e-newsletter issue 4 (read-only) · family learning e-newsletter 2014/2015 issue no. 4 summer term...

CONTENTS:

• Family Learning

Update

• Citizens’ Curriculum

• Frozen - The Family

Learning Musical

• NIACE Conference

• IAG

• Eastwood Primary

Trip

• Safeguarding

Updates

• Adult Learners’ Week

• National Bookstart

Week

• Equality & Diversity

• Accreditation

Updates

• Useful Dates

• Contact Us

Family Learning

E-Newsletter

2014/2015 Issue No.4

SUMMER TERM 1

FAM I LY L E ARN ING U PDATE

Family Learning Service

E-NEWSLETTER

Hello all,

I joined the Family Learning Service on 1

st May 2015 as the Lead Officer

following Pauline Thorpe’s retirement from the post.

I have worked in Adult Skills training with Bradford Council for over 20 years and have seen many changes in that time, not least the innovative ways in which information learning technology has evolved giving learners access to the internet and all the learning opportunities it offers them. More recently, I have been involved in working toward continuous quality improvement linked to the Government inspection frameworks.

When not at work I enjoy visiting new places in my campervan and walking in the great outdoors.

The core team have made me very welcome and, though I am still finding my way around, I have enjoyed meeting new people, visiting new places and getting to know everyone in the wider Family Learning Team so I am sure our paths will cross at some point.

Courses and workshops continue to be popular and we are working on the prospectus for next year, which will be published shortly. As we approach the final few weeks of term don’t forget to think about planning in courses for next year!

Kind regards,

Sarah

Sarah Odor

Lead Officer (Community & Family Learning)

Family Learning E-Newsletter 2014/2015 Issue No. 4 Summer Term 1

C I T I Z EN S ’ CURR I CU LUM

Taking a Citizens' Curriculum approach e n s u r e s a l l individuals have the core set of skills they need for the 21st Century, including Engl ish , maths ,

ESOL, digital, civic, health and financial capabilities. We are committed to widening access to these skills, particularly amongst under-represented groups in society, as well as improving the range and quality of provision available to all adults. These interrelated skills, which underpin lifelong learning, can be made more accessible by being contextualised and developed as an integrated curriculum offer or framework.

The development of a Citizens' Curriculum framework is being taken forward by thirteen pilots across a range of organisations including colleges, local authorities and charities. The pilots are tapping into what motivates adults to learn, ensuring that more people are learning skills which are relevant to their lives, their needs and their work. Particular areas of focus include provision for homeless / vulnerably housed adults, offenders, ex-offenders, migrants, families and disadvantaged young adults. The pilots will provide insight into methods of adopting a Citizens’ Curriculum approach, how effective the approach is in engaging disadvantaged learners, the impact on learners and providers, and key success factors for both the learner and the provider.

The thirteen participating pilots are:

• St Mungo’s Broadway

• Ashley Housing

• English for Action

• Leicester College

• Women in Prisons

• Tomorrow's Women Wirral

• Milton Keynes College (HMP Ranby)

• The Manchester College (HMP Deerbolt, HMP New Hall, HMP Blantyre)

• Outsource Training

• Rochdale Borough Council

• Bradford City Council

• Birmingham City Council

• Manton Children’s Centre. http://www.niace.org.uk/our-work/life-and-society/citizens-curriculum

e n s u r e s a l l


F ROZEN - THE FAM I LY L E ARN ING MU S I C A L

Two years ago the first ever Family Learning musical took place during the summer school holidays - the children put on a production of Annie while parents worked on everything behind the scenes. It was a great success and I (being the loud mouth that I am) told everyone I could about it. I'm glad I did!

At the end of last year we were approached by NIACE to run a similar project as part of their Citizens’ Curriculum pilot and thus FROZEN - The Family Learning Musical was born. NIACE even gave us a small pot of funding to help the project along.

As the course was running during February half term, and in a local church, we had to market this course a little differently. We put up posters in the community such as charity shops and vet practices and set up a Facebook event, which was hugely successful as a recruitment tool.

