Adult and Community Learning Workforce Survey 2010/11

Transcription

1 Adult and Community Learning Workforce Survey 2010/11 Report published January 2012 Page 1

2 Contents Foreword...3 Executive Summary...4 Introduction...7 Background...7 Structure of the report...7 Section 1: Aims, objectives and survey methodology...9 Aims and objectives...9 Methodology...9 Section 2: The ACL workforce - shape and context Provider demographics Staff roles and employment conditions Section 3: Overall staff demographics: gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation 22 Section 4: The ACL teaching workforce Numbers and employment conditions Qualifications Subject areas taught Section 5: Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions Recommendations References Appendix: ACL survey questionnaire Page 2

3 Foreword HOLEX, the national network of local adult learning providers, warmly welcomes the work LSIS has undertaken to map the adult and community learning workforce in England. We have long argued that robust data is needed on this sub-sector, both to help better inform national workforce development initiatives and to help providers assessment of their own workforce, and enable them to benchmark local practice against national norms. Previous efforts to capture this critical information, through Lifelong Learning UK s annual workforce data collection exercises, met with some problems it proved difficult for providers to supply, with accuracy, detailed individualised data on the large, dispersed and mainly part-time ACL workforce, and survey response rates were too low to provide a meaningful basis on which to base sector-wide projections. We therefore welcomed the decision taken by LSIS in summer 2011 to move to an aggregate data collection, and have been happy to support both the design of a survey instrument and to use our contacts to encourage adult learning providers to supply the information requested. It is particularly pleasing to see a response rate of over 40 per cent, from a representative sample of ACL providers of different types and size; we have confidence that the data presented in this report gives a solid baseline picture of the ACL workforce. Although there is no comparable data to spot year on year trends, common themes have emerged and have been examined in light of data held on the overall lifelong learning workforce; we look to future surveys to build on this in coming years. The research s aim has been to support key policy decisions for the future, and to inform the sector of the aggregate picture emerging, and where providers fit in the landscape. It is particularly timely, therefore, that this first year of a dedicated, aggregate ACL workforce survey has been successful. Current review of government arrangements for informal adult and community learning and other planned system-wide changes to the funding of the further education sector will doubtless impact on the staffing needs of provider organisations, and there is now data available against which these changes can be mapped and evaluated. I commend this report and the clarity with which findings are now presented; thanks are due to the LSIS research team and their associates for the care and sensitivity they have brought to bear on a range of data and how that translates into key findings. The 2010/11 ACL workforce surveys adds a depth to our understanding of this vital part of the FE system, and the richness of the evidence presented here merits close examination, both by providers and by policy makers. Bob Powell HOLEX National Office January 2011 Page 3

4 Executive Summary Understanding the workforce is a priority in the Further Education Workforce Strategy for England, and a key requirement of this is to have reliable and robust data on the demographics and characteristics of the workforce. Data on the workforce provides stakeholders with a greater understanding of their sector to present a case for lobbying with the Government and helps with benchmarking and the identification of best practice. It also enables providers to inform quality improvement, planning of service development activities and compliance with statutory equality monitoring. This is a workforce data report of the Adult and Community Learning (ACL) sector in England, based on findings from a study conducted in the summer of Aims, objectives, and methodology This is the first, large scale aggregate workforce data survey of the ACL sector and provides detailed data on demographics and qualifications of the workforce, The aggregate data collection met with major success, unlike previous years, where individualised data was sought. Aggregate data is both easier and more cost-effective to assemble by the provider, yet still generates sufficiently detailed information for policy-makers intelligence needs and for provider benchmarking. The findings of this report are representative of the ACL sector, which is regarded as comprising specialist adult and community learning providers with a direct funding relationship with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) essentially Local Authority maintained services as well as independent / third sector organisations classed as former external institutions. Please note that a third set of ACL providers - nine specialist designated institutions - are excluded from this study since they are covered by the annual Staff Individualised Record (SIR). All SFA-funded ACL providers were invited to participate in the survey, and a 44 per cent response rate was achieved, making the findings representative of the ACL sector in England. The response rate of 44 per cent of the 180 providers was higher than was expected, and is more than double the response rate secured in previous ACL workforce surveys, suggesting the shift to an aggregate return achieved its purpose. Main findings from the survey Within the ACL sector, most organisations are Local Authority Adult and Community Learning providers with primarily direct delivery of learning programmes (71 per cent), followed by Local Authority Adult and Community Learning providers primarily securing provision via sub-contracting / partnership arrangements (24 per cent). Independent Adult and Community Learning providers primarily voluntary and community organisations from the third sector - accounted for five per cent of the total sample. Just over 50 per cent of the providers are of medium size, operating with a budget of between 1 million and 4 million, and most drew on the SFA Adult Safeguarded Learning Budget. In total, 13,824 staff members are employed by providers participating in the survey. The majority work part-time and occupy a professional role (e.g. teachers, tutors, trainers, assessors and examiners) and comprise 67 per cent of the total workforce. Ten per cent of Page 4

