This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Additional £200,000 to train community education staff
30/12/1999
An additional £200,000 is to be provided over the next two years to Community Learning Scotland, the Scottish Executive's advisory body on learning in the community to support the training of community education staff and volunteers, Deputy Minister for Children and Education Peter Peacock announced today.
He said: "We are committed to ensuring that community education staff are well prepared to deliver the range of learning opportunities for individuals and community groups. This contributes towards our social justice agenda to reduce inequalities between communities and increase people's potential and satisfaction with their lives and their neighbourhoods.
"Informal learning is at the heart of education. It can help to regenerate communities, promote community safety, support families, and change lifestyles as well as facilitating community consultation.
"I am delighted that we have been able to provide this additional money to Community Learning Scotland to enable it to extend its existing training programme for local authority staff and partner agencies working in communities. Community Learning Scotland has developed and delivered an excellent programme and I am keen to see its work in this area further developed.'
BACKGROUND
The Community Learning National Training Programme was established at the request of the Scottish Executive to support local authorities and their partners to deliver the new agenda for community education following the publication of the report 'Communities: Change Through Learning' and the guidance circular 4/99. The programme is supported by COSLA and every Scottish local authority is supporting and participating in training sessions which are also accessible to the voluntary sector and other partner bodies.
There are four main elements to the programme:
- Community Learning Strategy Support
- Community Learning Plan Training
- Training Needs Analysis and Skills Audit
- Priority Issues Training
The programme is supported by a web-site and database of good practice.
Community Learning Scotland is an executive NDPB with a remit to act as the national focus and source of advice to the Executive on community learning and youth issues community learning and youth issues. It has specific responsibility for:
- Assisting local authorities in producing community learning strategies and developing local targets
- Developing national targets with the Scottish Executive and the successor body to ASCETT;
- Identifying, stimulating and disseminating best practice;
- Contributing to the improvements of quality assurance;
- Promoting professional standards and endorsing training provision;
- Promoting collaborative work among relevant professional disciplines;
- Supporting the voluntary sector, particularly in response to needs articulated by national intermediary organisations;
- Facilitating the development of multi-disciplinary approaches to community development;
- facilitating the development of multi-disciplinary approaches to youth issues; and
- improving data gathering and presentation
News Release: SE1797/1999
30 Dec 1999