The Approvals Panel felt that the submission from Community Links Scotland was very strong and highlighted some interesting approaches to learning.

It was very clear from reading the different parts of the submission and taking it as a whole that there is a good grounding in CLD.

The panel were impressed with the links made to related professions and the opportunities taken to explore the similarities.  It was also heartening to see good examples of evaluation in practice and the commitment to making changes as a result of feedback.

The panel would like to commend  Community Links Scotland for the approach they take on offering placement to the workforce.

Period of approval:  from November 2016 for three years

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is now 15 years old and this provides an excellent opportunity to understand the impact that the SCQF is having across Scotland.

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership and the University of Glasgow Training and Employment Research Unit, have developed a short, anonymous online survey with the aim to understand people’s awareness and use of the SCQF and the impact it is having. It is also an opportunity to comment on your engagement with the SCQF partnership if appropriate.

The survey is available here – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SCQFImpact

The survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete and is designed so that everyone can complete it: school pupils, students, parents, school, college and university staff, training providers, career advisers, employers, professional bodies, government, and national agencies.
If you have any questions about the research, please contact Julie Cavanagh at SCQF (j.cavanagh@scqf.org.uk).

Please share this information and survey link via your networks and with colleagues, learners, friends and family.

The closing date for completion is Friday 9 December

The CLD Standards Council has 8 places for members or associate members to attend the Micro-Tyco Future Talent Forum.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 pm on 26th October 2016. Venue is 29 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow.

The forum is aimed at students or practitioners at the start of their careers. There will be a CV workshop and advice on creating a Linkedin Profile including getting a headshot photograph for your profile. Further details below.

If you would like to apply for one of the 8 Standards Council places please register your interest before 23rd of October. Register here.

There will also be a panel answering questions at the event so if you would like to submit a question please include this on your request.

Whether you are at school, university or your first job, turbo-charge your career at a Micro-Tyco Future Talent Forum

Future Talent Forums are the latest entrepreneurial events from WildHearts, providing school pupils, students and young professionals with Micro-Tyco’s three key components – inspiration, knowledge and networks – whilst connecting companies to the talent of the future.

During the event attendees will have the chance to pose questions to the panel of Talent and HR professionals from leading firms, drawing out their career advice and top tips. There will also be the chance to learn more about the award winning enterprise programme Micro-Tyco and network with both peers and potential employers.
Hosted by Micro-Tyco partners Deloitte, the next Future Talent Forum panel will feature:

• Laura Stein, Director of HR, Barclays
• Iain Mitchell, Project Development Officer, University of Strathclyde
• TBC

This year, Barclays are offering an interactive element to the event. Attendees will take part in a CV workshop giving them invaluable advice on developing their CV. Also, there will be advice on creating a LinkedIn profile and a chance to get a headshot taken for LinkedIn profiles.

The conference will take place on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 October 2016 in the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld.

The Theme for the Conference is
‘The Role of Community Learning and Development in creating a fairer Scotland’

The aim is to explore some of the key principles and approaches CLD should consider when:

• Addressing health inequalities
• Tackling poverty through promoting employment and minimising the impact of welfare reform
• Empowering communities – engaging and developing the capacity of local people
• Closing the attainment gap – promoting equality through learning

The conference will be of interest to staff and managers involved in all sectors of community learning and development, including Local Authority Services, Further Education, Community Planning, Voluntary and Third Sector Organisations
See programme outline: [fac_icon icon=”file-pdf-o” color=”#392D43″ font_size=”18px”] CLDMS Conference Leaflet

Bookings are now live and can be made by clicking: online booking form

Places at the full conference, including dinner, meals and overnight accommodation, cost £180. The day delegate rate, including lunch is £75. Further information is available in the booking form.

Please make your booking as soon as possible.

Following a joint approval visit with CLD Standards Council and NYA (National Youth Agency) England  we are pleased to announce that the Nazarene Theological College have obtained a 5 year approval for the BA(Hons) Theology (Youth and Community).

This programme is delivered in Scotland by Scottish School of Christian Mission.

The Panel were very impressed by the commitment of the delivery team to the programme and were pleased to note that there was very clear mapping to the National Occupational Standards and also that CLD values and principles came across very clearly in the programme content.  This programme will add enhanced value to the CLD agenda and the range of faith based qualifications in England.

This visit was completed using JETS (Joint Education Training Standards) Approval Guidelines.  JETS is a co-operative Scheme of the UK & Ireland Joint ETS administered by its members: ETS (England), ETS (Wales), the North-South ETS (All Ireland), and CLD Standards Council for Scotland.   The primary responsibilities of JETS is to validate and endorse courses leading to professional qualification in  youth work (and for CLD in Scotland) in their respective jurisdictions.
Programmes validated/endorsed in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England for Youth and Community Work have mutual recognition arrangements in place so if a programme is recognised as professional status in one UK nation it will be recognised in all through processes agreed by the Joint Education Training Standards Committee (JETS).

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