A Woman's Place Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 08:43

Over the last 6 months A Woman's Place has brought 160 women living in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Islington together to identify their learning needs and help them access all types of learning.

Funded by DIUS and building on the Government's Community Cohesion Strategy, A Woman's Place has used the research findings from the NIACE investigative study Dare to Dream to target specific groups of women who may have a lower level of English language skills and who are at risk of social exclusion, to:

• recruit women as learners;
• engage them in a wide range of meaningful and relevant learning activities;
• encourage them and their families to engage more actively with schools, health services and in community activities; and
• refer them to further learning opportunities.

Marina Koniotou, NIACE ESOL Project Officer, said

"One of the earliest challenges of A Woman's Place was meeting the variety of learning aspirations and learning needs of all the women involved."

"For some of the learners, looking after their families was their main priority, while for others getting a job and improving their English language skills was high on their agendas."

"We have worked with women who have lived in the UK for some time, yet still lack the English language skills they want and need, to participate fully in society."

"The outcome of the last 6 months work has been staggering. Women have started taking an active role in their children's schools, there's improved social integration and communication between different community groups and increased take up of informal leisure and learning opportunities."

"However one of the most dramatic impacts has been the women have started courses in more formal learning, they've signed up to volunteer with a range of groups and organisations; and some are, with the right support and guidance, looking for jobs."