CONTENTS

2011

Feature Case Studies - Four Members linking evaluation work to practice:

Craigmillar Books for Babies

Pilton Equalities Project

Glasgow Women’s Library

Glasgow Simon Community

BestED – We deserve the best adult education Scotland can offer.

Follow our campaign to support, discuss, share thoughts, create new ideas

and hear about the launch, aspirations and achievements.

Find out more about our Members who are showcasing their work at the “Session Bites”

at this year’s national conference. Information and links to 18 Members offering a diverse

range of learning opportunities:

Parent Network Scotland

Lead Scotland

Deaf Action

STUC

Forth Sector

SWAP West

Linked Work and Training Trust

Glasgow ESOL Forum

Dyslexia Scotland

Motherwell and Wishaw Citizens

Advice Bureau

Volunteer Action Dumfries and

Galloway

AMINA Muslim Women’s Resource

Centre

SCVO Supporting Voluntary Action

programme

Glasgow Women’s Library

WEA and the Communication

Workers’ Union

Volunteer Development Scotland

West Lothian Credit Union Forum

Craigmillar Books for Babies

Linked Contents:

Welcome to 2011’s edition of Linked, Learning Link Scotland’s annual publication

highlighting the work that takes place in adult learning in the voluntary sector. In an upbeat

and accessible way, Linked explores the story of adult learning in Scotland today. We are

growing the publication to become a valuable resource for and about the sector capturing

the diversity, issues and impacts of our sector.

Our national conference this year Communicate and Learn features two key developments:

“Session Bites”, a showcase featuring 18 members’ practice and wide range of work

The launch of the #BestEd Campaign

This edition of Linked features a synopsis of each Session Bite. Use it as a signpost with

links to our Members to find out more. The information highlights the impact of our

Members’ learning programmes within their communities.

We also celebrate the launch of the BestEd Campaign, highlighting what we hope to achieve

in the coming months.

In addition to those stories of our Members’ work drawn from the conference we feature

in-depth case studies from Members who are taking part in our latest learning programme –

Explaining the Difference: Working towards ALIS2020 – linking evaluation work to practice.

These are Members who are working in the field of Adult Literacies and again offer the

widest range of experiences for learners.

Linked is for people who have a vested interest in developing adult learning in Scotland.

It’s to be used as a resource; to learn more about adult learning in the sector, to help you to

collaborate and create partnerships, and to disseminate achievements. It reaches out to an

audience of:

Scottish Government; Ministers, MSPs and civil servants

Local Authorities; key contacts

Voluntary and 3rd Sector

Further Education

Higher education

Key national agencies (such as Education Scotland, Skills Development Scotland,

SCQF Partnership)

Capturing what we do

We deliver an early literacy programme to families in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh,

working primarily with parents/carers and their children up to the age of 3. Our aims are to

support families to actively engage with learning opportunities with their babies and young

children through use of story, rhyme, early communication, play and book sharing. We

encourage use of the local library and offer an outreach programme consisting of group

activities at the library and in early years settings and the wider community. We also offer a

programme of home visits to individual parents/carers, and provide learning opportunities

to parents in the project through a volunteer programme. Additionally, we support parents

from minority communities by offering resources in various community languages and

group activities in Polish. We use a non-formal approach to learning and encourage parents

to explore their own learning opportunities by working in partnership with other agencies

such as the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh and Family Learning. The need for the project has

been borne out by successive evaluations and consultations with key stakeholders who

recognise the value and importance of early intervention, family support and life-long

learning.

Working in family learning

We see our project as providing opportunities for family literacy where early literacy and

adult literacy are intertwined and mutually beneficial. There are a number of strands to

Craigmillar Books for Babies. We offer a book gifting programme and within this we talk to

parents about introducing books to their children. We do this through health centres and in

partnership with health visitors. The health visitor introduces the project to parents when

the baby is only 10 days old and we then follow up on this contact at Craigmillar Medical

Centre. We talk with the parent and offer our own book bag and also give them a book bag

from the Scottish Book Trust. This partnership relationship between CBB and the health

visitors is a really strong one.

The approach within the health centre is an informal one: we talk with the parent about

early communication and the importance of the parent’s voice to the baby, and emphasise

the power of this as a communications tool between parent and baby. People are generally

much more accepting now of introducing books to babies at an early age. In our work with

parents we talk about the styles and types of book products, emphasising the fun side of it.

