Dear members ,

Welcome to our Monthly Update March 2025.

February was a fantastic month for NATECLA, with the Midlands Conference proving to be a huge success—thank you to all who took part! As we move into March, we’re wrapping up our Winter Webinar Series, sharing exciting updates on the Annual Conference 2025, and bringing you plenty of CPD and networking opportunities.

Read on for key dates, event highlights, and ways to get involved!

After a break due to the pandemic, NATECLA Midlands was delighted to host its first face-to-face Winter Conference It's ALL about the learner on 28th February 2025. The event brought together up to 100 ESOL professionals for a day of insightful workshops, networking, and resource-sharing.

In the latest edition of Language Issues you can read articles including:

• ‘Yes, what about me?’. A workshop that changed me as an ESOL tutor

  - May Milton

• Innovative programme: dual qualification in English as an Additional Language

  (EAL) and health services vocational qualification in Australia

  - Jyoti Sharma

• Using Study Diaries with Lower Proficiency ESOL Learners

  -Mathew Ashcroft

Please see our recent Featured Voices piece on the government’s proposed cuts to the Adults Skills Fund next year - published in FE News today (18th February 2025) by our Co-Chair Paul Sceeny:

Adult Skills Fund Cuts: Wrong-headed, counterproductive and the polar opposite of what’s needed

Reacting to news that the Adult Skills Fund in England is set to be cut by a further 2-3% in 2025-26.

"At a time when the government is prioritising growth, skills and productivity, as well as talking up the need to counter the dangers of populism and disinformation, it’s extraordinary they would consider taking even more away from further, adult and community education.

NATECLA is delighted to be playing a key role in judging this year’s Bell Foundation Award for Excellence in ESOL - part of the prestigious Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards to recognise Excellence in Further Education.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) and Bell Foundation have published an important report this week highlighting how devolved ESOL provision can help to close skills gaps and support the government’s plans to grow the economy.

NATECLA is currently inviting applications from workshop leaders with an interest in ESOL and English Language Teaching to deliver relevant sessions at our 2025 Annual Conference on 27th and 28th June 2025 in Birmingham.

Submit your proposal before Friday 10th January 2025.

As you’ll see from a previous news post on this topic, the Labour government set up an independent review of the curriculum for children and young people aged 5-19 in England, led by Prof Becky Francis.

In addition to urging ESOL practitioners from across the country to submit their responses and providing some useful ideas and prompts related to ESOL to make this less onerous, NATECLA has submitted it’s own response to the review.

The Home Office has recently launched the STEP Ahead Pilot Programme – a FREE 12 week, online English language programme for refugees with settled status living in the UK.

The registration deadline is 31st October 2024 and NATECLA would urge as many of your ESOL learners to sign up to incentivise the Home Office to extend the pilot and fund similar programmes like this in the future.

We regret the financial squeeze on adult education in recent years, especially the impact on ESOL provision.

NATECLA has been deeply concerned and saddened by the recent racist and Islamophobic violence, along with the increased incidence of attacks, violence and intimidation.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, NATECLA laid out its vision for ESOL across the UK.

NATECLA is deeply worried about the disruptive effect the UK Government’s ‘Illegal Migration’ and ‘Safety of Rwanda’ Acts are having on ESOL learners and provision.

The Trustees, staff and Management Council of NATECLA have been devasted to learn of the passing of NATECLA Scotland Chair, Pauline Blake-Johnston.

The Bell Foundation is very keen to promote ESOL and has sponsored a new Beacon Award for ESOL, which colleges all over the UK are eligible to apply for.