Administrative agreements on low literacy skills Working towards a skilled Netherlands together, 2020–2024 Parties Ms Ingrid van Engelshoven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) Ms Tamara van Ark, State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) Mr Raymond Knops, State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) Mr Hugo de Jonge, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), represented by Mr Eric van Oosterhout, Secretary to the VNG Board of Directors Considerations People deal with the basic skills of language, arithmetic, and digitisation in all kinds of day-to-day activities. Not everyone finds it all that easy, however. A large part of the population has problems with reading, writing and/or numeracy. Many of these people have limited digital skills as well.1 The demands being placed on people's skills are increasing and developments in technology and digitisation are making daily life more complex. The number of people who are losing touch with these changes is on the rise. Not only do low-literate people have problems with basic skills, they also face other issues relating to employment or unemployment, health, participation and integration (civic or otherwise). They are also more likely to be in debt or in need of social support. There is a wide variety of learning styles, needs and requirements among the group of low-literate people. The current range of educational activities does not sufficiently cater to many of them. This applies in particular to people who have Dutch as their first language (the NT1 group). While they represent two thirds of the target audience, they constitute less than 20% of the participants in courses and classes. In the 'Interbestuurlijk Programma' (Inter-Administrative Programme) of 12 February 2018, the national government, municipalities and other local government bodies agreed on a joint approach to improve language and other skills among adults over the years ahead. In the Coalition Agreement 'Vertrouwen in de Toekomst' (Confidence in the Future), the government expressed its intention to raise the budget for the approach to low literacy skills by a structural 1 The PIAAC study of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2013) shows that 1.3 million Dutch people aged 16 to 65 struggle with language and/or arithmetic. If people over 65 years of age and people with only low numeracy skills (so without low literacy skills) are added to the group identified by the OECD, the Netherlands Court of Audit (2016) estimates a minimum of 2.5 million people. amount of €5 million annually. In the policy letter 'Samen aan de slag voor een vaardig Nederland' (Working towards a skilled Netherlands together) of 18 March 2019, the Ministers and State Secretaries of OCW, SZW, BZK and VWS also announced to collaborate with municipalities in creating a high-quality, tailor-made offer to achieve a noticeable improvement in reaching different groups of low-literate people during the 2020–2024 period. Apart from this need to reduce low-literacy, government measures relating to education and civic integration must continue to help prevent it as well. The government moreover focuses on promoting digital inclusion, including through support structures, as set out in the policy letter from the State Secretary of BZK of 12 December 2018 entitled 'Iedereen moet kunnen meedoen' (Everyone should be able to take part). Objectives The parties share the following objectives. 1. Under the leadership of the central municipality/coordinating municipality for the labour market region pursuant to the Adult and Vocational Education Act (WEB), all municipalities will have achieved an effective approach to low literacy skills by the end of 2024 at the latest, which: a. prioritises the target group and is hence linked substantively, financially as well as organisationally to the municipal policy on the social domain, the local education agendas (including the policy on eliminating educational disadvantages), the library policy and the function of regional registration and coordination centres for early school leavers; b. is based on a sustainable local and regional infrastructure and network for identification, recruitment, guidance, training as well as refresher courses aimed at participants; c. is rooted in mutual knowledge exchange and systematic monitoring of the approach to low literacy skills and the qualitative and quantitative results of the educational programmes; d. furthers the joint ambition to achieve a significant increase in participation in courses and classes by the target audience, in particular the group of people who have Dutch as their first language.2 2. High-quality, WEB-funded educational programmes with formal and non-formal courses and learning activities in language, arithmetic and digital skills will be available in all labour market regions, tailored to the learning styles, needs, requirements and abilities among the various target audiences.3 2 The parties acknowledge that, since a national overview of participation in basic skills training/educational programmes funded under the WEB is currently lacking, it is not yet possible to formulate an absolute objective. A follow-up consultation on this topic will be held in 2021, partly based on the target group analysis conducted in 2019, the 2020 baseline measurement/outreach figures of the educational programmes in the labour market regions to be provided by the coordinating municipalities under the WEB and a 2020 feasibility study into different levels of ambition conducted by an independent agency. 3 The WEB distinguishes two forms of educational programmes: formal (diploma-oriented) and non- formal (non-diploma-oriented). Both forms aim to achieve partial or full learning objectives. Policy instruments and activities Several new policy instruments will be developed and deployed to achieve the stated objectives: 1. Regional programme for low literacy skills By mid-2020 at the latest, each labour market region will have described in a regional programme for low literacy skills how to achieve the shared objectives mentioned above. For this purpose, it will have formulated an approach with recognisable milestones and measurable sub-objectives (at the municipal and/or regional level), which will enable monitoring during the 2021–2024 period. The programme will be an update or elaboration of – or a supplement to – existing regional and municipal agreements on adult education (regional programme for educational facilities), the social domain (social support, youth care/family support, work & income) and issues such as civic integration, equal opportunities, library policy and local policy on education and eliminating educational disadvantage, including early school leavers. This regional programme for low literacy skills will be established under the direction of the coordinating municipality, within a network of municipalities and other relevant parties. It may choose emphases, or be supplemented or further elaborated, at the sub-regional or local level. The programme will be actively publicised to promote knowledge-sharing and to facilitate a national monitor. If the programme is altered, supplemented or updated during the 2021–2024 period, this news will also be actively publicised – for example, via publication on the website of the coordinating municipality. 2. Monitoring data All coordinating municipalities under the WEB will provide data and other information on their region for the purpose of the national monitor. The basic principle in this is to minimise the administrative burden on municipalities and providers while maximising the use of existing data, data sources, research methods and instruments. The initial data collection will cover the 2020 calendar year. This baseline measurement will inform the approach during the 2021–2024 period. Data will be supplied annually from 2020. These data will be made available no later than 15 June of the year following the reporting year, together with the financial statements of the coordinating municipalities under the WEB for the national government on the cost of the specific payments for adult education (SiSa review). The monitor consists of the following components: a) Qualitative monitor on the content and implementation of the regional programmes for low literacy skills, conducted by an independent national agency; b) Quantitative data on the number of participants (including a limited data set on participants' details, with at any rate sex and age category ) and the type of activities (at least for programmes to which the definition of educational programme in the WEB applies). For formal and non-formal courses, at the very least, the number of completed courses and the In municipal practice, there is a further distinction between non-formal programmes in: - Type 1 non-formal, which includes education in a class setting, provided by professional teachers (with the possible support of volunteers) and; - Type 2 non-formal, which comprises programmes provided by volunteers (possibly trained or supported by professionals). number of qualifications obtained will be counted. To this end, a national format will be used, which the national government and the municipalities will develop with the help of the European Structural Reform Support Service in autumn 2019; c) Insight into the results of at least the formal and non-formal (type 1) educational programmes as regards increasing participants'