Fuel for learning – help me light a fire

October 26, 2010 by
Filed under: The RSA 

I posted last Friday on the abolition of Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMAs), the grants of between £10 and £30 a week made to disadvantaged 16-18 year olds.

Later that evening I met my father and his partner for a drink. In the course of the conversation they told me how embarrassed they were about keeping their winter fuel allowance (WFA) when so many other worthy causes were being cut (neither of them is exactly on their uppers). A light went on in my head.

Roughly speaking, three pensioners’ WFAs plus gift aiding would be equivalent to providing a teenager with a £25 a week allowance for three ten week terms. So, how about a scheme (‘fuel for learning’) in which pensioners can opt to redirect their WFA to providing an EMA-like allowance?

Before it is abolished next year we can take advantage of the current means testing structure for EMAs and the conditionality rules which mean youngsters don’t get the allowance unless they attend the lectures.

The scheme might work like this:

- The RSA sets up a web site on which through a single click a pensioner can redirect their WFA to helping to replace EMAs. We would need Government help for this.

- The pensioner can choose either simply to direct their donation to a central pot which would be distributed according to current EMA expenditure or to have a more personal relationship.

 - The latter might involve choosing an educational establishment (sixth form or FE college) to which to direct the WFA, offering to be available to provide mentoring support to a student or even requesting that a supported student agree to provide up to a set limit of hours in reciprocal labour (mowing the lawn etc).

- For the whole idea to be worthwhile it would need to achieve scale, so it could be designed on the same lines as Pledgebank whereby pensioners’ commitment to donate their WFA only gets acted upon when, say, 100,000 have signed up.

I would love for the RSA to do this. And there are people in Government I believe would help us. What better evidence could there be that the Big Society ideal can take concrete form.     

So what do you think? If you like it, please pass the idea on.

I am setting myself the target of getting 500 expressions of support by the end of the week. This would be remarkable given that my average number of comments is about five. But the idea will only work if it goes viral so I need to set the barrier high.

Over to you

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Comments

22 Comments on Fuel for learning – help me light a fire

  1. alan on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 11:08 am

    2. I bet there are people in Government who would “help you do this”. I really hope this isn’t the start of the RSA becoming the charitable arm of UK education.

    All the cuts in education are lowering the expectations and possibilities of our young people. We don’t need the RSA becoming the equivalent of the money box on the coffee house counter, waiting for the odd coin from the affluent.

  2. Jeremy on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 12:35 pm

    3. Matthew, a brilliantly practical idea. I understand Alan’s perspective, but whilst we debate who should be doing what, more teenagers will find it difficult to continue in education.

    I suggest that you also get the utility companies on board to promote, rather than rely on the govt. They should be eager to be seen to be doing something that serves the community for a change…

  3. Jonny McCormick on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 1:16 pm

    4. i’m in.

  4. KW on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 1:59 pm

    5. I think this is a great idea. I found myself thinking something similar when Polly Toynbee expressed embarrassment at keeping her free bus pass on last week’s QT: couldn’t a scheme be started whereby pensioners donate their freedom passes to those who need to ‘get on the bus’?

  5. Fiona Beddoes-Jones on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 3:21 pm

    6. I think that it’s a great idea Matthew. Please take this as as the equivalent of a signature on a petition – or even better, set up an on-line petition for us to sign and direct others to …………… and then watch the numbers rise ……………….

  6. Nick Marsh on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 4:49 pm

    7. This is a great idea. We [sidekick studios] would make the site if we thought there was a real chance of people in government doing something about it.

