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Scottish Executive Guidance for Community Learning and Development
Annex one: Community learning and development: Working and learning together to build stronger communities
- Statement prepared by the Scottish Executive/COSLA working group
We are using the term 'community learning and development' to describe a way of working with and supporting communities. We are encouraging our partners to use the term as well. We see community learning and development as being central to increasing the supply of 'social capital' - a way of working with communities to increase the skills, confidence, networks and resources they need to tackle problems and grasp opportunities.
We want community learning and development to bring together the best of what has been done under the banners of 'community education' and 'community development'. Its main aim is to help individuals and communities tackle real issues in their lives through community action and community-based learning. Community learning and development also supports agencies to work effectively with communities which will open doors to involvement in learning, action and decision-making.
The activities of youth work, community work and community-based adult learning are at the centre of community learning and development. We want to emphasise that these activities are delivered by skilled people with a wide variety of job titles, working in different sectors and in a range of agencies, and to encourage joined-up working across all of these.
We want to increase opportunities for individuals and communities who are excluded, improve public services where it will make most difference, and create a more socially just Scotland. The figure below shows how we see the different strands of community learning and development activity working together to build stronger communities and contributing to our main policy aims.
Community Learning Partnerships in each local authority area have already made real progress in using the multi-agency, cross-sector approach we see as being essential. The Partnerships have developed Adult Literacy Action Plans which is an important step forward.
- We are looking to Community Learning and Development Partnerships to play the central part in making sure that:
- people working in all aspects of community learning and development work together to build communities that are more organised, skilled and influential, and that have more control over resources;
- there is a strong community-based dimension to the new Scottish Executive agenda for lifelong learning;
- community work skills are used to help communities get involved in community regeneration and community planning;
- youth work is fully recognised and supported as part of the development of stronger communities; and
- community learning and development support is targeted to help close the gap between the worst off individuals and communities and the rest.
Through community planning, we aim to make sure that agencies work with communities to improve their wellbeing. Through community learning and development, we aim to make sure that communities can be full partners in this.
We are focusing our attention on achieving realistic results. Community learning and development has clearly identifiable outcomes, such as:
- improvements in the effectiveness, range and joint working of community organisations;
- increased confidence and motivation of excluded young people; and
- improved core skills, allowing individuals whose previous experience of education has been negative to tackle important issues in their lives.
We are committed to measuring the effect of community learning and development, in ways that focus on what makes a difference for communities, so that we know how well we are doing and can plan ahead realistically.
We believe communities and a wide range of agencies have a real role to play in the success of community learning and development. It is crucial that the people who are most closely involved in community learning and development - practitioners (paid or unpaid), managers and their agencies - work with us to promote a shared vision for community learning and development and the contribution it can make to 'building better communities in Scotland'.
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