5 staff are administrators / clerical staff, and nine per cent take support roles (including teaching assistants). Managerial roles account for eight per cent of the ACL workforce. Teaching staff figures are included in professional role totals: looking at teaching staff on their own (minus non-teaching professionals), 68 per cent of the workforce delivered teaching. 93 per cent of the teaching staff work on a part-time basis, and most are sessionally paid. Most teaching staff in ACL (66 per cent) were employed before September Of these, 81 per cent either hold or are working towards a relevant qualification, while 77 per cent of those employed after September 2007 hold or are enrolled on a teaching qualification. Further to this, an assessor qualification is held by eight per cent of all teaching staff. 22 per cent of ACL teaching staff hold a level 6 qualification and are therefore graduates. 17 per cent hold a postgraduate qualification (level 7) and a further six per cent hold a doctorate (level 8). The most taught subject is art / crafts and creative (16 per cent of all ACL teachers work in this area), followed by foreign languages (11 per cent), and ICT (nine per cent). Some 13 per cent of ACL teachers work on literacy and numeracy programmes and a further eight per cent are engaged in ESOL provision. The World Class Skills target for 2020 sets out 95 per cent of the UK population achieving Literacy Level 1 and Numeracy Entry Level 3 by 2020, and this report revealed that just five per cent of all teaching staff are working in numeracy, accounting for 466 teachers. This suggests a significant boost in numbers of trained teachers delivering these subjects is needed in order to meet targets. As it stands, the ACL sector has more creative arts and foreign languages provision than basic literacy and numeracy skills tutors. The demographic findings show the workforce is predominantly female, within the age group 45 years and above, and mostly of white ethnicity. Data on disabilities and sexual orientation was difficult to analyse due to a large proportion of unknown data. A high proportion of respondents preferred not to answer these questions. Conclusions and Recommendations The 2010/11 Adult and Community Learning (ACL) Workforce Survey yielded rich and robust data, and provides an authoritative baseline for future research to track year on year trends. The data can, with confidence, be used to inform policy decisions, and by the providers themselves to assess their organisation and the landscape they operate within. In the main, the findings of this study are representative of the ACL sector, especially from providers that are Local Authority ACL providers with primarily direct delivery of learning programmes and those that secure provision via sub-contracting / partnership arrangements. There are fewer than anticipated responses from the Independent / third sector providers, suggesting a deeper level of engagement is needed through specialist networks to boost participation. In total, the sample reported on around 14,000 staff working in adult and community learning. As 44 per cent of the total sample database responded, it can be approximated that 25-30,000 staff are working across ACL in England. Page 5

6 Employment is likely to be on a part-time basis, although in independent providers full-time employment is as likely as part-time employment. Research 1 has suggested that part-time roles will increase over this decade, so it is key to track employment basis trends for next year, especially in light of predicted public sector redundancies. In terms of demographics, staff in ACL tend to be female and aged 45+, of white ethnicity. Data on disability sexual orientation is very limited, therefore reducing the scope of any further analysis. Overall, of over nine thousand teaching and training staff identified in this survey, 7,108 - nearly 80 per cent - hold or are working towards a teaching or training qualification, which suggests a strong sectoral commitment to professional skills and qualification. ACL makes a strong contribution to basic skills and ESOL, and also has staff active in family learning and in community development. Arts and crafts and foreign languages dominate the list of general subjects taught, but independent providers slightly differ, offering more in the way of subjects like ICT and engineering. As this is the first year of the ACL survey in aggregate format, there is no comparable data, but successive surveys will reveal year on year trends and yield a greater wealth of information for policy-makers and employers alike. This year s response of 44 per cent of the total sample is very promising, showing good penetration with both types of local authority providers. However, data from the following areas need improving in future years: o Independent and third sector o Certain regions of England o Data on disability and sexual orientation 1 Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) (2010), Review of FE workforce data Page 6

