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Belle
Isle
Mentoring Scheme
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Belle
Isle Foundation,
Enterprise
Way, Middleton Road, Leeds LS10 3DZ. Tel: 0113
2760008
foundation@belle-isle.co.uk
Click
on this menu to view the different sections. Scroll to view
text on each page.
www.belle-isle.co.uk/bif
Work &
Learning Club
Education
works for People
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Establishment
of Work & Learning Club
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The Work and
Learning Club was founded under the auspices of the
Belle Isle Foundation in 1995, with the aim of
providing support for unemployed people,
particularly the long-term unemployed, not
necessarily in receipt of benefit but resident in
Leeds10 (Belle Isle and Hunslett areas). Initially
the Work and Learning Club was supported by one
part-time Project Worker, funded by TEC and
subsequently by European Social Fund
monies.
The current
Work and Learning Club Project Worker, Cath Gill,
was appointed to a full-time post in August 1999
following receipt of the lottery grant. She works
closely with the Training Co-ordinator (post
currently vacant).
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Contacting
the community
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The Foundation
has a wide range of contacts with other community
groups in the area. It is constantly seeking to
develop new contacts, either with individuals or
groups. The Club also helps individuals who either
want to form new groups or join existing
ones.
The Work and
Learning Club remains a flagship project of the
Foundation. Initially the Project Worker made
contact with individuals who might be interested in
joining the Club by standing outside Job Centres
and by word of mouth; sometimes even a whole family
might ultimately become involved. Nowadays contact
with individuals or groups is often made through
the links which the Project Worker has developed
with local community organisations; these
individuals or groups are then encouraged to attend
the Work & Learning Club and to discuss their
interests with the Project Leader in the first
instance.
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How
can the Work & Learning Club
help?
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We help people
to achieve their goals, whatever they may be. Small
grants are available for travel expenses, child
care, course fees, books, etc.
The purpose of
the Work & Learning Club is to encourage,
promote and support learning. One of the main
advantages about the Club is that it is not a
statutory agency, which means that we can respond
more quickly and more flexibly. The educational
opportunities offered via the Club are wide-ranging
and whilst, via other educational providers, we can
offer accredited courses of study, there are many
non-credited courses on offer. We aim to make
education enjoyable, affordable and
accessible.
For further
information contact by clicking here and sending an
email
Cath Gill,
Work & Learning Club Project Leader: email -
Cath@belle-isle.co.uk
Click here on
Lifelong
Learning
for information on the Project Strategy prepared by
Cath Gill, which outlines the strategy and
commitment of the Work & Learning Club's
towards lifelong learning.
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Links
with other community organisations
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Since August
1999 workers at the Foundation have undertaken
extensive outreach work, contacting many existing
and new community groups and organisations. A few
examples are given below.
As part of the
network of local community organisations, links
have been established with Octavia House, a halfway
house for people with mental health problems. The
residents are encouraged by Octavia House to attend
the Work and Learning Club and consider undertaking
a project, either individually or as members of a
group; there is no pressure on them to do so, nor
do they have to be allocated a mentor initially.
This contact with the Work and Learning Club has
facilitated access to study and skills training,
for example, at the Swarthmore
Learning Centre,
which provides drop-in classes and a wide range of
classes from basic study skills to advanced
diplomas.
The Foundation has links with Northern
College, Barnsley,
which in addition to its programme of residential
courses, can design tailor-made courses
specifically aimed at community group work; the
group involved in the digital camera project was a
recent example of this sort of
participation.
Over the past
year students from Leeds
Metropolitan University
have
been attached to the Foundation on placement,
working with the Work & Learning
Club.
The Work &
Learning Club Project Leader has also developed
links with Swarthmore Learning Centre, a community
centre offering a range of study options, from
'drop in' classes to advanced diploma courses.
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Examples
of successful projects
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A collection of
youngish men who initially found it difficult to
participate and discuss issues together as a group,
subsequently went on a digital camera residential
course as a group and successfully completed the
project by producing a display.
A Mums &
Tots group was started in a local social club,
initially by one mother; it now acts as a social
meeting place for 12 mothers and their children
(and is ongoing). An application for financial
support has been made recently.
Cyberlife is a
cyber cafe set up by two young men using the
internet facilities of the Foundation. They are
currently in the process of applying for funding
support.
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Cath
Gill - Work &
Learning Club Project Leader
Information based on an
interview with Cath Gill, Work & Learning Club Project
Leader, June 2000
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