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Community Leaders making a difference

26.05.11

The London Academy’s Community Learning Champions (CLC) Project developed 24 leaders in West London to promote and encourage informal adult learning to their families, neighbours and communities.

The London Academy, with funding from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, developed highly motivated and enthusiastic individuals through leadership training workshops, mentoring and networking support to enable them to fulfill the aim of the CLC national initiative (www.communitylearningchampions.org.uk)

It is easy to see what a difference Community Learning Champions make when you hear about the amazing things they have been doing. London Academy’s CLCs have found they have changed their own lives, the lives of the people they live with and the communities they live and work in.

Here are five examples of our Leaders making a difference.

Posted by Vijay Amin

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Sharing learning points

21.04.11

The Academy’s own Colin Gilfillan recently presented the results of The Academy’s Brent Learning Leaders project at a meeting of the Local Government Information Unit /Warwick Business School’s Local Economic Development Learning Network.

Colin shared inspirational stories about the 23 local volunteers who came forward and who we  trained and developed to become Community Learning Champions with our partners Catalyst Communities Housing.  Colin also showed delegates a film about Community Learning Champions which had recently been produced by the CLC national development team.   Not a single delegate had heard of the initiative.  Some delegates were visibly moved by what they saw and heard.  There was concern among delegates about a) why the pilot development programme had not been more widely publicised and b) why such a successful initiative was coming to an end after such a short time (funding for CLC pilot projects began in late 2009 and came to an end at the end of March 2011).

You can find out more about the Academy’s project and the national CLC support programme here.

Posted by Colin Gilfillan

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Strong backing from minister for Community Learning Champions

23.03.11

John Hayes, the Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further Education and Skills, had two important messages for the conference in London on 9 March to celebrate the achievements of the Community Learning Champions programme.

The first was that the contribution of CLCs would be taken into account in the current review of informal adult and community learning that his department BIS is carrying out. Referring to the 100,000 learners reached by 2000 community learning champions, he said:

“We do not underestimate the impact that Community Learning Champions can have in their communities. Who else knows their community better than those who live within it? Over the coming months we will work closely with partners to consider how public funding can be refocused and reprioritised to guide and support the people who need the most help and have had the fewest opportunities.”

Secondly he added, visibly moved by the film about CLCs he had just watched, that when he got back to the office he would be looking at how to ensure that the CLC programme continued.

The London Academy has successfully delivers the Brent Learning Leaders CLC project. We have developed 23 leaders who have reached and engaged with over 500 adults learners in West London. Academy Director Vijay Amin is excited by the opportunity for the Brent Leaders in getting involved with localized agenda and the big society initiatives. He comments “Our CLCs have fabulous skills and connections to support agencies to reach out to adults from various communities in West London. They are an asset for us and it is our intention to continue to support and develop them over the next year..

As the Community Learning Champions’ Support Programme – funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) – draws to an end later this month, the purpose of the event was to  celebrate the national programme’s success by highlighting how lives are transformed when learning champions are given effective resources, support and training. Eight projects presented aspects of their work at roundtable discussions and a further seven mounted exhibitions. Two new films were launched, soon to be available on line here.  A report on the work of the national support programme – featuring case studies of projects and individual Community Learning Champions – will be published on 29 March 2011.

www.communitylearningchampions.org.uk

Posted by Vijay Amin

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