Toolkit to help engage women as learners Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 16:04

A Woman's Place: A toolkit of learning activities to engage women as learners - based on a project with minority ethnic women in London - contains case study examples and a booklet that can be used by local authorities and providers to make sure that women from disadvantaged backgrounds can access learning of all types.

The toolkit is a result of a project - A Woman's Place - across three London boroughs - Tower Hamlets, Newham and Islington - to bring Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Somali women together. The project worked closely with the women to identify their specific learning requirements and helped them to access relevant learning opportunities.

A Woman's Place toolkit contains adaptable information and case studies that can be adopted for developing learning opportunities across the country with different groups of learners and their unique and individual needs. It has also been designed to support community cohesion and current policy, complementing policy document A New Approach to ESOL and the The Learning Revolution White Paper.

A Woman's Place project has enhanced the lives of many disadvantaged women, by helping them access the learning they wanted to do:

Sadia Begum, from Bangladesh, has lived in Tower Hamlets for 22 years, but having to look after her children full-time, meant she struggled to learn English. Since taking part in the project, she hopes to pursue her interest in childcare. Sadia said:

"Being at home all the time is boring...[now] My mind is fresh. I am happy. Being involved in this project has made time pass quicker."

In Newham, the project worked with the Red Cross to deliver emergency first aid education. This led to a demand for voluntary work experience within a community setting and consequently, volunteering workshops were offered to the women. At the end of the workshops, the women were signposted to several organisations for professional advice around careers in the voluntary sector. One participant said:

"It is so hard to find the information on the computer only. Now I know where to start from, there are people I can talk to. It [volunteering] is so much better than sitting at home!"

Fataha, from Bangladesh, moved to Islington 10 years ago without speaking the English language. Looking after her children, she struggled to learn English and found herself dependent on others. Since joining the programme and has signed up for Childcare with ESOL and enjoys feeling independent. She said:

"Before I could do nothing, but now I know what I want to do and I want to do more...I want to do something for my family and children."

Marina Koniotou, NIACE ESOL Project Officer, said:

"Our toolkit will help to combat race and gender based inequalities that women from disadvantaged groups face on a daily basis. While we recognise that learning alone cannot overcome these inequalities, making access to learning easy, will go a long way in encouraging community cohesion."

There are 1,000 hard-copies of the toolkit available for free. To order one contact Bhupinder Nijja on 0116 204 4282 or email bhupinder.nijja@niace.org.uk.

Alternatively both the booklet and case studies can also be dowloaded for free.