We also carry out this work at the library with groups of adults. In some ways these are

more confident parents, having made a conscious decision to go to the library group, but

they may need support and encouragement.

Feature: Craigmillar Books for Babies Feature: Craigmillar Books for Babies Feature: Craigmillar Books for Babies

Next July our work is going to be more embedded in the home visits programme. We will

take referrals from home visitors and speech language professionals or identify needs from

our own records. This is a universal home visits programme offered to all local families, with

opportunities to self-refer.

Volunteering and current approaches to the work

As part of our home visits we are devising a programme that will deliver a range of things

depending on needs, e.g. offering support in getting out of the house and attending a group.

We use volunteers to support us in the delivery of this work. We have other parents offering

peer support to parents. These are mainly adults who’ve been through the programme. An

example of this is work with Polish volunteers – women who bring in new families from the

Polish community.

We provide induction and training for volunteers as well and we see a huge potential in

volunteering. We have implemented the Investing in Volunteers Standard but there is a big

investment of time in managing volunteers properly.

Pre-learning engagement in literacies

Our project is part of the Craigmillar Literacy Trust and they want to develop this work. We

can pick up on a literacy need but want to strengthen our structures to support this

provision. We are making partnership links with health visitors, local projects and college

provision. It’s relatively straightforward for us to engage parents but it’s making sure we are

reaching every family who could benefit from the project that often presents the greatest

challenge.

Explaining the Difference - linking evaluation to practice

Our project combines a number of monitoring strategies: we review activity on a weekly

basis and monitor library membership, library attendance, take-up of our books and

resources and membership of the project. We monitor language needs as this area has seen

increases in the number of families who have EAL requirements. We use both informal and

formal approaches to evaluation – focus groups, meetings with parents and questionnaires

with parents and local agencies. As staff we regularly reflect on our own practice. We try to

address gaps in monitoring and evaluation where possible and this is one area we are

always keen to develop. Every 3 years we undergo a large-scale external evaluation of the

project. We are hoping to use the Explaining the Difference: Working towards ALIS2020

programme to help us build our planning in literacies work. It will help us demonstrate

clearly how certain aspects of our work could meet the ALIS 2020 outcomes, in particular

outcomes relating to accessing learning opportunities at the pre-learning engagement level

and evidencing the value and impact of literacies on the adults we work with and on their

families and the wider community

Capturing what we do

Pilton Equalities Project (PEP) is a voluntary organisation working in the heart of the

community of North Edinburgh. We provide literacy programmes of one-to-one and group

work sessions. We work with adults with learning difficulties/disabilities and adults with

enduring mental health issues as well as individuals who just want to improve existing

literacy skills. In addition to this we hold ESOL group classes for people from the local

Chinese community and individual sessions for people from all ethnic minorities.

Our provision is based on demand from the local community and is designed to build

socialisation skills and confidence and to help people improve skills for moving back into the

job market. We take a person-centred approach to all our classes.

Learner Provision and Profiles

The number of people from black/minority ethnic (BME) communities making use of the

literacies service is increasing. We have become aware of higher numbers through referrals

from our neighbouring project, the Community Organisation for Racial Equality (CORE).

Some learners are from Chinese, African and Bangladeshi communities. Some of these

referrals are for literacies needs and some for ESOL. How this works in practice is that the

person being referred would come in or telephone to arrange a date to come in for an initial

assessment.

During the assessment we use a number of tools:

A sheet of assessment questions

A word checklist – common words that the learner is asked if they are familiar with

Sentence structure assessment sheet

If appropriate – an Adult Dyslexia Checklist

Use of these tools leads into completing a Literacy Individual Learning Plan. We sit down

with the learner to complete this together.

We provide one to one sessions and group sessions – approximately half of our time spent

on each. There is input on two days a week from a literacy worker and we are trying to find

funding for an additional day, taking it up to three days.

Feature: Pilton Equalities Project

This work is complemented by the use of Reading Buddies – a scheme that utilises

volunteers, both in group settings and in one-to-one time. This frees up the tutor to write

reports and do administrative tasks. There is also an ESOL tutor who works twice a week

with a group of learners from the Chinese community.

