.

"My Youth Worker knows more about me than my teachers do."

Young Learner

Recently published Scottish Government statistics^[29] show that in some Local Authority areas more than half of secondary school pupils are 'persistently absent'. If this isn't enough to ring alarm bells, then cross- referencing this data with the numeracy levels data noted above, which shows a significant overlap in those areas most affected, certainly should. Similarly, the data shows that young people with additional support needs and those from more deprived areas are more likely to be excluded. We can also see that the number of young people with additional support needs in Scottish schools continues to increase (up from 10% of the school roll in 2010 to 34% in 2022)^[30].

Pupils living in the most deprived areas had lower attendance rates in all sectors than those living in the least deprived areas. This effect was the greatest in secondary schools.

It's easy to point from the sidelines and talk about how too many of our young people are being 'failed by the system' and highlight all the problems that brings in trying to tackle wider economic and societal challenges. To my mind, it's far more productive to approach it from the perspective of the need to understand that CLD can provide alternative and/or supportive learning routes for those who may need them.

"Youth Work has made a big positive difference to my mental health. School has had a bad impact causing lots of stress. Youth work doesn't have this and it has a community/ family feel. I have lots of different conversations and engagement here that I do not get at school."

Young Learner

This is not an exhaustive list of the policy challenges that CLD can – and does – play a role in tackling. Space constraints don't allow for this. Nevertheless, I'm confident that readers of this report will be able to identify others that don't feature above. I wouldn't claim to be an expert in the policy issues set out above, and nor do I have a crystal ball, but I do recognise that the scale of these problems is already considerable and is expected to get worse. I'm not suggesting that CLD is the 'silver bullet' to solve these problems, but the role it currently plays in tackling them can often go unrecognised and its potential for doing more tends to be missed. That needs to change. It is an issue of equity and social justice. We need to re-shape our learning system to meet the societal and learning challenges and potential opportunities of the 21st century, including unlocking potential to assist employers to fill vacancies, providing an active volunteer base of people positively contributing to wider society, and generally helping us to deliver on our ambition for a well-being economy.

The amount of public money to be spent each year to support learning in Schools (approximately £7bn^[31]), Colleges (more than £600m ^[32]), Universities (£1bn ^[33]) and support for students in Higher Education (£1.5bn ^[34]) each dwarf the amount spent by Local Authorities on CLD learning (approximately £100m ^[35]). Indeed, the Scottish Government budget for 2024-25 shows that more than five times that sum will be spent by the Directorate for Learning on Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital^[36]. The Scottish Government's Education Reform budget on its own is broadly equivalent to total CLD spend across Scotland^[37]. More than double the amount spent by Local Authorities on CLD will be provided to Skills Development Scotland this financial year^[38]. More than £10bn of public investment in education and skills will be made this year. CLD spend totals to about 1% of that amount.

Given the scale of the challenges set out above, my recommendations include a call for an urgent and overdue reassessment of the current balance of spending across all dimensions of learning in Scotland. Given the contribution that CLD is making towards delivering wider positive outcomes, there also needs to be a fresh look at how other policy areas, such as Health or Social Work, contribute financially to supporting preventative CLD interventions.

The next section of this report will explain how I went about hearing from learners, practitioners and stakeholders as part of the review process, before summarising what I learned. It then goes on to explain what I believe needs to happen for CLD to be able to maximise the positive impact it makes as part of Scotland's overall education and learning system, and in tackling some of our country's biggest and deepest-rooted economic and social problems.