The course ran from Monday to Thursday at 10am until 4pm and on day one 15 families turned up! All had different needs, different hopes and expectations - it was a real cross section of the community. We worked our usual Family Learning magic and something really special happened that week. Yes, the children put on a great show. Yes, the church was packed full of family and friends who came to support them. Yes, the parents created costumes and decorated the church. Yes, local councillors and MPs came to the show and yes, it was in the T&A and on local radio, but it was so much more......a community of men, women and children gelled and made friends. A community came together and supported their children. Families did something wonderful that will stay with them forever. And, even more than that….one divorced mum and dad spent time together for the first time doing something to support their child. A new cooperative friendship was formed.

One mum spent time with her daughter and rediscovered a bond she thought they had lost. One mum grew in confidence and spoke to a stranger for the first time in years.

Family Learning isn't just about the end result, even though that is wonderful. We do something unique and special and Family Learning Frozen was a real testament to that.

Look out for Lion King coming your way this summer!

Vicky Clifton

Family Learning Tutor/Qualifications & Curriculum Officer


F ROZEN - THE FAM I LY L E ARN ING MU S I C A L CONT INUED…. .

First published Friday 20 Febru-

ary 2015in Bradford by Kathie Grif-

fiths, T&A Reporter

HALF-TERM boredom blues have

been put on ice thanks to a family

fun project turning a Bradford

church into a scene from the box-

office hit movie Frozen.

Thanks to Bradford Council’s Fam-

ily Learning Service, a group of local parents and children are putting on their very own version of the

musical at Holy Trinity Church in Idle.

The production was put together in only four days, with a live performance taking place yesterday.

Everything from the casting of the roles, designing and making of costumes and props, advertising

of tickets, updating social media and the refreshments being served after the show, was co-ordinated in

less than a week.

Vicky Meer, Family Learning Officer and co-ordinator of the holiday project, said: “The idea was to put

on a show for family, friends and the local community and for families to enjoy learning new skills and

meeting new people. Regardless of age and ability, everyone had an opportunity to get involved.”

Mum Lisa Tallant, said: “It’s been a busy few days for me and my two girls, Ruby, who is nine and Bon-

nie, who is three. They are both big fans of the film and very excited to be spending time singing their

favourite songs.”


A C I T I Z EN S ’ CURR I CU LUM : A NEW AGENDA FOR GOVERNMENT

Setting my alarm for 5am the next morning was not the high point of my evening I have to say. However, I thought, it'll be an adventure, negotiating my way across London to attend the NIACE Citizens’ Curriculum: A new agenda for Government on 20 May 2015.

So, arriving at Central Hall, Westminster with 15 minutes to spare felt like something of an achievement! The morning was an inspirational mix of project success stories and great examples of best practice with input from FE colleges, housing associations, borough councils, children's centres

and prisons. All of whom had interpreted the Citizens’ Curriculum to benefit their own particular demographic.

The morning session was in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal, patron of NIACE, who spoke passionately about the importance of literacy, numeracy and particularly digital skills being available to all. She listened to a pilot showcase then personally met and chatted to some of the learners who had benefitted from the scheme.

Over coffee I discussed our "Frozen" project and outlined the aims and outcomes that our learners’ achieved. People were genuinely amazed and intrigued about how we achieved what we had set out to do in just 16 hours. The words that kept recurring again and again in feedback were "confidence" and "self esteem" - the very essence that underpins any self development and actualisation. Our pilot project, along with the many others, inspired these qualities in our learners and, as they grew over the days, allowed them to confidently take control of the various tasks and activities required to make the Family Learning production a great success.

The afternoon session consisted of working in small groups looking at the impact the Citizens’ Curriculum had had on us as practitioners, as an organisation and on our learners. We also discussed how we planned to take the Citizens’ Curriculum forward.

For me, the most inspirational part of the day was when two ladies from the Wirral spoke about their experiences of the Citizens’ Curriculum. Both brought up in the care system, with chaotic lifestyles they had missed out on a standard education and one of them had fallen into a situation where alcohol heavily influenced her life, leading to crime and a custodial sentence. Whilst the other had mild learning difficulties which were not picked up, thus limiting her progress. It was only in middle age, and with the help of FE that they were able to turn their lives around, improve self esteem and embark on a learning programme. To hear them speak eloquently about the benefits of education in later life was truly uplifting.

