Our in-person English, Maths and ESOL Conference is the must-attend event for essential skills practitioners across England.

An estimated nine million working-age adults in England have low basic skills in literacy or numeracy, among whom five million have low skills in both. However, the number of adults improving these skills has halved over the past decade in England and the adult education budget is £1 billion lower in real terms.

Schemes such as the government’s Multiply programme to boost adult numeracy skills are a start. Yet on present trends it will take 35 years for all adults to gain these skills. Much more needs to be done, with the government working with employers, schools and community groups to ensure all adults can gain the essential skills they need for life and work.

Each year, our one-day conference brings together practitioners, providers, commissioners and stakeholders working to improve adult basic skills, supporting people to get the essential skills they need to find work, progress their careers and play an active part in their communities.

This year, the English Maths and ESOL Conference was held at The Foundry in Vauxhall. We enjoyed contributions from: Department for Education; Abt Associates (USA); The Bell Foundation; The Education and Training Foundation; Literacy100; UCL Institute of Education; Novus; Prison Reading Groups; NATECLA; South Bank Colleges; The Adult Literacy Trust; New City College; National Numeracy; West Midlands Combined Authority.

On-demand content and resources