Background and Methodology | Overview | Birmingham | Bradford | Bristol | Gateshead | Greenwich | Hackney | Leicester | Liverpool | Manchester | Norwich | Sheffield | Slough L: The Sheffield Project Project context L1 Two areas were selected as the base for this project; Tinsley and Burngreave, both of which are areas of social deprivation, as indicated by Sheffield City Council's "Sheffield Indicators" report. Both areas have a large number of lone parents (28% of all households with children in Burngreave) and a high number of families which have no income earners (40% of families in Burngreave). Tinsley is a geographically isolated area, some way out of the city centre. Through consultation with residents of both areas, it has also become apparent that the provision of information, advice and guidance is perceived as being inadequate. Project objectives L2 The aim of the project was to assist parents in re-engaging in education, training and the local labour market. The target group was specifically parents from the two areas (although unemployed individuals without children would also be considered). This aim was to be met through the delivery of a structured and accredited course (through the OCN) over a three week period with three sessions a week. The course was to cover self-assessment, opportunity awareness raising, assertiveness, job-hunting skills, work shadowing and action planning and would run three times. Courses were to be delivered by qualified careers advisers from Sheffield Careers Service for Adults (SCSfA) in community locations L3 The decision was taken to focus on parents as it was thought they faced particular difficulties in re-entering the labour market, lacking the confidence to access available opportunities and in need of suitable childcare. It was also felt that parents represented the vast majority of those attempting to return to work and that they could be easily identified through schools. Management arrangements L4 The contract for the project was held by SCSfA and took on responsibility for the management, planning and delivery of the courses. The other project partners were Sheffield TEC and Sheffield LEA, whose main contribution was at the bid-writing stage; research on EAZs from the LEA and on community needs from the TEC was influential in selecting the two areas. The TEC also supplied the project with lists of the contact details of community groups. L5 The Steering Group met three times with all partners attending. Representatives from both communities were also invited to attend but were unable to do so. The co-ordinator of lifelong learning for Yorkshire and Humberside TECs attended in addition to the DfEE representative. The group acted more as a sounding board for ideas than as a driving force in the project although it was useful in building up contacts. Progress against objectives L6 Progress will be discussed under the following headings:- working in a new area; attracting students; course content and outcomes. Working in a new area L7 The introduction, by an outside agency, of new services into an area in which community groups have been working for some time can often result in feelings of alienation. Project staff took steps to reassure local organisations from the outset that the service aimed to complement - not compete with - their work. For the careers staff responsible for promoting the courses, it was an on-going task to gain the co-operation of other agencies working in the area. L8 These difficulties also increased the problems in finding suitable premises in the area. It had been suggested that one of the courses could be held in a school offering the required facilities. However, the suggestion was not pursued as another community group then decided to use the same venue to offer a different service. This agency was able to use existing links to approach the head teacher direct, resulting in a quicker and more direct response from the school, therefore gaining priority. There were other problems with community venues as staff were not always co-operative. Despite hiring a room, tutors claims on it were not always respected. Sessions were interrupted and students and tutors reprimanded; rooms were often left untidy by other groups using them. L9 Overall, networking undoubtedly took more time than originally envisaged; the courses required a lead in time of some three months to become really established. Attracting students L10 A multi-faceted marketing campaign was devised to raise the profile of the course. Some of these methods included:- the production and local distribution of high quality leaflets providing course details; a radio broadcast and press release; the inclusion of course details in 'Core News', a weekly bulletin produced by SCSfA (which carries information on jobs, training and educational opportunities targeted at ethnic minority groups) and other similar publications targeting community groups, colleges, libraries and schools; contact with the Benefits Agency Lone Parents Team and the Children's Information Service; the use of supermarket notice boards; adding course details on to local Training Access Points. L11 Of these by far the most successful method of student recruitment was word of mouth. A community worker who saw an advert in Core News thought it would be of particular interest to one of her Iranian clients and passed on the information. As a result the course gained a high profile amongst the Iranian community in Sheffield with a large number of Iranian women applying to join the courses - enough to practically fill all three courses. The response of such a specific community was unexpected and raised