Background and Methodology | Overview | Birmingham | Bradford | Bristol | Gateshead | Greenwich | Hackney | Leicester | Liverpool | Manchester | Norwich | Sheffield | Slough C: The Bristol Project Project Context C1 The project covers an area known as Knowle West to the south of central Bristol; it has the post code BS4. The area has high levels of unemployment, especially in the wards of Filwood and Windmill Hill. Access to other parts of the city is poor, both in terms of road links and public transport. Other challenges include poor housing, high numbers of lone parents, high levels of drug / alcohol abuse and a high number of ex-offenders. C2 For the unemployed in Knowle West, there is little prospect of imminent change. Many worked in the manufacturing sector which has seen steady decline: two major tobacco manufacturers left the area in the early 1980s, for example. There is no culture of retraining and continuing learning. A survey by South Bristol College showed only 16 of some 2,000 part-time students, with home addresses in Knowle West. Further, a mapping exercise undertaken jointly by the college and Bristol Community Education showed hardly any learning opportunities located in BS4. Project objectives C3 The aim of the project was defined as: "to effectively promote lifelong learning within the Knowle West community, and to draw on the knowledge and experience of local people to encourage others not currently interested or involved in learning, to think about the possible benefits of new learning and help them take the first step". C4 The approach was based on a cascade model in which:- local residents were identified as potential information workers (or 'community influencers'); the team received training, following a custom-designed programme with Open College Network (OCN) accreditation, and with support from a guidance worker in a mentoring role; information workers promoted learning to local people. A small sum of money was identified to help minimise some of the barriers to learning faced by new learners. C5 The target group was not defined narrowly. It was anticipated that most would be disaffected adults living on the large housing estates. Management arrangements C6 The nominated project manager is from Learning Partnership West, but it should be stressed that the project is a partnership in reality - not just in name; indeed, a representative of one of the other key partners (Bristol Community Education) chairs the Steering Group. The development worker is formally employed by Bristol City Council but based in a drop in centre in Filwood (the centre incorporates a 'job shop', an IT training facility and a café). The project also funds a guidance worker (0.2 FTE) from Learning Partnership West, to provide mentoring support for information workers and a tutor from the Community Education Service to lead on the design and delivery of the training programme. C7 The organisations represented on the Steering Group are:- Learning Partnership West Bristol City Council - Community Education Service City of Bristol College Employment Service Knowle West Development Trust Bristol City Council - Equalities and Community Development Unit DfEE. C8 The Steering Group worked hard to achieve shared ownership of the project among all organisations with a part to play - not just the principal sponsors. At the first meeting, all members contributed responses to two key questions:- what outcomes do you hope to see from the project? what contributions can you make to the project? C9 This proved a creative and rewarding exercise. Several suggestions from the brainstorm were incorporated. These ranged from use of language (eg. the phrase "holding hands to officialdom") to role definitions (the specifications for the information worker role were jointly worked up) and parallel exercises (eg. the development of a network of providers located in, or with a presence in, Knowle West - strictly speaking outside the DfEE funded project). Progress against objectives C10 Progress is summarised under three headings, namely:- recruitment of information workers; training of information workers; accessing non-learners. Recruitment of information workers C11 Lifelong learning information workers were pivotal to the project as a whole. Their role is to encourage local residents to participate in guidance and learning opportunities and to help them take the first steps. They receive the training and support described below and agree to promote learning to local groups. The original intention was that they would deliver three presentations each. C12 The team found it helpful to produce leaflets setting out the role of the workers and the 'deal' on offer; this also brought other benefits, such as helping to clarify the thinking internally and having a handout for use with other agencies. In practice, nearly all the enquirers were through word of mouth. The channels included:- existing learner groups (eg. 'wordpower' group); referrals from the family learning project; enquirers at the drop-in centre. Somewhat to the surprise of the project team, one enquirer was a response to an article placed in the local paper (Evening Post). C13 Enquirers were invited to come to an informal briefing. Two sessions were offered, one in the day and one in the evening. The former proved more popular; this may be because the area is safer during daylight hours. Most of the enquirers were female; there are free childcare facilities at the centre. C14 In practice 13 volunteer information workers were recruited. Four dropped out during the life of the project, leaving nine who completed the programme, of whom seven were female and two were male. No particular trend was discernible among the drop outs:- one obtained a full time job; one moved away; one experienced serious illness in the family; one seemed to have less commitment, even from the outset. Training of information workers C15 The training programme was originally planned as eight sessions of two and a half hours each. The themes were conceived as follows:- Types of learning and evaluating your own learning (follow up with individual guidance). Motivation for learning, barriers to learning and overcoming them. Assessing local learning and guidance. Accessing and evaluating guidance information (visit to Learning Shop). Techniques of presentation and evaluation, including resources to support presentation. Accessing training and colleges city-wide, support needs, funding your learning, qualifications and progression (inputs from providers and on benefits). Identifying and preparing content and resources for lifelong learning information presentation programme. Presentation practice. Feedback, evaluation of course, and planning lifelong learning presentation programme. C16 The design of the course was an early outcome from the project; accreditation was obtained from the Open College Network. Sessions started in February with two small groups meeting on Friday mornings and Wednesday evenings. The nine who completed the programme were awarded Certificates in Accessing Lifelong Learning, eight at Level 2 and one at Level 1. C17 Feedback from information workers was very positive. Suggestions for amendments to the programme on subsequent occasions included:- separating out inputs on content points (eg. how to access learning opportunities) from those on process points (eg. how to prepare a presentation); greater emphasis on research skills (eg. how to identify and exploit existing data; how to