Learner Progression

Learner progression is monitored in the literacy programmes by use of the Individual

Learning Plan and also by completion of a weekly target sheet based on the learner’s

individual plans. Once they have been in a learning programme for a little while, we go

through re-assessment questions if appropriate.

Learner progression beyond the programmes is one of the hardest things to track and this

difficulty is not confined to PEP. Some of the learners who have come through literacies

programmes with PEP go on to become volunteers. They volunteer in a variety of ways,

including a gardening club, as escorts and Reading Buddies and volunteering in day care.

Explaining the Difference - linking evaluation to practice

PEP provides good access to literacies learning opportunities; however, we want to improve

on showing how learners can progress beyond the provision. Being able to show the

progression would enhance learners’ confidence and confirm PEP’s own ability to provide

good quality service within a good model of practice. PEP wishes to enhance its capacity

and provision through further partnership working.

By participating in the Explaining the Difference: Working towards ALIS2020 programme

we can make sustainable links that will further enhance provision. It is important to be able

to evidence the impact learning has on society and to see how learning impacts on

individuals’ lives. To demonstrate this it is important to increase our own ability to measure

and report on all aspects for the learner.

It is important to continually develop as an organisation. Being part of this programme will

benefit us by maintaining links with other organisations and by being able to tie provision

directly to ‘ALIS2020’. This would build our effectiveness as a literacies provider and link

with groups who could further learners’ goals. By joining the programme we are hoping to

highlight the challenges we face as a voluntary organisation and to further understand and

act within the literacy action plan.

“Jayne Stuart, Director at Learning Link Scotland, launches the #BestEd campaign at our

national conference, Communicate and Learn, in October 2011.”

The main message is that adult education is a prerequisite to a healthy, vibrant, equal

society. The world changes so quickly, and often too unexpectedly, for us to afford the naïve

belief that what we learn as children and young adults will necessarily see us prosper

tomorrow. However, it would seem that adult education is currently being pushed aside,

and we are in danger of losing all sorts of opportunities in Scotland. Education can't end

when you reach 24, and by only offering learning to young people, we are creating a future

crisis for our country. In support of these ideas, learners and organisations engaged in adult

education are coming together to support #BestEd, and to talk about what kind of Scotland

we want to live in.

This is a discussion not just about jobs and employability, but about the broader value of

education, and how our ambitions might be achieved. It’s about what sort of future we

want for Scotland and its people, and what role adult education can play in achieving our

hopes and aspirations. Jayne said she “recognised the government's emphasis on

prevention” and stated that “to achieve success, education must be offered more widely

than to children and young people. We must prevent the negative trend we will create by

not safeguarding adult education”.

We need innovation and investment across the country, ensuring everyone has access to

the full range of adult education they deserve; innovation and investment that will

transform peoples' lives, and make the necessary social and economic difference to our

country. The Government is committed to reforming post-16 education but Jayne warned

that innovative reform can't just "tinker around the edges". We need real change and real

opportunities for adults. The first stage of the #BestEd campaign has been launched online.

This will be followed by a series of events, policy forums and ministerial meetings. Follow us,

sign up, and be a part of this growing campaign at:

BestEd on Twitter LLS on Facebook LLS on LinkedIn

Join us and be a part of #BestEd campaign

caCampaign Equalities Project

Our national conference this year, Communicate and Learn, invites 18 of our Members to

showcase their work in adult learning. We are reproducing the synopsis of each Session

Bite; using it as a signpost with links to our Members so that you can follow up and find out

more. They highlight the impact of our Members’ learning programmes within their

communities.

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Lead Scotland

Lead Scotland, specialists in Linking Education and Disability, recently launched the Get

Connected and Lead project across four areas of Scotland: Glasgow, Highland, West

Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde. Disabled people and carers are underrepresented when it

comes to influencing change within their own communities. Disabled people are also twice

as likely not to have recognised qualifications when compared to non disabled people. We

are seeking to address both of these issues and more. Come along and find out more about

some of the key concepts within this project, eg. learners working towards an SQA Award in

Community Action and Leadership and service users and service providers working together

for mutual benefit.

To find out more about Lead Scotland’s work and input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.lead.org.uk/

Deaf Action

Provides a range of services to deaf, deaf/blind and hard of hearing people, their families

and carers. Deaf Action is planning to provide an opportunity for those who are keen to try

out finger-spelling. This part of the session will have no voice or speaking involved and the

plan is for those people who are interested to be able to say “my name is ________” and

“what is your name?” during the session — those involved will not be talking!

