NATECLA campaigns for educational opportunities for adults from ethnic minorities and for anti-racist education and training. NATECLA campaigns for educational rights and opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers. NATECLA campaigns for evaluation and recognition of overseas qualifications.
Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning (CALL)
CALL believes our education system should provide:
1. quality of access to high quality education for all learners (regardless of: class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, asylum status or employment status), including a statutory right to learning in the workplace
2. universal access to basic skills, ESOL and ICT courses and a first level three qualification regardless of age
3. learner, teacher and community involvement in all levels of decision-making about their learning wherever it takes place
4. learning for personal wellbeing and development and the maintenance of local authority adult education
5. a path out of poverty and disadvantage including widening participation in higher education and the provision of a second chance later in life
6. a stable, motivated and rewarded workforce of professional practitioners.
The campaign highlights the loss of 1.5 million learner places in the last two years.
A lobby of Parliament is planned for Wednesday 25th February 2009
NATECLA's statement on Right to a Voice: Survival English for Asylum Seekers.
NATECLA welcomes the NIACE initiative A Right to a Voice: Survival English for Asylum Seekers in which the needs of asylum seekers are raised and which also reveals the impact of ESOL policy changes upon asylum seekers. We would fully support the development of a system of welcoming, orientation, befriending and mentoring of this vulnerable group especially in their first few months in the country. We know there are some good ‘Welcome to Britain ’ type schemes already working in practice and there is an opportunity to further develop these.
We are also aware that other charities use trained volunteers and as such would not have any objections to fully trained ESOL teachers offering their services to support asylum seekers in the first six months. We do however need a very clear distinction between the roles of fully trained ESOL teachers supporting asylum seekers and the work of untrained volunteers. Anything that suggests unqualified teachers will be teaching English, undermining of the professional requirements would not be acceptable to NATECLA members.
We feel the initiative needs clarification and see it as essential to separate the different roles of volunteer support and referral from that of teaching English. This will impact on the type of training that should be given to those who are not ESOL specialists. We are happy to work with NIACE to explore the training programme that will be needed for such volunteers which will be more of a signposting and supporting role.
We should continue to campaign for early and free access to the language for newcomers and to continue to seek to change government policy.
Save ESOL campaign 2007
Monday January 15 2007 4-6 pm The Univeristy and College Union (UCU) held an ESOL campaign meeting at UCU headquarters 27 Britannia Street, London NATECLA was represented and is part of the ESOL alliance.
Week of Action
On February 28th there was a Mass Lobby of Parliament 11am Commitee Room 14
NIACE Committee of Inquiry
