Thematic report |
The impact of deprivation on learners attainment in further education and work-based learning - July 2011
Further education colleges and work-based learning providers provide good care, support and guidance to learners from deprived areas, but need to make sure that these learners are achieving their potential.Only a small number of colleges and work-based learning providers compare the achievements of learners from deprived areas, or those receiving financial support, with the performance of other learners. They make too little use of data on enrolment to analyse whether they are offering the right courses to attract learners from deprived areas.
Recommendations
Providers should:
- provide support and guidance to learners from deprived areas before they apply for programmes;
- track the performance and progress of learners from deprived areas and compare these with those of learners from other areas;
- evaluate the effectiveness of support for learners from deprived areas to identify its impact on attainment; and
- work more closely with schools and other providers to identify learners from deprived areas and their support needs.
The Welsh Government should:
- continue to support learners from deprived areas financially to enable them to complete their education or training; and
- develop national benchmarks and targets for improvement in the attainment of learners from deprived areas.
For a full list of recommendations, please download the report.