Equality Bulletin : Issue Fourteen: January 2008 News & Views From Glasgow’s Equality Networks and Glasgow City Council Contents + (01) Learning Matters + (02) Learning with Glasgow’s LGBT Centre + (03) Careers Scotland: Transition Project for Young Asylum Seekers + (04) Not Just Black And White + (05) Literacy Links to Equalities Work + (06) Women Are Learning + (07) The Equalities Monitoring Framework + (08) Glasgow Disability Alliance: Lifelong Learning Project + (09) Back page: Glasgow’s Equality Networks; Aims And Submission Details; Formats; E-Newsletters; Contact Details; Disclaimer + (01) LEARNING MATTERS Our skills and knowledge - what you know, what you can do – are important factors that make our life what it is, and help define the society we live in. In a fast-changing world, many people believe that learning matters more than ever before. A once-for-all injection of education into children at school is no longer enough to carry us through the many demands, possibilities, choices and crises that we constantly face. Yet opportunities for learning are not available in ways that are open to all. Of course, people learn all the time. They learn through new experiences, conversations with friends and family, reading the paper, watching someone else, looking things up in books or on the internet, or working out how to do something new or do it better. They may not talk about it as learning, unless they are psychologists or professional teachers (like me). They learn constantly, throughout their lives, because they are facing constant change. But although everyone learns, not everyone is benefiting from the support that they need if their learning is to be fully valued. Adult learning takes many forms, and takes place in community education, further education colleges, universities, training centres and many workplaces, libraries, and museums. It also includes distance education, including online education and so-called blended learning (which mixes online materials and face-to-face meetings). And it matters. The evidence that learning makes a difference is overwhelming. First and foremost, it has a clear economic impact. People with good qualifications earn more over their lifetime than people who do not have those qualifications. And because women face more barriers in the workplace, qualifications make a larger difference even than for men. So a man with a degree can expect a salary roughly ten per cent higher than a non-graduate with the same Highers, while a woman graduate can expect a 34% higher salary than a non-graduate woman. And this continues into adult life, so that workers who take training courses earn around 5% more than the average. Less well known, but equally important, is evidence that learning has important wider benefits. Recent studies have shown that people who participate in adult learning are more likely to give up smoking, take exercise and eat healthily than people who don’t; they also show that active adult learners tend to be more tolerant and less racist than non-participants. In the case of women, we know that taking classes is linked to a willingness to undergo cervical screening – an important measure in preventing serious risks from cancer. And there is evidence that adult education students are more likely to become involved in voluntary and community activities. So organised opportunities for learning are important for people’s economic and personal well-being, and for building social capital through community engagement. Why, then, does our society distribute these important educational opportunities so inefficiently and unjustly? Inequality starts young. The probability of any individual entering university is strongly influenced by factors that kick in before they finish primary school. Now, despite all the dire media headlines, our schools performance on average is pretty good by international standards. Scotland came in the top five nations in science, maths and literacy in the recent programme of international schools assessment (PISA). But the same survey also showed that, within this excellent average, we had one of the widest ranges of attainment, which a huge gap separating the top ten percent from the bottom ten per cent. The Nordic nations, by contrast, had a very narrow range, with most pupils grouped around the average. We in Scotland have a functional illiteracy rate of around a quarter of our adult population; the Nordic nations are at around ten per cent. So our educational system gives a great start to the best pupils, but also sentences a large group of young people to permanent failure. And inequality does not stop there. We have very powerful evidence to show that participation in adult education of various kinds is very lopsided. Essentially, the better your initial qualifications when you are young, the more likely you are to take to education in adult life. There are also big inequalities by age – basically, the older you get the fewer opportunities there are, particularly after retirement – and socio-economic class, with participation dipping sharply as you go down the social scale. Being out of the labour market is also a negative factor. And there is a gender divide, with women outnumbering men in non-vocational adult learning, and men displacing women in vocational training. It should go without saying that this is unfair. In a knowledge-intensive society, it simply ought to be unacceptable that we fail to offer serious opportunities to older adults or unskilled workers to learn new skills and pursue new interests. And it is also inefficient. If Scottish policy makers are serious about building a cohesive