Our latest #becauseofCLD practitioner spotlight is Stephen Jack from Dumfries and Galloway Council.

For the last 3 years Stephen has been the Strategic CLD lead within Dumfries and Galloway Council for the Statutory Regulations; CLD Plan and CLD related Inspection activity.
Stephen also currently chairs the Dumfries and Galloway CLD Partnership and also the CLD South West Network which involves the three Ayrshire Local Authorities.

https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/17424/CLD-Partners-Strategic-Plan

https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/17297/Youth-Work

Facebook: Lifelong Learning, Dumfries and Galloway
Twitter: @DgcLearning
@YOUTHWORKDG

What’s your current role/title?

My title is Lifelong Learning Manager.

Day to day, I am directly responsible for the Lifelong Learning Team which covers Adult, Family and Digital Learning. The second part of my roles involves responsibility for the Training and Development of all Council employees.

Where did you begin your #becauseofCLD journey?

After graduating with a Leisure and Sport related Honours Degree, I took up a Sports Development Officer post with the Local Authority. A large part of this role was building capacity within local clubs to help them reach their aspirations. Looking back, it was my first taste of Community Development in action even though at that time, some 20 years ago, I probably didn’t realise that I was already helping to facilitate a CLD approach.

After spending 10 further years in leisure managing facilities, sports development activities and Active Schools, I also had the chance to take on a cultural remit involving Arts and Museums.

Through Council re-organisation back in 2011, I moved into a new post which had a localised remit for all traditional elements of CLD, including a wider Community Planning, Governance and Community Resilience role. It was only through this role that I started to see first-hand and better understand the impact that CLD was having on our most vulnerable people and communities. This inspired me to help champion the cause and to help raise the profile of CLD.

What are the key CLD values and principles that have been your anchor in your various posts and/or roles?

I would say that working collaboratively, in particular, has been a driving force for me in terms of my Strategic responsibilities. Partnership working is not always easy and not always two-way but if you believe that it is the right thing to do then sometimes you just need to take the lead and invest the time and effort to make it happen. In terms of taking forward our CLD Plan, relationship management and maintaining and developing new partnerships has been absolutely critical.

More laterally, the promotion of learning as a lifelong activity has also been a main focus of my current role. This goes for both Council staff and also the communities we serve. There is a wealth of learning resource out there, many of them free and we are trying to better promote these opportunities and develop a learning culture where it is easier for everyone to learn and progress aligned with our partners.

If you had to pick one of the Ethics, which would it be and why?

I think it would be Professional Learning. It is very easy to become stale and not challenge yourself both personally and professionally. If you don’t keep abreast of what is happening nationally and on your own doorstep and actively look to improve yourself and your practice, then you won’t be in the strongest position possible to help support and advise our local groups/organisations and learners.

How do you make time for professional learning and development and who supports you in this?

I was fortunate enough a few years ago to participate in a CLD Leadership programme through Education Scotland. This was so important to me personally for progressing into my current role and gave me renewed enthusiasm to pursue my learning.

I have been a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management for the last few years and have found this very worthwhile in terms of the various self-evaluation activities available on their website and the wealth of other information and webinars covering a whole range of management topics.

With so many conflicting priorities these days, time is always the enemy however we have been trying to instil a culture within the workplace that engaging in professional development opportunities and learning is as important as anything else. I do some research and reading at home when something grabs my attention but some of the best recent learning has been sharing practice with peers as part of our regional network and investing the time in this.

I only recently became a Full Member of the CLD Standards Council after deciding to go down the Individual Recognition Process (IRP). I didn’t have a CLD recognised qualification, but I had years of relevant experience and as a CLD Leader I felt it important to secure Full Membership to help evidence my commitment to the sector. I actually found the process quite rewarding as it made me reflect back on the many roles I have played and to bring forward evidence against the 7 competence areas.

Describe CLD in one word.

At the moment I would have to say “under-valued.” It is quite frightening seeing the scale of cuts to CLD related services over the last few years and this shows no signs of stopping over the coming years. We need to look at our identity and better mobilise collectively at a national level before it is too late!

What is the best thing that has happened this month?

A group of local practitioners from various organisations got together to seek out interest in developing a Community Development Practitioner Network for Dumfries and Galloway. The buzz and debate in the room was fantastic to hear along with the positive input from the Standards Council and Scottish Community Development Network.

If you would like to be in the spotlight – get in touch !

