A Woman's Place

A project with Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Somali women  

1 May 2009 - 31 December 2010

On 24 November 2010 the A Woman's Place project team attended a celebration event at the Home Office and were presented with a plaque for A Woman's Place in recognition of the co-financing received from the European Union Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows Funding programme.

Background

Based on the research report, Dare to Dream and a short pilot across three London Boroughs (Newham, Islington and Tower Hamlets), this successful project began on 1 May 2009 and finished on 31 December 2010. NIACE received funding from two sources; European Integration Fund and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The activities of A Woman’s Place were developed to complement the roll out of the ESOL policy, “A New Approach”; and contribute to community cohesion.

For A Woman's Place, NIACE developed and delivered:

Workshops for local authorities

Nine workshops took place during the first year of the project. These were for local authorities, Local Learning Partnerships (LLPs), faith groups and voluntary organisations. The Dare to Dream Planning and Outreach Framework was introduced and explored as a tool for local authorities to begin to plan how to reach and provide learning for the target learner group.

"The workshop consolidated knowledge about the New Approach and provided an insight into A Woman's Place project."
Delegate: Brighton & Hove (Dec 2009)

Pilots

Ten regional pilots set up a range of engagement and learning activities for women from the target group. They tested the Dare to Dream Planning and Outreach Framework and the toolkit that emerged from the initial phase of A Woman's Place. The pilots were given a small grant to deliver learning activities and promote social inclusion and partnership work in their region.

"In class we have the opportunity to share our experiences and learn about other cultures. The classes have also helped me to build my confidence to use English outside of class. This has made a big impact on my life as now I feel comfortable approaching the shop assistant and asking where things are. My children are also impressed and have commented on the increased self-confidence that I now have."
Learner, JET, Derby

"To promote this project, we have worked with a wide range of local community and voluntary organisations. Our Local Authority (Derbyshire Adult Learning Services) supported the project by signposting potential learners."
Learning Co-ordinator, JET, Derby

Training for practitioners

The practitioner training events ran from April to December 2010 with the first training event taking place in Derby on 27 April 2010. These events provided practitioners with the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge about A New Approach and find out about the work of the A Woman's Place pilot in their region. Practitioners were be introduced to and given the chance to test out the Dare to Dream Planning and Outreach Framework.

"Helped to identify the challenges that prevent women from learning".
Participant, Derby.

Outcomes

Developing the Planning and Outreach Framework

In response to evaluative comments from participants in the practitioner training and local authority workshops, the Planning and Outreach Framework has been developed further and is available, in a pack, free of charge. The pack includes the Framework as a poster that can be used by ESOL managers and practitioners, as well as information on sources of funding, partnerships, data and success factors in providing outreach and engagement activities for this group of women learners.

The tools included in the pack are now available free here

Lessons Learned from the pilots

A case study account of the work of the pilots and lessons learned has been written and is also available at the link above.

Further Details

If you would like any further information about this project, please contact:

Linda Dixon
Project Officer, NIACE
Email: linda.dixon@niace.org.uk