Blog: Five Calls to Action for the New Government to Place ESOL at the Core of Its Plan for Skills
In this blog Diana Sutton, Director of the Foundation, outlines five cost-effective and practical actions for the new Government to unlock the skills and potential of adults learning English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
The new Government has headlined its education offering with the promise to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ wherever they exist, an acknowledgement that education is the key to developing new skills and enabling anyone, at whatever stage in their life achieve and thrive.
Few barriers to opportunity are more apparent than the language barrier faced by almost one million people aged 16 and over in the UK who cannot speak English well or at all, with over one-third of this group being UK citizens. Courses teaching ESOL are the key to unlocking education, employment and social integration.
The benefits of ESOL to both the individual and society have been highlighted repeatedly over the past two decades, with different Governments, think tanks, and a host of reports all calling for increased investment in ESOL, and a national strategy to coordinate its delivery. Despite this attention, ESOL policy, strategy and funding have lacked clarity and suffered from being delivered through small initiatives, cuts in funding, and ever-changing eligibility criteria. The impact of this is a policy and funding environment devastated by cuts and indecision leaving ESOL courses underfunded and difficult to access.
Although demand for ESOL is rising (up by 17% since 2021), funding from the Adult Skills Fund (formerly the Adult Education Budget) declined by 56% in real terms during the same period. Yet, the need for ESOL provision is higher than ever, highlighting the opportunities available for a new Government which places skills at the heart of its growth agenda. The Government’s commitment to establishing Skills England, the new non-departmental body which seeks to make the skills sector more efficient and forward looking, provides a chance to reassess how ESOL is integrated into the wider further education landscape.
Both this growing ESOL need, and the untapped potential of learners is underscored by the rising proportion of migrants to the UK educated to a tertiary level, with 50% of all arrivals holding a degree. This level of skills and experience provides a huge demographic and potential economic dividend yet without sufficient English language skills, this potential remains trapped behind the language barrier and untapped through inefficient or inappropriate language support.
I need to equalise my degree. I need my English to be enough, good enough, that I can equalise my degree, and work in the field that I like and that I had experience in. I am psychologist. I have experience as a social worker for many years”.
ESOL learner
(What would you like to do when you finish ESOL?)
An opportunity now exists to reset the national approach to ESOL through recognising the extensive benefits it brings and the pitfalls of our present system. How can people be equipped with the language skills to succeed through an ESOL system which is accessible to all learners at all levels, wherever they want to learn?
What needs to change...

Find out about our policy recommendations so that those who are learning English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) have a provision that enables them to survive and thrive in the UK.
1. Develop new ESOL standards and qualifications
The current ESOL curriculum provides learners with language for everyday use (ESOL qualification levels 1 to 3), which is far below what they need to succeed in education or at work. Many learners are unemployed or under-employed because their English proficiency is too low. The Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review provides a rare opportunity to develop ESOL qualifications and standards that facilitate relevant and effective learning for ESL speakers - as well as the chance to implement a new curriculum that offers learners a balance of English skills to help them to thrive in all aspects of life, including both work and study.
2. Address ESOL as an opportunity within Skills England
Many second language English speakers already have the work-related skills and experience necessary to contribute to the UK economy, which are frequently dismissed due to language barriers. The creation of Skills England provides a unique opportunity to develop a clearer strategy for ESOL which ensures that ESL speakers can access English language provision and help fill the UK’s skills shortages and labour needs of the future.
3. Recognise that investment in ESOL reaps benefits
Over one in every 50 people of working age in the UK could benefit from work and growth opportunities by developing their proficiency in English. This is equivalent to the number of adults "economically inactive" following the pandemic in the UK. Devolution allows each region, combined authority, or local authority to meet the needs of their local population, but the lack of an overarching national strategy can lead to greater inconsistencies, with current ESOL delivery being patchy and leading to a ‘postcode lottery’ depending on the funding levels in a learner’s local area.
England needs funding models that are flexible to meet local ESOL demand and ensure that further education settings and workplaces are incentivised to offer the right type of ESOL provision. For example, many ESL speakers are placed on courses aimed at people who have English as their first language (Functional Skills English courses) – largely due to the fact they are fully funded while ESOL is not – an inefficient use of funds and a barrier to progression.
ESOL provision should be seen as a sound financial investment. Many speakers of ESL are already qualified professionals or skilled tradespeople, and with the appropriate language support over time, can progress to higher education or employment and embark on opportunities that further contribute to society.
4. Improve national and regional data collection
Understanding the local and national need for ESOL provision is essential to the successful implementation of a national strategy for English language learning. Accurate data on the numbers of people post-16 who need to learn English and their levels of proficiency is the vital first step to achieving this. An absence of data leaves learners waiting a long time for a space in a local ESOL class, going to classes which are not suitable for their level of proficiency, or attending an inappropriate class.
Data could be improved by adding a new field marker to the individualised learning record (ILR) which identifies learners with other language backgrounds. This information will be central to inform courses in the different types of provision and progression across them, as well as monitoring of impact at sector, provision type and local provider level. Data collected on learner numbers should also include community-based English learning and other providers.
5. Reform Ofsted to report on the curriculum and skills agenda
The proportion of learners whose first language is not English in education and training provision is high. This means that all Ofsted inspectors are likely to encounter second language speakers on a regular basis. Yet most inspectors do not have the tools, knowledge or skills to evaluate the quality of ESOL provision effectively.
Ofsted has a key role to play in driving system change by raising standards across all educational settings to improve the lives of learners. To do so effectively, Ofsted needs to increase its focus on provision for ESOL learners in further education and skills, alongside better use of data, and appropriate training for all inspectors.
Why listen to us and why act now?
The Bell Foundation is a leading voice for ESOL within the sector, working with a range of partners to produce robust, evidence-based research into the practices and interventions which will benefit both ESOL learners and teachers.
Since 2011, we have built our evidence base with world-class research which guides our work, from a technical review of ESOL qualifications and the curriculum, to speaking directly with learners and gaining their perspective on the difference that learning English has made for them.
With skills being placed at the heart of the legislative agenda for education, the new Government has an opportunity to undertake systemic changes to promote ESOL to the benefit of over a million people, and society as a whole.