7 Introduction Background Reliable and robust data is key to building a national picture of the demographics and characteristics of the workforce and this requirement has been highlighted in various documents focussing on the adult and community learning (ACL) sector in England. Obtaining a better understanding of the sector workforce has featured as a key priority in all iterations of the FE Workforce Development Strategy 2, and the most recent commentary on the adult and community learning sector, Implementing the FE Workforce Strategy: a development agenda for Local Adult Learning Providers 3, emphasises that the volume and clarity of data needs to be strengthened for use by employers, the Government and stakeholders. Robust workforce data provides ACL stakeholders with a greater understanding of their constituency to present a case for lobbying Government; to benchmark practice against FE sector norms and so focus future workforce planning; and to identify best practice. The data also provides a picture for national agencies and Government, both to evaluate and assess the impact of existing strategies, and to inform policy development and targets. Findings from a national workforce data survey is also used at the local level, to inform providers selfassessment, quality improvement and service planning activities, and compliance with statutory equality monitoring. LSIS, working in partnership with HOLEX, undertook a data collection exercise to meet this need to gather data on workforce demographics and qualifications from the ACL sector in respect of the 2010/11 academic year. This report delivers the findings of the first large scale workforce data survey of the ACL sector in England, conducted in the summer of Structure of the report The report is made is made up of five sections. Section 1 of the report explains the survey design and the rationale for selecting this methodology, as well as the aims and objectives of the research. It details the survey response, data cleansing methods, and a short advisory note on how to interpret data. Section 2 looks at the data gathered by the survey on the shape and context of the ACL workforce; charts and analysis illustrate provider demographics such as budget size, funding streams accessed and the region(s) in which they deliver learning. Part two of the section looks at staff roles and employment conditions, such as working hours, numbers of staff, and a breakdown of ACL sector work roles. Section 3 examines the staff demographics in the sector, analysing provider types to determine age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability overall and by provider type. Section 4 reviews the teaching workforce in depth, starting with how many teachers are operating in the sector and their contract basis. The section also explores the level of teaching qualifications held by those working within the sector and how this relates to contractual 2 First published in 2007, the most recent iteration is Lifelong Learning UK s (Dec 2010), Shaping the Future: The Workforce Strategy for the Further Education Sector in England 2011 and beyond 3 HOLEX, NIACE & UCU (February 2011), Implementing the FE Workforce Strategy: a development agenda for Local Adult Learning Providers, published by Lifelong Learning UK Page 7

8 requirements for new teachers employed after 1 st September The report also assesses subject delivery across England, to discover frequently taught subjects. Section 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations - pulls key points from the data analysis and takes initial feedback from providers and stakeholders into account. This section explains the characteristics of each provider type; how the survey was received; ways in which the survey can be strengthened; and suggestions to boost participation levels for The survey instrument can be found in the Appendix for reference, and all literary resources are listed in the References section. Page 8

9 Section 1: Aims, objectives and survey methodology Aims and objectives The aim of this study is to generate demographic and qualifications data on the directly employed workforce from a representative sample of the Adult and Community Learning (ACL) sector, in order to have a holistic understanding of the makeup and volume of the workforce. In previous years, similar data was collected as part of Lifelong Learning UK s (LLUK) Staff Individualised Record (SIR) data collection. During LLUK s data collection in 2009/10, only ten per cent of ACL providers returned data during the collection period. Moreover, feedback from the sector suggested that the individualised collection was overly burdensome. Bearing this in mind, LSIS worked in conjunction with HOLEX to develop an online survey to gather information on staff to provide an aggregated picture of the ACL workforce. A simple aggregate return was assessed as offering the greatest likelihood of a large-scale return, since aggregate data is both easier and more cost-effective to assemble, yet still generates sufficiently detailed information for policy-makers intelligence needs and for provider benchmarking. For the purposes of this survey, the ACL sector is regarded as comprising c. 180 specialist adult and community learning providers with a direct funding relationship with the Skills Funding Agency essentially Local Authority maintained services, and independent / third sector organisations classed as former external institutions. A third set of ACL providers, nine specialist designated institutions, have been excluded from this study since they are covered by the annual Staff Individualised Record. Methodology The SFA s national database of adult and community learning providers was used to develop a sampling frame covering the three main provider types within scope of this survey: around 110 Local Authority adult and community learning services with primarily direct delivery of learning programmes (LADIR) around 35 Local Authorities where adult and community learning provision is primarily secured via sub-contracting/partnership arrangements (LASUB) around 25 Independent adult and community learning providers, including third sector organisations (IND3). An online, aggregate workforce data collection exercise was devised and piloted with five providers to test usability and functionality. Revisions were made to the survey instrument and the final survey was sent, via HOLEX, to all ACL providers as well as being communicated via the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and LSIS newsletters and websites. In terms of the survey content, the survey sought totals across the provider organisation, rather than through the collection of detailed data on each individual staff member. Data was collected on demographics of all staff employed (and on the payroll) and qualifications of teaching staff during the 2010/11 academic year. Page 9