All in all an excellent day, and very reassuring to note that our processes and systems at Bradford Family Learning in relation to lifelong learning (In particular RARPA) are not only in line with our peers, but leading the way.

Laura Judge

Family Learning Tutor


I N FORMAT I ON ADV I C E & GU IDANCE

It’s crazy to think we are already racing towards the end of yet another school year – I don’t know about you, but time seems to be speeding up for me! Is there anyone I can complain to?

This of course means Family Learning courses will be coming to and end and some finishing even earlier than usual as Ramadan is beginning mid June. So what have you got planned for your learners in terms of IAG?

IAG is Information Advice and Guidance and is something we should be thinking about and planning to give learners all the way through our courses. It starts when we make sure the right learners are on the right course at the right time, and finishes when we have supported our learners on to their next step.

When supporting learners to plan their next steps and progression routes there are quite a few options:

• It may be appropriate to book the learner onto another Family Learning course.

• Invite people into the classroom to speak to the group, such as EASA and Asipre-i.

Another tool we used on a course recently was the National Careers Service website and it is brilliant. https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

If you haven’t already had a look, please do – it is a really wonderful resource!

On the website there is a tool to search other courses locally. For example, we found out there is a great summer English course running during the school holidays at Bowling College.

There is a link to Universal Jobmatch - in our session we found a local cleaning job for one of our learners.

If learners can’t find what they need, there is a free phone number or an online chat where they can speak directly with an advisor.

The National Policy Framework say that Information Advice and Guidance is critical:

‘Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services have a pivotal role to play in delivering the Skills Strategy. They promote the benefits of learning, help individuals to address and overcome the barriers to learning, and support them in making realistic and well informed choices.’

We have prepared some questions suitable for Entry Level learners to help them work together to find their way around the website. Please email [email protected] if you would like a copy.

Vicky Clifton

Family Learning Tutor/Qualifications & Curriculum Officer


EA S TWOOD P R IMARY - TR I P TO L EED S C I T Y CO L LEGE KE I GHLE Y

Learners who have been attending a Family Learning Language for Life course at Eastwood Primary School took a trip to college as part of their IAG and progression.

The group range from Entry 1 to Entry 3 in their English Functional Skills ability and joined a similar level ESOL class at the college for a joint session. This involved a speaking and listening ‘getting to know you’ activity followed by pairing Eastwood learners with college students to engage in a ‘College Trail’ activity whereby learners visited most departments and areas of the college to ask for and find information to report back on. The final part of the session involved a whole group activity using the interactive ICT equipment in a spelling game.

The learners were clearly inspired by what they saw and all completed application forms to apply for a variety of ESOL, Maths, ICT, Childcare and Hair and Beauty courses to start next year!

Fay Stankler

Family Learning Tutor

Don’t forget to include IAG as part of your planning for

Family Learning

courses!


Safeguarding - A New Tool

We have a new Safeguarding leaflet. The leaflet is a very general guide and not intended to be all you need. Because the internet moves so quickly, it is impossible to be 100% up to date. However, it will give some general tips for parents and children alike.

You can download the leaflet by following the link below:

http://theblog.is/familylearning/safeguarding-our-leaflet/

This will take you to the Family Learning Service website, where you can download the leaflet.

Please also have a look in the links section, on the right hand side of the homepage, for more safeguarding information.

Any queries, please email [email protected] or telephone 01274 385928

S A F EGUARD ING U PDATE S


ADU LT L E ARNER S ’ WEEK

Hello Welcome to the first instalment of Adult Learners Week and Festival of Learning 2015 updates. This year’s Festival of Learning runs throughout May and June, building up to Adult Learners’ Week which will run from 13th – 19th June. The Festival of Learning provides you with the opportunity to hold learning events and activities that inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to ‘have a go’ and discover how learning can change their life. This also gives you the opportunity to showcase what you do and attract new students. Adult Learners’ Week, now in its 24th year, also provides the opportunity to run taster events and is the focus of na-tional activity. During the Week many high profile celebrations will be taking pace, including the National awards ceremony and a Parliamentary reception. How can you get involved? During the Festival, hundreds of organisations will be holding ‘have a go’ tasters and learning events, so why not join them. You can get involved by: • Hosting an ‘have a go’ event, taster session or open day to promote your courses • Register your events to increase your national reach for free • Tell us about your event on Facebook or Twitter • Attend a learning event. Find out what’s happening near you. • Tell us about your learning journey on Facebook or Twitter You may also wish to download some RESOURCES, including posters to help promote your event - http://www.alw.org.uk/resources Regional Awards Ceremonies The regional award ceremonies for the Northern Region is likely to be held on Friday 5th June in Leeds. The awards ceremonies give us the opportunities to celebrate the achievements of outstanding adult learners and projects, hearing more about the inspirational journeys and initiatives from the last year. You can get involved in the award ceremonies in various ways including: Sponsoring an Award

