Background and Methodology | Overview | Birmingham | Bradford | Bristol | Gateshead | Greenwich | Hackney | Leicester | Liverpool | Manchester | Norwich | Sheffield | Slough D: The Gateshead Project Project context D1 The area covered by the project is Bensham and Saltwell; this is located to the west of Gateshead town centre and adjacent to the south bank of the Tyne. The housing stock is typified by rented terraced housing, many of which are split into flats; a number are vacant. One of the reasons this area was selected was that it has missed out on other recent Tyneside initiatives funded through SRB, and significantly, the two wards are amongst the highest in Gateshead in terms of deprivation. D2 Essentially, there are two quite distinct communities in Bensham and Saltwell. One is a close knit community of orthodox Jews; the other is a more disparate group of mainly young adults, often with children (38% of the population is aged under 24 and 22% of families are lone parent households). The local labour pool is predominantly unskilled, semi-skilled or manual, with many suffering long-term unemployment (47.3% of the unemployed have been job seeking for more than a year). Project objectives D3 The stated aim of the project was " to identify, address and find ways to overcome defined barriers to learning through the establishment of a network of key influencers". Management arrangements D4 The contract is held formally by Tyneside TEC but the project is effectively a partnership between the TEC, Gateshead Council and Tyneside Careers. The co-ordinator is employed on a four day per week basis by the TEC but seconded to the Council; she is based in Millennium House, one of the three principal locations for the outreach project. D5 The Steering Group comprises representatives of the three partner organisations, the project co-ordinator and the DfEE contract manager. Meetings have been approximately monthly. There have been no problems with continuity since the key players have remained in post throughout the project. It did, however, start later than envisaged, owing to delays in the appointment of the co-ordinator. In addition to Steering Group meetings, less formal meetings are held weekly, involving the co-ordinator and volunteers. These are important, both for planning purposes and ongoing volunteer support. Progress against objectives D6 Progress and plans are summarised under four headings, namely:- identifying barriers to learning; recruiting and training volunteers; working with existing agencies in the area; trialling Learning Information Points. Identifying barriers to learning D7 The project has already sought to define the barriers. A focus group comprising employees of Tyneside TEC, some of whom live in Bensham and Saltwell, was convened to share perceptions and experiences, and isolate the key constraints to learning. D8 From this exercise, the following barriers were identified:- lack of self-confidence; lack of suitable and affordable childcare; shortfall in basic skills; financial problems; lack of understanding of learning opportunities available, progression routes and qualification systems. Recruiting and training volunteers D9 Thus far, nine volunteers have been recruited and trained. There has been a good balance, both of the sexes (five women and four men) and ages (from mid 20s to mid 50s). Eight are still active with only one having dropped out. All were wholly unemployed at the time of starting, but their previous experiences vary widely. Profiles include a carer, two single parents, an ex insurance salesman and one with experience both in the Forces and in running a small business. D10 The nine volunteers were trained in two smaller groups. Different combinations of length and number of sessions were tried, with both totalling sixteen hours. The future model is likely to be sessions of two hours with a longish (say, half hour) break in the middle, in order to promote informal networking and support. Thus far, the training has not been accredited but this has simply reflected the pressure on time. External accreditation from Gateshead College is being explored for the future. D11 The "deal" on offer is set out in a Volunteer Agreement which defines the respective responsibilities of the project and the individual. In addition to the training, volunteers receive ongoing mentoring from the project co-ordinator and a personal learning account (up to the value of £500) which is intended as an incentive to further learning or overcoming a barrier to learning. Volunteers agree to offer four (preferably five) hours, which are then allocated to one or more of the three centres. Expenses are paid either in the form of a £5 flat payment or a weekly bus pass. This arrangement has been tested with the Benefits Agency. It has suited everyone to see this as an incentive to participate rather than a payment as such, it is, in any case, so low that it would seem insulting if described as a fee. D12 The three centres are:- St Chad's, a church centre with a particular focus on parents and children. It has received Lottery funding; Millennium House, a SRB funded resource managed by Gateshead Council. This is an advice centre close to the Jewish community; Bensham Grove. This is a community centre