13.24 Major contributions to lifelong learning are also made by such bodies as the Workers' Education Association, Adult Residential Colleges and various independent foundations dedicated to promoting adult learning, and especially, to widening participation. Frequently, they exercise a degree of influence and leadership quite disproportionate to their size, number and resources. They attract dedicated and highly skilled staff and demonstrate imagination and sensitivity in reaching out to, and working with, individuals and groups who would not otherwise have the confidence or opportunity to get involved in lifelong learning. Through their efforts a variety of learning pathways are opened up to precisely those people who should be the focus of a strategy aimed at making lifelong learning a reality for all.
13.25 Some of these bodies - such as the WEA, Long Term Residential Colleges and Specialist Colleges - enjoy 'designated' status under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act and are entitled to receive funds from the Further Education Funding Council (or equivalent) to support their learning provision. In some cases, they have missions and traditions which link them to other social movements, such as the trade unions, Co-operative Movement, churches or women's movement. These providers of learning represent a small, dedicated and valuable resource and their continuing contribution to lifelong learning should be properly acknowledged and supported, with due recognition being given to the distinctiveness of their various missions and educational functions.
13.26 Recognition should be given to the valuable and distinctive role in lifelong learning played by such bodies as the WEA, Residential Colleges and other similar learning foundations. Funding arrangements for such organisations and their students should support their educational missions, their contribution to widening participation and their creation of learning opportunities in a variety of settings. In turn, these bodies should work in partnership with other providers and stakeholders to make the most effective and efficient use of their resources.
13.27 In other cases, these other providers draw their support from grants, charitable foundations, local authorities, TECs, or - as is the case with many distance learning providers - through commercial operations in the marketplace. Again, their role in promoting lifelong learning should not be overlooked. They too bring great expertise and long experience to the business of enhancing and sustaining the mosaic of learning provision in this country.
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