• Hiring at stall at the Regional Award Ceremony

• Provide promotional materials and items to ensure you get noticed at the event

If you would like to be part of the event or find out more information, please contact John Barker on 07917 264 152 or email [email protected] Please do share this within your networks and join us on social media @NIACEhq and Facebook To find out more about Adult Learners’ Week contact John Barker on 07917 264 152 or email [email protected]. Kind Regards, Paul Amann, Regional Business Development Manager, Workers' Educational Association | North West Region | 4th Floor, Crawford House, Manchester, M13 9GH. T: 0161 277 5400 | M: 07827 252349 | W: www.wea.org.uk | T: @WEAadulted A better world – equal, democratic and just; through adult education the WEA challenges and inspires individuals, communities and society.


MAKE A S P L A SH FOR NAT I ONA L BOOK S TA RT WEEK

National Bookstart WeekNational Bookstart WeekNational Bookstart WeekNational Bookstart Week Join the fun as we swing into jungle reading Join the fun as we swing into jungle reading Join the fun as we swing into jungle reading Join the fun as we swing into jungle reading

adventures from Monday 8 to adventures from Monday 8 to adventures from Monday 8 to adventures from Monday 8 to Sunday 14 June 2015...Sunday 14 June 2015...Sunday 14 June 2015...Sunday 14 June 2015...


A C CRED I TA T ION U PDATE S

We will update you on Functional Skills assessment for 2015-2016 once the Family Learning course

prospectus has been finalised and published

later this month.

Watch this space!

EQUA L I T Y & D I V E R S I T Y

June is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

Follow this link to find useful information and resources with regards to equality and diversity events during June 2015.

http://www.equalitiestoolkit.com/sites/default/files/11.%20June%202015%202015%20Diversity%20Diary.pdf

Some Key Multifaith Dates – June, 2015

4th Corpus Christi (Christian)

7th All Saints' Day (Orthodox) (Christian)

Corpus Christi (Catholic Church in England

and Wales)

(Christian)

16th Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev

(Nanakshahi calendar) (Sikh)

18th Ramadan (start) (Muslim)

29th St Peter and St Paul's Day (Christian)


Let us have your interesting

articles for the

next edition

of the

E-newsletter.

Email:

familylearning@

bradford.gov.uk

U SE FU L DATE S

We try to find articles for you that you might find interesting and useful. We also like to share good news and success stories as well as inform you of any future events. If you have any information that you think may be useful to your fellow Family Learning tutors and/or have a story to tell about your work in the community, we would really like to feature them in future newsletters.

Please send your article and any photographs to: Family Learning Service Education, Employment & Enterprise Team Department of Children’s Services Future House Bradford BD4 7EB Email: [email protected] Don’t forget about our website: www.theblog.is/familylearning for access to even more information. We would really like your input for the content on the website too!

Follow us: Family Learning @FamilyLearns

EVENT DATE

CENTRE STANDARDISATION

Tutor Assessors (TAs) & Core Team Internal

Verifiers (IVs) CERTA QUALS ONLY

MONDAY 15 JUNE 2015

15:00 - 17:00

at Future House

TUTOR TRAINING

All tutors to attend

WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2015

09:00 - 13:00

at Future House

TUTOR TRAINING

All tutors to attend

WEDNESDAY 2 SEPT -

FRIDAY 4 SEPT 2015

at Future House

CONTACT U S

e-newsletter issue 4 (read-only) · family learning e-newsletter 2014/2015 issue no. 4 summer term...

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