close to the Asian community which is managed by the Community Education Service. D13 Less progress has been made than originally hoped with promoting learning within the minority ethnic communities. This will be a priority for the next phase. There are real challenges involved: men from the orthodox Jewish community, for example, would be unable to relate freely to a non-Jewish female volunteer, in the absence of an appropriate chaperone. Working with existing agencies in the area D14 Working with and through other agencies and individuals already active in the Bensham and Saltwell area (eg. community education tutors and welfare rights advisers) has always been seen as a key component of the strategy. This has received a lower priority than recruiting volunteers thus far but is now being promoted actively. The Council has excellent contacts already (eg. through its Local Initiative Team part-funded by ERDF); another key "umbrella" is the Gateshead Voluntary Organisations Council which has a Development Officer for Saltwell and Bensham. D15 A letter had been sent out to organisations in the area under the signature of the Council's Chief Executive giving information on the project and inviting them to respond to the co-ordinator. This had not generated many responses as yet but the co-ordinator was intending to follow up key agencies by telephone. As with recruiting volunteers from the ethnic communities, securing the active involvement of ethnic agencies was proving difficult. Both within the Jewish and Asian communities there was a tradition of running parallel but discretely targeted services rather than collaborating on an integrated model. D16 There is a medium term intention to set up a third series of meetings (ie. in addition to the Steering Group and volunteer network) of those agencies contacted through this component of the project. One of the points under discussion (in addition to scope and membership) was purpose. It was possible to envisage the meetings having a role in joint planning, marketing, training or supply awareness raising. It was recognised to be essential to clarify objectives before convening the first session. Trialling Learning Information Points D17 The project makes extensive use of Learning Information Points which have been developed by Tyneside TEC. These provide multi-media access to the TAP (Training Access Point) database of learning opportunities. The Points have been enhanced significantly and include the following, in addition to TAP for Windows:- programmes on job seeking skills and CV writing; data on careers information and open learning providers; information on guidance agencies, benefits/eligibility, and organisations providing support services (eg. on health issues). D18 It will be apparent that the Learning Information Points have a crucial role in addressing some of the barriers identified by the original focus group. They are available in the three centres, although coverage at Bensham is via a lap-top, whereas both St Chads and Millennium House have free-standing cased units. Technical support is provided, and updating of the material carried out, by TEC staff as part of the Tyneside-wide Learning Information Network. D19 Sessions on the use of the Points are key in the training of volunteers. In practice, casual callers have tended not to access the databases direct. The usual pattern is for enquirers to talk through their queries with volunteers and for the latter to undertake the search on their behalf. Next steps D20 The project will run through to March 98, thereby completing a full year in operation. As has been noted above, a number of initiatives are still planned (eg. building up a network of agencies already working in the area). A bid under the Family and Community Learning Fund is envisaged to underpin future development. D21 An evaluation is planned but the project has not been running long enough to justify measurement of impact yet. Feedback is being sought from volunteers, users of the Learning Information Points and casual callers. Data on usage of the Points is potentially misleading, however, since those accessing the information tend to be intermediaries rather than end users. Principal learning points D22 A significant reflection from project staff is that it is only now, some six months into the operating phase, that the right questions can be posed, let alone situations found. Other reflections include:- care is required to minimise localised tensions between centres over apportionment of resources. When funds are limited, difficult decisions are required over where enhancements are to be located; in an era where agencies have become used to payments on outcomes, it can be difficult to encourage risk taking and innovation. This is as much a cultural as a systems point. early definition of the constraints to be targeted is particularly useful (eg. through focus group discussions); the culture of some communities makes it essential to have volunteers of both genders; for learning information to have maximum (and sometimes any) impact, it needs to be accompanied by supporting material on, for example, childcare; non-learners nearly always require some help in accessing data bases. ICT can, itself, act as a barrier to learning.