The Adult Learning survey from the Scottish Government is now open and we would like your help to encourage adult learners to complete the survey.

The survey is being conducted by the Scottish Government in partnership with Education Scotland and the CLD Standards Council.  The information from the survey will be used to develop the Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland.

We would like to invite Adult learners in Scotland to complete the survey to tell us about where they learn, why they learn, when they learn and how their learning experience could be improved.

The survey is designed to capture the views of all adult learners but we are especially interested in hearing from those who have faced barriers whilst trying to access and progress through learning. We are also very interested in hearing from adults who are uncertain about their learning journey.

Access the Adult Learning survey via the following link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/AdultLearningSurvey2019/

Please highlight this survey to your adult learners to help build the future strategy to meet their needs.

The survey is estimated to take 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Survey now CLOSED 2 March 2020.  Paper responses will be accepted until 16 March 2020. Paper responses should be sent to Linda Cummings, address below.

Survey in alternate languages

The survey is available to complete in document form in alternate languages –

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Arabic – MSA

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Bengali

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Bulgarian

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – CANTONESE

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – FARSI

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – HINDI

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Mandarin

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – POLISH

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Romanian

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – RUSSIAN 

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Tigrinya

PDF: Adult Learning Survey – Urdu

If responses could be transferred into the online English version that would be most helpful, or completed printed copies can be returned before the end of February to –

Linda Cummings, Policy Officer, CLD, Colleges Young Workforce and SFC Sponsorship Division, Scottish Government, Directorate for Advance Learning and Science, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, G2 8LU

CLD Standards Council

Dr Marion Allison, Director of CLD Standards Council will present a seminar at the Scottish Learning Festival 2019.

The title of the seminar is

Values to standards in Community Learning and Development

In this interactive seminar, participants will have the opportunity to consider and debate CLD Values, Ethics and Competences.
Adult Learning, Community Development, Family Learning or Youth Work: this workshop offers participants the opportunity to explore what happens when theory meets practice and what it means for learners.

The seminar is on Wednesday 25 September, from 16.15 – 17.00

Seminar code: M3E

Seminar room M3

The theme for SLF this year focuses on ‘Achieving Excellence and Equity’, through:

• creating a culture of empowerment that enables everyone involved in the system to contribute to the agenda of improvement; and
• the importance of wellbeing in developing a healthy, successful learning community.

There are also new twilight sessions available at 17.00

See SLF website to register for the event and book seminars

The Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018 report is available now to download as summary or full report. The CLDSC is linking with Education Scotland and the Scottish Government to ensure the key findings inform action to build the CLD workforce.

Let us know your views – email Contact@CLDStandardsCouncil.org.uk

ACOSVO is a membership organisation for third sector leaders in Scotland focused on excellent third sector leadership, and is now delighted to offer a 20% discount on new memberships for 12 months to CLD Standards Council members.

Find out more about the benefits of ACOSVO membership, on the ACOSVO website.

Further Details on how to claim your discount are on the ACOSVO Discount for CLD members page.

The CLD Standards Council led the recent review of the Youth Work National Occupational Standards. Access a PDF of the whole suite and the final Functional Map on our NOS page.

The NOS can be used in conjunction with the CLDSC Competent Practitioner Framework

Places still available for the Community Development Alliance Scotland conference, taking place in Edinburgh on 10 September. Keynote speaker – Cabinet Secretary Aileen Campbell, practitioner and national perspectives, discussion and dialogue. For more information and to register see the CDAS website.

CLDSC volunteer Maggie Paterson has reviewed HMI inspection reports to see what they say about volunteers.  The experience, skills and commitment of CLD volunteers and the impact of their contribution is highlighted again and again.  Read the review on i-develop

The review also includes some reflective questions to help you to evaluate and improve your support to CLD volunteers.

Inclusion Scotland is a ‘Disabled People’s Organisation’ (DPO) – led by disabled people. Its mission is to achieve the full inclusion of disabled people throughout Scottish society as equal citizens, by influencing decision-makers, supporting disabled people to be decision-makers themselves, and developing capacity, awareness and engagement.  We are thrilled to be an affiliate member organisation, sharing common values and ethics.

Audit Scotland has published a report on Principles for community empowerment, aiming to raise awareness of community empowerment in particular among scrutiny bodies.

Also from Audit Scotland – The  Local government in Scotland: Challenges and performance 2019 report  argues that “with a growing gap between demand and resources, more fundamental, transformational changes are needed in service provision”.