knowledge society, then they need to ensure that every citizen is able to develop their skills and knowledge, at all levels and at any stage in their lives. That is one definition of what it means to be a civilised society. Author: John Field, Professor of Lifelong Learning, University of Stirling (+02) LEARNING WITH GLASGOW LGBT CENTRE: ADULT LITERACY AND NUMERACY PROJECT The Adult Literacy and Numeracy Project based within the Centre offers a variety of learning opportunities in a safe, friendly and relaxed environment, where confidentiality is assured. The Project is funded by Glasgow City Council. One-to-one as well as group support is available, delivered in a flexible and culturally sensitive manner. There are various reasons why members of the LGBT Community may disengage from learning and fail to fulfil their full educational potential. Amongst these reasons may be homophobic bullying at school and a lack of LGBT awareness from both teachers and peers. Joint work with the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies: The ALN Project also works jointly with Glasgow College of Nautical Studies to provide accredited courses in Numeracy, Communications, IT, Sociology and Psychology and is funded by The European Social Fund. This course is specifically aimed at young men involved, or potentially involved, in the sex industry. LGBT Centre statistics had shown that these young men were presenting at the Centre with chaotic lifestyles: they had difficulty in terms of disengagement from services - including housing, benefits and education. Literacy needs were identified as a barrier to them accessing services. There was difficulty identifying and engaging with these young men due to stigma and distrust of organised services. To date we have had success with one course and are at the beginning of the second. Four of the five weekly classes are held at Glasgow LGBT Centre, with I.T. being held at the Adelphi Centre. This allows learners to access mainstream opportunities in a safe, supportive environment. As confidence grows, learners are encouraged to follow progression routes which allow them to continue with further learning. In the past year some of our learners have showcased their work at the Scottish Parliament and Glasgow City Chambers as part of LGBT History Month. They have also presented their work at an event in the Adelphi Centre. The event was organized entirely by learners, from guest list to buffet, and was extremely successful in promoting the project to the wider community. We have also run two 10 week courses in Basic British Sign Language and these were well attended, with the majority of learners staying for the whole ten weeks. One of the projects currently underway is the production of a book written by learners, funded by Learning Connections and scheduled for publication in March 2008. The theme of the book is The LGBT Community and the aim is to give the local LGBT community a voice, to provide an historical record, to promote the Centre and the ALN Project, and of course to improve learners literacy and confidence. Look out for more information about the book in 2008. The ALN Project aims to improve knowledge, skills and understanding in both literacy and numeracy and also to increase learners confidence and self esteem. We would hope that this personal development will increase learners life opportunities and encourage civic participation. Contact: Joyce Drummond, Glasgow LGBT Centre, 84 Bell Street, Glasgow G1 1LQ Telephone: 0141 552 4958 (ALN Project) Web www.glgbt.org.uk Email alnproject@btconnect.com The ALN project is funded by the Scottish Government through Glasgow Community Learning Strategy Partnership + (03) CAREERS SCOTLAND: TRANSITION PROJECT FOR YOUNG ASYLUM SEEKERS Young asylum seekers and ATLAS partners join forces to help achieve change in Scottish Government policy. The announcement made by the Scottish Government in August 2007 giving young asylum seekers access to full time further and higher education was welcomed with delight by the Careers Scotland Asylum Seeker Transition Team and their partners. Providing they meet certain criteria, asylum seekers will have their fees paid for full time study at college and university from 2008/2009, subject to legislation being passed. Interim arrangements have been put in place to re-imburse universities at the home fees rate if they choose to allocate a place to an asylum seeker who meets the criteria. As a result, around 15 young people will achieve their goal of embarking on a university education in the next month. The Transitions team was formed in October 2005, after a joint funding bid between Glasgow City Council and Careers Scotland was successful in securing two years ESF ATLAS/Equal funding. Previously the support available to these young people was limited as Careers Scotland was not funded to work with asylum seekers as part of core funding. Therefore, Careers Scotland and school Pastoral Care staff had experienced difficulty in providing a consistent quality of service to this group due to the absence of specialised staff, dedicated partnership structures and adapted information resources. Within the City of Glasgow there are approximately 500 secondary pupils from asylum-seeking families in S4 to S6. The transition from school to post school life is especially complex for these young people and their parents or carers given their often complex social, economic and legal status. They face challenges and barriers on a number of levels such as: language, cultural differences, prejudice, lack of or conflicting information, lack of opportunity, financial pressures. The