Stirling Community Planning Partnership

Stirling Community Planning Partnership Learning in the Community Critical Partnership Adult Learning Sub Group

Meeting held on Monday 19th December 2011, 1.30pm Tolbooth

1.Present

Lynne Gibbons Stirling Council Elaine Downs, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Ian Brown, ACE Cornton Alasdair Tollemache, Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise (SVE) Ed Gibbon, Stirling Council Elizabeth Farr, Stirling Council

2. Apologies

Robert Ruthven, Stirling Council Lesley Gallagher, Stirling Community Planning Partnership

3. Matters Arising

Stirling Gaelic Language Plan – The consultation process has now closed. As Bord Na Gaidhlig has just launch its new draft national plan for up to 2017, Stirling Council was offered the opportunity for a slight extension to put together its draft so it could be aligned to the new national draft. Lynne accepted this extension and the Stirling draft plan must now be submitted by 23rd December. The draft plan will be with Bord Na Gaidhlig for around 6 months before coming back to the council to be formally adopted. The plan has to be put together as a result of the Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan Act 2005.

My world of work – Elaine confirmed that Libraries had taken the opportunity to have a “My world of work” training session. This could still be arranged for other partners. People should contact Elaine with regards to this.

4. Consultation on College Rationalisation Programme.

This consultation closes on 23rd December. Lynne sought the view of partners.

There was general concern over how much flexibility there would be in the future for the provision of other opportunity beyond programmes that linked to the priorities of different areas. There was interest in how links with West Lothian College might develop and what this might bring to the area.

There was concern about how learners might manage public transport links and childcare arrangements etc should progress opportunities and different parts of learning programmes be delivered in different colleges covering particular areas.

In Stirling it was felt that the changes might not be massive given the recent mergers of colleges to form Forth Valley College. However, some rural learners in the south west area of Stirling currently access Anniesland and Clydebank colleges with learners in the North of Stirling accessing provision at Perth College.

There was some reflection on the additional support needs element of the proposals, with no further section 18 programmes being delivered with funding going to individuals rather than programmes. It was felt this might be more expensive with their being fewer opportunities for adult with learning disabilities being available.

Prison learning was discussed. Lynne highlighted that there was a proposal for some of the funding for learning in prisons to be routed through community planning partnerships. This might link with the community facing development in prisons where by prisoners on short sentences or those soon to be released serve their sentence in a prison closest to their local home location. Rationalisation of college provision might also help colleges be more part of the Single Outcome Agreement, whilst also helping with articulation routes and having better links with universities in local areas.

5. ESOL Funding 2012-2013

Lynne highlighted the new guidelines by which local ESOL providers could access ESOL funding. Community Planning Partnerships will co-ordinate local application which will be sent to the Scottish Government for approval before allocating the grant amount for partnerships to the Scottish funding Council for local colleges to then administer. Colleges will no longer receive separate allocations of ESOL funding but will join with partners in this new process. In Stirling, partners of the ESOL stakeholder group will continue to work together to decide what programmes and projects the partnership will want funding to develop.

Alasdair suggested that the EDG sought assurances from the college that their systems would be able to pay providers their allocations of the funding prior to the release of monies from the Scottish Fu8nding council to ensure voluntary sector projects were in a position to carry on their work.

6. Conference

Lynne reminded partners that the aim of the conference was to bring practitioners together under the sub groups four key areas of development to share and work together on future developments. The four key areas are,

Family learning Learning in Rural areas Supporting and sustaining the voluntary sector adult learning provision Improved information sharing and future joint working

Literacies and ESOL would continue to be a priority.

Ed, Elizabeth and Ian agreed to form a short term working group to develop the conference which would be planned for February/March time. Alasdair agreed to identify someone from SVE to take part in the group also. Ed will arrange a planning meeting early in the new year.

£2000 was available from the community learning and development partnership upskilling programme which had to be spent before the end of the financial year.

The Albert Halls may be the venue.

7. Balfron Learning Community inspection

Lynne highlighted that an inspection of the learning community area surrounding Balfron High School was expected before the end of March although no notification of a date had so far been given. An early meeting with some partners was held last week with a planing proforma being produced to capture some of the community learning activity in the area. Partners were being encouraged to complete the proforma for any relevant activity in the area prior to the next meeting on 20th January. This information would form the basis of a partnership self evaluation of the activity in the area. HMIE no longer wanted a self evaluation of local authority provision but wanted one which covered activity deliverd by external partners also.

Areas cover by the Balfron learning community include Drymen, Balfron, Balmaha, Strathblane, Fintry, Killearn, Kippen etc.

Lynne agreed to send out the pro forma. 8. Partners update

Libraries – The reader in residence application for Raploch was unsuccessful. Libraries have embarked on the process to gain Investing in Volunteers status.

ACE Cornton – Ian confirmed that Alice Burns the new co-ordinated had started. The project was preparing to move in to its new accommodation. The new programme was almost ready for January and would include beauty, craft, health and safety. ACE wre planning to carry on its work with Job cCntre Plus running at CV and computer programme.

SVE – SVE and the Community Panning Partnership were meeting in February to look at how the 3rd sector links to community planning and how this can be improved. Alasdair is keen that SVE is involved with adult learning. As part of this he went to a Learning Link conference to help his awareness of the adult learning sector. As series of engagement events will be developed by SVE in the new few months.

SDS – Elaine confirmed the Scottish Government focus on Youth employment highlighting the appointment of Angela Constance as minister for this area. Updates to the “My World of Work” System have now been applied and this has dealt with the initial glitches. Elaine described a new programme which helps people with interviews and responses to questions before giving feedback to people on how they have done. Elaine tabled the winter edition of the local authority briefing which gave some current statistical information on SDS locally. The new school leavers destination report confirmed that 88% of those recorded in this category ended up in a positive destination. There was the highest ever report of the numbers accessing FE with 0.3% only having unknown destinations.

Adult Learning – New Community classes will begin on 16th January. ESOL and literacies will commence on 9th January. The new Grundtvig funded project Exploring routes to Learning is continuing to develop with partners having visited Austria from 10th to 14th December. Recently, the team undertook a re assessment visit to help maintain its investing in volunteers status.

9. AOCB

10. Date of next meeting