To find out more about Deaf Action’s work and input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.deafaction.org/

GWL

Glasgow Women’s Library is no ordinary library! We support thousands of women across

Scotland every year to improve their lives through our services and programmes. This year

Glasgow Women's Library celebrates its 20th anniversary. At this Session Bite you can find out

about the library's main projects in Glasgow and around Scotland. There will also be a chance

to see our new website, recently launched as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations.

To find out more about Glasgow Women’s Library’s work and input at the

Session Bite

Visit: http://womenslibrary.org.uk/

WEA/ CWU Session

Successful Partnerships in Workplace Learning: This part of the session will be hosted by the

WEA and the Communication Workers Union at Royal Mail. The WEA and CWU have jointly

organised a number of successful learning programmes together over the last three years. They

will give a brief overview of the WEA’s workplace literacies project. We will talk about some of

the specific learning programmes organised and delivered for CWU members at Royal Mail,

highlighting the role and responsibilities of a Union Learning Representative in a large

enterprise with over 600 employees. The session will encourage participants to see the

advantages of partnership working in this area of learning.

To find out more about the WEA’s work with the CWU work and their input at

the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.weascotland.org.uk/

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Motherwell & Wishaw CAB

Motherwell & Wishaw Citizens Advice Bureau is a voluntary, confidential, independent and free

community service dedicated to helping local people to find solutions to problems. Come along

to our session and find out about CABopoly. This is one of a series of Interactive Workshops

that our ReachOut project delivers in a collaborative learning style with students and trainees.

It is aimed at empowering young adults by expanding their knowledge about basic rights and

their responsibilities regarding housing issues, money matters, employment and benefits. It

helps develop budgeting and other financial capability skills in an entertaining & engaging way.

To find out more about Motherwell and Wishaw CAB and their input at the

Session Bite

Visit: http://www.motherwellwishawcab.org.uk/

West Lothian Credit Union Forum

We are showcasing Money Minefield, a financial capability board game for groups of up to 6

people plus a facilitator. It was designed by West Lothian Credit Union Forum and West

Lothian Council’s Adult Basic Education to help introduce everyday budgeting concepts. The

game has proved popular in primary and secondary schools and as part of financial capability

programmes for young people as they become financially independent. However, it is suitable

for all ages from 10 upwards, either as an introduction to issues around personal finances, or as

part of a more in-depth programme. Players have stated that it has helped them become more

confident in managing their personal finances in an entertaining, non-threatening way.

To find out more about WLCUF and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.wlcuf.org.uk/

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Volunteer Development Scotland

VDS leads the way in informing and modernising approaches to enhancing practice and improving the

quality of the volunteering experience. Managing volunteers is often not recognised as a specific role.

For volunteer coordinators, managers and staff who are working within volunteering, having the

opportunity to develop skills and knowledge is essential. To meet this need we have developed SQA

Awards in Volunteer Management and learning courses that provide opportunities to learn and

develop. Come along to sample our learning and find out more about how you can develop and learn

with Volunteer Development Scotland.

To find out more about VDS and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.vds.org.uk/

Volunteer Action Dumfries & Galloway

Local Volunteer Centres work with volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations to develop

quality volunteering experiences. Demand in recent years for training for volunteers has grown,

especially around accredited training. In 2008 we became members of Open College Network and

offered a generic ‘Volunteering in your Community’ course with 2 units. The OCN Unit Bank has a

wealth of units to draw from to enable us to include new units to meet demand. Come along and

experience one of the course activities that the volunteers all agree is the most fun and practical way

to develop and appreciate teamwork.

To find out more about VA D&G and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.volunteeraction.co.uk/

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Craigmillar Books for Babies

Craigmillar Books for Babies is an early literacy project based in Craigmillar Edinburgh and working

with parents/carers with children under the age of 3. We are a project of the Craigmillar Literacy

Trust and have been working in the community since 1998. During this interactive Session Bite we

will look at the ways in which we support parents to actively engage in their children’s early

development from birth, the ways in which we encourage parents to contribute to the development

of the project and the benefits these bring. We will take a look at some resources available to all of

us who work with parents, children and families. This will be a fun, interactive session and we look

forward to sharing our project with you!