overall purpose of the Transitions project is to ensure that these young people are supported to develop lifelong career planning skills which will enable them to maximise their potential regardless of the outcome of their application for asylum, and to ensure that individuals are fully informed about their options and supported to achieve these in the post school environment. The approach, from the outset, has been to consult, involve and empower the young people to be active participants. At the project launch in January 2006, attended by 80+ professionals, 4 young people made presentations highlighting the lack of opportunity they faced on leaving school. At that time the only options open to a young asylum seeker on leaving school were: part-time college and voluntary work. They were prevented from taking up paid training or employment and charged the higher International Student Rates making it impossible for them to be able to access university, despite many having the academic ability to do so. As a direct result of the young people’s input to the project launch, a group was formed comprising: Careers Scotland, Glasgow City Council and Bridges Programmes. Initially it investigated setting up an Educational Trust Fund to enable asylum seekers to attend university. When this wasn’t possible, the group negotiated fee-waivers to allow 6 young asylum seekers entry to university in 2006. This group developed and presented a briefing paper to the Scottish Government, pressing for a change in policy to allow young asylum seekers educated in Scotland the right to have their fees paid as home students. In addition, working with mediaco-op, the team supported a group of young people to make a DVD: ‘Transitions’ to put forward their own views. The young people were involved in all aspects from pre-production, filming, lighting, script writing, music, presenting, editing and post production dissemination. This was premiered at an event for over 100 people including partners, families and school, further & higher education representatives and was screened in prestigious venues in Glasgow and Manchester during Refugee week. It was also distributed to key policy makers and politicians. The work of the Transitions project and its partnership working was cited twice in the recent HMIE report as examples of good practice and it recommended: “The Scottish Executive should consider the feasibility of responding to aspirations among asylum seeker children to undertake degree level study.” (HMIE Report: Joint inspection of services for children of asylum seekers in the Glasgow City Council area, June 2007) Lynne Gostick, Team Leader of the project says: “We are thrilled with this change in government policy that will allow greater access to college and university for young asylum seekers. When we started this project it was beyond our wildest dreams that we would manage to achieve so much towards helping young asylum seekers to achieve their aspirations and fulfil their potential. Glasgow City Council and the Bridges Programmes were joint partners in drawing together the Case for Change paper and raising this issue with relevant Ministers and Government workers. Achieving this has shown how change can be brought about by effective partnership working.” In addition to producing targeted printed resources for professionals, parents and young people the team, in partnership with the Glasgow Volunteer Centre, organised Volunteering Road-shows and preparatory workshops delivered in 6 secondary schools to bring young people together with potential placement organisations. Due to the success of these, the Volunteer Centre is considering adding this model to their school leaver programmes. Additional outcomes of the project include: Improved partnership working leading to a network of referral and support provision which did not previously exist; Enhanced post school opportunities e.g. Further and Higher Education, Training; Achieved a wider understanding amongst partners of Careers Scotland activity - the process and importance of career planning; Won national (UK) award from the Institute of Careers Guidance for work with young people in secondary schools. Contact : Anne Pearson, The Adelphi, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow, G5 0PQ Tel: 0141 429 1999 Email: anne.pearson@careers-scotland.org.uk Web: www.careers-scotland.org.uk + (04) NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE In 2007, the SNP published versions of their manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections in Gaelic, Urdu, Cantonese and Polish, as well as in English. For many, this is a marker of Scotland’s increasing ethnic diversity. We now have one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in Britain, and as the media regularly remind us, many are from Eastern Europe. Scotland prides itself on its hospitality and recent research for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) about the integration of new migrants found that people in Scotland offer a warmer welcome than their counterparts in England. But the researchers also warned that Scotland has no room for complacency. In particular they highlighted concerns about the tendency among public authorities to think of the Race Relations Act (RRA), from a ‘black and white perspective’ – a perspective that results in inequalities and discrimination against white migrants being overlooked. The RRA makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of their race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin. This means that it is just as unlawful to discriminate against someone for being Scottish, as it is