The Lancashire Colleges Consortium

Lancashire Colleges Consortium

Community Learning

Round 1 2004-2006

Project Number ESF/0304/155

Dossier Number 04 1073 NW3

Project Background

Addressing and tackling social exclusion is a priority for Lancashire’s economy which increasingly demands a skilled pool of labour to meet the required and emerging skills needed in the workplace with priority being placed on raising key and core skills in particular communication, customer handling, team-working, problem solving and IT skills. Lancashire LSC’s Strategic Plan describes stimulating demand for learning as ‘our most pressing priority’ in order to raise the quality of the current and emerging workforce. In addition the LSC’s Skills Assessment highlights the growing importance of basic and key skills across Lancashire’s labour market.

Project Methodology

The purpose of the project was to widen participation by enabling hard-to-reach groups to access basic and key skills provision in local their local communities, providing them with the opportunity to build their employability skills, develop a more positive attitude to learning progression into further, more structured learning. Activities were delivered across local areas tapping into Further Education facilities and community learning centres.

Project objectives included:-

To establish local partnerships, supported by a steering group to manage resource and share best practice

To support the delivery of local actions, to engage, supported learning and progression on a rolling programme

To organise regular events with wider learning partnerships across Lancashire.

Provision included the delivery of community based client led activities comprising of the delivery of bite-sized provision, such as ICT and the opportunity to explore basic and core skills needs acquiring transferable skills through informal learning .

Project activities were also supplemented with IAG support and action planning to enable beneficiaries to develop individual learning plans to monitor progression and distance travelled.

Project Results

Overview

The results of interviews conducted with college staff are summarised and presented in this section of the report and aim to critically evaluate project activities to assess the project’s capacity to engage with the target group and support their progression. Results are structured against process and outcome questions to reflect evaluation methodology.

Recruitment and Selection Processes

A significant number of clients were able to self refer onto the project given that colleges were locating their provision in local community venues to ensure accessibility. In addition partners and voluntary/community led organisations played a pivotal role in stimulating demand and referring clients onto the project. Schools also provided colleges with good leads as part of their commitment to community learning in recognition of the benefits to children.

All clients were interviewed by project staff to ensure they were matched to relevant provision and that their expectations were met in relation to raising their skill levels. The interview session also provided tutors with the opportunity to explain their expectation of the client and possible progression routes post project completion to ensure they remained in learning.

Project staff also produced skills profiles as part of an assessment process which included using basic skills assessment tools where appropriate. However tutors found that some clients were not able to complete these assessments which relied on tutors judgement and experience to assess needs. (Given that most clients had been out of learning for some time it was deemed inappropriate to subject them to rigid procedures or prohibitive assessment processes that could lead to non-participation). ICT online package were also used to enable clients to discretely test their ICT skills. This allowed clients to participate at their own pace and was less time consuming that paper based tests.

All clients also participated in action planning processes producing a Guidance Plan which aimed to identify goals and aspirations which formed part of matrix accredited IAG processes. Most goals were set to concentrate on building clients’ confidence and self esteem and could often be as simple as “attending on time”. Given the client group were often from disadvantaged backgrounds with poor educational attainment levels goal setting had to be realistic and achievable to build confidence levels and motivate them to participate.

Relevance and Adaptability of Provision

The matching of clients to suitable provision was of paramount importance to ensure participation. In addition clients had the opportunity to learn at their own pace participating on bespoke provision developed to suit learner needs and personal circumstances. Colleges adapted provision to accommodate family commitments, shift patterns and other work commitments where appropriate.

Colleges also delivered provision at weekends and evenings in local community venues to ensure easy access in familiar non-threatening surroundings to alleviate the fear of learning.

Delivering provision in familiar child friendly environments such as Children’s Centres also encouraged participation and alleviated some of the fears clients often felt about learning. In addition careful selection of tutors from the college ensured that tutors were able to build a good rapport with clients, adopting a flexible and sensitive approach to delivery. The project also delivered activities in small groups (e.g. 6-8), which allowed colleges to provide intensive support and encouraged more group interaction.

Colleges also developed learning materials to hook them back into learning which reflected either (a) school curriculum, to enable clients to support their children’s learning or (b) work – providing them with valuable skills sets for the workplace such as IT, literacy and numeracy.

Bilingual support was also available in areas with high ethnic populations.

Partnership Arrangements

The project’ success is founded on colleges ability to effectively network with grass roots organisations and community forums, building excellent working relationships with voluntary and community groups already working with the client groups in their local areas. In addition volunteers from these agencies acted as project champions stimulating demand in their local communities. A multi agency approach has also enabled colleges to not only identify clients for support, but reduce duplication of provision and develop a robust referral mechanism to actively engage and progress clients.

Attendance at multi agency meetings also proved to be useful in raising the profile of the project in the early stages of development and delivery. In addition all partners have been consulted on the content and structure of provision and where appropriate colleges designed and wrote new courses to respond to local demand from partners. Courses were also designed to ensure they complemented aims and objectives of partner organisations to help them achieve their own targets. For example Surestart clients were offered specially adapted children’s reading courses, focusing on babies and toddlers, and were then encouraged to consider Level 1 Literacy as a progression route.
Publicity and Promotion
The project was vigorously promoted through local partnership networking arrangements, promotional events and seminars and word of mouth all of which proved to be successful in identifying clients for participating on the project. Promotional materials were produced mainly flyers and mail shots and displayed by local partners.

Adverts were also placed in community magazines and local newspapers to promote the project and raise its profile. Presentations were also given to college staff development days to raise internal interest and knowledge.

However word of mouth has been one of the most effective ways of engaging with the client groups given that often clients suffer from poor reading skills.

Impact on Project Objectives
To establish local partnerships to manage resource and share best practice

Colleges were successful in developing robust partnerships to aid project delivery and disseminate best practice via attendance at networking events and forum meetings in local communities.

To support the delivery of local actions, to engage, supported learning and progression on a rolling programme

Extensive partnership arrangements at grass roots levels facilitated the development and delivery of client led provision achieving high positive outcomes.

To organise regular events with wider learning partnerships across Lancashire.

Colleges as part of forward planning will continue to liaise with partners to share best practice and organise events aimed at engaging disaffected groups.

Project Outputs and Outcomes

Beneficiaries involved 1428
Beneficiaries commencing learning 1312
Beneficiaries commencing mainstream learning 500
Beneficiaries completing informal learning 1085
Beneficiaries achieving a qualification within the lifetime of the project 239
Beneficiaries continuing to futher study 358
Beneficiaries in work on leaving programme 82

Paperwork for Community Learning

Eligibility Table for Community Learning

Template for Community Learning

Return Form for Community Learning

Read the full Evaluation Report