Last week, the latest Government figures on learner participation and achievement in further education and skills revealed that overall adult participation is lower than pre-pandemic levels, with an 11% drop in apprenticeship starts and a 25% drop in participation in adult FE provision compared to 2018/19.
This trend is broadly reflected in the data released for adult English, maths and ESOL learning, which show that adult participation in English and in maths has yet to recover to 2018/19 pre-pandemic levels. Participation in adult ESOL shows a slight increase on 2018/19 levels, but this masks regional variations.
These figures demonstrate a continued need to focus on adult participation in English, maths and ESOL learning in England, particularly in the wider historical context of sharply declining participation in English and maths over the past decade. The £560m Multiply adult numeracy programme will help address participation in maths over the next three years. But renewed effort and investment is needed in English and ESOL too.