undertake primary research); adding a session on the local labour market; rethinking the mentoring support. The general view was that sessions on advice and guidance worked well but that the on-going mentoring support for the volunteers was not exploited to the full. C18 Reasonable expenses (including travel and childcare) were met by the project. In addition, a contribution of £5 per hour was paid for the preparation and delivery of presentations. This did not give rise to any major difficulties over payment of benefits: not all volunteers were claiming benefits in the first case and payments to others were staggered over longer periods, if difficulties were envisaged. Those completing the course were encouraged to take up further learning, for which a subsidy was available from project funds. An NVQ 2 in guidance and a FE teaching certificate were two possible next steps. C19 At the end of the course, a celebratory event was held in Knowle West. This was a great success attended by more than 100 people and attracting positive media coverage. All those involved felt it important to mark the achievement of not only the information workers, but also other local learners who had participated in learning and (in most cases) been awarded certificates. The event also helped to raise awareness among the local community of learning opportunities and the satisfaction to be gained from participation. Accessing non-learners C20 The cascade model depended on each information worker planning and delivering presentations to other residents of Knowle West. The project team had an open mind as to the format for these presentations. Working up the options and testing out different approaches was an outcome rather than prescribed from the start. C21 Examples of what happened in practice were:- one information worker gave three presentations (at work, at school where she was a parent governor and at home); two organised a coffee morning at the community centre. This was well attended and led to several enrolments onto the Brush Up Your English course run by City of Bristol College; a similar event was planned in a church hall but attracted no casual callers despite posters being put up and leaflets distributed; a mobile stand was taken to a shopping centre with reasonable success, although lessons learned about the importance of obtaining the best 'pitch'; local people were invited to the drop-in centre during adult learners week with information workers available for one to one sessions; a stand was manned at the Knowle West Trust Fair; offers of presentations were made to no less than eight local groups, but only one was taken up, namely 'Bristol 600' (a group working with individuals with disabilities). C22 All those who attended any of the sessions or made use of the information displays were invited to complete a form which sought basic details such as name, address, learning experience to date. The incentive was inclusion on mailing lists for future events and entry to a "free draw". The three prizes were book tokens (£10) together with either a free enhanced guidance interview or a £50 discount for a course provided by the Community Education Service or City of Bristol College. C23 As will be apparent, a broad spectrum of approaches to accessing non-learners was tested. Word of mouth (eg. via friends on the estate or colleagues at work) was the most effective. The project also produced a range of marketing materials. Experience suggested that greatest impact was achieved through making them very local, involving local people in design and using local scenes for photographs. Pictures of volunteers were featured on display stands and project staff commented how often passers by stopped if they recognised one or more of the people in the pictures. Next steps C24 The project in Knowle West will continue until Christmas 1998- and probably beyond - using ESF funding (Objective 3, Priority 4 for capacity building). A second running of the course is planned, supported by SRB funding. Features include further research to include 100 local residents and 15 providers of education and training. A bid for Adult and Community Learning funding is also envisaged. C25 A key issue for the Steering Group has been the practicability of extending the model to other areas, or even across the city as a whole. The resource issues are daunting and a phased approach is the only realistic possibility. However, learning information workers are being recruited in the Hartcliffe and Withywood areas. C26 The project plans to complete a local evaluation. The strategy is in place and the follow up phase is planned for October 1998. Qualitative data will be obtained from volunteers, partners and project staff, to complement the statistics on contacts and throughput. The database of local residents compiled through the 'free draw' (see above) will be another potential resource, although there are concerns over data protection and the potentially negative impact of sending out questionnaires. Principal learning points C27 Overall the project has been successful in raising awareness of learning and strengthening the feedback loop from local residents to providers of education and training. New courses being offered in Knowle West this autumn include drama, community action and developing job and career skills. Project staff are very aware of the need to make learning relevant; their longer term vision is to empower local people to develop the skills and confidence to deliver "professional" services in their own area. C28 A major issue for the supply side (including providers of education and training) has been the importance of networking and working collaboratively, not only with local people but also with each other. The learning opportunities also need to be marketed actively in ways that will hit home. In practice, this is likely to mean information and advice services located within local communities. Distribution of printed materials has only a limited impact. C29 Another key learning point has been that although innovation (eg. installation of multi-media terminals) has its place, the pivotal issue is people development. Factors such as recruitment of workers, training and incentives (including payment of expenses) will all be greater determinants of long term impact than refinement of technology. The value that local people add in motivating others was stressed. C30 The issue of financial support for learners has been fascinating. A small sum of money had been identified in the project budget (£1,700) to help new learners overcome practical barriers. The group began with the intention of specifying precise criteria, along the lines of LEA discretionary awards. They reached the conclusion, however, that maximum flexibility was probably preferable. There were also other possible sources of support (eg. from colleges themselves); the advice here, too, was to build close links with the individuals managing these "pots" rather than to seek to tie them down on precise criteria. Goodwill, trust and flexibility appeared to be the key words. C31 Other learning points include:- if producing marketing materials, make them very local, involving local people in design and using local scenes for photographs (if relevant); add contact names of local people, preferably current or previous participants; make the text very "friendly" and "accessible"; give directions to venues, including mention of local bus routes; anticipate the response "what's in it for me?".