Conference – 29 March 2018

Location: Dundee
Venue : Westpark Conference Centre – www.westpark.co.uk
Time: Registration from 9am, Conference programme 9:30 till 4pm

Conference theme:

Our conference this year is focussing on Professional Learning with the key aim being for members to participate in interactive workshops covering a spectrum of CLD activity. The day will be all about learning from each other, sharing good practice and trying out something new!

Conference Workshops :

There will be 3 workshop sessions across the course of the day, with 14 or 15 different workshops in each session for confernce delegates to select from.  Some workshops are offered in multiple sessions.

Details of workshops on offer are available to download below or on our conference pages on i-develop.

Download: Conference Workshop details

You can select your choices using the link sent on your conference delegate confirmation email. Please make your selection by the 21st March.

Places are limited so don’t delay, book today !

Registering to attend the conference:

Registration closed on Friday 23 March.

The Education and Skills Committee of the Scottish Parliament is holding an inquiry into Attainment and achievement of school aged children experiencing poverty.

The scope of the enquiry extends beyond what happens in schools: “We want to hear from those with practical experience who can tell us from personal experience what needs to change. If you are a parent/guardian/carer, a young person, a teacher or other school staff or someone who works with young people and/or families who experience poverty, the Committee wants to hear from you”.

This is a great opportunity to widen the debate about education reform and show why all aspects of CLD have vital parts to play in raising achievement – make sure you get your comments to the Committee by 22 March.

The Standards Council will be responding and would welcome your input – let us know your views email: Contact@CLDStandardsCouncil.org.uk.

Find out more on the Scottish Parliament website: http://www.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/107850.aspx

30 January 2018

This response sets out the views of the CLD Standards Council Scotland in respect of the Scottish Government’s document “Empowering Schools: A Consultation on the Provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill”. It has been produced as a result of extensive professional discussions with approximately 500 CLD practitioners across Scotland.

Download: Consultation response January 2018

Further information and analysis of our consultation process can be found on our Governance Review page.

All I want for Christmas is … CLD

December equals Christmas songs, right? Well that’s generally the idea, although many shops and radio stations start playing festive tunes in November.  Over recent weeks, songs of Christmas past ask us to think about what we have done over the last year. As team CLD Standards Council reflect on 2017 we are amazed at the achievements and progression of our organisation.

This year, the profile of the CLD Standards Council has been transformed, led by a growing membership and its active engagement in our work. From the Annual Conference, the publication of the “Influencing Change: CLD in Scotland” book, the refreshed code of ethics and improved marketing, communication and business planning it has  been a busy year. Funded by the CLD Standards Council, members new and old attended a range of professional learning events organised by the CLD regional networks, with people engaging with our new website and professional discussions on i-develop and Twitter.  Importantly, the CLD practice placement guidelines were endorsed by CLD employers, universities and colleges and are now being used to support our students and placement providers. Our reach has also continued to grow internationally.  We were delighted to host visitors from Japan, Portugal and partner with YouthLink Scotland to welcome academics from a number of European universities who wanted to learn about CLD: youth work professional training routes.

Increasing member participation prompted the need to revise the CLD Standard Council’s governance arrangements, which led by the Executive Committee, has been continuing for the past two years. However, this work has been substantially redirected to take account of proposals in the Education Governance Review for the CLD Standards Council to become part of a new Education Workforce Council.  The CLD Standards Council has  engaged positively with the opportunities offered by the Review. Over the last few months we have undertaken substantial engagement with stakeholders, Civil Servants and government ministers to ensure that our Members views are upfront and central. In this respect, the general mood amongst Members appears to be one of cautious optimism.  Your views and involvement continue to be vital so remember to participate in the Empowering Schools consultation review.  A CLD perspective of the key questions is available on our website to support Members in gathering their responses.

So for 2018 I’m looking forward to a visible and enhanced role for CLD. Progressing the work and ideas from 2017 such as the National Improvement Framework, Regional Improvement Collaboratives, Community Empowerment and local CLD plans call upon the CLD sector to play a leading role.  It also re-emphasises the need to develop a skilled, respected CLD workforce with CLD ethics being central to negotiating the route ahead.