to discriminate against them for being African or Hungarian. And as the CRE’s enquiry records show discrimination against Eastern Europeans in Scotland is not just a possibility, it’s a reality. Over the last couple of years the CRE has seen an increase in the number of enquiries from Eastern Europeans who feel they are being discriminated against – rising from four in 2005 to 17 in 2006. New arrivals from Eastern European countries have highlighted a number of issues, including being paid below the minimum wage and being expected to work for longer hours and for lower pay than Scottish workers. Others, who have been unfairly dismissed from their jobs, have also lost the homes which had been provided as part of their employment agreement. This increase in unlawful and discriminatory employment practices is concerning. Yet, we have also seen more reassuring examples of advisors, trade union representatives, voluntary organisations and employers asking for information on good working practices. Many of the issues that people ask for advice about are dealt with in the Working in the UK: Newcomers Handbook. The Handbook draws on the expertise of leading organisations and explains how many different aspects of law relate to new migrants. It is particularly designed for advisors and employers and provides information about a range of issues including racial discrimination, employment rights, recognition of qualifications, English language provision and renting in the UK. While the CRE is concerned that the experiences of Eastern Europeans may be being overlooked, it is important to remember that Scotland is attracting new migrants from right around the globe. Last year the largest number of successful applicants for the Fresh Talent scheme came from India, China and the United States. If Scotland is to become the country we want it to be – one where every person can make the fullest contribution to our economic and social life – then all new migrants need to be aware of their rights and employers and advisors need to understand how the law relates to new migrants. The Working in the UK Newcomers Handbook is available from the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion www.cesi.org.uk tel 020 7582 7221 + (05) LITERACY LINKS TO EQUALITIES WORK To what extent are you looking at language, literacy and numeracy issues as part of your work to address inequalities? Up to 800,000 adults in Scotland are potential literacies learners. The evidence suggests a high proportion of these adults are to be found among: people with health problems and disabilities; people who live in disadvantaged areas; workers in low skill jobs; people on low incomes; speakers of English as a second or additional language. In addition to these groups, Glasgow has targeted some of its literacy and numeracy funding specifically to support specific inequalities groups including those who may be vulnerable to discrimination because of their circumstances (e.g. women and men affected by the issues of prostitution); their sexual orientation; their ethnicity; or gender. Some of the best recent evidence [1] we have on the links between literacy and inequality, however, relates to socio-economic and health inequalities: Health links Health inequalities are the differences found in various aspects of health between different groups in society. Adults with literacies issues are more likely to have poor health. Poor physical and mental well-being, together with poor health related practices, were also associated with men and women with the poorest grasp of literacy or numeracy. More of these men and women had symptoms associated with depression. They were also more likely to report to never get what they want out of life and that their health limited their daily activities in some way. They were more likely to smoke cigarettes every day, and men who drank alcohol were also more likely to consume a higher number of units than men with good literacy and numeracy skills. Socio-economic links People with poor basic skills are more likely to experience unemployment and be in low paid jobs and to have fewer opportunities for progression and promotion in their jobs. Between the ages of 23 and 37 almost two thirds of men and three quarters of women with very low literacy skills had never been promoted, compared to under one third of men and two fifths of women with good literacy skills. There was a smaller difference between the two extreme groups with respect to numeracy skills for men, although for women the difference was on the whole maintained, with approximately 60% of women in the low numeracy group never having been promoted compared to 34% of those with good numeracy skills. Be literacy aware: Literacy work has a relatively low status which means advocates have limited powers. Difficulties can go unrecognised where there is a lack of awareness of the range of issues a person may experience. Most people, for example, can read, write and count to some extent. Some adults may have problems filling in forms or writing letters. Others have the technical skills to read and write but lack confidence in expressing themselves or knowing how to put it down on paper. Difficulties with numeracy may be even more common. For many people, support can greatly increase their confidence in their own skills. 