10 A representative sample (of 30 per cent) was created from the national database to ascertain the minimum number of responses from each of the provider types: Total number of providers Projected minimum sample size (30% of all ACL providers) Actual sample that responded % achieved All % LADIR % LASUB % IND % Survey response 94 organisations responded to the survey, however 11 providers were removed from the data set because they were classified either as a work-based learning provider or an FE college (and therefore participating in separate data collection exercises). As a result, the study has a total response from 83 organisations (accounting for 13,824 members of staff), making this a significantly larger survey of the ACL workforce than has previously been achieved. The figures above indicate that a representative sample has been achieved in the first year of the aggregate study, equating to responses from 44 per cent of all ACL providers nationally. Data cleansing Data from providers who have also made a SIR return and/or are predominantly work-based learning providers were removed from the responses in order to avoid multiple counting. Extra data checks also revealed some differences in staffing numbers on two specific questions. Where contact details were available, providers were contacted to clarify answers, and in the majority of cases simple errors of double-counting were identified. This has been taken into account for 2012 s questionnaire design. Analysis and interpretation All the data has been analysed and interpreted to develop common themes in terms of qualification levels, taught subjects, staff demographics and the level of information available, funding streams, and employment terms. Data Advisory The workforce data collection strategy was previously driven by a single return-based instrument and replaced by an aggregated return in 2011 to make it less complex for ACL providers to return data tailored to their work environment. This has resulted in a higher respondent rate for the ACL sector, and means that the data is more robust, but it also means it has less manipulability. The data has been analysed by overall results, then by provider type and size of organisation to provide data for employers / ACL service managers, and to inform policy recommendations. 4 Please note that 9 specialist designated colleges (who also deliver ACL) were not included in this survey as they are already accounted for in other workforce data collections. Page 10

11 For a very small portion of questions, over and under estimations of staff numbers have been given by providers. The numbers of missing and extra data are statistically insignificant, and so overall percentages are not affected. Where possible, data has been calculated without the missing numbers so as to accurately process available results. Where possible, data has been viewed in light of demographics for 2010 from the England Sector Skills Assessment on the lifelong learning sector, which includes adult and community learning providers. Analysis has also been informed by reference to earlier commentary on the ACL workforce, itself generated following in-depth discussion with service managers; and through comments from current ACL Heads of Service who received an early headline summary of key findings at a HOLEX Network Event held in November Further comparison with the workforce in other parts of the FE sector will be possible once the 2010/11 SIR data from FE colleges, and a new aggregate survey of work-based learning providers, have been fully analysed. Although this year s survey achieved 44 per cent of the ideal sample size for independent / third sector providers, due to the overall low number of providers, it would only take responses from just five more employers to secure this sample size. Another ten providers would secure 50 per cent of the total known independent / third sector ACL workforce. The ACL survey has achieved a good penetration of the sector for 2011, yielding almost twice as many responses as expected and with a final sample of 83 providers. This forms a positive basis on which future ACL workforce surveys can hopefully build in coming years, enabling development of the sectoral picture. Page 11

12 Section 2: The ACL workforce - shape and context This section reviews the demographics, staff roles and their employment basis within the ACL sector. Provider demographics comprise provider type, the size of the provider, the region(s) in which learning is delivered, and the funding streams available to them. Staff roles and employment basis break down working hours and occupational roles by provider type and overall results. Please note, in this and the next sections, we have tables and figures to visually represent the data. In figures where the data is broken down by the three ACL provider types, we also include the overall percentages for the respondent sample, titled All, for comparison. Provider demographics Provider type Mapping quite accurately to the shape of the SFA- funded ACL providers nationally; the survey received representative responses from the three provider types within the ACL sector. Figure 1 shows that the majority of respondents to the survey (71 per cent) identified themselves as Local Authority adult and community learning provider with primarily direct delivery of learning programmes ; 24 per cent as Local authority adult and community learning providers primarily securing provision via sub-contracting partnership arrangements, and five per cent as Independent adult and community learning providers, including third sector providers. When compared to the actual composition of the ACL sector, these responses show an excellent representation from at least two parts of the sector, with LADIR comprising c. 61 per cent and LASUB 19 per cent of the ACL sector. Independent providers (who comprise 14 per cent of the ACL sector) are not as well represented and further engagement with this sector is recommended for future surveys to ensure a more robust response. Figure 1: Provider type 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Provider Type 5% 24% 71% Local Authority adult and community learning provider with primarily direct delivery of learning programmes (LADIR) Local Authority adult and community learning provider primarily securing provision via sub-contracting/partnership arrangements (LASUB) Independent adult and community learning provider, including third sector providers (IND3) Base: 83 (LADIR: 59, LASUB: 20, IND3: 4) Page 12

13 Size The ACL sector is varied, ranging from large, direct-delivery services covering a widely dispersed shire county to small, locally-focused voluntary sector organisations dealing with a niche group or specific programme offer (e.g. women s technology), and where learning and skills is but one part of a wider client support service. This diversity is reflected in the responses to the current survey: 20 providers (24 per cent of those responding) describe themselves as large, with an annual budget of over 4 million 43 providers (52 per cent) describe themselves as medium size, with an annual budget of between 1m and 4m 20 providers (24 per cent) are small (under 1m). Direct-delivery Local Authority services tend to be larger ACL providers, with just 11 of the 59 providers of this type that responded to the survey (18.6 per cent) having budgets of below 1m. The prevalence of this type of ACL provider is based essentially on history direct delivery services can be found amongst shire counties, unitary authorities and London boroughs. Contracting-out local authorities are also to be found in various settings; these providers tend to be more mixed in size (15 per cent large, 50 per cent medium, 35 per cent small), and are known to adopt a varied mix of sub-contracting partners. Independent / third sector ACL providers other than specialist designated institutions, which are outside the scope of this survey tend to have smaller funding allocations from the SFA, often complementing this with other sources of funding. Of those independent / third providers in the sample, 50 per cent classify themselves as medium size and 50 per cent as small size. There is a general belief that the number of independent ACL providers is shrinking, both as a result of funding pressures generally and as a direct consequence of the recent introduction of SFA minimum contract level policy, which requires any provider with a funding allocation of less than 500,000 to form new partnership arrangements. Continuation of this policy was announced in the Department for Business Innovation & Skills Further Education Investment Strategy published on 1 December Future workforce surveys can act as an early yearon-year indication of change in the structure of the ACL supply side. 5 Department for Business Innovation & Skills (2011), New Challenges New Chances: Skills Investment Statement : Investing in a World Class Skills System Page 13