To find out more about Craigmillar Books for Babies and their input at the Session

Bite

Visit: http://www.craigmillarbooksforbabies.org.uk/

Parent Network Scotland

In this Session Bite you will learn how parents have an opportunity to:

· Learn and practice some communication tools that can help them to improve their relationship

with their children.

· Gain from the experiences of other parents, both those in the group and the trained and quality

assured parent network facilitators who are all parents themselves.

· Learn how to be clear, consistent and firm and explore strategies to deal with particular issues that

families are experiencing.

· Offer respect to all children and parents.

To find out more about Parent Network Scotland and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.parentnetworkscotland.org.uk/site/

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations)

SCVO, the umbrella body for voluntary organisations in Scotland, will be running a session bite on

their Supporting Voluntary Action programme. SVA covers five projects that collectively aim to

strengthen local support for the voluntary sector in Scotland. The Big Lottery Fund is investing £8

million in the programme, which runs from April 2007 to March 2012.

To find out more about SCVO’s work with the SVA programme and their input at the

Session Bite

Visit: http://sva.scvo.org.uk/

STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress)

Across Scotland, trade unions and employers are working together to make union learning a

success. Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) help build and support a learning culture within

their workplaces. Just as learning and skills are central to an employee’s progression at work and in

life, ULRs are the key to the development of lifelong learning in Scottish workplaces. This Session

Bite will provide a taste of the wide and varied range of learning activity in which unions are

currently involved, and an illustration of the crucial role unions play in enhancing learning and skills.

To find out more about STUC’s work and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.scottishunionlearning.com/

Glasgow ESOL Forum

Glasgow ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Forum’s Workplace Project has been running

since 2006. This Session Bite will focus on one aspect of the project, the ESOL for Employability

programme. The programme is aimed at refugee jobseekers, EU migrants and members of Scotland’s

settled BME communities for whom lack of English is a barrier to accessing employment. The

programme engages jobseekers in their first year of job seeking and aims to improve English

language ability, confidence and job seeking strategies in order to increase participants’

employability.

To find out more about Glasgow ESOL Forum’s work and their input at the Session

Bite

Visit: http://www.glasgowesol.org/

SWAPWest

We will discuss the findings of the CALLWest project, which engaged with a number of community

groups within Glasgow and the West of Scotland, forming relationships to facilitate the transition of

learners from community groups to colleges. We will explore learner progression as well as how

SWAPWest intends to continue to provide the materials and resources after the project for both

tutors and learners. The materials and resources of the project will be freely available and the Session

Bite will provide samples and discussion on effective use.

To find out more about SWAPWest’s work and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.scottishwideraccess.org/west.php?section_id=3

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Linked Work and Training Trust

To complement our partner host from ‘Forth Sector Employability’ we aim to host a Session Bite

based around the work we have been doing as part of the ‘Upskilling the Workforce’ programme as

‘LWTT Learning Academy’. This includes CLD, leadership, coaching as well as planning and managing

continuous professional development. The session will look at what worked, what was less successful

and some of the tools and resources developed from the project. The session will look briefly at

possible future developments and how we might best respond to them.

To find out more about Linked Work and Training Trust’s work and their input at the

Session Bite

Visit: http://www.lwtt.org.uk/

Forth Sector

Our Director of Employability Services will present on the work of her team. We will explore the

difficulties we faced in making changes to our current practice, the responses of our staff and clients

and what we learned from past delivery models. We have created a new model of employability,

which is the basis of our delivery. The new approach is more person-centred and reflective of the

needs of the individual clients.

To find out more about Forth Sector’s work and their input at the Session Bite

Visit: http://www.forthsector.org.uk/

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Dyslexia Scotland and AMINA Muslim Women’s Resource Centre

This Session Bite will be led by the Capacity Building Officer of AMINA and the Chief Executive of

Dyslexia Scotland. AMINA is a Scottish charity set up in 1997 as a result of mainstream providers not

responding to Muslim women’s needs and issues. MWRC works with policy makers and mainstream

providers to help overcome Muslim women’s barriers to civic participation and access to services.

Dyslexia Scotland is a national charity that encourages and enables people with dyslexia, regardless of

age and abilities, to reach their potential in education, employment and life.