1. Recognise that literacy poses a barrier to accessing services 2. Consider how support could be offered for form filling or reading instructions or other literacy tasks 3. Refer patients to learning: In North and East Glasgow: Patients can access support via Jacqueline Wray, NHS Development Officer through the Learning on Prescription project on 232 0161 (direct line), or email: jacqueline.wray@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Rest of Glasgow: Contact the Glasgow’s Learning/The Big Plus campaign free phone helpline: 0800 027 6402 For information on ALN providers, log see: http://www.glasgowslearning.org.uk Author: Catriona Carson, Senior Development Officer for Literacies and Health Tel 0141-232 0163 email catriona.carson@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Public Health Resource Unit, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Eastbank Conference and Training Centre, 22 Academy Street, Glasgow G32 9AA [1] Bynner, J. and Parsons S. (November, 2006), New Light on Literacy and Numeracy, London. NRDC + (06) WOMEN ARE LEARNING Although they constitute the largest single group or ‘community of interest’ in Glasgow, women have increasingly been defined as a ‘minority’ group. Gender barriers are no longer seen as constituting a priority issue for policy makers to address, or a concern in service delivery [1]. For many working in the political, statutory and voluntary sectors the work of feminism is perceived to have been done. And yet… looking at the landscape of potential learners and learning opportunities beyond Glasgow Women’s Library there is no scope for complacency and in many ways the old order remains. I began to ‘get’ feminism when I was told that I could not do technical drawing at school. Such Neanderthal attitudes are a cause for much amusement amongst some of our young women users today. However, in 1976 AND 2005 93% of workers in the construction industry in Scotland were male….only 0.4% plumbers today are female… in Higher Education women make up only 12% of engineering and technology undergraduates… Colleagues who pride themselves on it being ‘different’ in our sector are, disappointingly, failing to address enduring discrimination closer to home. Yes, over two thirds of the workforce are women (NCVO Almanac) and in 2005 female volunteers outnumbered male volunteers by 54% to 45%, but overwhelmingly respondents to a recent survey undertaken by the Directory of Social Change, felt that key decisions remain the province of men leading to frustrations at the ‘preponderance of men in decision making positions.’ (Debra Alcock Tyler, Chief Executive Directory of Social Change, 2006). Our aim in providing a learning environment for a diverse range of women at GWL is not merely to identify and address the real and palpably felt barriers that women continue to experience but to try to provide unique avenues, styles and opportunities to learn that are tailored to women’s real and complex lives and that can help the whole of society to move towards an agenda of respect. Since 1998, GWL has been framing its work in relation to the Platform for Action at the UN’s Fourth Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995. The Declaration emphasizes the importance for women globally to access the information they need to make positive life changes, and demands that UN members "Ensure women’s equal access to economic resources including land, credit, science and technology, vocational training, information, communication and markets, as a means to further the advancement and empowerment of women and girls, including through the enhancement of their capacities to enjoy the benefits of equal access to these resources." [2] We see the links between access to information, cultural justice and the empowerment of marginalized and excluded groups as having the potential to reshape communities (and cities) into more healthy, happy, productive and creative places. Places where women, the majority of our population, have a real say in shaping and developing it. Author: Adele Patrick, Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator, Glasgow Women’s Library 1 An anomaly here being the number of professional groups, 12, that currently exist to support women who are surviving (male) violence in Glasgow. Glasgow Women’s Library remains the sole cultural and learning centre for women. 2 The conference convened on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the UN at which point the following fundamental (women’s) rights (to cultural expression and development) had been enshrined : each culture has a dignity and value which must be respected and preserved, every people has the right and the duty to develop its culture in their rich variety and diversity, and in the reciprocal influences they exert on one another, all cultures form part of the common heritage belonging to all mankind. (The Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Co-operation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, 1966) Glasgow Women’s Library, 2nd Floor, 81 Parnie Street, Glasgow G1 5RH (temporary address until move to Mitchell Library), Tel/Fax: 0141 552 8345 Email: info@womenslibrary.org.uk Web: www.womenslibrary.org.uk + (07) THE EQUALITIES MONITORING FRAMEWORK The Glasgow Community Learning Strategy Partnership, which supports community learning and development (CLD) planning across the city, has developed an equalities monitoring framework for CLD. The Partnership recognises that some people have got more access to learning opportunities than others. Many people miss out on learning, as they feel that what is available will not meet their needs, or they face other barriers preventing them from accessing learning or making progress. The Partnership is keen that current and future opportunities are relevant and appropriate to the needs of all people. Research undertaken by the Partnership highlighted: . The collection of equalities data is patchy, making it