Learning to drive: community cohesion

[Introduction] [Background] [Aims] [The study tour aims to] [What participants will gain from attending] [How participants can use the information] [The event will be of particular interest to] [Why Leicester] [Leicester and Community Cohesion] [The Local Communities] [Programme] [Application Form]

Introduction

See how community cohesion works in practice through a local strategic approach and how learning links into the strategy to work with local communities. Join in the debate with fellow practitioners and policy makers as we tour Leicester’s community centres.

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Background

The community cohesion agenda has continued to gather pace, gain publicity (both negative and positive) and to cause consternation and debate as to how best to implement measures which support its development in a way which meets needs and makes sense to people locally.

Despite years of work on this theme there is still disagreement about what cohesion means, who it applies to and why, and what to do about it. Some answers have been found, hot air has been generated and solutions are often not shared. Wheels are reinvented.

For local authorities and other public bodies the issue has been placed centre stage with many authorities choosing to aim to meet PSA (21) and national indicators (NI 1,2,4) in acknowledgement of the importance of cohesion in their locality. Learning provision has a role to play in cohesion as we have seen that adults who participate in learning are more likely to know a broader cross section of people and are less likely to be intolerant of others. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) recommends that local authorities work with learning providers in delivering the cohesion agenda.

There are some 'difficult' questions to answer:

• Why does cohesion focus so often only on race and faith, as if other inequalities or issues do not affect cohesion? Are gaps widening and intolerance growing as recent research might suggest?
• What impact does recession have on the cohesion agenda – does it reinforce the gaps or could it help us all to pull together?
• How do we shape places?What role does learning play?
• Why has the preventing violent extremism agenda tended to dominate the agenda to the exclusion of other, perhaps more relevant, topics?
• How does cohesion relate to policy areas such as health, safety, crime and how might adult learning respond?
• Does a big lunch make a difference? Is it a learning opportunity? What else might work?
• We risk losing cohesion amongst the other agendas – shouldn’t we bring them all together?
• How do we put race inequality and other inequalities properly back on the agenda?
• What is the impact of demographic change, including migration, on cohesion?
• What is the impact of demographic change, including migration, having on cohesion?
• Do we understand superdiversity and the advantages and disadvantages of the concept?
• What does each of us mean by community and cohesion? What would a cohesive community look like and would we want to live there?
• Why don’t local people tend to understand what a cohesion strategy is about?
• What role does adult learning play in transforming communities and lives?
• How do we mainstream and embed cohesion work?

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Aims

This mobile seminar/study tour will look at cohesion in action in one city and give practitioners time to reflect and explore how to take forward their ideas by building on their own and each others’ experience.

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The study tour aims to:

• enable practitioners to reflect on and discuss cohesion issues ‘in situ’ – learning from experience
• explore the key themes underpinning community cohesion
• explore the skills agenda and informal learning and their relationship to community cohesion
• look at community, community development and learning and skills ‘hands on’ and the lessons for local authorities and practitioners; meeting communities and  hearing from practitioners

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What participants will gain from attending the event

• An increased understanding of community cohesion in practice
• An opportunity to meet other practitioners and officials and to share experience and knowledge
• Community practitioners would lead sessions at the community centres
• Community based learners to be available for discussions
• Facilitated discussions – maybe on the living library model
• You will meet practitioners, policymakers, participants  from different areas and people in the localities visited.

NB. some preparatory reading and thinking will be beneficial for participants

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How participants can use the information gained from the event when they get back to their institutions

• Strengthen plans for and contribution to the cohesion agenda
• Share learning with other colleagues and develop staff
• Deepen understanding of practitioners and communities of the cohesion agenda
• Debunk myths, carry out similar activities and promote learning for change

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The event will be of particular interest to:

• Learning and skills providers with an interest in learning and skills for cohesion and active citizenship
• Cohesion and community development practitioners
• Voluntary and community organisations
• Job Centre Plus staff
• Local authority staff with responsibility for adult learning, community development and community cohesion
• Fire service, police, fire and rescue and other services with a commitment to cohesion
• PCT and other relevant Health Service staff
• Community safety staff
• Probation and NOMS staff, especially learning providers

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Why Leicester

• The leading local authority for community cohesion
• Grade 1 from Ofsted for Community development work (Adult Learning and Skills service).

