Case Studies
Your activities can be anything that offers members of the local community an opportunity to find out what you do and where you are. The simplest thing that an organisation can do is to do what they do every other week of the year, but from 20-26 May label these activities as Adult Learners' Week events and invite members of the community to observe or take part.
However, it is better do to something different for Adult Learners' Week because this will make it easier for your organisation to draw attention to itself. You could hold an open day, set up a display in a shopping centre, present demonstrations or performances, hold a party…
Here are some examples of events that have been held in past Adult Learners’ Weeks:
On Cultural Diversity Day the Manchester Adult Learners Forum hosted a range of events including an opening ceremony and information and guidance sessions. A city tour bus was arranged by the Museum of Science and Industry. There were taster sessions in hairdressing, alternative therapy, music and dance and Chinese theatre.
Leicester-based REMIT is a city council community education and mental health project. During Adult Learners’ Week REMIT organised lectures, workshops and hands on sessions in art, computing and poetry for students with mental health and other difficulties. There was also a birdwatch and displays about the environment and the community area.
At Exeter College new learners were reached using stands in local stores that exhibited students’ work, photographs of students and classes at the college. Other activities included interior design, soft furnishings and garden design at B&Q and an arts exhibition at a pub and at Exeter central library.
In Sunderland exhibitions and demonstrations were held in the city library foyers. There was a ferry trip along the river Wear incorporating a visit to the wildflowers park with local history speakers, a cycle along the sculpture trail, and a ‘plant a tree’ and conservation workshop. Information and guidance was offered at each event.
Network training in Penzance reached 66 people in the rural community by taking learning to them. Through their activity they now have seven people on the pre-vocational ‘Discovering Ideal Life’s Work’ Course and three people on the ‘Workshop Facilitation Training’ Course. It has generated publicity and has also aided in the success of further funding applications from other sources.
HMP Wormwood Scrubs launched Adult Learners’ Week with a motivational speaker talking about life options, taking control and making good decisions. Other sessions were led by rap poetry artists El Crisis and Ife Piaki. Ten learners were so inspired, they shared ‘lyrics’ as part of the workshop. The Week culminated in an Awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of learners at the prison.
The Budshead Trust in Coventry partnered with Henley College to provide outreach opportunities outside a local Kwik Save store. A ‘gorilla’ was used to attract potential learners and information and guidance was provided by the college staff. A learning pack was offered to all who enquired about the courses, giving staff opportunity to keep in touch with enquirers.
The College organised two events in partnership with Eccles College, Pendleton College and a range of organisations in Salford. The open event took place with a variety of tasters including Skills for Life, ICT, a demonstration on hanging baskets and hairdressing. Additionally, Greater Manchester Radio sent their bus with IT facilities on board and reached 90 people through this activity. A local award ceremony attracted 80 people including the Mayor of Salford, with the certificates presented by the former Dr Who, TV personality Christopher Eccleston. This event was co-funded by the European Social Fund.
Norwich Intercultural Exchange, Co-funded by the European
Social Fund
Cultural Diversity Day was promoted at St Johns Parish Hall in
Norfolk with activities ranging from presentations from educational
providers in Norfolk to an Indian Head Massage and reflexology
demonstrations. The locally based Bluebell South allotments were
opened up on the 22 May for practical experiences on organic
gardening.
culturemarket
North West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council worked
collaboratively with providers in Manchester to co-ordinate
culturemarket. The event took place in central Manchester and
reached over 3,000 people through a variety of interactive
activities which enabled individuals and families to take part. Many
reported that they were pleasantly surprised at how much fun
learning can be and the range of learning opportunities on offer.
House of Commons-Clerks Department
Took part in Learning at Work Day to promote learning activities
from external providers, trade union learning reps, quizzes, health
and safety information, professional qualifications, languages, NVQs
and IT workshops.
Fox Biscuits
Sent some staff to the local college to encourage learning and
started an ESOL programme for their non-English speaking staff.
Cheltenham Art Gallery
Expert curators offered the opportunity to appreciate techniques
and styles by looking at ceramics, paintings, furniture as well as
history in the art gallery and museum.
Sainsbury's
Organised taster sessions in sports injury, essential skills and
Indian head massages as well as having refreshments and free
raffles.
Swindon Learning Ambassadors, co-funded by the European
Social Fund
Learning Ambassadors in Swindon interviewed local residents to
capture information about issues that put people off learning and
those that encourage people to learn. They also organised a national
day parade for local school children and their parents. Activities
included Bollywood dancing, sale of international food, singing,
juggling and food hygiene. The Learning Ambassadors shared their
experiences through live interviews on BBC Radio Swindon and GWR,
reaching over 400,000 listeners.