difficult to get a picture of what’s happening across the city . There is no common approach to measure and record progress in terms of equalities. . Where equalities data is collected, it is often to meet the needs of funders, rather than being analysed and used to inform service delivery This new initiative is being supported by Learning Connections (part of the Scottish Government’s Directorate General for Education) and will assist CLD organisations to promote equality of opportunity in the delivery of CLD, by helping them to: . Be more inclusive – focussing on the needs of the learner; . Widen participation – increasing knowledge of the profile of those currently accessing learning opportunities and improving access for under-represented groups; . Develop CLD providers’ commitment to mainstreaming equalities in their policies and procedures. This work complements the recent guidance issued by Learning Connections ‘Same Difference: A guide to working with equalities groups in community learning and development’: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Life-Long-Learning/LearningConnections/samedifference The Equalities Monitoring Framework will be useful for both small and large organisations, and consists of three main elements: 1. Information gathering for equalities monitoring This clearly sets out what information should be gathered by CLD organisations. It includes a sample form for gathering, recording and reporting monitoring information, which organisations may wish to adapt to suit their own particular needs. It is hoped the framework will become an integral part of each Organisation’s performance management systems – and also help meet the requirements of funders. 2. Guidance on the equalities monitoring framework This fulfils a number of roles. It explains why monitoring is important and includes information on the law, best practice and the role of community learning and development in promoting equality. It provides practical guidance on how to use the framework to gather, collate and report on monitoring information. It sets out mechanisms for CLD partners to share and jointly analyse the monitoring information. This includes consideration of data protection and freedom of information requirements. 3. Equalities standards Equalities standards assist organisations to improve their work with equalities groups, and their promotion of equality more generally. Organisations will be able to quickly assess their performance through use of a self-assessment framework, which provides links to existing guidance on equalities issues. The standards have been designed for use as a developmental tool, rather than a ‘tick box’ approach – with a focus on continuous improvement. The Equalities Monitoring Framework has been developed into a practical resource pack and was launched at the end of September 2007. For more information please contact: Alan Dickson Tel: 0141 302 2844 or email: communitylearningsupport@csglasgow.org Equalities also informed the development of the new CLD Strategy (2007/10) for the city which was published at the end of 2007 by Glasgow Community Learning Strategy Partnership. Contact as above if you wish more details. + (08) GLASGOW DISABILITY ALLIANCE (GDA): LIFELONG LEARNING PROJECT Glasgow Disability Alliance is an organisation of disabled people in Glasgow. The organisation began in 2001 with a small group of disabled people who were fed up being ignored by policy makers and felt excluded from civil and political participation in the city. A citywide organization was set up to challenge such exclusion and discrimination by bringing together both individuals and groups of disabled people. It was felt that GDA could enable disabled people to develop the skills and confidence to become a powerful voice by providing training and support and building capacity. This would ensure that we were listened to and would no longer be invisible. GDA is now an incorporated company, a Scottish Registered Charity and a membership-led, umbrella organisation of disabled individuals, groups and organisations of disabled people. Membership currently stands at 280 and this includes 24 groups led by disabled people as well as individual disabled people in Glasgow. Members also comprise organisations and partner agencies who support our aims and these have associate membership status. GDA’s mission is to act as the collective, representative voice of disabled people in Glasgow, promoting equality, rights and social justice. Principal Business Activities: GDA has 2 paid members of staff, Director, Tressa Burke and Senior Development Officer, Linda Algie. It’s been some time since we’ve given an update about activities and I’m delighted to be able to report excellent progress and results. The last 20 months have been very exciting and full of new challenges for us: we received funding from the ESF and Big Lottery to deliver a Lifelong Learning Project for disabled people in Glasgow. Our services and activities to support disabled people into learning have grown at a rapid rate and this was partly down to GDA’s existing reputation with members and partner agencies. The Lifelong Learning Project aims to improve access to learning for disabled people in the mainstream and we have done this in numerous ways. Our main activities currently include: * Engaging disabled people in lifelong learning - We support disabled people who want to get into learning by providing taster courses which are accessible and free. We then help disabled people to move onto other learning at community project courses, colleges, universities, in libraries or anywhere else. * Working with