Summer 2011 Issue 10

Double Employability triumphInspirational Bulgarian learner Ivaylo has, with the support of the ASPIRE Project, successfully gained - not one job but two jobs recently.

Ivaylo came to the UK in 2011, working for the fi rst couple of years on mushroom farms, learning to speak English whilst waiting for the transitional controls to be removed to allow him to work in his chosen career in the UK.

Initially Ivaylo attended the ASPIRE workplace English classes at the Stirling mushroom farm and he also received funding from the project to attend ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes at Forth Valley College.

Last year, on anticipating the restrictions being removed, Ivaylo stopped working at the mushroom farm and focussed on gaining skills and experience relevant to his psychology degree. Ivaylo wanted to work in the care sector and he was particularly interested in working with people with dementia.

Ivaylo started to attend the ASPIRE Project’s ESOL Work Club to get further support with his English and his employability skills; learning how to write CVs in English, covering letters, job applications, and interview techniques. The ESOL Work Club

also helped Ivaylo to arrange volunteering opportunities in his chosen fi eld of work to gain relevant UK work experience. Ivaylo started volunteering with Westerlands Care Home in Stirling helping caring for the elderly in the home.

Additionally, Ivaylo started volunteering with Town Break Stirling, a local charity supporting people with dementia to help them to live within their communities. Through this volunteering experience, Ivaylo was then able to apply for a position in Town Break Stirling and he was successful in getting the job.

Ivaylo has since, with the support of the ESOL Work Club, applied for further jobs in the care sector and has successfully gained additional employment with Care UK to make up full time working hours.

Ivaylo thoroughly enjoys working for the two organisations and he is really grateful for the support he has had from his line managers, both in Town Break Stirling and in Care UK.

Summer 2011 Issue 10

SPRING 2014

Ivaylo Todorov at work at Town Break Stirling

Welcome to the second edition of Adult Learning in Stirling, highlighting some of the outstanding learning achievements of local people across the Stirling Council area. This is an exciting time for adult learning nationally.Recently the new Statement of Ambition for Adult Learning in Scotland was launched by cabinet secretary Mike Russell. The statement offers a renewed focus on adult learning, one which is whole heartedly endorsed by the Scottish Government, highlighting the important contribution learning makes in positively changing lives of thousands of people across Scotland. In Stirling we’ll be talking to adult learners and other providers of learning opportunities about the impact of the Statement locally.Meantime, we hope you enjoy reading about some of the successes of local adult learners.

Welcome to the second edition of Adult Learning in Stirling, highlighting some of the outstanding learning achievements of local people across the Stirling Council

“The ASPIRE Project helped me learn many new things and achieve my goals. I received individual support and help with my job applications and I gained lots of new knowledge and real, practical skills.” Ivaylo

A new Adult Learning Team Family ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class offered at Wallace High School has been a great success and has attracted 21 adults and children. The class, run in partnership with Play Services, brought families from local schools and nurseries together.

The team had previously been running Family ESOL classes at individual primary schools and nurseries, however, this year the project was developed for the whole Wallace cluster.

The class enabled children and their parents/carers to learn English together through play, creative activities and language topics they choose themselves. These have included going to the doctor, problems about the house, and, unsurprisingly in Scotland, talking about the weather! The aim was to improve the confi dence of parents and children to communicate with their schools and to participate in the wider community, whilst also providing an opportunity for them to have fun and make new friends.

New families are welcome to join at any time.

First Aid at Work AchieversProud adult learners in Stirling recently attended a lunch time reception to celebrate their success of having achieved a full First Aid at Work certifi cate.

The learners attended classes held at Raploch Campus and the Mayfi eld Centre in St.Ninians and undertook a total of 20 hours of learning, before sitting the exam and successfully gaining the qualifi cation.

Participants are now using their new skills and qualifi cation to good effect at home, at work and through volunteering in the local community.

I enjoyed the course and I feel more confi dent dealing with fi rst aid issues in the house and also when helping at toddlers and at cheerleading. It was nice meeting new people and I look forward to doing more courses which can benefi t our groups and the community in the future.Patricia McCormick - Local adult learner

Family Learning Fun

Playing ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’ as part of a session on numbers and telling the time.