14 Figure 2 shows the mix of organisations by size of all budget streams. Figure 2: Size of organisation 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% ALL 24% 24% 52% LADIR 19% 29% 53% LASUB 15% 35% 50% IND3 50% 50% Large (overall budget of 4m +) Small (overall budget of under 1m) Medium (overall budget of 1m - 4m) Base: 83 (LADIR: 59, LASUB: 20, IND3: 4) Region Although managed locally, ACL is offered nationally., Figure 3 shows that 19 per cent of the providers on whom workforce data is available are based in the North West of England (16 organisations), with a further 15 organisations operating in Greater London (18 per cent) and 11 providers in the South East (13 per cent). The response rate from South West local authorities was low, giving rise to the misleading impression that this region accounts for only five per cent of ACL nationally. Page 14

15 Figure 3: Provider locations across England 8% 11% 19% 6% 12% 7% 5% 13% 18% Underlying data shows that, in each region, different local authorities choose to make different arrangements for adult and community learning. In all bar two regions, data includes both directdelivery and sub-contracting services, in varying mix, with Greater London most evenly divided between these two styles of operation. Low responses from some regions render any more detailed analysis inappropriate. The four independent / third sector providers submitting data are evenly split between the North West and Yorkshire & Humberside. However, the overall response rate from this sector is low and a more detailed analysis is not possible. It is to be hoped that any future ACL workforce survey will address these shortcomings by engaging with the regions and sectors which had a low response. Page 15

16 Funding streams During 2010/11, the Skills Funding Agency offered three main funding streams for adult learning, which ACL providers can draw on: an Adult Safeguarded Learning budget, primarily channelled through local authorities, to support a mix of generally unaccredited programmes including personal and community development learning opportunities, family learning programmes and support for neighbourhood learning in deprived communities a general Adult Learner Responsive funding stream to secure classroom-based programmes of an academic or vocational nature, and to support accredited Skills for Life provision including literacy, numeracy, ICT and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) an Employer Responsive funding stream which could be used for delivery of learning programmes on employers premises (namely Train to Gain) and to support Apprenticeship delivery. Additionally, ACL providers are able to draw on funding for work with year-old learners from the Young People s Learning Agency (YPLA); European Social Fund budgets to support targeted work of various types; and also bid for funding from other sources, primarily to support project work. Page 16

17 Figure 4: Funding Streams 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% ALL LADIR 12% 12% 20% 22% 47% 57% 67% 68% 61% 83% 96% 100% LASUB 10% 10% 20% 30% 100% IND3 25% 25% 25% 50% 75% 75% SFA Adult Safeguarded Learning budget SFA Adult Learner Responsive budget SFA Employer Responsive budget YPLA funding for those aged ESF funding Other Base: 83 (LADIR: 59, LASUB: 20, IND3: 4) Figure 4 shows the sources of funding flowing to each of the three main ACL provider types responding to this survey. This confirms direct-delivery local authority ACL services are complex, multi-funded providers which access the full range of public funding available. Local authorities that contract-out provision, on the other hand, are primarily dependent on the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget. In some cases they also draw down significant Employer Responsive funding, which is often used to support workforce development in other parts of the authority. Independent / third sector providers draw on a wide range of external budgets to support their work with their particular client group(s). The mix and balance of this funding varies between individual providers, based in part on history and on the extent to which they are able to respond to government strategies and SFA funding prompts. Provider mission and the programmes offered by other local providers, such as FE colleges, are also influencing factors. Other points to note about the funding base of ACL providers: 96 per cent of the sample, including all local authorities, receives SFA Adult Safeguarded Learning funding; just one Independent / third sector provider in our sample was able to access this funding in 2010/11 Page 17

