Disengaged young people neglected in 14-19 White Paper says Ufi

Styles and approaches to learning are as important as location for those young people who have become disengaged from learning.

Thatís the view of Ufi, the organisation behind the learndirect e-learning network, which says e-learning and other innovative approaches to learning can be more effective in engaging disaffected pupils with learning than more conventional teaching methods.

Responding to todayís White Paper on the reform of 14-19 provision, Helen Milner, Executive Director at Ufi, said:

The White Paper has much to say about providing a range of places to learn. However, thereís very little mention of different methods of learning. Young people today use and enjoy computers as part of their everyday lives so e-learning is an ideal way of engaging with those turned off from traditional classroom teaching.

A pilot with fifteen learndirect centres across the country is already showing disaffected young people can be brought back into learning using technology. In the West Midlands, for example, a group of 14-16 year-olds are finding learndirect courses and the self-directed learning style offered by e-learning a real motivator. Most importantly, young people who might otherwise have been ílostí to the education system are being encouraged to stay on.

Initial evaluation of the project has been positive, with one Local Education Authority (LEA) extending a pilot project from one centre (which is also a Pupil Referral Unit) to all 18 high schools in its borough.

One 15-year-old on the pilot programme said: I enjoy coming here because itís much better than ordinary lessons. learndirect appeals to my brain because I can go at my own pace.

Ufi welcomes the renewed focus on vocational education in the White Paper and says e-learning can play a role here too.

Added Helen: Thereís no doubt giving vocational courses and qualifications an equal focus and value to academic ones is a key issue. Ufiís e-learning programmes have been successful in helping us deliver vocational education to adults and these can easily be extended to young people.

This approach can help to bridge the gap between school and work for young people and give them the skills they need to approach employment confident in their ability to succeed.

We do think, though, there needs to be some clarification of how the change to the vocational diploma will be managed and communicated to individual learners, employers and universities.