So, on behalf of Ashley and the team I would like to thank you all for your continued support and contributions to the game-changing profession that is CLD. Your commitment and approach to working with and for the young people and communities of Scotland to improve and change lives is what truly shines a light on possibilities and aspirations.  Here’s to a healthy, happy and fruitful 2018!

Christmas fun

Our CLD Standards Council Christmas night out involved going to a pantomime (oh, no it didn’t!) and as well as the dodgy jokes, innuendos and songs, we loved the community spirit behind the traditional audience song so much, we wanted to share it with you.

Merry Christmas !

Registration now open

Conference – 29 March 2018

Location: Dundee
Venue : Westpark Conference Centre
Time: 9:30 till 4pm

Conference theme:

Our conference this year is focussing on Professional Learning with the key aim being for members to participate in interactive workshops covering a spectrum of CLD activity.  The day will be all about learning from each other, sharing good practice and trying out something new!

Register to attend:

Registration closed on Friday 23 March.

Get involved in a workshop :

Members were invited to showcase a piece of work they are involved in by facilitating a workshop.  Thank you to everyone who submitted a workshop proposal.

Details of workshops on offer are available to download below or on our conference pages on i-develop.

Download: Conference Workshop details

The first practitioner to be highlighted in the new #becauseofCLD practitioner spotlight is Kirsteen Watson, Regional Director of Dollywood Foundation UK which helps communities, across the UK, replicate Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL); a monthly book gifting programme for children aged 0-5.  www.uk.imaginationlibrary.com

Kirsteen Watson Regional Director of Dollywood Foundation UK

What’s your current role?

Regional Director for the Dollywood Foundation UK

Where did you begin your #becauseofCLD journey?

I volunteered at my local Youth Club; Tyrie Youth Club/Aberdeenshire (1992-94) so it’s always been there (in my heart) but my journey didn’t really begin until The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award employed me as an Admin/Communications Officer (2001).  It was there that I truly caught the ‘youth work’ bug.  I got tired of sitting behind a desk administering/writing about the youth work and wanted to get more involved in delivery.  That’s when I applied for a job as a Trainee Development Worker, with Youthlink Scotland, via their Route 98 programme.  They supported me to study a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Education (Distance Learning) at the University of Dundee while I helped YouthBank UK expand across Scotland.

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

• Self-determination; my belief is that an individual cannot be truly happy until they realise their own potential.  Once they do, their own capacity for self-determination brings about all sorts of change in their life and ultimately control.  I always try to place individuals and communities that I work with at the centre of my work, listen to their views and adapt my practice to suit.
• Empowerment; I try to make sure that individuals and groups involved in projects are valued stakeholders whose voices are listened to and acted upon through individual and/or collaborative action.  I work hard to be inclusive and involve the wider community as much as I can.

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

Self-care; this hasn’t always been at the top of my list on my mission to change the world and make a difference to people’s lives.  I’ve often put others needs before my own in the past.  However, through developing my own self-awareness I’ve learned to be kinder to myself.  This has involved taking responsibility for my own health and well-being and being clear on when I need help or advice.

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

I’m committed to lifelong learning so I’m always looking for inspiration.  It can be busy when I’m running full steam ahead at work, however, I usually make time to find inspiration from something as little as a motivational quote, on twitter for example, during a coffee break or while I’m travelling between meetings.  These often lead me to lengthier articles which I read travelling home on the train, especially if it’s a long journey.  I also like to listen to podcasts while I’m travelling or Ted Talks and have downloaded the app, so that I can save my favourite talks and listen to them again later.  When I’m working from home, I often read in the morning over breakfast and during lunch; I read for pleasure and professional development in my own time.

As I’ve become more self-aware and more caring towards myself, I’ve sought out professional development learning opportunities at work and personally.  I am a reflective learner and try to use my knowledge and understanding to better serve the people and communities that I work with.  I am not precious about my work and share learning with colleagues, other practitioners and stakeholders.

