August.  The time of year in Scotland when Edinburgh is in Festival mode, exam results change lives and CLD professionals rejoice the end of summer programmes, whilst anticipating the new season of projects, courses and classes. As we seek to secure, strengthen and grow the CLD Standards Council we too are in the process of re-viewing, pre-viewing and celebrating.

The summer months have been busy. The Committee Chairs have been working hard to reveal their highlights from the last year which include new strategic partnerships, the launch of the CLD professional learning strategy and the inaugural member’s conference.  Members can look forward to receiving the full report in the weeks to come.

The soon to be published programme of business promises to be just as exciting as we undertake a funding pilot with CLD Consortia; partner CLD events with local authorities and national agencies; and take the CLD Standards Mark on a national promotional tour. If your organisation provides training for its CLD people, come along to one of the events and find out how the CLD Standards Mark supports your work. Watch our online spaces for invitation.

If free professional learning events are what interests you, the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow’s SECC on Wednesday 21st September 2016 is the place to be.  The CLD Standards Council will be found alongside the General Teaching Council for Scotland and I am looking forward to presenting the workshop “Leadership in communities and classrooms; the same but only different” with Gillian Hamilton, CEO of the Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL).  Confirm your attendance using Seminar Code A2D. There are also a few places remaining on the second cohort of Education Scotland’s Developing Leaders for the Future programme, which begins in January 2017. Over six days this free, bespoke CLD course focuses on growing and sustaining the sector with participants having the option of gaining an ILM Level 5 Award in Leadership.

Our celebrations have focused on welcoming Jim Ross to the staff team who has been quick to learn the ropes and provide much needed administrative support.  I would also like to welcome the new Chair of the Professional Learning Committee, Mike Naulty (University of Dundee) and I can’t wait to work with the new members of the Professional Learning and Registration Committees.  I must however offer my sincere thanks and best wishes to Michele Meehan (Youth Scotland), Aileen Ackland (University of Aberdeen), Gillian Lithgow (Youthklink Scotland), Tim Frew (Youthlink Scotland) and Ann Swinney (University of Dundee) for their significant contributions over the years. The CLD Standards Council has grown and developed thanks to your knowledge, aspirations and support.

As the festivities continue throughout August I’m astonished to note that I’ve now been Head of the CLD Standards Council for one year. It’s such a privilege to work with professionals who are dedicated to driving forward CLD values, principles and practice.  So, here’s to another year of learning, approvals and registrations.  I look forward to celebrating our progress.

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.

The QAA (Quality Assurance Agency) are seeking comments on the revised Subject Benchmark Statements for –

• Social Work – View Draft for consultation
• Youth and Community Work – View Draft for consultation .

This consultation is likely to be of interest to employer organisations and their members; staff involved in education and accreditation activities of professional, statutory and regulatory bodies; Staff involved in the design, delivery and review of academic programmes; academic support staff; students and their representatives

View the full consultation invitation information.

Feedback should be submitted via the consultation surveys by 17 June 2016:

• Social Work – consultation survey
• Youth and Community Work – consultation survey

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on draft guidance and regulations on three aspects of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act:

• Participation Requests (view consultation paper);
• Community Planning (view consultation paper); and
• Asset Transfer (view consultation paper).

The consultations will be open until June, specifically they will close on the 15 June for Participation requests, 13 June for Community Planning and 20 June for Asset transfer.

These are important opportunities for community organisations and CLD practitioners to engage with the implantation of this key legislation. Members of the Standards Council can play a significant role in raising the awareness of colleagues, community organisations and other partners – please consider what you can do!.

The Standards Council will be responding to this consultation process from a CLD perspective and in particular focusing on the issues and implications for workforce development. It is important that the response is directly informed by the experience of members; if you would like to be involved in developing it, please let us know and pass on any initial comments you have at this stage.

The Scottish Community Development Centre has produced a briefing on the participation requests consultation and is running a series of focus groups; information is available on how to get involved.

Blue Sky thinking… is it really just another hackneyed phrase? I would argue not.
For the CLD Standards Council, Blue Sky thinking has been a fact of life in recent months. As the sun shines stronger, inspiring fabulous views of Glasgow from the 9th Floor of The Optima Building, spring bright blue skies have marked some key developments. Through a winter of change, the Team, Council Chairs and Members have sought to secure, strengthen and grow the base of our Standards Council.

Natasha Zachary-Docherty has returned from Maternity Leave with a spring in her step and has bounced over to a new post within the Communications Team of Education Scotland, where we wish her lots of luck. We are delighted to welcome our new member of staff, Lorna Renton, who, with a wealth of experience will be working to further develop our web presence and support i-develop.

We are thrilled to announce that we now have more than 1300 members and it will be Lorna’s job to maintain and support the Professional Register. With our new and refined registration process now being operated via i-develop, our growing numbers mean that the CLD Standards Council’s membership is similar in size to the Scottish Institute of Directors – the professional body for Chief Executives. Onwards and upwards for us!

Importantly, April 2016 marked a new stage in the relationship between Education Scotland and the CLD Standards Council. Signed by Dr Bill Maxwell, Chief Executive of Education Scotland and Ashley Pringle, Chair of the CLD Standards Council, the new Framework Agreement sets out the strategic goals, roles and responsibilities of both organisations whilst accounting for operational requirements. Already one positive off-shoot is an agreement with HMI. Pre-inspection work will now include data gathering in relation to the number of professionally registered CLD Standards Council members included in an organisation’s complement of staff and volunteers. For both parties, this significant development signals for the first time ever, the inclusion of the CLD Standards Council alongside other professional bodies operating within education and community work sectors. One other budding development is a ground-breaking partnership agreement with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). This draft agreement will recognise and reaffirm the role of CLD Standards Council Registered Professionals, GTCS Registered Teachers and the unique but complementary work of both professional associations and help us to grow and tend relevant professional networks and learning opportunities.

Council members have been toiling in our new meeting venue, The Prince’s Trust Wolfson Centre in Glasgow. Having agreed our organisational purpose, mission, vision and refined strategic objectives, the Committees are working hard to plant Council plans, strategies and governance procedures that will mature over the next three years. Recent work with the University of the West of Scotland, which pending sign off from the Approvals Committee, will professionally validate their BA/BA(HONS) and PGCE in Community Education, and further to a refresh, the subject benchmark statements for Social Work and Youth and Community Work are now open for consultation. Additionally, the CLD Standards Council will now be represented on the Quality Committee of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

Other things to look out for over the coming months include plans for a new Standards Council constitution, programmes of work and yes – another new member of staff! Interviews will be held at the end of May for the new Members’ Services post. The successful candidate will have the pleasure of getting to know our Membership in detail to secure services that will meet and enhance our professional practice needs.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone involved for helping to drive the Standards Council forward over the last few months. I am truly heartened by the co-operative nature, wisdom, passion, and sheer hard work of our Members and partners. Sadly the Glasgow evening sunshine, is now is not so warm, but the skies are still clear, hinting at clement days ahead.

Welcome to the CLD Standards Council for Scotland

The Standards Council for Community Learning and Development for Scotland is the body responsible for the registration of CLD practitioners, the approval of training courses, and the continuing professional development of the sector workforce.