Karen Doherty spent 34 years helping shape the lives of young people as a primary school teacher and head teacher before very recently shifting her career into the field of adult education.
The change in direction came about as a result of the pandemic. Karen almost lost her disabled sister to COVID-19, and with young grandchildren in the picture, she decided it was time to refocus her priorities so she could spend more time with family.
Knowing that she still wanted to work for the community in some way, and being too early for retirement, Karen applied for a part time role with the WEA, a charity and the largest voluntary sector provider of adult education in England and Scotland.
“My knowledge about CLD was a bit sketchy,” Karen admits. “Working as a teacher for so many years, I only had fleeting connections with others working in CLD.”
“Now my focus has entirely shifted and I’m helping adults gain access to learning to improve their numeracy skills through a programme called ‘Multiply’, which is funded by the UK government in partnership with The WEA and Fife Council.”
Karen works closely with organisations who have strong existing connections with communities and through the programme, the WEA in Fife has scored some great success at getting people involved.
“We worked with The Cottage Family Centre who support disadvantaged families living on or below the poverty line and invited a dad’s group to learn about budgeting. All of the men were seeking employment and whilst reluctant at first, with support from their family worker and one of our excellent tutors, the men successfully completed a 6-week course and have been taking up more courses ever since. Now they’re ambassadors for what WEA can offer!”
“We stress to people, this is nothing like school! We find out what they’d like to learn about and how they’d like to learn. It’s all about asking and listening – that’s how the WEA works.”
Reflecting on her career change, Karen is thrilled that she found her way to CLD.
“Up until now, I haven’t had the good fortune to support adult learners, I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to help people.”
“Everything feels new to me – it’s exciting, it’s really refreshing, it’s a rewarding role! I especially love connecting people, plus the sense of contributing to improving society and injustice, CLD definitely does that. This change has been a golden opportunity for me to explore CLD further too, something I wish I’d been able to do more as a teacher.”
Karen joined as a member of Scotland’s CLD Standards Council in late 2023 and is encouraging others to do the same. She has a lot of ideas about how CLD could be further promoted, especially in the education sector.
“Sitting in an office or a classroom right now, there are people who could be a life changer for a whole community. I’d love to see CLD promoted in schools more widely, and for all the education sectors to work together more, there are just so many opportunities.”
To find out more about membership of the CLD Standards Council click here