18 17 providers (over one in five of our sample) accessed this budget only whereas Adult Learner Responsive funding was allocated to 83 per cent of Local ACL providers with primarily direct delivery, and to 75 per cent of Independent / third sector providers, only 20 per cent of sub-contracting local authorities accessed this SFA budget line a significant proportion of ACL providers were actively engaged in workplace learning; 68 per cent of Local ACL providers with primarily direct delivery, 30 per cent of Local ACL primarily securing sub-contracting/partnerships and one independent / third sector provider received Employer Responsive funding allocations 61 per cent of Local Authority ACL providers with primarily direct delivery access YPLA funding, as do 75 per cent of independent / third sector providers; no Local Authority primarily securing via sub-contracting/partnerships receives YPLA funding 20 per cent of all providers access ESF funding; this is a significant income line for independent / third sector providers, 50 per cent of whom were awarded ESF funding in 2010/11. Some 12 per cent of all providers responding to the survey reported 'other' types of funding, and underlying data suggests medium-sized providers have a higher dependency on this income. Sources cited include Big Lottery Fund, project income from LSIS and/or NIACE, other European budgets and local authority project funding/grants. Staff roles and employment conditions In total, 13,824 staff members are accounted for by all providers responding to the survey. Given that the 44 per cent respondent sample of ACL providers is representative of the sector as a whole; this suggests an overall 25,000-30,000 people were employed in ACL provider organisations in 2010/11. This is, to date, the most authoritative assessment of the size of the ACL workforce in England 6 and is a figure that can be used with some confidence as a baseline for future year-on-year comparison purposes. In respect of each of the three main ACL provider types: Local authority direct delivery services account for a total of 13,054 staff, ranging from a maximum of 1042 and a minimum of 15 staff Local authorities which primarily deliver via sub-contracting arrangements account for a total of 661 staff, ranging from a maximum of114 and a minimum of three staff Independent / third sector providers responding to the survey employ a total of 109 staff, ranging from a maximum of 45 and a minimum of eight staff. 6 Note, however, that this figures EXCLUDES the staff employed at the nine Specialist Designated Institutions; also, no account is taken here of personnel employed on ACL work in organisations which are sub-contracted to make relevant provision (deliberately excluded from this survey, to pre-empt possible double-counting) and also does not reflect the use of any volunteer, unpaid workers Page 18

19 Part time or full time The survey findings show that the ACL sector is predominantly staffed by part-timers. A total of 11,328 people covered by this survey, some 82 per cent of the ACL workforce, are employed on a part-time basis; as figures later in this report show, this rises to 93 per cent of all ACL teaching staff. This percentage is much higher than in FE colleges (58.7 per cent working part-time), or across the combined lifelong learning sector, as indicated by the Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) for England 7, which showed that 69 per cent of staff worked part-time. The SSA also predicted that the number of part-time staff in the English lifelong learning sector would increase by ten per cent between 2007 and Figure 5 shows the break-down of full- and part-time staff in each of the three main types of ACL providers. Full-time posts are more prevalent within independent / third sector ACL providers, where 68 per cent of staff are employed full-time compared with 29 per cent in local authorities which sub-contract, and 17 per cent in direct-delivery local authority services. The aggregate nature of data available does not allow an assessment of why this should be. The relatively high incidence of full-time posts in sub-contracting authorities is likely to result from most staff in these organisations being employed centrally; further research in the form of case studies will provide a firmer evidence base. Figure 5: Full-time or part-time 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 82% 83% 71% 68% 29% 32% 18% 17% ALL LADIR LASUB IND3 Full-time Part-time Base: 83 (LADIR: 59, LASUB: 20, IND3: 4) There is a slightly higher percentage of full-time staff in medium-sized organisations (19 per cent), compared to 17 per cent each for small and large sized providers. Overall, the figures largely match with the totals for all staff, regardless of provider size. 7 FE College data is taken from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service s 2010 report, Staff Individualised Record 2009/2010; data on the wider lifelong learning sector is taken from the Lifelong Learning UK (2010) Sector Skills Assessment 2010 ENGLAND Page 19

20 Role type Professionals (which include teaching staff) make up 67 per cent of the ACL workforce, followed by administrators / clerical staff (ten per cent). A further eight per cent hold managerial roles, and nine per cent hold support staff (including teaching assistants) roles. Ancillary staff comprise three per cent of the workforce, and four per cent hold other unspecified roles. This data is presented in Figure 6 by type of ACL provider. Figure 6: Role Type Breakdown Managers Professionals Support Staff Admin/ Clerical Ancillary Staff Other staff Total LADIR 978 8,867 1,058 1, ,054 LASUB IND All 1,077 9,331 1,164 1, ,824 Independent / third sector providers have the highest proportion of managerial staff at 21 per cent, as seen in the figure above (23 managers out of a total of 109 staff). This is in comparison to seven per cent in local authority direct-delivery services (978 managers out of a total of 13,054 staff), and eight per cent overall (1,077 managers out of 13,824 total staff). The ratio between managerial and professional staff in the different type of ACL provider is quite marked: in Local Authority providers with primarily direct delivery, data suggests each manager may have responsibility for some 9.7 professional staff on average in Local Authorities primarily securing sub-contracting/partnerships, this figure is 5.7 professional staff in independent / third sector providers, the comparable figure drops to one manager for every two professional staff. Commentators on the ACL sector have, over the years, noted that provider services tend to have both relatively lean central management structures and widely dispersed, communitybased provision, and this has led to some suggestion that ACL tutors may not be as fully supported as other FE sector professionals. Given the data now available, and the variations revealed in different types of ACL provider, it may be illuminating to conduct some case studies to ascertain what effect - if any - management arrangements are having both on teaching staff, and on the quality of the learning programmes delivered. On the following page, Figure 7 shows the occupational category breakdown in the three types of ACL providers. Page 20