learning providers and institutions towards becoming more flexible, accessible and disability equality focused. This involves giving them information, advising them and training them to understand and better meet the needs of disabled people. * Providing accessible information to disabled people, their groups and those who work with them. * Representing and advocating for our members and other grassroots disabled people and providing disability expertise on various influential working groups and forums of agencies that serve disabled people. This includes telling politicians the things that are important to disabled people and the things that need to change. * Encouraging disabled people and their organisations to get together with policy and decision makers, thus increasing opportunities for involvement and participation of disabled people. * Providing support to member organisations and individuals so that they input effectively and have greater influence in this process. * Encouraging and maximising networking between disabled people, their organisations and policy makers. * Providing programmes of capacity building and support for individuals and disability-led groups and organisations within Glasgow. * Building our membership to give us a stronger voice including other groups who are also treated unfairly. * Working effectively together with disabled people, their groups and our Board and Committees to make things better for disabled people in Glasgow. * Securing ongoing resources to carry out GDA’s aims. THE IMPACT OF OUR WORK Learning organisations: Work in this area has been focused around supporting learning organisations to meet the needs of disabled people. * GDA has worked with 43 learning organisations and partnerships, including colleges, local agencies, national agencies, voluntary organisations and community groups. * Providing Disability Equality Awareness training to 112 staff and students of 22 partner organisations including Cardonald, Glasgow Metropolitan, Langside and Stow Colleges, Govan Initiative and Glasgow City Council. * Working with learning organisations to establish the Learning Providers Reference Group * Development and production of Top Tips Toolkit which is a best practice guide as advised by disabled people and partner agencies working with GDA Provision of Taster Courses: 30 taster courses have been delivered to date to 160 learners and 278 learning opportunities have been taken up. Taster courses have been delivered in a variety of locations throughout the city. Participants have been recruited through Disability Roadshows, the GDA newsletter and website. GDA has provided taster courses to disabled Glaswegians, including courses in disability equality, sign language, Assistive IT, glass painting, drumming, taking control of your life, numeracy and coaching skills. Learners have been tracked to follow positive outcomes including paid work, voluntary work, further, longer term learning and further training. The evaluation focus groups, externally facilitated and held with GDA service users found that the provision of fully accessible and appropriate training was vital to beneficiaries: “GDA is regarded as an essential service rather than as an optional extra. In addition to concrete results such as the number of people on courses, it delivers across a range of needs including providing social interaction and improving people’s sense of worth because they are always treated with dignity and respect” (Interim Evaluation, August 2007); Alternative learning provision was often not fully accessible and this put people off even enquiring about opportunities; 96% of participants in taster sessions have recorded an increase in skills and confidence following their training. Capacity Building Training: Five STEPS courses have been delivered as part of a programme of capacity building and self – esteem development: this has been recognised as a ‘gold standard’ in personal development coaching. All 5 STEPS courses have recorded 100% of attendees noting an increase in their skills and confidence. Coaching for Change: GDA piloted this programme of support to 10 individuals, developed from a taster course delivered at the Learning Festival in June 2007. The scheme, it aimed to encourage disabled learners/potential learners to use Person Centred Planning to enhance their educational aims in terms of lifelong learning, taking them through a facilitated action planning process, putting them at the heart of decision making about their own futures, highlighting barriers they face and using identified support to negotiate for change. 10 individuals were offered the opportunity to take part in personal coaching, of whom 9 were able to participate. A combination of face to face meetings and telephone support, participants in the Coaching for Change sessions identified new goals and made significant progress towards achieving them: “Participants report an increase in confidence and assertiveness to tackle structural barriers as disabled learners – for example one participant has educated herself on the DDA and disclosed her impairment safely in order to get the reasonable adjustment needed to participate in her desired course. She has received valued support in doing so from the further education learning provider. She is now negotiating with transport providers with the intent of accessing their service in a way that is accessible to her” (Coaching for Change, Interim Evaluation, August 2007) Promotion: Promotional activity which has been carried out to date has included disability roadshows, network meetings, radio articles, work with partners, and recruitment