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Supplementary memorandum submitted by fforwm and Association of Colleges, joint submission (CBPS 75A)
Supplementary information on data
Introduction
1. This paper has been submitted following oral evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee by fforwm and the Association of Colleges (AoC) on 17 June 2008.
2. The paper outlines the different student data collected in England and Wales, identifies some issues concerning the use of the terms 'domicile' and 'postcode' in England and Wales; and compares data collected in Wales and England.
Student data collection
3. In Wales, learner data is collected using the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). In England, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) is used. Although there is much in common between the two, both systems differ in terms of the type of data collected (for example the ILR collects data on Train to Gain, which does not exist in Wales) and definitions of terms.
Difference between domicile and postcode
4. The data on learners enrolled at colleges in England or Wales is collected on the basis of whether the learner is 'domiciled' in one country or on the basis of their postcode.
5. The term 'domicile' in respect to the LLWR refers to the 'country in which the learner has his/her permanent home'. The country of domicile is recorded before the person commences a learning programme. The ILR, however, defines 'domicile' in the following way. Domicile: 'should reflect the learner's normal country of residence. This is the country the learner would normally regard themselves as going home to'.
6. The other data used in fforwm's written evidence is based on 'postcode'. The LLWR states that the postcode refers to 'the home postcode for the learner at the start of a learning programme'. Home postcode is defined slightly differently in the ILR as 'the permanent or home postcode of the learner prior to enrolling at the provider'. The LLWR and the ILR both have a field covering 'current postcode'. There is no definition in the LLWR whereas in the ILR it is defined as 'the postcode of the learner's current or last known residence .... This may differ from home postcode field where a learner has changed residence since enrolling. For example, if they are living away from home'.
7. The definitions of data used by the LLWR and the ILR differ slightly and this may lead to data not being strictly comparable.
Data on cross border movement of post-16 FE learners
8. Data collected by the LLWR on learners attending colleges in Wales who are domiciled in England differ from the data on learners who have been recorded as having an English postcode.
9. Thus 7,540 learners studying in colleges in Wales gave their postcode as England whereas the numbers stating they were domiciled in England totalled 5,955 - a difference of 1,585 (25% higher in the case of 'domiciled' learners).
10. It is important therefore to recognise the differences between 'postcode' and 'domicile' in analysing data. The same difference of scale might apply to data collected in England through the ILR.
11. Another complicating factor is that learners can change addresses during a course. For example, a student studying in Wales but living in England might move to an address in Wales during his/her studies.
12. The data on domiciled students shows that the numbers of 16-19 learners living in Wales and enrolling in English colleges is almost identical to those travelling in the opposite direction (760 as opposed to 763). However, there is a major difference in 19+ learners. There are 1,182 more 19+ learners travelling to colleges in Wales than travelling to English colleges - almost 30% more.
13. The evidence presented by AoC shows that the numbers of learners domiciled in England studying at colleges in Wales fell between 2005/06 and 2006/07. Similar data is not yet available from the LLWR.
FE students domiciled in
Data collected from the Lifelong Learning Data is not available in
Conclusion
14. England and Wales both use different data collection systems - the Individualised Learning Record in England and the Lifelong Learning Wales Record in Wales. Although both systems have much in common there are some differences between them. Definitions of terms - such as 'domicile' - differ. Data collected in the two countries needs therefore to be treated with caution.
15. There is a difference in both data collection systems between 'domicile' and 'post-code'. Data based on postcode rather than domicile in Wales increases the numbers of learners from England studying in Welsh colleges by around 25%.
16. The Committee might wish to recommend that there should be common definitions of terms and that data should be collected in the same way between both countries. This would help paint a clearer picture of the numbers of learners crossing the border to study in colleges in Wales and England.
17. The Committee might also wish to recommend that the Welsh Assembly Government and the Learning and Skills Council (and successor bodies) might wish to publish annual figures on the extent of migration in respect of post-16 education to monitor the trends. ANNEX
Tables included in the original written submissions by fforwm and the Association of Colleges
Learners
from
Table
2 illustrates the comparison with the previous year and particularly a sharp
fall in post-19 numbers as a result of the changes to Learning and Skills
Council funding rules. These reductions are not particular to Wales-domiciled
students and have affected all colleges in
Total numbers of Wales-domiciled learners studying in colleges in
July 2008 |
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