21 Figure 7: Occupational categories 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% ALL 8% 8% 10% 3% 4% 67% Managers Professionals LADIR 7% 8% 10% 3% 4% 68% Support staff LASUB 0% 1% 11% 14% 10% 63% Administrators / Clerical staff Ancillary staff IND3 21% 10% 14% 5% 8% 42% Other staff Base: 83 (LADIR: 59, LASUB: 20, IND3: 4) Page 21

22 Section 3: Overall staff demographics: gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation This section reviews the overall demographics of the ACL workforce in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation and relates to 13,824 staff members that are accounted for by all providers responding to this survey. Gender: 77 per cent of ACL staff are female and 23 per cent male, compared with 61 per cent female in the broader lifelong learning sector 8. Two people identified as Transgender and information for 17 staff members was not entered or staff preferred not to disclose the information. The independent / third sector providers employ a higher proportion of male staff, with 39 per cent male employees. Data suggests large providers are more likely to employ men (27 per cent, compared to a low of 20 per cent for medium sized providers). Age: The ACL workforce (shown in Figure 8) is largely aged 35 years and up, with just 11 per cent aged less than 35 years. 63 per cent are aged 45 and above, with 33 per cent in the age range, 25 per cent aged and five per cent aged 65 or older. Figure 8: Age profile 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 24 years and under 2% years 9% years 21% years 33% years 25% 65 years and over Prefer not to say/unknown 5% 5% 24 years and under years years years years 65 years and over Prefer not to say/unknown With at least 63 per cent of staff aged 45 and over, ACL has a significantly older workforce than the aggregated lifelong learning sector, where the comparable figure for 2010 was 50 per cent. 8 As reported in Lifelong Learning UK (2010),Sector Skills Assessment England Page 22

23 This may be explained, at least in part, by the number of ACL tutors taking up a part-time teaching role alongside or after working elsewhere, whether to supplement their main income or with a view to maintaining an income line in retirement or indeed as a means of passing on their skills/subject expertise. Small providers employ more young staff (24 years and under), with 19 per cent of their workforce in this age group; this is in marked contrast to only two per cent each for medium and large organisations, and may merit some follow-up studies. There is a steady majority of staff aged years across all provider sizes (31 per cent small, 33 per cent medium and 32 per cent large ). Indeed, at least 50 per cent of staff across all provider sizes are aged years; this is important to note in terms of upcoming retirement ages and a disappearing workforce. Ethnicity: 74 per cent of the ACL workforce are identified as white, followed by six per cent Asian / Asian British, three per cent Black / African / Caribbean / Black British, one per cent mixed ethnicity, and four per cent other ethnic groups. This data, when compared to the 2010 SSA for the lifelong learning sector, which reported over 90 per cent of the workforce as white (a figure similar to the UK all-economy average), shows the ACL workforce to be more ethnically diverse. However, a point to note is that a high percentage of respondents (12 per cent) did not answer the question on ethnicity or preferred not to disclose the information. Data on ethnicity, minus the unknown data, is presented graphically in Figure 9. Figure 9: Ethnicity profile (minus unknowns) 5% 6% 4% 1% Asian/Asian British Black / African / Caribbean / Black British Mixed / multiple ethnic groups White 84% Any other ethnic group Looking at the ethnicity of the ACL workforce by type of provider: Independent / third sector providers have a higher concentration of white staff (88 per cent); however, they also have a slightly greater share of Black / African / Caribbean / Black British workers at seven per cent. Large providers have 18 per cent BME staff, and small providers have 14 pent cent. Page 23

