Addressing Democratic Deficits – The Role of Community Learning and Development

Thursday 15th Sept 1pm – 4.30pm (Registration from 12.30pm)
St. Andrews Building Glasgow University.

As a celebration of the UN’s International Day of Democracy, Education Scotland is delighted to invite you to the second in a series of professional learning sessions on Learning for Democracy aimed at community learning and development (CLD) practitioners from across the public, voluntary and community sectors.
It follows on from the very positive first session held at the Scottish Parliament in February which shared perspectives on the role of CLD to encourage democratic renewal and showcased a range of practice examples.

This session will focus on the impact of poverty and inequalities on our democratic system. Public involvement in democracy was one of the most talked about issues in the recent national conversation on Creating a Fairer Scotland. Democracy is only as strong as the political participation of citizens but evidence suggests that there is a political poverty gap in the UK. Plainly put, the poorer you are the less likely you are to vote. We also know that some groups in society such as BME communities and people with disabilities are underrepresented in our political institutions. Despite the rhetoric – these facts affect the policies and decisions of political parties and of governments .

The event will include several speakers and will discuss the following key questions:

– What groups are currently underrepresented in our democratic system?
– Why are these groups underrepresented and what impact does this lack of representation have?
– What role can community learning and development practitioners play to help communities address this situation and what steps  must we take to support this role?

Booking to attend –

There is no cost to attend and places can be booked online at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BVBCNZ2
Please register asap as places will be limited.

Learning for Democracy is a short series of professional learning opportunities focused on the role that community learning and development plays in supporting in democratic and civic participation. It is a partnership project between Learning Link Scotland, Education Scotland, The Workers Educational Association, the Scottish Community Development Network, Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities.

To simplify the registration routes and emphasise the importance of high standards of practice, the 10 year experience route to registration will be closed at the end of September 2016.

Currently practitioners who do not have a recognised qualification but who do have 10 years experience in CLD can apply to become registered members on the basis of that length of experience. This provision was put in place as a temporary measure when registration first opened. It gave a route to membership for many experienced practitioners who historically had very varied qualification profiles.

Practitioners who do not have a recognised qualification will still be able to apply to become registered members after September; they will be directed through the Individual Recognition Process, (IRP), route to registration.

The IRP route to registration focuses on a high standard of practice using the CLD principles and values rather than a specific amount of time spent in post. Applicants are expected to demonstrate that their education, training and experience has equipped them to a standard comparable with professionals who hold a recognised qualification.

This change should not prevent any practitioner who can demonstrate they have carried out quality practice from obtaining registered member status.

CLD practitioners who do not have a recognised qualification and who do not wish to apply to become a registered member through the IRP process will still be eligible to apply to become registered associate members.

Applications under the current 10 year experience route will be accepted up until the end of September.

This change to the registration system has been agreed by the CLD Standards Council registration committee and approved by the Executive Committee.

An exciting voluntary opportunity to join CLD Standards Council for Scotland Committees

Please note this opportunity is only open to Registered members or Registered associate members of the CLD Standards Council.

We currently have opportunities for members to join our Professional Learning Committee and Registration Committee. We have vacancies for 2 committee members for Professional Learning and 6 for Registration Committee.

You will be joining us at a very exciting stage. We are working towards our new Governance model and as such the initial commitment we will ask of committee members is 1 year from August 2016. These posts are filled on a voluntary basis with the support of your employer. Your role, together with your colleagues on the committee, will be to represent the CLD field.

The Process

1. Please discuss this opportunity with your line manager. Full details of our committees can be found on our website CLD Standards Council for Scotland




You must commit to:

• Four committee meetings per year. These are from 9.30 – 3.30 and held in Princes Trust, Wolfson Centre in Glasgow.
• Attending your first meeting on 26 August 2016.
• Attending an Induction session to help you in your role as committee member




2. Once you have agreement from your line manager please complete and return the attached application by 22 July 2016

3. The Chairs of the relevant Committees will consider the applications week beginning 25 July.

4. Confirmation email of outcome of application and next steps will be sent week beginning 1 August 2016.

Download the Committee Application Form

We look forward to receiving your application and should you or your employer require further information about these roles then please contact:

Professional Learning Committee – colin.ross@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

Registration Committee – Lorna.renton@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

Opportunity

The Standards Council is looking for an experienced CLD professional to develop and enhance the CLD Standards Council members’ services package.
The successful candidate will promote registration, liaise with current and prospective CLD Standard Council members, lead on the CLD professional learning strategy and expand relationships with relevant organisations and networks.

Experience required

The successful candidate will require to have substantial experience in the CLD sector in Scotland and have a deep understanding of the sector and its component domains. The ideal candidate will have considerable experience of collaborative working at all levels, be able to demonstrate excellent relationship building skills and be able to quickly identify, design, develop and deliver training opportunities with partners. Applicants should also have experience of working in a community facing role at a mid-senior level and have experience of IT and business change programmes. It is expected that they will bring business development experience to the role to enable them to effectively influence stakeholders in the CLD Standards Council for Scotland.

Application

Applications must be submitted through the  Work for Scotland website where you will also find the Person Specification and Further Information for Job Applicants.
Closing Date 4 August 2016

The CLD Standards Council for Scotland is delighted to announce that following an approval visit to University of West of Scotland on 20 April 2016 the following programmes have been granted approval:

1. BA/BA Honours Community Education approved for 5 year period
2. Post Graduate Certificate approved for 3 year period.

Annette Coburn from the UWS accepting the approval certificate from Garry Cameron of the CLD Standards Council Approval Committee

Overall it was very clear to the panel involved in the visit that much has developed and improved since the original approval in 2012.   This was further evidenced by the positive and unanimous response to the question of whether students would recommend the programme to others.  It is clear that students feel supported by the staff team. Great work!

The panel were also encouraged by the creative approach to assessment e.g. capstone project. It was also heartening to see the evidence of support and use of i-develop, registration as a member of CLD Standards Council for Scotland and CLD competences.

Well done to University of West of Scotland and a big thanks for all the hard work.