Learning communities: a thriving region
[Conference Report] [Case Studies] [Presentation] [Publications]
A GOWM-LSC-NIACE conference held on 2 May, 2006
Interest in how learning can deliver individual and community benefits straddles national policy and a range of government departments. There is research evidence about the wider benefits of learning which, amongst other outcomes, can contribute to:
 | Community cohesion; |
| Active communities/ community development; |
| Improved health; |
| Self confidence, self esteem, individual well-being; |
| Employability. |
GOWM and LSC brought together a range of regional partners for a conference in Birmingham on 2 May, 2006. It showcased and explored how community-based learning can contribute to robust, thriving communities and a strong region - and what we need to do in the region to maximise this potential. The conference was participatory in order to build on expertise existing in a wide range of organisations and parts of the West Midlands. Participants included people with funding/ strategy/ planning roles and expert practitioners and, between them, they were familiar with different parts of the region.
The workshops explored how the learning that adults take part in, outside of programmes focusing explicitly on skills priorities and targets, is contributing to a wide range of outcomes for individuals, their communities and the region. There were six thematic areas for the workshops:
| community-based learning and employability/ links to labour markets; |
| raising achievement for children, young people and families; |
| wider community engagement, including enabling communities themselves to identify and help to respond to learning needs; |
| developing models of service delivery that focus on/ harness learning and
skills that help to narrow gaps; learning and health/ wellbeing; |
| widening participation; |
Towards the end of the day, a panel of senior staff from regional strategic bodies received feedback and issues from the conference and explored ways forward.
Case studies presented at the workshops and other conference materials may be found at the bottom of this page.
Two free publications were launched at the conference:
| Reaching Rural Communities: the experience of the West Midlands Widening Adult Participation Action Fund projects. |
| Learning Communities in the West Midlands. |
Copies of these can be obtained by contacting Raksha Mistry at NIACE: raksha.mistry@niace.org.uk
Copies of the Skills for Communities Guide were also available at the conference. This is a short guide for people working in communities about how literacy, language and numeracy issues may affect the people you work with, the services you offer and what you can do about this. See www.sfcguide.org.uk for a copy of the guide and associated materials. Free copies of this can be obtained from dfes@prologue.uk.com
Conference Report
A report on the GOWM-LSC-NIACE seminar and conference on community learning with information about next steps.
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Case Studies
Case studies presented at the workshops and other conference materials are available below:
(The following files are all Word documents unless stated otherwise)
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North Warwickshire and Hinckley College Community Learning Ambassadors2 |
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Presentation
(The following file is a PowerPoint Presentation)
| The benefits of participation in
learning for individuals and communities by Andy Phillips, WMRO |
Publications
Reaching rural communities: the West Midlands 'Widening Adult
Participation Action Fund' experience
From 2004 - 2006, the LSC's Widening Adult Participation Action Fund (WAPAF)
supported a wide range of widening participation projects in each English
region. There were projects in four counties in the West Midlands, all focused
on different approaches to supporting access to learning in rural areas. This
short publication looks at the West Midlands WAPAF projects and what can be
learned from them.
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West Midlands Learning Communities: learning
for a thriving region
This short publication looks at how learning communities in the West
Midlands are developing inclusive local partnerships and bottom-up approaches to
making learning and skills development more relevant and accessible to local
communities. It focuses particularly on the experience of the region's Testbed
Learning Communities (TLCs) but also draws in lessons from other learning
communities in the West Midlands, arguing that the work of learning communities
should be of interest to a wide range of bodies concerned about skills, economic
and community development.
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