Adult Learning Team Leader Ed Gibbon with First Aid Learner Neil Ferrier

The ‘Have Your Say’ group’s annual drama performance is a hitCongratulations to the members of the ‘Have Your Say’ group on their annual performance. ‘Have Your Say go to Florida’ was a resounding success with the actors, volunteers and support workers taking the audience on a tour of their favourite Disney characters and songs.

The ‘Have Your Say’ group supports adults with learning disabilities to improve their communication skills and therefore have their say using a range of visual and creative approaches.

For the performance the learners prepared all the props: building kites, making masks and a variety of other items thus developing their creative and motor skills. The drama production also enabled the learners to improve their communication skills and maximise their mobility potential.

“The ‘Have Your Say’ group proves the philosophy that that there’s no such word as ‘can’t’ as they are an inspirational example of learners who overcome a range of complex diffi culties.”Colleen Blyth, Literacies Specialist

Some of the performers at the Have Your Say show

Local Adult Learner Representatives Sharon Sloan and Donald Jamieson went to an Adult Learning Conference at the Grosvenor Hotel in Edinburgh recently. They were amongst 150 adult learners discussing the new Statement of Ambition for Adult Learning in Scotland with MSP Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Lifelong Learning. The Statement covers lifelong learning and aims to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, can access learning opportunities which enhance their skills. Some key points in the statement include: removing barriers to learning Promoting inclusion and equality Ensuring adult learners are at the centre of the

decision-making processes

“It was an honour to be asked to attend the conference and it was very interesting and good to meet other learners from across Scotland”Donald and Sharon, along with other learning reps, will now play a central role in developing a new learners’ forum which will also help to shape adult learning services both locally and nationally.

Learner reps Sharon Sloan and Donald Jamieson

Stirling Adult Learners’ Reps meet

Mike Russell

Learner reps Sharon Sloan and

Life wi the BroonsCreative writer Anne Brown was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2003 and although she started writing her own life story she got as far as page 42 before deciding that she needed to learn how to write ‘properly’.

Anne started attending an adult learning creative writing class and found that it helped to

Increase her confi dence

Get proper constructive criticism about her writing which allowed her to learn

Get support from classmates and the tutor

Have a platform to test things out

To meet people she would not have normally met

Anne’s creative writing tutor encouraged her to enter a competition for the ‘See Me’ project by writing a piece on ‘Support’. As a result of this Anne was invited to become a blogger for the MS Society. Her blog now appears on the MS Scotland website and is called “Life wi the Broons”. Writing the blog has had a knock-on effect on Anne’s life.

Anne is also a keen rider at Bannockburn Riding for the Disabled (RDA) and used this as a focus on one of her blog entries. This was noticed by a staff member in London MS Headquarters who asked her to talk at MS North on the subject of the benefi ts of fi nding an exercise programme that also gives you pleasure.

Successful learner and blogger Anne Brown

This was a huge success for Anne, and she was subsequently invited to speak at the RDA Grampian and Highland AGM on her story of her writing which included reading out her blog.

Another spin off from the MS blog was being asked to read some of her blogs at the International Science Festival in April.

Encouraged again by her creative writing class tutor, Anne entered a competition for a short article for the Love Local Magazine . Anne won this competition and the piece she submitted appeared in the May/June issue.

Anne is currently submitting a piece on ‘What home means to you’ to the National Book Trust Annual Competition. Fingers crossed that this also brings Anne success. Anne is now also considering writing a book.

Anne’s learning experience has changed her life.

None of these things would have happened without the Adult Learning Creative Writing Class”

Anne Brown

• Reading, writing, spelling and numbers• English for speakers of other languages• ICT skills• Family learning• Personal development and confi dence building• Languages• Skills for work• Volunteering and more

The Adult Learning Team provide a range of classes including:

For further information, call 01786 237517 or email adultlearning@stirling.gov.uk

http:// www.stirling.gov.uk/adultlearning

facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adult-Learning-Team-Stirling-Council/147816432027472