The Session Bite will provide background information about Dyslexia Scotland and AMINA and outline

communication challenges faced by the people we represent, specifically related to dyslexia and

cultural and language barriers.

Through interactive exercises, participants will learn about issues commonly faced by callers to both

organisations’ helplines and be encouraged to discuss how they would support people facing similar

communication challenges.

To find out more about Dyslexia Scotland and AMINA’s work and their input at the

Session Bite

Visit: http://www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk/

http://www.mwrc.org.uk/

Visit:

The Session Bites at Communicate and Learn

Capturing what we do

Glasgow Women’s Library provides Adult Literacy and Numeracy support to women of all

ages. Many of the women we work with have experienced poverty, violence, abuse and

negative experiences in schooling. Discrimination underpins all of the women’s experience.

We provide a women-only learning space, which is discrete, but an integral part of GWL’s

wider learning opportunities. We provide support in various formats, including one-to-one

and group work, and try to make the experience of learning as multi-sensory as possible. We

reflect the national social model strategy and are always striving to introduce new ways of

learning, particularly to build critical understanding. We employ a full-time development

worker and a part-time tutor. We also support volunteers, all of whom have either

completed or are currently undertaking the ITAL course.

Learner outlines

Indigenous Scottish women and women with ESOL support needs use the library for

literacies support. Skills and confidence work takes place with the women. Often it’s the

indigenous Scots who frequently register lower confidence levels than women from BME

backgrounds. The majority of women using the ALN service in GWL have experienced

violence either in childhood or as adults. They find their way to the GWL through a variety

of referral mechanisms: from YWCA, Women’s Aid or self-referral – it’s often as simple as

having just seen a notice.

We have also carried out work with Greenock Prison and hope to do work at Cornton Vale

women’s prison. We replicate some of the activities there that happen at GWL. Some of

the women prisoners we’ve worked with have been released but as of yet they’ve not

visited us at GWL. This is largely due to the fact that they came from outwith the Glasgow

area and were released back to their own communities. It is for this reason that we would

like to provide ALN to with prisoners on remand in Cornton Vale. We liaise with the male

ALN prison worker for Glasgow and are available for women who would prefer to work with

a woman tutor. Many of our group learning opportunities in ALN target women at risk

of/involved in the Criminal Justice System.

National social model strategy and new ways of learning

Women using the GWL ALN service learn in a variety of ways and through a range of

experiences. For example they may attend a creative writing group, having moved on from

1-1 support. ALN work is all about providing this experience. It’s part of the bigger picture

on employability. Most women who use our project are at a pre-employability stage,

Feature: Glasgow Women’s Library

coming along for individual support in ALN. Often the main reason women evidence for

wanting ALN support is that they want to help their children with homework or school life.

GWL can’t provide childcare because it’s just too expensive to operate; this is a real issue.

Sometimes funding for a particular piece of work can help them support this – presently we

are running a Communications Group and have some funding to hire the nearby Stirling

Room in the main Mitchell Library to run crèche facilities in the nearby YWCA.

GWL ensure that they use the social practice model to engage learners but are keen to

ensure that this model is followed within the learning situation. We take a multi-sensory

approach; using films, discussion, books, circuit learning, themes, podcasts, Women Make

History tours – a whole range of activities to provide learner-centred experiences.

“Women Leading Through Reading” is a Canadian initiative that we are very interested in

developing. Women come in and train as facilitators and facilitate reading circles in their

communities. We are undertaking media smart work with the Young Women’s project and

want to replicate this with other women at GWL.

Exploring ways of improving the service can’t ignore the question of resources. Perhaps one

improvement could be childcare. There is also the consideration that maybe we could

provide a better service by working more intensively with fewer women. We would like

access to a working website that would really offer us interaction between learners and

tutors.

Exploring evaluation

Libraries Out Loud is the personal database that GWL uses in the project. We register every

woman and it can produce reports regularly for them. The Individual Learning Plans we use

are for evidencing/use by the women themselves; not for tracking centrally. This is part of

how we provide a person-centred approach.

Women are supported to complete an ILP with the help of a good volunteer tutor. It is the

woman’s own plan so she can include anything that she wants to achieve in it. We have 10

active volunteer tutors who are ITALL-trained and the level of volunteering commitment is

great.