  7. Nik Hilton on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 6:07 pm

    8. Great idea! More action less words! Time to make twitter work for you!

  8. Katie Boswell on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 7:27 pm

    9. Sounds like a great idea to me. The loss of the EMA will make a huge difference to many students. The arguments currently being made that 90% of the EMA investment is “deadweight” as most students in receipt of EMA will go onto sixth form anyway really miss the point. The EMA enables students from low income backgrounds to get a better quality of education, regardless of whether or not it increases the quantity of students continuing education. This is because it decreases the need for students to work to fund their time studying, and increases the time that they can allocate to their school work. I was a couple of years too old to receive EMA myself and had to work three days a week at the local supermarket during sixth form (some of my friends worked 4-5 days a week). My younger sister received full EMA and only had to work one day a week during sixth form. Most of my friends did not get the grades that they deserved at A Level due to the hours that they were working. The EMA is a powerful tool for narrowing the education achievement gap and anything that the RSA can help set up to support it would be good news.

  9. Mike Crowl on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 7:56 pm

    10. Certainly sounds like a good idea, as long as the old people still manage to keep warm! So, yes, this is a support the idea comment.

  10. Matt on Tue, 26th Oct 2010 10:34 pm

    11. I think this is a good idea. Although some pensioners I believe give a sum equivalent to the WFA to their grandchildren at Christmas.
    It would certainly be worth putting to the test particularly if it was connected to some contribution to the over 65 community or individual pensioners.
    Many young people are surprised to find that they feel better about themselves when they do something for others.

  11. S on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 11:26 am

    12. This is a great idea.

  12. Rachel Fisher on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 11:46 am

    13. Matthew – I think this is a genuinely good idea – one that enables pensioners to participate in supporting the next generation. I wonder if there are other opportunities for people to redirect some of their benefits to those that they think could benefit more. Nice to start with a simple transfer like this though. I agree with Jeremy that it would be good to get the private sector utility companies involved in promoting this.

  13. RJC on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 1:26 pm

    14. Does it have to be just pensioners? Perhaps this is an opportunity for others who receive universal benefits they may feel they don’t need? I think this is an idea worth exploring and I hope you’ll be able to approach Government with some strategic mechanism to facilitate this!

  14. mike j on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 1:33 pm

    15. @Mike Crowl ensuring that those donating their WFA genuinely can afford it is a valid point and should remain a consideration, but beyond that I’m definitely in support of this.

  15. casey morrison on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 2:15 pm

    16. We’ve already had people phnoing up our CVS wanting to set up their own trusts to do this. My first point of call was Community Foundations, but I’d like to keep it hyper local.

    It needs to feel like the pensioners are involved, and not just signing their money away. I see it as step one to more volunteering, with more links with local groups, something concrete that people can do that is beyond money. Briliant.

  16. G on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 3:43 pm

    17. I’m too young to get WFA and too old for EMA – but I think it’s a decent idea so i’ve passed it on to my parents.

  17. Hans de Gruijter on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 3:52 pm

    18. I’m definitely in. Although the problem described doesn’t exist inmy own country (yhe Netherlands) the thought is great. It appeals to solidarity in an society.
    Spread the rumour!

  18. Louis Coiffait on Wed, 27th Oct 2010 5:01 pm

    19. Supported

  19. Gill Maharjan on Thu, 28th Oct 2010 6:38 am

    20. It seems a creative use of existing funds to me.

  20. Nick on Mon, 1st Nov 2010 11:53 am

    21. I’d definitely in also. Was having a very similar conversation yesterday about the possibility of a ‘WW2′ style campaign around ‘in these austere times… your country needs you…’ – obviously nothing like this in reality, but a campaign which builds momentum, documents impact and becomes a cause for pride would be great (and potentially quite cost efficient compared with the difficulties of things like means-testing). Would need quite a push and some very clever thinking however. This is a great start

  21. Sam on Mon, 15th Nov 2010 8:37 pm

    22. An inspired idea. Hope this flame catches…

  22. Graham Rawlinson on Wed, 5th Jan 2011 4:17 pm

    23. Fully in support, but re Big Society, make it local, even the option, mutually, to pal up and mentor in both directions. People getting Fuel allowance might quite like a bit of new age help on Twitter, or Green Gardening or Kindle and young people might get a bit of good advice about becoming entrepreneurs or even politicians!

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