24 Disabilities: Data on disabilities is not well reported in responses to this survey, with 31 per cent not preferring to disclose the information or leaving the response as unknown. On available data it is only possible to report that 65 per cent of the ACL workforce are identified as having no disability; two per cent as having a physical impairment; and two per cent as having other disability. These results are different from the overall statistics of 2010 for the wider lifelong learning sector, where 15 per cent identified as having a disability of some description. In the survey, independent / third sector providers have reported more comprehensively on staff disability. Amongst staff employed in these providers, 83 per cent are reported as having no disability; ten per cent of staff are reported as having a physical impairment, one per cent as having mental health issues, three per cent as having learning difficulties and four per cent as having other issues. 32 per cent of Local ACL providers with primarily direct delivery staff preferred not to disclose information on disability. Sexual Orientation: This data field is largely left as unknown (79 per cent) and 299 people are unaccounted for in survey answers. For this reason, any detailed analysis on sexual orientation has not been undertaken, as a true picture cannot be discerned from the data gathered. High levels of non disclosure of data on disability and sexual orientation impacts on the level of analysis that can be undertaken on the make up of the workforce, However, public sector bodies and organisations that receive public funding, or work with organisations that do, are now required to keep a detailed level of information on staff demographics including ethnicity and sexual orientation, according to the Equality Act It may therefore be that whilst organisations hold the data internally, there is some concern to share these data with external data collectors, such as LSIS. For this reason, further stakeholder engagement is recommended with ACL employers to highlight the benefits of sharing this data; the workforce data survey could be used as a prompt for providers to update their processes for reporting on equality data. Further assurances on data confidentiality could enhance disclosure of these details. 9 The Act also extends to private and voluntary bodies who bid for tenders and other procurements from the public sector. Regulations are in force to assist public authorities in better performance of the Equality Duty, including a requirement to publish equality objectives every four years and to publish information to demonstrate their compliance with the equality duty at least annually. Authorities with 150 or more staff will be required to report workforce equality data for greater transparency and progress checks on equality issues. With the exception of schools, public authorities will be required to demonstrate their compliance by 31 January 2012, delivering equality objectives by 6 April Page 24

25 Section 4: The ACL teaching workforce Numbers and employment conditions The data shows that 9,420 staff identified as teaching and training staff 10 were employed during the academic year of 2010/11. This amounts to 68 per cent of all staff employed across all ACL provider types. Figure 10 shows the numbers and percentages of teaching staff across the three main provider types. Figure 10: Number and percentage of teaching/training staff employed by organisation. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% ALL LADIR 68% / 9,420 69% / 8,984 ALL LADIR LASUB 59% / 387 LASUB IND3 45% / 49 IND3 Base: 78 (LADIR:59, LASUB:15, IND3:4) As shown in Figure 10, Local Authority providers with primarily direct delivery have the most teaching staff as a proportion of their workforce (69 per cent), since they directly deliver teaching and training. They have a range of 750 staff ranging from a minimum of 17 staff to a maximum of 767 staff. Responses to the survey show that some 59 per cent of staff employed by local authorities that primarily sub-contract provision are engaged in teaching, ranging from zero to a maximum of 107 staff. This is likely to reflect the use of directly managed staff to deliver specific aspects of the programme, e.g. family learning: it would be illuminating to explore this in some detail, perhaps via case studies of sample authorities, to assess whether there are any underlying trends. Independent / third sector ACL providers report having 45 per cent of all staff engaged in teaching, ranging from a minimum of four to a maximum of 23 staff. 10 Staff that deliver teaching, training and tutoring to individuals and/or groups Page 25

26 Small providers have a greater proportion of teaching staff (81 per cent) when compared to other provider sizes and the overall sectoral picture, suggesting there is relatively small managerial and support structures and more resources dedicated to employing teaching staff. Part time or full time As reported above, ACL employs a high percentage of part-time staff overall. This is especially true of those employed in a teaching and training role, with 8,769 working part-time (93 per cent of the overall teaching and training workforce). Figure 11 shows the numbers and percentages across the three main ACL provider types. It clearly shows a higher percentage of full-time staff employed by independent / third sector providers, going against the general trend for over 90 per cent part-time staff. Instead, independent / third sector providers feature an even split in employment hours; future case studies would reveal key data such as whether this provider type are using a core of full-time teaching staff to deliver the majority of tutoring and training. Figure 11: Of teaching/training staff, how many work full and part-time 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 93% 93% 91% 53% 47% 7% 7% 9% ALL LADIR LASUB IND3 Fulltime Parttime Base: 74 (LADIR:54, LASUB:16, IND3:4) Contractual basis The majority of part-time staff in ACL are employed on a sessionally paid basis (receiving payment for the hours spent teaching) or engaged on a fractional contract (being paid as a percentage of a full-time equivalent staff member). The survey found that 80 per cent of parttime staff across ACL are employed on a sessional basis and 16 per cent are engaged on a fractional contract. Here again, there is markedly different practice in the independent / third sector, where 35 per cent of part-time teachers are sessionally paid and 61 per cent are on fractional contracts. The incidence of ACL teaching staff being paid on a case-loading basis (5 members of staff, in one medium-sized provider) are negligible overall, while 4 per cent of ACL teachers are engaged on [some] other part-time basis During data checks with providers (where contact details have been provided), it was revealed that a portion of respondents included part-time staff s second job with another employer, or double-counted full-time staff, which accounts for the overestimation in staff numbers (by 3 people). Where possible, answers have been amended and the data re-run before analysis. Page 26