some issues for staff running the courses. L12 Whilst some applications were received from local people to participate in the first course, these arrived after the course had been filled largely by applicants from the Iranian community. These individuals were contacted and encouraged to attend later courses and were given priority for the third course; the second ran on a 'first come, first served' basis. Only 13 out of 48 students were from the local areas, with the majority of the remaining students having to travel across the city to get to local venues, sometimes requiring them to take two buses. Offering courses in community venues was therefore a deterrent for most students attending the courses. The fourth course was therefore held centrally at the offices of SCSfA. Out of the 48 completing the course, 22 received certification from OCN. Course content and outcomes L13 Past experience has helped in identifying elements of courses which students find particularly useful, as the Careers Service has been responsible for the provision of similar courses before. As the courses were accredited by OCN, it was necessary to be quite specific from the beginning regarding course content. Within this framework, however, the courses aimed to be flexible enough to accommodate the specific needs of students. The courses offered travel, subsistence and childcare allowance for the days on which classes were held. From the previous experience of the careers staff this was essential in attracting people onto the courses, although it was important that steps were taken to ensure this did not affect those on benefits. L14 The project began in October but fell behind schedule as a course could not be offered before Christmas. It proved extremely difficult to recruit parents onto a course during December or early January; as their children are either about to break up from school for the Christmas holidays or are planning to return to school in the new-year. Children are also engaged in a number of school Christmas activities eg. nativity plays and parties which all require a time investment from parents. The first course therefore did not run until the second week of January. In setting the dates for further courses it has also been necessary to take account of all school holidays, which has left only a limited number of dates around which careers staff are able to work. L15 Specific issues arose from working with Iranian women. These were explored during the courses and included:- concerns over the women's entitlement to work, as all were temporary residents in the UK; establishing the English equivalents for the qualifications of the women who were all relatively well educated. Unfortunately most were unacceptable to British awarding bodies; the need to work around Islamic religious holidays. It was originally anticipated that some classes would have to be re-scheduled to take holy days into account (although this was not actually required); allowing students to discuss course material in their own language, with a representative feeding back to the larger group. Next steps L16 As a response to the demand for courses extra funding was secured from the DfEE for a fourth course which was run specifically to accommodate the overspill from the first three courses. The project met its quota of students, many of whom had experienced some form of social exclusion. However, the needs of the client group were more reflective of the experiences of racial discrimination than of living in a disadvantaged area. L17 ESF funding, through the INTEGRA initiative, has been secured to run a very similar course with lone parents. Learning points from this project will help in running the next set of courses. One example is the high quality leaflets, produced to promote this project, which have been reproduced, with only minor amendments, to promote some of the INTEGRA courses. Principal learning points L18 The experiences of the project have raised a number of learning points, of which the following are some examples:- if the premises are good, it can often be beneficial to offer some courses in a central location as well as in the community. The facilities are likely to be more appropriate and the need for tutors to transport equipment (like overhead projectors, TV and video facilities) is minimised, reducing tutor stress; it is important to work around school holiday times when targeting parents; responsiveness to students' personal circumstances is essential. This is particularly important when working with ethnic groups, as religious and cultural differences will need to be taken into account; sensitivity to community organisations already working in the area should have a high priority. Time taken to assure them that your service does not compete with - but complements - their work is a sound investment; using present students to advertise courses to people they know within the community can help in raising interest. Even if individuals cannot be accommodated immediately they can be sign-posted onto other initiatives according to their individual needs; it is easy to underestimate the benefits of relatively small life changes. Attending a basic literacy or numeracy class, for example, can represent significant progress; for students who are not British nationals, it can be extremely helpful to receive 'initiation' into the customs and practices of such institutions as education, training and the world of work; students need to be encouraged to have realistic expectations. When, for example, tutors could not provide work experience placements directly in line with student preferences, it was best to honest about this.