The Centenary Commission on Adult Education is marking the centenary of the Ministry of Reconstruction’s Final Report on Adult Education by reflecting “on the needs and possibilities for adult education today and for the century ahead”. Find more information from Learning Link Scotland

CLDSC membership provides access to the Times Educational Supplement Scotland, with many of the articles being of relevance to Members. (Reading and reflecting on what you might take from an article can count towards your Professional Learning hours!)
You can find the access details on the Members Benefits area of i-develop.
You will need to login to access this information as it is a member only benefit.  If you have any problems accessing please email contact@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

Printed copies of TES for a month prize draw

We will hold a monthly prize draw to select a member to receive 4 issues of the printed TES magazine to pass round your organisation.

Just send your name and the postal address you would like the free issues sent to on contact@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk  and we will add your name to the hat.

Undertaking professional learning and development is a key requirement of registration and renewal of registration for Registered or Associate members of the CLD Standards Council.  The evidence and verification requirement in the process is based on an action review cycle.

Don’t have a system for recording Professional Learning? The CLD Standards Council has created templates that you can use, currently available in Word document format on the website  and soon to be available as online forms on i-develop.  Watch this space!

Are you in touch with your regional CLD Network? The 5 Networks are alliances of CLD practitioners, working collaboratively to support professional development. You can find out more about them on the networks page on i-develop.  CLDSC has provided grant funding to each of the networks to support the delivery of professional learning activities.  Keep a look out for what’s happening near you.

Our Professional Learning Strategy, Growing The Learning Culture, will be refreshed in the coming year.  Interested in being involved in a working group to take this forward? Get in touch with Kirsty Kirsty.gemmell@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

David Brown now represents CLDSC on the Scottish Youth Work Research Steering Group. David works in South Lanarkshire and is a member of the CLDSC Professional Learning Committee. Read further Information on the steering group.

Report on the CLDSC Conference held back in March is now online on the conference area on i-develop. You will also find the workshop presentations. You will however need to log in to i-develop to access these as a member.

Member’s Spotlight – would you like to be in the Spotlight?  Get in touch to share your practice, experience and CLD musings!  Latest spotlight was on Rory Brown

The Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018 report finds that CLD practice is still thriving while highlighting workforce challenges, including unmet demand in communities for CLD skills.

The CLD Standards Council and Education Scotland commissioned Rocket Science to carry out research into the CLD workforce in Scotland through a CLD Workforce Survey during 2018.
The final report from this research – Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018 is now available.

Read the summary or full report

The report provides the most-up-to date analysis available of the CLD workforce, and highlights:

• The reach of the CLD workforce as part of both the 3rd and public sectors, with an estimated 21,000 (full and part-time) paid practitioners in CLD roles across Scotland.
• That a large majority of CLD practitioners are employed in the 3rd sector, the number of CLD practitioners employed by local authorities (3,100) has been declining, and large numbers of volunteers play an essential role in CLD.
• A widely-shared perception that there is a persistent gap between CLD resources and the needs of communities.
• Evidence of high levels of passion and commitment amongst CLD practitioners but also that stress levels are high for many.
• Evidence of an emerging skills gap, with staff development needs that many employers are not confident of meeting.
• An aging workforce, 25% of whom intend to leave in the next 2 to 5 years, suggesting that more needs to be done to support young people’s routes into the CLD workforce
• Issues over limited ethnic diversity and a gender pay gap.

ACOSVO are delighted to offer a 20% discount on new memberships for 12 months to CLD Standards Council members.

ACOSVO is a membership organisation for third sector leaders and senior leaders in Scotland focused on excellent third sector leadership.  They connect and support over 500 leaders through the various stages of their leadership journey.  They provide services, networks and events, encouraging the sharing of ideas and best practice in a safe and confidential space.

To get the discount –

To claim your discount when you apply to join ACOSVO you will need the CLD Standards Council Members Discount code.

To get this log in to i-develop and go to the Members benefits page

The code and ACOSVO joining link are given on the i-develop page.

If you cannot recall your i-develop login details, there is a Lost Password reset function, or you can contact us on mailto:contact@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

The report recognises that Councils have a challenging role but have worked hard to improve and maintain services to their communities and improve how they use their resources.  However with a growing gap between demand and resources, more fundamental, transformational changes are needed in service provision.

The report gives information on individual councils as well as the national view, making recommendations for the future.