Describe CLD in one word.

Emancipation

What’s the best thing that’s happened this month?

I’ve attended some fabulous meetings with many fantastic people/agencies this last month, so this is a hard one!  Given that this is about CLD work in Scotland, then I’d have to say it’s been meeting with folks at Scottish Book Trust (SBT) to look at how we can grow the partnership that we’ve had with them for 7 years; working on the Scotland Looked After Children Programme which gifts DPIL books to all of Scotland’s under 5s children who are in care with help from every local authority across Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government.  I’ve also introduced SBT to Beanstalk; our national partner in England to look at potential collaboration in Scotland. This is on the back of a People’s Postcode Lottery funded early years programme ‘Story Starters’ that we’re delivering together across England from Sept. this year.

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

The Standards Council has prepared this Perspective for CLD paper to stimulate discussion and consideration of the implications for CLD from the proposals put forward in the Empowering Schools consultation.

Download: Perspective for CLD

The Scottish Government has developed proposals for changes in the governance of education and the establishment of a new Education Workforce Council.

They are now consulting on the provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill that will put the proposed changes into legislation.
You can access and respond to the consultation on the Scottish Government Consultation hub https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/education-scotland-bill/

The Standards Council will be submitting a response to the consultation and is seeking practitioners’ views to inform this.  The consultation themes may not seem relevant to CLD at first sight but in fact could have a significant impact on practitioners and CLD practice.

The Standards Council has prepared the Perspective for CLD paper to stimulate discussion and consideration of the implications for CLD, both in relation to the new workforce council and the other aspects of the proposals.

Professional Discussion Events, where practitioners can discuss the proposals and explore the implications for CLD practice, are on-going. A calendar of events is available on i-develop, so please look out for an event near you.

We look forward to hearing your comments and encourage you also to respond directly to the Scottish Government, using the perspective note if this helps you to frame your response.

For further information and commentary from a CLD perspective see our Education Governance Review page.

Since the announcement of the proposed Education Workforce Council in June of this year, the CLD Standards Council has been conducting professional discussions with CLD practitioners all over Scotland. We have prepared a summary of key findings and a full progress report.

Download: Summary of Interim Feedback

Download: Progress Report

Key points of interest include:

• Maintaining the Identity of CLD
• Recognition for the range of contexts of CLD practice, and the breadth of its impact
• Opportunities for collaboration and raising standards
• Parity of esteem
• Funding
• Registration and membership
• Existing CLD Standards Council functions
• Governance of the Education Workforce Council
• What should the new workforce body be called? The most popular of a variety of suggestions for names that would be more inclusive of a wider workforce was “Education and Communities Workforce Council”.

Engagement with our Members and professional discussions will continue over the following weeks. All data gathered by the CLD Standards Council will be used to inform the final response to the Empowering Schools consultation.

Empowering Schools: A consultation on the provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Government has opened a consultation seeking views on the detailed policy proposals being taken forward by the Scottish Government in the Education Bill.

The Consultation will be open until 30 January 2018.

You can access the consultation paper and link to provide your views from the Scottish Government website – https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/education-scotland-bill/

The CLD Standards Council will support practitioners to consider the consultation through professional discussion events across Scotland.  Views of practitioners will also be gathered at these events and through directed forums and online questionnaires to enable the Council to make a response on behalf of the sector.

For further detail see our Governance Review page.

Ashley Pringle presents the award to Roz Gallacher and Robert Hynd

South Lanarkshire Council Youth Learning Service have been awarded developmental approval for the Youth work SVQ they deliver.

The approval will last for 5 years from August 2017.

The Panel would like to thank the provider for their hard work to create the submission for the first SVQ programme to be granted Developmental Approval. The panel appreciate the patience of the provider in explaining the evidence provided and the procedures for delivery of SVQ qualifications.
The commitment from the team at South Lanarkshire Council Youth Learning Service is very evident and is reflected in the strong feedback from External reports.