CLDSC Member Bulletin – 11 August 2021

CLD Summer 2021

Wow – what a summer it’s been for the CLD sector in Scotland.  The sun was shining (well for some of the time) and the world opened up a bit which provided more opportunities for Members to work in the real world with learners, families, communities and young people.  It’s been amazing to follow all the summer activities that Members posted on the Twitter hashtag #BecauseOfCLD – if you’re looking for some inspiration and new ideas check out what your colleagues and friends across the sector have been involved in. We would like to say a huge thanks to everyone for your hard work and commitment over the summer and hope you all get a well-earned rest before the next learning programmes begin.  


Updated Guidance Beyond Level 0 for universities, colleges and CLD

The updated Guidance, published on 10 August, provides advice on COVID-19 transmission risk-reduction mitigations to support universities, colleges and CLD providers to plan for and operate in the academic year 2021-22. 

View the guidance on the Scottish Government website.


SLF Online 21-23 September 2021 – conference programme now live 

This first edition of the conference programme will let you see the keynotes and sessions which have been tailored around the theme ‘Renew, Refresh, Re-imagine: Learning from our experiences and looking to the future’.

There are several highlights in the programme including a keynote address by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Shirley-Anne Somerville.  The Right Honourable Stuart Lawrence will be talking at the event. Stuart Lawrence is a consultant, youth engagement specialist, coach and public speaker. He is also the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, the British teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993. 

The International Council of Education Advisers will be online for an evening session to chat about their latest report setting out the opportunities and challenges for the Scottish education system.

More sessions will be added to the programme in the coming weeks and all sessions will be available to book when the full programme is complete.  SLF Online is free to sign up and registration is now open.

Please visit the SLF website for the conference programme.


Volunteer Support Fund – closing date for applications 27 August 2021

The £3.3 million Fund will be delivered on Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners over the next 3 years. Organisations can apply for up to £30,000 to March 2024.

The fund is geared towards organisations in Scotland with an annual income of under £250,000. It will enable Scotland’s small to medium sized third sector organisations to recruit additional volunteers who will contribute towards delivering a new volunteering project, or extending/expanding an existing one, and improve how volunteers are supported in their role.

The fund will support organisations to deliver on four key outcomes:

  • Increase diversity in the third sector’s volunteer pool, to particularly include people who experience disadvantage or would traditionally experience barriers to volunteering
  • Improve governance, leadership and financial knowledge of organisations through the recruitment of skilled volunteers to enhance the third sector’s capacity
  • Improve organisational capacity to provide opportunities for skills and personal development through volunteering
  • Enhance services delivered by organisations to better meet the needs of the communities they serve

A full overview of the fund plus information on how to apply can be found on Impact Funding Partners website.


Learning for Sustainability Awards – nominations closing date 12 September 2021

In partnership with the Daily Record, Education Scotland is delighted to launch the Learning for Sustainability Awards. The Scottish Government has identified People as a key theme for the COP26 Summit and has declared that it wants it to be the most inclusive COP summit ever to be held. This includes a strong focus on young people and on engaging disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities. 

The Learning for Sustainability Awards support these ambitions and will help to recognise the amazing achievements of Scotland’s people and the settings, schools and communities that have demonstrated passion and commitment to building a socially-just, equitable and sustainable world. CLD projects can be nominated in any appropriate award category and in addition there is a specific Community Learning and Development Award. We hope you’ll be encouraged to submit a nomination so we can celebrate the valuable ways that Community Learning and Development providers help to build sustainable communities. There are 6 categories:

  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY YOUTH AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of young people aged 3-26 years
  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY PRACTITIONER AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of early learning and childcare practitioners and school teachers
  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of head teachers, heads of centre, managers, authority staff and promoted staff in school and setting leadership teams
  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY LEARNING COMMUNITY AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of early learning and childcare settings and schools
  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATIONAL SUPPORTER AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of individuals who provide invaluable support for learning
  • LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD
    – Recognising the achievements of community learning and development providers.

CLD practice makes a significant contribution to Learning for Sustainability, so please consider nominating. The deadline for nominations is 12th September 2021.

Find out more and nominate on the Learning for Sustainability Awards website


Virtual Member Meet Up – Planet Emergency
Friday 27 August 1-2pm

And talking of all things sustainability, our next Virtual Member Meet-Up will focus on sharing resources and professional learning around climate change, environment and sustainability.

‘Show and Tell’ colleagues about resources you’ve created or used.  There’s a Learning for Sustainability Theme space on i-develop, but it’s looking a bit empty just now, so we’d love to add up to date resources and links.

Meantime, why not have a look at the Education Scotland CLD Team’s Countdown to COP26: CLD Sector – Wakelet.

Register for the Meet-Up on Eventbrite.


COVID-19 Vaccinations Young People

Children and young people aged 12-17 with certain conditions are to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, in line with the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), before the majority of schools return on the 16th of August.  Also to be invited are children and young people aged 12-17 who are household contacts of adults or children who are immunosuppressed.  NHS Scotland is aiming to vaccinate these children and young people during August 2021. 

For more information, visit the NHS Inform website

NHS Horizons

NHS Horizons is a specialist team within the Improvement Directorate of NHS England and NHS Improvement.  Chief Transformation Officer Helen Bevan is showcasing a range of improvement tools and methods.  Each day, there is a Twitter poll for you to vote for the method/tool you use and/or like.  The winning improvement methods each day will go head to head into the quarter finals, semi-finals culminating in the final on 19th August.  Click on the hashtag to view the latest results: #ImprovementMethodOlympics and browse all the resources on the NHS Horizons website.

#ImprovementMethodOlympics
If you’re missing the sporting Olympics, why not take a look at the #ImprovementMethodOlympics on Twitter and find out about Schein’s culture iceberg, Positive Deviance, The 5 Whys and much more.