What can we do?
Whatever your role – training provider, librarian, museum curator,
education officer, member of a local Learning Partnership, and so on –
some of the suggestions below might help you support older people to
learn more effectively in your community.
- Be positive and supportive about learning in later life.
- Find out what older learners want.
- Take steps to find out what opportunities exist in your community. It’s
worth considering the potential of existing social clubs as an alternative to
formal courses. People might be more willing to take part in a local history
project involving their local museum, for example, if it were facilitated
through the group they already attend each week.
- Don’t work alone. Make contact with other agencies – find ways of
sharing resources and linking provision. The list of agencies on page 15
might provide a starting point.
- Share ideas widely. Celebrate the achievements of older learners – and
your own achievements in providing for them. NIACE is providing an ideas
exchange and would welcome details of any particularly successful projects
to pass on to others (telephone NIACE on 0116 204 4200). The Better
Government for Older People (BGOP) Network also offers tips on good
practice and the opportunity to explore problems with other Network
members (www.bettergovernmentforolderpeople.gov.uk).
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