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Leicester and Community Cohesion

The city of Leicester has long been a pioneer of work in mainstreaming community cohesion. The city was highlighted recently by CLG as a leading example of good practice. Whilst community cohesion is a complex area involving crime, health, employment, education and economic investment as well as having considerable interplay with poverty and deprivation as well as equalities agendas, in Leicester learning and skills plays a key role in driving community cohesion across the city.

The local authority Adult Skills and Learning service was commended as ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED earlier this year for both Community Development and Equality and Diversity reflecting a whole city approach to community cohesion and this is a major area for good practice to be shared. The service is also a pathfinder for the government’s new approach to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

This seminar offers you the opportunity to see community cohesion in practice informed by conversations ‘on the bus’ both with fellow practitioners and policy makers from Leicester and beyond. Each stop reflects a different community and a different approach to learning and skills integrating services to support the city’s community cohesion strategy. We also will demonstrate a model that shows how this brings together major central and local government objectives in a way that other areas could benefit from.

The city has been commended by CLG for its Members Training Programme, which keep elected members informed of demographic changes in the city, as well as assisting them to understand and deal with a range of ‘people issues’ including the influence of the far right, inter-faith awareness, community cohesion and the PREVENT agendas. (CLG 2009 ‘Guidance for local authorities on how to mainstream community cohesion into other services’)

Leicester is projected to be the first non-white majority population sometime after 2011. 54% of Leicester’s school pupils have an ethnic minority background. There are  approximately 240 faith groups across 14 main faiths in the city.

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The local communities

African Caribbean Centre

Whilst the African Caribbean Community is spread throughout the city the centre acts as a focal point for activities and links to the annual Carnival which is one of the biggest carnivals in Britain. The community has highlighted several key challenges for the city to tackle including the “invisibleness and underdevelopment of black people in the city’; the poverty of skills, knowledge and awareness in the community’ and the investment in children and young people. Increasing lifelong learning and skills is driving this development.

Belgrave Centre

In the heart of the ‘Golden Mile’ a major shopping and business centre for Indian businesses, the community centre hosts a wide range of learning and skills and community activities aimed at the Gujurati citizens of Leicester. 28% of the city’s population are Gujurati, Indians. The annual Diwali celebrations are the biggest in the UK. The centre provides a lunch club for elderly residents and this is our venue for lunch today.

Brite Centre

The Brite centre is in the middle of Braunstone, a white working class estate and New Deal for Communities area. The centre co-locates services around a library and IT centre along with a café and other training rooms. The centre provides many opportunities for local residents to improve their skills and chances of employment with a strong spirit
of learning and self-improvement at its core.

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Programme

09:30 Arrival and registration at African Caribbean Community Centre, Maidstone Road, Leicester LE2 0UA (refreshments available)

10:00 Welcome from The African Caribbean Centre
Welcome to the day Jane Watts, Programme Director, NIACE
Welcome from Councillor Ross Willmott, Leader of Leicester City Council
How learning drives community cohesion – a model
Chris Minter, Head of Adult Skills and Learning, Leicester City Council
Input from Joe Allen, Representative of The African Caribbean Centre
Discussion groups

11:00 Transfer by coach to The Belgrave Centre
Viewing of DVD;
Followed by input (tbc)

11:30 Arrival at Belgrave Centre, Rothley Street, Leicester LE4 6LF
Welcome from Belgrave Centre
Input from Councillor Manjula Sood, Leicester City Council
Discussion groups with local community representatives

12:15 Lunch (refreshments available)

13:30 Transfer by coach to The BRITE Centre
with input from Bijal Stapleford, Education Welfare Service, Leicester City Council

14:00 Arrival at The BRITE Centre, Braunstone Avenue, Leicester LE3 1LE
Welcome from The BRITE Centre
Input from: B-inspired
Discussion groups with local community representatives

15:00 Transfer by coach to Linwood Centre
With input from Karina Martin, Regional Co-ordinator, Community Cohesion Volunteers, Novas Scarman Group
Jane Watts, Programme Director, NIACE

15:30 Arrival at Linwood Centre, Linwood Lane, Leicester LE2 6QN
Welcome from Linwood Centre
Discussion groups with local community representatives

Summing up, feedback and evaluation
Mark Ravenhall, Director (Places & Structures), NIACE
Chris Minter, Head of Adult Skills and Learning, Leicester City Council
Jane Watts, Programme Director, NIACE

16:15 Travel back to Leicester railway station

16:45 End of seminar

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Application Form