14 projects get funding for community learning Friday, May 28, 2010 - 10:52

Since October 2009, the Community Learning Champions' Support Programme has helped volunteers promote learning in their homes, workplaces and communities. It is delivered through a partnership between NIACE, unionlearn, the WEA  and Martin Yarnit Associates.

The 50 projects, with over 600 Community Learning Champions, provide training and development opportunities alongside a website for exchanging ideas, goals and achievements.

The winning projects - representing different regions from across the country - will help people including those who are homeless, people with learning difficulties and disabilities, disadvantaged families, older people, ex-offenders, unemployed people, refugees and people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Projects include:

Outside In Community Learning Champions will work across London, including Camden, Islington, Hackney, Haringey, Brent, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Westminster, Tower Hamlets, Ealing and Hillingdon.

Led by homelessness charity St Mungo's, the project will build on the charity's successful Outside In client representative group, which has been recognised nationally for its innovation and empowerment of homeless adults. Integrating the two schemes will give up to 30 homeless volunteers access to a wide range of training and support, helping them to make sure that learners have a choice in the learning opportunities offered by St Mungo's.

Richard, aged 45, is set to be St Mungo's first Community Learning Champion and has already been at the forefront of creating a new partnership with a local community centre in the London Borough of Camden. Richard grew up in the United States, but in 2006 he had to come back to England suddenly and found himself homeless. While getting back on his feet, he was directed to St Mungo's, where he joined the charity's Outside In group and helped establish a partnership with the Onekx Community Centre in Kings Cross.

He said:

"Since I've been back in England, St Mungo's has helped me a lot and I want to give something back. I want to contribute. I do whatever I can and I get the satisfaction of helping out somebody who is down on their luck."

Learning Families Community Champions will help 42 Health Visitors in Gateshead to build on their existing relationships with excluded and vulnerable families to promote effective parenting and to support carers. The project will provide information and training to help its volunteers identify learning needs and gaps in provision and to champion a range of learning opportunities for parents and carers. Future plans for the project include rolling it out nationally through the National Family Learning Network - run by Campaign for Learning, ContinYou and NIACE - and the Skilled for Health programme.

Sharing Opportunities, in Ashford, will play a crucial part in helping local people with learning difficulties, people from black and minority ethnic groups and people experiencing mental ill health, to access all sorts of informal learning. To do so, the project will recruit Community Learning Champions who will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and skills, to act as role models for others in their community.

Sheffield Informal Learning Advocates Progressing Together - led by Darnall Community Forum - will build on the lessons learnt from the Informal Learning Advocates Transformation Fund project, to bring informal learning opportunities to people living in deprived neighbourhoods. The project will strengthen the way existing and new learning champions work and will allow local learning providers access to the national support programme.

John Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, said:

"There can surely be no better envoys for lifelong learning than inspirational people in local communities sharing their thirst for skills, their hunger for education with others; and we now have more than 600 registered Community Learning Champions. These people bring learning to life for thousands across the country."

"I have seen for myself the difference that community learning, whether it's practical or academic, can make to people's health and self esteem whatever their age, background or previous experience."

"Our new Government is dedicated to building a truly big society, and lifelong learning has an important role to play. Adult learning brings the promise of a better society, founded on social mobility, social justice and social cohesion."

 Liz Cousins, NIACE Project Manager of the Community Learning Champions Support Programme, said:

"Building on the success and achievements of the work already done in the first year of the the Community Learning Champions Support Programme, we are delighted that a further 14 development-funded projects have started. All around the country, in 50 places from Portsmouth to Newcastle and from Cumbria to Norwich, people who are passionate about learning are developing their skills to help others take up informal adult learning and to help them see the difference learning can make to their lives."