Read the report on the Audit Scotland website

Our latest #becauseofCLD practitioner spotlight is Rory Brown, who works within a Housing Association with a remit on both Community and Digital Inclusion.

He also sits on the Registration Committee of the CLD Standards Council.

Twitter: @justroryb

What’s your current role/title?

My current role is as a Community Inclusion Assistant for Govan Housing Association where I support a wide range of projects through our Community Hub programme including social groups, food provision and education and training. I also have a direct remit for Digital Inclusion for the association where we offer 1 to 1 digital learning sessions for tenants, provide free computer, wifi and printer access to the local community and organise and run basic IT classes.

Where did you begin your #becauseofCLD journey?

I used to tell myself that I fell into a job in CLD. Looking back though that was not the case and the more practitioners I spoke to, the more I realised my journey was similar to many others.

At school I wanted to be an architect but outside of school my parents had encouraged me for years to become involved in community groups. I attended the Scouts and Army Cadets, I volunteered sporadically and was in various youth groups. After school I tried several times to undertake a degree in architecture, art or design and technology but nothing seemed to fit.

The real transformative experience for me came from being involved in the Caley Youth project in Stevenston; a multi-media youth centre that was the epicentre of creative young people, passionate staff, movie geeks, rockers and tech wizards. I owe much of my career to date to the staff there, in particular the centre manager Gordon Cowan who gave me my first job in youth work, mentored me (alongside many other youth workers) and encouraged me to pursue a degree in CLD.

What are the key CLD values and principles that have been your anchor in your various posts and/or roles?

I think there are many jobs in different sectors where people can work in a silo and be successful. However, within CLD I have always fundamentally believed that working in partnership means we achieve better outcomes, not only with partner organisations who can inspire us, share their resources and challenge our approaches and assumptions but also when working in partnership with individuals and community groups to co-design programs and work in a person-centered, community led way. In my experience, the best CLD workers are those who bring people together and work with them towards a common goal.

If you had to pick one of the Ethics, which would it be and why?

They all speak to me in different ways, but if I were to pick one ethic I would say “Empowerment” stands out the most. CLD is fundamentally the process of trying to do yourself out of a job. I know in a lot of practical ways that is very true, funding streams means that jobs are often for a fixed period so thinking about an exit strategy and sustainability of your project is important. It is more than that though.

I enjoy seeing people flourish when supported, I love it when groups take the reins and drive their own agendas and achieve things they never thought they could. The process of building positive, meaningful relationships with people and working with them, not FOR them is the whole reason I enjoy this sort of work.

How do you make time for professional learning and development and who supports you in this?

I try to fit professional learning in wherever I can; at work, at home, by volunteering, by reading, by watching the occasional documentary or speaking to colleagues in different projects.

Professional learning comes from lots of different places. I am lucky enough to have an incredibly supportive employer who allows me time to attend CLDSC meetings, who are supporting me through a Masters in Social Enterprise and provides me with opportunities to identify my own training needs whilst also keeping me up to date with organisational wide training requirements.

At home I have a very supportive wife who is constantly forgiving me for reading articles when we should be relaxing at the weekend. Although I read for pleasure, I try to make time every week to read papers/articles and books related to my field.

Describe CLD in one word.

“Fulfilling”

I have friends who earn twice as much as me, who work standard office hours and are not nearly as happy going into work each morning. Having a job where I can be flexible, think creatively and make even a small positive impact on the lives of communities sets this apart from other careers. No day is ever the same, no person is ever the same.

What is the best thing that has happened this month?

For me it is the small, informal moments that mean the most, in particular conversations with people. I was helping one of our community centre users re-bandage her arm (she had hurt it in an accident and the dressing had come loose) and we had a really in-depth chat about her life, how she ended up in our local area and what she wanted to do in the future.

I came away feeling re-energized that we were on the right path together and that I understood more about what she wanted to get from the process.

If you would like to be in the spotlight – get in touch !

The Scottish Government is consulting on the proposals for a new national public health body in Scotland, to be known as ‘Public Health Scotland’

Public Health Scotland will have an important role in translating public health intelligence and evidence into policy and practice; and realising the value of data to influence ever more meaningful connections locally, nationally and with communities to improve health and wellbeing.

The consultation  document and further information are online at  – https://consult.gov.scot/public-health/public-health-scotland/

The CLD Standards Council has submitted a response to the consultation –

Download: New National Public Health body consultation CLDSC Response