Role and status of the Council
The Council was formally established by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in 2008, coming into being in 2009. It was directed to support quality and improvement in Community learning and Development (CLD). Having previously sat within Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), the Council moved structurally, along with LTS, to Education Scotland when Education Scotland was created in 2011.
The Council is the professional body for CLD practitioners in Scotland. It is a peer led organisation which requires the Council to be a step removed from government in order to have a distinct identity and to support ownership of its strategic areas of responsibility.
Vision
The Council’s vision is that the communities and people of Scotland are served by CLD practitioners who are recognised as competent, confident and committed to equality, empowerment and life-long learning for all.
Mission
The Council’s mission is to drive high standards of professional practice in the CLD sector by the approval of professional learning, the registration of practitioners and the enabling of professional development, working with our members to be a voice of the profession.
Strategic Objectives
The Council’s strategic aims and objectives, which are set and agreed by the Scottish Ministers, are to:
- deliver a professional approvals structure for qualifications, courses and professional learning opportunities for everyone involved in CLD
- maintain and develop a registration system, available to practitioners delivering and active in CLD practice
- develop and maintain models of continuing professional learning and training opportunities for CLD practitioners
In November 2015 the Executive Committee identified two further objectives of the Council:
- improve and develop our organisational capability;
- collaborate and contribute to relevant CLD policy and workforce development information.