events including participating in Ability Fest and the national Independent Living Exhibition. In order to promote the services of GDA and the Lifelong Learning Project, GDA have managed a publicity campaign promoting GDA in general and the Learning programme in particular, organised over 10 focus groups canvassing the views of disabled people, managed 42 community based recruitment events attended by 548 people. Manifesto & Hustings: A highlight of 2007 was our Manifesto for Learning & Active Citizenship, informed by GDA members within 2006-7. In response to the Scottish Parliament and Council elections of May 2007, GDA managed a Hustings event designed to allow disabled people to meet and engage with local politicians. Over 70 disabled people attended this event which had representatives from all major political parties. The Capacity Building session which was run before the elections was highly successful and well evaluated as equipping the participants to ask questions of political candidates at the Hustings. Policy support / Influencing services: A priority for GDA is to enable members to genuinely influence learning and wider services in Glasgow which enable disabled people to take up learning and other opportunities. Disabled people were facilitated to contact, lobby or canvass organisations including Glasgow City Council , the Scottish Executive, and the political parties operating in Glasgow through the pre - election Hustings. GDA has supported responses to, and participation in, external policy consultations, processes, or reviews. Learning Festival: The GDA Learning Festival held in June 2007 was attended by over 200 people. With stalls, taster sessions, speeches and information available, the festival was highly rated in evaluation forms. 7 different types of access were provided to make sure the festival was open to all, including Transport; Personal Assistants, Sign Language; Lip Speaker; Accessible Information; Loop System and an accessible venues. Learners Reference Group: At the heart of the Project is user involvement and we established 2 advisory groups– 1 of disabled learners and the other comprising learning providers. We have worked closely with these to develop the Project. The LRG has met a number of times to identify barriers to learning, to identify possible solutions to those barriers and where GDA could make a difference, to give input and direction to the Best Practise Guide and to act as a check on GDA plans to ensure they are inclusive, accessible, and meet the identified needs of disabled people. Learning Providers Reference Group: This Group shares best practice, develops opportunities for partnership and plans ways to involve disabled people in learning. The group has met a number of times and is felt to be useful by members: “Learning Providers Reference Group has been useful and informative. It provides opportunities for, good networking; focussed discussion exchange of ideas and good practice; collaborative planning and working; cross referrals; improved communication between services; enhancing provision and increasing choices for service users.” Members of the group include local colleges and other key learning providers. Showcase Event: GDA recently held a Showcase event (December 2007) to launch our “Top Tips Toolkit”. This Toolkit aims to offer agencies, practical ways of engaging disabled service users to make sure that services meet needs. The Top Tips are practical suggestions in the form of experiences, good practice examples and checklists to assist agencies to involve disabled people in service planning and decision making. The event was attended by 232 people, an almost even split of disabled people and representatives from a wide variety of agencies including Glasgow City Council, community planning agencies, community health and care partnerships, governmental agencies, voluntary sector and disabled people themselves. We were also supported by a number of Councillors and MSPs who attended and sent messages of support for the day. The Showcase event also celebrated an Awards Ceremony to acknowledge the achievements of our 160 Learners, focusing on the rich and varied skills, interests and aspirations of disabled people in Glasgow. Future Developments: It has been an excellent 20 months for GDA but we cannot afford to be complacent. The first months of 2008 will be spent disseminating the Toolkit and facing the challenges in these times around sustainability. The Board and staff have and are continuing to work hard to ensure a longer term future for GDA. GDA wishes to pay tribute to all of the disabled people who have engaged with our work, the partner organisations who support our aims and the funders who have made our work possible. Tressa Burke, January 2008 (contact details below) + (09) BACK PAGE Glasgow’s Equality Networks Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network: Contact: Lorna New Tel: 0141 550 7557 Email: lorna_wisewomen@hotmail.com Glasgow Black and Ethnic Minority Voluntary: Sector Network Contact: Safia Ali Tel: 0141 429 4249 Email: safia@pdaglasgow.org.uk Glasgow Disability Alliance: Contact: Tressa Burke Tel: 0141 556 7103 Email: tressaburke@gdaonline.co.uk The West of Scotland LGBT Forum: Contact: Sheila Brodie or David Thomas c/o Glasgow LGBT Centre, 84 Bell St, G1 1LQ Email: info@sgls.co.uk (with ‘WoS Info’ in the Subject line) Aims and Submission Details The Equality Bulletin is produced on behalf of Glasgow’s Equality Network Forum. The Forum is made up of representatives from Glasgow’s four Equality Networks and from Glasgow City Council. 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