We currently have 25 learners involved in 1-1 support, a creative writing group, Young

Women’s project, Young Women’s newsletter group and Literacy and Numeracy groups.

Ongoing evaluation work takes place across this range of activity.

Capturing what we do

As part of the work of Glasgow Simon Community we provide adult literacies opportunities

for adults who are homeless or have experienced homelessness. We provide this kind of

adult learning in a variety of ways and approaches

Learner Provision and Profiles

Learners who come to Glasgow Simon Community will have experienced homelessness at

some time. They might be involved in other projects that Glasgow Simon works in

partnership with. There is a range of people within the programmes, for example the

Monday group ranges in age from early 20s to 50s, and includes both men and women.

The Monday group takes place in Glasgow Simon’s main offices but we also run groups for

learners in other projects such as Glasgow City Mission/Lodging House Mission, Riddrie Day

Centre. Where possible or feasible the aim is to mainstream literacies, so for example we

are running a group in partnership with a music-focused group for people with disabilities.

Although it’s not the obvious focus of the group, nevertheless literacies work is being

delivered, through communications, exploration of issues, talking and writing. It’s been

going for only a short time but already we have put on a concert and hope to continue the

work.

Retention of learners has not been a difficulty in the Tuesday group. We often use a

buddying system and learners who have been through the group and are previous users are

involved as volunteers. They are helping to produce a magazine – carrying out editorial

work, building confidence in literacy. The magazine is being produced every 3-4 months.

A health and fitness group is also being run and we see clear crossover work with literacies

provision – talking about lifestyles, going to the gym, sharing knowledge on eating habits,

socialising on trips; it’s all an important part of the literacies work.

Partnerships and benefits

As part of the programme of activities, we run a book club at the Lodging House Mission.

There are a lot of support activities happening here for homeless people and therefore it

attracts a lot of folk. They are well placed to do literacy work because they provide cheap

food, showers, support and a timetable of learning activities. The Mission attracts 80-100

Feature: Glasgow Simon Community

folk a day. The literacy group is one part of this timetable, alongside activities such as

drama, arts, beauty therapy and outdoors work. The literacy group runs 1-3pm on a

Thursday. They have produced a publication – Wendy’s World, written as a developing

story within the group. The work attracted the services of a local drama project. An ex-cast

member from the Scottish soa, River City co-ordinated the production of Wendy’s World as

a play shown at the People’s Palace and the Lodging House Mission. For many involved, the

play was their first experience at acting. The comments after the event were very positive

and it was a real boost to the learners with regards to their confidence and self-esteem.

We had undertaken literacies work with a Women’s Project and this had gone well. They

had been a stable group and had been able to develop strong storylines in their writing.

Many of the group have now moved on or been resettled but now the new group is taking

up the story.

We are keen to continue to develop and improve the position of literacies within the

Glasgow Simon Community.

Learning Link Scotland is the national intermediary for voluntary adult learning providers.

We support, develop, promote and represent a dynamic membership of around 100 adult

education organisations based across Scotland. Together Member organisations provide a

wide range of learning opportunities to over 119,000 adults each year. They work in an

inclusive way with a wide cross section of adult learners in their communities. Our Members

also provide experiential learning opportunities to over 10,000 volunteers a year, and

employ around 4,000 full-time and part-time staff.

We work in partnerships across the sectors and currently represent our adult learning

community on many national groupings covering the diverse range of lifelong learning and

sector development, including Adult Literacy and Numeracy, Community Learning and

Development, European Lifelong Learning Programmes, Skills Strategy and implementation

of SCQF.

Contacts:

Learning Link Scotland,

Suite 6, 2 Commercial Street,

Edinburgh, EH6 6JA

Tel: 0131 553 7992,

Fax: 0131 553 3870

www.learninglinkscotland.org.uk

Scottish Company No. SC380020

Scottish Charity No. SC025308

Staff

Jayne Stuart – Director jstuart@learninglinkscotland.org.uk

Susan Walls – Depute Director swalls@learninglinkscotland.org.uk

Shirley Grieve – Head of Practice Development sgrieve@learninglinkscotland.org.uk

David Bass – Information and Communications Officer dbass@learninglinkscotland.org.uk

Nicola Macvean – Administrative Assistant nmacvean@learninglinkscotland.org.uk

Learning Link Scotland